Zappa reissues coming on vinyl.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by chumlie, May 7, 2013.

  1. Vaultmeister

    Vaultmeister Forum Resident

    Thought I would chime in here, for the first time! So, as you know, we used a digital source for the new Freak Out! 2013 vinyl reissue. For those of you analog purists that feel anything not cut from a analog tape source is **** automatically, consider this.... Back in 2005-6 during production of MOFO, I transferred the original master tape of FO to digital and made an analog tape backup at the same time. When comparing my 2006 transfer against FZ's transfer made in '87 to Sony 3324, the Sony transfer sounded better. It's true, tape does not improve over time, especially if it's been stored badly (which we all know is the case with a bunch of Frank's masters from the 60's). The Freak Out master is on acetate tape, which means it's not heat treatable. It is what it is. It's also fragile, acetate tape tends to warp over time and many plays. The tape pack can be less then ideal in the end. So, with this in mind, the decision to use the 1987 digital transfer makes sense. As far as the critique of the "brightness" or the mix itself, always remember that Frank DID NOT LIKE the original mix of Freak Out. But historically speaking, it's what people have come to know & love and it is a part of legend. Had we used Frank's remix for CD, we would have come under fire for that! You know how it is. As far as cutting from digital for vinyl, I'm afraid that we will run up against this issue for other future projects, most recently Trout Mask Replica- Captain Beefheart. Always know that it's important for us to cut from the best SOUNDING master source in all cases. Hope this helps! Also i would like to say that the "Finer Moments" vinyl edition is a must have! Proud of that one
     
  2. Vaultmeister

    Vaultmeister Forum Resident

    Correct. In fact, the Old Masters version is most likely the last time the original 1966 mix was offered officially. It seems the master tape was used multiple times during the 80's.
     
    Stewart Meat and BluesOvertookMe like this.
  3. Anthrax

    Anthrax Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Mr. Travers, welcome to the forum and thanks for the info! It's great to read reports from "inside" when one is fascinated by the olden Zappa tapes.

    And I'll take this opportunity to do one thing I've always wanted to, and that's to tell you that, when I attended one of the ZPZ shows in 2008, your drumming blew me away. Impressive performance that I've remembered about ever since. Well done, sir.
     
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  4. ronankeane

    ronankeane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Thanks for joining in, it's great to have you here.
     
  5. Ben Adams

    Ben Adams Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Hey, Joe Travers! Welcome, and don't let the obsessives scare you off. :D
     
    metallicramen and dlokazip like this.

  6. Same here, for 2011... 2013... and here's hoping for more!
     
  7. Kill Uncle Meat

    Kill Uncle Meat Forum Resident

    I'm wondering if Hot Rats will be the same mastering used for the Classic Records 200g vinyl.
     
  8. Cassius

    Cassius On The Beach

    Location:
    Lafayette, Co
    Welcome to the forum. I appreciate your coming to the table and offering the facts, most artists and reissue labels are intentionally vague.

    As far as Frank's evolving view of his work. Like most artists that cared, he had revisionist tendencies. Hell our host might share his stories of Ray Charles drinking his "special" Tang and opining that he should RE cut his vocals on his biggest hits in the mid to late 80s OVER his original masters. What's that saying about taking the canvas away from the artist? Well, it was Frank's show, legacy and material so no one was going to take away his canvases or **** with him during his brief lifetime. Because of his early passing, we were denied the opportunity for his opinions and decisions to evolve over time. Many artists committed to awful 80s Digital decisions, remixes/overdubs unfortunately for all of us, FZ's decisions are frozen in time, and often times seemed to be the gospel/determining factor how his projects are done. I totally get it, Gail or the rest of the gang can respect his wishes (at the time), but the bottom line is the fans and the consumers want the original recordings. If the masters are hosed/unusable, then exploring different copy tape options (if they exist) would be something of interest, and not a deal breaker for all but the pickiest bastards.

    I'm not here to take pot shots or dismiss your exhaustive work, just passing on what high end vinyl buyers are looking for. Obviously beyond any binding legalities, Gail and the family can take whatever course of action they want. It is of course their absolute right. Most audiophiles/collectors are open to high res digitally sourced material, with an obvious preference towards analog/ using the original tapes if they are usable/accessible, but I know I speak for many here in saying I have no interest in FZ's 16 bit 80s remixes.

    I totally see the difference/effort and frankly increased costs that the FZ family trust is taking on with the last 3 vinyl releases: Bellman/HQ pressings plants/ cleaner art etc. Believe me folks round here and elsewhere who care about these sort of things , and seemed to be who FZ's camp seems to be marketing to are exited about the prospect of HQ vinyl remasters.
    Respectfully
    C
     
  9. Edgard Varese

    Edgard Varese Royale with Cheese

    Location:
    Te Wai Pounamu

    Thank you Joe for the information, and all your hard work in keeping Frank's music alive. :)
     
  10. MisterBit

    MisterBit New Member

    Location:
    Woodham, Essex, UK
    Yow. A Holy Grail has arrived. Thank you Joe Travers for coming on here (grovel, grovel).
    Hopefully I can pick your esteemed brain for further titbits.
    First off, I really, really want to know if the Japanese Ryko papersleeve CDs are remastered.
    I believe they are just reissues of the 87 US CD issues, using the FZ-approved master (it's just I'm in a running battle with a discography site that claim all the FZ papersleeves are remastered).
    IMHO they are just 'mastered to CD reissues' of that referenced FZ master. I've argued that nobody has tinkered with anything until, I believe 2008 when you began pulling stuff from the Vaults on the program that's now just bearing fruit since the 2012 launch. Your word on this would help.
     
  11. Frittenköter

    Frittenköter Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Hey Joe, the new remasters are great. Any plans for ZINY? You're using the old mix though for Freak Out, are you?
     
  12. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Let's not forget that Joe and Gail went against FZ's final decision and made the original mix of Hot Rats available again. Also Ruben (although only on the Greasy Love Songs CD so far).
     
  13. Frittenköter

    Frittenköter Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Luckily so. The new Hot Rats CD sounds awesome.
     
  14. MisterBit

    MisterBit New Member

    Location:
    Woodham, Essex, UK
    Sorry, I'm a newbie here... How come there's a hyperlink to e-bay in my post? (Where I mentioned "Japanese Ryko papersleeve CDs") It wasn't me who did it...can it be removed?
     
    ZootAllures likes this.
  15. eyeCalypso

    eyeCalypso Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    Hmmm. . . I'm not seeing any hyperlink.
     
  16. MisterBit

    MisterBit New Member

    Location:
    Woodham, Essex, UK
    Log out. That's when it's there (for me anyway). Not a hyperlink when logged in. Obviously, I can't get into my post to edit anything or look - is it a cookie problem? I just disabled all e-bay cookies but it's still there.
     
  17. eyeCalypso

    eyeCalypso Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    You're right there it was. Oh well, I wouldn't worry about it.
     
  18. danner

    danner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birmingham, AL
    That's no joke. Great release!
     
  19. dlokazip

    dlokazip Forum Transient

    Location:
    Austin, TX, USA
    Finer Moments sounds great on CD, too. This is one case where there is no bad version. Nevertheless, Joe Travers favors the LP and, as he stated, is quite proud of it. From what I've seen, those who have bought the LP agree with him wholeheartedly.
     
  20. carledwards

    carledwards Forum Resident

    "Finer Moments" does sound good on LP.
     
  21. Beatnik_Daddyo'73

    Beatnik_Daddyo'73 Music Addiction Personified

    Bought the Over-Nite Sensation newly remastered CD. Sounds really good, except on "I'm the Slime" (one of my fave Zappa tracks btw) I hear a repeating clicking sound during the guitar solo that I have never noticed before. My previous copy was the Apostrophe/Over-Nite two-fer. I also have the Discreet vinyl press. Anyone else hear this?? click...click...
     
  22. Anthrax

    Anthrax Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    It's always been there.
     
  23. All I have at the moment is the original LP, and there is no clicking sound during the solo of "I'm The Slime". Maybe my earing is going south... Because I might also have heard this in the past, on this one or on another version... Now maybe my memory is going south... I know this has been discussed previously...
     
  24. kendo

    kendo Forum Resident

    I just got home from buying the "Overnite Sensation" LP , slit open the sealing wrapper, pulled out the paper sleeve and carefully slid out the album to find that it is completely F*CKED :realmad: A series of wide scratch/smears across one side which look/feel like it happened while the vinyl was still soft. Not happy at all about this as it means another 50 mile round trip on my next day off to return the album.
    On a happier note, "Finer Moments" is sounding v. good indeed.:pleased:
     
  25. danner

    danner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birmingham, AL
    I saw both reissues in the store last weekend but held off on getting them. I'm considering buying Freak Out! just so I can have a cleaner copy on vinyl. My original Verve copy (complete with the "Hot Spots" ad) is pitched slightly higher than every other version I've ever heard. I have a white label MGM reissue that's pitched the same as the CD. Is this a known thing? Did I wind up with a bootleg copy?
     

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