Cat Stevens Greatest Hits And Greatest Hits Vol.2 Original CDs Or Remasters?

Now I know what I shall look for

I have "Teaser.." on CD, a Ted Jensen/Sterling Sound mastering from 1999. God I hate the sound on it. It sounds mechanical and compressed.

 

Just out of curiosity, and never having seen one, was it issued domestically (USA)? Or from Japan, Germany, or... ?

Thanks!

- Rich

 

It's vinyl. With an illustrated booklet included. Deluxe package.

 

Oh. Well, of course it came out on vinyl.

This thread is about cd releases. There was never a cd release of "Numbers" prior to the MFSL Gold cd.

 

I misunderstood the post. Sorry for the digression.

 

Not to worry. I've done that so many times that my foot is a comfortable fit in my mouth!

Thanks for trying to be helpful...

(And wasn't that a spectacular booklet with the LP? Great Cat Stevens artwork!)

 

I agree with you

 

I have "Teaser & The Firecat" non remastered CD as a Made in Japan for USA issue. I can't believe how good it sounds. That guitar sound is just incredible on this CD.

Pat

 

I've heard Mone Bone Jakon & Catch Bull At Four from that 1999 series and didn't like them either. Flat & dimensionless, I thought.

 

I also have this German Sonopress CD. It sounds very nice and maybe even slightly better than the individual albums on the German Island CD's.

Total time is 39:22

The track listing is the same as the one with the Cat Stevens painting on the flag waving in the blue sky.

These are the peak levels of my CD:

97.3%
100.0%
91.3%
100.0%
72.8%
83.1%
89.6%
100.0%
100.0%
82.7%
86.2%
100.0%

I would be interested in the peak leves of the US A&M CD.

 

For me,

I prefer the German Island CD issues of these 2 albums. The original mastering A&M discs are very close in quality and recommended. The remastered discs are quite good but louder (no bad mastering moves). The Island issues have a little better imaging but still warm sounding on original CD mastering.

 

I agree. The remaster is not bad sounding at all. It is actually a good sounding remaster. For comparison's sake, the original CD is a little bit more neutral sounding. You can't go wrong by choosing either of the two.

You are missing a lot of great songs if you will just listen to the greatest hits CD's.

Both "Tea For The Tillerman" and "Teaser and the Firecat" are indispensable.
Every music collection or library MUST have these two Cat Stevens' albums.

 

I agree. However, if you are to narrow it to just one, I'd say Teaser is the better of the two.

 

I have 'The Very Best Of Cat Stevens' CD. It is a 1989 compilation of eighteen tracks. Made In UK by PDO with the catalogue number: 840 148-2. It sounds great. Does anyone else have this disc?

 

I'd go the opposite, so there you go...

 

On The Road To Find Out...

I'm with you peteham... Tillerman wins in my world...


cheers,

 

I know you guys are just teasing.

 

I discovered a long time ago that with virtually all A&M titles that I own, the older pressings sound fantastic. Cat Stevens, Bryan Adams, the Carpenters, the Police -- Japan 38XB, 32XB, D32Y, Japan for US, West Germany, etc., etc.; it doesn't matter. They may have slightly different EQ choices, but they all sound very natural on a decent system. For any A&M artist, I rarely reach for anything other than the older pressings, as I have found them to be a more musical listening experience than any subsequent pressings.

By the way, I include the MFSL gold titles in that last sentence. The MFSL discs sound good, but in my opinion, the older A&M pressings sound better. Just recently, I listened to the Carpenters' A Song for You MFSL UDCD525, a "holy grail" disc. Sounded great. I then put on the D32Y Japan pressing. It was just much more musical, or "engaging" to me.

 

I love the Cat Stevens remasters.The versions of Tea and Teaser I have are the 2008 DEs.As for the Greatest Hits,both the old unremastered one or the remaster sound very good.The EQ on the remaster is a little smiley,but not as extreme as most of those are.

 

The dynamic range in the song Hard Headed Woman on the original version of Greatest Hits 1 is simply amazing. I use it to demonstrate good dynamic range.

 

Another interesting, early, though not perfect, Cat Stevens compilation is the CLASSICS VOLUME 24 set that came out as part of A&M's 25th Anniversary. It's another early transfer, without all the limiting and no-noise crap. It's biggest crime is the omission of "Wild World".

Track listing:
1. On the Road to Find Out
2. Moonshadow
3. Sitting
4. Silent Sunlight
5. Wind
6. Trouble
7. Peace Train
8. (Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard
9. 18th Avenue
10. Where Do the Children Play?
11. Father and Son
12. If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
13. Ghost Town
14. Tuesday's Dead
15. Morning Has Broken
16. Katmandu
17. Oh Very Young
18. Novim's Nightmare
19. Ruins
20. New York Times

 

This comp is great for including "Novim's Nightmare," "Trouble," "Katmandu," "Ruins," and "Tuesday's Dead."

 

Cat Stevens Greatest Hits

I was wondering if this matches the made in USA CD?
39:15 timing - Canadian A&M+ CD-4519
Track 1
Peak level 89.1 %
Track 2
Peak level 87.0 %
Track 3
Peak level 89.1 %
Track 4
Peak level 91.2 %
Track 5
Peak level 78.8 %
Track 6
Peak level 87.0 %
Track 7
Peak level 89.1 %
Track 8
Peak level 87.0 %
Track 9
Peak level 89.1 %
Track 10
Peak level 79.4 %
Track 11
Peak level 67.6 %
Track 12
Peak level 83.0 %

 

Yes, I have these two and enjoy them!

 

After those, I'd also recommend "Catch Bull At Four" and "Buddha and the Chocolate Box", also great records IMO.

And "Mona Bone Jakon" also has some great tracks on it.