Rock Candy releases - Yes or No?

I've hated the sound of Rock Candy CDs. John Astley does most of their CDs and he compresses the results to death.

However, I'm just listening to Steve Walsh "Schemer-Dreamer" which is a Andy Pearce remastering. DR12!!! and it sounds great.

So my rule is avoid John Astley Rock Candy CDs (90%???)
Andy Pearce CDs for Rock Candy....the one I've heard thus far is good.

Do we know which other CDs Andy has done for Rock Candy?

Dennis.

 

Greg Lake's solo albums and I believe Buck Dharma's Flat Out (solo album from the BÖC guitarist)

 

I've discovered a way to find out which Rock Candy CDs are mastered by Andy Pearce as against John Astley. Noting, Andy CDs good, John CDs bad.

Go to http://www.nehrecords.com/ and just search for the Rock Candy CD you are interested in (http://www.rockcandyrecords.co.uk/category/catalogue/ lists the available CDs).

For example, search for Steve Walsh on NEH, then click "Candy077". Remastered by "Andy Pearce".

Ahh, just noticed, George Marino did the original mastering. How many albums did he do? Wow. RIP George.

Dennis.

 

That's a cool tip. However, I have to disagree on the "Andy CDs good, John CDs bad" part. I've got plenty that Jon Astley did which sound just fine. And really, out of all the Rock Candy re-issues I've gotten so far, there's only the one (previously mentioned early in this thread) disc that I've been disappointed with.

Rock Candy get's a big in my book. Not only for their decent mastering job, but for bringing back titles I've long been looking for. It's taken 27 years, but I finally have a CD version of Phantom, Rocker & Slick's debut album.

 

^^^^
I agree on this. Admittedly, when I can lay my hands on an original issue of a certain album for an acceptable price, I will pick up that one. But I really appreciate RC's efforts to re-release so many forgotten gems in hard rock and melodic rock territory. I own quite a few RC discs by now, and while most of these suffer from being a little too loud for my tastes I also have to say that they're far from the worst offenders of today's loudness wars. IMO esp. the Babys CDs sound pretty good.

Right now I am hoping they will get around to re-release the Stan Bush and Barrage album. It's been announced several times, but so far it hasn't seen the light of day.

 

Got the recent Aldo Nova reissues and they sound great - I'm also very impressed by Rock Candy's releases.

 

You and me, both! I'm also waiting for them to finally get around to releasing the first two Jeff Paris albums (Race To Paradise & ‘Wired Up) that have been listed on the "coming soon" part of their page for a couple of years now. Danny Wilde's The Boyfriend, too.

 

Does anybody knows who mastered Rock Candy's Kansas remasters?

 

I disagree. Their version of his debut is the worst I've heard. I do like the Walsh release, and the Kansas and Greg Lake ones are acceptable. The Helix albums are "just ok."

 

Swingin' Pig - used Interpress for whole bunch of releases and some labels used PDO in the early 90's.

 

The John Astley RC releases are compressed to death. DR7 for the most part.

I find them unlistenable.

Compare Montrose S/T RC vs Steve's AF.

John's CDs are just too loud.
Andy's RC disks are much better (e.g. his Steve Walsh Schemer-Dreamer CD sounds great).

I really appreciate Rock Candy reviving lost gems. I just wish John Astley didn't turn the volume up to 11 (let me do that at home). Andy Pearce Rock Candy CDs are much more tastefully done.

Dennis.

 

I own the Rock Candy releases of Montrose, both Aldo Nova releases, Heaven's Edge, Vandenberg, and Cobra. I must say they sound great to me. I hope they keep up the good work.

 

Kind of off topic but Eric Moore is still kicking (barely) and recently released a new disc under the Godz moniker. I talked with him recently on our podcast, here's the link:
http://fromoutofnowheremedia.tumblr...episode-56-eric-moore-vinnie-salvatore-of-the

 

I know this thread is getting quite old, I just grabbed RC's Blackfoot catalog and their Aldo Nova releases and I am very happy with the Blackfoot releases. Jon Astley did them and I was surprised how much they DON'T sound like previous RC releases...on another note, they released the 1981 debut from Randy Hansen that was released on Capitol back in the day..not sure what it was sourced from but it is an utter pile of crap..pretty sure they mastered it from cassette or vinyl..the Aldo Nova releases are great as well...
They seem to release a lot of the stuff Wounded Bird releases...RC releases of same title are superior

 

Uh, no. You can find early releases that will sound bettre.

Uh, no. You can find early releases that will sound better.

 

The Raging Slab album and the Badlands albums are really too loud - but I appreciate that now they're easily available.

 

I have Blackfoot - Strikes, Zebra - S/T, Eddie Money - S/T, Montrose - S/T, and Barry Goudreau - S/T

My thoughts: Montrose, Blackfoot and Eddie Money releases are good to me. I had all the original CD releases of these albums and I prefer these when listening in the car. The Zebra release adds more depth and bass compared to the original Atlantic CD, which to my ears is a big improvement. The Barry Goudreau album comes off as a bit too loud, especially the highs.

 

Are you referring to the 2013 Zebra No Tellin' Lies Rock Candy CD? I just discovered that this album was reissued by Rock Candy, but I keep hearing mixed things about this label and their audio. As of now I only have No Tellin' Lies and 3.V on that 2-for-1 reissue (2007), but while it sounds good, I don't think it's really remastered as it claims.

If the Rock Candy CD sounds more upfront and definitely has richer base, that might interest me. Does this release sound too loud though, or was it mastered at a decent volume?

 

Rock Candy really is a mixed bag with their remasters. I had to ditch the Barry Goudreau album as it was loud to the point where I couldn't even enjoy it and didn't even want to listen to it. Picked up the Razor & Tie version of that album remastered by Steve and it's much better.

I can only comment on Zebra's self-titled debut album. I assume it was remastered by Rock Candy at the same time as No Tellin' Lies, so I would expect similar results. I always felt the original Atlantic CD lacked punch and clarity, even when compared to the original Atlantic vinyl.

 

I've read many complaints about Rock Candy, but I've purchased about a dozen titles in the past six months regardless. Two observations:

1) Many of their titles are not available elsewhere (b/c they're OOP and VERY pricey), so a guy who's desperate for Gamma CDs has no other option, really.

2) The packaging is very nice. Sounds issues aside (and, admittedly, that's a BIG aside), they do what they do very well.

I leave for London in a week, so I'm kinda hoping I can buy some additional titles in the U.K. even cheaper than mail order to the U.S.

 

I bought the Honeymoon Suite reissues and they were nice, aside from Lethal Weapon being advertised on the track list for Racing After Midnight but was not included last minute because of licensing issues.

Bought the Georgia Satellites reissue but haven't listened to it yet.

Has anyone picked up the Rick Springfield remaster of "Working Class Dog"? It was reissued in 2006.

 

The 3 Max Webster releases are excellent and they were done by Jon Astley who did an great job.

 

agreed

 

Yes and no to Rock Candy...like most things, it's a case-by-case basis.

For instance; Dokken's Tooth & Nail was really painful...yet their version of Blue Murder blows the original out of the universe.

RATT's Dancing Undercover (a favorite of mine) is certainly enjoyable, though I think the original CD has the edge there...but it's not a case of me saying "you have to get the original", if you get the Rock Candy version you'd be just fine too.

So I'd say keep in mind (for me) they are hit-or-miss, but I have a mainly favorable attribute towards them as they are trying to get some cool stuff rereleased and they really do a great job on packaging.

 

I have only one Rock Candy title: Aldo Nova's self titled. The original issue is dull and lifeless with that "80s digital converter sound". Astley's Rock Candy reissue is just too darn loud. Some tracks show LUFS values north of -8.0.