Finally picked up the Marshall Crenshaw "Field Day" reissue and ferried it back across the border to Canada...I don't know the original well enough to comment entirely knowledgeably, but I know that for years there's been dismay over its mix - which leads me to believe this is really a radical improvement because it really sounds just wonderful. LOTS of punch, maybe not so much low end, but we're talking about power-pop here. Helps of course that the songs and performances are smart and crisp, but everything about this is another Intervention triumph. I'm going to single out the 45 rpm disc, though - wow! It's torn me away from my Smooth Ambler bourbon and writing this post and has me dancing around the living room to my cat's slight terror. Big, full, irresistible!
I agree, and maybe it's because I'm pretty familiar with the standard-issue album, but the mixes presented at 45 rpm are the real draw, delineating the sound more clearly.
Are they new mixes? Certainly they're very pleasing to modern, Steve-Hoffman-forum ears. It's hard not to wish that there was a version of the whole album done like these, but...maybe I'd better not open that can of worms. Suffice to say, I'm very happy with this, just like I knew I would be.
No, they were re-mixes made not longer after "Field Day" was released, and were issued only in the U.K.
Just got Nigel Lived. Sounds amazing on my Linn Sondek! I only knew Say it Ain't So and One Night in Bangkok before now so it's quite a revelation. I think HeartFood will have to be next. My vote for future releases would go to Tindersticks: Curtains.
Would love to hear a good cd transfer of David Blue " STORIES" , which, with the original ASYLUM pressing was a textbook example of simple mike techniques producing extraordinary sound. Alternatively, would also love to hear the debut LITTLE RIVER BAND album, or SPLIT ENZ ' TRUE COLOURS'.
Line for Irma Thomas reissues starts behind me. I recently listened to my WW1/WW8 copy of Field Day, which I believe to be a first pressing and once again, I am bowed over by Marshall C. Know what and eargasm is ? Listen to "What Time Is It" with the volume up to find out. Thunder in the forest indeed. If the reissue can improve on that, then I'm all in !
I guess my question is, Do you have the Intervention release of Field Day to compare to? That would not only pertain to this thread but also interest me greatly. I don’t have an original of this one but I trust Shane wouldn’t release his version until he was convinced it was a significant improvement.
I do have an original, and the IR reissue bests in in pretty much every way. For one thing, there's almost no bass guitar to speak of on the '80s version (same is true of Crenshaw's debut album), and the upper frequencies are much clearer on cleaner on the reissue.
The Field Day reissue is a knockout. What a vast improvement from the original cd I owed. It was one of the rare instances where I re-evaluated a whole album and it's gone up in stature for me.
THANK YOU GUYS on Marshall! Sorry I've been absent. A LOT has been happening, which you'll hear about soon!
Having listened to the original master tapes, I can tell you our reissue is the sound that's on the tapes. The original LP is thinner and brighter, and I think they were trying to punch up what is a dense mix. I am extremely proud of what we've done, especially when Marshall described the sound he was very consciously looking for- thunder in a rain forest. We got that.
I believe I have solved bottlenecks to do Warner SACDs. May-June tentatively. Billy Squier Don't Say No and Nigel Lived will be first. I am expecting those within 4 weeks.
Branch out more? Everclear, Joe Jackson, Marshall Crenshaw, Judee Sill. Those are not of a kind. Start your own label.
Nigel Lived and Don't Say No are in production now, and I anticipate more going into the pipeline soon.
Here's a suggestion: The Roches : The Roches (Warner Bros debut) Well recorded classic, never given an audiophile treatment.
A friend of mine runs a reissue label and knows Irma Thomas. Several years ago I asked him about reissuing Wish and Take A Look and he said it would be pretty difficult because, as with Townes Van Zandt, it's unclear who actually owns the rights to her early masters.
