Monkees Record Store Day exclusives 2016

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by JDistheone, Mar 9, 2016.

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  1. yellowballoon

    yellowballoon Senior Member

    Location:
    Maine
    The replacement for sure as not everyone will seek a replacement.
     
  2. GreenGringo

    GreenGringo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Shenendoh, PA
    Let's see....

    Flimsy colored vinyl cut from compressed, bright CD masters...one album is missing a song...another is from a hissy folded-in tape...and another is a combination of a poor stereo copy tape, mono mixes & stereo remixes. Sounds like money well spent to me.

    What's an opinion? That we should use our own ears instead of believing record company hype? Or that the "Head" remaster is folded-in and hissy?...which is a fact. The "opinion" enters into it when we discuss whether it matters or not, and since this is an audiophile forum, I think it does.
     
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  3. yellowballoon

    yellowballoon Senior Member

    Location:
    Maine
    GreenGringo and I don't see eye to eye- and it's still a wonderful day
     
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  4. GreenGringo

    GreenGringo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Shenendoh, PA
    Facts are still not "opinions".
     
  5. Senor Muddy

    Senor Muddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado Springs
    Well...that's just like...your opinion, man
     
    Sick Sick Phil likes this.
  6. Mr. Webster the Poster

    Mr. Webster the Poster Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    Question, have you actually heard any of the recent Head vinyl versions, both the 180g and/or the box set? And what is this "folded-in and hissy" stuff? You're almost implying a different mix was used and the CD one at that. Plus, wouldn't a misaligned tape give the impression that the mix was wider or narrower than it really should be? I don't know a lot about the technical side of these things.
     
  7. semidetached

    semidetached Monkees Mixographist

    Location:
    Bucks County, PA
    Maybe? There isn't a big geeky wow factor about doing it though, so I don't get it even more. Had it been something more akin to an vintage alternate assembly, that's one thing - but pulling a 1986 master that was a scattershot mix of mono, stereo and remixed tracks because they didn't have all of the masters at that time? Headscratcher. Devalues the set for me.
     
  8. yellowballoon

    yellowballoon Senior Member

    Location:
    Maine
    I don't think it has anything to do with not having the master at the time. Creative choice between Hughes and Sandoval leading the Monkees 50th train. Hughes said "it was intentional"-his words not mine. I guess you needed to be in that board room meeting?
     
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  9. BeatleStair

    BeatleStair Senior Member

    Location:
    Fort Wayne, IN
    I for one am going to enjoy my flimsy (seriously, it's not a cereal box record?) colored vinyl discs that are overly bright and hissy with crap produced covers and enjoy them lol!

    I can respect people not wanting the set especially as it's not like The Monkees catalog isn't available in many other pressings,etc., but if you haven't even HEARD one of the discs or seen them in person I find it kind of funny to get militant about them being a complete cash cow ripoff.

    Just me of course, your mileage may vary.
     
  10. kouzie

    kouzie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Batavia, IL
    I'm actually in the middle of listening to them now. I think my take is the same as all the comments on this thread combined and averaged. Some people have raved about the quality and these colored discs are now their "go to versions" while others have complained about them being too bright and taken from the CD masters. They are definitely bright - a bit too much for my general liking. But since these are were never audiophile quality recordings to begin with, I'm not that put off by them. But the colored vinyl is cool as hell and I love having them all together in a one box. The fact that these are good, clean pressings for under $15 each, I certainly can't complain. Glad I picked up the box.
     
  11. yellowballoon

    yellowballoon Senior Member

    Location:
    Maine
    I'm in complete agreement. I also enjoy these recordings in a box that is "Cool as hell", while still noting, that audiophile recordings they are not, nor ever will they be..."These are not the recordings you are looking for" .....Jedi hand pass gesture....:)
     
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  12. semidetached

    semidetached Monkees Mixographist

    Location:
    Bucks County, PA
    They didn't have all of the masters in 1986; that's why several tracks on the debut and Pisces were in mono.
     
  13. GreenGringo

    GreenGringo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Shenendoh, PA
    ...and you would be wrong. Again.

    How is it a "creative decision" to pull the wrong tape? The same wrong tape that was pulled for the HDTracks version? (Which was confirmed by Sandoval to be a mistake.)

    Regardless, just because Hughes or anybody else says that it was "intentional" doesn't make it a good, or even acceptable, decision. So stop pretending that it is, okay?

    Already confirmed by various people in this thread who have bought the set (in between the unsubstantiated hype from Monkees fans...you'll have to dig a little).

    The king of lame excuses for accepting a crappy mastering job. Fit for an amazon review, not advice in an audiophile forum.
     
    Laservampire likes this.
  14. readr

    readr Forum Resident

    Hey...take it easy. We're talking about The Monkees, not NASA.
     
  15. yellowballoon

    yellowballoon Senior Member

    Location:
    Maine
    Ok you're like off the deep end. You take this stuff way too seriously. Walk away from the edge. Hey I have an opinion, you have one. I'm in it for the fun, not into playing top of the mountain. Enjoy the view. I'm too busy playing The Monkees self title in whacked mono/ stereo. Peace out
     
  16. D-rock

    D-rock Senior Member

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Thing is with that album box.. I don't think Sandoval was involved. Or the best sources would have been used. I remember when the CD album box was released.. someone on FB made the statement that the original mono 45 mix of "Goin' Down" should have been used instead of the mix used on disc 10. Sandoval replied with "I agree but wasn't up to me". I think Hughes was behind this release. Anyone know where he came from? Don't remember hearing about him until recently.
     
    semidetached likes this.
  17. radickeyfan

    radickeyfan Forum Resident

    still no regrets at all with buying this , still the cleanest and best sounding pressings I own , and I own about 15 to 30 of each of their lps
     
  18. semidetached

    semidetached Monkees Mixographist

    Location:
    Bucks County, PA
    Agreed. When the HDTracks came out, Andrew said that he offered to help with those releases and was denied (or somesuch). Hence, we ended up getting the 85/86 Rhino LP masters. I feel like Andrew had little to do with this.
     
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  19. GreenGringo

    GreenGringo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Shenendoh, PA
    See, this is what I'm talking about...why is it okay to admit that it's crap as long as Sandoval isn't involved? What difference does it make either way? How can you take somebody's advice at their word if their criteria for critiquing sound quality is who the reissue producer was? That's basically what I've been trying to say. It's meaningless praise.
     
    ibekeen likes this.
  20. Sunset Sam

    Sunset Sam Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irvington, IN
    It could just be some folks want to justify dropping over $100 on a poor product.....
     
    action pact likes this.
  21. GreenGringo

    GreenGringo Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Shenendoh, PA
    Very true.
     
  22. dasacco

    dasacco Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachussetts
    While it may not be perfect, it's far from a poor product. The pressings are clean, quiet, flat and centered - good start right there. And I happen to like colored vinyl.

    Of the first four, which are the only ones I have compared in depth with multiple original pressings, 80's Rhino pressings, 80's Japanese pressings, and colored Sundazed pressings, I'd say only the debut is a failure. Wrong mixes make no sense as others have said. I don't buy that it was intentional for any reason other than they just don't want to have to replace two albums in the set. What's there still sounds pretty good however.

    More Of, Headquarters and Pisces all offer something different from others I have compared with. They are cleaner sounding and less sibilant with better bass. Yep, they got folded in a bit as a result, but the deeper bass on these makes for a nice listen. Perfect original copies offer more separation, more realistic sounding vocals, and of course, authenticity but they need to be searched out and good copies are not easily obtained.

    More to come.....
     
  23. dasacco

    dasacco Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachussetts
    The Birds The Bees & The Monkees tonight. Once again, we have centered bass, narrowing the stereo spectrum a bit. I sense a theme here :)

    This album is all over the place sound wise. Some room shaking bass at the end of "Auntie's Municipal Court" and on the drum breaks in "PO Box 9847," whacky sound effects on "Magnolia Simms," and a pretty smooth pop sound on "I'll Be Back Up On My Feet."

    Again the Colgems pressing (1s/1s) presented the most realistic sound of the vocals, even the heavily processed ones sounded more real, but much of the LP is plagued with sibilance and a very strident sound in the upper mids. The new one tames that a bit, and again makes for a nice listen overall, although perhaps a bit dull in comparison. It still hurts a bit a increased volumes, but no pressing I have doesn't.

    As stated before, "Magnolia Simms" is balanced with a slight lean to the left, not an extreme lean like the original Colgems issue. The Sundazed and Arista Japanese issues also replicate the extreme left balance. Only the Rhino 80's issue is balanced like the new one, with a slight lean to the left.

    The 80's Rhino pressing also sounds smiley-faced and more compressed in comparison to the new one, and the Sundazed is kind of flat overall. The Arista Japanese vinyl sounds like it was filtered top and bottom.

    I have no clear verdict, but like I said before, this offers something different from the others I have. It's cleaner sounding and less sibilant with better bass. Yep, it got folded in a bit as a result, but the deeper bass on it makes for a nice listen. A perfect original copy will offer more separation, more realistic sounding vocals, and of course, authenticity, but finding a good one is not easy.

    More to come.....
     
  24. rswitzer

    rswitzer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Golden, CO USA
    After a listen to most of them a quick personal (not intended to be definitive) summary: 1st & Head - not so good, but certainly not terrible. Bonus disc - not great, but best version available! More of, Headquarters, Pisces, Birds & Bees, Present - quite happy. Changes, Instant R - tbd
     
    dasacco likes this.
  25. PiscesKev101

    PiscesKev101 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    Has anyone noticed a split second miscue at the beginning of "Tapioca Tundra"? I kept bringing back my tone arm to make sure it wasn't a skip and it isn't! It's a miss-cue and it's very annoying! Please listen and respond!
     
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