whereas no, i do not keep figures as such (or stats, look you see) i would suspect that "bowie" is a subject that i have written reasonably frequently on. there was, for instance, that time when i did a post a month on one of his albums at random, plus all those instances where he, and then his estate, successfully extracted money off of me for something or other with his name on. yet it does feel like some time has passed since he got a mention here, so why not do a post now.
oddly, or actually, this isn't necessarily limited to bowie, or more bowie stuff what i bought (to be clear, i did). this is a bit of a look at the often murky, sometimes confusing and generally peculiar world of when an album gets "remastered" and re-released. well, in some instances this would very much be a case of a record getting a re-re-re-re-re-release. a good question is whether these "new" editions (of any album you care to name) are worth getting, especially if you already have the tape (or disc) of it. multiple copies already, true, in some instances for moi. the short answer is "yes, maybe, no".
a "thing" i have is to wander around a local market every weekend, picking up a few new tapes (or discs). sometimes it's things i don't have, or forgotten that i have them, and every now and then it's a known duplicate or (sometimes slightly) different version. recently my preferred tape (disc) stall had a number of the 2010s bowie "remasters" in. with some restraint i picked up just two.
the other "big" album he had on the market in a 2010s remastered format was Ziggy Stardust. ahem. i have more than one copy of the 1999 "remaster", the late 80s / early 90s ryko/emi edition (boxed version to boot) and of course there was that Rock N Roll Star set last year. for the latter, yep, i was proved right, it has not been played since the first time i played it, but in general i think i have handed over quite enough money for Ziggy things for this lifetime. so, the ones before and after Ziggy then, and that gives you a clue to why this post is called what it is.
in truth i wasn't that particularly @r$ed about these editions. but, well, there is a compulsion to get tapes, i do like to support the market stalls and i did have a vague curiosity about how different, exactly, these versions (or variations) could be. plus it is really rather rare to see a second hand copy of Aladdin Sane up for grabs. it tends to be the tape (or disc or record) people hold on to.
should you be seeking "technical", or muso or fact based accounts on whether these "remastered" versions of records are worth it, this is not the post for you. my comments shall be the simplistic ones of a fan who really, really loves the music, and is just trying to work out what, if anything, is "different" to my ears in these versions. something but not much, in short.
chronologically, then, and Hunky Dory first. there, above, is my three (3) copy collection of it, with this new to me 2015 "remaster" being the most recent addition. for several years i managed to plod along just fine with the ryko/emi issue, featuring an extra four (4) tracks. a slight annoyance was the "click" on the segue from (i think) Fill Your Heart to Andy Warhol, but that was fixed up on the 1999 reissue, from what i recall "overseen" by someone called Toby Mountain or something. think the transition from Oh! You Pretty Things to Eight Line Poem was a bit clumsy too. also they made a fuss about them being a "24 bit remaster series", and if you know what that means they you certainly do know more than me.
for any notes or comments on the actual album (you know, the music and that), well, rather go ahead and click here for my "random bowie" post on it. as for how this particular "remaster" edition sounds different to the others, the short answer is "softer". i mean the quality of the disc is superb, but it's like they have turned (or faded) down the default volume of the disc. perhaps someone just decided that as essentially (bar Queen Bitch) the record is "acoustic" then it should have a quieter ambience. rather a sedate sound to it, in truth. fixed by simply turning the volume up, which does more or less mean that the vision of this "remastered" edition was to by design make it quieter.
bet you can guess, then, what happens with the "2013 remastered" edition of (yes there is a link coming up) Aladdin Sane. they have gone done made this grimy, gritty, sleazy, sexy, provocative and deeply considered masterpiece louder. considerably louder. as in i kind of generally leave my stereo on the default volume when i play a record, and i had to turn this one down nearly by "half" to get it at the level i would usually find agreeable. yes, i know, if it's too loud you are too old. to be fair this variation of the record is quite class. whereas the volume has been ramped up, it hasn't been done in a way that distorts or distract, and the sound is beautifully crisp (hello, Faye). not tested this but i suspect that if someone played me all three (3) copies what i have, then i would hone in on this one as the "remaster", or the (even if only slightly) superior sounding version.
if for some reason you're interested, yes, as per the picture above this is now a third (3rd) copy of the album i have. well, third on CD, i am not getting into how many vinyl record copies i have of any of them, thanks. a "strange" thing was the late 80s/early 90s ryko/emi edition of Aladdin Sane. unlike each and every other album in the re-release campaign there was not a single extra track on it. this got, if you want to see it as such, "fixed" with the "20th anniversary" edition, featuring a second disc with 10 (ten) bonus tracks.
were it so that you are looking for guidance, or ideas, on which variations of bowie CDs to buy then mostly those frequently mentioned here ryko/emi reissues do the job. oddly that edition of Pin Ups is fine, and the extras totes worth it. but for Hunky Dory and, in particular, Diamond Dogs, i would strongly suggest either the 1999 editions (or later) as the segue (when two songs merge or overlap) are a mess. actually, for Diamond Dogs, a good "companion" thing to get is the iSelect compilation, for on it they do the sensible thing of making Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise) one (1) track instead of breaking it into 3 (three). contradicting myself a bit, perhaps, but having just played it a couple of times whilst writing this, actually the 2013 remaster of Aladdin Sane is the one to get, even if you have a few other copies already.
hope this has kind of helped anyone looking to buy bowie tapes (discs). not too sure i have shed light on if any sort of "remaster" is worth getting, except to clarify the confusion that it is all very much a case by case thing. no matter how it may seem i do not purchase every bowie release on release or on some sort of autopilot setting. kind of close to it, but not as such.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment