Best Digital Versions of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

Have to disagree here except for _Tarkus_ and _Brain Salad Surgery_. BSS sounds remarkably similar in K2 form to the Castle issue (with the right mix). I think the _Tarkus_ K2 has goosed bass but it sounds pretty damn good. The _Trilogy_ K2 is, IMO, the worst of the lot. It is utterly stripped of so much treble that it sounds like a 5th gen. cassette was used and on top of it the bass is too loud!

Agree on the packaging though!

 

I must agree on the Trilogy K2. It does not sound good at all! The MFSL is much better IMO. The other K2's I have S/T, Tarkus, BSS sound pretty good.

 

Hmmm... I had the exact opposite impression... one of those YMMV deals, I guess.

I will give you that the K2 Trilogy is kinda hissy on some tracks, though... esp Endless Enigma... but the title track, From the Beginning and Living Sin fare much better... again, IMO.

Well, even if the K2s are the discs of choice in my house, this catalog could still use one more trip through the mastering station... before the master tapes rot altogether.

Unless I'm missing something in those Rhino's, which I've ignored up to this point.

 

Did an A/B and I did overstate this, but the Castle CD is warmer and less harsh, no question about it to my ears. I believe I once compared the Rhino and Castle issues of _Trilogy_ and they were exactly the same, so I am presuming the Castle is the same mastering. The Castle has a very cool bonus track (live version of "Hoedown" that is fantastic!). Anyway, this sounds less harsh than the original Atlantic CD. I haven't heard the MFSL, but the Castle or Rhino are excellent, IMO.

 

Gotta go with the Japanese K2s...and of course, the cool mini-LP sleeves help! The first S/T sounds awesome, Tarkus is killer and Pictures At An Exhibition never sounded better IMHO. I've also got the hard-to-find Welcome Back and Works Vol. 1 K2s which sound incredible (well, let's face it...Welcome Back is never gonna sound that good!)

The only dog of the K2 bunch, as stated earlier, is the overly hissy Trilogy.

 

I did not know there was a K2 of Works Volume 1. You do not see that one for sale on EBay (at least I have never seen it).

I think it is the amount of hiss on some tracks that bothers me on Trilogy, I just found it overbearing on some of the tracks.

 

The K2 Works Vol. 1 occasionally shows up on Ebay and usually goes for big bucks. It was never reissued (same with Welcome Back) when the rest of the K2s were reissued recently.

 

Victor Japan has this problem on occasion. My suspicion is that their sometimes liberal use of EQ causes it but at least they don't use NR. Also, the K2 of the s/t sounds pretty darn hissy on stuff like "Take A Pebble" from what I recall.

 

I once bought the K2 of _Welcome Back..._ in jewelcase form (if you can even find it, the mini lp goes for *major* $$$ as it was issued in '98 or so and never reissued) and A/B'd it with (I think) the Castle release of the same. There was no difference at all. Strange since it has the 20-bit K2 mastering tag, but I'm not sure Victor Japan did anything with those tapes. In fact I think most versions of WBMF may be the same as I recall even checking the Victor or Castle against the original Atlantic (AMCY Japan) and it was also the same. I believe the Victory was different though, but can't say for sure. Anyway, I think WBMF sounds pretty good on CD but probably not as good as I remember the vinyl sounding!

 

The BSS tracks on "The Atlantic Years" are my favorite mixes by far.

 

I have original Atlantic CDs of S/T and Trilogy mastered by Barry Diament and I like them a lot.

Yes! I mean ELP! They are very similar indeed.

 

I have the original Atlantics for all except BSS(I have Pictures,Tarkus, S/T, and Trilogy. I also have the original Welcome back from Japan with Obi(bought in early 90's).

As for the studio versions- I never really saw or heard a reason to replace them. As for BSS- I have one of the UK versions that opens in the middle, but is more of a Mini-LP release. I have nothing to compare it to, but it don't sound bad.

As for Welcome Back... in addition to the Japanese original- I also have either the Victory or the Rhino domestic as well. Its really been so long since I've done any listening to them I have no idea how they compare.

Chris

 

Yes, me too. I also really my copy of Brain Salad Surgery. Thanks Michael!

The Atlantics mostly sound wonderful except for the Greatest Hits for some reason. Even the Japanese 1st pressing failed to impress because the original tracks sounded so much better on the original albums themselves.

 

I also prefer the original Atlantic CDs for ELP's studio release up to, and including, "Brain Salad Surgery".



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

Mundo has some of the Victor K2 mini-LPs available new on this page at cheap prices. You may want to email them to see if they're still there

http://www.mediawars.ne.jp/~mundo/collect/file/elp.html

 

Dave, have you compared the Atlantics to the MFSLs of Trilogy and Tarkus, and is your Brain Salad Surgery an original Atlantic as well???

Thanks,

 

1st, Trilogy, Greatest Hits (target), Brain Salad...

 

I'm not Dave, but I've compared the Atlantic TRILOGY to the MFSL, and to original US and UK vinyl. In my opinion, the original US vinyl is unimpressive. Sounds kind of distant and thin next to the UK vinyl, which is excellent, having a lot more clarity and a deeper sound.

The Atlantic is CD is well-mastered for what it is, but it sounds to me like the tape was a generation or two down. The MFSL is excellent, and is the best CD version I've heard. Sounds very alive without too much obvious EQ. It doesn't quite have the depth of the UK vinyl, but is far better than the US vinyl release. Bottom line: Unless you're seriously into vinyl, go for the MFSL CD. If you're into vinyl, the original UK LP is the way to go.

UK LP>MFSL CD>Atlantic CD>US LP

Haven't heard the MFSL TARKUS, but again, the Atlantic sounds like the tape was a generation or two down. And again, the original UK LP sounds excellent, walking all over the US version. Unless MFSL really screwed it up, I'd figure it about the same as TRILOGY: UK LP>MFSL CD>Atlantic CD>US LP.

Haven't heard ANY of the reissues, although I have a digipack version of BSS that duplicates the original packaging.

 

No I haven't heard the MFSL's, but I have it on a very reliable source that they suffer from the bloated bass and elevated treble. My BSS is the BMG version of the original Atlantic with the correct cover art. Catalog #19124-2. I'm fairly certain the non BMG version would sound identicle.

BTW I agree with dwmann that these definietly are a production mastered source as opposed to the masters like the MFSL's, but the mastering is definitely good.

 

That is exactly what I experienced... like, really bloated bass... I'm kinda forgiving of a little bass EQ, but I'm sure any casual listener would grimace at what I was hearing.

I wonder if a bad or incorrect batch went out initially (I ditched my Trilogy after one spin), as several others seem to have a positive experience with their MFSL ELPs.

 

From what I understand you are hearing correctly and I highly doubt this one will be any better with any of the CD pressing runs from MFSL. If you choose to try again by all means let us all know your findings.

 

Well, tonight I really put the original Atlantic mastered by Barry Diament vs. the Castle issue of _Trilogy_ to the test and...

I think I was wrong.

I think I prefer the Atlantic.

The Castle is good, but is missing some treble and the Atlantic is just plain better. The Castle is probably just the Victory or the Rhino remastering, btw, as they didn't remaster any of the ELP stuff, ttbomk.

I always remember thinking that the Rhino CD of _Trilogy_ was truly, truly good. I wonder if the Castle is the same or what? I'll have to pick up a used copy of the Rhino one day and take it for a spin.

 

Not to forget the 80's German Manticore/Ariola which I have and must be considered as horrible...

Martin

 

Jeff, could you tell me the best source for an Atlantic / Diament copy of Brain Salad Surgery, I've tried gemm, ebay, musicstack, amazon, but none have a cat. no. starting 19.... they all seem to refer to Rhino or BMG, and don't seem to specify year of release - I assume this is the original release?

 

Sorry, forgot to add I ordered the mini lp cd of WB from the cdj link you posted, but what is the version of WB listed to the right of that page at a slightly higher price?