I think you're right as I can't tell the difference on the FL (disc 2) between the 2001 and the 2018 releases. Now I have only been playing them on Spotify but even on Spotify to me they sound the same. So basically these sets(for the people who bought the 2001's) are only for the new 2018 remaster of the main album. Wow that really is too bad. I'm still on the fence and may dip and try 'Please' although the original 80's CD sounds great and you can crank them up .
Personally, I think 1993's Very is their best record. For someone totally uninitiated, maybe go online and give a close listen to the PopArt compilation...see which tracks really click with you, and get their parent album(s) first. Like, 2002's Release is an album that's mostly overlooked, but I randomly stumbled on it when I was in college. It seems to be mostly overlooked by long-time fans, but not having any preconceptions of what a PSB album was supposed to be, I loved it. Their catalog is wonderfully diverse for a synthpop act, so the early albums may not resonate with you, whereas fans who got into them in the 80's may not like their 90's or later albums. I think the comp might be a good place to start...it's sequencing is weird, but it covers the first 17 years of their catalog fairly well.
Very disappointing. I already have the original CD releases and the 2001 FL releases of the first six PSB albums, so I definitely won't pay full price for the 2018 FL sets, if all there is are slightly improved remasters of the main albums. I guess these will have to wait until bargain bin or Amazon's pay-2-get-3.
Well I was only listening to them on Spotify which for some reason doesn't have Introspective. I'll probably get 'Please' so I can hear it properly on my main stereo. However since the track times on Spotify are 100% exactly the same for the 2001's and 2018 releases then I would suspect the mastering engineer didn't go back to the master tapes but simply remastered his own remastering he did in 2001 buy changing the EQ. I will be waiting for when Behaviour comes out as that 2001 version was the worst of the batch with zero high end. So anyone with some very basic EQ program could rip the 2001 version and then EQ it and probably get it too sound the same as the 2018 version.
I was wrong as some total playing time's for some of the tracks are different between the 2001 and 2018 versions only by a second or two. However ' West End Girls' runs 4:05 on the 2001 remaster and is 4:46 on the 2018 remaster. That is very strange.
I pulled out the 2001 Please CD and West End Girls runs 4:45 so I have no idea what version is on the 2001 remaster on Spotify clocking in at 4:05.
Probably the one from PopArt or Discography, I think one or both of those are faded early. I believe that Spotify is like Amazon sometimes, the version you hear on streaming isn't necessarily the one on the specific album you are looking at.
So in an attempt to console myself after a lousy week, I ordered all three 2CD sets yesterday evening despite better judgement. They arrived a few hours ago via Amzn Prime. While I cannot really say much regarding sound quality yet, I thought I'd run them all through the loudness utility first to see whether the Further Listening CDs were indeed the same as the 2001 versions (as Neil's comments and the stickers on the shrink-wrap insinuated). Turns out… they're not! (The Don Juan glitch is still present, mind you). I've uploaded the logs to the dr db: Album list - Dynamic Range Database
I like the „Please“ 2018 remaster! Had the original CD and the 2001 reissue. The new remaster is my favourite.
I should think they are for completists. The additional tracks are remixes and alternative versions of songs of the same era as the album. If you can get the "Further Listening" versions cheaply, by all means go for it, but if you can only find them at a high price I'd say don't bother. Most of the original albums can be found cheaply, some are even on youtube. Opinions will differ, it depends what you like about them. Their first two albums are "Please" and "Actually" who contain some of their best known singles and they will get the most recommendations, but I beg to differ. PSB have basically three sides to them: Dance, pop and ballads. If you like dance and remixes, go for "Disco" (not Disco2/3/4), followed by "Introspective". If you like pop, it is "Very". If you like ballads, it's "Behaviour". Among the post-2000 albums I recommend "Yes" and "Super". The least recommendable and least typical in my view is "Release". All albums mentioned are on youtube for free
The 2018 clearly sounds much better than the 2001 version, which sounds sort of dead in comparison. But there's a new variation/glitch/difference I've just spotted... in Violence after the first verse there used to be a short instrumental bit on every version so far. On the 2018 version the chorus "Violence" starts immediately and is repeated more often so the total running time stays the same.
Thanks for posting those on the DR Database. The dr#'s have not changed from the 2001 FL's, that's a good sign at least. I'm just waiting on Behaviour since it was the 2001 that was really fouled up.
Yeah, Behaviour will be really interesting. Also, since the original Please CD had pre-emphasis applied and I do not really like any of my various tries at fixing the eq, I think I might rate the new remaster my favourite version of that album. Need a few more listens…
I have several pre-2001 releases for Please including the Japanese Black Triangle,UK Nimbus and a later European release. But i guess they all have pre-emphasis. I think there is one pre-2001 mastering without it. Which one was that? The Japanese TOCP-8176 ?
Doesn't your CD player decode the pre-emphasis? I know years ago when I spoke with someone at Denon he said that it's a redbook spec and that all CD players decode it. My old Denon actually had emphasis displayed on the front panel whenever I played a disc with pre-emphasis.
Yes the DR numbers are interesting as the mastering engineer made some tracks louder then the 2001's and some lower-go figure that one out.
