crapfromthepast MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 2239
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Posted: 25 January 2023 at 9:04pm | IP Logged
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Your options on CD are limited.
Mono
The hit 45 from 1964 was in mono.
According to Discogs, the lone Reflections album was released in 1964, on Golden World in the US and Quality in Canada, and only in mono. Apparently, there wasn't any stereo version of "(Just Like) Romeo And Juliet" at all.
There's a mediocre version on Heartland/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Real Rock (1987). The balance is a little off (one channel being 1 or 2 dB louder than the other), but the left and right channels seem to be synched properly. It runs 2:19 here, with great dynamic range and no evidence of added noise reduction on the fade. The same analog transfer is used on:- Time-Life's Classic Rock Vol. 9 1964 The Beat Goes On (1988)
It's a safe bet that the handful of Collectables and Time-Life discs that include the mono version all trace their masterings back to Real Rock.
Stereo
I believe that the stereo version first appeared on Varese Sarabande's On The Radio Volume Two (1997). If it's a remix from the multi-tracks, then it's a tasteful remix that gives a nod to 1964. The drums are panned right (in 1964 stereo style), but everything else is laid out in a tasteful soundstage. It has a great dynamic range, and no evidence of any added noise reduction on the fade. It runs 2:18 here. The same analog transfer is used on:- the gray market Treasured Tunes Vol. 10 (1999) - a digital clone with added compression/limiting, making this version run about 5 dB louder than On The Radio
- Eric's Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 6 More Sixties Classics (2001) - a digital clone with a major EQ adjustment, added noise reduction (listen to the high end disappear on the fade), and a slightly shortened fade to run 2:17
It's also a safe bet that the handful of Collectables and Time-Life discs that include the stereo version all trace their masterings back to On The Radio Volume Two.
__________________ There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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