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There's a guy on SHTV claiming that the EMI/Ryko's are NOT clones of the Rykos. I was wondering if you guys knew about this, since we never discuss the EMI's, and I was always told they were clones. I hope it's not true because the EMI's are a bitch to find now (they WERE plentiful here between the Ryko's going out and the Virgin's coming in...I actually still see the EMI version of "Changesbowie" in import sections). Anyway, I'm hoping this is another White Fang-type misconception.

I think it might be. The master is clearly the same, up to a point (you think EMI independently dug out the bonus tracks?). The license was primarily with Ryko--these are Ryko-originated titles and configurations--and there's no reason to believe EMI got anything but a digital master from them. There might be some extra processing on EMI's end, but I don't have any duplicates of any titles. Besides, I remember some guy claiming that the EMIs were 10th generation copies of the Rykos...*that* clearly isn't true!

(BTW, JWB, were you around for Phil Elliot's bizarre discovery that the Virgin "Hunky Dory" is derived--at best--from the same digital transfer used for the Ryko aluminum disc, and at worst from that disc itself?)

Weren't there two Ryko masterings? Ie, first pass circa 1989, and the AU20 mastering that (according to gospel, I make no claims of verification) eventually was adopted into the aluminum series?

I don't think the Au20 masterings were ever adopted into the aluminum series. I've certainly never encountered a Ryko Au20 that was identical to its aluminum (in the *Bowie* series, at least; it happened to Zappa, but Ryko officially denies this), and in at least some cases it would be pretty obvious (e.g. Young Americans).

I had an aluminium Ryko copy of "Low" with 80142 as the catalogue number in the "dead wax" (leading with an 8 as per the other AU20 series CDs) rather than leading with a 1 as seen with the other standard aluminium Bowie Ryko releases. It had 1 on the case inserts however. This one may well have been redone. Anyone with a Ryko "Low" with 10142 in the dead wax?
I replaced 'em all with the Virgins - hated the midrange hump at the expense of treble and bass of the Rykos.

You mean, had I waited a few years I coulda gotten the AU20 mastering for the price of the aluminum? Bummer...

The first Ryko seies was with the aluminium layer to the centre hole (ie as per the standard PDO pressings of the time). The Low I got had the aluminium layer finishing before the centre hole (as is standard practice now).