Can you list some of the needledrops you are referring to? I would be very interested in this information.
I'd be happy to step in for LV and give some examples. First one that comes to mind is the Mamas and Papas s/t (2nd album) from 2013. That one was analyzed by @lukpac in detail. Note that the linked samples still work as of this writing: The second one that comes shortly after that is Captain Beefheart's Safe as Milk, also from 2013. This was arguably the big revelation that caught many by surprise: There are others, such as Blue Cheer's Vincebus Eruptum, but this time from @prof. stoned: So far, those are the main 3 that come to mind right now, but I am sure there are others out there...
This is really disappointing. I have probably 10-15 Sundazed LP's and have always enjoyed them (with the exception of the VU mono set as I already noted). I always thought they were a label I could buy with confidence. Sad. If they did this once or twice, chances are they have again or will in the future Sad, really
really? sounded almost identical to the sundazed in terms of tinyness and low volume so i thought it was the same. you tested it yourself?
Any US product from RCA UK I have ever heard have been folded down stereo mixes for their mono incarnations, so I'm going on assumption. I'd be very interested to hear something that contests that.
Discogs sez I have these LPs: Wanda Jackson , Live At Town Hall Party 1958 (Sundazed Music The Byrds, Another Dimension (Sundazed Music Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band*, Diddy Wah Diddy (Sundazed Music, A&M Records, Universal Music Special Markets Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch, Sundazed Music, Sundazed Music Captain Beefheart + His Magic Band*, It Comes To You In A Plain Brown Wrapper (Sundazed Music Bob Dylan, Blonde On Blonde (Columbia, Sundazed Music The Byrds, The Columbia Singles '65 Link Wray And His Ray Men, The Swan Singles Collection 1963 Jerry Lee Lewis, Original Sun Singles '56 Various, 2131 South Michigan Avenue (60's Garage & Psychedelia From U.S.A. And Destination Records) (Sundazed Music, Sundazed Music Dillard & Clark, Why Not Your Baby (Sundazed Music, A&M Records, Universal Music Special Markets Gene Clark, One In A Hundred / She's The Kind Of Girl (Sundazed Music, A&M Records, Universal Music Special Markets The Byrds, Eight Miles High / Why (Sundazed Music, Sundazed Music, Columbia Chocolate Watch Band*, In The Midnight Hour / Psychedelic Trip (Sundazed Music, Universal Music Special Markets The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?/Burning Of The Midnight Lamp (Experience Hendrix, Sundazed Music The Velvet Underground, Singles 1966 The 13th Floor Elevators*, The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators (Sundazed Music Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan (Columbia, Sundazed Music Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, Sundazed Music Bob Dylan, John Wesley Harding (Sundazed Music Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (Columbia, Sundazed Music Canned Heat, Canned Heat (Sundazed Music Jeff Beck, Truth (Sundazed Music Otis Redding, The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul Traffic, Heaven Is In Your Mind (Sundazed Music Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home (Sundazed Music Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band, Safe As Milk (Sundazed Music Nilsson*, Aerial Ballet (Sundazed Music, Sundazed Music, Sony Music Commercial Music Group Jefferson Airplane, Takes Off (Sundazed Music Link Wray And His Ray Men, Jack The Ripper (Sundazed Music Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow (Sundazed Music Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers, Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers (Sundazed Music Groundhogs*, Blues Obituary (Sundazed Music Love, Love (Sundazed Music Strawberry Alarm Clock, Incense And Peppermints (Sundazed Music The Byrds, Younger Than Yesterday (Sundazed Music Love, Forever Changes (Sundazed Music The Byrds, Fifth Dimension (Sundazed Music Leonard Cohen, New Skin For The Old Ceremony (Sundazed Music, Columbia The Ides Of March, Ideology 1965 Various, We're Gonna Change The World (Sundazed Music John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Crusade (Sundazed Music Can't name a single one in the bunch that I was disappointed with, including the Beefheart reissue in question (it compared favorably to my mint stereo original). Pretty good track record for a non-"audiophile" reissue label. I guess it sucks for the Analog True Believers to learn this, but I never drank that flavor of Kool-Aid so I'm not too concerned (or surprised). As long as they continue to make great sounding reissues of great records, I'll be buying.
I'm pretty sure nothing from Sundazed is actually cut from analog tape, if that's what you meant. "Sourced from..." can mean a lot of different things.
I have had a few Sundazed LP's through the years - I agree some sounds thin/digital/non-analogue; though Wendy & Bonnie sounds very analog to my ears. Of "thin" sounding I can mention Incredible String Band (5000 onions), United States Of America and Faine Jade.
I don't mean to be a Negative Ned, but The Left Banke-Pretty Ballerina/Walk Away Renee cd sounded dismal.
It says it is on the hype sticker, but Sundazed has been shown to be dishonest about master sourcing. See Captain Beefheart Safe As Milk.
I see a number of people here have the Sundazed mono reissue of the first 13th Floor Elevators LP, yet no one is complaining about that one - despite it being a digital patch job just like the Beefheart LP. Patch job or not, it's still the best sounding version of that album I've yet heard - and I've been through many reissues of that one.
At least it was honestly advertised. Most Sundazed releases are hit and miss. Anyway they reissue some exciting and rare music sometimes so i forgive them.
Agreed. TBH, it's the only time I haven't been disappointed by an Elevators reissue. I wish they could have done a patch job and reissued a legit stereo mix of Easter Everywhere instead of the horrible Charly issue that's been doing the rounds for the past 4-5 years.
I think Sundazed stopped using the bottom feeders like Rainbo and United. They're using QRP. During the spring I purchased The Byrds Singles Collection from a local shop. It was pressed by United and was just horrible; typical United BS. Must have been old stock. I contacted Sundazed and sent the LP back to them. They replaced the LP and to my delight, it was recut by Kevin Gray and pressed at QRP.
I was never impressed with it. It might be the best reissue in general, but the original pressings beat it in every way. It also has early fades (presumably to mask noise).
RCA distributed product was always fold-down outside of the US for some reason (Monkees, Jefferson Airplane, etc...). This album is no exception. Also keep in mind that parts (sometimes entire songs) on the Sundazed reissue are fold-downs, so it would sound the same as the UK LP anyway.
No consumer will face bodily harm over Sundazed's slimy business practices, but there's gotta be a consumer advocacy group who can pressure them to come clean.
I haven't heard the UK mono "Baxter's", but I do have both the US mono and a UK stereo pressing from the early 70s. The way to tell for certain is to listen to the segues and crossfades between the songs - in the mono mix they're all over the place in terms of volume and are very clumsily done, whereas on the stereo mix they sound smooth and professional. If the edits on the UK mono match those on the stereo mix, it's a fold. I do have a UK mono "Surrealistic Pillow" which is a fold, so I'd say the odds are that the UK "Baxter's" is too.
This one has been in my radars for quite some time now. After reading this thread I do not know whether I should ever pull the trigger...
I have the John Mayall albums, they sound fine to me. Sundazed may have a bad reputation now but it doesn't mean all of their reissues are suspect.