Gang Of Four - Entertainment! reissue due in two weeks

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MK
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Gang Of Four - Entertainment! reissue due in two weeks

Postby MK » Wed May 04, 2005 3:46 pm

This was reported awhile ago in Billboard, but Rhino finally posted it on their site. Rhino's re-issuing this one album with the Yellow Ep and other selections as bonus tracks. Remastered, don't know by whom, but it's coming out in two weeks. About freaking time, must've been the success of Franz Ferdinand and others that got the ball rolling.
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dudelsack
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Postby dudelsack » Wed May 04, 2005 3:51 pm

Wonder if it will be a clone of the Infinite Zero reissue...

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Postby Stretcher Case » Wed May 04, 2005 4:37 pm

MK -- thanks for posting this -- news I can use.

Let's hope the "bonus tracks" are more than just the Yellow EP, which is what was on the Infinite Zero reissue.
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Postby MK » Thu May 26, 2005 8:50 pm

Got some samples from bittorrent. Looks and sounds like compression, maybe limiting and compression - similar to what's on the Television remasters, the punk box set, etc.

I got a 1995 remaster, so I'll make a comparison with that when it arrives.
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Postby Stretcher Case » Thu May 26, 2005 11:12 pm

MK wrote:Got some samples from bittorrent. Looks and sounds like compression, maybe limiting and compression - similar to what's on the Television remasters, the punk box set, etc.

I got a 1995 remaster, so I'll make a comparison with that when it arrives.


I'm a sucker who ended up buying this today. It's a pretty loud disk, with I Found That Essence Rare peaking at 98.8%
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Postby MK » Tue May 31, 2005 3:59 pm

Alright, I finally got the Infinite Zero CD in the mail, copyright 1995. Now defunct, it was an imprint on the American Recordings label (that label's logo is on the upper right corner of the tray card, black and white print). Jewel case, black tray, the original Lp cover has been shrunken a bit on the booklet's cover so that a 1" thick white border surrounds the image. Annoying, but at least it's printed well, and you can read the fine print of the original Lp.

Back to the CD, by '95 LOUD was pretty much the norm, and this disc is pretty loud. If you zoom in on the peak, they hit the limit; not clipped, but it looks like some limiting.

Compared to the Rhino CD, I still prefer the '95 CD. The Rhino CD is a bit more in-your-face, and even though they backed off a bit (the sound doesn't max out to the absolute limit), it's still a notch louder, but again, it's a bit more squashed. Just listen to the midrange, especially when the bass drum hits, and you'll hear it.

I don't think there are any earlier CD's, at least from the 80's, that I know of. If you got the Rhino, I wouldn't feel too bad because it's not a HUGE difference and it's not like the '95 CD is perfect. If you got the '95 CD, it's not worth it to upgrade. The bonus tracks on the Rhino CD aren't bad, but they're hardly essential.
"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Dwight D. Eisenhower



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Postby Stretcher Case » Tue May 31, 2005 6:20 pm

That's a hard disc to find, or maybe was until the Rhino came out.
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Postby MK » Tue May 31, 2005 7:24 pm

ebay's flooded with them now.

What really gets me is Djangos.com had a blowout sale for that old Entertainment! CD a few weeks before the Rhino CD was released: $5.49, free shipping! It's probably gone, but I only found out because google.com still had that webpage cached.
"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Dwight D. Eisenhower



"Neither slave nor tyrant." - Basque motto

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Postby Stretcher Case » Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:19 am

MK wrote:ebay's flooded with them now.

What really gets me is Djangos.com had a blowout sale for that old Entertainment! CD a few weeks before the Rhino CD was released: $5.49, free shipping! It's probably gone, but I only found out because google.com still had that webpage cached.


Djangos.com had the EMI version, right?? Their little thumbnails show Infinite Zero, but I really doubt that's the version they have.

I see what you're sayinga about eBay, but I wouldn't say flooded as I only saw two lots that matched the Infinite Zero pressing.
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Postby MK » Wed Jun 01, 2005 1:23 pm

What's the EMI version? Is it an older version, or just the UK version from the same period?
"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Dwight D. Eisenhower



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Postby Stretcher Case » Wed Jun 01, 2005 5:45 pm

MK wrote:What's the EMI version? Is it an older version, or just the UK version from the same period?


That's what I meant, yeah.

Seriously, those Infinite Zeroes can be tough. If folks are dumping them, and they can be had for cheap, I'd get one.

I'm not too impressed with how maximized the new reissue is. The Infinite Zeroes are pushed, but not that bad.
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Postby MK » Sat Jun 18, 2005 3:27 pm

Before "Entertainment!" was FINALLY brought back into print, the only Gang in town was "A Brief History of the 20th Century," a single CD compilation still in-print. Issued in 1990, the CD pretty much covers their entire history.

Anyway, it's up on Pedro's so I downloaded "Not For Great Men" and did some comparisons. EASILY the best mastering I've heard on early Gang Of Four. Like I said, the new Rhino CD is crunched, but so is the Infinite Zero CD issued in 1994/1995. It's not as bad, but it's still squashed. (BTW, the Infinite Zero CD was mastered by Ken Perry and Bill Inglot. Inglot and Dan Hersch did the Rhino CD.)

I once saw this CD in a used music store, and if memory serves, the mastering credit in the booklet was some place in the UK...nothing familiar like Peter Mew or Simon Heyworth's mastering studios, but it was British.

Anyway, I checked the waveform to the "Brief History" CD's version of "Not For Great Men," and the levels JUST fall short of the maximum volume. No clipping whatsoever. I had to reduce the Infinite Zero mastering by 60 or 55% to match the "Brief History" CD, and once you got it down, it was easy to hear how squashed and compressed it was. The "Brief History" CD is much more open and dynamic. The EQ's all right, not quite as harsh in the upper midrange/lower treble, bass cloud still intact, but not that smooshed middle (the kind where it feels like the bottom's stuffed into the midrange, if that makes any sense).

So long story short, if there's an earlier mastering of Gang Of Four stuff out there, say circa late 80's or early 90's, I'd try and get that.
"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Dwight D. Eisenhower



"Neither slave nor tyrant." - Basque motto