Finally got my copy of the 40th Anniversary Collection. The first thing that struck me was that, even though they're known for having a jangly, proto-folk rock sound, as Chris Curtis' influence grew in the song choice department, they veered closer & closer to dramatic, occasionally campy Dionne Warwick & girl group type singles with Phil Spector-esque production flourishes. The type of material you could imagine a Dusty Springfield cutting. Make of that what you will...
The other thing...I'd love to have those Sire era cuts remixed WITH OUT the annoying 80's BIG SNARE sound. God I hated that. I'm not so precious about original recordings that I wouldn't condone a little creative mixing in the remastering process. Obviously if you're reissuing something classic like "I Only Have Eyes For You" or Atlantic era Ray Charles you want to recreate the original sound, especially in your choice of reverbs & EQ. And I wouldn't condone, say, removing the flanging effect from "ITCHYCOO PARK" to "modernize" it...so maybe I'm a hypocrite? But there are some things that were mixed incompently in the first place. All those rediculous early stereo mixes with the drums hard-panned to one channel, I'd have no problem having the drums centered in a reissue remix.
A lot of the time in the 60's stereo mixes were a rush-job after thought anyway, usually performed by the engineer without the original producer present (ie: Sgt Pepper mono mix took a week, the stereo mix was done in one day).
In that spirit I'd like to hear the Sire material remixed like the good rock & roll tracks they are without all the ghastly 80's radio friendly effects...I think they detract from the recordings (& all that fantastic guitar work).
I could've done without those naff 80's German tracks as well...bleech!! The Hollies triple disc reissue from the 90's was marred in the same way, with modern recordings of ill advised material like "Purple Rain" that sounds nothing like the classic band & adds nothing to their legacy.
Jeez, Spence has a home studio -- CD quality recording equipment is easily affordable these days anyway; how hard would it be for them to go in & track some new tunes in their more familiar style & include those instead?
I know, there's a crank in every crowd...<g>
bw
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BUDDY WOODWARD & THE NITRO EXPRESS
"Honkytonk, Bluegrass, Roots-Rock & a Damn Fine Potato Salad"
[email protected] - www.buddywoodward.net
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Revisionist History?
Revisionist History?
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."
Yes Tim but putting it mildly, the Live CD's were very poor and frankly disappointing that so many tracks were duplicated. These releases are for completists only or those who go to a show and feel they need a memento of the evening, apart from a certain lady we know I doubt anyone plays these after first hearings. I fail to see what will be that different about Live 3 apart from "Every River" which may be on there and because of personal interest to some degree will probably buy it.
TODAY'S THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE