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NightAire MusicFan
Joined: 20 February 2010 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 2:11am | IP Logged
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Every CD I've found of this song is noisy, likely because the electronic keyboard probably had a noisy output. If I'm right, there's no getting a clean copy as the original recording is the source of the hiss.
I'm wondering if there are lower generation source tapes that might have been used on one or more CDs.
I've heard at least one copy that applied an ugly amount of noise reduction, eliminating the ring of the cymbals in the opening bars of the song. It was awful!
My question to you is, do you have a copy of "I Love You" by The Climax Blues Band that you think is an especially clean copy... or do you have a version on a CD you think everyone should be warned to stay away from?
I look forward to hearing what you think!
__________________ Gene Savage
http://www.BlackLightRadio.com
http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage
Owasso, Oklahoma USA
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crapfromthepast MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 6:58am | IP Logged
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Gene - Our choices are most definitely limited here. The database list just four CDs with the song.
The first instance on a promo CD was a vinyl dub from the TM Century library. The same analog transfer is used on swaitek's promo-for-radio 50-CD set The A List Disc 6 (1994). Here, the intro has no hiss and is a little pinched and weird-sounding, likely due to the effects of noise reduction. Not my first choice. (The database doesn't list promo discs.)
The first instance on a commercially-available CD is on Simitar's Love Rocks 5 After Midnight (1998), which is absurdly rare nowadays. I suspect that it's taken from vinyl here, because I think I hear turntable rumble on the intro and the outro. I think it sounds a little better than The A List, with a little hiss and a little more life on the intro.
There's a differently EQ'd digital clone of the Simitar disc on Eric's Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 14 70s & 80s Pop Classics (2012), with an EQ that boosts both the high end and the low end. However, the Eric disc truncates the fade, which is not good.
The other two CDs in the database are Razor & Tie's 2-CD Smooth Rock (2005) and the soundtrack to Zack And Miri Make A Porno (2008). I don't have either of these.
__________________ There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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thecdguy MusicFan
Joined: 14 August 2019 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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It's also on one of those "Treasured Tunes" Volumes (I think that series was from Canada, not sure). I have it but will have to look for it later since I'm about to go out for the day. I remember buying it in the late 90's. It was the first time I had ever seen the song on CD.
__________________ Dan In Philly
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crapfromthepast MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 8:01am | IP Logged
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I hadn't considered non-US CDs.
The band has a bunch of greatest hits collections, but "I Love You" appears on just one of them: the German Climax Blues Band collection 25 Years 1968-1993 (1993, Repertoire Records). This 2-CD set has the following credits:
CD1: All tracks licensed from Air London Production / Chrysalis Copyrights Ltd.
CD2: Tracks 1-4 licensed from Air London Production / Chrysalis Copyrights Ltd.; tracks 5-12 licensed from Climax Blues Band; tracks 13-15 licensed from Colin Cooper; tract 16 licensed from HTD Records.
"I Love You" is one of the tracks licensed directly from the band. I have a hunch that the reason the song doesn't appear on more CDs may be related to licensing.
Repertoire Records also rereleased the full 1980 Flying The Flag album on CD in Germany in 2012.
__________________ There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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crapfromthepast MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 1:25pm | IP Logged
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Thanks to Doug, I can confirm that the song exists on Cherish (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), released in 2002 in the US on New Line Records NLR 39016. It runs 4:00.
It's a digital clone of Simitar's Love Rocks 5 After Midnight (1998), with an EQ adjustment, and a little level boost so that it clips in a few places.
__________________ There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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aaronk Admin Group
Joined: 16 January 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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I can also confirm that the following two discs are the same vinyl transfer as found on Love Rocks:
Climax Blues Band 25 Years (2 disc set, Repertoire, 1994)
Treasured Tunes 7 (Stardust, Canadian release)
__________________ Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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crapfromthepast MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 3:08pm | IP Logged
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A-ha!
Aaron's new data explains a lot: On most of the Simitar compilations, most (all?) of the tracks are clones of other discs. I'd always wondered how Simitar would have featured a brand new mastering for "I Love You"; turns out that it's not brand new.
It looks like all of the commercially-available discs with "I Love You" base their masterings on the original vinyl dub used on Climax Blues Band 25 Years (1994).
I'd also bet that the Repertoire release of the full Flying The Flag album is also a vinyl dub.
__________________ There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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crapfromthepast MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 5:43pm | IP Logged
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Stop the presses! Hold the phone! Whoa!
John sent me a dub of "I Love You" from the full Flying The Flag album, and I can confirm that it's from a tape source!
The song has an excellent dynamic range, no extra compression/limiting, a terrific EQ, no evidence of noise reduction on the fade or anywhere else in the song, and no turntable rumble (which is evident in a side-by-side comparison with any of the earlier releases). The intro has just a little bit of tape hiss, which is what I'd expect from a tape transfer that hasn't been subjected to noise reduction.
To my ears, this couldn't have been mastered any better.
Details of the release, according to Discogs:
Climax Blues Band - Flying The Flag
Repertoire Records - REP 5211
Packaging: Digipak
Germany
Released 16 Mar 2012
Well done, German record company Repertoire Records!
__________________ There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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crapfromthepast MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 6:02pm | IP Logged
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Thanks to Jeff, I can confirm that the version on the Canadian compilation Treasured Tunes 7 (1998, Stardust Productions Inc. 1028) is also a differently-EQ'd digital clone of Simitar's Love Rocks 5 After Midnight (1998), which in turn uses the same vinyl dub from Climax Blues Band 25 Years (1994).
Edited by crapfromthepast on 24 April 2020 at 6:03pm
__________________ There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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NightAire MusicFan
Joined: 20 February 2010 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 9:11pm | IP Logged
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I think Ron's finally sorted this out for us!
The bad news is if you're looking for a U.S. release of this song, you're going to be getting a vinyl source.
The GOOD news is the Germans somehow managed to get the master tape and release a beautiful copy on "Flying The Flag!"
It looks like Amazon has it for $22 right now, less if you get it used, and a very silly $120 if you buy the "collectible" version. :)
It's also available as mp3 digital downloads, and as part of Amazon's streaming. Apple may have it too but I'm not subscribed to them.
OH! I almost missed the best deal: you can buy it on vinyl... for $200.00!!! :-O
Thanks to Ron and John for getting to the bottom of this great song's fidelity issues!!
Edited by NightAire on 24 April 2020 at 9:12pm
__________________ Gene Savage
http://www.BlackLightRadio.com
http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage
Owasso, Oklahoma USA
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MMathews MusicFan
Joined: 18 August 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 24 April 2020 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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Hey Ron,
I have to disagree about the ones you are calling
vinyl transfers. The Repertoire CD "25 Years" used no
vinyl transfers, the CD was made with the band's
involvement and approval and they have their own
tapes. We have the set at the office. I just listened
very closely, very loud...there's no rumble present.
A very good reason the reissue of "Flying The Flag"
sounds a bit different is that it's from an LP master,
not individual tape transfers for every track. The
band simply turned over the LP master tape.
Now, we licensed the song from the band in 2012. They
sent us a digital file for the song. Not surprisingly,
it comes up as a digital clone of some other CDs (but
sadly on our CD contains NR but that's another story)
... it simply means that each label that licenses it
is given the same digital file. It doesn't mean they
took it from another CD. So of course every CD that
used what they are given from the rights-owner are
going to come up as digitally identical.
A new analog transfer only happens by special request
if for some reason the reissue label can't use the
file they are sent. For example, when we licensed
"Couldn't Get It Right" from BMG, they offered us a
digital file. We said no, because we knew we'd get the
alternate mix they already had digitized and gave to a
bunch of previous reissue CDs. In that case we had
Warner dub us the tape for the U.S. Sire mix...I
suspect neither BMG or the band even realize or recall
the U.S. mix was different.
In any case, I determine that the "25 Years" set on
Repertoire and the Treasured Tunes set (source taken
from the Repertoire CD) are in fact from tape. I know
this because we have a direct relationship with the
owner of Stardust records. He owns another label that
we do all the A&R and mastering for.
MM
Edited by MMathews on 24 April 2020 at 9:32pm
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MMathews MusicFan
Joined: 18 August 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 April 2020 at 2:47pm | IP Logged
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UPDATE: Aaron sent me a detailed analysis for the 1994
Repertoire CD source (and its subsequent clones on other
CDs) and it was in fact taken from vinyl.
In spite of all the above info I had, for unknown reason
the band had it restored from vinyl back then. Yet
apparently they certainly had their LP master for
"Flying The Flag" and lucky for us has made it to CD.
MM
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