Another EMI/UK box set:Herman's Hermits

Another 4-CD box set coming from EMI/UK on July 15th:"Herman's Hermits-Into Something Good:The Mickie Most Years 1964-1972"

As with the Swinging Blue Jeans box set that EMI/UK also releases in July,EMI has only revealed the front artwork to online dealers. For whatever reasons,EMI is not revealing the song line-up for either set.

 

If it's well-done, without the usual EMI remastering, I'll be very interested!

 

A discussion on this release here:

http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=31468&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a


Of course I'm interested in the material...it's just that I bought a spate of 60s EMI CD reissues (mostly released in 1999 and remastered by Peter Mew) including Peter & Gordon, Manfred Mann, The Shadows, maybe a couple of others. In each and every case I prefer the vinyl. They are all too bright. I'll have to wait to hear what people who've heard it have to say before I consider getting it...

Dale

 

Like the current UK remasters which have terrible sound but are fantastic material, I don't expect much sound-wise, but WILL get this.

Love the Hermits - and the fact that they make a point of going to '72 makes me VERY happy. Alternates and unreleased stuff it says in that other blog. YAY!

"Blaze" is still one of the most underrated albums of the late '60s. Pop Psych Perfection.

Jeff

 

It's just sad though. Knowing, for example, what someone like Steve could do with that material. I have a great deal of affection for the Hermits during the period 1966-1967 (roughly between the UK "Both Sides of Hermans Hermits" and "There's A Kind Of Hush" LPs). The original UK Columbia vinyl on both of those provides proof that most of the tracks were well recorded -- clear and punchy. What they could be with a little SH magic...

I've only heard through about "Sleepy Joe" which IIRC is circa 1968. Considering how that sounds, I'll bet they continued to make high quality pop right to the end.


Dale

 

I agree Dale. I was playing my Columbia 'Both Sides' this afternoon and think it is an excellent recording. 'Little Boy Blue', 'Story Of My Life' & 'For Love' really pack a punch...I just need a less crackly copy.

I'll definitely get this box. I think EMI have improved of late in their mastering of this kind of stuff. Anything mastered afresh will probably sound good, but if they include previously remastered tracks they'll be of the shrill variety.

 

That version of "Story Of My Life" is an incredible, little known track by the Hermits. And odd...that guitar is something else. Really takes a nice (but standard) pop tune into unique territory.

I really love Oo-ee Baby and Dial My Number off that album too.

Dale

 

So, does this set include everything they ever released? I already have most of the HH stuff I want (the later stuff), but this might be worth buying if the sound is good.

 

I now have this set. As we know, not many of the group's songs exist in stereo, and most of the multitracks don't exist. EMI provides stereo versions in the few instances where that's possible,however,EMI have overlooked the fact that there is a stereo version of "a Must to Avoid"(I've got it on a Japanese Toshiba/EMI CD).

Otherwise, the set gives you more Herman's Hermits music than you're likely to need.

The group's music seems to break down into three stages:
1.Early tracks sung & played by the group.
2.Tracks which have backing tracks played by sessionmen, but which still involve the group on lead & background vocals.
3.Tracks with feature Peter Noone harmonizing with himself and backed by sessionmen, with no involvement whatsoever from the other Hermits.

The decline of Herman's Hermits begins on the 3rd disc, where the group(or their sessionmen) are reduced to providing backup to some dubious singing actors in some novelty songs from film soundtracks. Also,several tracks at the end of Disc 2 convincingly simulate a drunken pub singalong. I'll blame producer Mickie Most for those 3 songs, because he had The Yardbirds record a similar drunken pub singalong("I Remember The Night", which stayed in the vaults until the mid-1980's)

The main sound quality limitation is in the recordings themselves,particularly in the 1964 recordings. The group wasn't well-recorded,even by the standards of that time. As for how faithfully they're mastered for this set, they're O.K.,but not as clean as ABKCO's SACD.

Actually, when Peter Noone finally makes it official and goes solo(on disc 4), the music improves over the so-called "Herman's Hermits" stuff on much of disc 3.

 

.

 

I actually like a couple of those novelty soundtrack songs, like Graham Gouldman's "Lemon And Lime" and "The World Is For The Young" with its strange off-kilter singing/narrating.

 

Is there a strings only version of "Kind of Hush" available anywhere?

Vocal removers don't work, it was recorded in mono.

 

I'll be buying it I suppose. I have to say I am hoping for at least slightly better sound than the current remasters. I got the Blaze Cd, mainly for the song Museum, which I have a soft spot for. I didn't need the computer screen to tell me how over-maximized the thing is. As if it wasn't already a harsh enough recording. Keep the reviews coming!

Thanx,
GD

 

Here is a review from Amazon that leads me to not waste my money. Although I still may waste it, just so I can have the rarities. I'll complete the rest of my Hermits collecting with vinyl.


What is right:
Almost everything recorded by the Hermits is here with a few exceptions (see below). There are also a handful of rare and unreleased tracks plus another handful of singles and unreleased tracks from Peter Noone's early solo career. The "full" catalog has been reissued a couple of times, first by Repertoire, and second by Toshiba Japan: each reissuing a UK Hermits LP supplemented by bonus tracks containing non-LP singles, EP tracks, US-only tracks, etc. At roughly US $10 per CD if purchased from AmazonUK, this set is the lowest cost alternative to either of the earlier reissues.

What is missing:
1. The alternate (and stereo) version of Listen People from the "When The Boys Meet The Girls" soundtrack, presumably because the rights are not owned by EMI. This track is available on the out-of-print Rhino CD "Hollywood's Best: The 60's"
2. The single versions of "Hold On!" and "Leaning On The Lamp Post", which are available on the ABKCO "Retrospective" CD.
3. A few other slightly alternate mixes (East West, Dandy, Kind of Hush) also available on "Retrospective".
4. Missing stereo tracks: All tracks from "Hold On!" were available in true stereo. Only two tracks in this collection are (Gotta Get Away, Make Me Happy). These stereo cuts would've made fodder for disc 4 but most likely would've pushed this into a 5-disc collection.

What is wrong:
Haphazard compilation:
Of all the 4-disc collections EMI has put out so far for several of their British Invasion artists (Gerry and the Pacemakers, Swinging Blue Jeans, Manfred Mann), this one has simply been thrown together. In fact, it appears as though the Toshiba reissues were simply pasted together (Herman's Hermits LP followed by bonus tracks, Both Sides LP followed by bonus tracks, etc), one after the other, making the collection a chronological mess compared to the other collections. "You Won't Be Leaving" inexplicably appeared as bonus track on the Toshiba "Both Sides" disc, presumably because it was a non-LP single. However, the Japanese compilers failed to note that the song is in fact on the "There's A Kind Of Hush" LP and so it appears on that CD as well, in the context of the LP. It appears twice on this collection too, both times on Disc 2. Ooops! I suppose no one at EMI UK noticed this either. Also, the bonus stereo mix of "Moonshine Man" is really an electronically-reprocessed fake stereo mix.

Mastering problems:
The tracks breaks are slightly off for a handful of songs, starting with the beginning of "There's A Kind Of Hush" stuck on the tail end of "Make Me Happy". This continues up to our old friend "You Won't Be Leaving"

Sound:
This release is somewhat stifled sound-wise by the overuse of noise reduction. It sucks the "air" and the ambience from the recordings. Also, there is a large amount of compression and volume boosting that increases over the set making the tracks sound overly loud and bass-y (the "loudness wars" effect). Disc 1 doesn't have the excessive loudness but by the time you get to Disc 3, Herman and pals sound as loud and as booming as a Red Hot Chili Pepper's CD. Check out the ABKCO "Retrospective" CD for how to make these old recordings louder without sacrificing ambience and dynamic range.

The dream box (dream on, that's all I can do):
1. All the tracks in rough chronological order, in MONO except for the "Mrs. Brown (soundtrack) songs which can be left in stereo.
2. The rare tracks (minus the worthless "stereo" Moonshine Man)
3. The Peter Noone singles as included here.
4. A bonus disc with the stereo mixes for the Hold On and Blaze and any stereo other stereo alternates that I may have missed.
5. Oh yes, and please...ease up on the noise reduction, compression, and excessive volume boosting so that the recordings can "breathe" a little and sound a bit more natural.

...not going to happen? I guess that is what turntables and CD burners are for.

Overall, this box is really no worse than the collections preceding it. It is the cheapest alternative to those collections and the best place to get all of this in one concise package. For the budget conscious person who wants it all, here it is.

 

I've confirmed that the track start points(I believe that the technical term is "PQ Codes") for several songs have been assigned inaccurately during mastering. This is not audible when the disc is played in its' normal running order, but if you individually access "There's a Kind of Hush All Over The World" & "Saturday's Child" individually, the starts of those songs will be slightly lopped off.

 

I think that the review on Amazon is spot on.

It is a rag-bag of various remasters cobbled together to form one handy boxed set. The unreleased stuff sounds the best and is pretty good. 'The Colder It Gets' is a great little tune, and I like Herman's version of 'Big Ship' (a minor hit for Cliff Richard).

If you're after the best sound the UK Columbia vinyl is the way to go.
The late 60s 'Best of Herman's Hermits' LP sounds surprisingly good considering how many tracks are on it. The UK 'Both Sides' LP is a gem and sounds fantastic, as do most of their 45s.