George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You

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   The database lists six releases containing this Jeff Lynne-produced hit. I happen to own four of them (tehnically five since one of the database entries is the Dark Horse Years box set which collects the standalone remastered albums together in one box).

I thought I would go ahead and compare the four I own and post my finidngs here:

All four CDs contain the same mix of the track but they each are mastered very differently. 

1) The first CD appearance as far as I can tell is the Warner Brothers/Dark Horse original issue of George's CLOUD NINE album. This CD was mastered by the very highly regarded Bernie Grundman. Bernie's body of work speaks for itself. Compared to every CD release that follows, this mastering seems somewhat dull with very muffled highs. I think it is highly possible that the same digital master was used to create both the CD and LP masters and, with this cut being the last song on side two, some of the high end might have been ducked and tamed down by Bernie in the mastering stage. I don't think it sounds bad but when you put it up against any of the other CD versions, it sticks out like a sore thumb. There is a couple instances of clipping but the dynamics are in tact. 

2) Following the success of the CLOUD NINE album as well as the first Traveling Wilburys album, there was enough reknewed interest in George's solo output that Warner Brothers and Dark Horse compiled the BEST OF DARK HORSE 1976-1989 CD release. Compared to the CLOUD NINE CD, Got My Mind Set On You runs a tiny bit faster and has considerably brighter EQ. This disc was mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc. The fade out starts a little sooner than CLOUD NINE and there is a hiss (or digital dither) that runs into the next track. The dynamics are on par with CLOUD NINE but there is no clipping. 

3) Three years following George Harrison's passing, EMI and his estate began a reissue campaign of his remastered albums (released both as standalone reissues and in a box set). The 2004 remaster of CLOUD NINE was handled by Simon Heyworth and John Etchells at Super Audio Mastering. There is considerably less dynamics and more loudness courtesy of processing such as limiting applied in the mastering chain.  This makes some of the drum machine hits seem a little less pronounced but there is no clipping. The EQ is brighter than CLOUD NINE but not near as bright as BEST OF DARK HORSE. Most surprisingly is that the fade out lasts longer than any other release and you get to hear a fraction more of the song before the fade totally dissolves. It runs faster than the original CLOUD NINE CD but not quite as fast as the BEST OF DARK HORSE.

4) In 2009, the Harrison estate and Apple/EMI cobbled together the career-spanning LET IT ROLL: SONGS BY GEORGE HARRISON collection. This ambitious but flawed compilation was mastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering (the three tracks taken from the CONCERT FOR BANGLA DESH album utilized the Giles Martin/Paul Hicks at Abbey Road remix/mastering). Got My Mind Set On You kicks off the collection which is ironic considering the compilation is subtitled SONGS BY GEORGE HARRISON and this song is a cover version. This is probably the worst the song has ever sounded. Too much compression and limiting and questionable EQ absolutely squash the dynamic range and make it sound bloated. I'm not sure why the compilers couldn't have just used the 2004 remaster as-is (it was less than five years old at the time). AVOID this one. 

I do not own the Warner Brothers Revolutions In Sound: The First 50 Years box set so I cannot comment on the sound quality. 
I also don't own a CD copy of the Got My Mind Set On You extended remix version but I do have it on vinyl. Its a fun way to hear the track, but I don't consider it essential listening. 

If you have to pick any of these, I think you would be fine with either of the CD issues of CLOUD NINE. I like the remaster best because of the longer fade-out and decent EQ but if you are a stickler for loudness and limiting/compression, you're better off with the original CLOUD NINE CD or the BEST OF DARK HORSE 1976-1989 CD. 

Edited by LunarLaugh - 18 hours 32 minutes ago at 11:04pm

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LunarLaugh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 13 February 2020 Location: United States Status: Online Points: 50	Post Options Post Reply Quote LunarLaugh Thanks(1) Quote Reply Topic: George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You Posted: 18 hours 35 minutes ago at 11:01pm
	The database lists six releases containing this Jeff Lynne-produced hit. I happen to own four of them (tehnically five since one of the database entries is the Dark Horse Years box set which collects the standalone remastered albums together in one box). I thought I would go ahead and compare the four I own and post my finidngs here: All four CDs contain the same mix of the track but they each are mastered very differently. 1) The first CD appearance as far as I can tell is the Warner Brothers/Dark Horse original issue of George's CLOUD NINE album. This CD was mastered by the very highly regarded Bernie Grundman. Bernie's body of work speaks for itself. Compared to every CD release that follows, this mastering seems somewhat dull with very muffled highs. I think it is highly possible that the same digital master was used to create both the CD and LP masters and, with this cut being the last song on side two, some of the high end might have been ducked and tamed down by Bernie in the mastering stage. I don't think it sounds bad but when you put it up against any of the other CD versions, it sticks out like a sore thumb. There is a couple instances of clipping but the dynamics are in tact. 2) Following the success of the CLOUD NINE album as well as the first Traveling Wilburys album, there was enough reknewed interest in George's solo output that Warner Brothers and Dark Horse compiled the BEST OF DARK HORSE 1976-1989 CD release. Compared to the CLOUD NINE CD, Got My Mind Set On You runs a tiny bit faster and has considerably brighter EQ. This disc was mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc. The fade out starts a little sooner than CLOUD NINE and there is a hiss (or digital dither) that runs into the next track. The dynamics are on par with CLOUD NINE but there is no clipping. 3) Three years following George Harrison's passing, EMI and his estate began a reissue campaign of his remastered albums (released both as standalone reissues and in a box set). The 2004 remaster of CLOUD NINE was handled by Simon Heyworth and John Etchells at Super Audio Mastering. There is considerably less dynamics and more loudness courtesy of processing such as limiting applied in the mastering chain. This makes some of the drum machine hits seem a little less pronounced but there is no clipping. The EQ is brighter than CLOUD NINE but not near as bright as BEST OF DARK HORSE. Most surprisingly is that the fade out lasts longer than any other release and you get to hear a fraction more of the song before the fade totally dissolves. It runs faster than the original CLOUD NINE CD but not quite as fast as the BEST OF DARK HORSE. 4) In 2009, the Harrison estate and Apple/EMI cobbled together the career-spanning LET IT ROLL: SONGS BY GEORGE HARRISON collection. This ambitious but flawed compilation was mastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering (the three tracks taken from the CONCERT FOR BANGLA DESH album utilized the Giles Martin/Paul Hicks at Abbey Road remix/mastering). Got My Mind Set On You kicks off the collection which is ironic considering the compilation is subtitled SONGS BY GEORGE HARRISON and this song is a cover version. This is probably the worst the song has ever sounded. Too much compression and limiting and questionable EQ absolutely squash the dynamic range and make it sound bloated. I'm not sure why the compilers couldn't have just used the 2004 remaster as-is (it was less than five years old at the time). AVOID this one. I do not own the Warner Brothers Revolutions In Sound: The First 50 Years box set so I cannot comment on the sound quality. I also don't own a CD copy of the Got My Mind Set On You extended remix version but I do have it on vinyl. Its a fun way to hear the track, but I don't consider it essential listening. If you have to pick any of these, I think you would be fine with either of the CD issues of CLOUD NINE. I like the remaster best because of the longer fade-out and decent EQ but if you are a stickler for loudness and limiting/compression, you're better off with the original CLOUD NINE CD or the BEST OF DARK HORSE 1976-1989 CD. Edited by LunarLaugh - 18 hours 32 minutes ago at 11:04pm
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crapfromthepast Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 136	Post Options Post Reply Quote crapfromthepast Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15 minutes ago at 5:21pm
	Nice write-up, LL! I can add a few details. The promo CD single (Dark Horse PRO-CD-2846) has just one track ("LP Version", printed 3:51), and is a level-adjusted digital clone of the 1987 release of Cloud Nine. The tail of the fade is about a half of a beat shorter than on Cloud Nine - real, but not terribly significant. The version on TM Century's HitDisc 707 1987-10-09 uses the same analog transfer as the promo CD single (not a digital clone), but adds noise reduction. You can hear the high end disappear on the fade. This was during TM Century's unfortunate infatuation-with-No-Noise phase. The version on swaitek's promo 50-CD The A List Disc 41 also uses the same analog transfer as the promo CD single but doesn't add extra noise reduction. Best Of Dark Horse 1976-1989 (1989) has a slightly brighter EQ than Cloud Nine, and runs a teeny bit faster (measurable but insignificant). It sounds like the same source tape as Cloud Nine, with sound quality on par with that disc. The 2004 reissue of Cloud Nine reduces the dynamic range of the 1987 original release, and does extend about two beats longer than the original release. The 2009 Let It Roll The Best Of reduces the dynamic range even more, and extends about one beat longer than the 1987 release of Cloud Nine. LL and I have similar recommendations: Go with the 1987 original release of Cloud Nine or Best Of Dark Horse 1976-1989 (1989). I myself don't recommend the 2004 reissue of Cloud Nine, as the processing doesn't do the song any favors. The extra two beats at the end isn't worth the drop in sound quality for the first 3:50. In terms of sounds quality, my experience is that remasters or reissues usually don't live up to the original releases. Keep up the good work, LL!
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