DCC Archive Question regarding Jackson Browne's "For A Dancer" on Retrospective

I just got the Retrospective CD; it was a promo issued in 1993 for Jackson Browne to coincide with the release of "I'm Alive." (it was also remastered by Greg Calbi).

Anyway, the version of "For A Dancer" on it is different than the familiar one I hear on "Late For The Sky." You hear a hi-hat on each beat during the start of the song, which you DON'T hear on "Late For The Sky"'s version, and furthermore Browne's voice is mixed down with some echo, like he's miked farther away. On "Late for The Sky"'s version, his voice is dry and his voice sounds like it's mike closely.

I'm certain it's two different performances, too, because they're so different and because everything, including Browne's singing, is musically a bit different.

Does anyone know what version I'm listening to on the "Retrospective" version? I don't think the song was ever released as a single, much less, had a single mix made for it.

 

I will crosspost your question to the Jackson Browne mailing list and see if anyone has any insight there.

-Craig

 

Thanks, but I actually should tell you all that a few days ago, I e-mailed an unofficial Jackson Browne website about the same thing. According to him, similar questions were asked when the CD came out and the official response from Browne's management was that it was due to a difference in mastering. I honestly think they don't really know what they're talking about. Everyone here knows a little about mastering, even if they've never done it. I invite you to make the comparison yourself. There's absolutely NO WAY it can be due to mastering. Mixing maybe, but it would have to be some drastic remixing.

Anyway, it's not like it's an urgent question. After all that's happened yesterday, it really feels like such a trivial question. I just hope they nail those guys. It may take months, hell, it may take years, just as it took years in the notorious Pan Am explosion, but I have faith they'll nail those guys. They're not martyrs, they're cowards. If there's a hell, they're burning in it.

 

Have you compared this version of For A Dancer against the version that appeared on the original Elektra CD (which has since been remastered). I was my understanding that the original Elektra CD contained a different mix, which, among other things, featured noticeable echo on the vocals. I haven't pulled out the DCC version of Late for the Sky in a while, but I'm pretty sure it includes some notation that this was the first time the original mix had appeared on CD. I have no idea which version was used in the remastered CD that came out a few years ago.

 

I compared it to the remastered Elektra CD. It sounds like the older Elektra CD may have the Retrospective mix. Which would be the original mix, with or without echo (among other things)?

 

No -- the original mix (which has dry vocals) is on the DCC gold disc. The original Elektra CD reissue has a different mix -- I have no idea whether this was a remix, an alternate mix prepared at the same time as the original album mix (back in the old days, it wasn't all that unusual to prepare more than one album mix -- this was done for What's Goin On, for instance), or whether they simply took the original mix and fiddled around with it. Anyway, if you have the DCC disc, you should be ok.

 

i have two questions:

>i know of three cd's on which "for a dancer" appears, silver, gold, and retrospective. are the silver and gold the same? i have the silver and retro.

>this is the second oddity of jackson browne that i've heard of. i know of two different endings to "the fuse" from 'the pretender. one is a fade out, and the other is abrupt. does anyone know the story behind this?

thanks

renny

 

I think DCC is the only company that's pressed it on gold disc; the silver's are most likely Elektra. Is this what your discs say?

Thanks to David, we know that the DCC disc is definitely the correct mix of the song (and more appropriate in the context of the album, I think). Retrospective has the other mix, though I'm still trying to figure out where this alternate mix comes from. The silver CD's you have, from Elektra, were remastered a few years ago, and according to David the older ones have the alternate mix. I've got the newer one and it's definitely the original mix.

So, in terms of content, if you have the remastered silver Elektra disc, it's the same as the gold disc. However, the masterings are different, one done by Steve Hoffman and the other by Greg Ladanyi-something (forget the exact credit they gave it to, but it's not Calbi, who did a decent job on Retrospective and an even better job on The Next Voice You Hear).

If you really love this album, you may want to get the DCC version; I got the silver remastered version cuz it was a cheap $8, new.

One final note: Warner Bros. can be pretty damn lazy in noting which CD's of their's are remastered, particularly Elektra CD's. The worst is Browne's first few albums, which have virtually no indication of whether or not they are remastered; the only immediate giveaway is a sticker no the plastic wrap that says "Digitally Remastered From The Original Master Tapes" (usually a black and white sticker, and in the case of "Running On Empty, it has the HDCD logo). Even this isn't that reliable because they don't always put this sticker on. It's an issue that becomes less of a problem with time because the CD was remastered a few years ago and unless your store has some stock copies that they haven't managed to unload, it's unlikely whatever new copy you pick will be the older one. This is especially true since the CD is a budget disc and, like I said, often is sold on sale for $8.

But, if you want to be sure, check for these signs on the discs:

If the disc has 7E 1017-2 as its catalog number, its the older version.

If the disc has E2 1017-2 as the number, it's the newer version (also I think the disc itself, around the middle, will also say E2 1017-2 RE-1 or RE-2; mine says RE-2 but supposedly RE-1's the remaster as well)