Was about to ask was there a Scary Monsters in the early 90s EMI series...then remembered it didn’t come out on LP.
IIRC, the AU20 versions were somewhat compressed compared with the regular aluminium versions. However, at least the AU20 version of "Young Americans" used all the correct takes.
Pin Ups today. What a fun listen this album is. No matter the version, it always seems to sound great. It sounds great here too. Perhaps surprisingly, they did find two extra tracks to include. The first, Growin' Up has a rough and ready feel to it and serves as a nice curio, even if it's not essential. Port of Amsterdam on the other hand is marvelous. That said, it wouldn't have fit the original album, but it's a great way to end ANY record. Thumbs up on this one.
"Young Americans" was the album that most benefited from the inclusion of bonus tracks, as they fit in perfectly with the rest of the album. These are tracks that were only left out to make way for "Fame" and "Across the Universe", recorded later with John Lennon. They were originally intended for the album, so you can listen to the entire CD from start to finish without having that feeling that the added tracks "do not belong" there. They certainly do. I love the Ryko reissues. They also bring back fond memories.
One thing I was reminded of while listening to Pin Ups - it was masterfully put together. So many tracks segue into each other, and it never feels jarring as they move from song to song, and effectively artist to artist. It truly feels like a set. The band are on fire too. I was also struck by how few of these tracks ever seem to have been played live (by Bowie). The bonus tracks here are very good, but as you say, they don't follow the flow of the album and do feel like additions, rather than extensions. Still, they're none the worse for that.
Sorry if this has been mentioned before but I have all the EMI cd's with extra tracks are they the same mastering as the rykos?
I love those outtakes, and think they make the RYKO version of Young Americans an essential addition to any self-respecting Bowie collection. The only problem I have with it is what they did to the opening bars of 'Fascination'. Terrible, just terrible.
As a Bowie fan, I eagerly awaited every reissue. As soon as they hit the record shop I worked at I bought them, played them and listened to them over and over. The bonus tracks were like discovering the Holy Grail. I thought they were all nicely done and packaged and sounded fine to my ears. Sadly, they came out when I was a young college kid unable to manage his finances and during a particular period of being flat broke I sold them all off to a used record store. Just seeing "Ryko" takes me back to my mac & cheese and ramen days. I wish I'd hung on to those.
I've been playing through the handful of Ryko cassettes I still own, and thoroughly enjoying them... the sound is fine and the bonus tracks definitely add to the experience. The Diamond Dogs extras are excellent.
I gave up on trying to get the RCAs and settled for a full set of Rykos. Haven't been disappointed. They're better (less compressed) than the 1999 Virgins and the bonus tracks are at least good.
I have a sentimental attachment to them - they cake out when I started buying CDs and they were my Bowie collection for a long time. I don’t listen to them anymore - other than the bonus tracks - as I think of them as being brittle sounding. At the time they felt like premium product that care had been put into. I should revisit them too!
Yep Pin Ups is a real favourite of mine. I shall keep all my Bowie Ryko cds. I like them and along with the Ryko box some nice bonus stuff.
I’ve held on to most of my Rykos/EMIs through the years, mainly for the bonus tracks. When the updated David Live came out, I traded in my Ryko and got the newer version since it had a slightly different track listing (I think I’m remembering this right). I wouldn’t hesitate to re-buy the Ryko if I found it cheap. I only have two of the RCAs (Hunky Dory and Diamond Dogs), so I don’t feel that’s enough information to make a call on which is better.
So last night it was Heroes. Sadly, half of this disc was disappointing. I have a caveat for that, and it's a significant one, but that doesn't change the fact that I'd certainly love for things to be different. The caveat for my assessment is that Heroes just never sounds how I'd like it too. I have the RCA, the Ryko, the 1999, and the new Parlophone, and none of them nails this title. The problem is Side 1, which just sounds congested. Great music, but I always feel it's never as great as it could be. Given all copies I have disappoint, I'm wondering if this is a case where a remix would be the best step forward. There's a lot going on in this recording, and I'd like to really get to that detail. On the plus side, the instrumentals on Side 2 sound great here. And I do mean great. They suffer none of the problems of Side 1 and this is a truly great release of those. That leaves us with the bonus tracks. There are two here, Abdulmajid, which is an instrumental that would fit within the album proper perfectly. Wonderful stuff. The other is a 1991 Remix of Joe the Lion. Having suggested a remix might help this album, I'm faced with this half-assed attempt to do so. Basically all that's happened here is the addition of big booming drums. Erm, no. A curio then, nothing more. Difficult title this. Given you can buy it cheaply these days, it's probably worth it for Abdulmajid. However, the hunt for a truly great version continues.
I just love the RCA cd, sounds just like I remember the original vinyl. Guess I just like the way its mixed/produced. The Visconti remaster is awful :-(
I don't find the Parlophone "awful", but then as I've said, I don't think the album really ever sounds like I'd want it to.... So today was Low - which basically had to come after Heroes, didn't it? Low is my favorite Bowie album, and after Heroes I was a little nervous of this revisit. Wow, I really needn't have been.... I think this version of Low sounds WONDERFUL. It's a great choice if you want to dig into the detail and concentrate on the guitar or hi-hat and little drums fills that aren't gated - it plays the human elements of the electronic music brilliantly. I have no issues with the sound, I think it's truly great throughout. Probably the best Ryko thus far. On top of that you get three bonus tracks here. Some Are and All Saints are terrific additions and fit in pretty well with the album proper. They're more overtly rhythmic than Side Two of Low, a little rougher at the edges, but they don't take you out of the mood too much and are great to have. The remix of Sound of Vision is likely controversial. After the remix of Joe the Lion on Heroes being a bit of a dud, I'm guessing a lot of people will not enjoy this upbeat version that runs almost a full two minutes longer than the album cut. They've essentially laid a dance groove over the top, which on paper shouldn't really work. However, I've always liked this punchy version of Sound and Vision. Sure it changes the whole temperature of the song, but it's also a really fun listen. I dig it. All in all, Ryko's Low is a really nice version to have. It plays loud, it's got the detail, and the bonus material is good. The booklet is... merely okay. For example, printing white text over a black and white picture is bound to lead to problems, am I right? They give you the lyrics, not that there are many of those. Otherwise it's serviceable without being special. Excellent disc, imo. ps: I can see into the future and know someone is going to chime in with the "Parlophone's version is awful with the bloated Bass" comment. I actually enjoy the Parlophone version, although the Ryko is a smoother play. My system controls the Bass, so while I hear the boost in low end, it's not overwhelming. If you have the Ryko as well it's the best of both worlds.
I dont mind the bass, but the remaster is to compressed for my taste. No dynamic left. I guess this image Below is very telling. By the way, like your revisiting of the Rykos, interesting https://connyolivetti.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/heroes-waveforms.pdf
Looks like the Parlophone is brickwalled, the 1991 EMI is a bit compressed, the Ryko AU is slightly trimmed and the Ryko aluminium is uncompressed, as is the RCA.
I always let my ears do the telling. There are likely some obviously compressed to oblivion titles we could agree on without resort to waveforms, but when it comes to Heroes I feel people are, at least somewhat, being led by their eyes, rather than ears. Listening to the Parlophone Heroes, I don't think it's terrible at all. There is at least one obvious sonic issue that can't be denied, but it lasts 1 to 3 seconds or so. Other than that, I think the Parlophone Heroes isn't too bad as an experience. I find Waveforms the least useful tool, to be completely honest. Of course, with Heroes I have to get back to my feeling that it just never quite sounds right. That's probably a personal choice. I've always heard the first side as being rough, jagged, and noisy - but these days I'm just finding it overly mashed up. I'd say this is true whether I'm spinning the Parlophone or the RCA. I'm having difficulty putting my finger on it precisely, but perhaps it's the vocal effects applied, such as those on Beauty and the Beast, that are troubling me. Still, it's a great album. I decided to revisit the Ryko's for this very reason. Over the years the standard reaction to them has become "too thin, with too much top end", as a blanket statement. It's been said so many times it's become the "truth". However, I wanted to go back and listen to them again with fresh ears. We've been through EMI's 1999 releases, and now Parlophone's more recent efforts since their release. The RCA discs are silly-expensive, and not ideal in their own right (Karmaman's PDF file is clear about the many issues they have). So I wanted to revisit the Ryko's to see if they were, in fact, the most obvious choices for fans. Keep in mind, you can buy the Ryko's very cheaply, often at less than 10% of what an RCA would cost, and with some titles as little as 5% of the cost. Yet I don't often read that the Ryko's are a good option. So, I rebought all of the Ryko's - and here we are!
