I don't know if this has been posted already, but I found a TNOTB CD with different peak levels than the ones in oldschool's table. This is a Canadian Disque Americ CD and the peak levels are: 75.6 81.7 77.9 74.1 83.6 85.2 87.0 73.7 When cranked up, it sounds awesome!
What do you think about the sound of Beast Over Hammersmith and Best of The B'Sides 2002 double CD releases? I really love Maiden's b-sides (Cross-Eyed Mary, All In Your Mind, Reach Out.. simply excellent) and the Beast Over Hammersmith is one hell of a live. Double CD Castle and EMI editions released in 1995 include those b-sides but I'm not interested in buying all of them. So, are these two releases compressed and brickwalled to death or full of dynamics? I read somewhere that Nick Watson mastered these and I've also read here that his mastering works are quite good.. are these good ones?
Best of the B-Sides is an awful mastering.Beast over Hammy is a little loud but really not too bad compared to what they did to the B-sides.I like the 1990 First ten Years EPs and`95 castles for the B-Sides.I haven`t heard the vinyl in years maybe that`s the very best sounding.Beast Over Hammersmith and the Reading`82 are great concerts if you can find the Eddies Archive Boxset from 2002.Sometimes the B-Sides,BBC,and Beast Over Hammersmith cds show up cheap seperately on ebay or Amazon.Half of the hammersmith`82 film is on the early Years DVD. I`m not holding my breath for any more deluxe editions or boxsets.
That's sad. It would have been an easy way to get the most of the b-sides in two CDs. I have No Prayer For The Dying double CD and the b-sides in it sound quite good, at least they aren't compressed and loud.
YES it's done now i have all "First Ten years" CDs and the 1995 2CD-Sets! i also own the 1998 remasters of all albums
That's awesome. As far as I'm concerned, you're done with those particular titles! You may not like them, but to round up your collection, I would recommend: A Real Dead One and A Real Live One: Either the original Capitol, Castle or EMI. Make sure they are individual releases and not bundled up together. Live At Donington: Original EMI. As far as I know, there are issues made in UK, Holland, Japan, Canada and maybe Brazil. I believe they're all the same (at least the UK, Holland and Japan ones for sure). The X Factor: Japan 2-CD set Virtual XI: Japan 2-CD set As for the '98 remasters, Live After Death is essential because it has the long version of "Running Free", and of course the 2nd disc with the Hammersmith stuff. The rest are good for cranking in the car!
Not necessarily. Look at the mastering levels on the tables in this thread and do your homework. You could do what I did and buy the EMI UK CDs or others that have the same masterings as the Japanese BT CDs. That way you get the same sound for a much cheaper price. I also believe that the S/T album is better on the original US CD or similar.
Am I right in thinking that CDP 7 46364 2 of number of the beast is a good cd to get get? and CDP 7 46045 2 would be trumped by the castle 2 cd versions? Buying them both (cheap) would still be a good purchase?
Both CDP CDs will be the best masterings available, and the same as the JPN BT CDs (if you look at the charts earlier in this thread). Forget the Castle 2 CD for Powerslave. It is a different mastering you don't want. The Castle 2 CD for TNOTB would be alright.
Thanks for the reply, I will buy them and sell my 98 remaster of Powerslave. Next try and find a better version of Somewhere in Time. I grew up listening to my dads copy on vinyl, so the remaster was a huge let down
oh yes i have the Real Dead and Live One, also Live at Donington but only as remasters..... i also own the other Maiden albums Brave new world, Dance of Death, A matter of life and death, Somewhere back in time........both, Final Frontier, Flight 666 i have the Dance of Death DVD-Audio Disc and the US pressing of the non copy controlled Cd and Best of Beast Deluxe Cd and not to forget the EMI 100 Vinyl pressing of Number of the Beast
I am trying to build my Iron Maiden Collection from scratch. I was thinking of getting all the US castle 2xCDs because of the extra tracks. I have BT of first 2 albums, but the extra songs arent there. How can I manage to get the preferred CD masterings & get the bonus material. Maybe theres an easier way? or maybe I should get the castles n stay with those. If anyone can help me that would save a lot of time. thanks
Go through this thread and buy all the albums (except S/T) that are the BT or have the same mastering. Some may be 2 CD versions and some may not. For the S/T, get the original capitol or same. You will get some bonus tracks and some you can't, but you will have the best masterings and sound available for all albums.
guys I have a question I am clear that the best version is the CP32 from japan, but there are only editions to "seventh son of a ..." ,Now what is the best version of "no prayer of the dying" forward (NPFTD-Fear of the dark-x factor...) japan EMI TOCP-USA castle records-USA Capitol ..??. " plz help me : Ayuda: sorry for my english :S
Yea, no kidding!! Thought the same thing when I read his post before seeing yours. I had Somewhere In Time on cassette. I apparently dumped all my Maiden LPs when I purchased the cds in the 80s. Sound familiar? Weird...I am literally currently listening to Rime of the Ancient Mariner at this moment! This would have been one of those bathroom/sandwich breaks songs the DJs would have used. Talk about epic!!
I think that past 7th Son all other albums share the same mastering regardless of the pressing but I might be wrong..
Sorry for the question but how do I see which versions have the same mastering as the BT version? I'm interested in buying good sounding versions of SSOASS, Powerslave and POM. I thought I buy the original EMI versions of SSOASS and Powerslave and for POM the Caste version since I read in this thread the original EMI pressing does not sound very good. Or should I also get the Castle versions for SSOASS and Powerslave? They are more expensive than the EMI.
I just ripped my current POM version (it's an EMI UK press from 1983), but I got exactly the same peak level as the Japan Pastmasters II in the chart. So I got a different mastering than the EMI UK in the chart?
X Factor: "I Live My Way", "Justice of The Peace" and "Judgement Day" Virtual XI: Live versions of "Blood on the World's Hands" and "The Aftermath" Plus the superb packaging. With Blaze, they also recorded smoking covers of UFO's "Doctor Doctor" and of The Who's "My Generation". Then there is the awesome forgotten gem "Virus".
