DCC Archive "Good" Mamas and Papas CD

Can someone fill me in on what STeve's disc looks like? My local crap used CD seller has what I THINK is it (an old MCA 16 Greatest HIts, or something) but...

-D

 

Ordinary looking MCA disc with pastel colors. Front cover says something like 16 Greatest Hits and Michelle looks like she's biting her thumb. The photo itself looks like it's on canvas paper.

MCAD 5701. Blue spine.

I'm playing it for the 1st time on an all-tube chain in the basement (one I posted photos on) and it sounds alarmingly good.

[ December 19, 2001: Message edited by: Sckott ]

 

Mama's and the Papa's 16 Greatest Hits CD.

MCA commercial product.

This material has since been remastered.

Lemme tell ya - the latest remaster stinks. The MCA "16" is the real deal. Makes me wish for bonus tracks of the mono mixes. Every nuance of the original stereo mixes is here - you play this one on a JVC boom box and hear that it is better than the latest remaster. Sounds better with all that high'fallotin' tube gear and twin mono block amplfiers too. For material recorded between 1966 and 1968 - it sounds better than most anything else recorded at that time.

The mastering engineer that did this work for salary must have been working for a labor of love (the poor schleb).

LMAO

 

This is the only Mamas & The Papas CD I have and it does sound excellent.

 

Possibly the only one I'd ever own.

 

Two things:

The proper title is "16 Of Their Greatest Hits"

While the sound is outstanding, note that a few songs feature different mixes. Dedicated To The One I Love features a single-tracked vocal in the intro, while the normal stereo mix is double-tracked. Also, Look Through My Window is a different mix - the "regular" stereo mix has strings left and backing right, while this mix has most stuff centered and features a slightly different strings mix (some stuff that can be heard in the other stereo mix can't be heard on this one). I believe one other mix might be different too, although I'd have to check.

Great CD, though. Blew me away when my buddy David played it for me next to some other CDs.

 

For DG:

I thought you disdained the M's & P's and had absolutely no interest in this CD. What gives?

FWIW, I've seen two copies of this used in the last year. I might know where one still is.

 

Probably easier and cheaper just to get one from hmv.com new...

 

Another great Steve Hoffman relic from his tenure at MCA, and better-sounding than all the rest!

 

Just got one two weeks ago on Ebay for $6. A little hissy, but warm. Better than that "no-noise" compressed BS. Good CD.

It's still available in Canada, but get this, when I go there it's usually $21! The new "Millenium Collection" is like $7.98 Canadian! What gives?

 

I don't even think NR is the problem with other M&P discs - they just aren't mastered well.

Huh? It's $15 Canadian on hmv.com. The Millennium Collection is $10 Canadian there, but keep in mind it only has 11 songs, vs 16 on Steve's disc.

I find this quote funny (re: MC) -

"The Mamas And The Papas' catalogue had been so shoddily treated for so long before this remastering series was done that the quality of these versions is a revelation. "

NOT!

[ December 28, 2001: Message edited by: Luke Pacholski ]

 

I understand that one of the problems with the ABC and ABC Dunhill catalog is that when MCA purchased it, the masters were in a state of total disarray. During the first wave of CD's in the 1980's, since little effort had been spent in properly archiving the material, EQ'd album masters were usually the source for the cd releases. These were the sources for the original Mamas and Papas cd's. They may even have not been first-generation master copies. They have significant tape hiss. And, cassette masters were used for others, such as the Three Dog Night series. There is so much tape hiss on those original cd's it is unbelievable. But, the public wanted them, and that is what was put out. As time went on and consumers demanded better sounding product, effort was expended to find lower-generation copies. Witness the "Three Dog Night Story" on MCA. Of course, renegade master engineer Steve Hoffman went the extra mile with his "The Mamas and the Papas: 16 of their Greatest Hits" and secured the best source tapes he could find. His work sounds better than the two cd anthology released by MCA in the early nineties.

 

Luke,

Reagarding HMV.com

Many of the things they have online, including prices listed, are NOT available in HMV retail tores in Canada.

I went to an HMV in a mall in Burlington, Ontario a couple of weeks ago. That store SUCKS!

That's where I saw "16 Greatest Hits" for either $21 or $22.

--Dan