Steve - your "Who's Next"

Holy crap, I want to marry it. I thought I was getting it on Monday, but I didn't get it until today and I love it. I kept my Astley for the packaging, but that's all it's good for. The sound quality is phenomenal on yours, seriously.

I'd like to thank you and the rest of this board for showing me, over the past year, what "remastered" should mean.

 

Even more amazing is that it's available in Canada, the "land of nothing in print"!

 

MCA probably figured it was an old mastering and the "Better", "Newer", "Improved" , "Deluxe Editions" are the rage....Well aren't THEY MISTAKEN!!!! Typical Corporate Mindset...Newer=Better! We know the truth..Older "IS" Better, in this case and every other case where Steve has mastered it before and long gone now...

 

I'm sure the DCC Who's Next is great.

I actually listened to the Astley version last night on headphones, and I think it's great too. I thought the drums sounded fantastic. Are reissues those frowned upon around here as well? I take it that there is NR on it. It sounds good to me. I hear the new My Generation CD is pretty bad though, at least most of the reviews I read on Amazon...

 

It's MCA's "Who's Next", the Canadian Version is from the early 80's SH Mastering, long gone here in the US for many years. Surprisingly available for a -song- in Canada! DCC never released it.

 

Since The Who or should I better say Pete "deaf" Townshend have approved the remixes as the new version, Steve's remastering for MCA is the legacy for us. Anyone know if the original master tape still exist?

 

Sorry about the DCC mix up. I guess Townshend wouldn't be the best person to approve sound quality. I like it though.

 

The one you have is not terrible. Some of the songs are re-mixed and there are the bonus tracks. Steve's is better.

Wonderwall, if your experience is anything like mine, you'll start to understand that newer is only occasionally better. Modern remasters tend to use technology (digital echo, noise reduction, digital compression) at the expense of the music. Stick around.

 

Kevin Gray knows, he remastered/cut the (1997?) MCA heavy vinyl.

BC

 

After I discovered this forum I went through my CD collection to find out that I did not have a single CD which was mastered by Steve. I did own the Astley remaster and after hearing the Steve CD I quickly purchased the still easily avialable Steve discs at HMV.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw a CD reissue of Tommy a few years back. It had a "newly remastered" sticker with a quote from Townshend along the lines of "It sounds the way I always wanted it to".

I just have to wonder -- how would he know? Wouldn't everything Townshend hears today sound like it was being sung by Kenny McCormick?

 

MCA Canada should wise up and put a mastered by Steve Hoffman sticker on their copies. I known the Steve Hoffman name for years and not every Steve Hoffman fan even knows about this site. I'm not sure if Steve would object (I doubt it but there may be other factors), or even if he could since it is true. Anyway as always money talks and if they see an increase in sales and can attribute it to the quality of the mastering and not collectability bonus tracks or being pressed on gold it is surly a step in the right direction.

 

There's more people that know the Canadian CD was done by Steve than you'd know.

Sooooo many lurkers here.

 

I'm sure that is true but just think how many people who know who Steve Hoffman is and dont come on the site. I would have not found the site so early if Tom Port hadnt mentioned it somewhere.

 

floyd raises a VERY interesting point.

REMEMBER: The Canadian CD IS NOT a clone of the 1984 MCA Hoffman CD.

Here's what Luke said:

"Well, a quick listen reveals that the Japanese disc is louder than the Canadian. Seemingly a lot louder in spots. Checking the peak level in EAC reveals as much. Whereas Love Ain't For Keeping peaks out at 96% on the Canadian, it reaches 100% on the Japanese. Behind Blue Eyes is 90.7% on the Canadian, 100% on the Japanese.

HOWEVER, once the levels are adjusted, this does seem to be the real deal. Based on my quick listens, the sound seems to match the Canadian disc. The hiss is not silenced between tracks as it is on the Canadian CD. Also, the pop around 3:30 on the Canadian disc is not here."


Granted, both CDs have a common ancestor (Steve's Remaster), but personally, after listening to both CDs back to back, I find the lack of hiss between songs in the Canadian CD annoying.

Who "fine tuned" the Canadian CD by removing the hiss between the songs???


BC

 

Technically, it's not really the "Astley version". It's credited as "remixed and remastered by Andy MacPherson and Jon Astley", but from what I've heard that really means "Andy MacPherson did all the work." The first Who CD which was actually mastered by Astley was Odds and Sods, which came out a couple years later.

I don't mind the Who's Next remaster, but I really prefer the original mixes to the remixes. Those remixes just don't sound "right" to me.

 

On my DVD player which I have hooked up to the mixer which is hooked up to my stereo, I put on headphones to listen to the pop which I normally wouldn't hear when I'm casually listening to the disc as the DVD player is a better CD player than any CD changer I've ever heard. The CD player on my Samsung that I had in high school was a good one though until it wasn't working well anymore. I have actually made my modest system as close to audiophile quality as possible with my budget.

 

Wow, I had no idea that Who's Next was remixed too. When I bought it I freaked out, and thought it sounded amazing (I never really owned the original album; my brother did, but I know most of it from classic rock radio). At the time, I didn't have the best listening setup.

I hope my HMV order gets here today... I'm eager to compare the two!

 

Partially remixed. Baba, My Wife, Love ain't for Keeping, Goin Mobile, and Behind Blue Eyes are the remixed songs, if I recall correctly. The others are original mixes, but they are not sourced from the original master tape like the Hoffman version is.

 

Okay...

Which one do I have then?

I finally dug out my Who's Next CD purchased from Columbia House back in '85 and has that "Mfd for RCA Direct Marketing, Inc Under License" blurb where the UPC usually goes on the back. But the copyright is 1971, 1984 MCA Records, with the following numbers: "DIDX-152", "MCAD-37217". The disc is made in Japan with the following numbers on the inner ring: "D1-70350" and "2C1 82"

A quick check through EAC and CoolEdit shows that every track maxes out at about 89.1% or -.99db. In other words, it seems that hard limiting was used and then the overall volume brought down just a tad. Not compressed - just all peaks brought to a certain point and leveled off.

Other than the usual frequency cut-off at 20,500Hz (which was the norm on CD mastering back then), all hiss is still there throughout and between tracks. Except for the LP side change point - even then, it's a short black out.

So mine doesn't seem to match either disc that is mentioned in bencanas quote from Luke.



Joel

 

I should really do some more "stats" tests with the various versions one of these days.

 

A Columbia House disc with Mfd. for RCA Direct Marketing?
Can't say for sure, but IF your disc's total time reads exactly 43:25, there is a very good chance you have Steve's version.

BC

 

Gary,
If you guys keep yacking about this, Universal Canada just might yank that puppy off the shelves. I'm going to run out to A+B Sound this weekend and buy one or two back up copies to be safe.

Mind you, if everyone in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, New Zealand, remote parts of Canada, etc., who hang out here, keep buying copies from A+B Sound and HMV, and these on-lilne retailers keep re-ordering stock, Universal should keep the CD in print. Why delete a budget catalogue item that continually sells and probably costs very little to manufacture?