Remastering original albums and extras

[magiccarpetride]

I've heard a few recently remastered classic albums, and overall, I think it's a worthwhile effort. The analog-to-digital conversion and the mastering process had been polished to almost perfection in the recent years, and now we can enjoy some really stellar examples of digitized music that, once again, sounds sparkly new and almost analog. A case in point -- the 2009 Beatles remasters.

However, what's been bothering me is the extras. Most of these latest remasters ship with a few extra discs, some with unreleased tracks/alternate mixes, others with videos, live footage, etc. May sound exciting and inviting at first, but in the end, I find that I never ever spend even one minute on that material. I always and only go back to the original music material, the way it was released back in the '60s, 70s, '80s. It's the only thing that's really worth investing time into (unless, of course, you're doing a research for a paper you're writing on the artist).

I'm wondering am I the only one, or are others also not too keen on these extras? My biggest beef is the extra large price tag. Recently, I wanted to buy Mike Oldfield's "Hergest Ridge" remaster, but recoiled at $35.00. Couldn't they just release the original remastered album for $15.00?

[sparrow]

Sometimes the extras are worth having...most of the time I find they are not..regarding Mike Oldfield they were put out as single disc & deluxe versions..the extras are worth a listen on these albums.

I'm a sucker for reissues ..always have been..I've bought tons of albums twice and sometimes three times over..Mad I am..:scratch:

[Stratmangler]

Depends on the extra material.
The more recent of the Wishbone Ash "Argus" remasters (the earlier one is rubbish) has an extra CD which is pretty well the album recorded live around the time of the album's release.
That is worth having.

However, if the extra material is stuff tagged onto the album as originally released it can, and does, irritate someone familiar with the original release.
Can you imagine the furore if EMI had tagged additional material onto the end of Sgt. Pepper.....?

[WAD62]

Depends on the extra material.
The more recent of the Wishbone Ash "Argus" remasters (the earlier one is rubbish) has an extra CD which is pretty well the album recorded live around the time of the album's release.
That is worth having.

However, if the extra material is stuff tagged onto the album as originally released it can, and does, irritate someone familiar with the original release.
Can you imagine the furore if EMI had tagged additional material onto the end of Sgt. Pepper.....?

Hi Chris, do you have a link for the more recent Argus double CD remaster, I only have this remaster, with the 3 additional live tracks on the end...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Argus-Wishbone-Ash/dp/B000062X90/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpt_8

:)

Edit; Just found it I think

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Argus-Wishbone-Ash/dp/B000RGGYI4/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1305193062&sr=1-3

Is it a different remastering job? Or the same one repackaged with an additional live album ?

[Stratmangler]

The version you have Will is an absolute pig's ear - it's truly awful.
I compared it to my vinyl copy purchased in the late 1970s, and the remaster was just dreadful.
The mixing is a sick joke - those responsible should by strung up by the gonads and whipped to death.

The later version, on the other hand is faithful to the original, with decent warmth and presence.

The problem with the remasters is that there has been quite an accrimonious split between Martin Turner and Andy Powell.

Turner sanctioned the earlier remaster - he also had a hand in the production.
Andy Powell sanctioned the later remaster - and got a decent engineer to do a decent job of it.

Paschal Byrne is responsible for the later remastering work

http://www.amazon.co.uk/tag/paschal%20byrne%20remasters/products/ref=tag_dh_istp

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Argus-Wishbone-Ash/dp/B000RGGYI4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305235666&sr=8-2

[WAD62]

Unfortunately my vinyl version has seen better days...actually better decades, and is useless as a benchmark.

So to my ears the other remaster was a distinct improvement over the pops, clicks, and general crud I'd become used to, perhaps a bit thin but better none the less.

Having seen seen both of the current incarnations a couple of times (I only caught the original after Ted Turner had left) I'm definitely swayed towards Mr Powell's version, they're better live IMHO (especially when they had the Finnish guitarist), Martin Turner seems like a bit of a tit these days, perhaps he always was...;)

Oh Bugger...another tenner for uncle Amazon, I'll justify it to myself for the live album :lol: