J. Geils Band - Freeze-Frame

I think I found three different analog transfers for "Freeze-Frame".

The Freeze-Frame CD on EMI sounds really good to my ears. Probably the best-sounding disc of the bunch. The same analog transfer is used for the promo 50-CD set The A List Disc 11 (1994), which sounds surprisingly good and doesn't have any noise reduction.

I think EMI's Flashback The Best Of (1985) uses higher-generation source tapes than Freeze-Frame. There are some discs that use the same analog transfer as Flashback:

• Priority's Eighties Greatest Rock Hits Vol. 3 Arena Rock (1992; too loud and clips a lot)
• Time-Life's Rolling Stone Collection 1982-1986 (1993)
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 5 1982 (1994; differently EQ'd digital clone of Priority disc)
• Big Ear Music's Only In The 80's Vol. 1 (1995)
• Disky's 8-CD Greatest Hits Of The '80s Disc 7 (1998)
• Simitar's Number Ones Rock It Up (1998)

There's another analog transfer on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Good Times (1991), which is about on par with Flashback. The same analog transfer is used for:

• Razor & Tie's 2-CD Awesome '80s (1994)
• Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rock Box (1994)
• Madacy's Rock On 1982 (1996; digitally exactly 1.5 dB louder)

I don't have Rhino's 2-CD Houseparty Anthology (1993), but I'm willing to bet that it sounds better than everything else. Until a copy falls into my lap, I'll go with EMI's Freeze-Frame.

Edited by crapfromthepast