Why didn't they have bonus tracks compared the previous cds. I started to buy his cds .. buying just 1999 ones because I don't need a bunch of cds And why so many deluxe versions of his cds I was on reading wiki enough to drive person mad.. this version that version 3 cd version.. ugh..
Simply because Bowie didn't want to have bonus tracks to begin with. Ryko asked him to do them to get fans to buy the remaster from them and it worked helping to sell more CDs to fans who had the previous RCA releases.
Not so sure about that given recent events. Honestly, the blind assertions on this forum that the 99's sound like crap is laughable. Wanna hear crap? Play the regular (not AU20) Ryko Changesbowie...now that's really bad. Ooh but the 99's used nr. So what?? What they did is sonically beef up a catalog that was at best thin and tinny to begin with...yes the holy grails : the original RCA vinyl and first RCA cd's.
After relistening to it this week, I think the 1999 Lodger is the 2nd best Lodger CD. The rest of the quote is IMO not worth responding to as it seems designed mainly to provoke.
The only 1999 CD I think sounds really bad is Station To Station. However, it’s the only version of the album I have so I’m not sure if this is just how it is. The 1999’s were my digital introduction to Bowie and I honestly don’t think they’re that bad.. I liked the 2016(?) remasters of Pinups and The Man Who Sold The World better than the 1999 equivalents, though.
I think that was 2003 if you mean the 2CD version in a little book pack, not that it really matters. This is the first thread about it as far as I can tell, from when it was new: Aladdin Sane 30th Annv. 2 cd set any opinions BOWIE
For a number of years the 1999 remasters were the bulk of what I had ripped to iTunes and listened to. I had passed on the RCA CDs at the time because I wasn't too impressed with the packaging (of any CD at the time), and I like the kinaesthetic value of records. Slowly I bought the RCA CDs, and sat them in a box. Recently, after some encouragement from an active forum member I began to rip the RCA's. I've had a bit of a listen and it's made me realise something about them and the 99s. Most of the Bowie albums of the RCA years were quite different sound wise to each other. Their sonic qualities varied a lot. The 99s, to my ears, made them sound all a bit similar, though I only realised this when I played the RCA CDs (almost exclusively US). The sonic signature of the RCAs had more variation. I was reminded of the fact that high quality equipment will make various recordings sound quite different, whereas with lower quality equipment, the different recordings will often sound similar - they will take on the sound of the equipment, rather than being the sound of the recording. So I figured, the similarity in sonic signature of the 99s has to be due to the way they were prepared. In isolation, they're OK, but with greater insight and a point of comparison, I realised that, if anything, they provide, for want of a more accurate term, a distorted view of the recordings. I've had two previous moments like this, when I realise that what I was "OK" with, was not as good as it gets. Listening to the BOBIL/RASPUTIN UK Hunky Dory and the first time I played a UK Philips LP.
The Rykos had that new-to-the-catalogue uniformity too. It's quite unusual in my experience, and I can't think of any other artists with a large or largish catalogue who have had it happen. It shouldn't be a deal breaker or tool to bash people who don't mind the Rykos or 1999s, but their uniformity of sound is quite a significant aspect of the Ryko and 1999 catalogues for those of us interested in that sort of thing. That's why it was IMO always going to be important to hunt out the positives in the 2015-2017 remasters, albeit recently very difficult, because at least they didn't do that uniformity thing.
Yeah, seemed to be a bit of Mew inspired bashing even before they'd heard it. There's been better threads on the album but I wouldn't bother with them if you're happy with your 2CD.
I have the RCA, 1999, 2003 and 2013 CDs of Aladdin. I think they're all decent, but the former has more warmth and heart.
They are improvements IMHO based on comparing them to the earlier Mew mastered editions. As far as "Aladdin Sane", I dislike the 2003 however it is very slightly less compromised compared to the 1999 IMHO or it could just be the EQ (not sure--I no longer have either after I ripped the bonus disc)
When EMI acquired the worldwide rights to Bowie's 1969 - 1989 catalogue they initially wanted to release 2cd versions of each album, with the second CD including bonus tracks. However from what I have read, they were then persuaded that this would take too much time and that the whole catalogue needed to be rereleased to co-inside with the release of the 1999 album "hours..." They then proceeded to rerelease some albums on their 30th anniversary, starting with Ziggy, going on with Aladdin Sane, skipping over Pin Ups and then doing Diamond Dogs. Then the 30th anniversary tag had to be rethought as it took longer to release Young Americans (2005) and then STATIONTOSTATION didn't end up with a rerelease until the Super Deluxe Edition in 2009. Things seemed to be getting back on track with the 2cd Space Oddity 40th anniversary reissue, but that was the end of that due to the selling off of EMI and the contract renewal.
I have all my Bowie CDs in these 1999 versions. They sound fine to me, I never thought they sounded bad at all as some people of this forum say. Am I wrong? Who cares, anyway
Do you enjoy listening to them? It's perfect, then! I generally dislike those remasters a lot. And that's perfect too.
I have slowly repurchased all the early 90s EMI CDs with bonus tracks and liking them since that's the general audiophile "Sound" I'm used to.. Though I found an RCA Station To Station in Vegas last month for $3 in a used store. Considering I also have these new boxsets (Which I mostly regret owning) - is there any further need for the 1999 remasters of shall I dispense of them?
I used to have a Station to station LP 1991 version which has the first 5 songs (30+minutes) crammed on side 1, and Wild is the wind and two live bonus tracks on side 2!! . Flimsy vinyl and no sonic wonder in any way. Now I see that costs 69€ on Discogs