Elvis Costello on Rhino--time to reevaluate?

The mentioning here of Girls! Girls! Girls! reminds me of a brief thing to watch out for when buying 80's UK CDs -- CD bronzing. My copy of Girls!x3 was pressed at the famous PDO plant, and the last two tracks of both discs are now unreadable by EAC and have a kind of static-y/helicopter sound going through them. It's only the third (and fourth) discs that I've had a problem with, but it is kind of annoying. They sound great up to that point though

Geoff

 

WOW. I have exactly the same problem with my Demon Girls! Luckily it's mostly a problem just with "Big Sister's Clothes", but I wish I had had the technology to make a nice copy of it back when I first bought it.

 

No problems like this with my copy, luckily.

I would also like to add that the only tracks on the Demon GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS that don't sound particularly good to me are the KING OF AMERICA tracks, confirming what others have said about the suboptimal nature of the Demon CD of this title. I look forward to hearing the RCA/F-Beats I have on the way, though they'll have to go a long way to topping the vinyl for this title.

 

By "not tweaked" do you mean "mastered flat"? I am skeptical any of the Rhinos came flat from the master tape with no EQ at all. I doubt they'd do that in this day and age with a prestige project like this (usually when CDs are released flat from the master tape it is more out of expedience than aethetics). I'll be happy to admit I'm wrong if you can point out a place where Mr. Sandoval said one or more of the CDs was mastered flat.

Regarding Imperial Bedroom, he says here that "It is a straight dub from the non-Dolby 1/2" analog through analog eq onto a digital master." So certainly it was EQ'ed by Dan Hirsch. Definitely NOT EQ'ed as radically as the Ryko, but it was EQ'ed.

And again, I wasn't trying to suggest anything "strange" has been done to the Rhinos. I merely think they were EQ'ed in a way that is not to my preference, while the older Demons are EQ'ed in a way I prefer (or are possibly just quick-n-dirty flat transfers... who knows?)

 

This is quite useful (the bold was added by me for emphasis), given that people keep throwing around this notion that supposedly all the E.C. Rhinos are flat (meaning un-EQ'd) transfers. I can't see how the statement czeskleba posts above could be interpreted as meaning anything other than the Rhino IMPERIAL BEDROOM CD WAS in fact EQ'd, and WAS NOT a flat transfer.

Finally we are getting to some specifics and actual information.

I also wanted to mention that while I haven't A/B'd the 2 yet, the IMPERIAL BEDROOM tracks on the Demon GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS sound very much like they do on the original U.S. Columbia CD, which I find pretty good. They may in fact be the same. Again will report back as I get more chance to compare, but I'm starting to wonder as others have if maybe some of the original US Columbia CDs might be the same as the Demons.

 

I think the only 80s Demon I have is the collection called The Man. Is the sound on this similar to the ones that people like?

Tim

 

Well said!

I'm glad you like your copy of Girls, Girls, Girls. Great sounding comp with a superb tracklisting!

 

This is a bit of a tangent, but does anyone have a theory on what EC says in the liner notes for Girls! Girls! Girls!:

"Rather than being placed in chronological order I have arranged the songs in four parts so as to try to tell a number of different stories. ... The deciding factor in making these choices is contained in the obscure arithmetic of the title, although I must caution against taking it too seriously, unless you are considering a career in the legal profession."​

So, without taking it too seriously, any theories? I certainly have none.

 

I don't mean they weren't eq'ed, just that there wasn't any tomfoolery as many here have ascertained.

 

I also have the same problem. Big Sisters Clothes on one disc and Shipbuilding on the other. It's very annoying,

 

Anbody recognize this eBay buyer? Is he a member here?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130194281466

I was bidding on this item. And while I'm at work, I don't have the luxury of dialing up here, eBay or anywhere else while I'm working, so I was unable to participate in the end of this auction.

 

Can somebody post a scan or picture of the non-remastered Demon tray spines?

 

There is a member here, rgonz. He doesn't post. He must have read this thread.

Last Activity: 01-30-2008 03:55 PM

Thought there was a "gentlemen's agreement" here about bidding against other forum members on eBay.

 

I don't think so. Sorry, but if I want to buy something, I'm not going to pass on it because some other forum member bid on it first. I guess it's nice to check with the other guy to gauge if they might want it more and you'd then back off - Norm paid me that courtesy recently - but if I get outbid by a forum member, that's fair game.

I never pay attention to the names of the other bidders anyway, so unless some forum member outbids me and then sends me an e-mail that reads "in your face, loser!" I wouldn't know...

 

It would never occur to me to pay any attention at all to who the other bidders are in an ebay auction.

 

turn the treble down on your Rhinos and save 40 bucks...

 

Yeah, I never pay attention to who is bidding against me either, whether I get the bid or they do.

 

Not as far as I know.

 

That's not so easy when one's system doesn't have tone controls or an equalizer.

 

Forum member with mild interest bids $10.00

Forum member who has been searching for years holds back because of gentleman's agreement

Non forum member picks it up for $11.00

etc etc

 

I can try to post some photos of the couple I have when I get home if people want, but AFAIK all the original 80's discs have "Fiend" catalog numbers on the spine, so they should be pretty easy to spot. The later Demon/Rykos and Demon/Rhinos have different catalog numbers ("DPAM" and "Manus" or something, if memory serves).

Geoff

 

Here's what I have...

 

Could someone who has the Demon TYM and maybe the Ryko TYM post a 30 or so second clip of No Action? I first heard this song on the Ryko, and it quickly became one of my favorite all time songs. There is a part where the percussion stops for a short bit and then comes back in, and I always loved the way it sounded. When I got the Rhino, it seemed to be buried and didn't have the same impact and it always bugs me when I listen to it now. The part I'm talking about is around the point where Elvis sings:

And I think about the way things used to be,
Knowing your with him is driving me crazy.
[percussiom comes back in]
Sometimes I phone you when I know you're not lonely,
But I always disconnect it in time.​

If someone could post a clip that includes this part, I'd really like to hear how it comes across on the Demon, cause it just doesn't sound right to me on the current Rhino.

 

Thanks!

 

Huh?? Never heard of this..so if I really want something I'm not supposed to bid on it because a forum member wants it??? Sorry, thats not happening..

I never even think to look to see who's bidding on something I want anyway..heck how would I even know they are a member here?