I agree with you, the players are outstanding, the playing is outstanding, however, have you ever heard more poorly recorded bass and drums on a Bowie album? Somebody, Bowie, didn't know what he was doing during the recording process. As far as I understand, Visconti came on to mix, not record. I think Harwood was merely the house engineer, I'm not sure if he had any real input regarding instrument placement and mike placement. It's as if the album was made by the Diamond Dogs themselves.
in all honesty it's never occurred to me that they are especially badly recorded. can you really imagine bowie setting up the mic stands? Harwood was a top engineer, i think he'd have been entrusted with that stuff.
I was digging stuff out of my collection today and realized on vinyl I have Lodger, I have Low with no jacket, I do not have Heroes but I have Bowie Now. So yeah I will take a new box!
One of the new picture discs has a previously unreleased live recording of (I think?) Art Decade, so part of me thinks we may get a new Isolar II live album. At least, I hope so, since the performances on "Stage" aren't as high energy as some of the bootlegs. Like the Earl's Court bootleg, which sounds terrible (it is a bootleg), but has fantastic performances of Beauty And The Beast and Station To Station.
When I used to buy up loads of different UK / European Bowie vinyl pressings in and around London for almost no money to see what they sounded like, I came across many with no jackets. I wonder if people stuck them on their walls and consequently the sleeves got damaged and / or thrown into the trash? Bowie really dominated the sleeveless bins! Best sleeveless I got was a seemingly unplayed black label German pressing of Low, not as "warm" as a first UK but great in its own right: crystal clear and sharp as a pin.
I would love a professionally recorded, stereo release that gave us tour staples still omitted from Stage, like "Rebel Rebel", "The Jean Genie", and "Suffragette City".
I'm having a little trouble believing that Bowie was so out of it, he doesn't remember recording STS. This is a meticulously performed and recorded album. The small details are amazing: the enchanting rhythms in that introductory passage in the title track, the backing angelic vocals in Word On A Wing, the castanets on Golden Years, the gradually expanding sound in TVC15.
Just saw this; A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982) by David Bowie A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982) by David Bowie on Apple Music
Nice! I was hoping that's what the title would be. Anyone know if there is an existing thread already?
I was excited to see that! A real shame about "Rebel Rebel" but I guess they need something for the inevitable 2029 reissue/repackaging. Interesting: One of the guidelines of Stage (as originally released) is that it did not repeat any songs from David Live. Zero song duplication. This "rule" held true even as Rykodisc and later EMI added bonus tracks to Stage. With the addition of "The Jean Genie" and "Suffragette City", this "rule" is broken after a mere 39 years!
Okay, so I've just spent almost 39 minutes with Maslin's Station to Station (moving the conversation about it here, since it's OT in the Box 3 thread). A couple things to mention up front. Firstly, Station to Station isn't one of my favorite Bowie albums. It has some great songs on it, but honestly it's just never sounded right to me. Secondly, I'm really not someone who is looking for the one and only Bowie release, so I can diss all other versions. In other words, I'm not a "this version is brilliant, it trounces the <insert version>". I think music has moved on from such concerns. In 2017 we have countless different masterings, surround sound mixes, revisionist releases (such as Stage), bonus tracks etc. For me it's no longer as simple as "this is best" - instead there's a broad range of experiences. It's also easy to change the sound of an album during playback for example - whereas in the past all we had was an EQer (except an EQ with my Linn system would be heinous.) While others feel that the original Vinyl is a baseline experience, I don't agree with that myself. I want a great sounding experience, which can be the sound of the original Vinyl, or something else. That said - the Maslin mix is a real conundrum. It's not so much a remaster, as a reimagining. The guitars sound crunchier, but it's the drums that really sound different, with a more modern feel to them - they actually snap during Station to Station, something I enjoy (always preferred the version on Stage to the album version for similar reasons). It's certainly a different experience, and a decent contrast with the new mastering of the album. This works well for the uptempo numbers, imo. Where it falls down for me is with the ballads. Word on a Wing is my favorite track on the album, and the whole ambiance of it is pretty much destroyed and reassembled. I much prefer the original version. Same goes for Wild is the Wind. Golden Years is also changed, losing its White Soul sheen, to its detriment (although the portion where Bowie whistles is magic on this mix). Which version will I reach for next time I want to play the album? The new mastering of the album. Do I think the Maslin mix is a total failure? No. It's a mix of good and bad. The whole ambience of the album is changed, and therefore - as I've said - provides a different experience. As an overall experience, it's not really for me. On the other hand, it's not like it offended me, it's just not quite there.... Just my 2 Cents.
This actually makes me want to listen to this again, just because I only listened to it once after buying the second box set. I don't recall hating, but it definitely didn't become my go-to version of the album. Wasn't Bowie himself a big fan of Maslin's mix?
Definitely a fair assessment. Not sure how far up-thread my reaction to it was, but it seemed to me like a "proof of concept" mix in some ways. Almost like he did a quick mock-up to see if Bowie liked it with the intention to finesse it down the line. I'd definitely agree that the ballads most reveal this issue. Maybe it's my soft spot for those '80s 12" dance mixes that makes the inserted drum samples tolerable to my ears, but the harder hitting tracks seem to benefit a little from the addition.
That's what is interesting to me - it may be brickwalled and they have added out of context drums, but you know we don't need another remaster of STS, so a re-imagining is an interesting thing IMO. It's not the same as the original (or as good) but that is the point. We can buy the same thing over and over again in different colours and boxes, but this is something different. Saying that I really hated that 1991 remix of Sound And Vision they added onto the Ryko.
Browsing around amazon (uk) I see they now have the vinyl box set for 'only' £159. Not sure how long its been at that price, I bought mine last year from HMV for £180 or £190, and that was the cheapest at the time. Who Can I Be Now? [1974 - 1976] [VINYL]: Amazon.co.uk: Music
I think that set will hit bargain buckets sooner rather than later. Even to lovers of the boxes it must have been disappointing, especially in Europe... nearly $200 equivalent for 3 studio albums, a useless "Recall" and many fans will already have had the Nassau album from its 2010 release.. $400 equivalent for the vinyl. I'll name no names, and I don't know how much validity physical shops have, but a decent sized local one told me this week they hadn't sold a single copy of Who Can I Be Now on either format for nearly a year (ie since release week).. The next 1977-1980 set though, I suspect will sell very well indeed.
I wonder if they reduced the print run for this years as a result? Its a very attractive box for people with the disposable income, of a certain age, who are just getting back into vinyl and who don't have those bowie records, even with the dupes.
I'm not so sure, maybe for those in the US and elsewhere? But a different story in Europe. It's probably impossible for those people to want or get 1970s copies of several albums from the first Five Years set, hence its popularity even in Europe... the first album in its original jacket design, TMWSTW dress, etc. But good used 1975-81 copies of Americans, Station and Dogs are easy to find in Europe, even in this new vinyl trend / ripoff era, would be considerably cheaper than the box, and I don't think they want the dupes, those people you speak of. I think the above and other reasons are why the Who Can I Be box has been a sales failure, IF it has. But I agree the new box is more likely to do well.
The brickwalling ruins it for me. I can't get past it, I just listen to eg Golden Years remix and think, what a travesty, all the dynamics and air sucked out. Tim
I'm not so sure. I bought Five Years on vinyl and cd but I regret it, WCIBN only on cd, but I still really want a vinyl copy of The Gouster and I'm still considering it. ANCIANT has no "previously unreleased" album and no equivalent textured dress cover TMWSTW. What it has is a remix of an album which most people keep saying isn't up to standard (totally wrong IMO), but it has no appeal to the general public - it also has two semi-instrumental albums which are not exactly niteclub classics. And Sense of Dpubt. I haven't placed and order for it yet, but I might get the cd box for the Lodger remix. What does have appeal is Ashes To Ashes and Fashion, so that might save it, and I'm expecting the Let's Dance 80s box to be a huge seller. I haven't seen Let's Dance reissued on vinyl ever!
