Kinks Deluxe Editions 2011-2014 (Part Five)

I have all the Castles and DEs.
Expecting audiophile sound from 60s Kinks recordings is like trying
to find a Michelin Starred Mcdonalds.

Both CDs sound fine to me

 

You have probably been around this thread longer than I have, and this isn't really directed at you, but the key thing for me is this stalemate, with occasional charges from the trenches, has been going on since what, 2011; so especially when things start getting uncivil these days it is a bit of we know the battle lines folks, been there done that. So the war weariness has left far less tolerance for someone attacking someone else's position on this issue; not that this is ever condoned, but early in a war it seems some of of the passionate posts can get a pass, but not so as much five years in.

I am all for folks jumping on board and stating their opinions, as I said I am fairly new to this thread and have done the same, but I doubt any Gort is looking to shut down a comment that is nearer to "I don't like the DE, they are too loud, I prefer the PRTs" as opposed to "you are out of your mind fooling yourself that those DE are in any way shape or form listenable and you are only going to break your head doing such".

So given the fact that the trenched have long since been dug, and the positions folks have on these are pretty intractable, just pick a side make your argument and leave it at that please. Another thing I think can get missed in what gets called the excuse-making department, is that it can be a bit of pain to track down the preferred masterings; and so some things make more sense for those who chase down every possible single-digit percentage of improvement in the hobby they can, others have less interest on this front. The few earlier CDs I have found so far were actually was a little easier to get than I thought would be the case, surely no Bowie situation, but I went happily along without addressing this artist in my stable for many years. So along this line of reasoning, I don't feel these better masterings absolutely slay the DEs; they are better no doubt, I don't know, I would have to guess a solid 15%-20% on average improvement feels like a stab at it, as much as you can quantify these things for yourself much less anyone else-- I understand folks have other more pressing things to attend, so I have zero plans for trying to convince anyone else of anything.

I suppose the one thing most can agree is that there seems a good bit of room for improving how this band was recorded. Oh well, part of the record now as they say. PS Oh, that and Kinks music is the greatest!

 

Even though Showbiz is on another label, Sandoval oversees the ENTIRE reissue campaign. This kind of stuff has happened before (with The Kinks, IIRC), we were promised the Lola/Percy Deluxe, and Muswell Hillbillies Deluxe (NOT Legacy) came out first. Showbiz more than likely threw everything off.

 

And why did the Lola/Percy DE only come in a jewel case when the rest of the series came in digipaks? They're getting to be as bad as The Who...

 

At least Jon Astley isn't remastering the Kinks...

 

Those who have negative stances on these DEs arent expecting audiophile quality in the sense that these will all the sudden sound like the Rumours 45 (nor would I want the Kinks to have that type sound quality). What those who oppose these are saying is simply these do not sound good and there is every evidence and reason to believe that they could sound much better.

The term audiophile, in this sense, is one who strives for the best sound quality in a given album.

But Im pretty sure people who *dont* have an issue with these DEs know what is meant by sound improvement by those who *do* have an issue with these DEs.

 

I guess I shouldnt be rehashing these points. But there are The Beatles mega fans, Stones mega fans, The Who mega fans and then there are us Kink guys. They are my favorite group from that era of the biggies. So it means a lot that their album sound as good as possible when the chance comes up. I can only hope it will one day again on cd. Doubt it though.

I would have loved to have sold my PRT albums and originals for great sounding cd reissues. But, thats ok, I can still listen to my needle drops of those and other cd sets that have been done well.

 

Yes but he even got The Who right by the end with the mostly flat transfer shm, hdtracks, blu rays etc.; there is peace in Who Land finally!

 

It is a great shame the DE's are not definitive in terms of sound as I don't really see how they will get another cd based release any time soon. I like my RCA album sacds. I thought the mono box was pretty good from a sound point of view. Do others agree.

 

It would seem they have not yet happened and maybe never will. Odd that you would do the first 4 but maybe they are waiting for Something Else to be 50 years old. Or maybe not!

 

It would be a great shame and a loss if Andrew Sandoval stopped posting due to criticism of the DEs into which a lot of hard work went. His is a name I personally like to see on archival cd reissues. As with Bowie even when albums get redone bonus tracks can and do fall by the wayside. Hence my having to keep a stack of Bowie Ryko cds (and Costello and probably Zappa as well).

 

My understanding is the Mono box used the same remasters as the DEs except for Village Green which was remastered for that box and has slightly less compression than its DE remaster.

 

Thanks for your reply. That just leaves the recent 2014 Sony 64 to 71 box which claims all tracks remastered 2014. I did find some Castle cds by the Kinks in a box upstairs today along with other unwanted/unloved cds. Will give them a play soon. I have never recovered from the Castle cd of Mott which I bought in the late 1980s or early 90s. It was dreadful.

 

Still waiting for those to make it to CD unfortunately... I think thus far only Tommy has had a CD release.

 

shm cds are available, but yes I think only Tommy had a straight CD release.

 

Unfortunately although these Who releases are superb they are Japan only so jolly expensive. You can get UK blu-rays of Tommy and Quadrophenia and the recent cds in the boxes of those are very good in my opinion.

 

Bollocks. I can't even afford the Kinks DEs, which would be higher on my priority list anyway.

 

That's funny!

Consider the fact that people who express such opinions are always ganged up upon, insulted by the "mean girls" and then removed by a gort when they try to defend themselves.

Then tell me if it's worth the hassle to even bother.

 

Good point. It's not.

 

I didn't know I didn't like the the DE Kinks sets ( I have them all ) until I joined These forums and read all the comments.

Actually I still think they are fine. I load them up, turn up the volume and enjoy the music.

But that's just me.

 

That's pretty much the story. Castle reissued all the Pye albums in the early '90s; you can recognise the discs because the catalogue numbers all start with CLACD. The CLACD Village Green is the same digital mastering as the PRT. The other albums are not identical, but sound almost indistinguishable except for swapped, incorrect stereo channels on the CLACDs.

The best guess is that the PRTs and CLACDs are both flat transfers from the same source tapes. (Not necessarily the master tapes. Percy sounds like it's from a bad copy tape.)

Note that the PRT and CLACD masterings of Lola are both missing some song intros, but the CLACD is worse than the PRT.

 

"Do not sound good,"compared to what? I have lot of Kinks UK LP pressings, they
all sound bad because the recordings were bad in the first place, the best sounding was the debut to me, super clean and not recorded in the red.

 

Lola is missing song intros? I've never heard that. I love that album - that would drive me absolutely bonkers. I glad I've never hunted that PRT down.

 

I think you raise a good point. These recordings are never going to sound great. I have the PRT Kontroversy and it is less loud and compressed than the Deluxe version, but for all that the sound improvement is only modest to my ears. Not sure there is any good alternative to the deluxe editions for the mono material -except maybe needle drops.

 

I also think they are fine. Great music that I enjoy every day.