Which old "non-remastered" CDs to hang on to?

Which non-remastered CDs to hang on to?

Thanks to this forum, I've been much pickier when it comes to choosing catalog or re-issue recordings. So I'm curious to hear from others out there which "newly remastered" CDs should be avoided in favor of the original releases.

Thanks to words from SH, I've been picking up the original Led Zep catalog and found them more enjoyable than the 1990 remasters. What else should I look for in the Used CD bins?

 

Re: Which non-remastered CDs to hang on to?

Anything mastered by Dennis Drake.

 

Any Warner Bros., Atlantic or EMI with the catalogue numbers begining with CD followed by a 4-6 gigit number. Some old Mercury CD's as well, but it's more of an album by album basis, some great, some suck.

 

Look for the "Unforgettable Glenn Miller" CD on RCA or Bluebird, mastered in 1985.

The full title of it is Unforgettable Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
1985 Label: BLUEBIRD
Catalog#: PCD1-5459

1) Moonlight Serenade 2) Little Brown Jug 3) In the Mood 4) Pennsylvania 6-5000 5) Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) 6) Sunrise Serenade 7) Chattanooga Choo Choo 8) Tuxedo Junction 9) American Patrol 10) (I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo 11) Stardust 12) St. Louis Blues March 13) Serenade in Blue 14) Perfidia 15) Juke Box Saturday Night 16) String of Pearls
TOTAL TRACKS: 16 / RUNNING TIME: 52:48

The CD is still in print, BTW. Why it's highly recommended is that has no NR of any kind. I do recommend one of the Scott Joplin Gold Collection comps if you like Ragtime as the transfers are lively and no NR was used. The cover of the Miller CD is available at the online CD stores, AMG, etc. Even though there are no rarities on the comp, it is recommended for the sound quality and they do use mono sources and not rechanneled sources.

 

Re: Re: Which non-remastered CDs to hang on to?

Are you sure? In an older issue of The Absolute Sound they lambasted Drake and some horrible sounding CD's he mastered. There was Richie Havens and a few others that they claimed sounded harsh and tinny. Mostly Polydor stuff if I remember correctly.

You are saying the original CD's sound better than the George Marino/Jimmy Page remasters?? Now that's a first. I'd better check into those. So it's the same deal as Roxy Music and Rumours, the earlier versions are superior?



Anyway, if you like Elton John, you might want to look for some of the original MCA CD's. Avoid the Judas Priest remasters (it's Astley again).

 

Beagle,

Yep, according to Steve, the older Zep CDs are flat transfers from the masters. I A/B'd them and sure enough, vocals sound smoother, and tape hiss is about the same. If I can find the thread where Steve talks about this, i'll post it. Steve H., care to confirm to save me some lookin?

Dave,

Any specifics you can recommend?

Keep them coming everbody!


edit: The link to Steve's Zep comments
here.

About 5 posts from the bottom.

 

Thanks Sam!

One potential problem with my participation in this thread is that my experience with older CD issues would be with Canadian copies, and my search for recommended ones (i.e. earlier Zeps) will likely yield Canadian "who know's what version" copies. A bit of a crap shoot. But used CD's are pretty cheap and easy...

 

Re: Re: Re: Which non-remastered CDs to hang on to?

If memory serves, that was a writer who was (and is) very committed to analog. He also lambasted Steve at one point about DCC's Ray Charles CDs. I wouldn't put much stock into what he said back then -- he has since done a complete about face (and rightfully so).

I thought I was the only one who remembered that review(s).


-Gabe

 

One thing to remember concerning the pre-1990 Physical Graffiti is that the ending of In My Time Of Dying is cut (no post song chatter or guitar noodling). I think this is on all copies, but maybe it was only the first pressing discs made in Japan.

 

As mentioned, there's the RCA Bowie CD's, the second CD mastering of "Deja Vu" by CSN&Y (made in the USA, no mastering credit, done in 1988; this is the version before the current Joe Gastwirt remaster), the original pressing of "Rumors" by Fleetwood Mac...

Steve's early stuff like Who's Next and Buddy Holly...

The first pressings of the Steely Dan CD's, a few done by Steve (a lot of people seem to prefer the latest remaster, but I believe the first pressings sound more "correct.")

The 1993 Erick Labson single CD "Tommy"

The first four Rod Stewart albums mastered by Dennis Drake

The first two Allman Brothers Band albums mastered by Dennis Drake; the next two are good, too, but the MFSL are better.

The EMI McCartney/Wings CD's (never remastered in the US, so it isn't hard to find here; DCC discs are better but don't cover them all).

The first wave of Capitol Sinatras (could be a lot better, though).

I second the MCA Elton Johns, better than the Polydors and Rocket remasters, though the MFSL CD's are easily the best.

Black Sabbath

The first, hard to find pressing of Lennon's "Imagine" outside the U.S. is not remixed, no NoNoise

First Beatles CD ever made, the EMI Toshiba Abbey Road released in Japan

Some early Columbia issued Stones actually aren't bad, with the exception of "Exile on Main Street"

Madonna's first three albums, though Grant thinks the remasters are far better

The PRT Kinks CD's, which are getting tough to find

The Herbie Hancock Blue Note box instead of the RVG's

 

The older ABBA CDs on Atlantic, if you can even find them

The older Jackson 5 CDs

Despite what many say, I prefer the older Jackson Browne "Running On Empty".

Since I don't rush out and buy many remasters when they come out, I really don't have any remasters I'm disappointed with.

 

I do indeedy! The clarity and dynamics on the new ones are stunning!

 

Are there differences between the EMI's and the U.S. Capitols? I've got EMI and Capitol copies of Wild Life, and think the EMI sounds better -- IIRC, the Capitol was hotter, a little distorted-sounding. The other Capitols I've got sound fine, though.

 

I hate to disagree but... I had a copy of that one and I thought it sounded horrible. Massive amounts of clipping on the vocals and distortion on the low end as well. I found it very unlistenable. Then again, I just may have had a bad pressing.

 

However, they sound NOTHING like the original vinyl!!!
I do enjoy the clarity...don't get me wrong...but the older cd's are truer to the records...

 

keep the current CD of this never newly remastered title even if it were to have a new remaster in the future: Gary Wright's "The Dream Weaver" as the current CD is very dynamic and it does sound excellent.

 

Dave, even the Canadian first issue Atlantic CD's are the "flat transfer" as I do own a couple of these and they show that the Marino/Page mastering is compressed.

 

Thanks Dave! Any identifying cat # for these? I guess it's safe to say that we had the same issue from the get-go up until the remasters appeared.

I also think that this thread was a great idea, and possibly the sort of thing that deserves its own Forum. Every time one of us discovers an older issue that craps all over a remaster, we can advise the others.

I did find an older Roxy "Avalon" and it sure does sound more open and less processed than the remaster. Funny thing about the HDCD Avalon is there is blatant bass boost on the opener "More Than This" but not on the other tracks.

 

I recently pulled out my copy of Warner Bros.' The Ultimate Rascals, released some time around the late '80s, not expecting much ... I hadn't listened to it in a long time, probably since before I had anything remotely resembling a "real" system.

It sounded fantastic to me, very natural and well balanced. I might have preferred the mono mixes of some cuts, but overall I was impressed. I've not heard any of the more recent remastering efforts, but overall I can't believe they could have done a lot better.

 

Steve:

I'm pretty sure I have the "good" one (bought it pretty early on, and it sounds great) ... but is there an easy way to tell (besides just using your ears)?

 

Yeah, but I thought the original vinyl left a LOT to be desired, especially since "Like A Virgin" is a DDD recording, and "True Blue" is a Dolby SR recording that damn near approaches digital.

 

Hi Folks,

I just picked up a couple early German pressings of Pretenders S/T and Learning To Crawl (with those colored "target" labels), and I am very fond of the sound on these. They're lousy recordings to start with, but sound as good as I've ever heard. I doubt you'll ever hear them mastered in this fashion again.

Mike