Expanded Versions of The Cars - Candy-O, Panorama, Shake It Up, Heartbeat City albums Coming 28 July

exactly

 

Well with the discount code. It's only $20 Let's try that again. $20 for a new double LP is priced reasonably?

Guess when you are pondering the MOFI pressings for $28, the $20 double seems reasonable. Apparently I have lost my mind, which has been happening gradually for years.

 

You're talking about vinyl. OK, I get it now. People flip back and forth between formats so much it's hard to keep up.

 

So I'm real close to just pulling the trigger on the MOFI first 3 pressings. And at the bottom of the page is a button that says "Need Help?" Yeah, my vinyl addiction needs help.

 

It's seems "They Won't See You" is a bonus track on Candy-O. Wasn't this track on the Deluxe Edition of the self-titled debut album back in 1999?

If so, when was this track actually recorded... during The Cars sessions or the Candy-O sessions?

 

Yes, but this is a different version, a less polished sounding one.

 

I got an early copies and listened to them today. They are loud, both the main album and the bonus tracks. I've seen worse, but the compression is heavy, with only small peaks and valleys at the top and bottom of the THICK waveforms. There is no clipping so technically they are not brickwalled, but there is no headroom.

I'm not impressed with the bonus tracks, as most of them are overly similar to the original recordings, and the ones that aren't, like Dangerous Type, are interesting curiosities but nothing that I'd be motivated to listen to twice.

On the Candy-O CDs, there is more than enough running time left to include the entirety of the Monitor Mixes and the Northern Studios versions, but they opted to just include a sampling of each. There is also plenty of CD running time left on Panorama to include material that they didn't use.

As far as bonus tracks, I see this as a missed opportunity. As far as the mastering goes, I'm glad I have my original nonremastered CDs.

 

I bought both of these from Bullmoose $9.97 each!

Listening to Panorama right now, I went right to the bonus tracks.

Shooting For You I like a lot and I would have kept it on the album. I wonder if we will get a Heartbeat City Deluxe Edition? Would love to hear it when they recorded it for HC.

Be My Baby is an early take of Maybe Baby from Shake It Up.

the Edge, Ben on vocals. Interesting song hard to judge on first listen, doesn't seem to fit for Panorama....it immediately segues into Don't Go To Pieces. Interesting, I wonder if they were segued that way for
potential inclusion on Panorama?
I wish there were more outtakes, I wonder if that's all they recorded?

 

It isn't. Ric Ocasek made demos for the entire album, which he played to a reporter (citation in other thread) who preferred the demos, and Ric concurred. I want to hear that album.

 

anybody purchase the vinyl versions?

 

Me too! Panorama should have been a 2 disc deluxe edition.

 

Life's the same, compressing the audio

I think I'll keep my old Elektra discs

 

Great track. Why the hell wasn't that on the original album in place of "You Wear Those Eyes"?

 

It's a pity that They Won't See You is being advertised as "previously unreleased" on the new Candy-O reissue, even though it appeared on the 1999 Deluxe Edition of The Cars self-titled debut album from 1978, which I have a copy of.

Now it's been made available legally online (link below) I've had the time to compare the two and the mix is identical. It's just been sped up slightly on the new Candy-O reissue. There's also more tape damage on the new Candy-O reissue on this particular track.

Hear The Cars’ Previously Unreleased Studio Version Of “They Won’t See You”

 

Really?? I had asked this question on The Cars official Facebook page, and they'd responded that these were NOT the same versions heard on the 1999 set. Too bad.

 

I did not get either in the end. I dig the bonus tracks idea, but after reading through comments, I think I'll just stick to my wlp vinyl up to "Door To Door".

 

Can you post a link to that? I raised this issue on the official Facebook page for The Cars as well.

 

I can't figure out how to post a link to a specific post, but if you check their May 12 posting at The Cars , you'll see my question and their response in the Comments.

I wrote: "Is "They Won't See You (Northern Studios Version)" the same track that appears on the deluxe CD reissue of THE CARS? That version of "They Won't See You" was also recorded at Northern Studios.

And is "Night Spots (Northern Studios Version)" the early version that appears on the JUST WHAT I NEEDED compilation from 1995? Thanks!"

The Cars responded: "Hi Phil, both versions on the new Expanded sets are different from the ones you mention."

 

Are there booklets/liner notes with the CD versions of these? That's no longer a given, as I learned with the recent OK Computer reissue.

 

It's identical, apart from the speed. Compare it to the first copy released on the Deluxe Edition of their first album in 1999.

 

I'm

Ugh. Not only is it an inferior tape source, but it sounds like all of the "Northern Studio Versions" on Candy-O are running too fast, and taken from a poor tape source. Disappointing.

 

Just received the Rhino 2017 Candy-O 180g 2 LP edition. After initial listening and needle-drop (before ultrasonic cleaning), here are my observations:

• Includes typical new vinyl groove noise but tolerable. Ultrasonic cleaning should diminish this.
• Records fairly flat, but not perfect. Both were center-punched accurately.
• Nice dynamics. Combined DR on 1st 3 tracks = 15, which is equivalent to the first pressing CD.
• EQ wise, sounds a bit bright/thin/clinical, like a high rez digital file pressed to vinyl. Sounds like some software processing was used to clarify instruments. e.g. the low toms are much sharper now.
• High recording volume, which is unusual for new vinyl, increasing signal to noise ratio.
• Compared to US first pressing vinyl, the 2017 has dulled bass below 200hz (1-2db), slightly boosted mids, and a rolloff beginning around 10khz (1-6db).
• While bass bloat was removed, so was a bit of the "swing/groove".
• The left channel on outer track (Let's Go) has odd polarity issue where lower (the negative edge of waveform is shorter than the positive). This anomaly lessens as needle tracks into record. This combined with the EQ'd lower bass below 200hz might explain the slightly anemic bass I hear.

Overall I give this release a B. It's a shame these engineers don't recognize obvious issues with their masterings, and labels don't press on great quality vinyl. Otherwise, this would be an A, since packaging is quite nice as well.

 

Wow, they really couldn't be bothered on these "expanded" editions. At least it's different in that the sound quality is poorer

 

This is disappointing to hear. I haven't gotten my CDs yet but I was listening to the Live at the Agora release the other day and the sound quality was disappointing as well. I don't notice much of an improvement over the soundboard of that show that was floating around on the web.