Roy Orbison S&P

Hi everyone, my name is Martijn, I'm 24 years old, from the Netherlands, and I'm new to this forum.

I have just received Steve's S&P remaster of The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison, and I can only say WOW! After having listened to an early 70s UK pressing and a mid 70s Dutch pressing of this great album for quite some time, I finally decided to go for an audiophile remaster and found out about the S&P cut. After just one listen to this amazing new pressing on my modest audio equipment I could already discern so many little details I had never heard before on these songs, and that includes good CD releases like the Monument Singles Collection. Every single song sounded fresh and new to me, without losing any of the magic of the originals.

I just have one question: Oh, Pretty Woman sounds so different that I am wondering whether a completely different or previously unused source was unearthed for the S&P album. Does anyone have any information on this perhaps?

Kind regards,

Martijn

 

There's a little info on this page
Steve Hoffman Outdoes Himself With a New Roy's All Time Greatest Hits

but you just might get a better answer on this forum!

 

Thanks! I actually read that review before I bought the S&P, those brilliant scores gave me the final bit of encouragement to spend a sizeable amount of my hard-earned money on this cut. No new info on Pretty Woman though...

 

@Steve Hoffman please...

 

Thanks, I didn't know we could address Steve personally though?

 

Sure. You can also send him a private message. Very accessible man.
.

 

Cheers, that's great to know! In that case I might send him a message some time. I'm also curious what others think of this great S&P release though.

 

A different take on the same album is from MoFi a few years ago. SH used the production masters. MoFi went back to the original LP masters and got permission to use them, so MoFi's is one generation closer. However, it's tonally cooler than SH's.

 

I understood that the MFSL may be closer to the original sources of the individual songs, but that it's more of a warts-and-all release. The S&P is supposed to be at bit smoother and warmer. I guess the question is whether you prefer almost absolute authenticity or potentially the best possible way these recordings can sound. What do you prefer?

 

I can't recall which version I had on vinyl ( likely revealed in an old post here, somewhere ), but I sold it, after realizing I had triplicate copies of the same tracks, in the rest of the Orbison wing, of my collection.
I do still have the DCC CD though ( I would never part with any of my DCCs ).

Roy Orbison - The All Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbison

 

That's a great item too, the DCC was also done by Steve, right? I'm not sure what the differences with the S&P may be, but I'd imagine that the DCC is about as good as Roy's music gets on CD.

 

That is correct.
.

 

Try to obtain an original mint mono 45 of Pretty Woman. Mono mix, original dynamics, EQ.
Not hard to get in Holland. (Marktplaats, second hand shops)
Comparing will give the answer.

Original mono 45's sound the best in my experience. 78 even better.

 

Nice tip, thanks! I have a few Roy Orbison singles, but my turntable can't seem to get a really good sound out of 7" 45s. In my experience, LPs always sound better on my sounds system than singles... Plus I actually prefer listening to Roy's Monument songs in stereo because of their big and lush soundstage. Whenever I'm in the mood for some mono Orbison I usually listen to the Monument Singles Collection or my original 1961 copy of Lonely and Blue, which still sounds great to me.

 

In the case of Pretty Woman, there always was two different recordings : the mono version and the stereo version.

In the mono version Roy sings "Come to me" (a compromise) at the end, and in the Stereo version he sings "Come with me" (the original lyrics).

There are few songs like that where the mono and stereo versions are two different recordings (or parts have been re-recorded), please consult my catalog to find them.

Pretty much all of those versions can be found on CD now (not always where you can except them unfortunately).

One exception, this mono original version that have never been reissued on CD yet:

• This Is Your Song [1965] - There Is Only One Roy Orbison (1965, MGM, E-4308, Mono)

Roy Orbison Songs Catalog

 

Thanks for the info!

 

MFSL FTW

 

I'd love to have the MFSL too, I ordered it online, but they told me it was out of stock and that it's probably not available anymore...

 

One day they're plentiful and the next day the prices are crazy. I sat on this one for years and finally snagged one in November, it looks like I was just in time.

 

So true, even the ORG Lonely and Blue from 2014 is getting harder to order here in the Netherlands... What do you love about the MFSL?

 

This is a controversial issue and I would prefer no to be banned.

 

Just jumping in to second all the praise for the S&P vinyl version of the Orbison hits. Despite the sonic variations that tend to reflect the motley sourcing of most greatest-hits comps, this thing sounds amazing.

One of my favorite listening-party parlor tricks is to pull this baby out and leave people with their jaws dropping at the audiophile splendor they're hearing.

 

I had no idea that this was such a controversial topic?

 

Great to hear that others are enjoying it too. It's probably the best sounding album in my entire record collection!

 

FWIW the controversial topic of loving the MFSL Orbison seems to enjoy open airing in this non-banned and still-extant thread.

SQ of Roy Orbison Monument Box vs. MFSL All-Time Greatest Hits