Dusty Springfield remasters: opinions, recommendations?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by J.A.W., Apr 24, 2005.

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  1. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I have it, and had the same reaction to the sound quality. I certainly didn't find it to be substantially better than the UK remasters of her early records that came out in the late '90s or whenever.
     
  2. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    It sounds like the SACD of Dusty In Memphis is a winner...
     
  3. I would simply recommend focusing on which compilations include the songs you want. There are no true, stand-out gems with possibly the exception of the new SACD.
     
  4. Troystar

    Troystar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria BC Canada
    I own "Dusty In Memphis" and "Dusty In London" the Rhino 1999 ones. "A Very Finer Love" CD, "the Best Of Dusty Springfield 20th century Millennium" cheap collection. "Where Am I Going" and "Ev'rything Coming Up Dusty" 1998 Mercury versions which I think sound amazing but I've never heard the vinyls.

    I've toyed with the idea of getting that "Magic Of" huge box set but wonder if it worth the price.

    I just saw this on Amazon, never seen it before is it worth it? It has mono versions.

    http://www.amazon.ca/Classics-Colle...1392496490&sr=8-14&keywords=dusty+springfield

    Or is the Complete A-B Sides 1963-1970 better?
     
  5. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    The Rhino reissue of Dusty in Memphis has a wealth of killer bonus tracks, enough for the equivalent of another album. Is this edition still in print? If not, it's well worth searching for.
     
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  6. Troystar

    Troystar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria BC Canada

    I love it too, so happy I bought around the time it came out. Bran New Me is impossible to find unless you want to much a lot of $$$$. Been debating just getting a digital version from Itunes.
     
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  7. Ricko

    Ricko Forum Resident

    They're both good. No need to chase the vinyl.

    I guess it is if you want the DVDs!

    Sound-wise they're about the same. Both have rarities, both have a mix of mono & stereo. The attraction of Complete A & B-sides is the early B's in mono.:)

    Except for the 3 bonus tracks (on "Brand New Me") the Deluxe "Dusty In Memphis" does have another album: the unreleased "Faithful" from 1971. It's OOP for a long time, but shows up occasionally. :)
     
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  8. henryjg

    henryjg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Biloxi, MS
    For those interested, I took a chance and bought this from CDJapan. It was relatively cheap (About $21 with shipping). It says in the credits that it's the 1998 remastering by Roger Wake.
     
  9. johnnybrum

    johnnybrum Forum Resident

    A Brand New Me (1992 Rhino CD) isn't that difficult to find is it? several on ebay.com for well under $20

    the one I can never find is See All Her Faces (2002 CD)...I've been after it for years
     
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  10. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    At this point, I just can't see any reasonable digital choice for Dusty in Memphis except the new hybrid SACD. It's the best mastering and contains three great bonus tracks (same ones as the 1992 Rhino). The HDTracks version is good, but the SACD is noticeably better - better bass, mellower high end, more pleasing all around. Ditto for the 1992 and 1999 Rhinos - too much treble, not enough bass, missing the lush, smooth quality that Kevin Gray's mastering captures on the SACD (and on the 45rpm vinyl release).

    There's also the well-regarded 1990 Philips CD, but it's hard to find and reportedly doesn't use the original master tape - easier to just get the SACD, which costs the same or less and sounds better.

    And then there are the (European?) Mercury releases, most of which are no-noised.

    So get the SACD and be done with it - even if you don't have an SACD player, the redbook layer beats all the other digital versions out there.
     
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  11. Troystar

    Troystar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria BC Canada

    I have the 1998 remastering by Roger Wake but it's not a SHM-CD but I love the sound.
     
  12. henryjg

    henryjg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Biloxi, MS
  13. SteveS1

    SteveS1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Weald, England, UK
    My copy arrived today, the Philips CD is no slouch but the new SACD is different class. A superb disc, don't hesitate.
     
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  14. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    How's the regular CD layer compared to the SACD layer?
     
  15. saturnsf

    saturnsf Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I bought Dusty... Definitely from an Amazon marketplace vendor a few years back and he offered me See All Her Faces as a bonus for half price ($35). I declined, and have been kicking myself ever since. I've never seen another CD copy.
     
  16. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict Thread Starter

    I did a search and found a few copies on the various Amazon sites. Most of them were pretty expensive, but there is a "very good" ("sehr gut") used copy on Amazon Germany for 21 euros plus change (about $29); however, the seller only ships within Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/offer-listi...+springfield+see+all+her+faces&condition=used. Maybe a German board member can help you.
     
  17. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Sounds excellent to me!
     
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  18. Ricko

    Ricko Forum Resident

    The sound's not all that spectacular.

    If you have the Rhino Deluxes of "Dusty In London" & "Dusty In Memphis", "Brand New Me" and Rhino "Love Songs" you can (and should!) comp all the sessions and make it the 22-track double LP it should have originally been. It's one of those rare instancess when more is actually more - adding all the outtakes definitely makes into a really great album! :)

    back.JPG
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2014
  19. saturnsf

    saturnsf Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Thanks; I've actually got all the tracks but just wanted to collect the original CD. I do think it's true that while some are better than others, Dusty's catalog for the most part doesn't sound that great.
     
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  20. Ricko

    Ricko Forum Resident

    That's right. When you compare her 60's output to what's available from her UK contemporaries and labelmates it's pretty much all appalling. And not getting any better with the continual remasterings and reissues. It's all dumb and clueless.

    At least on vinyl there was some warmth to her voice, but digitally it's consistent rehashes of the same tinny tinkerbell mentality that's torture to the ears and just simply wrong. Notions like "the warmth of analog" seem to be completely lost on the slew of people who just don't grasp the fact that some female voices need to be handled with extreme care in the studio.
     
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  21. DEAN OF ROCK

    DEAN OF ROCK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hoover, AL
    What is the best source for Dusty's "Welcome Home" track?
     
  22. henryjg

    henryjg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Biloxi, MS
    What are some recommended vinyl releases to seek out?
     
  23. Ricko

    Ricko Forum Resident

    Gee Henry...good question. The original US were all OK, and UK Philips were all OK up to (but not including) "Dusty Definitely". I particularly like "The Look Of Love" in stereo best, and "Golden Hits" least. Some fake stereo on the US LPs, but it's OK. The US Atlantics are good, and back in the day "Brand New Me" was easy to find and sounds better than "Dusty In Memphis".

    I don't know what the market's like these days, but when I was collecting her on vinyl in the 70s & 80s it was really hard finding her 60s stuff in great condition, for a reasonable price.

    And of course the other problem was the same as now for a completist: the US vs UK configurations. Even though the vinyl's long gone, I keep thinking I've still got twice as much Dusty as any reasonable person should have. :)
     
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  24. stereoptic

    stereoptic Anaglyphic GORT Staff

    Location:
    NY
    I have the "Singles +" compilation and play it casually (not an intense listen). It doesn't make my ears squint, so in my world that is a plus.
     
  25. jsayers

    jsayers Just Drifting....

    Location:
    Horse Shoe, NC
    I ordered a copy of the 1999 Rhino "Dusty In Memphis" because of all the bonus tracks from Ebay and it came today. It's starting to get expensive, so I found one for a good price but it was a record club <BMG> copy. I thought, what the heck, it should be the same, plus it's a lot cheaper. Well, I'm very happy now because I had no idea that the BMG copies are in jewel cases, NOT the tri-fold cardboard digi-pak, which I really don't like. I now see the Discogs listing shows this fact, but I never knew it. Wonder if there's a "Dusty In London" BMG version in a jewel case....

    http://www.discogs.com/Dusty-Springfield-Dusty-In-Memphis/release/2085959

    Images :

    http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=2085959
     
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