Martin, The rumor is that Classic is very particular as to using only the original master (Almost Famous Soundtrack notwithstanding) and discovered the master was in poor condition and therefore they didn't proceed with a second generation copy. Although I would love to see this lp reissued, I admire a company like Classic (and DCC) that stand loyal to their mission of only using and providing the best quality sound material.
I wonder if the band made 2 master tapes (or whatever they did) like the claims of the earlier post about their first album? Todd
If the copy is in fine shape and sounds good, why should they not use it? Who cares if it's a copy or not?
This is a good question. I guess that I am a little jaded by all the remasters that I have purchased that talk about using the original masters only to find the quality is subpar and in fact a second or third generation tape was used because it was all that was available and the sound was deemed acceptable. I understand that with each copy of a tape made, at least 3 db of noise is added in addition to whatever other artifacts or loss in sound quality occurs. With companies like DCC and Classic Records (and a hand full of others) adhering to a strict policy, the buyer is reasonably assured that the product they are buying is a quality product. For me, I don't have the time or money to buy/hunt down several copies (like our friend Tom Port) of an album to find the best sounding. To me, companies that have these policies give me as a consumer ease of mind in knowing that when I buy their product, I am getting one of the best sounding products. These companies have proven this to me time and again with their product and it helps keep their brand name in high esteem in my book. To me it will be a sad day when these same companies start to issue product with second or third generation "original master" tapes.
Even Steve has said a number of times that most people probably wouldn't be able to hear the difference between a 1st and 2nd generation tape. Many non-gold DCC titles were taken from tapes other than the masters. For instance, I know Layla on Rock Of The 70s was taken from a 30 IPS dub that was done at Polygram. My Back Pages from the same series was taken from a copy because the master is/was gone. The key is really the mastering...
....No question that the mastering plays a critical role in the final product. I guess what I mean to say is if the good reissue companies start to relax their standards, then whose to say how far from the original will they/could they travel. I'm sure we are all glad that Steve waited to get the Original Master for Jethro Tull's Aqualung. Could DCC have used a second or third generation copy, probably so, but Steve stuck to his guns and we were all rewarded. Now this isn't to say that in a few cases that if all that exists is something other than the original master, then an important piece of music should've be reissued. But it should be properly noted what was used and this should be the extreme exception and never approach the new way of doing business. Well, there you have it, my 2 1/2 cents worth.....
Speaking of Jethro Tull is it just me or has anyone else noticed that Aqualung actually sounds different between the Aqualung album and the Original Masters that are both on DCC?
Yes Dave, they DO sound different, the original masters being much lower in output and dynamic range. I asked steve Hoffman and he responded that they were done (if memory serves me) on the same day. Port told me once that he would listen to both again but never reported his findings. The Aqualung vinyl is much better in my opinion than the same cuts from that lp on the original masters DCC lp. I don't know why, but my ears say so.
The song "Aqualung" sounds like 2 different Takes. One Take on The Aqualung LP & CD and the other on The "Original Masters" CD (Regular Edition) The take on the "Aqualung LP & CD has a normal Steel String Acoustic Guitar Sound. Listen to the Acoustic Guitar on the Original Masters CD (Regular Edition) The Acoustic Guitar sounds like a Classical Nylon String Guitar? Strange?
The two versions feature a different vocal and acoustic guitar for the slow section. Most of the rest of the song is the same, though...
Well, if you mean multitrack session master, yes. If you mean stereo LP master (for Aqualung), no, I believe it only has 1 version. Not sure when the other mix was done, or where the actual stereo master is...
I was under the impression that the original stereo LP masters were sent from England (IA) to DCC (Steve). He did DCC LPs and CDs of Original Masters and Aqualung from these. Were there two versions of Aqualung (the song) on the LP master tapes?
I don't think so. Note that the "alt" version of Aqualung is NOT on the DCC Original Masters. The original disc had the alt version, but the DCC disc uses the LP version.
I'll have to check this at home but I think the QUAD version of "Aqualung" is the remixed track that appeared on M.U. and Original Masters. Aqualung was released I *think* on Q8 and Q4. Somewhere I swear I read the different version that isn't the one appearing on the album was born out of desire to mix to a Quad tape.
