« Newsletter 52 Preview | Main | A Time For Giving Thanks »

October 30, 2008

Comments

Jose Fritz

thanks for the link compadre

Karl Baker

What the heck do you mean "Nobody is praying: "Put the Beach Boys out in Mono like the original 45 rpms sounded". I - and many others - want precisely that: the original 45 mono mixes - just well remastered.

As for the Four Seasons and Frankie Valli: I've just begun my own project of doing transfers of all the Bob Crewe era
recordings from original Vee-Jay & Philips 45s (no reissues) to preserve those original mixes.

So far, I have 19 of those singles in my possession and 11 more on their way (with only 26 more to go).

Keep in mind that 45s often had different mixes, edits, takes, fades or even speed adjustments from even their mono LP counterparts.

Concurrent with this I am doing transfers of the mono LPs. Just compare the mono and stereo versions of the Working My Way Bak To You album if you think that there's little difference between the two.

Steve

In the end, I think we shall go away from that still existing dilemma of "Mono as it sounded originally on the 45 rpm".

This just limits creativity! Every younger listener (20 to 40 years old) had never heard these track in mono on an AM radio or 60s record player originally. They are used to the good stereo versions from the original albums or (later) the Rhino 25th Anniversary box. When they have grown up in NYC, they all know how WCBS-FM played the hell out of the 4 Seasons catalogue on air with "great sounding" tracks of their hits - if mono or stereo doesn't matter! Ask the original engineer or producers how they had wished the song shall sound (or have sounded).

Nobody is praying: "Put the Beach Boys out in Mono like the original 45 rpms sounded" - everybody is saying: "What is the best sound we can archive from the currently available masters, even when they are different".

Take their latest (remixed) best of - sampler CDs "Sound Of Summer" / "Warmth of The Sun" / "California Feelin" / "Pet Sounds" - Duophonic + Stereo = every has a different mix or/and a different intention toward the buyer, but all are interesting. The company seems to try to get every cent out of this group CD-wise, even with Brian Wilson still active and releasing new CDs.

Why not on the 4 Seasons? Where is the steady flow on CDs, ALL original LPs re-packed and carefully presented with alt. versions? Even one or two bonus tracks on each CD would do it - which can be archived even today with the material which is/was available - compare a Vee Jay Stereo LP mix again a Philips Stereo LP mix or find a version that has something different - overdub missing, intro shorter, bridge cut etc. Nice bonus tracks for a CD and worth it, buyer-wise. Ace did it! The 4 Seasons fan / CD buyer has to go & find the CCM releases online while majors like Columbia are trying to melk the last drop out of their Simon & Garfunkel catalogue with new "packages" every half a year (some has just added a DVD toward the "old" CD package, which could be done re. the 4 Seasons also easily).

Now is the time for CD releases, while Jersey Boys is hot. Not in 5 or 10 years, while nobody can forsee if it's all down then to portable players and ipod sound quality. "Jersey Beat" was a good try as start, but could have been better. It shall be followed with more products NOW. And, please, the original albums as 2 on 1 (or stereo / mono on 1 as the Beach Boys once did) plus bonus tracks, remixed by the original producers / engineers on state-of-the art equipment (HDCD ?).

The comments to this entry are closed.