Pretenders & Pretenders II Albums get 40th Anniversary Box Treatment

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Shvartze Shabbos, Sep 23, 2021.

  1. Achn2b

    Achn2b Forum Resident

    Location:
    N. Conway, NH
    Maybe it didn't register from the promo pics, but I wasn't expecting vinyl lp size packaging for this. I like it.
     
  2. Sebastian saglimbenI

    Sebastian saglimbenI Forum Resident

    Location:
    New york
    Mine too....due here tomorrow....here's hoping!
     
    Greenalishi likes this.
  3. bluearmy78

    bluearmy78 Living in real gangster times.

    Location:
    England
    Got both mine. I got a superb deal on them. But that's another story.
     
    Shvartze Shabbos likes this.
  4. Jaime1972

    Jaime1972 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    Who cut the vinyl for these 40th Anniversary reissues??
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  5. BIGGER Dave

    BIGGER Dave Forum Resident

    Wow! I’ve been away since July involved with family issues, I log on after being away four months and I see this! Pretenders have always been one of my favorite bands so for me this is a must! Just ordered on ImportCDs.com for $27 each using TENOFF code (good through 11/23).

    Search results for All Products : "Pretenders deluxe"
     
  6. hobbes4444

    hobbes4444 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Both sets are included in the Target B2G1 sale going on...
     
  7. Linnaeus Nightingale

    Linnaeus Nightingale Forum Resident

    Hey does anyone have dynamic range numbers they could post on these discs? Just how different are these from the previous Rhino and Edsel releases?
     
  8. Eleventh Earl of Mar

    Eleventh Earl of Mar Somehow got them all this far.

    Location:
    New York
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Analyzed: The Pretenders / Pretenders
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR8 -0.02 dB -9.71 dB 3:36 01-Precious (2018 Remaster)
    DR8 -0.02 dB -9.47 dB 2:29 02-The Phone Call (2018 Remaster)
    DR8 -0.02 dB -9.61 dB 4:27 03-Up the Neck (2018 Remaster)
    DR8 -0.01 dB -8.85 dB 2:59 04-Tattooed Love Boys (2018 Remaster)
    DR7 -0.02 dB -8.35 dB 3:27 05-Space Invader (2018 Remaster)
    DR8 -0.02 dB -8.81 dB 3:37 06-The Wait (2018 Remaster)
    DR9 -0.02 dB -9.87 dB 2:40 07-Stop Your Sobbing (2018 Remaster)
    DR8 -0.02 dB -9.31 dB 3:06 08-Kid (2018 Remaster)
    DR9 -0.02 dB -11.53 dB 6:25 09-Private Life (2018 Remaster)
    DR9 -0.02 dB -10.52 dB 3:04 10-Brass in Pocket (2018 Remaster)
    DR7 -0.02 dB -9.89 dB 5:51 11-Lovers of Today (2018 Remaster)
    DR8 -0.02 dB -8.92 dB 5:25 12-Mystery Achievement (2018 Remaster)

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Analyzed: The Pretenders / Pretenders II (Deluxe Edition, 2018 Remaster)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DR Peak RMS Duration Track
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR8 -0.01 dB -9.37 dB 3:58 01-The Adultress
    DR8 -0.02 dB -9.06 dB 4:07 02-Bad Boys Get Spanked
    DR7 -0.02 dB -9.77 dB 3:25 03-Message of Love
    DR9 -0.02 dB -11.04 dB 2:57 04-I Go to Sleep
    DR8 -0.02 dB -9.99 dB 4:15 05-Birds of Paradise
    DR9 -0.02 dB -9.81 dB 2:44 06-Talk of the Town
    DR8 -0.02 dB -9.04 dB 3:51 07-Pack It Up
    DR9 -0.02 dB -10.56 dB 3:45 08-Waste Not Want Not
    DR7 -0.02 dB -8.84 dB 3:47 09-Day After Day
    DR9 -0.02 dB -11.04 dB 5:37 10-Jealous Dogs
    DR9 -0.02 dB -10.51 dB 4:30 11-The English Roses
    DR7 -0.02 dB -8.46 dB 3:29 12-Louie Louie
     
  9. Linnaeus Nightingale

    Linnaeus Nightingale Forum Resident

    Well, to look on the bright side, at least nothing is clipped...:). But what's the deal with all that compression :confused:? Things are no better than on the mid-2000s Rhino remasters, and in fact, are slightly worse. The summed DRs of all tracks on the latest remaster of Pretenders II equal 98 whereas those on the 2006 remaster total 100. And for the debut, the numbers are 97 and 102 for the more recent release and 2006 Rhino. Admittedly, there's not much difference, but that in itself says enough. With DRs this low, I can't fathom any dramatic variation in sound since brute force rather than nuance will tend to predominate.

    All I own, for now, are the Rhinos, which surprisingly don't sound as bad as one might expect. But for too long I have overlooked upgrading from these. At the time I purchased those I knew nothing about the loudness wars. Ignorance may have been bliss, but I sure did own a lot of horrible sounding music. I even had Bob Norberg's version of Sports by Huey Lewis in my collection :laugh:.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2021
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  10. Black Cat Surfboards

    Black Cat Surfboards Forum Resident

    Location:
    Delaware, USA
    I bought both I and II and have been listening to then (I bought the CD version) quite a bit. The remastered tracks and live tracks sound great, to me. I struggled to justify spending the $60 already owning I and II on vinyl and having decent tapes of the Pretenders live shows at the 1980 Central Park music festival and a 1980 King Biscuit flower hour.

    I'm just getting started clawing through all of the material and am already glad I made the purchase. The 1979 BBC sessions, Pretenders I remasters and demos sound great and the 1981 Santa Monica show included on the Pretenders II package are (for me) great discoveries.

    Martin Chambers beautiful drumming in the live material and the remasters brings into focus what an amazing player he was. I was fortunate enough to see them around 1984 on the Learning to Crawl tour and remember being impressed with how powerful and tasteful his drumming was.

    James Honeyman-Scott...it just kills me to hear his playing more clearly articulated on the better recordings, and on some live versions where he loosens up some. "The English Roses" and "Day After Day" are just a couple examples of tracks that few people might point to as standout Pretenders songs, and playing them live he just opens up and adds color to every riff. It's both insufficient and a cliche to say it, but there will just never be another guitarist that does quite what he did.

    I'm not a buyer of box sets or expensive packages. The last time I bought anything even remotely like this was Buzzcocks Product, back in 1990 or whatever. SO STOKED this weekend!
     
    dee, Davido, Remy and 8 others like this.
  11. tubesandvinyl

    tubesandvinyl Forum Resident

    Original UK lp is stunning and beautifully balanced. I’ll be happily shocked if anything sounds better.
     
    dee likes this.
  12. bug2362

    bug2362 Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Seattle, WA
    I purchased these recently on Amazon and started in with P1 last evening… the audio was amazing! I look forward to the rest of this!
    The debut album may be the most influential/important record for me-it came out my senior year in high school and felt so dangerous then-but damn if it hasn’t retained it’s edge to this day!
    I still remember walking into Cellophane Square in Seattle’s U District the week PII was released-when I walked thru the door, someone at the counter said “have you heard the new Pretenders?- it’s amazing!”
     
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  13. bug2362

    bug2362 Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Seattle, WA
    Btw I recently sold the debut LP ( original UK pressing) as i no longer have a turntable but for vinyl folks, this is “ the one”
     
    dee likes this.
  14. bataclan2002

    bataclan2002 All You Need Is Now.

    A bit late to this but the prices seem to have dropped quite a bit. I just bought Pretenders II CDs from Target for $36.99. Looking forward to the nice packaging!
     
  15. Porkpie

    Porkpie Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Has anyone heard the new black vinyl pressing of Pretenders II? How does it compare with original pressings?
     
  16. Jaime1972

    Jaime1972 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    London, UK

    It's here
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  17. So now we’re waiting for Learning to Crawl?
     
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  18. Deja Doh

    Deja Doh QUARANTINED

    Location:
    South Pasadena, CA
    Pack It Up is one of great female rock and roll songs ever.
     
  19. Tojo

    Tojo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    How's the new remaster of the first album compared to the Rhino 2006 2-CD edition, which is the one I've got?
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  20. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    Sorry I don't have the 2006 anymore. This 40th of the s/t however has shaved peaks and some light clipping so I doubt it is better than the 2006 from what I remember of it. I always preferred the original CD over the 2006 until the MFSL came along.
     
    Tojo likes this.
  21. VinylRichieUK

    VinylRichieUK Forum Resident

    I received both 3CD sets this evening from Amazon UK, they look great but I haven't listened to them yet, however the covers of both are bent forward, meaning the spine isn't flat when stored upright, it's at an angle.

    This was caused by the tight cellophane seal on them that pushed the front part of the cover forward, did anyone else receive theirs like that and were they bought from Amazon or somewhere else?

    Also, has there been any rumour of any of the other albums being released in this format?
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  22. When that happens, if I can't flatten them, I send them back. I consider them "damaged". As to any further rumours, I really don't know how these sets truly sold but I would imagine that Learning to Crawl with the full Us Festival concert would be a big attraction (audio and video). The best outtakes from that time period have probably already been released between the Pretenders boxed set career overview and the 1/2 CD reissues from Rhino/Edsel respectfully.
     
    VinylRichieUK and Lewisboogie like this.
  23. bluearmy78

    bluearmy78 Living in real gangster times.

    Location:
    England
    Don't think there is any plans to release any of the others in this format. Just the first two albums.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  24. That would be my guess as a well. I think, if sales had been outstanding, it would have been a different story. We will see.

    the problem with the first two to gage this is that they had so many reissues (and that’s true of Crawl as well) that it dilutes the impact and sales of larger sets as fan fatigue sets in. A pity they did not include a lossless Blu-Ray or DVD option as well for both. It might have helped sales a little bit more.
     
    Chris Bernhardt likes this.
  25. hobbes4444

    hobbes4444 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I don't care for the new 2021 pressing if Pretenders II. I compared it to a Japanese pressing and an original US. The record is not the best sounding to begin with. But I think the remastered version has a very squashed and claustrophobic feel with a lot of top end rolled off. It's particularly notable in her vocals which lose some dynamics. When I listened to Birds of Paradise I thought there might be a problem with my cartridge as it sounded quite dull and compressed, like you'd hear when they try to cram 28 minutes onto a side.

    In contrast the original US is a bit thin sounding but still very open and dynamic with a nice soundstage. You can definitely hear the snap and resonance of MCs snare on songs like I Go to Sleep. And Birds of Paradise is a marked improvement over the remaster. I'd say the OG isn't bright in the negative sense, rather it is crisp sounding, but still a bit thin. Would love to hear more Pete in the mix. The ol blanket over the speaker cliche really does apply to the remaster (blanket) compared to the original (no blanket).

    The Japanese pressing sits in between the two. It has a little more heft to it compared to the US, so it sounds a little more balanced and natural and less bright. Surprising. But it also sounds like it might be cut from a tape that's a generation or more from what was used in the US. There are little anomalies in the tape that you can hear on a couple of occasions. It's just not as clean and crisp sounding as the US. It's most notable on Talk of the Town. That sounds great on the US original but suffers from compression and rolled off highs on the Japanese.

    But overall, that doesn't mean the Japanese pressing is necessarily worse than the original US (aside from TOTT). I'd say this is one where personal preference and your system will dictate which is best. I can definitely imagine the original US could get fatiguing on some set ups and hearing the tape issues on the Japanese over headphones might be annoying to some. But what's clear to.me is the 2018/21 remaster on vinyl is worse than both.

    And FWIW, I popped on the MFSL SACD. It sounds somewhere in between the US OG and the Japanese vinyl -- slightly rolled off high end and more low end than the US OG. Not bright or fatiguing. But it has a little more midrange emphasis than I care for.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2023

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