Classic to reissue Who catalog on 200g vinyl

[lukpac]

Tommy - The remixes of Underture and Go To The Mirror are huge improvements, but I prefer the original Pinball Wizard.

Funny...Underture is one of those that sticks out for me as being much *better* on the original mix. The remix just doesn't seem as open/alive/etc. The remix also has some of Keith's drums mixed down/out.

Who's Next - The remix of My Wife works, the remix of Behind Blue Eyes does not. IMO the remix of Won't Get Fooled Again (from the best of) is masterful, as they cleaned up the sound while remaining very faithful to the original mix.

I'd tend to agree on My Wife and WGFA, although at the same time, neither really seems necessary. I don't think there was much to "clean up".

Who Are You - I like the remix for everything but New Song, Sister Disco, and the title track. The remix of Trick Of The Light, in particular, is far better than the original mix.

As with Tommy, I actually think the original mix is better sound quality-wise. The mixes themselves are what they are - different, but I hesitate to say better or worse. I pull out the MoFi if I want a listen.

I very much like the My Generation SACD...but I've never had any other version of this album to compare. What's the consensus on this one?

I just have the CD edition, and I hate it. Terrible mix *and* mastering. The best mixes are "mono with guitar to one side", while the worst sound like fake stereo. And at least on the CD, the mastering is kind of thin and harsh. I'm pretty happy with my old MCA (Canadian) disc.

[Rspaight]

I like the By Numbers remix, and the Quadrophenia original mix, but for most of the other stuff, it's on a track by track basis.

I actually like the Quad remix for the most part -- the original mix is too murky IMO. The By Numbers remix is OK, but I'm not convinced it really serves much of a purpose -- the original sounds fine to me.

Who's Next - The remix of My Wife works, the remix of Behind Blue Eyes does not. IMO the remix of Won't Get Fooled Again (from the best of) is masterful, as they cleaned up the sound while remaining very faithful to the original mix.

Yes, I like that version of WGFA as well, though it doesn't seem right for Roger's scream *not* to break up.

Who Are You - I like the remix for everything but New Song, Sister Disco, and the title track. The remix of Trick Of The Light, in particular, is far better than the original mix.

The extra drum hits at the beginning of Trick are kind of neat, I guess. The thing that ruins the WAY remix for me is Had Enough. Who decided that the horn break sounded better that way? Gah.

It's Hard - Haven't compared in a while, but I remember hating the remix of Cry If You Want because of the way they changed the intro.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. My jaw hit the floor when I heard that, and not in a good way. They also added useless echo effects and other weird things throughout the album. (They extended a few fades, which is OK, even if nothing particularly interesting was revealed.)

I very much like the My Generation SACD...but I've never had any other version of this album to compare. What's the consensus on this one?

Don't tell Luke, but I like it, too. Luke and others don't like the mix at all, and see it as a missed opportunity since there's not much separation. The SACD does seem a bit less crushed in the mastering than the CD to me, but I haven't listened *really* closely.

Ryan

[Ess Ay Cee Dee]

nt

[lukpac]

I actually like the Quad remix for the most part -- the original mix is too murky IMO.

When level-matched, the original mix actually holds up pretty well next to the remix. There are certain things I like about the remix, though.

Don't tell Luke, but I like it, too. Luke and others don't like the mix at all, and see it as a missed opportunity since there's not much separation. The SACD does seem a bit less crushed in the mastering than the CD to me, but I haven't listened *really* closely.

I honestly would have been more happy with a straight mono remix. The *best* mixes aren't that terrible, but most are done very badly. For many tracks they used echo/delay to try and pretend that they actually had more than 3 tracks to work with, and the result is just bad. Not to mention stuff like missing overdubs (My Generation and Circles come to mind).

The high expectations I had going in were just icing on the cake.

[lukpac]

Oddly enough, the My Generation DE was the first version of that album I ever heard. Since I had no reference points for many of the tracks (excluding the singles), nothing sounded all that odd to me.

If I remember I'll do a quick listen and run down exactly what's screwed up.

[Xenu]

Much Too Much?

[lukpac]

Yeah, I think Much Too Much was one of the worst. It wasn't the only one, though.

[Andreas]

Who would actually regret it if all the remixes were gone? The only one that serves a purpose is Rael, because the missing verse is restored. (The remix still sucks because the background vocals don't sound as smooth and balanced. And digital reverb.)

[Rspaight]

Who would actually regret it if all the remixes were gone?

Not me. None of the remixes are enough of an improvement that I can't imagine "going back." A lot of the bonuses are well worth having, and the longer LAL is a joy (at least the '95 version), but the remixing is the least essential part of the whole reissue project, IMO.

Ryan

[Crummy Old Label Avatar]

I'm not at all familiar with what they've been doing to this catalog. So where does one find the unedited version of "The Kids are All Right"? Is it available at all nowadays?

[Dob]

[Funny...Underture is one of those that sticks out for me as being much *better* on the original mix. The remix just doesn't seem as open/alive/etc. The remix also has some of Keith's drums mixed down/out.

Listening again, I remembered why I like the remix -- the original mix has too much midbass "cloud." I think that's the main reason that the guitars sound more prominent in the remix, as that cloud was covering them up too much. In addition, the drums seem slightly farther to the left in the remix. What I don't understand is your "open" comment...to me, the remix has more ambience. I did notice that it's easy to turn up the original mix too loud in an A/B comparison, in which case the remix will seem like it's "a few feet back."

Your drum comments always surprise me, Luke. They're not loud enough in this remix, and in the LAL remix they're too loud! And you like that Tom Dowd drum sound, whereas I generally don't. I think you like that "thuddy" drum sound, whereas I like a drums with a lot of "pop" and "snap." To each his own!

A couple of other things I just noticed about Underture -- in some sections, the "ahhhhh" vocals are quite a bit lower in the remix, and the french horn fills at very end are completely gone (at least I couldn't hear them).

I'd tend to agree on My Wife and WGFA, although at the same time, neither really seems necessary. I don't think there was much to "clean up".

Yes, I like that version of WGFA as well, though it doesn't seem right for Roger's scream *not* to break up.

That's one of the things they "cleaned up," but I was using that phrase to refer to the overall clearer sound.

The extra drum hits at the beginning of Trick are kind of neat, I guess. The thing that ruins the WAY remix for me is Had Enough. Who decided that the horn break sounded better that way? Gah.

Trick sounds less "noisy" on the remix...the original mix had this in your face, "everything louder than everything else" quality that used to make me wince and turn it down. I guess the horn break in Had Enough is different, but I find the differences minor.

Hey guys, am I the only one that makes comps of albums, using tracks from both mixes? It seems like such a natural thing to do. It is that you find that sort of switching back and forth jarring? Or it's just not high on your priority list?

[Dob]

The high expectations I had going in were just icing on the cake.

That's the killer. Sometimes I think the secret to lasting happiness and satisfaction with life is a conscious effort to keep your expectations low!

[Dob]

...the longer LAL is a joy (at least the '95 version)...

That's the one I'd really miss (the '95, NOT the DE). IMO it's fantastic (yes, I've heard the boot).

[Rspaight]

That's the one I'd really miss (the '95, NOT the DE). IMO it's fantastic (yes, I've heard the boot).

If I had to pick one Who CD to take with me to a desert island, it'd be that one. No contest.

Ryan

[Dob]

If I had to pick one Who CD to take with me to a desert island, it'd be that one. No contest.

If this desert island had a good hifi, I'm inclined to agree. If I had to make do with a crappy boombox, I'd take Who's Next.

The first time I heard the '95 remix, I had a major "goosebump" event when the drums kicked in on Amazing Journey. I still get them when I listen to that track...but I'll always remember the magic of that first time (I'm just kidding here...um, a little).

I never could figure out why, pricewise, the MFSL of this one went nowhere while the Who's Next went through the roof. I've never heard the MFSL Who's Next, but the MFSL LAL sounds identical to the regular release. The MFSL is the one I reach for, though. Placebo effect, I suppose.