Big Star: Rhino "Box Set"*

Correct me if I'm wrong...but the Sister Lovers Tracks are the original mix but they are stereo...(on "Thank You Friends")

 

Yup.

 

Same is true for any Big Star fan, I would reckon.

 

Faulty old guy memory. The original Sister Lovers mixes are indeed stereo. Was confusing with Alex's 1969 solo album.

 

Yeah...but valuable "old guy" wisdom nonetheless...

I'm glad you are here with your knowledge and experience.

 

Thanks for the update Kent!

My credit card is ready to go when this gets released..

 

Were there any band rehearsals of I am the Cosmos? I recall once hearing that it was demoed in the early stages of Radio City.

 

Weren't the original Sister Lovers (Big Star 3rd) mixes released on a 4 Men And A Beard LP last year? That's what the sticker on it says.

Would definitely leap on a Bix Star box with great excitement. 4 discs? This thing sounds great!

 

I dunno - my two favorite bands.... yeah, I'd choose the Big Star.

Bobby Sutliff

 

And now I've got BS3 on my mind.

Does anyone know the story of why/when this was remixed after the original white label and what is different? I've bought the darn thing so many times from so many places hoping for that extra bit of goodness from it.

My original exposure to it was from a dub of a dub (of a dub?) of a boot. It sounded real thick and strong (yes, I know it is generational degradation of the sound) compared to later official releases, and I think I've been searching for that extra oompf ever since.

I'm going to check out the 4 Men vinyl later when I get home. Maybe do some comparisons against some CD versions.

I may swim against the tide here, but I think this is my fave of theirs overall as it contains all of the elements of the first 2 releases with added layers of mystery, depth and weirdness..... (It's best heard in the original white label track order though.)

 

You were listening to a lot of tape compression...that's the oomph you describe...

 

Slightly off topic, but I've only done some cursory listening to the "Thank You Friends" collection...and the mixes on there sound the same as the ones we've had for years. Is there anything noticeably different?

 

Any specific tracks that you're speaking of?

To my ears, almost all of the Big Star tracks, noted as having different mixes, or being demos, on the "Thank You Friends" collection have significant differences compared to the ones we know and love on the official LPs.

There are a few Big Star tracks on that compilation that use the same mix/take as the official LPs, so maybe those are the tracks you're focused on?

Specifically, neither "In The Street," "When My Baby's Beside Me," nor "September Gurls" are noted as being either "alternate mix" or "demo," but it looks like all the rest are so you should be able to hear differences in these:

"My Life Is Right" [alternate mix]
"Back Of A Car" [demo]
"I Got Kinda Lost" [demo]
"Mod Lang" [alternate mix]
"She's A Mover" [alternate recording]
"Big Black Car" [demo]
"For You" [original mix]
"Kizza Me" [original mix]
"Holocaust" [original mix]
"Thank You Friends" [original mix]

If that's just the tip of the iceberg that this 4-CD box set will deliver, I'm very much looking forward to it!

Craig(VC).

 

I don't hear any difference on these mixes:

"For You" [original mix]
"Kizza Me" [original mix]
"Holocaust" [original mix]
"Thank You Friends" [original mix]

 

Really? I've just done some A-B comparisons between "For You," "Kizza Me," and "Thank You Friends" on the "Thank You Friends" compilation versus the "Third/Sister Lovers" 1992 Rykodisc, and they sound different to me . . . But caveats are that I'm listening to MP3s (sorry, I'm at work and away from my CD collection) and it's possible all the differences I'm hearing could be accounted for in the different sources used for the Ryko CD versus this compilation CD. (In other words, maybe I'm hearing the same mix, but from much better source tapes, and much differently mastered?)

Generally, the four tracks on the compilation all sound punchier and have more clarity and separation of instruments than the Ryko CD.

I wonder if the "Thank You Friends" booklet provides any explanation of what "original mix" means for these four songs. . . . Anyone have the booklet handy to check?

Craig(VC).

 

Original mixes are the ones John Fry did back in '74-75. Only released on the test pressings and on Thank You Friends.

The Ryko mixes were created for that album.

When My Baby's Beside Me is the only track on Thank You Friends that isn't different from previously released versions.

 

Got it. I'll give a closer listen then. I've been playing that Ardent set a lot recently.

 

I did a quick check of my three CD copies of Sister Lovers/3rd compared to the mixes on Thank You Friends. Other than maybe some balance differences on "Kizza Me" I'm hard pressed to hear any significant differences in the mixes.

One thing that gets in the way is that the versions on the Big Beat collection are louder and EQed differently than the previous releases. So the bongos on "Thank You Friends" do seem more up front but its hard to tell if that's a mix difference or caused by the Ace remastering.

The other thing I notice is that tape anomalies seem to occur in the same spots on all versions including those on the Big Beat CD. If the mixes were different wouldn't they be different tapes?

Out of curiosity I'll spend some more time tonight on the 4 tracks just to be sure. Maybe I'm missing something obvious?

 

Those anomalies may be present on the master from day one...

 

I should have been more specific: I was speaking of the "Third" tracks in general, and the "Original Mixes" notation. The Ryko disc didn't seem to depart mix-wise from any other iteration of the album I have heard (PVC CD, Castle CD--bright as hell--, Line CD), and the "Thank You, Friends" collection was no exception. I was disappointed, too, as I was looking forward to a set of alternate mixes from those sessions.

 

Understood and that's David's (Vivaldinization) point. Same master tape was used for all mixes including those on Thank You Friends. Obviously (I suppose) anomalies can occur on the multitrack tapes but I wouldn't think they'd present exactly the same way.

I've read what Kent reported that the first round of mixes were exclusive to the original acetate pressings but Ace/Big Beat seems to have just gotten the same mixes that are available elsewhere and included them on Thank You Friends. And maybe that's what they mean by "original mix"?

That's how I understood your original post. I just wanted to confirm it for myself since I hadn't spent a lot of time on it.

Is "September Gurls" any different other than the studio chatter? I don't think it is.

 

Ah I see what yer sayin!

 

Extra bits at the beginning of the single of In the Street and of September Gurls. That's the only difference in those two.

 

"In the Street" is the single version at least? That's what the notes imply and other than a Varese Power Pop collection I don't think that's been on CD.

 

I tried to find differences in the mixes between the 4 Men vinyl, the Ryko CD and the Ardent TYF CDs and was hard pressed to find any mixing differences.
The TYF CD was definitely brighter sounding...