Roland's favorite CD versions of Deep Purple albums

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by rjstauber, Sep 15, 2006.

  1. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    I haven't done any comparisons, but I can tell you that the remaster of House of Blue Light uses the shorter lp edits of the songs. The original cd has much longer edits on several tunes.
     
  2. rjstauber

    rjstauber Senior Member Thread Starter

    I prefer the original Polydor CD's for these two albums.
     
  3. Purplerocks

    Purplerocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    IN
    Recently snagged a WG Polydor Perfect Strangers and wow, is there a huge difference between it and the remastered sludge. The WG is hands down so much easier on the ears; very nice natural sound. The remaster SHOUTS AT ME LOUDLY and distorts in places.
    I just need to find "In Rock" and "Fireball" in the preferred EMI versions now and I'll be all set.
     
  4. rjstauber

    rjstauber Senior Member Thread Starter


    I thought forum member dbz was selling some of these in the Classifieds section right now.
     
  5. Purplerocks

    Purplerocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    IN
    Just missed 'em; thanks anyway for the heads-up Roland. I'll keep looking and waiting.
     
  6. shinedaddy

    shinedaddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Valley Village, Ca
    I just got the orig EMI Burn and compared it to the orig US Warner and I gotta say I thought the EMI sounded warmer, more like an LP might have of this title....more natural, smoother, a little less harsh and a little more defined in the instruments too.

    Then I put on the remaster and noticed a huge increase in bottom end. Don't know which to keep, as the rest of the aspects of the remaster don't seem too bad, even though it is not as defined as the EMI
     
  7. rjstauber

    rjstauber Senior Member Thread Starter

    Interesting. I would describe the differences between the EMI and the WB just the opposite way. What's the matrix code of your EMI CD. Which country of manufacturing?

    The remaster is also compressed somewhat. Not my cup of tea.
     
  8. shinedaddy

    shinedaddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Valley Village, Ca
    it is matrix #S 7926112 01 on the inner ring

    catalog # is CDP 7 926112

    also says below that UK: CZ 203

    on the left side of the actual cd it says:

    LC 2546
    BIEM/MCPS


    I doubt it is a unique mastering, probably the same as all of the orig EMI's...just liked it a lot. wish it had the bass of the remaster though
     
  9. claypool

    claypool New Member

    Location:
    Finland
    My copy has the same information except the matrix is 7926112 AR 1:2:4 EMI SWINDON. There isn't anything on the left side of the CD but on the right there's CDP 7926112 and "Made in Italy".

    Probably the same mastering. It's too bass shy but otherwise I think it sounds pretty good.
     
  10. dbz

    dbz Bolinhead.

    Location:
    Live At Leeds (UK)
    The remaster uses quite a bit of compression and soft limiting-the graphs re-produced in the DPAS magazine show it to a loud remastering job-but not unlistennable.

    There were some comments about problems with the bass on the master tapes. They weren't sure if the bass was used on the same track as the drums (maybe), or that it wasn't recorded properly and was muffled all the way through or there was even a suggestion that Glenn Hughes was not using a plectrum and his finger playing meant that the bass lacked definition. But ironically, there was some bleed through on to other tracks. It may even have been that the bass simply did not have its own track but was recorded with drums, or was supposed to be overdubbed later (but someone forgot).

    I suspect its more to do with the way it was recorded and mixed.

    Suffice to say that this problem wasn't there on the soon to be released Stormbringer album tapes which was recorded much better in the first place (Musicland Studios instead of a mobile unit in Montreux). Glenn clearly didn't change his bass playing style and on the next 2 albums the bass is pretty much well recorded with great definition.
     
  11. herky10

    herky10 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Caledonia UK
    Roland (or anyone),

    Any thoughts on the remixed tracks on the "Burn" remaster? (If indeed you have heard them).
     
  12. rjstauber

    rjstauber Senior Member Thread Starter

    They're nothing special to me. I thought the remixes on Machine Head were really interesting, but for the Burn tracks there isn't that much difference.
     
  13. sasho

    sasho Forum Resident

    Location:
    BG
    how do you find the mastering quality for studio songs 70-75 from LLRO boxset
    by first listen I can tell that they sound clear, but In your face
    what Is your opinion
     
  14. rjstauber

    rjstauber Senior Member Thread Starter

    I don't like the mastering of that box set too much. A typical Peter Mew job with no-noise and some EQ adjustments as well as some compression.

    It's still a nice box set for all the rare stuff and the nice packaging.
     
  15. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Agreed... the bonus stuff is worth the extra bucks... incl the nice booklet.
     
  16. Great Deceiver

    Great Deceiver Active Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
  17. rjstauber

    rjstauber Senior Member Thread Starter

  18. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    One set I haven't seen mentioned here is the "Knebworth: In The Absence Of Pink" set of the 1985 tour. Is this any good? CDUniverse shows it as a 1 cd set, though I thought this was a 2cd set in a fatboy case. Looking on Ebay, I see it listed as both 1 and 2 discs, but with what appears to be the same track listing. Anyone have this? What's the deal? Does the 1 disc version have edited songs to squeeze it on 1 disc?
     
  19. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT

    The mix isn't so hot but it's a great performance. I don't play this enough. I just have the original fatboy 2 CD import.
    I've never seen a 1 disc version of this.
     
  20. Jontario

    Jontario Member

    Location:
    Canada
    I agree with your theory on the bass sound, and that the "problem" probably stems from the way it was recorded. In addition to what youv'e already mentioned, if you listen to the track Coronarias Redig, it to has a better bass sound than the other 8 tracks. Coranarias was recorded at a different time and place than the others tracks, Copenhagen I think.
     
  21. pig whisperer

    pig whisperer CD Member

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Hi Roland,

    Can you confirm for me that the first Japan pressing of #7, "Made In Japan," is the 20P2-2606 version titled "Live In Japan". Thanks.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. Shades of Deep Purple
    My favorite version is the first Japanese pressing in the Forever Young series (20P2-2601). The remastered CD version is no-noised. The original European EMI version is also not bad, but I do like the Japanese Warner Bros. better.

    2. Book of Taliesyn
    My favorite version is the first Japanese pressing in the Forever Young series (20P2-2602). The remastered CD version is no-noised. The original European EMI version is also not bad, but I do like the Japanese Warner Bros. better.

    3. Deep Purple
    My favorite version (so far) is the first Japanese pressing in the Forever Young series (WPCP-4015). The remastered CD version is no-noised. I haven't heard the original European EMI version, but I would expect the same result as with the first two albums (I could be wrong, though).

    (I haven't checked into Concerto for Group and Orchestra yet)

    4. Deep Purple in Rock
    I do like the early European EMI version best (UK or Holland are the same, I had them both). This version has the intro to Speed King (which is not on the US or Japanese Warner Bros. versions). I never heard the early Japanese version, but Owasi (progmog) confirmed that the EMI sounds better. The remaster sounds really bad in my opinion, and the early EMI CD is much better. Still, it is not an audiophile recording, and I really wish Steve Hoffman could get his hands on the master tapes to get the best possible result. Until then, the original EMI is a good choice.

    5. Fireball
    I do like the early European EMI version best (WG, UK or Holland are the same, I had them). This version has Demon's Eye as the third track and not Strange Kind of Woman (I prefer the UK track listing since that is what I grew up with, plus SKOW is available on other CD's). The EMI sounds quite a bit better than the early Japanese CD. The remaster is not totally awful and has some nice bonus tracks plus great artwork, but the original EMI still sounds much better.

    6. Machine Head
    My favorite digital version is the DVD-A which really sounds awesome and very close to the original vinyl. As far as redbook goes, I do like the early Japanese pressings best (first pressing = 32XD-564 and second pressing = 20P2-2605 have identical mastering). The original US Warner Bros. CD is very very close to the early Japanese version, the difference is very minimal. I also had the original EMI CD, and I clearly like the Warner Bros. version better, although the early EMI is also quite good. The remaster is nice for the remixed album and the bonus track, but it is no-noised and compressed. I am also not a big fan of the SACD. I am only comparing 2-channel versions for DVD-A and SACD.

    7. Made in Japan
    No doubt, the DCC gold version is best. Besides that, the early Japanese pressing and the original Warner Bros. CD version are also quite good. The 25th Anniversary Edition does not sound very good in my opinion. You only need it for the encores (2nd disc), if at all.

    8. Who Do We Think We Are
    Of course, the gold Audio Fidelity mastered by Steve Hoffman is my favorite. The remaster (which isn't too bad on its own) is nice for the bonus material. I never bothered with the original EMI or Warner Bros. version since I have the AF disc.

    9. Burn
    My favorite versions are the early Japanese pressings (first pressing and second pressing = 20P2-2608 have identical mastering). The original US Warner Bros. CD is very very close to the early Japanese version, the difference is very minimal. I also had the original EMI CD, and I clearly like the Warner Bros. version better. I also had the 1996 Japanese remaster by Lee Herschberg. At first I thought it sounded better (more presence, more bass), but a longer listening revealed that it was simply smiley-EQ'd (it is not compressed however). the Japanese gold CD also has this Lee Herschberg mastering. I also have the remaster (without copy-control, UK version), but I don't like it very much. Overall, none of the CD versions is really great, and this album could really use the SH treatment. I remember the vinyl sounding much better.

    10. Stormbringer
    I do have the early EMI version (UK or Holland have the same mastering) and also the first Japanese pressing (20P2-2609). Both sound very good to me. The first four songs have reversed channels between these two versions (see separate thread). I personally like the EMI better, it sounds a little more relaxed and musical to me. Owais (progmog) told me that he prefers the Japanese version, which has a little more presence. I would recommend both versions, and I will definitely keep both (the Japanese version has much nicer artwork). I also had the 1996 Lee Herschberg remaster which sounded awful. I have no expectations regarding the soon-to-be-released remaster, I am certain it will not sound as good as the original CD versions, which actually sound great. I never heard the Metal Blade version either, but I would be very surprised if it is better than the EMI.

    11. Come Taste the Band
    I do have the first Japanese pressing (20P2-2610), and it sounds quite good. It's been a very long time since I compared it to the EMI CD, and back then I slightly preferred the Japanese version, but I remember the difference I heard back then (with much less educated ears) as being quite small. i might have to get an early EMI version just to do another shoot-out.

    12. Last Concert in Japan
    My favorite version is the first Japanese pressing in the Forever Young series (WPCP-4018). This CD sounds really great and quite a bit better than the later 2-CD set "This Time Around: Live in Tokyo 1975". Of course, the 2-CD set has the complete show, which I like quite a bit (and I consider it essential for Mk. 4 fans), but the shared tracks sound quite a bit better on the original album (Japanese CD version).

    13. Power House
    Again, my favorite version is the first Japanese pressing in the Forever Young series (WPCP-4019). I like this album a lot. It has the other three tracks from the "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" concert (Hush, Wring That Neck, Child in Time). It also has three non-album tracks, Painted Horse, Cry Free and Black Night (live). All these tracks appear on this CD in their best sounding digital version.
     
  22. rjstauber

    rjstauber Senior Member Thread Starter

    Yes, that is the first Japanese pressing.
     
  23. Purplerocks

    Purplerocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    IN
    Is "Rapture Of The Deep" the worst sounding DP recording? Yes, I believe it is...and what is that weird "tracer" effect coming off of the vocals. Sad.
     
  24. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    The Metal Blade versions of Stormbringer, Made In Europe, and Come Taste The Band are wonderful.
     
  25. dbz

    dbz Bolinhead.

    Location:
    Live At Leeds (UK)
    3. Deep Purple
    My favorite version (so far) is the first Japanese pressing in the Forever Young series (WPCP-4015). The remastered CD version is no-noised. I haven't heard the original European EMI version, but I would expect the same result as with the first two albums (I could be wrong, though).



    Roland,

    Have you changed your mind regarding the Deep Purple S/T? You said in the classifieds that the Uk harvest was your preferred version, but in this thread you say Japan WPCP 4015? This is a remastered version IIRC. Have you now had a chance to compare them against the first pressing 20P forvever Young version?

    Thanks
     

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