"Who's Next" - Do We Have A Winner?

What did I stumble on today, but a Japanese pressing of Who's Next. Of course, by this, I mean "Manufactured in Japan for MCA...". Could this be Steve's disc?

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. At the end of Song Is Over everything (song and hiss) slowly fades away, just as it does on the Canadian disc.

FWIW, here's the info for the disc:

MCAD-37217
DIDX-152
C 1971, 1984 (both the back tray and inside; the Canadian CD has 1986 in one spot)

disc itself:
"Manufactured in Japan for MCA Records, Inc."

inner ring (very faint):
"MCAD-37217 1A1 6X"

You want a CD-R, Steve?

 

Congrats, Luke! I know you've been looking for that for a long time...

 

Yeah...I saw the case sitting there and thought I'd ask to see the disc itself. Once I saw "Japan" I said "I'll take it!"

Another interesting note - there's no UPC code. Obviously this one originally came in a long box.

 

I still kick, kick, kick myself that I sold the copy I had in the 80's (actually my brother's). It was in the longbox and everything, and at the time, I wondered how this CD sounded so damn good compared to other CD's I had (80's synth-pop, etc.). We also had Steely Dan's "Aja", the very first pressing from Japan (which is a Hoffman also, has the full story every been discussed on that) in a longbox. That CD also blew me away at the time, and I didn't make the connection. Well, a foolish teenager (me) ended up selling those two for some reason (probably for more 80's synth-pop...which is fine, by the way), and I sure wish I had them now.

If only you could go back in time...I would keep those (and also buy about 100 copies of "Y Kant Tori Read" and sell them in the present...)


nashreed

 

Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

Uh luke, I also reside in Madison, how about letting me in on your source for CDs like this.

 

Was "Y Kant Tori Read" ever officially released on CD?

I guess 100 copies of Nirvana's "Love Buzz" 7" single would have been a better investment ...

Joachim

 

Re: Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

Sugar Shack on State Street. Sorry, but I didn't see any other copies there! Or any other music store in the area, for that matter. It's pretty rare that I see any copies of Who's Next, actually.

I found a Vintage Collectibles disc and a Rock Of The 70s disc at Frugal Muse on Fordem the other day.

 

Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

I just found something else interesting - the Canadian does *not* seem to be a digital clone (with adjustments) of the Japanese disc. For instance, if one lines up the two versions of Behind Blue Eyes to be in sync at the start of the song, by the end of the song the Japanese version is a tenth of a second ahead of the Canadian.

Since the mastering (other than the aforementioned differences) sounds the same, I wonder where those differences came from.

 

Re: Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

Well, the Japanese were always one step ahead of us in all things audio.

I'm wondering if these are two different masterings both done from the original master. The other issues were from a copy of the master, no?

 

Re: Re: Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

It's unknown what tapes other CDs used.

I would think if one of these wasn't Steve's version we'd hear more differences between the two. As it stands (for me, anyway), they sound the same.

 

Finally!

That probably sounds right, then.

How much more hiss would be on the safety copy? As once the levels are matched, I don't really hear a difference. Of course, I'm sure someone else would be able to hear the differences better than myself, but...

 

Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

Just for the heck of it, I checked my old CD copy of Who's Next. Everything about it is the same as Luke's, except the inner ring number ends with "1A4 6X" instead of "1A1". Does this still mean I have a good one? Glad I never traded it in, even after getting the MCA gold and the bonus track edition--because I always thought it sounded damn good, and closest to the LP version I played a zillion times in the 70s.

 

Re: Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

Could be a different pressing run, I suppose. If you say it sounds good it's most likely Steve's disc. I *think* the only versions pressed in Japan were the original (poor sounding from what I'm told) and Steve's. I think (but am not sure) that any "updated" (read: screwed up) copies would have been pressed in the US.

There's a BMG copy floating around here somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment. I assume that uses the later "US mastering", but I'll have to check it out to verify.

 

The Who's Next CD I got from BMG in 1993 is definitely the bad, later mastering. It also says Made In The USA, not Japan, but you can tell just by listening that it's the bad one.

 

There must be different BMG pressings, because the one I have sounds like the Canadian CD and was pressed in the USA.

 

Jimbo, so how does the MCA Gold cd compare to Steve's?

Does anyone here know how the MFSL version sounds?

Always been kinda curious about those 2 versions. I know for sure that the Buddy Holly on MCA Gold just sucks compared to Steve's.

 

Re: Who's Next - Do We Have A Winner?

I've had the same disc for years & doubted for a little while that it was the real deal. That was due to speculation on the DCC board that the early US and Canadian were the only ones to keep true to Steve's mastering. Not so. After listening again and again, there's no way this disc can be improved upon (save for tube mastering on vinyl!). It's a fine sounding CD.

 

The MCA gold had massive amounts of noise reduction. There's NO hiss on there. Too bright as well.

The MoFi is essentially a copy of the remix/remaster CD. Some say it sounds better, but some also say it sounds worse, and the tapes used are the same.

 

I recently attempted to compare Steve's version, MCA Gold and MFSL and had a real problem!

Every time I started playing Steve's version I got so wrapped up in the music I forgot about the other two versions and ended up listening to the entire Hoffman version. That just didn't happen with MCA and MFSL versions.

 

Steve's "WHO'S NEXT" is like the best DCC GOLD, but they forgot to press it in GOLD!

 

About the variations in "WHO'S NEXT" CDs:
My "Manufactured in Japan for MCA...". disc clocks in at 43:25, my "Made in USA" disc that sounds just like it clocks in at 43:26 and another "Made in USA" disc that DOESN'T sound like it at all (worse) clocks in at 43:15.

 

Oh...help...I'm really confused now.
My "Who's Next" (a recent purchase, just to have something without the bonus tracks) comes in at 43:28, so it should be one of the first (two?) issues. I'm not hearing the Hoffman magic, though- certainly not what I remember. I shouldn't have the Hoffman version anyway, because it's "Made In U.S.A.", CRC, and something like "SRC+02" in the inner ring. Sure, it sounds better than the wretched MoFi, but not incredibly so.

Riddle me this, does the Hoffman version have tape hiss between the songs? My version does, except it fades out after the end of side 1, and then comes back. Maybe there are musical landmarks to look for with the Hoffman, just to be sure (although it should be obvious).

Thanks, as always

nashreed

 

Actually, the Canadian disc runs 43:26 too, so I'm guessing anything other than (approx) that total time would not be Steve's mastering. Don't assume record club issues would not be because I have a BMG that is. Best bet is to just pick up a Canadian since they're easy to get, cheap and brand new.