Great story. You must have been the talk of every airport you went through. :) Quite a trip. Doubt I'll find the Benjamin Britten LP in my collection but you never know. I still have my father in law's collection to look through. I gleaned the important stuff on first glance "The Crepitation Contest", can be enjoyed on even the most modest of systems. :) He actually had a fair amount of mostly classical, maybe 200-300 or so. Still boxed up from moving to Missouri 12 years ago. I've taken notice of KEF Reference speakers as they have about the same range as my AR9's. Being newer, they are likely to do it better but I don't know. I did a search to find full range speakers that matched or exceeded the original Teledyne AR9's. It's a small crowd and the prices usually range from slightly above 10k to 300k. Out of my league. KEF 107 and R107's can be had (used) for less than 2k. They might be a consideration if I ever decide to move from the AR's. They are now on my radar. There is a pair on ebay right now that I would have to think about if I hadn't already spent so much in the last month or two............and I'd like my wife to stay. :) I have to research this exotic piano. 108 keys? I've never heard of such a thing. Not doubting you, I'm just surprised to hear of such a thing. I had a square grand that only had 66 keys. It was very ornate but sonically not so good. I used to sit across from a Steinway concert grand every Sunday when I was a kid. My dad played the pipe organ and a woman played the Steinway. They were both very good and I'll never forget the sound of either. I also lived in my grandfather's farmhouse with my wife after we were first married, mid 70's. He had a self contained pipe organ in the house, also an upright piano that he hand built. I didn't play well but played some. I wish I'd taken it more seriously when I was a kid. Hated piano lessons because of the childish crap we had to play. I wanted to play classical music. Too short sighted to learn the basics. |
When I make changes to the system I just play all the music I love to listen to, and much of it isn't boutique audiophile reissues or anything like that. A lot of it is jazz and classical and early music records from the 70s I have listened to for decades. Some of it is more recent reissues (Tone Poets, AP reissues, etc) that I also pull out. |
I finally got to hear the pink label Island copy of TFTT. I think it's safe to say that it is the best version that I have and I now have about 7 copies in 6 versions. Still waiting for a German pressed Island copy. Maybe that will be enough. :) At any rate, the details are more clear on this pink label copy than they are on my others. It is very easy to hear the pick and the plucking of guitar strings. The dynamics are also stronger, drums more real, making the listening experience a more "live" feel. His voice seemed to be quite well done in every version and is on this as well. I'll have to direct compare with some other copies over time but I am very pleased with this copy. Was also very clean, only one pop on side one, hopefully a speck that I can clean away, otherwise it is easily a NM copy. If you ever find a pink label copy, I'd encourage you to pick it up if you can. The clarity and the dynamics do stand out more so than the rest of them, making it a nice addition to the collection. I also picked up the Matthew and Son double album. Have not heard it yet. |
I've been doing similarly. Sorting into groups that I am likely to listen to, those that I will never listen to and so on. The biggest part of the collection is probably ones that I used to listen to but grew tired of, or that have too much noise etc. I still need to trim the listening room group since many are duplicates. I have ones that I listen to and others that are just part of the collection and have been replaced by better copies. I keep finding more "audiophile copes" that I wish I'd never bought as they miss half of the music, compared to an original. There was a period when I though these new 180g and 200g copies were better but more times than not, they are not at all. I did listen to my Opus 3 records. I appreciate the recordings but it's an odd mix of music. Some I like and some, not so much. One is all in Swedish, female vocalist. My grandparents would probably have appreciated it as they would understand it. :) They are really good recordings. |
@billpete Test Record Number One? Yes, it's in Swedish, but he sound is universal. Many years ago I was in contact with Therese Juel, and she sent me her translation of the lyrics:
I had to doctor her English a bit, as her original made no sense to me.
|
@billpete Thank you for letting me know about the pink label copy. That is good to hear! So here are my findings. I ordered a 1st pressing A&M copy. It has the same issues. So, at least, with the A&M USA releases. I believe that @bdp24 is entirely correct. They reek of incorrect Dolby A decoding of an unencoded tape. The moment that he brought it to my attention I could hear it. I can't speak to the Pink Rim copies since I have never heard one. The copy that they are streaming on Qobuz had to come from A&M because it has the same problems. I also purchased the 2008 Island "Back to Black" 180g remastered. Whatever issue happened with A&M releases. Did not happen with this remaster. It was like hearing the album for first time. The attack of the drums and the pick of the guitar. The vocals. The piano. Everything opened up. I can't tell you how it compares to the original Pink Label UK release. But it sounds awesome in my book. Since all I have to compare it to is the A&M abomination that was released onto the world. Now, following in your footsteps of never having enough. I could not help myself. I had to hear the Analog Productions 45 rpm 200g remasters. So I reached down deep in my pocket and purchased a pristine copy. It was a bit disconcerting at first, when I heard the space and detail that is this pressing reveals. But once I wrapped my head around it. It is absolutely stunning! There are details that I have never heard. It also has such a transparent background that I can't tell that the stylus is on the record in the silence. It will be hard to beat this. As good as I thought that the 2008 Island remaster was. This is far superior. Unfortunately, I don't have the 33-1/3 rpm version to compare it to. But I bet that it sounds really good as well. I had my eye on that German Pink Label. I would be interested to know what it sounds like. One question for you. Would you say that your Pink Rim copy sounds closer to you A&M copy or to your Pink Label copy. I am trying to determine if the Pink Rim copies suffered from the same fate as the A&M copies did. |
@billpete The first two albums feature Mary Fahl as the lead singer. She went solo after that. They are both excellent albums. Their newest album, The Ghost of Childhood, have two ladies singing. Very different, but really excellent. You can stream it on Qobuz. I had to buy the cd direct from the band via Bandcamp. It's a signed copy. |
The pink label is the best that I have. The next best is the pink rim Island but it shares some of the same characteristics as the A&M's. It's as if it's a version of the A&M's but done better, if that makes any sense. Any Island records that I have are always better in some ways than their US releases. I always thought it was the best but only because I never heard what it could or should sound like. If @bdp24 hadn't brought it to my attention, I'd never have noticed as I had nothing better to compare it to. If my 180g had a properly centered hole, I might have found it to be better than the A&M's, as these reissues were "touted" to be. This has been a real learing experience for me and I've picked up a number of things to add to the collection. |
@billpete Falling Further In is their second recording. You have to order the newest cd directly from the band via Bandcamp. https://octoberproject.bandcamp.com/album/the-ghost-of-childhood-2
|
@billpete yeah, the self titled album is their first. |
Chris Thanks, that's pretty interesting. That song is the first on Side B of the record that I have. It's different than the other Opus 3's, in that the jacket is rough paper, not glossy like the others. The recordings are very revealing of a live performance. They don't seem to miss anything. I appreciate that. Bill |
OK, so I got to hear the German Island pressing of TFTT. It is solid blue label, not pink. One side has a dark blue label and other side has a light blue one, kind of odd. It has the same issues as the pink rim Island. Loss of detail. The solid pink label Island is the best I've heard yet. The collection is probably not complete yet. Crazy how that can be but there are others that I'd like to hear. It is rather amazing how many versions there can be of a given album. Into the hundreds. This has been a great learning experience for me. Thanks to all. |
@billpete Interesting! So this problem was widespread throughout the world! So we seem to know this much. 1) The original Pink Label UK releases were done correctly. Which would explain why Cat Stevens and the producer, Paul Samwell-Smith didn't catch the issue. They would have heard the initial UK releases. Which were fine. I doubt that they would have been concerned about worldwide distribution, and would have left that up to Island Records. They moved onto other projects. 2) The original A&M releases were faulty. A&M would have handled all of North America distribution and also the original Japanese pressings were distributed through A&M and released with A&M labels. So there is a good chance that they are faulty. 3) The problem in the UK seems to have began with the reissues on Pink Rim Island recordings. They would have more than likely made new pressing plates for the reissue. Which seems to be the standard for reissues. 4) We now know that the German Blue label suffered the same fate. It appears to be one of a plethora of German reissues with varying labels throughout the years. It does not have a date for the reissue. But it appears that it was a much later reissue. The original German 1970 release was issued with the Pink Label. The same as the UK release. It would be interesting to know if that first German release was done correctly. 5) In 1980, Mobile Fidelity released a 1/2 speed remaster, and in 1982 released it as a more expensive MFQR release. We haven't any information as to whether those remasters were done correctly. However, they definitely would have used the original master tape. They would have been purely analog remasters. Since digital did not exist in the technology at that time. 6) Then we jump ahead to The 2008 Island "Back to Black" Remasters. They would most likely have been remastered from the original master tape. There is no way of knowing if digital processing was used. However, they do not suffer from the same problem. And sound great when compared to my A&M first pressing. 7) And then of course. There is the 2011 Analog Productions. Which is when this issue was brought to light. At the time. Analog Productions had just built a brand new state-of-art analog remastering facility. Especially designed for remastering analog from the original masters without the use of any digital processing. To launch their new product and label. They chose TFTT as their first remaster. Since it was such a well recorded and beloved classic. They made a deal with Island Records for a limited release distribution. And were supplied with the original master tape. They even have a photo of the tape included with a description of the process as an included insert. Needless to say. They discovered the improperly decoded issue that plagued other recordings. And chose to do it correctly. They even decided to use the original Pink Island Label. And they sound fantastic! 8) Then we come to the 2020 remasters that Yusuf/Cat Stevens was personally involved in. They do not suffer from the issue. This improper decoding issue seems to have been on an enormous scale. And have had an enormous impact worldwide. It was a colossal F%#%Up, to put it mildly. I am curious if you have an original release Island copy of "Mona Bone Jakon"? It didn't do well at the time of its release. But riding on the heals of the enormous success of TFTT. The demand increased. And a reissue of the album was released. I believe that my A&M release of MBJ suffers from the same issues that my A&M TFTT does. I have nothing but the 2020 remasters that are streaming on Qobuz to compare it to. And they are being streamed at 44.1k/16 bit. If you should have a couple of different pressings of MBJ. Would be willing to take a listen and see if you can hear the same issues with those pressings? I am curious. And if, by any wild chance, you should have access to the 1980 Mobile Fidelity remasters of TFTT. I would like to know how they compare. What an interesting discovery. Thanks for all of the information that you have provided.
|
Some great info. Thanks. Now, I have more to look for. I do not have Mona Bone Jakon. I think I had it on 8 track or possibly cassette ages ago but it is no longer in my collection. It was not a favorite of mine, as I recall or I would have replaced it long ago. My other favorites would be Catch Bull at Four and Buddha and the Chocolate Box. I just picked up an Island copy of Catch Bull at Four and look forward to comparing it to my A&M copy. Others that I have are The World of Cat Stevens on Decca. Very Young and Early Songs on Deram/London Matthew & Son two album set on Deram/London Cat Stevens Greatest Hits on red vinyl A&M Teaser and The Firecat on Island, two copies Catch Bull at Four A&M and now an Island copy Back to Earth promotional copy A&M Buddha And The Chocolate Box A&M Izitso on A&M Numbers on A&M 7 copies of TFTT, Island original pink label, Island pink rim, Island German blue label, two A&M copies and the off-center re-issue from Universal and the A&M dbx copy. I think that's it but often adding more. I'm going to have to check the other albums to see if I find any similar issues. Most are A&M but I always thought they were well done. Have more to compare now so will be interesting. I've certainly learned a great deal on this subject. Thanks for all the info. |
I totally get what you are saying about Mona Bone Jakon. But since you are obviously a huge Cat Steven's fan. I would encourage you to give it another listen. After being near death from tuberculosis when he was admitted to the hospital and his two year absence from the music scene, while struggling to recover. What we see is a new Cat Stevens appear. The "spiritual" Cat Stevens. He had spent that time contemplating his life and death and what was the important things in life. And what emerged from that experience was the birth of the Cat Stevens that was to come. He managed to get released from his current record label, and also managed to get signed by Island. Who promised to let him do whatever he wanted in whatever manner that he wanted. Mona Bone Jakon, was the first album of that rebirth. He no longer desired to be a teenage pop star. The songs on MBJ are sometimes not developed totally. But, there are some great songs. "Trouble", "My Lady D'Abanville", "Maybe You're Right", "Fill My Eyes". As Joni Mitchell said about her album "Blue". I must say about MBJ. I don't believe that there is an insincere note on the album. He was gaining his footing as a serious songwriter with serious things to say. And he would go on to release TFTT within the same year. MBJ represents a rebirth of the Cat Stevens that would take the world by storm. I encourage you, as a serious Cat Stevens fan. Invest in a CD at least, and give it another listen. There is some gold to be found in its simplicity. And it should be given a spot in your collection. If for no other reason than to make his transition complete. From one Cat Steven's fan to another. Just my humble opinion. This has been a pleasure for me. Thank you. |
I recently read about the TB and the hospital stay. It said that he wrote over 40 songs while there. I don't know why I didn't know any of this stuff way back when. You'd think it would have been big news but it was also a time when my life was moving very quickly and I didn't pay much attention to things around me. I do plan to give MBJ another chance. I hope to have all of his different original albums at some point. I often find that things I used to like, I now wonder why and things that I didn't like seem OK or good. Funny how that goes. Kind of like the Joni Mitchell albums. I probably had them for over 50 years and don't remember listening to them before recently. Two of them were really good. This has been an adventure and a big pleasure for me as well. Many thanks to you and all who had input. Great stuff. |
