The Action - The Complete Recordings 1964-1968 4CD coming

In reference to my post above #74 if your looking to get a copy from Walmart you can forget it. Got an email that cancels my order saying they can't obtain any more of them.
Not really wanting to buy from them, I'm not too upset. This title seems a little hard to obtain in the US unless you want to pay thru the nose, I ended up ordering thru amazon.uk
with a little bit longer wait, but a lot less money to purchase.

 

The Georgie Fame box set has a red ribbon sewn in the box lining and which sits under the discs, and so to get the discs out you pull the ribbon up. It's such a nice box set that at first I didn't want to take the discs out and start the depreciation / wear and tear process!

 

Could have sworn this was about 7 minutes long.

 

Looks cool as heck, hope
the mastering's good!

 

I'd like a comprehensive Mighty Baby box but I don't think there's anything left really, they scraped the barrel pretty clean with the last live set which was pretty unlistenable at times.

Really happy with this set though nicely definitive and Rolled Gold remains as always a truly lost treasure

 

Would love to hear what they were actually playing in the clip....ohh the sweet equipment they're using.

 

They're mono mixes with added reverb and delay to sweeten the sound. They're from the Ultimate Action CD on Edsel. All the tracks on that CD were sweetened. Have no idea why only 8 were selected for the box. The liner notes indicated these were special mixes done by George Martin. I don't hear any remixing on these Edsel mixes, just sweetening.

The box set is fantastic. The stereo mixes on Disc 2 are awesome mainly because the guitars are louder in the mix and the vocals mixed down a little. Unfortunately they're subject to some high end filtering and noise reduction. It's not bad but IMO totally unnecessary Have no idea in this age of high-res/flat transfers, why we're still getting digital masters with noise reduction applied.

Did anyone spot the glaring omission on Disc 1? Wasn't It You is not the original mono mix with double tracked lead vocals. It sounds like a folddown of the stereo mix on disc 2.
I also had a problem with Disc 1 playing tracks 20-22 on my media player but they seem to play OK on my desktop PC. Anyone else have a problem playing Disc 1?

 

I didn't notice that mix difference. Then again I was more familiar with the Ultimate Action LP that didn't have that cut. I didn't hear that song until the Edsel CD was released. Interesting though.

No problem with tracks 20-22 play ok on my CD player.

 

Is any Mighty Baby worth picking up ?

 

I've heard downloads of the 1971 Glastonbury set (Keep on Juggin', Virgin Spring, Goin' to Mongoli) which are revelatory. But with the Sunbeam label gone how will they get released?

 

I think so, their self titled first album is one of my top ten all time albums. It's a different feel to the Action though more psychedelic and hinting towards progressive as a lot of good music from the turn of the decade does. Jug of Love isn't as good, it's a little bit more rambling and the songs aren't quite as strong but if you like the first one you'll want it anyway.

I've already mentioned it in this thread but Reg Kings solo album is also essential in my view

 

I'd love to have those, particularly as the second live cd sunbeam did put out is so poor with one or two exceptions Good to know there is more decent material out there.

 

Worse than that, I hear them as 1980's mono remixes of those songs which bring Reggie's vocals too far out front.

I was gutted when I first heard them. Not all 'The Ultimate Action' CD was like that, only those songs. 'Land Of A Thousand Dances' for instance was the original mono mix as the multi-tracks weren't available then (or now).

Thankfully a nearly 30 year old sin has been rectified.

The box set is all that you could ever wish for. I've been playing it to my better half and she is also now enthralled. The stereo mixes are really superb.

 

a must!

 

They only did two LPs, which in my opinion are not very exciting EXCEPT FOR the first song on the first LP, which is wonderful...

 

That's my take on them as well. The first album - which a lot of people really rate - sadly doesn't do much for me, with the exception of 'Egyptian Tomb' which is a stunning thing.

 

I'm so happy this set exists and it is the definitive word on the band, and I hate to be this person...BUT

1) The way the CDs are held inside the book is so cockamamie. They never stay in there. They're already getting scuffed up.

2) I was really excited to hear these songs in stereo, but I am very disappointed that the double tracked vocals have been split. Sometimes one vocal near the center and then another off to one of the sides, which really takes you out of it during headphone listening. Maybe there was no other way to create an efficient stereo mix?

@owsley - where can we find an example of the original, double-tracked Wasn't It You?

 

MIghty Baby later became Habibiyya
Creating Sufi devotional music

 

The second Mighty Baby album is on Tidal - along with a couple live releases - I skimmed through the studio release and... uh, underwhelmed.

I think Reg is the missing link, maybe?

 

1) Ultimate Action CD (with added sweetening sounding like the tracks on Disc 4)
2) Edsel 45 b/w I'll Keep Holding On (Edsel E 5001) - true mono, sounds awesome!
3) Edsel maxi-single also containing Since I Lost My Baby and Never Ever (Edsel E 5002)
4) original release: 1966 German Hansa 45 b/w Harlem Shuffle - open up your wallet to score this one

 

Much as I love the stereo mixes I wish they had not entirely panned the bass and drums entirely onto the right channel. I realise the bass and drums were bounced to one track, but surely they could have been spread a little more evenly.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I actually really like vintage stereo mixes like this, but I use a different speaker setup specifically for them, so knowing this sort of thing ahead of time is helpful!

Mark

 

Just got this box set.
Cd1 is great, good sound. Cd2 imo is not that good, stereo remixes offer little compared to the mono mixes. Cd3 is awesome, psychedelic tracks with great sound. Cd 4 is fun, bbc sessions with rough sound.

 

I love it! I played the new vinyl (The New Action) and was so pleasantly surprised that they mixed it closer to an authentic 60’s mix style.

I never thought I’d see the day when I’d hear this stuff in true stereo - just glorious!

 

I agree. Going to see a friend tomorrow who is a long term lover of this band and hasn't heard the stereo mixes. I look forward to seeing the expression on his face when he does.