MFSL CDs: Dumb Questions

I can’t say if this title was released as a Redbook/SACD or not. But I have purchased a number of MFSL CDs and always found them to sound better. Obviously the seller is hoping to cash in on the collector status of this title, which I am sure is long out of print.

The Ted Hawkins releases that were on MSFL were gold cd releases, not SACD releases.  

There were 3 key Ted Hawkins' releases prior to his passing:

1. Watch Your Step - the one that got him noticed by Rolling Stone
   
2. Happy Hour
   
3. The Next Hundred Years - the one I like best
   

I was fortunate to see him perform at the Bottom Line in NYC almost 25 years ago.  He played on stage the same way he played as street performer in Venice Beach for all those years, using a milk crate and a home made contraption to keep time.

The MFSL will probably get you the best sound.  There were not any vinyl releases at the time that I remember.  $35 and a good system  to play Ted Hawkins on ... I would go for it.


Rich 

The MFSL cds are limited edition remasters. The dynamic range was probably not compressed as is done with many regular cd remasters these days.

This does not ensure that they will sound better than another release of these cds though. Some MFSL gold cds, or any other type of remaster, sound great and others miss the mark. Check out the Steve Hoffman Music Forums. There are always discussions about the sound quality of various versions of albums going on there. Nobody, it seems, bats 1,000. Every reissue label has its gems and clunkers, and people usually disagree about which is which.

Thanks guys. Rich, I would have loved to see him play.

Well, I found a basic Redbook CD of The Next Hundred Years for $5 so I bought it. If I really get into it I'll go for an MFSL copy....and compare them!

I was surprised to see an MSFL CD for someone who is not particularly well known like Hawkins. I almost never see them for anyone else.

I actually have both the standard release copy and the MSFL version of The Next Hundred years, and I cannot discern an appreciable difference between the two.  (Both sound excellent)

Thank you. That helps. I'm new at this audiophile stuff and have doubts that my ears are very 'discerning' so I will probably be happy with the $5 bargain.

A little off topic, Mandy Barnett covers Strange Conversation on her new disc (its also the title of the disc).  Saw her a week or so back, wonderful.  

Not a problem. The original question has been answered. Will look into the cover, sounds interesting.

The easy way to tell a MoFi CD from an SACD is the catalog number. CDs are UDCD-xxxx while SACDs are UDSACD-xxxx, where the xxxx is the issue number in the series. So, it's a Gold CD. The Silver CDs were MFCD-xxxx. UD is ultra disc and MF is Mobile Fidelity. None of the SACDs to my knowledge were ever gold.

Thanks, good information.

I got the $5 Ted Hawkins CD of The Next 100 Years. The SQ is surprisingly good. Really enjoying the CD and glad I found it. His voice is amazing. I hear a little Ray Charles there, not as rich or as sweet as Ray, but it is certainly more haunting and with a genuine bluesy sadness to it. 

The Good and the Bad is simply brilliant; lyrics, arrangement, delivery...a complete package. Although, I heard Hawkins was not happy with the album and did not like the accompaniments and production. But I've also read that he was a bit hard to please in a lot of ways.