I agree...nothing worse than hearing a recording and its not the original..Great instance is Kind of a Drag..two versions of that and noticed Donna the Prima Donna now has enhanced or added drums...alas. I do believe that it just depends on when you heard the song. I have the orig Kind of a Drag and Im like..where did these extra instruments come from??
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Darth_vader
Guest
Beware of the Madacy and St. Clair labels as well; these two "labels" are notorious for pulling this kind of crap!
In particular, avoid the former if its branding isn't shown or mentioned on the jewel box in conjunction with that of a second (legit) record company; e.g. Sony, EMI, Warner etc. The presence of that second label in conjunction with the Madacy branding is pretty much one's only hope of actually getting the real versions of songs from them.
In particular, avoid the former if its branding isn't shown or mentioned on the jewel box in conjunction with that of a second (legit) record company; e.g. Sony, EMI, Warner etc. The presence of that second label in conjunction with the Madacy branding is pretty much one's only hope of actually getting the real versions of songs from them.
missammusic said:
Keep in mind that the two songs you mentioned were released during the time record companies were moving from mono to stereo. We started seeing stereo Lps in the early '60s (maybe a few in the late '50s), but stereo 45s for the most part didn't arrive until the late '60s. That's probably because FM radio, in stereo, didn't become mainstream until the late '60s. We were listening to "Prima Donna" and "Drag" in AM mono until we heard the stereo versions on LP or CD. So of course we heard things that we never heard before. Now it's true that some hit songs were actually re-recorded for release on stereo LPs. But that's probably a subject for another thread.
The CD's that are available are horrendous, the lows have been cut, the highs have been cut and when you listen,they sound like they're being played through a tube...HORRIBLE!!!!! I'm coming out with a compilation in two weeks called "the Doo Wop Vault vol1 & 2", NONE of the recordings have been altered or compromised in any manner, and they sound great. At the end of the 2nd hour on the WKVA show I play 3 cuts from the future CD, check it out at www.doowopvault.podomatic.com AND YES, I worked out a deal with the owners to the rights to the recordings.
After reading this thread, I can't help wonder if some are confusing the stereo
mix with the original 45 mono release. MANY were different. Tommy James "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was only EVER released in hit version in mono on 45, same for many Rascals songs. Rhino finally reissued the Atlantic 45 rpm mono mixes of "Good Lovin" and the other early hits on a small box set. That tune, even when summed to mono, doesn't blend right, but the mono Rhino is from the Atlantic Master...same for "Groovin" with the correct harmonica mix.
One great CD source of correct hit versions from the Master tapes you can buy with confidence is Eric Records, the old reissue company. (No, I don't work for them) I''ve bought from them online for some years now, and every track is dead-on correct, clean, and from the master, unless CLEARLY nted that the master has been lost and the track is from 'best sourse available', usually a mint 45 or LP. Some have been lost. Many ABC Paramount singles: Marvellows "I Do", O'Kaysions "Girlwatcher",,. and others classics like Dyna-Voice The Toys "Lovers Concerto" will never be heard in stereo. They do a lot of legwork to find the correct stereo masters. The prices are reasonable and never had a lost delivery. www.ericrecords.com
mix with the original 45 mono release. MANY were different. Tommy James "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was only EVER released in hit version in mono on 45, same for many Rascals songs. Rhino finally reissued the Atlantic 45 rpm mono mixes of "Good Lovin" and the other early hits on a small box set. That tune, even when summed to mono, doesn't blend right, but the mono Rhino is from the Atlantic Master...same for "Groovin" with the correct harmonica mix.
One great CD source of correct hit versions from the Master tapes you can buy with confidence is Eric Records, the old reissue company. (No, I don't work for them) I''ve bought from them online for some years now, and every track is dead-on correct, clean, and from the master, unless CLEARLY nted that the master has been lost and the track is from 'best sourse available', usually a mint 45 or LP. Some have been lost. Many ABC Paramount singles: Marvellows "I Do", O'Kaysions "Girlwatcher",,. and others classics like Dyna-Voice The Toys "Lovers Concerto" will never be heard in stereo. They do a lot of legwork to find the correct stereo masters. The prices are reasonable and never had a lost delivery. www.ericrecords.com
I think some people are also confused about the fact that just because a track has been re-mastered (usually a good thing) does not mean it's been re-recorded. And so often, we were not originally treated to the Stereo single mixes as Top 40 stations were (mostly) AM and not in stereo.
As FM "Oldies" stations started popping up, they were faced with the decision of whether to use the AM mono mix or the newly mastered Stereo single mix. Most of them just used the TM Gold Discs with varying degrees of quality. Sometimes, they went straight to the Stereo album version and admittedly, some of those were much different than the mono single mix. It's really what your ears prefer.
Digitally remastering a beloved and treasured song often reveals instruments not present in the old analog mix. It also cleans up a lot of "noise" Personally, I think it's aweome as we are hearing it as intended.
I worked at a lot of Oldies stations and we tried to balance what we fondly remembered as the "hit" version versus the added audio/fidelity quality of the newly remastered version. Many times, the newly remastered (not re-recorded) version was chosen but sometimes we used the AM mono version because it packed more punch and was even perhaps, cleaner! In short, I always voted to use the cleanest Stereo single mix that most closely resembled the original mono mix. And it was a lot of work finding them...but fun work.
Whew.
As FM "Oldies" stations started popping up, they were faced with the decision of whether to use the AM mono mix or the newly mastered Stereo single mix. Most of them just used the TM Gold Discs with varying degrees of quality. Sometimes, they went straight to the Stereo album version and admittedly, some of those were much different than the mono single mix. It's really what your ears prefer.
Digitally remastering a beloved and treasured song often reveals instruments not present in the old analog mix. It also cleans up a lot of "noise" Personally, I think it's aweome as we are hearing it as intended.
I worked at a lot of Oldies stations and we tried to balance what we fondly remembered as the "hit" version versus the added audio/fidelity quality of the newly remastered version. Many times, the newly remastered (not re-recorded) version was chosen but sometimes we used the AM mono version because it packed more punch and was even perhaps, cleaner! In short, I always voted to use the cleanest Stereo single mix that most closely resembled the original mono mix. And it was a lot of work finding them...but fun work.
Whew.
I picked up a Righteous Brothers CD the other day that was not labeled re-recording. But two-three seconds into each song I could tell. The voices didn't even sound the same.
howardm said:
That's the one, the Curb CD. They sound so different from the originals you would almost think it was someone else.
Yep, Curb is another one to beware of.
PirateJohnny said:
Picked up a 1990 Polygram pressing today at CD Warehouse that even has tape hiss true to the original recordings! It was one cent less than the new Curb disc at Walmart.
If I didn't add it to the list. Rolling Stones "High Tides and Green Grass" LP. There was 2 one was Long Playing, and one was Stereophonic. Most of the hit songs from the Rolling Stones played on the airwaves from that album consist of the Long Playing Monaural version, and not the Stereophonic version. The Stereophonic LP sounds brighter vs. the Long Playing.
Re: Remastered oldies.
The Righteous Brothers' version of "Unchained Melody" is the only re-recorded version of an original ever to make the top 40 (that I am aware of, anyway), and that was due to its use in the movie Ghost back in 1990. I have a cassette single of the re-recorded version (on Curb) from back about that time, but only because I could not find the Phil Spector-produced version, which was also reissued about that time, and also became a hit again. Both versions made the top 20 that fall. If only the original version had been rereleased, it probably would have made top 10. But with competing versions, it split the airplay (and the sales!) resulting in two modest hits, instead of one good top 10 hit. To me, that rerecorded version is MUCH weaker than the original!
To make matters worse, Bill Medley now sings "Unchained Melody." I am not for sure if a recorded version is available somewhere, or if he just sings it in concert now. I am also not sure if he started singing it before or after Bobby Hatfield died. At any rate, buyer beware!
The Righteous Brothers' version of "Unchained Melody" is the only re-recorded version of an original ever to make the top 40 (that I am aware of, anyway), and that was due to its use in the movie Ghost back in 1990. I have a cassette single of the re-recorded version (on Curb) from back about that time, but only because I could not find the Phil Spector-produced version, which was also reissued about that time, and also became a hit again. Both versions made the top 20 that fall. If only the original version had been rereleased, it probably would have made top 10. But with competing versions, it split the airplay (and the sales!) resulting in two modest hits, instead of one good top 10 hit. To me, that rerecorded version is MUCH weaker than the original!
To make matters worse, Bill Medley now sings "Unchained Melody." I am not for sure if a recorded version is available somewhere, or if he just sings it in concert now. I am also not sure if he started singing it before or after Bobby Hatfield died. At any rate, buyer beware!
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hornet61
Guest
1.I recall someone commenting about amateaur stereo re-mixx's on youtube...so far all i have heard they are pretty damn good sounding and I am downloading them like crazy.
2.someone else mentioned confusing re-mastered stereo with original mono version's....I never listen without the headphones....headphones don't lie.
3.some (not all)first time stereo issues are alternates takes of the original sessions...which is the case (I beleive, I may be wrong) with the stereo version of "Whiter Shade of Pale" from the 2cd procul harem anthology ( and I personnally cannot tell the difference and I think the average listeners for sure can't tell the difference).....and in the case of Elvis alot of soundtrack versions are stereo alternate versions of the mono only, such as "Jailhouse Rock"...my philosphy is oldies radio is stagnant..if the alternate stereo versions are really close, lets start playing them and give the listeners a boost...the listeners are a lot easier to please than anyone who writes on this site, they are not so inflexible with mono and alternate versions..the asthetics be damned lets goose oldies. radio...I am not talking about re-recordings only original studio alternate takes of the original sessions..
2.someone else mentioned confusing re-mastered stereo with original mono version's....I never listen without the headphones....headphones don't lie.
3.some (not all)first time stereo issues are alternates takes of the original sessions...which is the case (I beleive, I may be wrong) with the stereo version of "Whiter Shade of Pale" from the 2cd procul harem anthology ( and I personnally cannot tell the difference and I think the average listeners for sure can't tell the difference).....and in the case of Elvis alot of soundtrack versions are stereo alternate versions of the mono only, such as "Jailhouse Rock"...my philosphy is oldies radio is stagnant..if the alternate stereo versions are really close, lets start playing them and give the listeners a boost...the listeners are a lot easier to please than anyone who writes on this site, they are not so inflexible with mono and alternate versions..the asthetics be damned lets goose oldies. radio...I am not talking about re-recordings only original studio alternate takes of the original sessions..
melan8tr said:
Be careful with YouTube downloads, have tried that before, converting to mp3 and the music sounds horrible, wavy / swirly sounding....so I went back to Napster!
Well Napster is now history.....Amazon mp3's offer good downloads, just watch out for fakes & re-records, especially the older hits!
oldies76 said:
Or, you could download YouTube audio onto cassette by hooking up a Y-Cable to a cassette deck you tested at Goodwill, or a thrift store, and purchase a high quality ferric or Cro2 tape off ebay, and then use Stepvoice Recorder and another Y-Cable to the soundcard input, and Presto, a good sounding tune!
howardm said:
Yes, they are. There is even a Verve logo on the artwork.
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