Crummy Old Label Avatar wrote:I have a question. Are the 1987 remixes really that bad? I know they are *different* -- and everyone seems to hate them just because of that, but I've never read a coherent rebuke concerning these remixes. All I ever encounter are knee-jerk "they're messing with history!!!" and/or "OMG! Digital reverb on Lennon's vocal" or "the POP is missing on such-and-such a track!"
A few weeks ago I got an LP copy of Rubber Soul, and decided to compare it to the CD. I was actually expecting the CD to sound pretty good. Surprisingly (to me, anyway) it was a lot worse than I had expected. Ignoring the stuff like the echo and feel (Drive My Car has some life on the original - it just "sits" there on the remix), the remix just sounds very thin and unnatural. You Won't See Me in particular sounds pretty bad on the original mix, but sounds even more thin and harsh on the remix. It's not the best analogy, but on the original mix (especially the vocals) it sounds like you're listening to the Beatles, while on the remix it sounds like you're listening to a recording of them.
I could put some clips together if anyone was interested.
The left-right balance was pretty odd on the original, but it isn't much better on the remix.
I haven't compared Help lately, although I have compared the title track, and again prefer the original mix for many of the same reasons.