The Essential Kinks

I think you guys are pretty harsh on Dan Hersh & Andrew Sandoval ! I think there mastering is just as good !

 

Sandoval and Hersh are doing the 5 cd box set correct? And they did a great job on this.

 

Love the track list and I like the 79 live version of Lola better than the studio version.

 

Good heads-up call,waiting for my copy to arrive with some other discs next week.

And yes, I'm sure that 5cd boxset sounds good too. Not buying that though, I'm all set for now with Kinks music.

 

Just ordered this, wish they would have included "No More Looking Back" from Schoolboys in Disgrace.

 

Question - I only really care about the early singles, and I have the UK PRT #PYC4001 "Hit Singles" cd. This has all the songs I really need. Do I need this Essential cd, is the mastering that much better?

Thanks in advance! - John

http://www.discogs.com/Kinks-Hit-Singles/release/2106167

 

I haven't heard your collection, but, since it's from 1987, it's a fair assumption that Essential will trump it. Don't forget, two CDs for $12.

 

The PRT CD you have is perfectly fine, probably one of the best single disc Kinks sets there is. According to a friend who has the Essential set, it contains the same loud masterings as the Deluxe editions. Stick with the CD you have!

 

Hmm. A shakeout is needed; I have the Singles Collection, Ultimate Collection, Hit Singles, even the fabled "ugly pink" Greatest Hits CD, plus the new Essential set. I will have to compare a handful of tracks and see what's what! FWIW when I listened to disc 1 of Essential this morning, I thought it was great.

 

Thank You - this would be great!!

And thanks to everyone else that replied!

 

Absolutely! I've bought jazz records from artists that I know nothing about because they were mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray

 

Okay. I compared Hit Singles with Essential Kinks, using "You Really Got Me" and "Victoria" as test subjects. As always with basically well-done CDs, it was a close-run thing; but in the end, thought that Essential had the edge, probably due to use of more modern A/D converters(?). Clarity and presence seemed increased, as is volume (1987 vs. 2014). However I don't know if the casual listener would limn the difference. Hit Singles is still a great single-disc set, regardless; despite dodgy cover art!

 

and did you bother trying any of the deluxe cds?

 

I have a Village Green Preservation Society 3-CD set from about ten years back(?).

 

I pre-ordered this weeks ago but my copy just arrived today. I was surprised to see RCA and Arista logos on it since rights to the RCA and Arista recordings reverted to Kinks Properties Limited in the nineties and they are now licensing them exclusively to Sony Music International.

For those wondering, tracks 1-13 are in glorious mono, whereas all tracks from "Death of a Clown" on are stereo. It has already been pointed out that this collection includes two US single edits making their digital debut: "20th Century Man" and "Celluloid Heroes". It has also been pointed out that the live version of "Till the End of the Day" was first released as a bonus track on Everybody's in Showbiz (Velvel, then MFSL). "Better Things" is clearly labeled as the single version, but this was the one used on the Velvel CD of Give the People What They Want in place of the shorter album edit. "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" is clearly labeled as the single version (UK single edit to be precise), but this has already been on the Velvel Misfits reissues. "Here Comes Yet Another Day" is the longer LP version (previously available on the Rhino and MFSL Everybody's in Showbiz discs), not the edit from the Velvel reissues. "Sweet Lady Genevieve" has a clean intro just as it did on the Ltd Ed. Compilation promo CD, but not on the Rhino and Velvel reissues of Preservation Act One. The only surprise for me was that "One of the Survivors" is the single mix/edit with harmonica previously available on the Velvel reissues of Preservation Act One. The intro sounds nicer but it fades out a little earlier on Essential.

The similarity to the Deluxe Editions has already been pointed out. I haven't had time to compare every track yet but many sound the same as they do on the Deluxes. I do not believe that the analog tapes were shipped to NY for Vic Anesini to master them. (Note that Sandoval did all his tape transfers in London.) I think he copied the Deluxe Editions and maybe the Waterloo Sunset comp (or used digital copies supplied by Sandoval) and adjusted the levels and probably tweaked it in other ways, too. Note that Andrew Sandoval is credited as the Compilation Producer of this collection and that Dan Hersch is among those thanked. Those of you that loved the Deluxes will be pleased. Those that found them too bright and compressed will find these too bright and compressed.

 

So this is not the best this songs have ever sounded?

 

I can only offer my opinion, and even that will vary from song to song. Some of the songs sound better to me on various PRT and other older CDs. I haven't spent as much time with the later recordings just yet. "You Really Got Me" does sound pretty good.

 

I thank you very much for your opinion.
Anyway, my "Essential Kinks" CD is already ordered, and in a few days I will check it out. But if it is "bright and compressed", i am afraid i am not going to enjoy it very much.

 

Same for me. I have a half dozen Kinks comps that I never play due to the SQ. I keep trying though.

 

They have just released recordings from the Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon. As I have mentioned before having seen this at Hampstead Theatre it's well worth seeing if you are in London.

https://soundcloud.com/sunnyafternoon_musical/

 

That's what I figured. Anesini's been credited with a lot of the "Essential" compilations Sony's been putting out for the past decade, but a lot of times when the material's coming from a very recent reissue campaign (like the Clash or in this case the Kinks), it sounds like he just assembled the tracks and more or less using the same mastering from said reissue campaign. Wouldn't be surprised if the label just asked him to do that for budgetary reasons.

 

Gave mine a listen and I am disappointed in Vic's mastering. IMO they are bright and compressed and the Kinks need dynamic range/depth of sound. I found the same for The Best of Kinks 1964-1971. I'm still looking for an available really good sounding comp. The best I have is "The Ultimate" (not bad) but I've always hoped for something better.

 

I like the sound of The Essential Kinks. "Victoria", to name just one track, has never sounded as good as it sounds here....

 

haven't had a chance to listen yet, but am puzzling over the track list to some extent... Anyone have a theory why "Autumn Almanac" is moved up before "Waterloo Sunset"?