Thanks for the responses. I've noticed lately as I've compared what I thought were excellent remasters head to head with early pressings of the same albums of 30 to 50 year old vintage, there is a presence to the original recordings that the remasters can't seem to capture even if the remasters sound great absent that comparison. Sometimes certain aspects of the recording are actually better in the remasters due to adjustments in the process----but as to the overall sound, I very often prefer the early issue. Also, as Ralph says, it's usually best to obtain an early pressing from the country in which the record was recorded. Makes for much time spent at the used record shop.
