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Underground > Radio & Music >

Woohoo!! Re-masters!!

09:09 / 19.02.02

From NME.com:

"THE SPECIALS three studio albums are to be remastered and rereleased.

1979's 'Specials', its follow-up 'More Specials' and 'In The Studio' are all rereleased on March 25. All three will be enhanced with the promo videos for the singles that featured on those original records.

'The Specials' will feature the clips for 'Gangsters' and 'Too Much Too Young'; 'More Specials' features 'Ghost Town' and 'Rat Race', while 'In The Studio' features 'What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend' and 'Nelson Mandela'."

Wow, this is the best thing I've heard all day! When's the last time you heard of a re-issue come with video clips? Anything else being re-issued I should know about?

[ 19-02-2002: Message edited by: Margin Walker ]

10:31 / 20.02.02

I read recently that Sonic Youth are gonna be doing re-mstered versions of Daydream Nation, Goo and Dirty, each with an extra Cd of 'special things' ..

..they'd better be pretty damn special - I mean, why do those albums need remastering? They were only recorded about a decade ago on top of the range equipment with big name producers..

why don't they remaster 'Sister' or 'Evol', which could kinda benefit from it..

ok, nuff griping.

10:42 / 20.02.02

It could be that they're unhappy with the current versions that are available, which may have been produced from sources other than the original studio tapes. I was amazed to discover a while back that it's not uncommon for CDs to be mastered from old vinyl copies of the album! Not uncommon for Fall CDs, anyway, which come complete with skips, hiss and scratches.

16:54 / 20.02.02

quote:Originally posted by Rizla Year Zero:
I read recently that Sonic Youth are gonna be doing re-mstered versions of Daydream Nation, Goo and Dirty, each with an extra Cd of 'special things' ..

Why? Does David Geffen need to raise more money to pay Courtney Love?

That said, the "Daydream Nation" re-issue sounds promising, seeing as I've yet to aquire it.

My big gripe with re-masters is when they don't include any extras, especially if they don't fix any of the problems of the origional CD issues (like when CBS fucked up the Cheap Trick's first album by putting the songs from side B at the beginning of the CD). Other than that, I've got no problem with them, especially if they have restored artwork & liner notes.

If anyone wants to make a "re-masters=milking 'em for all they're worth" argument, I'd like to hear it. Wanna know what I think is a real waste of money? Those "24k gold Master Series" CD's that came out in the early 90's. Not that the matter concerns me much, as I wouldn't want to own any of those albums anyways (spending $25 on a copy of "Dark Side of the Moon"? Are you nuts?!).

BTW, rememeber back in the late 80's when audiophiles said that CD's wouldn't last more than 10 years, due to the ink on the top of the CD bleeding into the 1's & 0's? I'm curious if any of you ever had that happen or heard it happening to old CD's. I guess it's kinda a moot point nowadays w/ MP3's & CD-R's, but I've still haven't had any problems of this sort.

17:26 / 20.02.02

quote:Originally posted by Saveloy:
I was amazed to discover a while back that it's not uncommon for CDs to be mastered from old vinyl copies of the album!

Didn't someone from Sonic Youth do this on purpose for a solo CD? They felt that pops and all the rest enhanced the sound, and so mastered the CDs from the vinyl version of the album.

The only good reason I can come up with is if the band was somehow manipulated into changing the mix from what they wanted. Given the control clauses in thier contract, I'd doubt that. My bet is those are the "commercial" albums for the band, and so get rereleases.

18:14 / 20.02.02

<on the Sonic Youth re-masters”

I always found Goo and Dirty a bit cold/ detached/ lifeless and they could probably do with some softer touches.
Daydream Nation I agree does not need to be "re-mastered" unless it is to incorporate copious out-takes, demos and notes that will actually add something to the original release. Otherwise, why bother?

quote: originally posted by Riz:
why don't they remaster 'Sister' or 'Evol', which could kinda benefit from it..

I honestly don’t see how Sister could benefit from re-mastering at all. I think it’s their best sounding album and benefits from the analogue bleed and the abrasive flooding of the mixing desk.
I always think of the production on that record as an extension of the lyrical themes, as if the voices have turned the air into a fug of buzzing connections with frequencies overloading the panels and feedback lost in its dead circuits:

<two speakers dream the same and skies turn red>

<stereographic mix-up field on field>

<adrenal mental man- tool box explodes in music creates utopia>

<hot wire my heart>

<feels like heaven, forgiving and getting… we’re fading and celebrating….>

21:20 / 20.02.02

wow. I always thought the production on Sister just sounded a bit rubbish.. time for deeper listening I feel..

00:15 / 22.05.02

*bump*

These Specials re-masters came out in the US today. Also re-mastered and re-released are 3 CD's by X ("More Fun In The New World", "Ain't Love Grand?" & "See How We Are") and Peter Gabriel albums/efforts (So, Birdy Soundtrack, Passion - Music for Last Temptation of Christ, Peter Gabriel (Car), Peter Gabriel (Scratch), Peter Gabriel (Security), Peter Gabriel (Melt), Shaking the Tree - 16 Golden Greats, Us and Plays Live).

Matthew Fluxington

00:22 / 22.05.02

Rizla, you've got to be kidding about Sister - I think that's one of the most perfectly recorded albums that I've ever heard. It's certainly one of the best arguments for vintage analog recording that I can come up with...

15:43 / 22.05.02

Yes. Shortly after making my earlier comments in this thread I put on Sister really loudly and thought "what the FUCK was I thinking? This is amazing!"

So I hereby apologise for saying such manifestly silly things.

Oddly, I've gone through a similiar process with just about every other Sonic Youth album - initially finding it a bit disappointing, then growing to like it more and more until I eventually love it completely and utterly..

Hense many conversations with music loving friends along the lines of;

"What? I thought you said 'Confusion is Sex' was a bit rubbish?"

"Well, er, I was wrong ok? IT'S A FUCKING MASTERPIECE!"

15:45 / 22.05.02

I still think Daydream Nation and Goo totally do not need remastering though.. seems like just a cash-grabbing scheme now that Geffen's been bought out by Universal..