yep, my invoice now says 93.71, not sure when it happened over the past week, but its $125 again for now...
It will likely come down again. It is best to exercise patience with these sort of things. I waited a full year for the Guns n Roses "Appetite" box set when someone informed me it was selling for $40 on their website when it was retailing for $125.
Keep an eye on Bullmoose as well. $119 at the moment. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (50th Anniversary Edition) [2 LP/2 CD/7"][Deluxe Box Set]
Mixed in the United States but also mastered in your country? I do not know. Let's say that's the case. Let it bleed US first pressing (versus original master tape) versus Let it bleed UK first pressing. The loss of detail is hardly noticeable on a first generation copy, I do not see why in this case a mastering could be less good. The choices of the engineer being much more decisive in my humble opinion. And incidentally our hearing, our listening system, the acoustics of the listening room and our own subjectivity! Now it's possible that Let it bleed US pressing sound better than its UK counterpart, but it does require identical mastering cut with the same material. Same vinyl production line as well. Only a supplement of presence and micro-details in this case will determine as winner the US pressing. I could expose the problem differently. Let's take the original master tape and apply the dubious choices of mastering the fiftieth anniversary. How will it sound? Hmm ....
Not yet had the time to listen to my Let it bleed bag ...... Too busy (obsessed?) by trying to find a Let it bleed (hot mastering)! Let's hope another engineer from around the world has had the same approach as the one who dynamited Greek pressing!
I would most certainly think "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Gimme Shelter" Would you seriously consider "Come Together" a better opener than "Sympathy for the Devil?"
Best of the lot so far for me is the late 70's boxed Decca. Then the MoFi from the 1984 box set. Basically it's a tie. The MoFi is clearer, but the Decca just has that "something"
It's sad, but the Stones were eviscerated by Allen Klein. They have no leverage whatsoever for a renegotiation. My understanding is that ABKCO owns the catalog and the publishing, lock, stock 'n barrel. They don't have the rights to material in the vaults, but Klein Jr. isn't going to give anything back to the Stones to access some bonus tracks.
My understanding is that both sides have to agree to release something. They have released the Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out Deluxe Edition, On Air (BBC Sessions) and Charlie Is My Darling movie and recordings so it can be done if both sides agree.
ABKCO owns all pre-1971 material, but ABKCO cannot release anything previously unreleased without the Stones approval. If such approval is not given, then ABKCO can only release previously released material. To simplify, Jagger/Richards owns the copyright to the material (e.g the right to be credited as composers, the right to say yes/no the release of previously unreleased material etc), but ABKCO owns the economic rights to the material, e.g if you want to use a sample of an instrumental version of The Last Time for your song Bitter Sweet Symphony, you need to deal ABKCO rather than the Stones. That's why Jagger/Richards also could give away the right to be credited as composers of the song.
So, if I'm understanding this, Jagger/Richards returning the songwriting credits back to The Verve for Bittersweet Symphony actually COSTS ABKCO more than it has Jagger/Richards?
I listened today to my SACD 2002. Then my reissue DECCA UK 1976 and my DECCA 1979 Italian pressing using the same matrix as my UK copy (6 W / 6 W). The DECCA UK and Italian sound the same. Very difficult to decide! DECCA vinyls provide a more lively listening experience. More organic. More cohesion or consistency as well. The SACD has more discernment in the musical presentation. More clarity too. More "audiophile" will we say. Surprising detail: on the SACD, at the very beginning of the introduction of the song "Love in vain", we hear in the back of the mix, the echo of a strange percussion. The sound is repeated six times. Curiously I do not hear it on my UK pressing! Does this corroborate the fact that the English division of DECCA used a tape copy. Not sure ! Probably a choice of the engineer during the mastering. It happens sometimes. On my second Led Zeppelin ll Italian press, the engineer erased Robert Plant's sardonic laughter at the beginning of the Whole Lotta Love introduction. On Led Zeppelin lll, we can hear the bass drum creaky on the song "Since I have been loving you", on other pressings, not necessarily. In any case it seems that the SACD version seems more complete! A point for you dear Shawn! Now this detail is not crippling... for me. I really enjoyed both plays. The best we can imagine for this wonderful album. It remains to be seen if there is a ****ing hot mix lost in the jungle of pressings!
