I must have the "bad" Polydor's of Greatest Hits & Vol. 2. Mine were from Columbia House. I think I bought them in 1994. NR'd and dull, dried up, and each basically sounding like a big wet noodle. One of my first experiences that made me realize CD's weren't all they were hyped up to be (that and Beatles For Sale, which I luckily didn't waste money on!). I was so turned off to them that I refused to try any more of the Polydor Elton John discs, not knowing then that they weren't all mastered as these two were. I bought the Rocket Goodbye Yellow Brick Road when it first came out and even that sounded better than either of those discs. I didn't buy any more of the Rockets because I didn't like the harsh/aggressive sound on that one, but it blew away the Polydor Hits discs that I have.
Is there any question at all that the Polydor, DJM and MCA CD's of GBYBR are identical? I want a redbook of this title...have most of the early MCA's...but not this one. Sounds like there is no difference between the MCA and the Polydor SQ wise....
I traded all my Rocket remasters. They were unlistenable.... on my system, of course. I also bought a Polydor last week of Captn Fantastic. I'll be trading that back in too. Bright with mid range suck out. The MCA's have good midrange and sound more natural. Of course, this opinion is based on my system. As usual, YMMV.
I've been meaning to buy the Rocket Here and There, since it's so much longer. I got to hear it once - don't remember the sound/mastering too well, but it's better musically IMO.
...get it! It's worth every penny for the extra tracks alone...sound is not that bad, definetly acceptable (IMO)...
Yes, I like the Japanese pressing of the MCA EJ GH II. I get depressed everytime I think how close we came to having a DCC version of this...
The DJM and the early MCA (manufactured in Japan) are the same, but I sure wouldn't bet that the Polydor is from what Martin and Gary are saying. I've only had one Elton John Polydor experience with Honkey Chateau and it was the same.
Very interesting reading Does anyone have any info about how the Japanese MCA-Universal pressings figure into all of this?
Info about my Polydor CD's of Greatest Hits & Greatest Hits Volume II.: Both are the "updated" tracklists. Both "CRC" on the back cover tray card. Neither notes "CRC" on the discs themselves. Both discs are "MADE IN U.S.A." Catalog #'s are P2-12532 & P2-12533 Barcode #'s are 0 20831 - 4710 -2 11 & 0 20831 - 4710 -2 29 "Dead area" info on discs: Greatest Hits: (in fairly small type in the inner ring) IFPI L422 & (in larger type in the inner ring) D2 1A P212532 06 Greatest Hits Volume II: (in fairly small type on the plastic hub) IFPI 7231 & (in larger type in the inner ring) 1A P212533 02 03
I believe so, but I also think I've seen a copy of Too Low For Zero. The only certainty is that the Greatest Hits Vol. 2 is on DJM and that was from 1986.
When do you think they stopped? Blue Moves, Single Man? What are the best CDs for late 70's-early 80's material?
For UK releases: in 1976, Elton moved to his own Rocket Records (two years after he set up the label), starting with Blue Moves. DJM did GH2 in 1977. The first UK cds match the LP releases label wise.
Does the original MCA mfg in Japan for the US market Tumbleweed CD have a different front cover, a pic of Elton rather than the "building" picture?