felser

Just mono it out with a Y cord. Wait 'til I tell you about the set-up I've created to rechannel my monos as fake stereo. With added reverb! only in America...

Well...weren't just about all big hits this length during this period? Yeah, 3:00 appears to have been the unspoken "limit". Spector's "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" broke that barrier, but not withiout some contrversy, as I understand it. Context is everything...As little as 10 seconds or so can be the difference between a pop record of the time sounding nice and tight or just a little flabby. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" was the first record I ever bought. I was 10. If I remember correctly, they purposely mislabeled the time as something like 2:52 to get airplay.

Yeah, I was stunned at how poor those Decca audition sides were. I'd have passed on them too. There were other groups in England who were very accomplished already, and the Decca sides seemed to show no potential to anything meaningful. As for Please Please Me vs. Revolver vs. White Album, it's apples vs. oranges vs. pears, not a matter of "better", but rather "different". Each had meaning in it's time. As far as the cause of musical advancement, remember that they weren't operating in a vacuum, but rather there were a lot of advancements going on around them (Byrds, Yardbirds, Stones, Kinks, Hollies etc.). The advancements by some of those groups were every bit as stunning as the advancements by the Beatles. If you consider 'Revolver' to be groundbreaking for 1966, what do you call "Eight Miles High", which came out at the same time?

You must live on a much fancier road than I do!

I choose to look at it as being thankful that Fantasy put out as much as they did, and kept it in print as long as they did. It is nothing short of miraculous that they put out CD's by John Dennis, Ada Moore, etc. I'm sure they couldn't have had making big bucks as their only goal there. Really, is there anything in the Prestige/Riverside/Jazzland/Fantasy catalogs of much value that didn't make it onto CD and stay in print for a number of years? We can lament not having favorite titles in the flavor we prefer (K2/Keepnews/RVG, etc.), but even their regular OJC issues always sounded really good given the age of the source material. The full flowering of CD age may be over, but it was an amazing time while it lasted, and we have plenty to listen to for the rest of our lives.

Don't buy the Quad CD's. Wait for the special Quad 8-Track format edition, no doubt will sound fantastic (there's just nothing to compare to the "warmness" of the sound of a first generation 8-track). Hopefully will also be put out on cassette without any Dolby applied, as we all know that any noise reduction detracts from the original music. That will also sound fantastic. No doubt they're having hissy-fits on this topic over on the Hoffman forum.

That's great news! Checked their website. 5 CD set, 'Sidesteps", coming October 6. Good price, too ($59.98 list price). And they also have a new Rickie Lee Jones CD coming (I'm a fan).

Why didn't they cross-license his Savoy Truffle recordings for a complete set?

John Renbourn/Bert Jansch, Roger McGuinn.

I was really struck by that sense back when the Beatles BBC set came out. That was like the rosetta stone in some ways, showing their ties to/knowledge of what had come before them. That set and the early Cliff Richard & The Shadows and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates stuff (which I discovered even later - and could Hank Marvin and Mick Green ever play guitar!), were the missing links for me between 50's R&R and "Please Please Me". People in Great Britain probably knew this already, but I didn't!

Do I want/need the box the stereo masters come in, or should I save a few bucks and buy them individually at Target? Or should I wait and hope for remixes? At what point do the stereo mixes begin to serve the music well rather than detracting from it? Not feeling quite ready to plunk down my $180 (or $410 if I also were to spring for the mono masters), though part of me wants to.

Perfectly rational thoughts, but for some of us, those early US Beatles albums were literally life-changing experiences, and it's an emotional response we have to them being reissued as opposed to a rational one.

The Moby Grape anthology 'Vintage', released on Columbia Legacy in 1993, contained the entire first album (plus 35 more tracks), in excellent sound for the time that CD set was released, and goes for under $30 on Amazon. It was done by the Sundazed team on a contract basis with Columbia, and may make a good substitute for you. I have it at home, and only really keep it for that debut album (especially "Omaha"). Skip Spence on his own is totally lost to my ears/mind. 'Oar' sounds like a drugged-out mess rather than a resurrected classic to me.

I'd find it a lot more helpful if the reviewers would make sound comparisons between the new sets and the recent "Capitol Albums" sets rather than just comparing to the '87 CD's, which is such a no-brainer. Of course a 2009 remaster which was four years in the making would likely sound a lot better than a 1987 remaster. How much noticably better do they sound than remasters done just a couple years ago on the 63-65 titles?

:rolleyes: Would be fun to see what you do for groups you're a committed fan of!

Everything except the "Ballad of John and Yoko" / "Old Brown Shoe" single, which I believe is not included on the mono Past Masters discs. Collecting Beatles ain't easy, you know how hard it can be, the way things are goin', they're gonna bankrupt me.

PM sent on hte Schnitter, Lost Grooves, Jet All-Stars, both Herwig's, and the Steve Davis Vibe Up.

1000 yen = about $10.75 / €7.53 / £6.64 at today's exchange rates. PayPal's rates may differ a bit. exchange rates As for Hiroshi's shipping rates, you'd better ask him (today's his day off ). They're much lower than what Amazon Japan and HMV Japan charge. Thanks Hans!

Anyone know what the yen/dollar exchange rate is? No idea what these would actually cost me! How much is his shipping to the USA? Thanks for the help!

PM sent on the following: Blakey, Art - Like Someone In Love (RVG) $3.00 Forrest, Jimmy - All The Gin Is Gone $4.00 Taylor, John - Rosslyn (ECM) $5.00 Young, Larry - Unity (RVG) $2.00

PM sent on the following: Frank Kimbrough - Noumena (Soul Note) $9 Reuben Wilson - Down With It (Cannonball) $6 Hugh Hopper - 1984 (Cunieform) $9 Cannonball Adderley - Dizzy's Business (OJC) $5 SEALED Mario Pavone - Song for Septet (New World Records) $7 Mario Pavone - Totem Blues (Knitting Factory) $4

I'm really torn on if I want to bother with any of this at all, even though I'm probably the perfect representation of their target audience. I really like the "Capitol Albums" sets, and wish that format had been followed, and find this to be a ripoff pricewise, especially the mono set. Guess I'll watch here for reviews on the sound quaility and packaging, etc.

PM sent on: Conrad Herwig Hieroglyphica Criss Cross Promo

Saw this one listed in Goldmine magazine for September release on ECM. Anyone know anything about it?

Some cuts (at least one) that Chico Freeman and Cecil McBee did on India Navigation, though I'm at a loss recalling the specifics.