International CD Exchange. I had a subscription to this newsletter. Great for the lowdown on new and upcoming CDs and promos much like we share here on this forum.
I love the Blu-ray disc in this set and multi-channel mixes in general! Now, with the success of this excellent release, could it be an idea to put the six JM Doors album's 5.1 mixes on a single blu-ray audio disc? They have the mixes available already (from the OOP Perception DVD-A discs, duplicated on the AP SACD's), so it should be a fairly low-cost project. With a suggested retail price of $39.95 I imagine it would sell like hot-cakes! (Buying all the SACD's would put you back $30 x 6 = $180, and the DVD-A box is out of print, so this would an ideal way to obtain the surround mixes. Also, no special multi-player would be required, just a standard blu-ray player).
I downloaded the set from HD Tracks, at 192/24. FLAC files. A note for Oppo users. The Oppo 105D, mine at any rate, the modwright heavily modified version can't handle the compression HD Tracks applies, 60 or 70%. The tracks clack and clatter on playback. You have to decompress using Db Poweramp or some other application to less than 50% compression.
I have the Oppo 203 and my 192/24 flacs from HD Tracks play perfectly at their correct bit rate and resolution via SMB streaming.
What does everyone think of the LMF cut that was used in the Doors movie? IIRC, Ray's solo was extended a few measures, followed by the turnaround, then straight into the last verse (like Love Me Two Times).
The singles release has been an interesting and fun listen. A well done release. I can vividly remember my mom driving to Fed-Mart (San Diego grocery store) while listening to Riders on the Storm on the radio in '71. Loved that song as an 8 year old, love it today. Interesting what music kids like before filters from society/culture/parents/friends factor in. I thought "20th Century Fox" was a single, apparently not. Maybe it was played enough on the radio to make me, as a kid, think it was a single. It would have been a obvious single release in 1967.
I'm fine with the photo for the Singles CD. It is different from the usual pictures when Jim was young and healthier (relatively speaking). Granted he was killing himself in a variety of ways at the age of 27, but compared to a the average American today, he was down right svelte.
Tower Records (San Diego) and ICE. Too good to last. I'd subscribed to ICE shortly after it debuted, loved it for years. If I remember correctly, ICE ceased publication a week or so after I'd renewed my subscription, compelling me to look for an alternative on the World Wide Web, where I found this very Forum.
It is depressing to see the old Tower building across the street from the San Diego Sports Arena operating as some sort of thrift store.
I just love this release. All of the great single versions of these songs, with fantastic mastering to my ears. Did they ever do "Who Scared You" live?
Steve, to piggyback/hijack your post, do you have any thoughts about the Wishful Sinful stereo mix on this set? Does it sound like a modern attempt to replicate the original single mix to you? A damaged master tape? An alternate mix? Any ideas?
Unfortunately the version of “touch me” from the Japanese box set has a lot more lower end than this new release. Love that original single version of the track and I didn’t really feel it was represented properly here. Somewhat disappointed with the anemic bass of these American singles when compared with the Japan release.
It's often said, and truly so, that waveforms do not always tell the whole story. Yet, in this case, they surely illustrate something... "Touch Me" (stereo single mix) from the 2017 Singles set: "Touch Me" (stereo single mix) from the 2013 Japanese singles box: Looks very natural on the new set and rather jacked on the elder, to me. I mean to cast no aspersions on your (or anyone's) preference, though. By all means, listen to what moves you!
There are quite a few "sins" on the Japanese set. Like the noise reduction on the end of You Need Meat. In every comparison I did, the new set was the winner.
