The 1998 BMG CD? All of the tracks were subjected to noise reduction, not just the vocal track. That's also the case with the 4 CD box. Paul Williams/House of Hits Productions I believe. Now, while the ABKCO mixes are narrowed (to varying degrees) and don't have the best EQ, I've never heard any noise reduction. Significantly more hiss than the BMG discs. Think I've posted this before, but if you want to hear the differences between the BMG and ABKCO mixes/masters, listen to this: Chain Gang comparison 0:00-0:06 and 0:22-0:29 are the BMG; 0:06-0:22 and 0:29-end are the ABKCO. Not only is there less hiss on the BMG, everything just sounds "pinched" and thin. The ABKCO (at least in comparison) really has that "breath of life".
Eh, that's not a good comparison, the old CD had the stereo songs from the original stereo mixes from the 1960's and the other CD remixes. Both suck basically to me. I had the pleasure of listening to a few three-track SAM COOKE tapes some years ago and believe me, they sound NOTHING like either one of these turkeys. They sound, well, wonderful; natural, exciting and really dynamic. It's a shame.
You're saying Chain Gang was *not* remixed on the BMG? Or the ABKCO? What "other CD remixes"? Whatever the case, the ABKCO blows the BMG away...
I must say I've been rather underwhelmed by the Sam Cooke SACDs. I know, it's easy for me to say that now I've heard they are remixes but honestly I've never felt they were very "alive" for want of a better word. Good clean sounding discs but where's the sparkle? That "Good Times" 45 had energy and life - why can't we get reissues of Sam's material that have that?! Steve, Sam's catalogue is in need of your magic touch - any chance of you getting hold of the original masters?
You think the MP3 of the 45 mix that was posted sounds better than the SACD?! I wouldn't call the ABKCO stuff perfect, but I have yet to hear anything better...
I prefered it. It's not anywhere near as "high-fidelity" as the SACD but it has much more "energy" as a mix don't you think? To me it jumps up and entertains me whereas the SACD sits there sounding very "hi-fi" but does realtively little in the way of moving me. I would love to hear a well mastered SACD of the mono mixes......
NOTHING was remixed on the BMG CD, that's my point. It's the red back cover one with the blue printing on the CD. It was the first Sam Cooke Hits CD. Those songs are all from the two tracks, no remixing. My point (that I've been droning on about for years) is that the Pop stereo mixes from RCA-Victor in that era were really bad, far worse than the mono mixes. They have too much echo, too much distortion, too much weird EQ and way too much compression on them. Truly dreadful. The monos on the other hand are dynamic, dryer, clean and wonderful.
First issued on vinyl, I might add... Some tracks, such as "Cupid," may have been stereo, but very tight separation, nothing like what came along later, which was definitely an improvement, such as that may be... Feinblatt must've gotten his start at RCA mixing stereo at midnight, huh?
After obtaining some of the hit mixes as vinyl transfers, I will second your comments on these mixes. They are wonderfully balanced and solid with just the right "mix" of all the right sonic elements. They need to be released on CD [please drone on]... Bob-
What's the deal with the Gold Standard pressings sounding better than the original pressings? Were they cut in a particular pressing plant, or pressed at a plant that did a better job than other RCA plants?
Recuts that were flat transfers from the original mono masters. They just cut better in 1969 than they did in 1959. Very quiet vinyl as well. And, no one wants them because they have a reissue label. Their loss!
I think ABKCO has done a pretty remarkable job with that portion of Sam's catalogue it controls. They've given us five hybrid SACDs (including a multi-channel "At The Copa"), all painstakingly remastered by Steve Rosenthal, despite the fact that the market for Sam Cooke material these days has to be very small. Abkco also spent a fortune producing the Grammy-winning DVD bio of Sam, "Legend," whch is still in print. It's an almost flawless documentary on the life and tragic death of Sam Cooke. Really superb. My one gripe is with the hybrid-SACD version of Sam's "Tribute To The Lady" album. Keen Records released that album in true, full-spectrum stereo, but the SACD utilizes a mono source. And if ever Sam recorded an album that needed a stereo release, this was it, what with all the blaring brass and heavy orchestration. A few tracks from the "Tribute" LP have popped up elsewhere in stereo and they sound open, airy and wonderful -- much better than the canned mono SACD. I assume Rosenthal simply couldn't track down the stereo masters, so he opted for mono. My fear, though, is that he didn't realize the album was issued in a very limited stereo run, and so no one even looked for the stereo tapes. In a sense, though, this isn't too big a loss, as that album really isn't very good. Sam was way, way too young to pull off a tribute album to Billie Holiday, and some of the finger-snapping arrangements are just this side of the Ramada Inn Lounge. At least Abkco included a ton of bonus tracks, mostly from Sam's "Encore" LP, as I recall. Clark
Or 1964? The tendency of reissue producers to pull Lp versions, usually in stereo, was(let's face it, still is) so common it's ridiculous...also easy to do, esp. after '68, when mono pressings were pretty much history here. In the 'what might have been' department, you gotta wonder what a mono BUCKINGHAMS GREATEST HITS might've been like...yeah, maybe Columbia would have pulled the mono Lp mix of "Kind Of A Drag," or maybe they put the correct single mix on the mono edition instead. But of course "Good Times" isn't the only *lost* single mix, is it?
What CD are you talking about? "Greatest Hits" came out in 1998, has a red back cover, and the CD is white with black text. First released with Another Saturday Night, then re-released without it. The stereo mixes on it sound just like they do on the 4 CD box from 2000, which has a few songs that have to be new mixes (alternate take of Another Saturday Night with studio chatter, stereo mix of Cool Train, etc). That is to say, they sound just like the tracks that *have* to be remixed. "The Man and His Music" came out in 1986 and sounds dreadful. Strange stereo separation on a lot of stuff (NOT standard L-C-R mixes in many cases), and while Good Times has "normal" stereo separation, there's a lot more echo compared to the ABKCO remix. Is *this* what you're talking about? The ABKCO CDs sound much like the GH CD from 1998, only without the NR and terrible EQ.
I don't know...at least based on the file I heard, I honestly prefer the stereo mix/version. I prefer Sam's second (third?) vocal to the backing group vocals. And as far as the mono mixes go, I guess I don't see the point, when the 3-tracks should sound the same, just in stereo.
Arggh!! No wonder. You never saw the original Sam Cooke comp.? It was famous in it's day.. SAM COOKE "THE MAN AND HIS MUSIC" RCA-Victor compact disc PCD1-7127 Published and Copyrighted 1986. Compiled by GREGG GELLER 28 songs. All stereo tracks from original album mixes. --------------------------- SAM COOKE "Greatest Hits" RCA 1998. Compiled by Paul Williams 22 songs . All stereo remixed from three-track. No-noised.
I'm assuming THE MAN AND HIS MUSIC, a 2-Lp set(and, a little later, CD), is what Steve's referring to and, yes, it was the first official Cooke compact disc(in the USA, anyway). It does have its share of 1961-62 narrow separation and mushy mixes, which are fairly inexplicable. But some of it is reasonably faithful to the stereo RCA Victor vinyl, though that's not exactly an endorsement. On the other hand, it does have a nice stereo "Only 16," and some others are good, too. But, all too typical of vinyl comps in general for too long, seems like almost anything was pulled from the vaults, without thought to quality. So when something was really good, it was probably an accident...
The 1998 CD is what I was talking about when I was talking about being remixed. Hence my confusion when you said nothing was remixed. As far as The Man and His Music goes, do the original stereo mixes honestly sound *that* strange? Regardless of EQ or added effects, the stereo separation on many tracks is *not* what one would expect from a '60s stereo mix. Some tracks on the 4 CD box sound quite a bit worse than the rest - I'd assume those tracks were *not* remixed. They still have "normal" stereo panning though.
And--surprise!--charted in Billboard, to #175, more than most oldies comps ever did at that time.... Well, not exactly...there is a bit of early mono thrown in, and tracks like "Cupid" aren't *stereo* from ANY RCA Vic album I own...in fact, some things, like the "Bring It On Home To Me"/"Having A Party" single, are tight stereo, and would later be more sensibly separated on Abkco discs. I don't remember any true stereo for those back in the day, and if by chance there was, no way they would've sounded this crappy, I'd like to think...
I agree! I'm not sure what's what anymore...let's see... I have: 1) The CD version of A Man & His Music, but I never really cared for the way it sounded. Are we saying that these are original mixes, just not mastered very well? Does the LP version of this album sound any different? 2) The Portrait Of A Legend SACD. I thought this sounded much better. These are re-mixes??? The Gold Standard 45's are a good way to go for the mono versions. Are there any other of Sam's hits like "Good Times" where the mono single version is so completely different than the one on the comps? The 1998 Greatest Hits is remixed & no-noised?? There's also the 2005 RCA re-issue of Best Of Sam Cooke that adds 4 tracks to the original. I have no need for it that I know of - don't know if anyone mentioned it. The only major hit of his that I don't have is "Frankie and Johnny". That might be a reason to buy the 1998 comp...maybe the only reason... Did I miss something? (Oh yeah - Sam Cooke is the best!!!) Dexter
Not to answer your questions, but does *anyone* here (Clarke?) have both this CD and the original LPs to compare? Regardless of what sources may have been used, I can't imagine some of these songs sounded like *this* on LP. That's my understanding. Again, that's my understanding. There's certainly less hiss and a veil over things. Check out my Chain Gang clip above to compare this with Portrait. There's also The Man Who Invented Soul (4 CD box), which for the most part has the same mixing/mastering as the 1998 CD. A couple of sets of tracks sound very different (worse), and I suspect those were not remixed. I should post some clips. Finally (for now) there's the 2005 reissue of Night Beat. I don't *think* it is remixed, but I don't own the LP, so...
With the Lp, there's a brief moment of tape flutter during "Only 16" that isn't evident on the CD but otherwise, IIRC, the Lp & CD don't sound that much different. For what 'conventional' stereo there is, probably the compilers went back to the Lp masters, as evidenced by the full-length "Change Is Gonna Come."
