Animals and Herman's Hermits SACDs

[lukpac]

Anyone get these? Looks like they finally have the "US" version of We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, although these days I honestly don't know which is which.

I'd really like to know what "restoration" entails, since other people seem to be doing the digital transfers and mastering.

ABKCO's New Retrospective SACDs by the Animals & Herman's Hermits

ABKCO's New Retrospective SACDs by the Animals & Herman's Hermits
As promised, ABKCO Records has released the newly remastered Retrospective Super Audio CDs by the Animals and Herman's Hermits. Each of the new Hybrid SACDs features over 20 of each group's songs in celebration of their chart debuts.

Like earlier ABKCO SACD releases, each disc is a Single Inventory SACD release that is packaged in a paperboard "digipak" case and has a sticker on the outside of the case listing some of the key hits inside. Interestingly, the new SACDs by the Animals and Herman's Hermits are on the stealthy side with the only mention that they are Super Audio CDs coming on the back of each disc at the bottom - where one can spot the familiar SACD and DSD logos. Also worth noting, even though both discs are marked "Stereo", most of the tracks are in fact presented in original mono sound. Here's more on each of the discs.

Retrospective
The Animals
SACD Stereo/CD Audio
(ABKCO 93252)

The Animals Retrospective includes 21 of the best known songs by the group as well as Spill The Wine, a hit by lead singer Eric Burdon and War. Inside the album is a 12 page essay on the group by Jim Bessman. The booklet also includes lists the producers of the material: Mickie Most (tracks 1-8), Tom Wilson (tracks 10-20), The Animals (track 21) and Jerry Goldstein (track 22) as well as the engineering credits (recording studio and engineer) on most cuts and the musicians on the tracks.

The new SACD features Analog to Digital transfers by Teri Landi & Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, Sound Restoration by Steve Rosenthal at the Magic Shop, DSD Engineering by Gus Skinas from the Sony SACD Project in Boulder, Colorado and Mastering by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering.

The sonics of the Animals Restrospective are similar to some of the Rolling Stones SACDs on ABKCO in that they preserve the "raw" sound of the group's early material. Yet the quality of the remastering brings out musical details in even some of the earlier hits like House of the Rising Sun, Boom Boom, We Gotta Get Out of This Place and Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. When the SACD turns to the Stereo tracks, they have the advantage particularly on tracks like San Franciscan Nights (with its fine guitar solo), Monterey (with a host of instruments cleanly delineated in the Left channel) and Sky Pilot (which clocks in at 7:29). While the final track Spill The Wine is not part of the Animals hit collection, the SACD sonics really shine here nicely defining Burdon's vocals, the bass, flute and balance of the band. It's a nice bonus to wrap up an enjoyable trip down memory lane.

Album Tracks
1. House Of The Rising Sun
2. I'm Crying
3. Baby Let Me Take You Home
4. Gonna Send You Back To Walker
5. Boom Boom
6. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
7. Bring It On Home To Me
8. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (US Version)
9. It's My Life
10. Don't Bring Me Down
11. See See Rider (Stereo)
12. Inside – Looking Out
13. Hey Gyp (Stereo)
14. Help Me Girl (Stereo)
15. When I Was Young
16. A Girl Named Sandoz
17. San Franciscan Nights (Stereo)
18. Monterey (Stereo)
19. Anything (Stereo)
20. Sky Pilot (Stereo)
21. White Houses (Stereo)
22. Spill The Wine - Eric Burdon & War (Stereo)

Retrospective
Herman's Hermits
SACD Stereo/CD Audio
(ABKCO 92282)

The Herman's Hermits Retrospective contains 26 of the groups songs, two of which appear in Stereo. Like the Animals collection, this one also features a 12 page essay by Jim Bessman and information on the original producer (Mickie Most on all tracks), engineer and studio, arranger and song publishers. The SACD remastering team is the same as the one that worked on the Animals Retrospective SACD.

The sonics on the Herman's Hermits SACD are surprisingly good. While all but two of the tracks are presented in mono, they are very good in offering well placed instruments and vocals. Track 4 (Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter) offers good detail on the banjo opening and the drum sticks in the song while the guitar intro on Track 15 (No Milk Today) is also well done. Fans of '60s pop and Herman's Hermits will enjoy this one.

Album Tracks
1. I'm Into Something Good
2. Can't You Hear My Heartbeat
3. Silhouettes
4. Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter
5. Wonderful World
6. Hold On
7. Henry The VIII I Am
8. Just A Little Bit Better
9. A Must To Avoid
10. Leaning On The Lamp Post
11. End Of The World
12. Listen People
13. There's A Kind Of Hush
14. East West
15. No Milk Today
16. It's Nice To Be Out In The Mornin' (Stereo)
17. This Door Swings Both Ways
18. Dandy
19. Sleepy Joe
20. Don't Go Out Into The Rain, You're Going To Melt
21. Sunshine Girl
22. Museum (Stereo)
23. I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving
24. Something's Happening
25. My Sentimental Friend
26. Here Comes The Star

Availability
The new Retrospective SACDs by The Animals and Herman's Hermits from ABKCO Records are now available in music stores including Tower Records and Best Buy as well as the Music Direct, Red Trumpet and Amazon.Com web sites. The discs sell for a list price of $18.98 but are currently selling for $14.99 each at both Best Buy and on sale at Tower Records. They were made by Sony DADC in Terre Haute, Indiana.

[lukpac]

And:

http://www.icemagazine.com/cubes/cubes_208.shtm#animals

ABKCO celebrates the 40th anniversaries of two British Invasion stalwarts with a couple of career-spanning sets: Retrospectives for both The Animals and Herman’s Hermits (July 20). Both single-disc packages are SACD hybrids, although surround sound is not featured, since the songs were originally recorded in mono. The original source masters were located at Abbey Road Studios, where both bands recorded. ABKCOV.P. Jody Klein, who oversaw the projects, tells ICE: "Sonically, they are as exciting as the singles that first came out, but the colors and textures are certainly more vibrant." When asked why the SACD format was chosen with the sets lacking surround sound, Klein replies, "Fidelity. Especially with these recordings, a lot of the original records were contingent upon the mastering. For these, we had Bob Ludwig remaster them, which brought out the rawness that was part of the original records — for The Animals, at least. As for the Hermits, they had such lush sounds that now benefit from high-test-rate sampling." Another Animals package bonus: this collection offers the U.S. single version of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," replacing the U.K. one that had accompanied previous editions.

[Ed Bishop]

Long time no see, Luke....

Short form:

The Hermits CD is the better of the two, probably due to the consistency of Mickie Most's production style, and reasonably good tape sources. Finally, the 45 version of "Leaning On The Lamp Post"! Add to that the 45 mixes of "Hold On!" and "Don't Go Out Into The Rain" and this is a fairly decent package, except for three things:

1. The usual, needless NR
2. Eq work, to the point where some think "Dandy" and "Hush" are different mixes! Kinda doubt that, probably some futzing to punch them up, again, needlessy so.
3. Booklet with(to be kind)mediocre liner notes and dubious other info.

Of course Peter Mew was involved with both projects, lest anyone wonder about the NR factor...

Animals:

Mono tracks are fine(given the NR caveat), BUT the stereo tracks suffer from both Eq work and NR, and the Lp version of "Sky Pilot" most of all, suffers horribly. A problematic mix and recording since '68, everything wrong with its sound has been exacerbated. What wasn't good before now totally sucks. On the plus side, "We Gotta" is indeed the(IMO, superior)45 single take, and "Monterey" is, like the old Drake Polydor comp, the stereo mix with the proper 45 intro(though the mono mixes, in context, would have been more sensible).

The basic debits beyond those noted for HH:

1. Lousy "Sky Pilot," both sound and inferior Lp mix
2. Edited "Spill The Wine" to 4:00, not 4:50 stock 45/Lp version
3. Too much stereo: 45 edits/mixes of "See See Rider," "SF Nights" and "Monterey" would have made more sense, not to mention 45 Pt. 1 & 2 of "Pilot" would have made other aspects of this disc easier to take.

That's about it, really. Each disc has something positive to offer, and as expected(and like the Stones' remasters), some negatives.


ED

[Rspaight]

Hmmm, might check out the Animals one. I've got the two-disc "Singles Plus" import thing from Best Buy, so I've already got most of these tracks, but I want to enjoy the mistaken subjective impression that SACD is better. Aaaaaaah.

Ryan

[lukpac]

Of course Peter Mew was involved with both projects, lest anyone wonder about the NR factor...

I saw mention of this elsewhere. As much as I have no use for Mew, I really doubt he had any hand in the NR. The situation is no different from Jon Asltey and the Stones discs. They did transfers, not mastering. Don't forget about that Stones promo disc, which had less (no?) NR than the released CDs, indicating the transfers themselves weren't NR'd.

As far as the Animals disc goes, where is the NR? Just on intros? Throughout the songs? The use and type of NR was varied on the Stones discs - some clearly had it applied to the whole song (a few on BTB), while others only had it on certain sections.

[Ed Bishop]

Not to flog an old horse, but regardless of the techology bringing us the music, the sound quality always comes down to the tape sources/mix, and the mastering/processing going into it. Some SACD's and DVD-A's sound fantastic, but the Abkco SACD's, as noted, have good points and bad points. Laying off the NR and Eq nonsense would be a good start, but Abkco's braintrust isn't that smart, and having Peter Mew involved in any of this makes a dubious situation worse, obviously. The guy has done some fine work over the years, but we can also find some disappointing things he's done, too.

As I said at SH, these discs are must-owns for certain tracks, but no way THE SINGLES PLUS and Drake's Polydor remaster(Animals) and HH EMI(or discs that use their '80s/early '90s masterings)are leaving my collection. The Drake master reveals the inherent hiss on those masters that Mew and/or Ludwig worked like hell to downplay here, to no other purpose but to lessen sound quality, not improve it.

Gotta love those press releases and other bullshit suckering the unsuspecting into thinking this stuff is an 'improvement.' Well, if they forgot about hiss and a little inherent noise and mastered with more honesty instead of trying to make the imperfect sound perfect, they might even lives up to the claims.

ED

[lukpac]

Not to flog an old horse, but regardless of the techology bringing us the music, the sound quality always comes down to the tape sources/mix, and the mastering/processing going into it. Some SACD's and DVD-A's sound fantastic, but the Abkco SACD's, as noted, have good points and bad points. Laying off the NR and Eq nonsense would be a good start, but Abkco's braintrust isn't that smart

It seems clear that's just the type of sound someone there likes. I'm not saying I agree with that, though.

and having Peter Mew involved in any of this makes a dubious situation worse, obviously. The guy has done some fine work over the years, but we can also find some disappointing things he's done, too.

Again, it's doubtful he did much more than transfer the analog tapes to digital. Since the tapes reside at Abbey Road, and Mew works for Abbey Road, well...it makes sense to me anyway. ABKCO has both Rosenthal and Ludwig at their fingertips for any NR they might want. No reason to do it while transferring, when they wouldn't be able to change their minds later.

[Ed Bishop]

Of course Peter Mew was involved with both projects, lest anyone wonder about the NR factor...

I saw mention of this elsewhere. As much as I have no use for Mew, I really doubt he had any hand in the NR. The situation is no different from Jon Asltey and the Stones discs. They did transfers, not mastering. Don't forget about that Stones promo disc, which had less (no?) NR than the released CDs, indicating the transfers themselves weren't NR'd.

As far as the Animals disc goes, where is the NR? Just on intros? Throughout the songs? The use and type of NR was varied on the Stones discs - some clearly had it applied to the whole song (a few on BTB), while others only had it on certain sections.

My initial listening suggests a light hand on the NR(exception: the Animals' stereo), and the hiss levels seem consistent(thankfully, the sound has not been totally de-hissed, a typical EMI Mew tactic to totally muck up the sonics), so if it was Ludwig doing the work, he probably used it in the same judicious fashion(again, with certain exceptions)as he did with the Stones' catalog. I'd listen further to be certain, but I'll leave that to others, I know this stuff back and forth and in and out. Safe to say, however, that less concern about tape hiss results in a more honest sound and less for us anal nitpickers to bitch about.

ED

[lukpac]

I haven't heard the disc yet, but keep in mind a lot of that early stuff doesn't have much hiss to begin with. The stereo stuff is another story, though.

Interesting that the Sam Cooke disc (Portrait, anyway) doesn't seem to have any NR.

[Ed Bishop]

The hiss turned up when Tom Wilson began producing the group. (with Wilson, that's pretty much commonplace). Even on the mono pressing of ANIMALIZATION, the hiss is apparent whereas, as you point out, the Mickie Most stuff is fairly quiet despite the bounces he must have made to arrive at the final mono mixes(come to think of it, Most's Hermits stereo is pretty clean, too!)

PORTRAIT is, along with the Stones' BB & 12x5, my favorite Abkco SACD. Could be the tapes are just in fine shape and there was no need to mess about. A pity those mono mixes are still locked away, a strong case can be made for such a comp, as anyone familiar with those mixes can attest.

ED

[lukpac]

I'd probably vote for Beggars myself, since it's such an upgrade. The stereo on 12x5 is of course amazing, but there's nothing impressive about the mono tracks, and a few tracks have issues with their intros (Confessin The Blues comes to mind).

[lukpac]

Hrmm...I picked up the Animals disc today. I don't have anything to compare it to at the moment, but I certainly don't hear any noise reduction in play. Everything has hiss, the stereo tracks in general more than the mono ones. I mean, if there was NR, I sure wouldn't expect San Franciscan Nights to have *that* much hiss in the fade out.

It's been said the Polygram disc(s) has more hiss. Could it simply be that it used higher generation tapes?

Ok...my previous comments apply up through track 19. Sky Pilot, though, is another story. There's clearly NR in the intro, and it's not very good. At all. There might be some at the fade too. Yet White Houses (the next song) is swimming in hiss.

Sounds like Spill The Wine might have a bit of NR too, with artifacts of the "haze" variety. Or it might just be the recording. Whatever the case, I'd like to know where people are getting the idea that everything has NR.

Now as far as the EQ goes, it could probably very well be better. Most things seem a bit bright to me. As before, though, I don't have anything to compare it with, so... Speaking of which, what are the "best" CDs prior to this?

[lukpac]

Don't mess with AMG:

Review by Al Campbell

Initially, the Animals' Retrospective looks like just another greatest-hits compilation recycling the same old tracks already easily available elsewhere. Yawn! Yet, on closer inspection, there's a big difference with this particular set. These 22 tracks are taken from the ABKCO masters and utilize Direct Stream Digital (DSD), containing both CD and Super Audio CD layers. ABKCO initially previewed this technology with much fanfare on the Rolling Stones' reissues of 2003. That excellence is again applied here and the material undeniably sparkles. The first incarnation of the band with Mickie Most's production is represented by what have to be the cleanest recordings heard yet of favorites like "House of the Rising Sun," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," and "Don't Bring Me Down." However, it's the psychedelic phase of the band, when they became Eric Burdon & the Animals, that the DSD really kicks. Every nuance present, and sometimes hidden, on a song like "San Franciscan Nights," or "Monterey," in which the horns noticeably jump out at you, or the battle sequence on "Sky Pilot," is incredibly vivid whether you're using high-tech gear or an average playback unit. Even if you've heard these tracks a zillion times, this ABKCO release gets you as close to hearing studio playback as you're likely to get!

[Ed Bishop]

Well, there is NR scattered throughout the Animals disc, as would be expected given the nature, especially, of the later tapes, which, indeed, do 'swim' with hiss....

As you pointed out, Luke, the early stuff comes off very well, although there is no major improvement(if any)compared to THE SINGLES PLUS, since that one was the reference point before this new release. Most listeners won't care about any minor differences, both are fine soundwise.

But the Drake remaster of the Wilson-produced material has to be considered the most honest representation of the master tapes; it has what you'd expect to hear, warts and all. But while there's still hiss on the SACD--no way you could remove it all without turning it all into sonic mud--there's more still on Drake's edition.

I do think, as with much of the Stones remasters, the use of NR, or any type of work to reduce hiss, was kept to a minimum, probably during the intros and fades, most of all. Certainly NOT the heavy hand EMI has perpetrated in recent years. But yes, it's still evident. Butto suggest "Sky Pilot" is vivid is patently absurd: the Lp version was always mushier and dull compared to the single remix, but then, maybe the AMG reviewer doesn't have the stereo 45 for reference?

ED

[lukpac]

Well, there is NR scattered throughout the Animals disc, as would be expected given the nature, especially, of the later tapes, which, indeed, do 'swim' with hiss....

But where? Like I said, with the exception of Sky Pilot, I just don't hear it. Are there any specific places you hear it? With the Stones discs, the NR can very clearly be heard, either in terms of artifacts, or the hiss growing after the intro. The hiss here seems fairly constant and "normal" (no artifacts).

But the Drake remaster of the Wilson-produced material has to be considered the most honest representation of the master tapes; it has what you'd expect to hear, warts and all.

Without hearing the master tapes themselves, how do we know? How do we know Drake (what's so great about him, anyway?) even used the same tapes? I'm not saying that CD doesn't sound good, just that it isn't necessarily the way the (original) tapes sound.

But while there's still hiss on the SACD--no way you could remove it all without turning it all into sonic mud--there's more still on Drake's edition.

That's all well and good, but it doesn't mean there's NR on the SACD. The Beggars SACD has quite a bit less hiss than all previous CDs, but it seems pretty clear that's from better tapes, not NR.

I do think, as with much of the Stones remasters, the use of NR, or any type of work to reduce hiss, was kept to a minimum, probably during the intros and fades, most of all.

I listened pretty closely to the intros and fades specifically, and other than Sky Pilot, which was plainly obvious, I didn't hear any evidence of NR. Many tracks had a good amount of hiss in the intros and fades.

Certainly NOT the heavy hand EMI has perpetrated in recent years. But yes, it's still evident.

Again, where? Something more specific than "in the intros" would help.

Butto suggest "Sky Pilot" is vivid is patently absurd: the Lp version was always mushier and dull compared to the single remix, but then, maybe the AMG reviewer doesn't have the stereo 45 for reference?

I think you're giving AMG too much credit. In this world of preconceived notions, theirs (at the moment, anyway) is that if it's remastered or SACD, it's better. Best just to laugh and move on.