I'm curious to know if the booklet(s) mention anything new about the actual sessions, perhaps even mention of outtakes and such. That could be an indication that a S&G rarities project is in the works--exactly such an album was rumored decades ago, but nothing came of it.
I'm real interested in reviews of the sound. I have all these CDs already so not sure I really need to buy these.
...and you probably won't from me. I can't pinpoint the day and time. I think we can end this "back & forth" banter now, please.
It was discussed that these are not newly remastered and contain the same sound as the earlier Legacy remasters. This was before the set was released, though, so maybe they do sound different?
I suppose it's possible the credits are wrong, but they indicate the remastering occurred at Battery Studios, which was not used by Sony the last time these were remastered.
Maybe the needle will be in the haystack https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=simon and garfunkel mono mixes site:forums.stevehoffman.tv&start=0
No mono, no way. Save some cash. Anyway, I haven't play these guys in years. I think I'll play my "Columbia Studio Recordings" Box soon.
Well one way to tell would be to compare the levels Here is Parsley minus the bonus from the Columbia Box 98.8/98.8/91.8/93.3/98.8/98.8/96.6/98.8/98.8/98.8/98.8/84.3
Okay, I’ve skimmed through the first six discs and the Concert in Central Park. First off, they’re all stereo and I’m happy to report they sound terrific! Not the least bit loud, just nice smooth, natural and very crankable. The main 60’s studio albums SOUND GREAT! I was pleasantly surprised to find that they didn’t sound compressed as I was fearing they might sound. The booklet says 2014 CD Reissue producer (Discs 1-7) Steve Berkowitz Mastered by Vic Anesini, Battery Studios New York. There was no mention in the booklet of outakes or anything like that just an overview of the albums and quotes from Simon and Garfunkel about the various songs, etc. “Wednesday Morning 3 AM” – Has Artie in one channel and Paul in the other and Paul isn’t louder than Artie which I think indicates the original mix. Sounds terrific! “Sounds of Silence” – smooth and clean and sounds superb. I played certain cuts side by side to the Audio Fidelity version and while they sound very similar – almost the same volume – the new 2014 sounds clearer. In certain spots there is distortion on the vocals and electric guitars and organ on the AF that sound smoother on the 2014 which has less to no distortion. I’d give the new one the edge over the AF disc. The time on the AF disc is 29:29 and the new one is 29:30 “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” – “Homeward Bound” doesn’t have the slight fade up that’s present on the AF disc. Again, while the overall volume of the disc is almost identical to the AF disc, this new version is cleaner and clearer. The AF sounds great but again I’d give the new version the edge. I’m so pleased that these discs don’t sound compressed in the least to me. Very, very smooth yet punchy. “The Graduate” – blows away my original copy – no contest, this sounds miles better. Terrific sounding disc. “Bookends” – This is an incredible sounding disc and sounds damn close to the Mobile Fidelity disc. Clean, clear, punchy sound. Very surprised at how nice this one sounds. “Bridge Over Trouble Water” – again sounded great. Not too different from the 2011 version. I didn’t compare it to the Gold disc version but again it sounded smooth, clean and punchy and certainly didn’t sound compressed to me. I spent less time with this one as I have several version of it but I liked what I heard for sure. “Greatest Hits” – Seems to match the reissue of this that came out earlier this year - sounds almost identical. Much better than the original issue from the late 80s/90s for sure. “The Concert in Central Park” – this certainly sounded different to me from the original WB CD I have. Not only was it longer – the WB disc timed in at 76:02 and the new one was 78:06 – but it sounds different. The new one sounds almost like a remix to me. It’s actually quieter than the WB disc but maybe more musical sounding. The WB disc sounds very much like the soundtrack from the video I remember but the new one sounded different – not quite sure how to compare them. It sounded fine but was quieter than the WB but nice sounding. I’ll have to listen to this one more. Not my favorite disc but I’ll give it a listen later. I also compared some of the tracks on these discs to the remixed versions and I’d have to say hands down these new discs win. The remixed versions sounded less dynamic to me and as if there was some sort of noise reduction even though they had nice sound. The new versions had a much more vinyl like sound to me – they jumped out of the speakers but weren’t overly loud at all. The later discs didn’t have any mastering credits that differed from the originals and I haven’t listened to them but I’m guessing they’re identical to the original versions. I also compared the scans on the mini-lp to the remix mini-lps (that were put out in a box about 8 or 9 years ago) and these new covers were much better, clearer – you could read the print on the liner notes and the colors had been worked on in comparison to the remix mini-lps. The only slight problem was the white band around the covers but these covers do look nice and are sturdier than the remix mini-lps. They also used the original back cover on Sounds with Artie holding the Tiger Beat magazine cover. I did find it a little ironic that the first few albums shows the mono catalog number on the front covers probably because of the white band and the stereo catalog numbers on the rear. Very pleased with what I’ve heard and am really glad I bought the set. Can’t wait to hear what others think if they buy the set. I hate to say these are the best sounding versions before I live with them longer but they were damn impressive sounding to me and worth the price of an upgrade - to me anyway.
So these are all new masterings AND they use the original mixes for the first time since Collected Works (the original Columbia for the first album)?
I wonder why the special thank you to Sony Music Japan on the credit page? Did they have some tapes there that they used for this box? Interesting.
Another timing difference I forgot to mention. The AF disc of "Parsely" Lp comes in at 28:33 while the new 2014 comes in at 28:49.
More timings between different CD pressings: Wednesday Morning: Remix CD - 32:11 New 2014 - 32:06 Sounds of Silence: Original Columbia CD - 29:20 Remix CD - 29:35 AF -29:29 New 2014 - 29:30 Parsley, Sage, Rosemary: Original Columbia CD - 28:18 Remix CD - 29:26 AF- 28:33 New 2014 - 29:49 Bookends: MFSL - 29:43 Remix CD - 30:00 New 2014 - 29:48 Just thought it was interesting to compare.
