who do you think needs to be remastered?

[Synthesizer Patel]

i was just listening to Otis Blue (the remastered deluxe edition thingy), and i was thinking why on earth haven't Otis Redding's other albums been given this treatment, or even remastered properly.

 

then i started thinking who else's albums need remastering, and this is a few i came up with:

 

1 otis redding (like i said, i'd love all his albums to sound as vibrant and fresh as otis blue does now)

2 prince (i've got mp3's of the recent japanese editions - which sound 1 million times better than my old cd's, but they aren't actually remastered from the analog tapes - so a proper remaster would sound even better)

3 bruce springsteen (again, there are japanese editions of his early albums that sound so much better than the standard cds, and i can only imagine how good "the wild, the innocent & the blah blah" would sound remastered)

4 richard and linda thompson - shoot out the lights (this needs remastering like their first three albums - cos they sounded fantastic, don't know why they didn't do this one whilst they were at it)

5 paul mccartney - ram (apparently this will be happening soon, i think - i've got the gold edition on mp3, and the original vinyl, but i'd like a nice sounding cd version)

 

so, what are your choices?

[cryptique]

Led Zeppelin BADLY needs a full-catalog remaster without the "loudness wars" treatment.

[Analogman]

Much as I don't really want to buy them all again -

 

1973: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

1973: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle

1975: Born to Run (done)

1978: Darkness on the Edge of Town (sometime this year?)

1980: The River

1982: Nebraska

1984: Born in the U.S.A.

 

1976 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (has been re-mastered twice, I think)

1978 You're Gonna Get It!(has been re-mastered twice, I think)

1979 Damn the Torpedoes

1981 Hard Promises

1982 Long After Dark

1985 Southern Accents

1985 Pack Up the Plantation: Live!

1987 Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)

1991 Into the Great Wide Open

1994 Wildflowers

 

And it would be nice to see them come out all at once. I spent 3 or 4 years waiting to get all of the Traffic re-masters back in the early part of the last decade.

 

Probably the best sounding re-masters I have are The Byrds cds, and The Grateful Dead cds that were done some years back. HDCD is the way to go.

 

Last night, I was listening to the Lovin' Spoonful re-masters I got a few years ago. The sound is alright, but there seems to be some distortion going on from time to time.

[uncool2pillow]

Husker Du's entire catalog

[PopTodd]

Husker Du's entire catalog

This.

 

Also, Never Mind the Bollocks sounds like horseshit.

But, maybe it's better that way.

[cryptique]

Graham Parker's early albums. And maybe some later ones, too.

[Synthesizer Patel]

oh, i've got another two. Van Morrison! they started this, then i think he fell out with his label and the rest never came out. so Saint Dominic's Preview & Hardnose The Highway (and a couple of other ones that i didn't care about) never came out. also Astral Weeks & Moondance need remastering too.

 

then there is The Bee Gees - they remastered the first 4 and did a fantastic job with the sound, bonus tracks etc... but they seem to have stopped. i thought they were doing them all in order, but who knows?!

 

Graham Parker's early albums. And maybe some later ones, too.

 

the cd's i've got are remastered, and sound ok. why aren't you happy with them?

[Moss]

I would like a big remastered Replacements Box set with all sorts of uncovered demos and unheard songs. Heck, throw in a Westerberg Box set as well.

[cryptique]

the cd's i've got are remastered, and sound ok. why aren't you happy with them?

Huh. I've never seen any remasters of these, though I guess I haven't looked all that hard.

 

I have the original CDs and they're not all that great (though they're not horrendous).

[Synthesizer Patel]

Huh. I've never seen any remasters of these, though I guess I haven't looked all that hard.

 

I have the original CDs and they're not all that great (though they're not horrendous).

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Howlin-Wind-Graham-Parker/dp/B00005LP1F/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1279202504&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heat-Treatment-Graham-Parker/dp/B00005LP1I/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1279202504&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Squeezing-Out-Sparks-Graham-Parker/dp/B00005LP1H/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1279202504&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stick-Me-Graham-Parker/dp/B00005LP1G/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1279202504&sr=8-8

 

have you got those versions? they've got bonus tracks too. maybe they were just uk releases

[cryptique]

Nope, I have the first bunch, no bonus tracks. They're a bit muddy, but listenable. I'll look for the remasters (though my budget for such things is pretty well depleted at the moment).

[Analogman]

I would like a big remastered Replacements Box set with all sorts of uncovered demos and unheard songs. Heck, throw in a Westerberg Box set as well.

 

All the cds were re-done and released by Rhino a couple of years ago. I think there was talk of a box set.

[Synthesizer Patel]

people need to stop posting about things that have already happened!

[Analogman]

people need to stop posting about things that have already happened!

 

Of course, some stuff has been re-released multiple times, and then there is the deluxe, and legacy releases. I think I now own 4 or 5 versions of Pet Sounds.

 

Also - some stuff I want, like all the Free re-masters, seem to be UK only releases. That stinks.

[moxiebean]

Husker Du's entire catalog

Absolutely!

 

Also, the Minutemen

[mpolak21]

Absolutely!

 

Also, the Minutemen

 

 

Yeah, the CD of Double Nickels really could use an upgrade. If I consider a sound upgrade to be buying the album on itunes rather than listening to the CD, it's time for the CD's to be remastered.

 

--Mike

 

 

[Vacant Horizon]

Bruuuuce

[tinnitus photography]

Yeah, the CD of Double Nickels really could use an upgrade. If I consider a sound upgrade to be buying the album on itunes rather than listening to the CD, it's time for the CD's to be remastered.

 

--Mike

 

i am certainly no audio engineer, but can remastering really save some records? wouldn't that be down more to the actual recording that was done? maybe i'm totally confused as to what re-mastering actually accomplishes, which is likely.

 

for instance, can the horrid snare drum sound of later Husker Du records be fixed?

[Synthesizer Patel]

1975: Born to Run (done)

1978: Darkness on the Edge of Town (sometime this year?)

 

actually the fact they did Born To Run and are next doing Darkness really annoys me. what's the reason for ignoring the first 2?

 

also, has anyone else heard the bruce springsteen japanese cds? they came out in 2005 - they aren't actually remastered, but like all things japanese the transfer from analogue to digital has been done far better. i think they used a better master tape or something, and better equipment. anyway, they sound a lot better.

[uncool2pillow]

They probably can't fix all the drum sounds on Husker Du stuff. But re-mastering and re-mixing could "hide" that sound a bit more. Never heard the vinyl Husker stuff, but had a cassette (official release, not copy) of Warehouse. It sounded much better than the CD.

[Analogman]

actually the fact they did Born To Run and are next doing Darkness really annoys me. what's the reason for ignoring the first 2?

 

also, has anyone else heard the bruce springsteen japanese cds? they came out in 2005 - they aren't actually remastered, but like all things japanese the transfer from analogue to digital has been done far better. i think they used a better master tape or something, and better equipment. anyway, they sound a lot better.

 

I never bother with those sort of releases.

 

The first two really need re-mastered.

 

Re-master

 

Remastering is the process of making a new master for an album, movie, or any other creation. It tends to refer to the process of porting a recording from one analogue medium to another digital one, but this is not always the case.

 

For example, a vinyl LP originally pressed from a worn-out pressing master many tape generations removed from the "original" master recording could be remastered and re-pressed from a better condition tape. All CDs created from analogue sources are technically digitally remastered.

 

The process of creating a digital transfer of an analogue tape re-masters the material in the digital domain, even if no equalization, compression, or other processing is done to the material. Ideally, because of their high resolution, a CD or DVD (or other) release should come from the best source possible, with the most care taken during its transfer.

 

Additionally, the earliest days of the CD era found digital technology in its infancy, which sometimes resulted in poor sounding digital transfers. The earliest days of the DVD era were not much different, with early DVD copies of movies frequently being produced from worn prints, with low bitrates and muffled audio.[citation needed] When the first CD remasters turned out to be bestsellers, companies soon realized that new editions of back catalogue items could compete with new releases as a source of revenue. Back catalogue values skyrocketed, and today it is not unusual to see expanded and remastered editions of fairly modern albums.

 

Original master tapes, or something close to them, can be used to make CD releases. Better processing choices can be used. Better prints can be utilized, with sound elements remixed to 5.1 and obvious print flaws digitally corrected. The modern era gives publishers almost unlimited ways to touch up, doctor, and "improve" their media, and as each release promises improved sound, video, extras and others, producers hope these upgrades will entice people into making a purchase.

 

Re-mastering is not re-mixing.

 

We have to remember that sometimes the weird drum sound, or what have you, is what the band or producer wanted.

[ih8music]

I was pretty disappointed with the remastering done for the Replacements reissues. All they seemed to do was make the tracks louder, with less range. Someone analyzed them when they came out and showed the differences... can't find the link, though.

[Moss]

I already have the Replacements remasters, not all that impressed with them. Actually I just want them to unearth a bunch of unheard stuff and put it in a nice tidy package, like the Big Star Box set so never mind. I'm not sure I want anything re-mastered, I hate rebuying stuff over and over.

[bjorn_skurj]

Husker Du's entire catalog

Amen, brother.

I will put in a vote for Big Audio Dynamite's Megatop Phoenix.

[Winston Legthigh]

Has The Clash's debut been remastered?

 

The drums always sounded shitty to me (the cymbals sound, specifically) on that one, or maybe that's why Tory Crimes didn't last longer as their drummer?