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

I think maybe he did. And that's 12.00 including shipping. I have purchased out of print items from ctctct before and he's a good seller. The savvy out of print hunter would notice that ctctct has listed this cd a few times recently and would either:

1. Send him an email quick and cut a deal off ebay just in case he is running low, or

2. Keep his "other auctions" bookmarked and wait for him to relist. The listing will appear on his auction list immediately, but will take awhile to appear using the search engine.

 

"Groovin'" in stereo has a different harmonica line than the mono single mix. The harmonica on the stereo mix is downright irritating. Sadly, it's seems to be the only one people remember now all because everyone just has to have it in stereo.

 

Not quite, Grant. "The Very Best of the Rascals" is the most popular selling Rascals CD right now, and that CD favors the mono mixes.

 

Good for Rhino!

 

I'm pretty sure the "correct" version of the Ultimate Rascals CD can still be found in Canada. Most of the ones on Ebay look like Canadian imports.

 

OK I'm back. Please disregard my previous statement about "all" Warner, EMI, Atlantic as being good. It really is on a case by case basis. This is the list of the regular manufacturers CD's that sound like "flat-transfers".

Aldo Nova: S/T Portrait RK 37498
Aldo Nova: Subject Aldo Nova Portrait RK 38721
Bad Co.: 10 From 6 Atlantic A2 81625
Black Sabbath: Paranoid Warner Bros. CD 3104
Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet Mercury 830 264-2
Bon Jovi: Blaze Of Glory/Young Guns 2 Mercury 846 473-2
David Bowie: Young Americans RCA PCD1-0998
David Bowie: Station To Station RCA PCD1-1327
David Bowie: Changesonebowie RCA PCD1-1732
David Bowie: Hunky Dory RCA PCD1-4623
David Bowie: The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust RCA PCD1-4702
David Bowie: Fashion & Fame (All time greatest hits) RCA PCD1-4919
Chilliwack: Greatest Hits CBS VCK-80129
Cinderella: Long Cold Winter Polygram 834 612-2
Robert Cray: I Was Warned Mercury 314 512 721-2
Cream: Strange Brew (The Very Best Of Cream) Polydor 811 639-2
Deep Purple Machine Head Warner Bros. CD 3100
Def Leppard: Adrenalize (Japanese) Mercury PHCR-1161
Dio: Holy Diver Warner Bros. CD 23836
Dire Straits: Brothers In Arms Vertigo (SBM Remaster) 824 499-2
The Doobie Brothers: The Best Of The Doobies Warner Bros. CD 3112
Doucette: Mama Let Him Play ERA 5017-2 (goodluck finding this)
Fleetwood Mac: Rumors Warner Bros. CD 3010
Harlequin: Greatest Hits Epic WEK-80134
Headpins: Greatest Hits CBS VCK-80130
The Hollies: 20 Golden Greats EMI/Capitol S2 46238
Led Zeppelin: S/T Atlantic A2-19129
Led Zeppelin: III Atlantic CD 19128
Loverboy: S/T Columbia CK 36762
Robert Plant: Pictures At Eleven Atlantic CD 8512
Powder Blues: First Decade/Greatest Hits WEA CD 71359
Red Rider: Over 60 Min. With EMI/Capitol C2 46886
Lee Ritenour: Stolen Moments GRP GRD-9615
The Righteous Brothers: Greatest Hits Verve 823 119-2
Streetheart: Action/ The Best Of WEA CD 73427
Toronto: Greatest Hits CBS VCK-80128
Van Halen: Women And Children First Warner Bros. CD 3415
Van Halen: Diver Down Warner Bros. CD 3677
Van Halen: 1984 Warner Bros. CD W2-23985
Wang Chung: Mosaic Geffen 9 24115-2
Gary Wright: Dream Weaver Warner Bros. CD 2868
"Weird Al" Yankovic: Greatest Hits Scotti Bros. ZK-44478
Yes: Classic Yes Atlantic CD 19320
Yes: 90125 Atco CD 90125
Yes: Big Generator Atco 7 90522-2
Neil Young: Harvest Reprise CD 2277
Neil Young & The Bluenotes: This Note's For You Reprise CD 25719
Neil Young With Crazy Horse: Broken Arrow Reprise W2-46291 (HDCD)
ZZ Top: The Best Of ZZ Top Warner Bros. CD 3273

I sure hope that this list helps to build a ready-reference library, and BTW you can include 99.9% of every SH mastering for any other label that he's worked at.

 

The 1986 CD of Donovan's Greatest Hits on Epic is a flat transfer of the LP master from 1969 including the remakes of the Pye/Hickory hits Catch The Wind and Colours, the long Sunshine Superman in stereo and the rechanneled Mellow Yellow. If you have the Troubadour set, you do not need the more recent remaster of Greatest Hits if you keep the old issue although both the more recent remaster and old issue use the long version of Sunshine Superman.

The current CD of his Barabajagal album (mastered in the 1980's) sounds excellent as well.

 

Warners Black Sabath "Paranoid" may sound like a flat transfer of the US master, but the Essential/Castle version ESMCD 302 sounds way closer to the original Vertigo. The old Warners vinyl had the same faulty transfer (on especially War Pigs) as well as the generally duller sound. Check out the stereo image on War Pigs - it's moving constantly because of some sort of faulty connection during a transfer from the original master to a second generation tape, I suspect. Try the Essential series.
PS didn't Dennis Drake do the original "Just One Night" by Eric Clapton. Very poor transfer compared with the MoFi CD and Polydor or Nautilus vinyl.

 

-list snipped-

You can add all the Warner Randy Newman CDs to that list. They sound nice. I haven't heard the Rhino remasters yet, but based on Rhino's track record, I would bet they are a downgrade.

 

Eventually, I hope to find Steve's CD of "Catch The Wind" by Donovan used somewhere for cheap but the current Summer Days Reflections Songs will be my 2nd best choice.

 

How does that compare to the British Awareness label single disc versions? Those are the ones I still have. The Pacific Arts Complete set omitted "First National Rag" from Magnetic South (admittedly no big loss), so I never bought that one.

Any comparison between the Awareness version of Tantamount To Treason, Volume 1, and the newer RCA/Camden version?

I recall hearing that Bill Inglot hated those Awareness masters, and consequently, Nesmith wouldn't let him near the tapes when Rhino did their Nez The Older Stuff set.

 

Chip get a big bottle of vodka, german shepherd and viking hat and then reread the posts.

 

I would have to add that Linda Ronstadt's first few Reprise Cd's exp. "Hasten Down the Wind" sound fantastic.

 

Damn! I was replacing my Zeps with the remasters. Kept all the originals but did trade Physical Grafitti a while back (the double case set). At least I bought the remasters used so not too much wasted there. I need to go back and see if the place I swapped PG still has it. I'll be playing Zep all night comparing the different versions. Cursed discs!!!

 

This is NOT the one which Steve mentions above!
It is the second pressing.

 

Secondly,

I agree with Steve that the FIRST PRESSING is a "keeper". One of the earlier CD purchases that I made!

If you are looking for I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore in STEREO, you can also find it (besides the first pressing) on Highs Of the Sixties, which came out around the same time as The Ultimate Rascals. Same mastering was used on these songs...psychedelic themed!

On the bad side...Warner Special Products also gave us 20 Party Classics (which was my FIRST CD purchase, back in the day), and this is a sonic mess! So, you win some, you lose some!

As Steve has mentioned before...and this is a "general" rule...some of these Special Markets releases by the major labels can be very true to the master...FLAT transfers. I've gotten many SONY special markets CDs that have been wonderful to listen to, as well as, a source for "hard to find" STEREO gems (I'm sure Grant will beg to differ though ).

Happy Hunting!

 

Dave,

How does this differ from the Rykodisc version?

 

It's presumably (and I'm making a huge assumption here) a copy of the Changesonebowie LP, which is NOT the same as the Changesbowie CD.

Re Special Products CDs...I LOVE some of the Risky Business CDs that Sony Special Products put out. Notably, their Great Breakup Songs of the 60s discs, which include (amoung other things) a version of the Grass Roots' "Things I Should Have Said" with a little bit of extra studio stuff at the beginning, and the mono single mix of Sagittarius's "I'm Not Living Here."

-D

 

Pat - Would you like to share some namrs?

 

What ... no pigeon!

 

I haven't heard the Awareness First National Band CDs, but I'd guess they are probably pretty similar in sound to the Pacific Arts 2-disc set I referred to. I do have Nesmith's other albums on Awareness, and I think they all sound fine.

The only RCA/Camden remaster I've heard is the two-fer with the Magnetic South/Loose Salute on it. It was harsh, metallic, and overly trebly, to the point of hurting my ears when the volume was turned up. I would guess probably all the Camdens sound like that.

 

Another great CD in that series with an almost as ugly cover is The Ultimate Dr John. Great sound and song selection.

 

Are you kidding! Three drinks and hes up on a stool spilling his guts out!

 

Well, the RCA doesn't have a bloated bottom end or a boosted high end.

Let me ask you this Sam. Can you turn up the volume really loud and not feel that you'd like to turn it down because it's no longer comfortable to listen to? The RCA's will remain comfortable to listen to until your amp is driven into distortion.

They (the RCA's) are recorded with less volume because they didn't use much compression, if any at all, and the dynamic range of Bowies music requires a lower volume base so that when the peaks come in it doesn't drive the signal into clipping/distortion. When too much compression and eq. are used to make the volume louder, plus a feeble attempt to make-up for information that's lost, you loose allot of the dynamics in the sound of the recording. The Au20's are better, but unfortunately they too suffer from boosted eq.

 

Re: 1993 Tommy CD

I may have to scour the used bins to find another copy and give it another chance. I just remember being very unsatisfied with the sound. My old speakers (Advent Mini II) may have been suspect too. I was never very happy with that choice. Maybe my Paradigm's will tell a different story.