Hi, D. Hope I don't sound 'gushing' but just saying hi after not being around much for awhile.
I will assume Sound was referring to me. Typical of the know-nothings that you find on every board, this one--whose last post was in early April and hasn't been seen since--makes assumptions about me and my relationship with Mike Fremer.
For the record, we don't have that *much* of one, but we do know each other and have a history. Indeed, he was the guy who sold me my beloved UK Quad copy of IMAGINE over two decades ago. He had been writing for someone(can't remember where now)and placed an ad in a mag, having some stuff for sale. Not wanting to be beat, I sent an M.O. for the album right away. Got the album, and a little later a funny and nice letter from Mike asking for postage. He had meant to say 'call and reserve' but that didn't make the add(neither did the postage; should have thought of that myself), but trusted someone enough to send it along anyway. He got his postage, and we corresponded back and forth for a little bit before that kind of drifted away...
Imagine my surprise when Mike started his own site, and had it linked to SH Forums. Someone started a thread on it, and I mentioned I'd known the guy a little and bought some stuff from him way back when. I got a PM explaining that Mike was none other than 'grooves.' So I PM'd him, got one back, told him the story about IMAGINE, and he remembered it. So much for 'having heard of' Mr. Fremer. Nope, a little more than that....next someone will be shocked that, one time or another, I've had a chance to exchange PM's with Andrew Sandoval or talked with Bill Inglot on the phone. Not of late--he doesn't get out much anymore, probably weary of all the cheap shots thrown his way--but true nonetheless, and not to brag about, just to set the record straight.
As for the Stones, Mike seemed to take a lot of what he was told at face value, i.e., the samper situation. He was also surprised to learn AFTER-MATH was narrowed relative to the London import. He didn't deny the NR, except to say it was used sparingly. Well....even if that were true, listening to the import CD tells us two things: that the separation, as presented there, is very likely the honest representation of the original master tape, and, that while there is certainly enough hiss, that's part of the original recording, too, and only the paranoid would think anyone other than a small coterie of anti-hiss freaks would care. Truth is, they should have left well enough alone, since they claimed to have access to the best available tape sources.
I also pointed out that, if this were so, strange that "Last Time" and "19th Nervous" and many Lp cuts that should have stereo tapes somewhere, are in mono once again. This was explained away by saying that Mick & Keith not only helped supply tapes, but also had a say in what versions they wanted. Fine, I'll take that at face value....but also pointed out a shame nobody in a position to ask ever questioned those choices, or explained the "Ruby Tuesday" situation. That's basically what I was interested in, beyond being pessimistic that any vinyl versions from digital sources are worth bothering with in this case, given the wealth of clean original pressings still out there, not to mention some pretty decent reissues, too.
I think one of the problems is the perception--on Fremer's part, among others--that everyone just parrots what Steve says and takes it all as gospel; well, not with AFTER-MATH; he's obviously heard the import CD, from what I can tell, but even if he hadn't, doesn't believe in arbitrarily narrowing a master tape for any reason when a better, more dynamic sound can be achieved. Steve also has an extra big advantage, as Angel, Jamie, and a few others have: they work as recording engineers; the rest of us--including Fremer--are listeners, whether pro or amateur. If these pros have problems with the way these upcoming Stones Lp's are being remastered, while Mike may be right we should wait and hear them, well, easy for him to say, it isn't his money. But I go back to my original point: plenty of nice analogs out there, and since they're not offering something genuinely worthwhile--say, mono pressings of AFTER-MATH, TSMR and BB--as I said, I think I'll pass; better ways to spend money, after all.
Oh, and I'll risk gushing one more time: I think you and Luke did a fucking great job on that FAQ. If more professional reviewers would take that kind of time to reference past versions with current, we wouldn't have so much propaganda and PR being pawned off as The Truth.
ED
When remixing vintage tapes, imagine you are back in the time those recordings were made, and mix accordingly. forget Today's Sound Sensibilities....
