I don't get these mono dudes. For Christmas I got the 40th anniversary which comes with 1 mono CD and 1 stereo CD. Having never heard the actual album, I put the headphones on and I listened to the mono first, then the stereo. The stereo instantly sounded better.
I don't think there were any bounces, and if there were Mew didn't use them. It basically sounds like a better version of the original mix. We also don't know what Mew did to it in mastering. It seems as though once these projects were out of the artists hands, he worked his "magic" on them, unbeknownst to the artist. I have had conversations with producers/artists who had no idea that this was happening to their EMI releases, and couldn't understand why they were "taking crap" from people for the loss in quality. They all seemed astonished that any noise reduction had been used, and they certainly weren't aware of it.
Mono Dudes ~ great band name. Like many, I'm excited mainly for any outtakes or previously uncirculated live tracks (or footage) from this lineup. And also for a really nice book, a la Stand Up. I don't think there's been an SW edition yet without something previously unreleased (though Benefit is marginal), so I'm hoping they'd only be doing this if they had sufficient new goodies, as opposed to just for the sake of a SW edition. Because I agree the existing deluxe is great. I suppose the quad mix would be enough reason for some. I wouldn't mind "Aeroplane" (since it was a Tull, sorry, Toe, b-side) & "Blues For the 18th" (by extension). But live stuff should be Abrahams & Bunker or bust.
Meh...I'll probably pick it up, but I'd be much more excited for a "Stormwatch" announcement or a new improved "Thick as a Brick" set.
Oh, such wonderful news this is. I suppose Peter Mew's stereo mix will also be included next to Wilson's remix too, much like how the previous 5.1 mix of Yes' Fragile was included on the Bluray alongside Wilson's surround mix. November is going to be quite a long wait but at least I can now rest easy, knowing that this will be something worthy of standing alongside the rest of the collection released thus far. Yup, count me in for Stormwatch for next year and of course, that revamped TaaB plus the potential Benefit book. Oh, won't you please make it so!
Stormwatch is in my top 4 Tull albums! Can't wait for it! Aeroplane is a personal fave Tull tune for me It's got that dreamy summer feel going on of which I am a huge fan! If they could get some great extra stuff I'd be so into buying This Was again But ya It bugs me that Benefit wasn't done in book format!
With the debut coming in November, and while not a spectacular album cover either, has anybody speculated what IA is going to name this edition? This Was - The 50th Anniversary 'That Was Then' Edition?!
"This Was 50 Years Ago Edition" "New Tricks for Old Dogs Edition" "We Actually Look Like This Now Edition"
I think it probably will something like the SW Stand Up package: retain some of the old stuff like the BBC sessions, stereo and mono mixes by Peter Mew and 4.0 mix by SW. I don´pt think there is anything live, not even audience tapes exist from the Abrams line-up. Maybe they put in the singles and the rumoured unearthed extras.
Coincidentally I have just been listening to my original stereo vinyl copy of This Was. I have always loved it but listening on headphones I was struck by how the vocals and harmonica are occasionally panned hard to one side. However I loved how prominent Mick Abraham's guitar solo was towards the end of It's Breaking Me Up. To compare I then listened to that track on the 2008 remastered mono mix and while there was more punch in the bass, I found that it lacked the clarity of the original stereo. So, I then listened to the same track in the 2008 stereo remaster and discovered that the harmonica was in the left channel (it is in the right on original mix) but the guitar solo was in the right channel and therefore less clear and prominent than in the original stereo mix. So overall I found myself enjoying the original mix better. As a fan of Steven Wilson's work, I will still be interested to see what he does with it.
It's odd in a way, given how the band was seen then by the press, or part of it, as the next big thing in the UK, particularly as a live act. Or maybe it was just a skewed picture that we got, some marketing pitch with little ground...
The 2008 Mew edition is great; I'm glad the new stereo mix restores some of the little filigrees that are present in the mono mix but not in the original stereo (like the guitar flourish at the end of "My Sunday Feeling" and the last few flute gasps at the end of "Round"). But I'm hoping the Wilson version will include some studio outtakes and the rest of the pre-This Was recordings. The Mew CD is missing "Aeroplane" and "Blues for the 18th," presumably because they were recorded pre-Abrahams, but there isn't a more logical place to collect the earliest surviving recordings.
Imagine the original members replicating the original cover for the 50th Anniversary! Oh wait, that's right - Glenn Cornick is no longer with us. And is Mick Abrahams and Clive Bunker even on speaking terms with IA?!
I’m just thrilled that this album is getting the same treatment and I can’t wait to hear what SW does with the songs. I genuinely love the song Aeroplane, so my fingers are crossed that they include it.
I haven't heard of any bad blood. Bunker has been known to join Ian on stage from time to time, and I seem to recall Ian plugging one or two of Abrahams' projects. Getting all the dogs back together poses more of a challenge.
Ah, well that's all good then. Pity that Cornick has passed on as I reckon it would have been cool to see them posing 50 years later...
I didn't pay a lot of money for this, in fine condition: This WAS Pink Label Orange Eye by bill hart, on Flickr
I believe there was some tension between Cornick and Abrahams, but with Cornick's passing that's moot. Anyway, the four of them reunited one last time in 2001 for the Living With the Past DVD, which may be the only usable footage of that lineup.
My only gripe about that footage is that it wasn't the complete gig and it was sort of thrown into the middle of the DVD. It was a lot of fun to watch these guys play together again.
I also don't like the sepia-tone strobe effect. One of the songs was supposed to be on the Around the World Live compilation DVD, but they used the wrong version (Giddings/Noyce lineup). But it's all there is in terms of Abrahams footage.
