Pete Townshend expanded remasters...

elcelc · Postby **elcelc** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:19 am

lukpac wrote:It's on the Lifehouse box, although IIRC the mix is a little different, and the Lifehouse box version *does* omit the count-off.

Yes, you're right about that. I also need to compare the demos I have on boots since Pete sometimes cleans up his demos for their official release.

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:13 pm

A few of these arrived today. Quick thoughts so far:

Chinese Eyes doesn't sound as bad as I'd feared (it still breathes somewhat), but the bass/treble boost seems excessive. Haven't looked at waveforms, though, so it might be worse or better than I think.

The 5.1 mix on Rough Mix is simply excellent, however. Clear, dynamic and open like a surround mix should be. There's a little extra studio babble included as well (the album is a whopping 25 seconds longer). The whole thing's a treat. The booklet also includes lyrics, which I think is a first (?). Haven't listened to either stereo version.

The packaging looks nice but was hilariously rushed in places. Chinese Eyes still carries the Ted Jensen (spelled Ted Jenson) remastering credit from the last remaster in addition to the 2006 Astley credits. They advertise "complete artwork" but still have only the first paragraph of the White City liner notes. Best of all, it looks like Empty Glass still has the same little "about the album" WEA paragraph/blurb that all the old target-era discs had, except "ten songs" has been changed to "fourteen songs." (Well, technically, it's still just ten songs with alternate version of four of them, isn't it?) I'm guessing they gave a DTP intern copies of the old CDs and printed it all up.

Ryan

CitizenDan · Postby **CitizenDan** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:33 am

I don't have a surround set-up so maybe I'm missing out on Rough Mix's main selling point, but I prefer the old ATCO CD. Not only are the bonus tracks throwaways at best, there are little nitpicky things the reissue does wrong -- like cutting off Watts's snare at the end of "My Baby Gives it Away" instead of letting it decay, little things like that.

Xenu · Postby **Xenu** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:51 am

Rspaight wrote:I'm guessing they gave a DTP intern copies of the old CDs and printed it all up.

Ryan

Yeah, reissue artwork has sucked as of late. I'm specifically thinking of the OCRed messes that MoFi generally puts out, and the booklets of the Entwistle reissues where the puntuation marks have gone MIA.

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 12:50 pm

The weird thing about the Townshend discs is that the packaging *looks* first-rate -- there was actual time, thought and effort expended on the layout and graphical presentation. The actual information/content, however, is half-assed.

Ryan

stevef · Postby **stevef** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:27 pm

ALL of the Pete Townshend remasters should now be out and available...
But there is an update posted over at Musictap--

Hip-O Records will also re-release a classic album from Pete Townshend and Small Faces/Faces genius, Ronnie Lane.
The album is known as Rough Mix and is currently scheduled for reissue on January 9.

This is likely the CD-only version.
The current version that was released here in the U.S. was a DualDisc, containing a 5.1 surround mix of the album.

The UK version (appearing in thick digipaks there) was just the redbook CD remastered, so they likely are making it available here too.

ALSO:
Copies of All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes that have been *priced* at $19.99 at Best Buy locations, should have this erroroneous price corrected in the Best Buy system.

At least this is what happened to me there last week -- I asked the BB clerks about the price error and the fact that this particular title was still being stickered at $19.99. I was told that it now scans out at $12.99 as do most of the other single-disc Pete Townshend remasters (the only title priced less is Pete Townshend Live, which is list-priced at $9.99 at Best Buy... and also at Tower locations.

(Obviously, the 2CD Scoop collections are priced higher.)

Postby **lukpac** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:03 am

stevef wrote:(Obviously, the 2CD Scoop collections are priced higher.)

Pretty soon, all of your favorite 2 LP sets will be reissued as 2 CD sets - Layla, Goodbye Yellowbrick Road, Electric Ladyland - you name it!

Rspaight · Postby **Rspaight** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:44 am

They must be going after the "original 80s issue was better" market.

Ryan

TSmithPage · Postby **TSmithPage** » Thu May 17, 2007 2:51 pm

So, some of these, including the Lane SACD, have now turned up at yourmusic.com for $6.99. I saw very little in this two page thread about the sound quality (other than suspicions they would suck based on Astley's involvement). So, what's the verdict? Good, bad or indifferent?

Postby **lukpac** » Thu May 17, 2007 2:56 pm

TSmithPage wrote:So, some of these, including the Lane SACD, have now turned up at yourmusic.com for $6.99. I saw very little in this two page thread about the sound quality (other than suspicions they would suck based on Astley's involvement). So, what's the verdict? Good, bad or indifferent?

Sure. Two days after I cancel my account.

Postby **lukpac** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:14 am

I just happened to listen to a few tracks on AMG today, and oddly enough, Politician on the new Scoop doesn't have the phasey processing the old Atco CD had - this is wide stereo and sounds like a straight copy of the recording. Yet it doesn't seem like any other songs are different. Odd.