Badfinger Questions

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lukpac
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Postby lukpac » Thu Feb 03, 2005 2:25 pm

Crummy Old Label Avatar wrote:I can tell you for certain that both "Phantom" and "Musicrama" are distributors and not labels. Virtually every UK import CD Amazon US gets, it's from Phantom. They often confuse this in their online database. Musicrama, I believe, is the Continental European equivalent of Phantom.


I just noticed that my copy of Badfinger actually has a Musicrama sticker on it, so that indeed seems to be the case. Musicrama seems to be based out of Long Island, FWIW.

As far as I'm aware, there have only ever been two CD issues of Wish You Were Here -- the German WEA and the Japanese WEA, which may or may not be sonically identical. (I don't trust what the SHites have to say, and, unsurprisingly, they always had conflicting information as to whether the two issues were identical or not.)


What's interesting is both Badfinger and Wish You Were Here have the standard US address and copyright notices on the inlay cards. Below *those* are blacked out sections that note "Made in Germany", which seems to indicate they were originally produced somewhere else - the US?
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby lukpac » Tue Mar 01, 2005 12:36 am

The thread that won't die...

J_Partyka wrote:I wish I could help with Wish You Were Here, but I've heard only the CD I have, a German-made Warner Bros. disc (I'll have to check it for details when I'm at home), and my original American vinyl pressing. I'd be interested to know, too, if there's a better CD version out there than the one I have (which is more than acceptable, but somewhat thin and light in the low end compared to the vinyl).


I just got a US vinyl copy, and you're right. I'm not sure it's that the vinyl has more bass, but maybe that the LP has less of that midrange glare found on the CD. And, as my LP isn't in very good shape, it means I have to actually find a better copy (or somehow tweak the CD). Damn.

In addition to the LP and CD, I compared In The Meantime/Some Other Time the the version on Best of Badfinger vol 2, mastered by Inglot/Perry. Some of that "glare" is gone, but so too is some of the bass, and the upper mids seem to be extended - a typical thin Rhino sound.

Oh, and I'm really liking WYWH more these days.

BTW, I also got a German Apple pressing of Straight Up. I've really only compared Baby Blue so far, but I'm tempted to say it might just beat the DCC. There's a wee bit less midrange, which makes the high end stick out a bit more. I could change my mind at any time, but there are certainly aspects I like better than the DCC. I'll have to dub the whole thing and spend some time with it.

I've got an LP of Badfinger coming. I wonder how that will stack up next to the CD.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby J_Partyka » Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:10 am

lukpac wrote:I'm not sure it's that the vinyl has more bass, but maybe that the LP has less of that midrange glare found on the CD.


That could very well be it. Most of the time I play the CD rather than the LP (strictly for reasons of convenience), but I did play the LP again recently and I was surprised by how well-balanced it sounded. Luckily my copy is in really nice shape, so perhaps it's a candidate for a needle-drop.

lukpac wrote:Oh, and I'm really liking WYWH more these days.


Wish You Were Here may be a little more of a grower than the best of the Apple-era albums, but before long it became my favorite of theirs (with Straight Up very close behind). Tom Evans is strangely MIA apart from "King of the Load," but Pete Ham and Joey Molland (and, surprisingly, Mike Gibbins, with "Your So Fine") really came up with some strong songwriting for that record. It was a great last hurrah for the classic lineup.

lukpac wrote:BTW, I also got a German Apple pressing of Straight Up. I've really only compared Baby Blue so far, but I'm tempted to say it might just beat the DCC.


I wouldn't really be surprised. My only vinyl copy is a really clean American Apple pressing (I *believe* it's a Lee Hulko mastering from Sterling, as is my American Apple McCartney, which is also excellent), and from what I recall the sound is top-notch, definitely comparable, at the very least, to the DCC CD. I haven't played it back-to-back with the DCC, but I should. (FWIW, it looks like Tom Port once had a similar copy that he identified as a "hot stamper": http://dccblowout.com/product.asp?pf_id=badfistraighs&dept_id=).
Last edited by J_Partyka on Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:50 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Postby lukpac » Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:42 am

J_Partyka wrote:That could very well be it. Most of the time I play the CD rather than the LP (strictly for reasons of convenience), but I did play the LP again recently and I was surprised by how well-balanced it sounded. Luckily my copy is in really nice shape, so perhaps it's a candidate for a needle-drop.


I think I'll see if I can have any luck re-EQing the CD. It's interesting how something like extra midrange can make the highs and lows seem lacking.

I wouldn't really be surprised. My only vinyl copy is a really clean American Apple pressing (I *believe* it's a Lee Hulko mastering from Sterling, as is my American Apple McCartney, which is also excellent), and from what I recall the sound is top-notch, definitely comparable, at the very least, to the DCC CD. I haven't played it back-to-back with the DCC, but I should.


Money seemed a tad thin last night, but Flying sounded pretty good. I get the feeling that album is all about "what parts do you want to sound bad, and what parts do you want to sound so-so?" I tried my hand at improving the DCC once, and didn't get very far.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby J_Partyka » Tue Mar 01, 2005 8:52 am

BTW, I'm seeing both Apple- and Electrola-label German Straight Up LPs online with the catalog number you provided. Yours is Apple, correct? I presume that's the earlier release.

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Postby lukpac » Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:02 am

J_Partyka wrote:BTW, I'm seeing both Apple- and Electrola-label German Straight Up LPs online with the catalog number you provided. Yours is Apple, correct? I presume that's the earlier release.


I gave a catalog number?

Anyway, I'm guessing it is 1C-062-93234 based on what I see online. I know it's an Apple 1C-062. I'd *guess* the Electrola is the same, just with a different label, but I guess you never know.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby lukpac » Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:05 am

lukpac wrote:And I don't really care for Chris Thomas' production techniques. Everything is kind of rolled off/compressed, which might sound good if your speakers don't go past 8k.


The more I listen, the more I think that has to do with the mastering on the CDs (or lack thereof).
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby J_Partyka » Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:07 am

lukpac wrote:I gave a catalog number?


Sorry, must have been confused (I was comparing catalog numbers online, and I barely got any sleep last night, so ...).

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Postby lukpac » Tue Mar 01, 2005 11:53 pm

J_Partyka wrote:That could very well be it. Most of the time I play the CD rather than the LP (strictly for reasons of convenience), but I did play the LP again recently and I was surprised by how well-balanced it sounded. Luckily my copy is in really nice shape, so perhaps it's a candidate for a needle-drop.


I just did a bit of tinkering, and cuts of a few dB around 2k and 4k get the CD sounding really close to the LP. There might be a little "magic" in the high end on the LP that I haven't quite gotten yet, but I'll keep tinkering.

Interesting that the Rhino (at least for In The Meantime/Some Other Time) has that "glare" removed like the LP, but there's something like 6 dB added on the high end (6 dB with a top shelf EQ @ 12k got it close)! Is that to make it sound more "modern" or something?
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby Xenu » Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:02 am

Who knows? They use that approach on half of the CDs they put out. It sparred in the early days with an odd EQ that made things sound like they were dubbed from cassette (see: large parts of the individual Nuggets discs, the British Invasion series, and all of their Kinks releases).
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Postby J_Partyka » Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:39 am

lukpac wrote:Interesting that the Rhino (at least for In The Meantime/Some Other Time) has that "glare" removed like the LP, but there's something like 6 dB added on the high end (6 dB with a top shelf EQ @ 12k got it close)!


I don't have the Rhino disc myself anymore. I'm curious, do you have Apple's Very Best of Badfinger disc to add into your comparisons? (I don't have that disc anymore either, but I know I do still have a few cuts from it I burned onto some mix CD-Rs.)

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Postby lukpac » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:00 am

J_Partyka wrote:I don't have the Rhino disc myself anymore. I'm curious, do you have Apple's Very Best of Badfinger disc to add into your comparisons? (I don't have that disc anymore either, but I know I do still have a few cuts from it I burned onto some mix CD-Rs.)


Yes, I do, although I think that only has 3 tracks from WYWH (Dennis, Love Time and Meanwhile Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke - not my first 3 choices). I'll have to listen again, but I seem to remember the Straight Up and WYWH tracks sounded pretty much like the DCC and WB CDs, respectively.

David, interesting about the "dubbed from cassette" comment. The (unreleased) Head First tracks on that Rhino CD sound *very* strange - really narrow stereo, no bass, HUGE upper midrange peak. I'm thinking it had to be the source, as the sound is super wacky even compared to the rest of the CD. The mixes are certainly different from the (much better sounding) rough mixes on the Head First CD. I can't *imagine* that was actually a master tape.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby lukpac » Fri Mar 04, 2005 1:07 am

J_Partyka wrote:Wish You Were Here may be a little more of a grower than the best of the Apple-era albums, but before long it became my favorite of theirs (with Straight Up very close behind). Tom Evans is strangely MIA apart from "King of the Load," but Pete Ham and Joey Molland (and, surprisingly, Mike Gibbins, with "Your So Fine") really came up with some strong songwriting for that record. It was a great last hurrah for the classic lineup.


There's no accounting for taste. When I first heard WYWH, I really didn't care for "In the Meantime/Some Other Time". Then "Some Other Time" grew on me, now I think both together are a highlight. Go figure.

As far as Tom Evans goes, I think "Why Don't We Talk" and "Where Do We Go From Here?" are probably two of the low points on Badfinger, along with "Give It Up". Then again, I think "Shine On" (sounds like mostly Pete to me, but I don't know) is the best song on there, so...

He did pick up again on Head First.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby J_Partyka » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:33 am

I have to say that I still find Badfinger somewhat impenetrable. Apart from "I Miss You" and "Lonely You," everything on that album just seems to slide right by me, making little impression.

It's been a while since I played it though, so maybe it's time to put it into rotation again and see what happens.

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Postby lukpac » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:56 am

J_Partyka wrote:I have to say that I still find Badfinger somewhat impenetrable. Apart from "I Miss You" and "Lonely You," everything on that album just seems to slide right by me, making little impression.


Funny...my initial impressions were much stronger on that album than Wish You Were Here. "Shine On" and "Song For A Lost Friend" are classic Pete Ham, while "Love Is Easy", "Island" and "Andy Norris" are fairly catchy entries from Joey Molland.

I think the "downfall" of any post-Straight Up album is none have a "Baby Blue" or "Day After Day" - those two are (IMO) *so* strong they really anchor that album.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD