New box set ('Collected Recording:1983-1989') by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

Was this deliberate??? They do sound out of place. He made a big point of how they went back to the "original tapes" and then used these odd remixes which stick out like a sore thumb ??

 

They were the original tapes ..... a deliberate move to fill up his available library. I could see how he would want theses mixes. IIRC they recieved a lot of flak for them when they were released on 12 inch. Actually I don't mind the reverb. (It sounds better on "Patience") Ric wanted him to sound like Lou Reed on "Perfect Skin".

 

So this was intentional?

I think LC has been a bit naughty here because here in the UK we've been listening to the original mixes for 30 years, and if he was going to swap in these 3 horrible remixes whilst making grand claims about how it all sounds just like the original tapes, he might have told us before we lashed out £45 on this set.

I don't think the phrase "original tapes" is appropriate to describe these US-only remixes - by all means stick them on the oddities disc, but don't replace the versions we love with this crap. Not surprised they received a lot of flak !!

And can you explain what you are saying by "a deliberate move to fill up his available library". Are you suggesting that he's selling us this now and then when he sells us the next remastered Rattlesnakes it will be with the original versions reinstated?

 

It may be only a pet peeve, but the glitch on 2 CV (at position 1:01) is on the new release as it was on the 1980s original CD. The deluxe edition doesn't have this glitch.

 

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id...tlesnakes lloyd cole ric ocasek remix&f=false

In this 1980s interview Cole claims to have been so horrified by the Ocasek remixes that he considered leaving the band. Does he really like them now ??

 

Are you ready to be heartbroken? Indeed .

The inclusion of these mixes should have been stated somewhere before we shelled out for this box. Not happy.

 

No mention of ocasek or remixes in the booklet so I suspect its a mistake.

 

He considered leaving the band because he didn't like the mixes someone not associated with the band and across the water did without his permission?

That makes sense.

 

This Ocasek mixes thing is a bit of a pity as the box set was pretty much meant to be the 'last word' on LC & TC. It seems it must have been a mistake and an odd one for LC not to notice during the remaster and reissue process given his close involvement and apparent earlier strong misgivings about said mixes.
I'm glad I've kept my original and deluxe edition CDs. I'm also starting to wonder whether some of the reviews which highlight the revelatory sonics of the new Rattlesnakes remaster might have been due to throwing on the opening track oblivious to the fact that it's actually a different mix?...

 

Just noticed that the credits on the disc do mention the ocasek mixes, but the book doesnt. I suspect somebody changed their mind about this issue near the end of the process of compiling the box.

 

Mmmm. Interesting. Would really love to know what was behind the decision to use these mixes in preference to the originals without much editorial fanfare.

 

I'm not sure it's supposed to be the 'last word'. I posted this at #30...

There is an interview on superdeluxeedition.com
http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/interview/lloyd-cole-on-new-commotions-box/

Here's the relevant quote:
SDE: Why did the Rattlesnakes outtake Beautiful City not earn a place here?

LC: Because it’s on the 2004 Rattlesnakes 2 CD set. That isn’t deleted and I’m working towards remastering it, to bring it in line with this set.


It seems that there is a remaster/reissue in the works (possibly) and that's where the missing song and UK mixes (hopefully) will appear.

 

Yes, fair enough, I had read your earlier post and if there's an upgraded version of the 2CD Rattlesnakes set the mix choices make a bit more sense. However, I still thought by its nature the box set was striving to be 'definitive' in terms of a the 'original' albums and mixes and find it odd that the U.S. versions of tracks on a classic U.K. album would be preferred, especially if Cole didn't like them, and slipped in unheralded. I could understand them being sequenced with bonus material as curiosities. Unless the package was aimed at the U.S. market?

 

The package does appear to have been aimed at the UK market, as it's only available in the US on import. The inclusion of the Ocasek remixes is either a screwup which they realised after LC had spoken to the press, the discs had been pressed and the books had been printed, but in time for the disc sleeves to be reprinted, or it's a quite staggeringly cynical way of getting us to buy the proposed Rattlesnakes remaster. They ought to do the decent thing and offer a replacement programme for the Rattlesnakes disc, but I won't hold my breath.

 

Oh, I totally agree. I would have thought the UK mixes would be present and it's odd they're not. I was just pointing out there might be a reason.

 

In fairness to Mr Cole, it's not as if he's done a "Costello" with re-release upon re-release of his back catalogue.....I can forgive the Ocasek mixes (which are still nice to have).

 

I listened to the three songs in question on both the 2004 deluxe cd and the 2015 version of Rattlesnakes - I don't hear any difference to be honest.

Compared it to the original LP too for good measure and it's like for like. No mention if Ric Ocasek on the LP sleeve either.

 

Well it's mentioned on the U.S. LP and inner sleeve...

 

I have had an exchange with lloyd cole himself on twitter. He swears that the 3 tracks in question are the correct ones and all the extra reverb i can hear is not reverb but being able to hear the (studio) room properly because there is less compression than on the previous CDs.

What that doesnt explain is why 7 tracks still sound exactly like the original uk mixes, but with different EQ and levels, and three sound so different, and those three just happen to be the same tracks Ocasek remixed once. That sounds like too much of a coincidence to me. Does anyone out there have one of the original US Cds including the ocasek remixes?

 

To clarify - I was using the UK 'Rattlesnakes' Lp as my reference point. My understanding was that the box set was a reissue of the UK mixes, packaging etc.

Clearly, it's not the case, at least in terms of the packaging as the sleevenotes clearly mirror the US version.

Surely there couldn't be 2 different versions of the box set doing the rounds?

 

Im beginning to wonder if i have a rogue disc - but lloyd cole told me he supervised the remastering himself and there are definitely no ocasek mixes in the box and that the differences i can hear are the result of the remastering.
All i can say is that as the owner of 100+ remastered Cds, all of which i did A-B comparisons to the originals with, i have never heard remastering make as much difference as the three tracks i have been asking him about, nothing else even comes close.

 

I can confirm as per an earlier poster's claim, that the sleeve notes of the Rattlesnakes disc in the Collected Recordings box specifically state in black on white that the 3 Ocasek remixes have been used...

 

That should read "white on black"... Either way the information is the same. I wonder if Cole is aware of this anomaly as he seems adamant, in the correspondence quoted in the posts above, that the original mixes were used. All very strange.

 

I've just picked up a cheap near mint UK vinyl of Rattlesnakes, in my view his best album. Very pleased with it. I had it before back in the day, and the release of the box set reminded me to go for it again. In his case, I'm happy just to own that one, rather than his collection. Thanks for the thread as a reminder...

 

He told me that they used the US vinyl as the source of the artwork for the sleeve in the boxset, hence the ocasek references.