Here's something else which might cheer you up Richard.

A while ago you asked about Genesis Selling England By The Pound on Classic Records - I took delivery of a copy a few weeks back and it is outstanding.

If you happen to like that recording just go ahead and get a Classic Records copy. It will restore your faith in this re-issue thing.

Which is what this thread is about, of course.

(ps - Redspark still have a copy - ssshhh)

David

45rpm mastered by Bernie Grundman, pressed at Pallas. 

After the Acoustec Hoffman remaster of Rumours which is superb I was looking forward to this to arrive. I'm afraid it is a bit of a disappointment. In comparison to Rumours it sounds clipped and understated. I suspect this is a digital remaster. A pity but in some ways it's still enjoyable and I only paid £23 + pp.

Steve

David,

Is that just the remaster that came out a few years back to complement there live gigs?

As kuma asks above?

Stu.

They are not the remasters from 2007/8. The Classic Records versions were out before then.

Cool,

Then originals are still better imo.

Stu.

Lontano,

The Classic Records sometimes made 180 and 200 g version and the words on the street is that their 200g versions do not sound as good as 180g due to the limitation on the equipment they had as well as it was a marketing ploy to heavily promote the 200g version to unsuspecting audiophiles. ( who generally believe 'heavier, the better' )

I don't know if that's true or not but an interesting hypothesis anyway.

FWIW, I do have one 200g Classic Records Peter Gabriel's 'Shaking the Tree' ( 2009 release ) and they don't sound that good. At least not as good as other Classic Records titles I own.

True Blue by Tina Brooks. Classic Records Mono Blue Note reissue. I suspect this one was remastered by Bernie Grundman as 'BG' is etched in the dead wax.

I was lucky to pick up this LP new for £28. 

Sound Quality: Excellent 5*. Silent black background. Wide Mono soundstage. I have quite a number of Classic Records LPs and I would go so far to say this is the best pressing I have on this label. In addition it's a fantastic hard bop jazz LP and although I'm not lucky enough to own a 1st press it far exceeds my Liberty copy. Impressive backup trumpet playing from Freddie Hubbard and sensitive piano accompaniment from Duke Jordan.

Packaging: As usual the Classic Records Blue Note sleeve is reproduced to a high standard.

Steve

I'm lucky enough to have this on a Mosaic box set pressing and that is very fine. I am intrigued to know what the difference might be. The vinyl set can still be found for reasonable amounts on that auction site.

atb

james

James,

I have heard the Mosaic box sets are good but haven't as yet heard them. Thanks for the info.

ATB

Steve

I have a few of the Mosaic sets and, to my ears, they are the best vinyl reissues I own. I enjoy them more than the Music Matters Jazz 45s, though I think that's due to the content of the sets I own:

Complete Columbia Miles & Coltrane, Miles Blackhawk Sessions, and Ella & Duke at Cote d'Azur.  

> Kind of Blue on Miles & Coltrane is the best version I've ever heard.

> Ella & Duke is a super fun listen. makes me smile every time.

> Blackhawk has a lot of tape hiss, but the benefit in preserving the live sound and energy is astounding. The other versions I've heard (all on CD) take out the hiss and most of the life with it.

I have mixed feelings about their fanatical completeness - Kind of Blue is broken up by some alternate takes and recorded banter. Given how well they've preserved it, I'd rather they kept the album together.

On the other hand, for the live recordings (Blackhawk and Ella and Duke) They've put everything back, in the order the songs were played, which is a huge improvement over the chopped up and edited original issues.

Anyone heard the new AP versions of Kind of Blue and Blackhawk?

Three for three.

Believe there's extensive commentary about all three of these reissues elsewhere. But, couldn't be happier with my latest haul.  I have Blood on the Tracks MOFI on preorder (for 6 months now) which I'm waiting to compare. But, these are the best versions I've heard and I'm done shopping. Blows away Sundazed.

Mutterback,

Thanks for the updates.

Who are the record labels on these reissues you've posted ?

Not strictly a re-issue, but last week a copy of Peter Gabriel's Scratch My Back arrived.  It's the Classic Records 200gm issue.  As most here know, I'm a big fan of the RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence Classic reissues of 12 or so years ago and found their quality superb.  Sadly, judging by the PG album, that quality has dropped considerably.  Rough edges with a big weird sprig of vinyl hanging off, obvious finger marks, and terrible crackling from the right channel almost all the way through.  I'm tempted to just send it back straight away, but it was the last copy.  I'll run it through the RCM, but really, I'm very disappointed indeed.

The Graceland 25th might be wonderfully pressed but the SQ is rubbish IMO.

My originals all though not the best SQ ever, still sound loads better.

Stu.

Richard,

Sorry to hear your bad experience. My experience with Classic Record is definately hit and miss for pop/rock titles. I've had a pretty good luck with their jazz titles, however.

Speaking of disappointment...
Here's my latest:

Donald Fagen: The Nightfly

Label: Warner Bro. Records
High-Quality 180g Vinyl/Stereo/Neatherland/ 530187-1
Re-Mastering by: Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios from the Original Master Tapes. Pressed at Record Industry in the Netherlands*
Release date: 2012

*Above information taken down from the Elusive Disc website as I could not find any other production info on this pressing.

Sound Quality:

Once again this re-mastered disc has a very different presentation from the Bob Ludwig mastered original pressing. It’s not a poor sounding album ( except for the title tune The Nightfly ) so its laid back perspective might not be objectionable for some. I’ve noticed many of today’s reissues are like that. I don’t know why the engineer decided to futz with what was good to be honest. This was digitally recorded so I assume there should not be much of deterioration to fix.

Comparing to the original ( US copy:1-23696 ) back to back, the first thing I’ve noticed is that how much Fagen’s vocal is set back and blended into the rest of the mix. The cymbals on the first track has a lovely shimmer and feathery effect in that I.G.Y. has more of a polished feel than the original. Maxine benefits from this pretty-fication. Drum beats are not as compressed and better instrument tonal colour. Gorgeous.

Where it gets troublesome are the upbeat tunes. Particularly The Nightfly. The compression is worse than not only the original vinyl but it’s worse than my original Red Book CD!

One of the few gripes with my original pressing was that The Nightfly‘s somewhat light-ish bass. I was hoping maybe the reissue would fix that. Well, this new pressing is just as anemic down below or even worse.

‘Goodbye Look’ sounds too sedate and groovy bass line is ill defined. The entire rhythm section taking a back seat so that this funky tune now sounds like a running water.
Laboriel or Marcus Miller's base line is entirely missing from ‘New Frontier’. Certainly ‘Walk Between Raindrops’ is less funky.

It’s all a pleasant listen, but timing is all messed up. The original is much more in your face but I like that.
Packaging Quality:
Note that the original cover had Donald Fagen in turquoise as the reissue is printed in blue. Registration is off on the cover art so the art and type look fuzzy and soft. Plain white paper inner with a single lyric sheet.
Record is free of scratch and self noise albeit there are a few tiny bumps on the record surface. Luckily they do not affect the playback.
Production value of the record is average but there are no gross defects either. Middle of the road.

Mutterback.

Thanks! I should revisit the Hancock's Empyrean Isles since it's been a while.

I guess its all about your point of reference - the reissue LP on my current system sounds loads better than what I remember of the original cassette I listened to in my mom's honda ;-)

So true!

So far I am finding out that it is very rare for reissues to better the well preserved original.

In the case that 'well-preserved' original is going for 1000USD+ (nuts!), well done reissues come in handy.
But then if I don't have the original to compare, many reissues sound pretty good and often better than the sound of CDs like this new Hooverphonic's MOV ( Music On Vinyl ) reissue.

Hooverphonic: A New Stereophonic Sounds Spectacular

Label: Music On Vinyl / Sony Music Columbia ( based in Neatherland )
180g Vinyl/Stereo/EU/MOVLP365
Re-Mastering by: N/A but some dubious claim on their website: 'As for our sources; We are provided with the best possible (analogue) masters available. On top of that, our sound engineer has over 35 years of experience in cutting and mastering records for (major) labels.'
Release date: 2012

Sound Quality: 

I don't have the original 1996 Belgium pressing, but the minute the stylus hit the intro of 'Inhaler' I am struck with  the vinyl greatness' where the music just pours out of speakers with a seismic bass impact. Much better dynamics and presence. 

It's apparent without going back to my all familiar CD issue which I played to death in the past.

Given that the original issue with their original name 'HOOVER' printed on is hard to find so this MOV reissue, I feel, is well justified. 

Record is flat and free of defects. This is a quiet vinyl.

Packaging Quality: 

Cover stock outer with bright art work. Inner also is a 4C art work with credits and lyrics printed on a cover stock. Nothing fancy but looks legit.

kuma,

You should have mail at your briks.

Stu.

The weird thing about 'Music On Vinyl' is that they cut using 24/96 digital masters. Their Kind of Blue is excellent but I haven't compared it with the 45RPM reissue of a few years back, never bought it, and now I don't think about it - this reissue is good enough for me.

I just bought the Kevin Grey remaster of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. I have the European pressing (might be Pallas, might be Czech - in the US it's pressed by RTI). We compared it with the original pressing of a friend. Kevin Grey has managed to pull out Morrison's voice from the reverb, so it's much more intelligible and makes much more sense than the original. I'm new to the album so I much prefer the reissue. My friend never 'got' the original so this is a revelation to him and he much prefers it too. The vinyl quality is excellent in that it's silent. The cover is nice strong thick card too. Well worth a look.

I have the Warner (5 year old?) reissue of Graceland. Love the album but this pressing sounds flat to me. It's fairly good. Tried the new much vaunted reissue a couple of weeks ago, and it had horrendous noise on the right hand channel, on both records I tried (in different places, but still there, and loud enough to come through the music, so unacceptable). Shame, because the remastering job sounded good. These were European pressings. Perhaps the US RTI pressing doesn't have the problem.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Forgot to mention, somewhat off the wall and not likely to appeal to most people...I have an original pressing of Roedelius' Gift Of The Moment (well, actually I have most of his stuff). This is pretty peculiar fair at best, with very limited production ('Gift' was recorded at home on tape recorders of questionable accuracy). Anyway, I bought CD and vinyl reissues from Tapete Records in Germany. The record arrived with a bent cover. They replaced it promptly. The vinyl was pressed by "Optimal Media"  in Roebel / Germany.

The vinyl reissue is not quite as engaging as the original, but it is very close and if I hadn't heard the original I wouldn't know any better anyway. It's nicely produced with decent cover (not as thick as the Astral Weeks cover but good nonetheless). Now, I had this feeling most of the way through that it may have been remixed, but if so very closely to the original. There is one point late in the album where a particular note does not come through as well as it does on the original and I think this proves that the thing is remixed, but overall I'm glad to have it as originals must be very hard to find now.

The CD is the same as the reissue of course.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

With regard to Music On Vinyl I've found their reissues to be acceptable but not great. I have quite a few and tend to buy albums where I don't have the original and therefore don't have anything to compare with. The fact that they're cut using digital masters, albeit from original analogue masters, probably explains it. I feel that converting analogue masters to digital before cutting the vinyl sort of defeats the object and can only be acceptable where the original was recorded digitally and the LP is then cut with a higher resolution remaster.

IMHO when analogue masters are reissued on vinyl the process should be analogue throughout.

ATB

Steve