Which version?!

[CnoEvil]

My music collection has a large gap in it (which I wish to remedy), where my record collection used to be. It's all that 70s and early 80s stuff like Genesis, Rick Wakeman, Sparks, Alan Parsons, U2, Linda Ronstadt, Roberta Flack, Sparks, Alice Cooper, Kate Bush, Led Zep, Deodato, ELO, OMD etc etc. Back in the day you just bought the album, but now when you look on Amazon for the CD, there is a baffling array of prices, versions, masters, re-masters, re-masters from the original tape, as well as a variety of expensive imports. Is there a way of navigating through this minefield, or is it a game of "Russian Roulette", where you don't know the quality of you've bought until you start playing it? So my question to you knowledgeable connoisseurs out there is this - are there a few simple checks/rules to follow in order to prevent disappointment? I assume throwing money at the most expensive version isn't a sensible option. :? This is an area where I have little knowledge, so any help is much appreciated. Cheers Cno

 

[Lost Angeles]

Start with someone like Bob Clearmountain.
The Record Spot has posted answers to similar questions before.

 

[CnoEvil]

Start with someone like Bob Clearmountain.
The Record Spot has posted answers to similar questions before.

Thank you for the answer. I have a steep learning curve, so any help from the likes of yourself, RS, DIB, Bretty, Jason 36, MP, CJ, NP and all, will be taken on board.

You have to be a certain age, or at least have an appreciation of this music, to understand the difficulty of getting it on CD. It isn't a problem if you can still play vinyl.

 

[DIB]

Back in the day you just bought the album, but now when you look on Amazon for the CD, there is a baffling array of prices, versions, masters, re-masters, re-masters from the original tape, as well as a variety of expensive imports.

Exactly. BITD you just bought the LP, and you either liked it or not. Simple. I grew up as a young teenager listening to late night radio on a little transistor, under the bedsheets so my parents couldn't hear, listening to Sounds of the 70's or Radio Luxembourg or whatever. As you can imagine the sound quality wasn't the best, but it didn't stop me enjoying it any less. My first single as small child, "Telstar", sounded fantastic on the old Dansette. Imagine listening to it on the same set up now? It would seem primative in all likelihood, but I bet I'd still enjoy it.

I don't obsess about which version to buy these days, I leave that to people on the Steve Hoffman Forum to have 90 page threads about exactly which pressing of Dark Side of the Moon is the best. I wish my 55 years old ears were good enough to detect these differences, but they're not. A blessing possibly?

Personally, I feel that most of the the remasters, of the remaster etc. etc is pure marketing. By the time I'd managed to buy up all of Richard Thompson's back catalogue on CD in the 90's they started releasing the same albums but re-mastered versions complete with bonus tracks. I'm not that much of a completeist that I had to rush out and buy the same album again.

.

 

[CnoEvil]

Exactly. BITD you just bought the LP, and you either liked it or not. Simple. I grew up as a young teenager listening to late night radio on a little transistor, under the bedsheets so my parents couldn't hear, listening to Sounds of the 70's or Radio Luxembourg or whatever. As you can imagine the sound quality wasn't the best, but it didn't stop me enjoying it any less. My first single as small child, "Telstar", sounded fantastic on the old Dansette. Imagine listening to it on the same set up now? It would seem primative in all likelihood, but I bet I'd still enjoy it.

I don't obsess about which version to buy these days, I leave that to people on the Steve Hoffman Forum to have 90 page threads about exactly which pressing of Dark Side of the Moon is the best. I wish my 55 years old ears were good enough to detect these differences, but they're not. A blessing possibly?

Personally, I feel that most of the the remasters, of the remaster etc. etc is pure marketing. By the time I'd managed to buy up all of Richard Thompson's back catalogue on CD in the 90's they started releasing the same albums but re-mastered versions complete with bonus tracks. I'm not that much of a completeist that I had to rush out and buy the same album again.

I think it may be a bit easier to have a more relaxed attitude, with a great record collection to fall back on. :shifty:

 

[DIB]

I think it may be a bit easier to have a more relaxed attitude, with a great record collection to fall back on. :shifty:

I think my record collection is great... my wife, kids, family and most of my friends beg to differ

.

 

[CnoEvil]

I think it may be a bit easier to have a more relaxed attitude, with a great record collection to fall back on. :shifty:

I think my record collection is great... my wife, kids, family and most of my friends beg to differ

.

I hear you!

 

[Lost Angeles]

Have to say I did RS a disservice earlier, I should have said Steve Hoffman.