Canadian Who's Next

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Mike Dow, Sep 18, 2002.

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  1. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Ok, I found my "Manufactured in U.S.A..." copy. Here are some notes.

    First of all, the USA copy isn't mastered as loud as the Japanese. It looks like they both peak at 0 dB, but the Japanese version is clearly "louder".

    That said, the USA copy clearly has more tape hiss.

    Here's a *somewhat* easy way to see what you've got. Listen to ONLY the left channel of the intro to BBE (before the vocal comes in). On Steve's disc (and all other original mix versions, I believe, other than the USA CD), all you can hear is the echo of the guitar. On the USA version, you can hear a little of the guitar itself, meaning the channels have been slightly narrowed. A neat way to check this is in an audio editor. Line up the two versions, mute the right channel on both, and mix the two left channels left and right. The echo should sound centered, and you'll hear some "real" guitar sound coming from the USA side. A clear difference.

    As far as the discs themselves go, my Japanese pressing (like other early MCA discs I've seen) has NO JVC markings. All the inner ring markings are "dotted" - it almost looks like the output of a dot-matrix printer. The USA version, on the other hand, says "MFD BY JVC" and has those funky symbols on it like all JVC pressings.

    Does all that help?
     
  2. Mike V

    Mike V New Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Very much so! I'll go check it out now. Mine is definitely Japanese, and has the same dot-matrix thing around the inner ring. Here's what's on mine - "MCAD 37217 S4E 22". I just recognize the pressing as JVC, though nowhere on the disc does it say so. It's just like the Cars and Eagles JVC pressings I have of similar vintage, and those particular discs are identified as JVC Japan.

    This has turned out to be most disappointing!!! Thanks though.
     
  3. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    Yeah, that was my fault as I got confused about what albums were being replied to in differtent posts and was just coming back to fix any confusion I may have caused. Thanks Luke. ;)
     
  4. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Well, listen to BBE like I mentioned. That's the easy test...
     
  5. :confused: :confused: Hmm. Thought I mentioned that in my two earlier threads.
     
  6. Mike V

    Mike V New Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    I did exactly that, and I do hear the guitar, so mine is the narrowed version. Add that to your list that not all the Japan pressed discs got the SH treatment. On thinking about it more, I may have bought my copy in '86 which was a big year for me purchasing CDs. Oh well, back to the drawing board! Thanks.
     
  7. Joe D.

    Joe D. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oak Forest, IL
    I bought that disc in May of 1985. Is that Steve's disc?


    I gave it to a friend after I got the remixed disc.

    I'm going to have to borrow it back to check it out.
     
  8. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    Wow! I'm glad I didn't rush out and buy this one made in Japan. Luke and Mike V. are these good and narrow issues both the same catalogue numbers?
     
  9. krabapple

    krabapple New Member

    Location:
    Washington DC
    No, I belive it was Tommy that was taken from Pete's private stock for the MFSL CD.

    WN is a replica of the 1995 remaster, complete with bonus tracks,
    IIRC. Seems rather pointless to me.
     
  10. audiodrome

    audiodrome Senior Member

    Location:
    North Of Boston
    Now if only hmv would sell the original Tommy CD...
     
  11. John

    John Senior Member

    Location:
    Northeast
    Thanks for the info. I ordered a Whos Next from HMV just now. I have the plain jane CD, the 1995ish remaster, plain jane US vinyl and the MCA heavy (which I havent played in too a long time to comment). The forum doesnt speak too highly about the MCA heavy, and I dont speak highly of the others, so I woulnt be surprised if Steves CD becomes my reference.

    Thanks Again!
     
  12. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    John,

    Hi man and welcome! You might want to hang onto the booklet, assuming that it has more than just a single folded page, as this is the case with Steve's Canadian MCA. Just a thought.;)
     
  13. Mike V

    Mike V New Member

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Why, yes they are Dave! That's what's so damn frustrating. Luke's original post at the time he located his Japan pressing described mine to a "T", so you can't use cat numbers or the jewel case inserts to distinguish them from one another. I did, however, recheck the markings around the inner ring. Mine are not dotted actually. They almost look like manually set movable type, which is odd, but I've seen this on other JVC discs from that era. The type is out of registration a little, so it looks to be a mechanical stamp. The time on my disc is 43:13, so if you do find a Japan pressed MCA, just have someone pop it in a CD player to check the time.

    I did, however, buy that MCA BMG US issue I spoke of earlier. It's definitely Steve's version if Luke's tests and timings of 43:25 are correct (which I believe myself, after hearing the BMG disc - WGFA is very much more alive sounding on the BMG copy). I did notice the difference in the left channel as he mentioned on BBE (guitar echo only on Steve's version). I didn't find the hiss to be too much louder on the non-Steve version, but I heard some very noticeable 60 cycle hum mixed in with the hiss that Steve's version lacks.

    To tell you the truth, and I might get spanked here for this, I don't find my Japan pressing objectionable sounding at all. I'm definitely keeping it. If I had this version, and faced it off with the latest remaster, this one would still beat the pants off it IMO. It's very musical & enjoyable, but just not the best version there is, as I discovered myself today!
     
  14. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    No, it isn't "bad". In fact, Who audiophile "White Fang" always liked it until he heard the Canadian pressing. It's just that next to Steve's version, it doesn't quite hold up, IMO. A bit "flat" sounding, if you will. And I can't conceive why the channels would be narrowed down...

    A few more things to keep in mind about this:

    - yes, ALL early MCA versions have the same catalog number. That's what makes this so frustrating.
    - there should have been some (~5,000?) copies pressed and released before Steve's version. These would have been made in Japan. It isn't clear how many actually got released, or what they sound like. For all we know, this original version could clock in at 43:25 as well.
    - as Mike has pointed out, not all Japanese pressings are the "good" ones.
    - despite their similar sound, it seems as if the BMG, Japanese, and Canadian all came from different digital masters. If you try to line them up, none stay in sync with each other. Not sure what the story is there...

    Steve, any idea on that last note?
     
  15. Gardo

    Gardo Audio Epistemologist

    Location:
    Virginia
    Just to Muddy Waters a little more:

    I have a Polydor WN (813651-2) from the very early days of CD (copyright 1983), made in West Germany, bought in the States, and it clocks in at 43:25. It is (obviously) NOT Steve's remaster, though it does pass the one-channel BBE test described above. It sounds like it was mastered from a third or fourth generation tape: hissy and congested. Another tell-tale difference from Steve's: "Baba O' Riley" is faded in, taking about 3 seconds to reach full volume. On Steve's master, "Baba" is NOT faded in.
     
  16. JJ3810

    JJ3810 Senior Member

    Location:
    Virginia
    I had the West Germany Polydor issue too and it sounded very muffled. I also have the MCA version that is very close to Steve's. With some critical listening, it's easy to tell the difference, but like it's been said before, a very good effort nonetheless, just not the best.
    But why is this such an issue when the Canadian is so easy to get? The differences from this and the Japanese are VERY minor.
     
  17. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Yeah...keep in mind in my original notes I said the Polydor did NOT use Steve's master, to clear up any confusion.

    Well, the pop in WGFA is pretty annoying, IMO. Although, the BMG is probably an easier route to take than the Japanese pressing.
     
  18. Bruce Burgess

    Bruce Burgess Senior Member

    Location:
    Hamilton, Canada
    I picked up a copy of the Canadian Who's Next. You're right. It is a very nice disk. The remaster is a bit clearer, but this disk has a much nicer feel to it. With tax, it only came to about eight dollars Canadian.

    If only the reissue of My Generation were that reasonably priced.
     
  19. Ronflugelguy

    Ronflugelguy Resident Trumpet Geek

    Location:
    Modesto,Ca
    Listened to Cand. "Who's next" last night still amazes me how good this disc is.Soundstage locks in very well and the acoustic guitars are clearer and distinguishable better here than any other version I have heard.:cool:
     
  20. Gardo

    Gardo Audio Epistemologist

    Location:
    Virginia
    Re: Re: Canadian Who's Next

    Yep, this disc just blows me away. "Bargain" and "Behind Blue Eyes" are the high points for me, but the whole shebang's just sublime. And I have THIS FORUM to thank for turning me on to it. So THANK YOU, Forum. I've already tendered my undying gratitude to Mr. H., elsewhere.

    And BTW, I dug out my old vinyl Decca WN just for spins-n-grins. Quite a surprise. It actually sounds pretty doggone good--much better than the Polydor CD and very close to Steve's master in tonality, though it's not as high-rez as Steve's CD. Of course, loving that Decca LP in my formative years--the Capitol Record Club Longines Symphonette, the BSR, the great leap forward to magnetic cartridges with the Pickering-equipped Garrard changer just in time for college, the Rotel, the Dual with the Ortofon with the famous "cap 200," and finally coming to rest with the new AR and the V15VMR--means that the record has some serious groove deterioration on the songs next to the label ("Song is Over" and "WGFA" for those who've never seen the LP). But despite all that lovin', the earlier tracks on either side are in pretty good shape aside from surface noise, and the sound is very full and lively.

    Enervated by an unrelieved attack of nostalgia, Gardo sheds his skin and stands revealed as a Wild Boy. (Apologies to the Dan.)
     
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