Eurythmics on CD and remasters

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Turnaround, Aug 23, 2009.

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  1. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Thanks for the reviews, almost bit on the box set, even though I grew up in the 80's I missed getting into the non-radio stuff, only had the old greatest hits cd, which was stolen about 15 years ago, So I grabbed the MOV 2lp (sounds fantastic) last year to re-equaint myself and now ready to delve further into the deep cuts, I just ordered 5 of the old RCA cd's :cheers:
     
    D-rock and sunspot42 like this.
  2. onebit

    onebit Forum Resident

    Had some time yesterday (snow storm), so I took a look at some early versions of Sweet Dreams and Touch.

    Turns out that the original Japan for US and R32P Japan re-issues are different, even though the R32P artwork references the older catalog number.

    The R32P's are louder, and show a few clipped peaks (!).


    Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

    Japan for US (RCA PCD14681):

    Peak level 71.5 %
    Peak level 71.9 %
    Peak level 66.9 %
    Peak level 55.9 %
    Peak level 60.6 %
    Peak level 67.1 %
    Peak level 57.6 %
    Peak level 65.3 %
    Peak level 69.9 %
    Peak level 69.3 %

    Japan for Japan (1986 re-issue) (R32P-1009):

    Peak level 81.9 %
    Peak level 86.8 %
    Peak level 78.0 %
    Peak level 65.2 %
    Peak level 69.8 %
    Peak level 79.1 %
    Peak level 62.6 %
    Peak level 75.4 %
    Peak level 80.0 %
    Peak level 76.9 %



    Touch

    Japan for US (RCA PCD14917):

    Peak level 76.8 %
    Peak level 92.6 %
    Peak level 74.5 %
    Peak level 68.8 %
    Peak level 61.5 %
    Peak level 72.9 %
    Peak level 66.5 %
    Peak level 74.3 %
    Peak level 72.5 %

    Japan for Japan (1986 re-issue) (R32P-1008):

    Peak level 100.0 %
    Peak level 100.0 %
    Peak level 100.0 %
    Peak level 100.0 %
    Peak level 90.4 %
    Peak level 100.0 %
    Peak level 100.0 %
    Peak level 100.0 %
    Peak level 100.0 %


    I don't have the West German versions of these two titles on hand anymore, but if anyone does, maybe we can add their peak levels to the thread. I fully suspect they are different from both of these.
     
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  3. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Sweet Dreams US PCD14681 Matches Your Japan For US
    Touch US PCD14917 Matches Your Japan For US
    Be Yourself Tonight US PCD15429 80.7/70.1/73/82.4/71.3/59.3/60.4/65.2/58.8
    1984 Japan For US PCD15371 80.7/74.6/74.4/30.8/47.2/39.7/75.8/65.9/81.4
    Revenge Japan For US PCD15847 93.6/96.2/85.5/100/93.9/91/100/100/90.6/88.2
    In The Garden US RCA 07863 66195-2 88.4/93.1/100/84.1/89.4/100/100/92.3/90.7/92.1
     
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  4. You Better You Bet

    You Better You Bet Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    Anyone looking for a Eurythmics comp may want to consider this one - RCA PD 74856. Decent tracklist and pre-loudness.
     
    wayneklein, Robert C, BIG ED and 3 others like this.
  5. colinu

    colinu I'm not lazy, I'm energy saving!

    It is also the only place to find the full length version of "here CoMes the Rain agAin
     
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  6. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    That first Greatest Hits CD has also got the (slightly) extended mix of "Sweet Dreams". Or at least the US version does - I'm assuming the European version sports the same.

    And it's got the single mixes of several tracks as well, like "Missionary Man" (which unfortunately loses the cool opening bit), which I think were previously unavailable on CD.
     
    BIG ED likes this.
  7. Trevor_Bartram

    Trevor_Bartram Senior Member

    Location:
    Boylston, MA, USA
    The best thing about the remasters is, people replaced their original CDs with them, so the original CDs were very easy to find used. I had the original Greatest Hits CD bought in the 80's and a couple of albums on cassette. A couple of years ago I was able to replace the cassettes and more with original CDs (some Japan for US) inexpensively and with very little effort and really like how they sound.
     
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  8. Futurecity

    Futurecity Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nevada
    I picked up the '05 Revenge remaster in a digipak today for $5...wow...this thing is indeed LOUD...an ear bleeder IMO! Maybe it's technically brickwalled also, I am not sure, but either way, the audio is noticeably loud starting with the first song. Its loudness is almost identical to the new Roy Orbison Mystery Girl 25th Anniversary remaster that came out recently...that one is an ear bleeder also.

    I can deal with loud all the time, but when the audio immediately hurts the ears, and I am forced to lower the volume 2 notches from my normal high level, then there is a big problem...I can't crank this disc up and have to keep it low.

    Do the Eurythmics have a good comp that is currently in print that sounds warmer and dynamic?
     
    BIG ED likes this.
  9. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I doubt it. The latest hits set came from the same '05 remasters. I'd seek out the old Greatest Hits set listed earlier in this thread.
     
  10. jimjim

    jimjim Forum Resident

    The acid test for old vs new CDs is 'When Tomorrow Comes'. The 2005 remaster is awful. The track was taken off my car play list as the sudden jump in loudness at the start has been known to make one jump suddenly (only the Iggy mix of 'Search and Destroy' had done that before!). :D
     
  11. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I concur. And that original Greatest Hits cd is very easy to find used. Just keep in mind that what was released in the United States is different than elsewhere -- fewer tracks but longer (album versions). I'm not sure whether the version with more tracks actually has original singles edits or just early fades and/or edits done for this comp because, by the time Eurythmics came along, I was mostly buying albums and not singles.
     
  12. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Not all of them are album versions on the US release, though. I think "Missionary Man" and "When Tomorrow Comes" are both the single edits, possibly others are as well.

    I think the European track list is superior... I think it has more tracks, too...
     
  13. Futurecity

    Futurecity Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nevada
    Yes, there is an "Ultimate GH" CD which probably uses the '05 remasters for sure, but it's possible that CD is not as loud as the individual CDs, but I'm sure it will sound a bit compressed.
     
  14. D-rock

    D-rock Senior Member

    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
  15. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Dunno. We were just talking about that over in the thread regarding her new album Nostalgia. Looks like a bog standard Red Book CD. For $50.

    Nuts.
     
  16. Marc 74

    Marc 74 Senior Member

    Location:
    West Germany,NRW
    That's true if you have the 14 track CD. The one with 18 tracks that was sold in Europe fades out a few seconds earlier.
     
    colinu likes this.
  17. BIG ED

    BIG ED Forum Resident

    How bout CD SQ diff between the US 14 track vs. the Europe 18 track "Greatest Hits"?
    BIG thanks.
     
  18. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    i very rarely see eurythmic CD's in the used bins.
     
  19. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    I'll have to give the remasters another spin but I never thought they were bad at all.
     
  20. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
  21. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Trust me - they were awful. I didn't really notice it at first - they sounded "better" if you did a quick A/B compare, which is the mistake I made - but they're compressed to hell and grate if you try playing the whole record.
     
    BIG ED likes this.
  22. Galley

    Galley Forum Resident

    I'm not one to complain much about loud remasters, but The Ultimate Collection really did hurt my ears!
     
    BIG ED likes this.
  23. HiFi Guy 008

    HiFi Guy 008 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    I have both of the Sweet Dreams original and remaster.
    I can't say I'm a fan of either. It's a shame because this could be a great re-issue on cd.

    The only Eurythmics cd I can recommend is In The Garden - original German RCA.
    Not hard to find. Grab it while you can.
    It's their best sounding recording on cd.
     
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  24. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    The original German In The Garden is quite nice. The high-end is a bit shrill I think, but that might have been the original master. The vinyl import I had (also German) had a very similar sound.

    The remaster is awful in comparison. Kinda muddy yet compressed.

    Sweet Dreams is never gonna sound incredible - recorded on a little Portastudio as I recall (or something similar). What probably saves it is the lack of a thousand muddy tracks or lots of overdubs. I think it's a very enjoyable listen. Be Yourself Tonight was mixed with the same console, ripped out and brought to Paris. I think it sounds pretty good for a mid-'80s disc, but the EQ is, well, mid-'80s and it has that fuzziness (the vinyl sounded exactly the same).

    Savage - all-Synclavier recorded - might be the best sounding Eurythmics disc, though. Again, '80s EQ, but the Synclavier had a unique sound, which I'd characterize as extremely dimensional compared to the fuzzy Fairlight (the Synclaviers I think always sampled at 16/44 or better and allegedly had much better A/D and D/A converters). And however they recorded her vocals for this thing, they just leap out of the speakers - it's almost holographic on "Beethoven" and a couple of the other tracks.
     
    ippudo and BIG ED like this.
  25. Torontotom

    Torontotom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    There was talk a few weeks ago on another forum I visit that there may be new Eurythmics remasters on the horizon, possibly 2CD/1DVD sets from Edsel like the Pretenders. Just rumour of course...
     
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