Procol Harum - first album on CD

There are many threads dedicated to other Procol Harum albums or entire remaster programs, but I haven't found one that deals specifically with the first album on CD.

What is your favorite CD when it comes to sound quality, and which ones have you heard?

I have no less than 6 different masterings, and with exception of the CUCD 05 PH, which seems to be from an inferior source, and the Westside CD, which is bright and compressed, they all sound not bad, and none really stands out for me. The Cube 8.26287 CD has the smoothest mastering of them all and would be my favorite, but it features a different track lineup including Homburg as its first track (in mono), and missing Good Captain Clack and A Whiter Shade Of Pale (which I know has not been on the original lineup) and moves Conquistador to penultimate position.

Mastering #1:
1986, Cube Records CUBE 8.26287, Made In West Germany (Teldec Schallplatten GmbH)
altered track listing with Homburg as 1st track, but w/o AWSOP and Good Captain Clack
Procol Harum - Procol Harum
EAC Peak levels: 79.5 / 76.0 / 74.0 / 54.2 / 87.9 / 96.5 / 84.7 / 87.4 / 66.6 / 79.7

Mastering #2:
1988, Cube Records 25CP-11, Manufactured by Teichiku Records Co. Ltd. Japan
with AWSOP added as 1st track
Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale = 青い影
EAC peak levels: 78.4 / 78.2 / 67.5 / 69.5 / 78.9 / 100.0 / 99.9 / 83.4 / 84.1 / 71.7 / 76.4

Mastering #3:
1990, Castle Communications CLACD 188
with AWSOP added as the first track
Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
EAC peak levels: 100.0 / 97.5 / 100.0 / 94.7 / 89.5 / 100.0 / 100.0 / 94.4 / 91.2 / 68.3 / 100.0

Mastering #4:
1993, Castle Communications CLC 5121, Castle Legends
with AWSOP added as 1st track and Homburg as 7th track
Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
EAC peak levels: 90.3 / 98.4 / 98.4 / 98.4 / 91.7 / 98.4 / 97.2 / 98.4 / 98.4 / 89.0 / 76.5 /98.4

Mastering #5:
1994, Cube Records CUCD 05 PH, Disky Communications Europe B.V.
with AWSOP added as the first track
Procol Harum - Procol Harum
EAC peak levels: 73.4 / 85.9 / 76.1 / 68.5 / 72.5 / 91.1 / 98.7 / 73.7 / 77.9 / 62.7 / 86.4

Mastering #6:
1998, Westside WESM 527, "1ST ALBUM...PLUS"
original track listing, AWSOP and Homburg (single version) as bonus tracks among many other alternate versions
Procol Harum - 1st Album...Plus
EAC peak levels (for first 11 tracks): 100.0 / 96.6 / 98.1 / 94.9 / 98.9 / 98.0 / 98.0 / 97.0 / 95.4 / 99.0 / 96.4

 

Mine, as recommended by many on this forum : Procol Harum - 1st Album...Plus

 

Mastering #2 sounds really good but I haven't heard others except for one years ago.

 

That's mastering #6 in the list above. It has some audible mastering compression compared to the other ones, too much for my taste.

 

And the masterings for Repertoire - Salvo - Esoteric?

 

Agreed!

Agreed! It is my favorite mastering for this album. Not perfect, but very good. Would love to get an audiophile mastering of this and their second album.

 

Have you guys heard #1, #3 or #4? #2 sounds quite similar to #4, and quite a bit brighter than #1 and #3.

 

If you have heard them, please report.

 

Only going from long term memory here but I think I heard the Castle release mastering #3 and preferred mastering #2.

 

Any input from those who own the Repertoire, Salvo or Esoteric CDs?

 

Haven't heard 1, 3 or 4.

1 - I can rule out based on tracklisting alone.

3 - Might consider this at some point, but I am still hoping we get a great mastering by IR, AF or maybe Mofi.

4 - If similar to #2, wouldn't be worth it for me.

 

My favourite mastering is the Salvo release, followed very closely by the Esoteric one. There are days when I'd pick the Esoteric over the Salvo one, though.

The best versions that I own are my rips of the original UK LP (Regal Zonophone LRZ 1001), the 2003 Classic Records reissue (also LRZ 1001) and the Italian red cover LP (ILP 30.000), which is apparently the only release that used the subsequently lost original masters.

 

I have now bought and listened to the Esoteric remaster. Some comments:

• The Esoteric remaster is darker and bassier than all other version I have. I like it that way, but it is unclear to me if hat reflects the sound of the tape or the orginal LP.
• There is only a tiny amount of compression on the Esoteric remaster. The dynamic range measures are slightly lower compared to the masterings #1 to #5 from my original post, but that might by solely because of the added bass (or absent bass roll-off).
• The song A Whiter Shade Of Pale sounds terrible on the Esoteric compared to the earlier CDs, almost duophonic with a hole in the middle of the stereo spectrum, and as if it comes from a damaged copy.
  
• The Westside remaster from 1998 is remarkable for its low dynamic range. It is both brighter and more compressed than all other versions.
• The song Good Captain Clack is a bit slower and lower in pitch on the Westside compared to all other versions. Was that a mastering error or is it the only one sourced from the correct master?
  
• I have to retract my above comment that mastering #2 sounds similar to #4. Actually, #1 and #2 sound close to each other and could very well be the baseline (flat sound of the tape?). #3 seemingly has both more bass and more upper midrange if that makes sense, #4 mostly more upper midrange, and the Esoteric mostly more bass and lower midrange.
  
• What do I prefer? I know that I don't like #5 and #6 for reasons already expressed, but I am still not sure about the others.

 

My favorite is the Esoteric, but I don't exactly love it. It's the best that I have heard of the above versions.

 

I think the K2HD based on the Westside release is very good. But I have no familiarity with the cube versions.

I think the Salvo is at the wrong speed on many tracks so I knock that out of contention. It may wells be the original tapes are at a funny speed and that was correct after the fact for the vinyl mastering but in any event I perceive the speed as plain wrong.

I think the Esoteric is fine but not as good as that first K2HD. Not the second - there was a K2HD based on the Salvo release.

 

I've heard the 1990 Castle, the 1993 Castle, the Repertoire, the Westside and the Salvo and of those I prefer the 1990 Castle, but the best I have is a rip of the original RZ vinyl.

 

Salvo for me. On a high end sound system, it sounds pretty magical.
Shame they cocked up the follow up.

 

That’s why Esoteric was created

 

Are you saying the version on Esoteric sounds worse than on every single one of the 5 earlier masterings that has the song, even the CUCD 05 PH and the Westside CD? Which one do you feel has the best sounding version of AWSOP?

 

Stereo spectrum? You know this is a mono only recording or a you referring to the alternate stereo take?

 

It is obviously mastered in stereo with audible difference between left and right channel, probably an error when reading from a mono tape with a stereo head, or processed for a fake stereo release. The source is the usual single mono mix, of course.

 

Yes, the Esoteric is the worst for that song. Best sounding is relative, it is a crummy recording, but I'd take #2 or #3.

 

I'm not a fan of Esoteric's remastering as I always find them to sound dense and bulky, but I love the first 4 Procol albums issued by the them. That's why it's never a good idea to dismiss a label out of hand.

 

... seems like a horrendous mistake, very strange - haven't heard anyone else mentioning it!

 

The ending of Kaleidoscope is curious. The song starts to fade at 2:48 on all versions, but then:

• Mastering #1, #2 and #4: Abrupt cut off at 2:52, sounds like a mistake
• Mastering #3: Very fast, unnatural fade to silence at 2:51
• Mastering #5 and Esoteric: Slightly longer fade to silence at 2:52
• Mastering #6: Extended fade until 2:56

Again, it seems that the Westside (#6) is from a different tape than the rest.