Recommend an Easybeats Collection

Looking for a good sounding compilation and it must contain Good Times. Thanks!

 

Definitive Anthology on Repertoire. As good sounding as any Easybeats CD (their recordings do not sound good) and I don't think its ever been remastered. Great selection. Pretty much every essential track by that band unless you need a few really deep things.

http://www.amazon.com/Aussie-Beat-T...=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288721729&sr=1-3

Every Best of comp will have "Good Times". Varese's comp probably sounds good too. But value for the money on the Repertoire 2 CD set is very high. That can be purchased for around $12 if you look.

 

totally agree with post above
what a great band they were , shame they were so poorly recorded ( like the KInks) but those songs , all those gems
the only lost classic that is not featured in this comp is " watch me burn" one of my favorites sixties track

 

I'm a fan of the deep stuff. One of my favorite tracks is "Down to the Last 500" which I think was a later B-side. I just picked up the individual Repertoire releases with bonus tracks.

But Definitive Anthology is one of the best of its kind for any band. Whoever selected the tracks did a fantastic job.

 

I prefer the Australian 2 CD "Absolute Anthology" which has the tracks in chronological order unlike the Repertoire. Also, from memory the Repertoire has a couple of incorrect (alternate) versions.

Just don't believe what allmusic.com says about the sound quality though!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_Anthology

 

Definitive Anthology on Repertoire is loads of fun. Great band that has so much more going than just the few hits.

 

Sorry to re-up an old thread but wondering if there are any opinions on the box set titled The Complete Easybeats released by Zoom last year? Has 130 tracks across 6 discs. Been considering picking it up. One of the many underated 60's bands that deserve wider recognition.

 

It's a re-release of the old 90's Repertoire discs (and mastering), minus "Friends". It can be bought for around $50 from Aus, so don't pay too much!

First 2 albums are some kind of crummy fake stereo, the third album comes from a crummy tape.

The reps were re-done later in digipaks but I haven't heard these.

I really wish someone would re-do the entire Easybeats catalog

 

I have the Aussie double album of Absolute, the US albums, Friends, the Rhino comp... and a couple of Aussie hits, one formerly belonging to Warwick Gilbert from Radio Birdman. Absolute seems to have many essential earlier things I didn't own. Also have the Albert Archives which does not have the correct version of Natural Man, the Marcus Hook track. You need the US Capitol single for that.

 

Thanks for the responses. I have a comp called Gonna Have a Good Time on vinyl and a UA pressing of Friday On My Mind and would love to have all their stuff. Thought that maybe that box was a good way to get it all but not really interested in any rechanelled stuff. No exuse for it these days.

 

not bad cds at all ! but I Just want Andrew Sandoval to get his hands on the easybeats collection !

 

I concur completely. His Monkees work, in regards to the many differnet box sets that I own, is some of the best.

 

he can do 2 box sets 1 is an easybeats one and another of vanda & young stuff done in the 70's

 

I just hope someone finds the missing master tape to the 3rd album!

 

The Easybeats catalogue is indeed a mess!

I have original first Australian pressings of each album (except the second greatest hits of which I have a later pressing) as well as the original UK LPs of the last three. The 4th album was never even released in Australia at the time! What's even stranger is the the UK mono LP (where it was recorded) is a fold-down and the US mono LP (with a slightly different tracklisting) is a dedicated mix! And the original Australian "Friday On My Mind" EP features two dedicated mixes and a fold-down!

The Repertoire "Friday On My Mind" CD unfortunately uses the fold-down mixes for their "bonus single" versions.

It would be great to get proper mono CDs of each LP - especially "Good Friday" and "Vigil" which are very different in mono with several differences in the mixes. The Australian, UK and German "Vigil" albums all have different tracks!

And I will never stop dreaming of someday getting to hear a decent sounding copy of the unreleased "Good Times" album from '67 - at least send me a tracklist so I can make my own!

Oh, and the "Absolute Anthology" is the only CD I know of to feature the original mono mix of "Good Times" - the one that supposedly caused Paul McCartney to ring up the station to ask who it was!

 

The Easybeats are my #1 choice if I could pick any band to do a reissue project. I did work on the Varese collection which has some one-of-a-kind on CD tracks/mixes.

 

Criminal that it hasn't. F*** You Alberts!!!

 

I'd buy it all (again), in a heartbeat. What a great, underrated catalog.

 

Watch me burn

 

The version of Hello How Are You on the CD of Absolute Anthology is a weaker version than the one on the double vinyl.

 

I'm not even sure I give Repertoire that much credit. I recall the track times being suspiciously close, which wouldn't happen with two transfers; while I've never checked, I wouldn't be surprised if those bonus tracks were simply digital fold-ins.

Pity that "Third" is taken from what sounds like an iffy needle-drop. To be fair, the original Albert CD was like that, too. Odd that all of the tapes would be MIA.

 

Andrew, which mixes are unique?

 

Have you heard the original Albert CD? It's leagues better than the Rep. I don't know what they did to the Rep but it sounds like a warbly tape. The original Alberts CD is basically a straight needledrop from an original LP, done with a stereo cart, then folded to mono.

(in fact, it's transferred from the same LP as the one used for the Volume 3 tracks on "Absolute Anthology", as the occasional tics are in identical places)

 

Unfortunately this is the sad state that the back catalogue of Australian rock/pop music from the 50’s to the early 80’s is in. I can go into any JB HiFi around the country and buy an album from most international acts from that era, but some of our most successful artists of the past 50 years are MIA on the shelves (bar a cheap compilations).

Even in Australia, it’s difficult and expensive to find these albums on vinyl ($2000 for ‘The Missing Links’ LP anyone?). And even though there are independent labels out there trying to rectify this disgraceful situation, most of the damage has already been done with Australian labels junking thousands of master tapes. Look at the current ‘The Loved Ones Magic Box’ CD, an album that stayed in print during the vinyl era. Not only is it a poor needle drop (a Dictaphone recording from a cassette copy would sound better), but it’s a mono fold down from the left side of a stereo album!!!

Alberts can’t even get the CD reissues of the Australian AC/DC albums right. One of our most successful bands and you can’t even buy their original Australian albums (which IMHO are superior to the butchered international versions) in their own freakin’ country! Imagine how a British Beatles fan would feel if all that was on CD were the American versions of their albums. This label (and others), really needs to get of their a** and sort this mess out.

 

Pretty sure it isn't a needledrop (the CD sounds quite good to me, actually) but you're quite correct on the missing right channel!

("This Is Love" is definitely a needledrop from a 45 though)

Luckily, the guy who ran the now defunct Aztec Music label is working on a proper reissue of Magic Box!