I've got the LOVE OVER GOLD original WB CD as well as the remaster. My favorite Dire Straits album. The original is smoother to my ears. That's why I didn't purchase remasters for any others after that.
.....or a fake I own a copy of On the night which reports Knofler, but it's clearly a Russian fake. But these typos can happen on the official releases. The slipcase edition of All The Roadrunning reports Marc Knopfler, while the Deluxe (!) French edition of Dire Straits remastered reports on the back inlay 10 tracks (instead of 9) because they "jump" one number in the list (....4-5-7-8.....) By the way my 2 copies of OES WB (SRC-01 and SRC-02 matrix) have no typos
I have the WGerman Targets for all the early ones except Communique. I like the remasters and almost gave the Targets away until a friend told me to hang on to them
I definitely prefer the remastered self titled first CD to the original Warners CD. Making Movies was not much of an improvement, if at all. I don't have the original anymore, but I was not bowled over by any obvious improvement. I'm a cheapskate, so I'm not into imports. I have my doubts that early CDs made with previous generations of analog-to-digital conversion equipment are really superior, unless they were made from a lower-generation tape. Since I haven't heard the imports, I have no first-hand knowledge. But when people are saying the earlier versions are smoother, I'm not sure what that means. If the remasters were dramatically re-EQed, then I can see how they might be harder to take. That's definitely not the case on Brothers In Arms, i.e. the remaster sounds more "relaxed" and probably at the same time more detailed, than the original.
What remasters? Sorry but my question wasnt answered. When you talk about the remasters do you mean the warner 2000 remasters or the UK 1996 remasters? what are the differences? Thanks.
The Dire Straits remasters are not totally bad in my opinion, but to me the biggest problem is the compression/limiting which was applied (= reduced dynamic range as a result). They are certainly not brick-walled, but the originals "breathe" much nicer in my opinion. For the S/T album, you might want to give the original Vertigo release a try.
Fabio, Thanks for your reply. Hey, I hope it's not a fake..bought this CD in 1992 and wondered many times about those typos..it's something I can live with but I think one of these days I'm gonna look for a second hand copy on ebay just to have one without the typos..listening to the full CD now for the first time in years.."You and your friend" still one of their best and most underrated tracks IMHO
My pleasure! Actually I don't believe it's a fake, just typos. Russian fakes usually imitate German (or West German) releases.
Yes Joe, I have compared the original 'Making Movies' Japan for US and West German "Blue Swirl" pressings with the French remaster from 1996. The remaster has a longer version of 'Skateaway'...a longer 5-6 second intro and about an extra 25 seconds on the outro. It is this track that accounts primarily for the extra increased length of the remastered version. The length of 'Skateaway' on both the Japan for Us and the WG originals only differ by about 1 second or so. So like you, I wonder whether or not the original US un-remastered 'Making Movies' contains the full-length version of 'Skateway'!?
Per post #108, I also believe that the 1996 UK and the 2000 US remasters are the same; IIRC Bob Ludwig's name shows up on the remastering for both. The US delayed the reissue for four years to coincide with their "Warner Remasters" series, and chose to limit the reissues to the studio albums, whereas the UK Vertigo remasters from 1996 also included Alchemy and the Money For Nothing compilation album.
Am listening now for the first time in years to my 2000 remastered "Brothers in Arms" (Warner 9 47773-2). This seems to me to be a very loud, aggressive remastering, which does a disservice especially to "Your Latest Trick" and "Why Worry." "Money for Nothing" on the other hand seemed fine. Or maybe it was only after three songs that it started putting the beatdown on my ears. I can tell there is a still a beautiful, supple record in there . . . Anyone with a similar reaction think that the recent SACD or a vinyl version is a big improvement?
The old vinyl, mastered by "RL" in the deadwax is very good, although some songs are shorter. Better than the remastered version (I have both) but the older CD's (West Germany, etc.) are great, IMO. I have about 3 different CD's for Brothers In Arms, not sure why. Pat
The SACD is a lot louder than the 1996/2000. It's one of the worst SACD's I've ever heard. Don't waste your money on is my recommendation. I'm sure someone will chime in with praise but once again save your money the cheap original CD is still the best to me. Rick
I'd appreciate it if someone could help me with my confusion about different versions of Brothers in Arms. In the mid 80's, I bought a CD of this album (I think it was a CD, not an LP). I don't remember where I bought it. Some time later, I heard this album at a friend's place, and noticed that some of the songs on his CD were longer than what I was used to. I didn't think much about it at the time, as this album was not really my favourite of the band (I prefer the preceding two). I no longer had the original CD. So, a few years ago, I bought the remastered version of the CD. All the songs on it are the long versions. I recently bought a used non-remastered CD, and the songs on it are also the long versions. So now I'm confused. Was there ever a CD with the short versions? Or is my memory faulty and I am mistaking LP for CD? Thanks.
I believe you are thinking of the original LP. Think of the start of "Walk of Life" - the CD had a slightly different instrumental intro that made it longer.
"Brothers In Arms" was originally recorded for CD's extended playing time, so a few of the tracks on the LP were edited.
I also have a number of different cd versions of BIA and I agree with you...the earlier versions are the best. It's a pity that the original West German pressing has the reversed channels!! The Japanese version (9 25264-2) is the best there is on cd, IMHO.
stay away from the brothers in arms remaster. even though its got a new 5.1 mix, the stereo redbook version sounds terrible. its so compressed. the original CD sounds WAY better
Yes! It has no dynamics at ALL! The original had such dynamics because of the many quiet passages. With the remaster, it's like one continuous level: loud! Yuck!
