Creedence Clearwater Revival CCR Absolute Originals LP Box?

Regarding the CCR Absolute Originals 8 LP Box Set on Analogue (not the 45RPM "sampler set")...is this available anywhere on the planet for $400 or under?

Current and completed Ebay...nada. Discogs...nope. One on Amazon for $900. Even e-mailed Acoustic Sounds to see if they had any of those "warehouse finds" !

 

Try Elusive Disc, they have all the "warehouse finds".

 

lol, but nope! Same for the others. Google turned up dead ends and no Red Laser app results either. If you have one these consider yourself very lucky!

 

I don't have the box but I bought the releases separately when they were available.

 

They're long gone. I tracked down all the individual albums one by one this past year.

 

What about the Sacd box? Is it gone too?

 

I had this vinyl set and I completely regret selling it. That being said - most of the original pressings (if you get a good copy) sound fantastic.

Not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze of the $400 price tag (or even at the $200 price tag).

 

I have spoken to Acoustic Sounds and they say they are "working" on re-pressing the set but it may take awhile... Elusive Disc said much the same that it would be re-pressed but it might take a long long time because the Music Label who issues CCR is giving Chad and Acoustic Sounds a tough time to get the rights to re-press again.. but apparently they are locked in long negotiations... so we will see... if anyone can do it again it is Chad.... I bought these all individually and tracked them down as well as the 45's.. Keep your fingers crossed ... it would still be cool to own the Box along with newer QRP re-press at a decent price.. Could be a year or more before we hear anything though according to the info I got.......just my .02....

 

Ihope they re-release the sacd box set. I would buy it in a heartbeat!

 

Agreed,,,, the SACD's sound awesome as well.!!!! Lucky to have got them all pretty reasonably priced.. except Cosmo's which I paid more for...

 

I may get shot for saying this here, but frankly I prefer the first original pressings on vinyl from back in the 60's & 70's. For some reason, I have always felt that the reissues on cd's have always sounded thinner, and even some current vinyl pressings since the 80's onwards. For example, I notice that since they remastered the tapes, the bottom end (I.E. the bass) seems slightly sucked out like a disappearing act, with the top end being bright & slightly thin sounding, and lacking in a certain balance. By comparison, the original first vinyl pressings seem to sound more beefy to me with a lot more bass, presence & much more balanced in terms of tonal quality!

If you want my honest opinion on the matter; just find some nice near mint original pressings, and you will be happy. Frankly, I took my originals, transferred them to cd, and they sound amazingly better than the CCR Chronicles collection, for example. What a difference! I feel the remasters really messed the sound up on those original tapes. For me, the definitive mix is stuck in the 60's & 70's.

Again, this is just my opinion on the matter, and how I hear things from my perspective........

 

I have! Thanks Steve for the fine job. Found this baby on EBay earlier this year from Australia. It was a grand fight for top bid but I pulled through! Mint shape condition.

 

I own all of releases so I appreciate your work on the albums.

 

I certainly have and while you're here, allow me to publicly thank you for many hours of enjoyment from those SACDs. You knocked 'em out of the park...

 

When discussing vinyl or CD, remember there are a myriad of masterings/pressings etc. For vinyl my two favorite pressings are the original 'deep groove' RCA Hollywood pressings. (bit better presence than the Rockaway and Indianapolis pressings) and the AF audiophile pressings mastered by our host. I don't compare these to originals because they are really a different flavor of ice cream. Sometimes I like the ballsy compression of the originals, sometimes the open warm dynamics of the AF's.

With CD I was never really satisfied with any of them until I got hold of the DCC Golds. And yet I was amazed when I got the later SACD's. I liked the redbook layer even better than the DCC's. I don't like to compare CDs and vinyl but if there was ever a digital version of older 60's rock recordings that gives the same warmth and feeling as the records - these are poster worthy examples. I haven't heard any of the most recent remasters that have the bonus tracks but there are few members here that say they are quite good.

 

I have the 45 rpm Absolute Originals box. I don't think that there are very many of them out there - it was numbered to 2500, but I wonder how many they actually sold. I have copy in the 500's as I recall. Anyway, Fogerty's guitar licks on "It Came Out of the Sky" at 45 RPM sound amazing.

 

I love all of the AP (Steve's!) remastered LP's , 33's and 45's along with all of the SACD's.. they sound awesome all the way around.. world's better than the CD versions and any of older LP's I have heard. Hopefully Chad can get the re-press going .. I might still buy it for the box and just to have some more clean copies.. as I bought them all individually !

 

I only have the vinyl of Cosmo's Factory from the AP line (SH mastered), and it sounds fantastic. I have the DCC vinyl and an original blue label Fantasy of Willy and the Poor Boys (need to check where it was pressed) and I could go either way on that one. It's such a great album I don't mind having two different presentations. I would dare anyone to say the DCC vinyl has a bass disappearance.

 

Yeah, as a matter of fact all of the SH Remastered CCR LP's have bass as far as I'm concerned.. lots of great clean bass!! You certainly could not sit down and listen to them and say they lack bass!!! I guess everyone's stereo sounds somewhat different, so maybe that could be it?

 

I have the SACD box and it is amazing. Being that GREEN RIVER is not only my fave of CCRs but one of the greatest albums ever released by anyone, I also splurged for the 33 rpm SH mastered vinyl on that one - yummy indeed. If they repressed the LP version of the set and sold it for a fair price I might well have to take the plunge.

 

I don't know what your definition of 'original pressings' is, but from the post it sounds like you mean anything from the time period. most people on this site are seeking the best, or near best obtainable vartiations. this means mastering and pressing quality come into play. records might have an amazing version with a crappy version and 10 variations from stampers and plants. ..even one side what you want and the other the generic poo.

then there is the term NM. true NM is $$$ for "original pressings".
I guess the point is, the pressings in question for this thread are far from average or generic.

 

I've heard (but don't own) this. It does indeed sound heavenly. Here's hoping Acoustic Sounds comes through on a repress, I'll certainly be first in line with $$$ in hand.

 

Hi Mesa,

What I am referring to is the first pressings of the ORIGINAL albums from the 60's & 70's. I have an original first pressing vinyl LP of the self titled album from 1968 on Fantasy records, it is near mint, and sounds totally impeccable. In fact one of 6 in a collection that is in "true" near mint shape, and was acquired in an estate sale from a diseased man who was a vinyl rock music collector. If you happen to make a side by side comparison, you will notice a difference between this, and the later reissues, when it comes to the sound. The unfortunate thing is that I do have the entire needledrop of this album on my laptop straight from the record, with no effects added to eliminate noise, but I am not too sure how to file share here on this forum. Frankly, these pressings sound so pristine, I didn't need to no noise any of the records, so what I would have are straight files from the vinyl.

And yes, to confirm, it is a true "near mint" "first pressing" from 1968 on Fantasy records.

Here are the matrix numbers...........

Matrix / Runout (Side 1): F 2695 H
Matrix / Runout (Side 2): F 2696 H

If you notice, yes, the last numbered digits are quite different on each side of the record, but this is also the case on every first pressing of this record. The H is also separated too from the rest of the matrix number on the run-off groove. The catalog number for this album is: 8382 This I think only was mixed in stereo, and I have yet to ever see a mono copy, and although it could be possible, it is also quite possibly doubtful.

Actually, most true near mint first pressings of the CCR catalog don't cost that much at all, if you know where to look. We're talking typically fair market value of $25.00-$30.00 from the self titled first album to Pendulum, but if you look around, you may still find them cheaper. Typically "Pendulum" goes for the least amount of money in near mint shape, at a measly $20.00 or less.

But yup, this first album, along with the other original first pressing CCR albums in my collection are actually still in the shrink & near mint. Story has it, the original owner of these records only played the entire collection once since the 60's & 70's, (all 6 albums) and recorded all 6 of the albums onto a 4 track reel to reel tape, then the records were shelved thereafter. Yeah, not too often you see these in this sort of shape for sure, especially being first pressings. With that said, they still aren't that expensive, even as a top copy! Out of all 7 of their original albums, (no not including hits collections) the album, "Mardi Gras", from 1972, may quite possibly be the least sought after of their records because it isn't as musically renown as the other albums, so you can pick that one up for usually next to nothing if you look around for it. By far, the first 5-6 albums are their most sought after, again not counting hits collections. Regardless, this is one of those bands that sold many copies of records during their heyday in the 60's-70's, so it's not like it isn't impossible to track these down in near mint shape either. CCR may be scarce, but they sure aren't rare, and if you can come across the originals, you might actually get off cheaper anyway in the long run than purchasing the box set that costs more.

Anyway, again, just my 2 cents on the matter. I hope this helps.............

 

Hi Steve, yes, I have heard much of your remastering work, especially for AS/QRP, but regardless of the sound, it is the price that is up for debate. And again, like I mentioned in a previous thread before, I debate the justification of the prices on some AS/QRP releases, and yes the quality control too, of which has been debated not just on a recent thread I put up. This has also been debated by others that came here before my existence in this forum.

Now, that is not to dispute that, again, AS/QRP doesn't put out some quality stuff, but what I pretty much end up having to weigh & measure sometimes is the fact of a reissue really being worth the cost, when I can just get an original for a much more affordable and at times lesser a price? Yes, there are a lot of variables involved concerning this, of which I don't care to dispute, but frankly I just simply prefer originals, and from my experience with them, I have personally had less quality control issues with them in comparison to some reissues. I think I may have just got to the point where I got so sick of the QC issues, that I literally gave up on most modern vinyl reissues.

I think for me, and for all of you concerned in this thread, I prefer the original near mint first pressings, and not just because of the sound, but also because of the nostalgic history behind the art of the album covers/inserts, of which, many reissues do not come with! One indisputable fact when it comes to the originals that you will never get with a reissue IS the historical value!

Let's just face it, this isn't the golden age of vinyl anymore, and the quality control at many record pressing plants these days are shady at best in my opinion. Again, I just think part of it is the record pressing plant's just cannot seem to keep up with the supply & demand of vinyl sales, so they are making product as quickly as possible just to get it out the door, and forgetting about the QC.

Hopefully things will improve. The long & short of it is; if you want to justify me laying out $50.00 for just one record, then the quality should match that price, but that will be debatable, unless things change universally at the record pressing plants.............