Didn't they change track order on one or more of the Trower sets? I really should look into adding some of those to fill in the holes. A coincidence, I was searching BGO items on Amazon.uk earlier and there was one listed (closed store stock). I took a chance because I love the title.
All things being equal, I'd sooner buy a BGO remaster than anything Big Break (BBR) gets their slamming meat hooks into.
Just received the 2-CD BGO release by B.B. King: L.A. Midnight / To Know You Is to Love You This release sounds very good. Nice, warm and dynamic sound. I just checked disc 2 and the dynamic range is wonderful: DR15 The original MCA CD has the same dynamic range, but the BGO sounds a tad less bright and fuller in the bass, overall a warmer presentation. The BGO is a bit louder but that is due to the fact that the old MCA CD has peak levels of -2 dB to - 3 dB. A good remastering job by BGO and recommended. Code: foobar2000 1.1.10 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1 log date: 2013-01-19 08:42:00 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Analyzed: B.B. King / To Know You Is To Love You (2009 BGO Rem.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR Peak RMS Duration Track --------------------------------------------------------------------------- DR14 0.00 dB -16.34 dB 3:34 01-I Like To Live The Love DR15 -0.88 dB -17.86 dB 5:20 02-Respect Yourself DR15 -0.31 dB -17.53 dB 3:59 03-Who Are You DR15 0.00 dB -17.57 dB 3:15 04-Love DR14 -0.53 dB -17.83 dB 4:17 05-I Can´t Leave DR16 0.00 dB -17.39 dB 8:37 06-To Know You Is To Love You DR15 0.00 dB -18.29 dB 4:32 07-Oh To Me DR15 -0.70 dB -18.76 dB 6:50 08-Thank You For Loving The Blues --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of tracks: 8 Official DR value: DR15 Samplerate: 44100 Hz Channels: 2 Bits per sample: 16 Bitrate: 1411 kbps Codec: CDDA ===========================================================================
Victims of the Future - and not only the track order. The BGO twofer w/Caravan to Midnight misses Ready for the Taking and The Shout while adding None But the Brave and One in a Million. The end result goes like this: The ring Roads to freedom Jack and Jill None but the brave Victims of the fury Only time Fly low One in a million Mad house Into the flame
BGO "simulates" albums. These two LPs were UK comps, and I don't believe either was ever in stereo...as they are here. I think all their stereo Liberty / Imperial masters come from EMI pre-cleaned - I'm not sure. The Cher 2-fers are suspiciously similar, and like many BGOs the liner notes are extensive but inaccurate. You can assemble a killer CD of "Don't Turn Your Back On Me" (a truly great album!) if you have Vol 1 & 2 of Jackie's Ace Complete Liberty singles. They're all the original mono 45 mixes - the same used to compile the original "Don't Turn..." LP. Finding a high-resolution copy of the cleavage cover artwork won't be quite so easy lol Can you believe she was still getting around looking like that at the height of the Mod era????
I quite like BGO Records. In the past year alone, I've purchased titles from Natalie Cole, Glen Campbell and Juice Newton. They all sound excellent.
I purchased stuff by Poco, A.R.S., Loggins & Messina, Ike & Tina, Johnny Winter, Flight Log by Jefferson Airplane... I love BGO, one of my favourite labels.
The ARS reissues sound very good. Full, not compressed or brickwalled. The reissue of Quinella is flawless.
I like the label as I have my Edgar Broughton Band CD's plus the Toe Fat 2 CD set and The Shadows - Jigsaw CD. I noticed the artists as of recent that they are reissuing is a 180 degree turn from what they primarily used to do back in the 90's. I'm talking gospel, country and major label artists. I noticed Repertoire and Edsel have made a similar turn in their reissue decisions. I suppose they need to try other markets to stay afloat and make money. Psych, prog and other related music obviously doesn't feed the bulldog. I did read on the SRC website a while back that their 2 CD reissue of their three Capitol studio albums were issued in mono for the first 2 albums. According to the SRC site administrator, none of the SRC albums were issued in mono. Stereo only. The comment from Gary Quackenbush on the forum is not a happy one either. Can anyone confirm this for sure if they have the SRC BGO 2 CD set? Maybe it has since then been corrected. Below is some posts about it on the SRC forum: http://www.humvee.net/src/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33 http://www.humvee.net/src/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=38
I had "History of the Bonzos" by the Bonzo Dog Band and disc 2 had the label printed on the same side as the music, making the disc unplayable. Seeing as how I had bought the album on vacation miles away from home, I couldn't just return it to the store. I wrote to BGO, and they replaced the disc quickly. It sounds okay. The other BGO I had that I was not happy with was "Dream" by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Really lousy mastering - gaps between songs that should have cross-faded, saturated treble that sounded like Rice Krispies, etc. I sold it when I got the Capitol pressing, which is very good.
I have... Buddy Holly - Holly In The Hills/Giant Rick Nelson - Garden Party/Windfall Rick Nelson - Rick Sings Nelson/Rudy The Fifth Ricky Nelson - Ricky/Ricky Nelson Suzi Quatro - Suzi/Suzi Quatro Still need to pick up a few... Buddy Holly - The Buddy Holly Story/The Buddy Holly Story Vol. II Buddy Holly And The Crickets - The 'Chirping' Crickets/Buddy Holly Cass Elliot - Cass Elliot/The Road Is No Place For A Lady/Don';t Call Me Mama Anymore Gary Lewis And The Playboys - This Diamond Ring/A Session With Gary Lewis And The Playboys - (You Don't Have To) Paint Me A Picture/New Directions/Now! The Mamas & The Papas - Deliver/The Papas And The Mamas Eddie Cochran - Singin' To My Baby/The Eddie Cochran Memorial album Eddie Cochran - My Way/Cherished Memories Rick Nelson - Million Sellers/Rick Is 21/Album Seven/It's Up To You Suzi Quatro - Your Mama Won't Like Me/Aggro-Phobia Suzi Quatro - If You Knew Suzi/Suzi And Other Four Letter Words Darryl
Got a few of their cds, and overall pretty happy. I was glad to see them release the Atlanta Rhythm Section cds, because there was obviously no domestic release in sight. Also, I was excited to see 2 of my favorite Johnny Rivers lps come out in a single release, LA REGGAE/BLUE SUEDE SHOES. It is this title that I have issues with. The numbering sequence on BLUE SUEDE SHOES is messed up badly. Not a huge deal, but very sloppy/lazy/careless. Track # 2 is a medley with 2 songs(Searchin' & So Fine), and it's labeled as such on the LP. BGO managed to include those 2 songs, plus track #3 and #4 (It's All Right & Hang On Sloopy) as parts of the medley. Therefore, every track that follows is misnumbered. I contacted BGO, and they were too lazy to even take a look at what Iwas trying to tell them. All they had to do was to pick up the LP and look at the song titles. Their canned response was that the numbering was taken from the original lp, which it obviously wasn't, and a cursory glance would have shown them. Nevertheless, I'm still glad to see them make an effort to get some obscure material released on cd.
The Babe Ruth 2fers sound great, the Quicksilver Messenger Service not so much, but maybe that's the limitations odpf the source tapes
It must often be UK LP source tapes for US artists, but for UK artist more often earlier masters used. So sound is hit and miss with plenty of hits.
I have purchased several BGO discs, probably about 15 different groups. They sound good enough, but as several posters have noted they don't always follow the track order that you expect (but not the norm - I'd estimate 10% of the time that's the case, or they substitute different songs). If there were other reputable sources for some releases I might consider them, but the BGO releases are priced fairly and in many cases BGO is the only source. I do recall an Isley Brothers release (It's Our Thing/Go All The Way) where the notes indicated that the original masters were not available. The sound was OK and compared to not being able to get the disc I was satisfied. To summarize if I saw another release on the BGO label that was something I wanted I would get it.
I can verify (somewhat belatedly) that the BGO release of the SRC albums is a botch job. The first two albums are in mono, and apparently a fold-down of the stereo - the guitar backing during the chorus of 'Eye Of The Storm' almost disappears completely due to phase problems. Traveler's Tale is in stereo however. Incidentally I have a vague memory of owning the first SRC album on vinyl back in the late 60's and it was in mono. It may have been a UK issue. BGO also really messed up the Quicksilver Messenger Service first album when they issued it on CD a few years ago. It was in mono also, but not real mono, not even fold-down stereo mono. It was half-stereo mono! Absolutely dreadful.
That's too bad about the SRC and Quicksilver CDs. The BGO CDs I bought back in the 90s were all very good. I wonder what happened? I'm glad I have the One Way CDs for SRC and the first Quicksilver on US Capitol CD and LP. It could be an honest mistake. But word does get around about this kind of stuff. You would think that someone contacted BGO about these issues by now. Maybe not.
I don't have a lot, but on at least 2 had serious problems - defective Procul Harum 2 cd set, with several tracks unplayable, and a Del Shannon 2fer, with a giant bump on the disk. Too expensive to send back. BGO was also known to issue cd-rs without acknowledging it IIRC?
Anyone know of BGO is still open for business? The latest update on the bgo web site indicates the 2013 catalog and the last Facebook update is from about the same time. Wondering?
I got an email update from them earlier this month. Their web site shows March 2015 releases? http://www.bgo-records.com/
When you click the link does it read 'New 2013 Catalogue' in the upper right hand corner? I've emptied my cache and that's what I see?
