George Harrison - "The Dark Horse Years" sampler

I thought Peter Mew did the All Things Must Pass remaster, not Astley

 

Thanks Ronbow, I was hoping it was offered retail somehow. I'll just have to buy the whole set .

 

Nope, it was Astley.

 

The remix of "That's The Way It Goes" was on the "When We Was Fab" single. Best of Dark Horse used the original mixes of everything, including "That's The Way It Goes." The one minor exception was an early fade on "Love Comes To Everyone."

It's strange to me that you and others are making this complaint as the vast majority of Harrison's catalog is returning to general availability after being out of print for years.

I'm also expecting more releases within the next few years. I think it's a good sign that they're not using up all the quality bonus material at this time.

 

Has anybody heard the sampler yet and can comment on the sound quality? I have the WB discs but I am looking to dump them if this box is indeed an "upgrade".

 

Amen. That stuff has been out of print.

The Harrison folks are just getting their program underway. Despite the rather pedestrian start to the series (the individual releases, that is, with minimal bonus material) I have high hopes that we'll be seeing some great stuff over the next couple of years.

We already know there's a compilation scheduled for late this year / early next year, that we can hope will pick up some of the loose ends. There have to be a good number of private demos that no one outside the immediate circle has heard. And you just know they have to be looking at film and audio from the Dark Horse Tour

Re sound and audio processing -- well, let's hope for the best, and that hi-rez versions are forthcoming.

BTW, for something like this (Beatles, that is), I tend not to dump earlier issues, for a number of reasons. Not least of which is this damned collector mentality, that I want to have it all. Also, with reissues, you just never know when a renegade mix might slilp in, or one of the reissue tracks might have a PREMATURE FADE ELIMINATING .5 SECOND FROM THE ORIGINAL TRACK!!! (Sorry, just getting all worked up.)

But seriously, unless there is a need to plow the old versions back into spending money for new disks, I tend to hold onto the older ones.

 

Looks like Somewhere In England has the original cover on the reissue...

Brad, I'd keep off Horse To The Water in favor of What Is Life, otherwise good job!

Evan

 

Simon Heyworth is credited for the remastering of this set.

 

Live In Japan

It is written that Doug Sax mastered the "Live In Japan" SACD.

I don't have a comparison CD but the SACD sounds great to me. . .

 

Wait, wait, wait, people already have it?

Any reports on the sound quality of the main set?

 

Well, I did get the 12-track sampler on Wednesday. (I paid far less dearly than many on eBay.) My initial thought is that it sounds good - just a bit punchier, and perhaps just a little more detailed. The spatial localization seems just a bit finer, especially on George's delicate slide parts, and there seems to be an overall "crispness" to all; however, I haven't performed a real A/B against existing masters. (A cursory A/B was not conclusive.)

Upshot, after hearing the sampler, I am looking forward to hearing the re-masters, especially GONE TROPPO, GEORGE HARRISON and, of course, CLOUD NINE. (I just wish they had some surprises for us, such as long fades or hidden tracks, rather than just the measly single bonus track per disk.)

BTW, after reading on an ICE forum that BestBuy had actually put some of the re-issues on the shelves, I visited one of my BB's today, and actually got to take a look at the set. The clerk was a nice guy, but wouldn't sell to me, which is just as well, as it's marked 119.00. Hopefully a discount will roll in tomorrow.

On a related note, the Harrison site now has a really cool interactive Macromedia Page (click on DARK HORSE YEARS) that displays graphics for all the components of the box set, with the insides and outsides of each disc's package, as well as the pages of each booklet and clips. It's as good a look at the box set as you'll get without having it in your hands.

Also, to further digress, the more I listen to the first 2 Beatles albums, the more I'm impressed by George's playing. He really did do a lot of nice hooks and figures, didn't he?

 

Yes, then you could add songs like

This Guitar
So Sad
Isn't It A Pity
Living In The Material World
Ding Dong
Wah Wah

among others!

 

Wow. With all the excitement going on in my life lately, I didn't realize how close we are to the release date! Two days away, baby!

Thanks for the review, Ron.