I agree. I'm so happy I still have the originals in my iTunes and haven't given them anymore money since......
I had the original of Fair Warning, it was flat and thin. The 2015 remaster is a dynamic extravaganza and has a HUGE soundstage. Very happy with this reissue.
Maybe mine was played to death, or one of the last off the stampers. A lot of the Zeppelin was like that - early pressings were great, last ones (1,000,000+) sounded like crap...
I tell guys that if they have a NM, quiet original & you're happy, good on you. But, the FW reissue (to a lesser degree DD) remaster on vinyl is the nicest gift from VH ever...outside (sound quality notwithstanding) the gift of new/old music on ADKOT.
Does anyone know if the masterings are identical on the 2005 "Forever Young" Japan CDs vs. the "Forever Young" Japan CDs with the "2010 Campaign" sticker on them (hard case)? Thanks in advance.
That's a very interesting question. I didn't even know there was another Forever Young series of releases in 2010. Do you have the catalog numbers of the 2010 series? I know there was another set of Forever Young releases of the 6-pack in August 2016 that simply used the new 2015 remasters. But I'm assuming you're more wanting to know if the 2010 Van Hagar releases are the same awesome-sounding masters/remasters that were used for the now hard to find 2005 releases. As a proud owner of those 2005 releases, I can attest that the 2005 versions of 5150 and OU812 are nothing short of a revelation when compared to the current US versions.
Thanks, Dan. For Panama Jack, here is a current eBaby listing with the "2010 Campaign" sticker I was referring to: Van Halen by Van Halen CD 2005 Japanese Import HDCD! New & sealed! Ships fast!
To follow-up on that, am I better off tracking down the individual 2005 "Forever Young" Japan CDs for the Roth-era albums, or grabbing the 24bit/192kHz files from HDtracks (sourced from the 2015 remasters)? Any advice would be appreciated.
A definite yes on the 24bit/192kHz files from HDtracks - but only if the 24/192 , the 24/96 are a different and inferior mastering and I feel a firm avoid.
I had no idea that 5150 and OU812 were remastered in Japan? These were issued in 2005 and possibly reissued in 2010 as well? I have to admit that the Van Hagar material sounds great - modern and remastered on the 2004 Best of Both Worlds 2CD comp, but I didn't like how the Roth material sounded on that comp though. I would definitely buy 5150 and OU812 in remastered form though!
Well, to be fair, there is some debate about whether they were truly remastered, or if the existing CD masters were simply given a volume boost. From my perspective, I think they were remastered. I hear more clarity and a different EQ in the 2005 Japan versions. But there are others here who imported the current US releases, amped up the volume, and then conducted blind listening comparisons with the 2005 Japan versions, and could not distinguish between the two, so their opinion is that they were not truly remastered, but rather simply given a volume boost. Either way, to my ears, they sound miles and away better than the current US releases. Better yet, they're not compressed to death so the dynamics are preserved. If interested in tracking them down, here are the catalog titles: 5150: WPCR-75068 OU812: WPCR-75069 Unlawful: WPCR-75070 Balance: WPCR-75071 VH3: WPCR-75072 Also, I will say that these releases have been discussed quite a bit in this thread and forum, so it may be worth it to you to use the search function to find those past discussions. If searching just this thread, I found a good search term to use to pinpoint where these releases were discussed is "Van Hagar". Good luck!
