DCC Archive Strangest/Most Frustrating Reissues - Pt. 2

Here's my twist on the subject -- how about a reissue that gets every just about right, save for one glaringly obvious omission. One example would be the Geffen reissue of Tommy Keene's Songs from the Film. Decent remastered sound. New liner notes. Bonus tracks. But, if you read the liner notes, you'll learn that one of the bonus tracks is a full-band version of a song that appeared in acoustic form on a b-side. But where is the b-side version? IT'S NOT ON THE CD!! Yup, they went ahead and included completely unreleased bonus material, but inexplicably left off a previously released non-album b-side. And the real kicker is that there was plenty of room for that extra song. I'm pretty sure that Rykodisc made a similar mistake with the McGear reissue. In a way, these type of reissues bother me even more than those reissues that are just pure garbage -- because here, someone obviously made an effort to do a good job, and spent the time to track down bonus material, but still left off something they were obviously aware of.

The Castle Kink reissue program is similarly frustrating. Several honest to goodness Kinks experts were consulted on the reissue series. They all had access to discographies (hell, one of them compiled the DEFINITIVE Kinks discography). They all knew what non-album tracks were out there. Yet they still managed to leave off two non-album b-sides -- She's Got Everything and Berkley Mews, as well as the single only mono mix of Apeman. Jeez, She's Got Everything could have be a bonus track for EITHER Face to Face (based on when it was recorded) or Village Green Preservation Society (based on when it was released). Berkeley Mews could have been a bonus track for EITHER Village Green Preservation Society or Lola. But somehow neither of these tracks made it on to ANY of the reissues. Are these people deliberately trying to piss us off?

 

It could be publishing rights and the way it pans out for the record company to consumer. I think they do try the best they can, although sometimes there are instances where b's and off-oddities were concidered but not used because of publishing rights, permission and difficulties therein. When it all comes down to the fans, you want to get the product to them ASAP, without dissappointing them one way or another. You also realize you want them to pay a fair price. A lot of artists for years have kept things under wraps (Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus) because they felt their performance was crap. Incidentally, the Jethro Tull, Who and Taj Mahal performances were explosive. The Stones (and Abkco) owned that film, and only a few years ago, released it. To think the Stones didn't want it out, because they thought it sucked. True, Brian looks like he's half-dead, but that's the fun!

There's a ton of material, a lot of it real GOOD left off of PLASTIC ONO BAND like jams and outtakes. EMI could have easilly gotten a hold of the multi's to do a 2 CD Box of that, maybe Imagine (Imagine has a lot of alternates)...and that's just an example.

But I agree; the real fan has a much better creative build of things, and it's made what we call "Bootlegs".

Keep yer ears open. Keep buying it. Keep talking. Someone will listen to your wallet, however slowly things happen.

 

I've always been disappointed that the 45 version of "Goin' Back" was never included in the Byrds reissues OR the box set (though it is on the old, still in-print singles CD, but not in the best sound). I also hoped they'd put the Gram Parsons-led versions of "You Don't Miss Your Water," "One Hundred Years From Now," and "The Christian Life" from the box set on the reissue of "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo," just so you can have it all on one disc. They didn't, though, even with plenty of room to spare; they did throw in a rehearsal of two of those songs, but it would've been really nice to have the "finished" track for all three.

 

Yeah, the omission of the 45 version of Goin' Back was a real surprise, especially since several other 45 version were included as bonus tracks. I thought I asked Bob Irwin about this once, but I can't remember what he said.

Sweetheart of the Rodeo should have been a double CD release.

 

Speaking of the Byrds, the biggest disappointment to me was the omission of "Flight 713" from the Notorious Byrd Bros bonus track lineup. It's the only song from the long-OOP Never Before album that isn't included on the Byrds remasters, and thus remains currently unavailable. Bob Irwin left it out because he thought there were too many instrumental bonus tracks already on that album. Maybe so, but how vexing to us obsessive completists...

 

Remember, though, that US reissues will usually have fewer tracks that other ones....I mean, I'm sure if Bob Irwin had the chance, he'd have thrown MANY more bonus tracks on the Byrds reissues...


...speaking of which, though....

The Millennium's Magic Time is hardly flawless, but the omission of exactly ONE track that's now only availible on an OOP disc is ridiculous.

The Japanese reissues of the Association's albums are pretty damn good (though they go more along with a US reissue than a UK reissue program, i.e. they're conservative re. bonus tracks) but, like many other releases from the same people (the Dreamsville/Poptones Millennium stuff) there're occasional left-channel dropouts.

-D

 

The Buffalo Springfield boxed set. Not only does it not include the "lost" 4th album (Stampede) or the 9:00+ version of Bluebird (have to stick with the vinyl for that) it actually repeats material from the first two albums... Talk about dropping the ball.

 

I guess I'm one of the few that actually appreciates the Kinks re-issues. Unlike the Beatles & Stones releases (or lack thereof), at least they're trying. Of course, I'm only interested in the releases through Village Green so i don't have any knowledge of the discs after that. I hear a lot of complaints about the sound of these CDs and while I agree that they could have been better, I've always thought the Kinks had a real raw sound. In other words, I can't imagine their early releases sounding too "good" in an audiophile sense. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm satisfied with the Castle releases.
Also, according to Red Trumpet's catalog there is going to be a 2 CD release of Plastic Ono Band. You can pre-order it now for $32.99. God, (no pun intended) I hope they get it right this time!

 

It may not be possible for the early Kinks to sound "great" from an audio standpoint, but they can definitely sound much better than they do on the current Castles, and that's what's frustrating. The old Rhinos sound better. The early-90s Japanese Teichiku discs sound better. Haven't heard the Mofi but I would guess it sounds better. Even the old Warner/Reprise versions of Something Else and Village Green sound better, in my opinion (I'll take "flat and dull sounding" over "no-noised and hyper-trebled" any day). A while ago Steve was beginning work on a Greatest Hits package... hopefully that will see release eventually.

You're only interested in the Kinks through Village Green? What about their best album, Arthur?!

 

My only experience is with the Reprise issues, which I hated. Concerning Arthur, I've never heard it all. I've always known that it was considered one of their best, I guess I have always gravitated more towards their earlier stuff. I'll have to check it out more thoroughly.

 

Yes, you're missing something big, IMHO when you skip Arthur. I have the RCA K2 reissue, and I've had the Reprise. It's a brilliant album.

 

I just listened to samples of each track and it sounds like something I would like (since Village Green is my favorite). I'll pick up a copy soon, I'm sure.

 

I'm sure that all the Kinks fans out there will be pleased (he he) to know that Castle's original plans for the reissue of VGPS called for a double disc set containing all of the officially released mono and stereo mixes, as well as demos and outtakes (including, most likely, several tracks found on the out of print Great Lost Kinks Album). Nobody involved in the reissue will fess up about who pulled the plug on the project, which leads me to believe that Ray is at least partly to blame.

 

The MoFi twofer of Kinks/Kinda Kinks is pretty lame. I know somebody mentioned they thought the first album was an '80s remix, and it kind of sounds like it in places. You Really Got Me is processed stereo, and many of the mono cuts exhibit stereo artifacts, meaning the master (if they used it) wasn't played back with a mono head. Pretty poor...

 

It's more than pretty lame, Luke. Someone spoke of the early 90s Japanese releases...well, at some point, Victor Japan released the Kinks' early albums as two-fers (in basically the same sound quality as the Reprise/Castle issues, I think). One of the two-fers was Kinks/Kinda Kinks.

Which is the EXACT. SAME. DISC. As Mofis. Seriously. It sounds like MoFi re-eqed a bit, but other than that...same mixes, same everything.

-D

 

Which leads to my question; Can the early Kinks stuff sound "good," in an audiophile sense, or is it that their CD releases have been consistantly screwed up? I grew up with some of their early Lps and I always remember the sound being harsh, thin, tinny, not sure which adjective best describes it but definitely not "warm."
Does anyone own an early Kinks CD that has, what they consider to be, very good sound?

 

I agree. The 2-Fer on Mofi was possibly one of the least favorite of mine, including the use of reprocessed stereo on a lot of key tracks. I don't have it here to make specific comments on, but I used to have the PRT (I think it was a spin-off from PYE) CD and it did sound a bit washed, but very clean.

Did anyone try the EP collection, and was it okay? I forget if it got good or poor markups. There's also a few discs on "Prime Cuts" which are budget compilations, 10 cuts each... I assume they sound horrible?

[ October 21, 2001: Message edited by: Sckott ]

 

Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, PRT stands for "Pye Records & Tapes"...

Really can't believe MoFi put out such a ****ty CD with the Kinks one. Fake stereo? Remixes? Come on...

 

I picked up a Kinks CD box last week with three Marble Arch Lps from the 60s (I'm a sucker for those Lp style slip cases). Marble Arch was a subsidiary of Pye that put out economical Lps to bridge the price gap between albums and 45s. I think the sound is identical to the Castles (no credits listed) but I love having these cheapo releases. It's kind of like having the early American Beatles albums (bastardized).
And that's my problem when it comes to finding the best sounding sources. I don't want to settle for having one Kinks greatest hits CD. I want the original albums. And when I hear the greatest hits CD that Steve mentioned, it's only going to make me mad and want to get rid of my entire Kinks collection.
I guess I may have to reinvest in a great turntable and go that route again but I anticipate even more agrivation, as well as huge outlays of cash, in finding the Lps that I want.
It didn't use to be this difficult, did it?

 

I have the PRT Arthur, which despite looking very mercenary (The song Arthur is spelled Aruther) sounds a wee bit better than my Reprise/Castle CDs....odd.

Personally, while not wonderful, I think the Castle/Reprise CDs are at least listenable, while the NEW Castles aren't. As someone said, I'll take flat over shrill and unlistenable any day.

Regarding MoFi's twofer....I'm serious. It sounds like an exact copy of the aforementioned Japanese disc, with EQ. That's why I really can't bring myself to trust the label anymore...it seems (and always seemed ot be) an experiment in audiophilism-cause-we-say-so...i.e. if we SAY "Original MAster Recordings," someone'll believe it. THe same thing used to happen to me with "remasters"...I assumed because something was remastered, it had to sound better, evne though I knew otherwise (the Kinks' catalogue was the first real brush with abnormally bad remastering, ignoring the Stones, of course).

-D

 

Right on with this one. I remember that I was so happy to see ANY "UK" Kinks hits cd, that I bought the first copy of this cd that I saw, in May '85. That stereo Victoria is just great sounding!!

On the other hand, my copy of this cd is mastered incorrectly, with 62 seconds of silence at the end of the last track. And all the track starts from tk 3 to the end are mistakenly indexed into the middle of the previous track. Pretty nutty! This makes the cd unprogrammable in most players. :-(

However, this did get fixed, apparently. A few months later, a friend bought a copy of this cd and when I checked it out, the mastering was fixed up normally. The fixed cd sounded _exactly_ the same otherwise (except that there was no extra silence at the end, of course!)

FWIW, my disc is 18-54:52, and has "CDKINK 7251 MPO 01." in the code ring. I don't recall whether the 'fixed' cd looked any different.

 

Yes, my old cd is labeled "Made in France by MPO". (MPO stands for Western Plastic Molding, in French.) I bought the cd in NJ.

Besides the honest sound, this cd is handy because it contains all 18 Kinks Pye singles that charted, in chronological order, no more, no less.

As a US fan, I was quite thrilled in 1985 to find and hear this cd. Solid bedrock from the British Invasion (IMHO!)