Recordings in need of Remixing

Any contenders for re-mixing as well as remastering?

My choice at the moment is Television's's "Adventure."

The current CD is marginally better than the LP but overall the bottom end particularly the drums need to be brought up in the mix.

Overall sound is flat compared to "Marquee Moon."

 

Duke Ellington "Jazz Party". Lots of phony applause in the original mix, plus distortion which could be avoided in a remix.

 

My vote would be "Chicago II". Even the new Rhino re-issue is only marginally better than past releases. The quad mix of this album reveals that the multi-tracks sound much better than the finished stereo mix. A complete remix (if possible, and it may not be possible) is the only way that this classic album will ever begin to sound reasonably good.

 

Rolling Stones Aftermath through Satanic Majesties could sound quite a bit better.

Most of the Small Faces stuff.

Argent's "Argent."

Odessey and Oracle.

Village Green Preservation Society
Bee Gees "Horizontal."
Rubber Soul (yeah, yeah)

etc.

-D

 

Moby Grape's 1st lp - just doesn't move me at all; Paul Revere/Raiders' Just Like Me - I want a pounding, throbbing stereo mix like the mono one; 13th Floor Elevators' You're Gonna Miss Me - never been in stereo, I wonder if the multis still exist...

 

I have to agree about "Rubber Soul". The odd, almost 2 track quality of the stereo mix stands out like a sore thumb when compared with everything else from "A Hard Day's Night" forward. All those "middle period" Beatles albums had reasonably good stereo mixes for the day, but "Rubber Soul" just seemed like a step or two backward. I think that original mix should always be retained, but it would certainly be nice to hear a mix with the vocals centered, and a bit more spread on the music track. I don't want to get into the relative merit or non-merit of the "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" remixes, since there is widely differing opinions on their quality, but obviously the "Rubber Soul" multi-tracks will allow for a different stereo remix since EMI was able to do it with "Think For Yourself" and "Nowhere Man". Although, in going back and listening to these remixes, it appears that there was actually more of a splitting of the vocals and centering of the music, with the exception of the "fuzz bass" on TFY and a guitar chord or two on NM. In any event, a stereo remix of "Rubber Soul" would be very welcome if done correctly......and I know that's a BIG "if".

 

I wish some of Steve Hackett's cds would be remastered. His albums sound much better on vinyl especially Spectral Mornings.

 

Any of the albums that Elvis Presley recorded in the 1970's could use a good remastering. The CD's that were released in the early to mid 1990's sound pretty bad.

 

All Things Must Pass.

George's liner notes say that he was tempted to remix, but...

 

Todd Rundgren - A Wizard A True Star.
An incredible LP that sounded so compressed due to its running time it seems. Even the cd's sound compressed. This would be a top notch candidate for re-mixing from the original multi tracks.

 

I have always attributed the rather poor stereo mixing on Rubber Soul to the rush to get the album out for the holiday season. If Lewisohn's dates are accurate, George Martin & Co. were finishing some of the final mixes 2 1/2 weeks before the album's release.

 

Steve giving the old "breath of life" to Wizard boggles my mind.

 

Albert King: Born Under A Bad Sign would be nice on a dual layered SACD.

 

Rainbow's first 2 records! They sound sooo poor!

 

As Martin has said, a mix doesn't get done any faster if you mix the vocals to one side rather than the center. Don't forget those five Beatles For Sale songs mixed to stereo in a half an hour.

The reason for that strange mix was to make it more "mono compatible". Play a stereo record in mono, and anything that's in the center will sound 3 dB louder than what's left and right. Put nothing in the center and your problem goes away. Martin was thinking that at the time, more and more people were buying stereo LPs but often still had mono systems.

 

While I agree a remix would be most welcome, the stereo mix CAN be helped, it's just that nobody has as of yet. I've tinkered with it myself, and while the results are not sonic gold, they make the album *much* more enjoyable.

 

McCartney's Red Rose Speedway. Yes, I have the DCC. Although it's a better listening experience than the standard CD, it still sounds dull and compressed compared to other recordings of that vintage.


And I second (or third) the vote on Chicago II.

-Michael

 

Wouldn't that be great. This recording would be a real challenge and well worth the effort.

 

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Safe As Milk

This album was beautifully recorded on 8-track...and then BOUNCED TO 4-TRACK for mixing because Bob Krasnow was "distracted by too many tracks". AAAAARRRRGGH!

Needless to say, the fidelity is awful on this spectacular (and originally well-recorded) album...both mixes, any pressing.



Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Strictly Personal

An incredible album...completely ruined in the mixing stage...again by Bob Krasnow.



Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica

Another masterpiece that was partially botched in the mixing stage...this time by Frank Zappa.



I would cut off my left arm to re-mix these albums...possibly even just to have re-mixes.


I would leave everything in my will to Steve Hoffman if he could make this happen.

(and make me his assistant for the job)