... aehmm... Level 42 1st album question

I know Level 42 sounds a bit dated today. But I listened recently to the first album (Turn it On etc.) and it brought back so much memories to my early 80s that I need this CD - my LP is long sold. Does any know the available remaster (on a twofer). The old Polydor CD my friend has sounded a bit thin and cold to me.
Shall I go for the twofer - or maybe better wait some weeks until that "bring back even this part of my youth"-feeling vanishes???

Martin

 

Martin,I never liked the way Level 42 sounded on CD.I have True Colours and it is a grand musical larceny!!!Check out the original Lps,the British being the best.The American Pressings ain't half bad either!!!

 

Martin,
I have all the LP's (Canadian), the first batch of CD's and the remasters. Now I may not be the biggest help to you but: the first batch are 80's vintage made in West Germany. Some members on here swear by this vintage ("warm, natural"). It also contains longer versions of some of the songs (Turn It On, Love Games, Starchild) than found on the vinyl or the remasters. The remasters sound pretty good to me and have bonus tracks but they are remastered by Jon Astley (so there's some boosting in every aspect). I prefer the remasters based on my own personal listening (as opposed to being obsessed with the West German 80's thing vs Jon Astley). Standing In The Light and True Colours are especially superior in the remastered form.

As far as being dated, yes a lot of early 80's music sounds dated. However, the grooves of that album and the superior playing mean a lot more to me than the so-called "garage" bands or pop music of today.

Cliff

 

Oh, there are so many doubtful faves even of my childhood that I'm proud of. This apology was a bit adressed to myself...
And I bought some 80s stuff again recently like Heaven17 or Kid Creole and the Coconuts although I'm not sure if I'll listen to them more then once or twice again.
But here I'll go for the original Polydor at ebay... I don't know how the setup sounds, where I heard it - maybe the speakers were thin and cold, and not the CD...
So, no "buy the 24bit-remastered twofer"???? One argument could be Early Tapes, which I don't know...

Thanks,
Martin

 

Donald makes a very good point here. I've been a Level 42 fan for about 20 years now. The only thing I dislike is that (lead singer) Mark King has now become a nostalgia / greatest hits act now (not unlike the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney).

Guilty pleasures can even stretch to the more "acclaimed" artists. I happen to like both Wings' Wild Life, the Stones' Emotional Rescue (which a lot of people on this Forum disdain) and U2's Pop. So it's not just relegated to those so-called slick 80's artists like Level 42, ABC or Human League.

Cliff

 

Vinyl is your best option. But for many that isn't (I have the Level 42 vinyl but my turntable is not set up ). The remaster of Early Tapes / Level 42 is what I would recommend. The sound is crisp and rich and the bonus tracks are great.

Cliff

 

Level 42 is one of my favorite groups and I don't consider them a guilty pleasure.

That said, I prefer the first pressings of the CDs rather than the Jon Astley 2-fer remasters. I tried listening to the remasters, but they're just too fatiguing on the ears. Even Phil Gould has said on record how much he didn't like them.

 

Sorry for all that apologying etc.... I'll try to find the old Polydor now!!!!

Martin