Waterboys remasters
Posted by: jayd on 03 May 2004
That is to say, are there any? I finally picked up "This is the Sea" on cd this weekend, and sonically it ranges from grating to ear-shredding. A prime candidate for remastering if ever I heard one. Has it happened? If so, is it any better?
(I know, half of you will say it sounds crap because it's the Waterboys, and the other half will say it sounds crap because it's a cd.)
(I know, half of you will say it sounds crap because it's the Waterboys, and the other half will say it sounds crap because it's a cd.)
Posted on: 04 May 2004 by Bosh
It has just been remastered and released in the UK with a bonus CD of outtakes etc, see here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001KZM4I/qid=1083657091/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/202-6329542-0568668
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001KZM4I/qid=1083657091/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/202-6329542-0568668
Posted on: 04 May 2004 by Rasher
I had an original LP and the sound quality was just about the worst I had ever heard. I don't know who was responsible for their recordings, but they need to get another job.
Posted on: 06 May 2004 by jayd
Cool, thanks guys. I had toyed with the idea off seeking out the vinyl; looks like the cd remaster is the way to go here. And a whole extra disc of stuff - bonus!
jay
jay
Posted on: 07 May 2004 by Matt F
To start with I must declare a bias in my belief that This is the Sea (best the type is out in full than to use the acronym for obvious reasons) is the finest album known to man and that they opening track is the best of any album made.
Sound quality wise they’ve always been a bit of a mixed bag but I didn’t think that This is the Sea or Pagan Place were that bad – the former certainly has a lot of energy and I’ve never found it particularly grating. I do own the 180 gram vinyl pressing however and that is very nice – unfortunately I don’t own a turntable any more.
I do own the remixes of the first album and of Pagan Place. The first album will never sound great from a sound quality perspective as, unless I’m mistaken, it’s really a collection of demo’s that weren’t recorded on decent gear, drum machines were used etc. It contains some fine songs however.
Pagan Place is another matter. I was expecting the same recordings remixed plus a handful of bonus tracks. Again, unless I am mistaken, some of the original tracks, quite apart from being remixed, are actually different versions. I ended up disappointed with Pagan Place as I didn’t think the remix improved the sound quality and I didn’t take to the different versions of the original tracks. In short I prefer the original but, in fairness, this may just be because I know and love it so well.
There are a few decent quality Waterboys recordings around – one or two tracks on Fisherman’s Blues are actually quite well done (‘When Ye Go Away’ for example) – others on that album are terrible. Some of the live tracks on ‘The Live Adventures..” are really powerful (e.g. Savage Earth Heart, The Pan Within). The live recording of Don’t Bang the Drum done by the BBC at the Golders Green (old theatre) studio is fantastic (appears on ‘The Secret Life of The Waterboys’ album). Their most recent album ‘Universal Hall’ is also a pretty good recording but the music is very different to the early stuff – it took me ages to get to like this stuff – Steve Wickham’s violin on this latest album is breathtaking mind you.
So, by all means try the remix of TITS (see what I mean) but don’t expect wonders – at the end of the day, being a Waterboys and a hifi fan can be very trying but ultimately worth it for the brilliant music and lyrics.
Matt.
Sound quality wise they’ve always been a bit of a mixed bag but I didn’t think that This is the Sea or Pagan Place were that bad – the former certainly has a lot of energy and I’ve never found it particularly grating. I do own the 180 gram vinyl pressing however and that is very nice – unfortunately I don’t own a turntable any more.
I do own the remixes of the first album and of Pagan Place. The first album will never sound great from a sound quality perspective as, unless I’m mistaken, it’s really a collection of demo’s that weren’t recorded on decent gear, drum machines were used etc. It contains some fine songs however.
Pagan Place is another matter. I was expecting the same recordings remixed plus a handful of bonus tracks. Again, unless I am mistaken, some of the original tracks, quite apart from being remixed, are actually different versions. I ended up disappointed with Pagan Place as I didn’t think the remix improved the sound quality and I didn’t take to the different versions of the original tracks. In short I prefer the original but, in fairness, this may just be because I know and love it so well.
There are a few decent quality Waterboys recordings around – one or two tracks on Fisherman’s Blues are actually quite well done (‘When Ye Go Away’ for example) – others on that album are terrible. Some of the live tracks on ‘The Live Adventures..” are really powerful (e.g. Savage Earth Heart, The Pan Within). The live recording of Don’t Bang the Drum done by the BBC at the Golders Green (old theatre) studio is fantastic (appears on ‘The Secret Life of The Waterboys’ album). Their most recent album ‘Universal Hall’ is also a pretty good recording but the music is very different to the early stuff – it took me ages to get to like this stuff – Steve Wickham’s violin on this latest album is breathtaking mind you.
So, by all means try the remix of TITS (see what I mean) but don’t expect wonders – at the end of the day, being a Waterboys and a hifi fan can be very trying but ultimately worth it for the brilliant music and lyrics.
Matt.