The Razor & Tie '80s compilation (Awesome/Forever/Totally '80s) track-by-track thread

one of these has a real prominent picture of boy george on the cover.

 

Did Steve do The Big 90s and 90s Style for Razor & Tie?

It's not in the discography.

 

Steve did not do any of these:
Everything '80s (1995)
Living In The 90s (1995)
'90s Style (1996)
The Big '90s

Kevin

 

Correct that Steve didn't do those four for Razor & Tie. I need to update that webpage...

Those four collections do sound very nice. Overall, decent sound comparable to the single-artist CDs at the time, generally very nice EQ. I remember thinking that Everything '80s was done well enough to be on par with Steve's work.

My notes, which are a little sketchy:

Everything '80s

Has the best-sounding versions I own of "Burning Down The House", "Jump", "Footloose", "Eat It", "The Glamorous Life" (45 edit), "Party All The Time", "Don't Mean Nothing", "Kokomo", and "I Wanna Have Some Fun" (45 edit).

Living In The '90s (mastered by Bill Kollar)

Has the best-sounding versions I own of "Hold On", "U Can't Touch This" (after some fixing because it lops off the first 1.2 seconds of the song!), "Baby It's Tonight", "High Enough" (45 version), "Rico Suave", "Strike It Up", "To Be With You", "Jump Around" and "Would I Lie To You".

'90s Style

Has the best-sounding versions I own of "Black Velvet", "I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)", "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over", "Let's Talk About Sex", "Wind Of Change", "Superwoman" and "2 Legit 2 Quit".

The Big '90s

Has the best-sounding versions I own of "The Ballad Of Jayne", "It Must Have Been Love", "Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)" and "Real, Real, Real".

 

By the way, since I didn't actually come out and ask: I'm very curious to know if people who own this one have cover variation #1:



...or variation #2:

 

I have multiple copies - I'll check tonight.

BTW, that's the same picture on both variations, but cropped differently. Does the art wrap around to the back? Again, I'll have to check tonight.

 

Checked my two copies and both have Paula overseeing all from the bottom right corner.

Weird that there's a "secret remaster" of cover art!

And no, the art doesn't wrap around. There's a back insert in the jewel box that shows the same picture but has a little more on the left side, just because it's larger than the front slide-in insert.

 

My copy is variation #1: it has Paula on the booklet and tray card.

 

I have two copies of Awesome 80's. One has the Paula cover and the other doesn't. Weird. I never even noticed it before.

 

Why?

 

I always pick up used copies of these comps when I find them in used bins. They sound great and Steve mastered them so someone is always looking for a copy. These extras go into my "trade/sale" pile. I have a spare copy of "Awesome 80's", "Totally 80's" & "Forever 80's" in my trade pile right now.

These 3 aren't as rare as Steve's "Back To The 80's". I've only found one copy of that anywhere in the past 10 years or so that I've been looking.

 

Recently got some Foreigner collections, did some comparisons among them for "Waiting For A Girl Like You", and am posting my findings. A heavyweight analysis befitting for a song that spent 10 weeks at number 2.

First, if you simply must have the 45 edit, here are instructions on creating the 45 version from the LP version:

• Keep 0:00-4:04 of the LP version.
• After the "waiting for you-ohh" line, 1.5 beats before the downbeat, remove the 32 beats from 4:04-4:23.
• Keep 4:23 to the end; the beginning of this segment has the background vocals singing "I've been waiting for a ..."
• If you use the Very Best And Beyond CD as your source, your mixdown will run 4:30, with an edit at 4:04.

Note that tail of the fade runs about 5 seconds longer for the 45 version on Records, compared to the comparable LP version on Beyond. No big deal.

The 45 edit first appeared on CD in 1985 on Records (running 4:32, excluding outro silence). To my ears, it sounds like the source tapes are a higher-generation that what later used on Very Best And Beyond. I know Records was mastered by Barry and gets high praise around here, but I found it a little muffled, and not as open-sounding as some of the later Foreigner compilations.

I found 6 CDs that use the same analog transfer as Records. All sound pretty close, and all have slightly boosted high end compared to Records:

• Sandstone's Cosmopolitan Vol. 1 (1992; mastered by our host)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Dreams (1993)
• Razor & Tie's 2-CD Totally '80s (1993; mastered by our host)
• Swaitek's 50-CD-for-radio The A List (1994)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Body Talk (1994; digitally exactly 0.1 dB quieter than Cosmopolitan)
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties - 1981 (1995; extra compression, diff EQ and about 4 dB louder than Cosmopolitan)

I found a different analog transfer of the 45 edit on Warner Special Products' 3-CD Secret Love (1987). It's got a little more high end, but appears to be from the same source tapes as Records. There are digital clones on:

• Madacy's Rock On - 1981 (1996; 1 dB louder)
• EMI's Rock 'N Roll Relix 1980-1981 (1998; 0.9 dB louder)

The LP version first appeared on CD on Foreigner 4 in 1986 (running 4:48, excluding outro silence, according to Pat Powney's book). I don't have this CD, and can't comment on the sound.

It later appeared on Atlantic's Hit Singles 1980-1988 (1988; mastered by Sam Feldman), where it sounds superb, although the levels are a little low.

I think the best-sounding version, overall, is on Atlantic's The Very Best And Beyond (1992; mastered by Ted Jensen). This is a great-sounding disc overall, taken from very low-generation source tapes. I could do without the three new songs that start the disc (I prefer Very Best over Beyond), but the other 14 tracks are great, including the non-hit "Rev On The Red Line" from Head Games. One can quibble with the track line-up (no "Long Long Way From Home", "Blue Morning Blue Day" or "Break It Up"), but overall, I highly recommend this collection for the sound alone.

There are digital clones of Very Best And Beyond on:

• Time-Life's Body Talk - Moonlit Nights (1996; differently EQ'd digital clone)
• Time-Life's Guitar Rock - Power Ballads (1999; 1.5 dB quieter; mastered by Dennis Drake)
• Time-Life's Singers And Songwriters - 1980-1982 (2000; differently EQ'd digital clone; mastered by Dennis Drake)

Finally, there's Atlantic/Rhino's Complete Greatest Hits (2002; mastered by Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot). Overall, a VERY loud collection, as you might expect from 2002. Glaring EQ on many songs. I'm not a fan of this CD. (And again, no "Break It Up"?)

Final recommendation: for the best sound for "Waiting For A Girl Like You", pick up Very Best And Beyond. (Do the edit yourself if you must have the 45 edit.)

 

It looks like this one is still in print. Same mastering for all releases?

(Fantastic write-up. Thanks!)

 

I don't know if Very Best And Beyond was ever remastered. I really doubt it, though, since there are so many other Foreigner compilations out there. It's available cheap.

 

One additional comment - I noticed from a post on the top40musiconcd forum that the 45 of "Waiting For A Girl Like You" is actually a remix, not just an edit.

To quote one of the posters there: "This remix also had different keyboard voices on the end of the second verse "Oh I know it's right (bling bling - those were different on the remix - repeated three times.) " There may be some different vocal work as well (I didn't notice it).

My comparisons are all still valid, but you technically can't recreate the 45 from the album version because it's a (very subtle) remix.

Thanks to Jody and the golden ears at top40musiconcd.com...

 

Revisited "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon, and have to change my vote.

There are lots of compilations that are based on the same analog transfer used for Epic's The Hits (1988). All run at 79.2 BPM, and all sound pretty good; The Hits was done very nicely. They are:

• Priority's Eighties Greatest Rock Hits Vol. 5 (1992; about 6 dB louder than The Hits and clips severely - avoid)
• Swaitek's 50-CD-for-radio The A List (1994)
• Razor & Tie's 2-CD Forever '80s (1994; mastered by our host)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Body Talk - Magic Moments (1996; differently EQ'd digital clone)
• Time-Life's Body Talk - The Language Of Love (1998; digitally identical to Magic Moments)

There's another batch of compilations that are based on Bill Inglot's analog transfer done for Rhino's Billboard Top Hits - 1985 (1994). These run at 78.3 BPM, and these sound even better than the discs listed above:

• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties - The Rockin' Eighties (1994)
• Cema's 2-CD Mystic Music Presents Cool Rock (1995)
• JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll 1985-1989 #1 Radio Hits (1996)

There are some earlier discs that don't quite sound as good as the two groups above, including Realm's Gold And Platinum Vol. 2 (1986) and Warner Special Products' 2-CD Night Beat (1988).

My vote goes to Rhino's Billboard Top Hits - 1985 (1994).

 

Not a bad haul today....

Awesome 80's, Forever 80's, and Totally 80's for 3.99 each.

 

Lucky you! I still have yet to find a copy of "Back To The '80's"!!!

Been searching for about 7 years or so.

 

I recently picked up Rock The First Volume Six, and compared "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by Kim Wilde to the one on Awesome '80s.

They definitely sound different, and I prefer the version on Rock The First. I'd say the Awesome '80s version has a boosted high midrange that makes it a bit more harsh. The Awesome '80s version is also clipped at the beginning, shaving about a half a second off.

FWIW, that song on Kim Wilde - The Singles Collection 1981-1993 has some kind of tape drag at the beginning -- and of course it's the least-good of the three.

 

Relistened to Paula Abdul's "Straight Up".

The version on Awesome '80s uses the same analog transfer as Warner Special Products/JCI's Hot Moves (1988). It sounds very good, as one would expect from a song recorded in 1988. The version on these two CDs actually has a little hiss that you can hear at the very end of the fade; there is no such hiss on Paula's Forever Your Girl CD or the two Canadian compilation CDs I have that use the same analog transfer as Forever (PolyTel's Turn It Up and Quality's This Is Music 6). The Hot Moves/Awesome '80s versions also run a teensy bit faster than on Forever Your Girl (96.4 BPM compared with 95.8 BPM). All sound good.

 

Relistened to "Love Shack" by The B-52's.

The version on Awesome '80s is based on track 1 (labeled "Edit") from the promo CD single, and aside from being less than 1 dB quieter, sounds virtually identical to the promo CD single. That's a good thing. Considering that most US compilations use the full LP version, this makes Awesome '80s your least expensive option to hunt down the 45 edit for this track.

Also relistened to "Wild Thing" by Tone-Loc.

The version on Totally '80s sounds extremely close to the commercially available CD single for the track. Overall, the sound is pretty good, but the very end of the last beat of the song is truncated to silence on both of them.

Better is the version on Rock The First Vol. 6 (1992), which is also mastered by our host. On this version, the last beat has a real fade to tape hiss. There's a digital clone of this version on Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties 1988-1989 (1995), which is digitally exactly 1.2 dB louder.

 

Hi crapfromthepast,

Your postings have been incredibly informative, thanks for sharing all of the information on these CDs and their tracks as compared to different releases.

I'm curious to know your opinion on one question that I think you'd be well-suited to answer: Which of the songs on these compilations show the biggest difference in mastering over a different release?

This question comes from the thread here: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=194865&page=2

The point being that it would be very helpful for many people (especially those without a fine tuned ear to these things, such as myself) to be able to hear two versions of a song and hear what a difference the mastering can make. Finding 2 or 3 songs that feature the most distinct and audible changes so that even us novices can hear a difference would be a very useful. Since these sets are well regarded here and you are very familiar with them, I thought I'd ask you.

Any (more) insights you have would be appreciated! Of course other posters are welcome to reply too.

 

Are these still available online? Or anyone members here selling any?

 

So... in the seven years since my initial post, I've had a chance to compare the Razor & Tie collections with, literally, hundreds of other CDs.

Seven years later, I'd rate the Razor & Tie collections to be on par with other Warner Special Products and Time-Life collections, not towering above them as I might have thought seven years ago.

Our host has said that Razor & Tie provided him a set of source tapes to use for these discs, and he wasn't able to dig around in the vaults to find the lowest-generation source tapes out there. Through A/B comparisons, I've been able to trace the mastering history for most of the tracks on the Razor & Tie collections.

I discovered that most (all?) of the tracks on Steve's Razor & Tie discs use the same analog transfers as earlier CDs, and as a result, sound extremely close to those earlier discs. They're not digital clone of the earlier discs, but in volume-matched A/B tests, I couldn't tell the difference. I will list those discs below.

Awesome '80s - Razor & Tie OPCD-4551 (1994)

Disc 1
1. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen 3:36

Based on Hollywood's Queen Greatest Hits (1992)
So is Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 1 The Rockin' Eighties (1994), Time-Life's
Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 25 Rolling Stone 1980-1981 (1995), PolyGram's Pure Funk Vol. 2 (1999; differently EQ'd digital clone of GH with added compression), Rhino's Rhino Instant Party Disc (1999), and Rhino's Like Omigod (2002).​

2. Love Shack - B-52's 4:18 [45 version]

Based on track 1 ("Edit") from promo CD single but with polarity inverted​

3. Maneater - Daryl Hall And John Oates 4:32

Based on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Night Beat (1988)​

4. Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners 4:03 [LP version lacking fiddle intro]

Missing some of bass drum hit on opening note
Not sure where this track came from
EMI's Rock 'N Roll Relix 1982-1983 (1998) is digitally exactly 4.077 dB quieter than Awesome '80s.​

5. Venus - Bananarama 3:39 [:10 shorter than the 45 or LP]

Based on London's Bananarama Greatest Hits Collection (1988)
So is Sandstone's Rock The First Vol. 1 (1992), Priority's Rock Of The '80s Vol. 4 (1993), and Simitar's Number Ones Party Time (1998).​

6. Down Under - Men At Work 3:43

Not sure where this track came from​

7. Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood 3:56 [LP mix]

Not sure where this track came from, but is likely based on FGTH's Welcome To The Pleasuredome
So is EMI UK's 2-CD Now 26 (1993), Sony's 2-CD Pop And Wave Vol. 5 (1994), Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 2 1985 (1994), JCI's Only Dance 1985-1989 (1995), and Universal's Pure '80s (1999; differently EQ'd digital clone of Awesome '80s with added compression and truncated fade).​

8. Whip It - Devo 2:40

Based on Warner Bros's Devo Greatest Hits (1990)
So is Priority's Rock Of The '80s Vol. 1 (1990), Sandstone's Rock The First Vol. 3 (1992), JCI's
Only Dance 1980-1984 (1995), Warner Special Products' 2-CD Punk (1996), and Madacy's Rock On 1980 Too Hot (1998).​

9. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me - Culture Club 4:24

Not sure where this track came from
JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll 1980-1984 (1994) uses same analog transfer as Awesome '80s​

10. Maniac - Michael Sembello 4:06 [early fade of soundtrack version]

Based on Warner Special Products' 3-CD After Hours (1990)
So is Warner Special Products' 2-CD Good Times (1991; digitally identical to After Hours).​

11. Let's Dance - David Bowie 4:09 [slightly incorrect recreation of 45 edit]

Based on Ryko's Changesbowie (1990)
So is Rykodisc's Bowie The Singles 1969-1993 (1993; digitally identical to Changesbowie), Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 26 Rolling Stone 1982-1983 (1994; digitally exactly 0.4 dB quieter than Changesbowie), Madacy's Rock On 1983 (1996; digitally exactly 0.1 dB quieter than Changesbowie), Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 21 Club '80s (2001; differently EQ'd digital clone of Changesbowie), and Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 24 Everything '80s (2002; differently EQ'd digital clone of Changesbowie with added compression).​

12. Tainted Love - Soft Cell 2:40 [45 version]

Not sure where this track came from​

13. Mickey - Toni Basil 3:27 [45 version faded :11 early]

Not sure where this track came from
So is JCI's Only Dance 1980-1984 (1995), JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll #1 Radio Hits 1980-1984 (1996), and Warner Special Products' 2-CD Punk (1996).​

14. Talking In Your Sleep - Romantics 3:55

Based on Rhino's Billboard Top Hits 1984 (1992)
So is Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Dreams (1993; truncated fade), Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rock Box (1994), Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 6 1984 (1994; differently EQ'd digital clone of Billboard), and Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 3 1984-1985 (1999; differently EQ'd digital clone of Billboard).​

15. My Prerogative - Bobby Brown 3:31 [45 edit]

Not sure where this track came from, but is likely the "CHR Edit" from promo CD single
JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll 1985-1989 (1996) uses same analog transfer as Awesome '80s.​

16. Freeze-Frame - J. Geils Band 3:57

Based on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Good Times (1991)
So is Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rock Box (1994), Priority's I Love Rock And Roll Vol. 4 Hits Of The 80's (1996), and Madacy's Rock On 1982 (1996; digitally exactly 1.5 dB louder than Good Times).​

17. Rhythm Of The Night - DeBarge 3:50 [Runs faster than 45 or LP version]

Based on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Night Beat (1988)
So is Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rockin' USA (1994)​

18. We Built This City - Starship 4:55

Based on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Night Beat (1988)
So is Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rock This Way (1995)​

19. Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams 4:20

Based on Rhino's Billboard Top Hits 1984 (1992)
So is Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rockin' USA (1994), JCI's Only Dance 1980-1984 (1995), and Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 26 Mid-'80s (2000; differently EQ'd digital clone of Billboard).​

20. Don't Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin 3:49 [45 edit]

Not sure where this track came from
Warner Special Products' 2-CD Sweet Love (1996) uses same analog transfer as Awesome '80s.​

This is a lot to type in, and rather than risk losing stuff, I'm going to spread this out over multiple posts , over a few days. Disc 2 of Awesome '80s is up next, followed by both discs of Forever '80s, both discs of Totally '80s, and Back To The '80s. Stay tuned.