Anyone heard the Black Crowes remasters (2000 & 2002)? (1 Viewer)

[Ron Reda]

I noticed out on www.CDUniverse.com that there are two versions of a remastered "Amorica"; one is put out by Sony (rel. 12/26/00, merely states, "Remastered") and the other by Universal (rel. 6/11/02, states, "All tracks have been digitally remastered.").
Which one should I go with as far as the best quality sound?

 

[KevinJ]

i think they're the same remasters just different companies

 

[Ron Reda]

As far as pressings go, is one company more reputable than the other?

 

[KevinJ]

i have the sony reissues and i'd say they're as good as you'd possibly need them to be

 

[KeithH]

Ron, the fact that amorica. is available on the Sony and Universal labels suggests that The Black Crowes switched labels at some point. It seems as though they switched from Sony to Universal since the Universal version of amorica. has a more recent release date. Both are major labels, so unless Universal remastered the album since Sony released its remastered version, the two versions should sound the same. Both labels are reputable.
I wonder which version of the album cover is currently available. When amorica. was released in '94, it was available in a clean and, let's say, unclean version. I bought the unclean version. As I recall, the unclean album cover was short-lived.
Getting back to the subject at hand, the situation with amorica. reminds me of what happened with Pink Floyd The Wall. Sony Music released a remastered version a few years ago under the Columbia label. Shortly thereafter, Capitol gained the rights to the album and released the same remaster under its label. Perhaps this is what happened with amorica..
EDIT: I actually have both versions of amorica. I remember thinking years ago that the unclean album cover might be a collector's item someday, so I bought it and put it away. The clean version is my everyday copy.

 

[Mike Broadman]

These CDs were recorded relatively recently. How different can any remasters possibly sound?

 

[Ron Reda]

KeithH,
Thanks for the info! I think I'm gonna just get the Universal copy as it was just released and is a tad cheaper.
So, can I presume that by the "unclean" version, you mean the hairier cover and by the "clean" version, you're referring to the "trimmed" cover?!

 

[mike caronia]

Amorica is my favorite album of all time.

Saw Chris Robinson play a solo gig in NYC last night.
All acoustic. New originals and covers. No Crowes.
I even got to see Kate Hudson watching from the side of the stage a la Almost Famous.
I'll be there again on Monday.
If you're a fan of Chris' be sure to check him out. The man has soul.

 

[Todd Stout]

I have the Sho' Nuff box set which includes the first 4 CDs which all claim they were remastered and include bonus tracks. These CDs are on the American record label and the box says it was released in 1998. Are these yet another version of their albums? I had only owned the first two BC albums previously and these 1998 reissues do sound better than the originals.

I was just curious.

 

[Matt Birchall]

I'm a Crowes fan, but certainly no expert, so keep that in mind as I try to figure this out.
I believe that at least some of the albums under the "american" (Columbia) label might have gone over to Universal, and that's why we're seeing "new" versions of these Crowes albums, in addition to others. Last week, I purchased "new" versions of the Jayhawks albums Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass (two other Jayhawks albums were also re-released, but I didn't pick them up). The new albums, to the best of my knowledge, are exactly the same as the previous versions, even down to the copyright date on the back (1992 for HTH, and 1995 for TTGG). No packaging claims of remastering, or bonus tracks, or any of the other things that re-issues usually feature. I work at a Best Buy, and we got the Jayhawks discs in the same box as several "new" re-issues of some Black Crowes albums, of which Amorica was one (hairy version, by the way--I don't believe that version has ever been OOP, just totally dependent on which store you're in).
Regarding Amorica (and the other Crowes albums up to and including Three Snakes and No Charm), I want to say that there have been as many as four (!) separate releases for each of these albums. There were the original releases:
-Shake Your Moneymaker, 1990
-The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, May 1992
-Amorica, October 1994
-Three Snakes and No Charm, 1996
Sometime in 1998 or 1999, each of these albums were remastered, and re-released with two bonus tracks on each (these versions are the ones included on the Sho' Nuff set, which also includes an excellent "mini" live CD with five songs on it). Each of these releases also featured multimedia content in the form of two videos, a screensaver, a link to the official Crowes website, and a "Heckyll and Jeckyll" logo sticker.
Then, sometime in 2000 or 2001, the albums were then re-re-released, still remastered, but this time sans the bonus tracks (for what reason, I'm not sure--maybe to get people to buy the box set instead).
I think all of these albums were released under the Columbia label, who I guess owned the american label. Then Universal came into ownership of american, and they re-re-re-released them last week. Having the box set already, I didn't buy any of the "new" ones, but I would tend to think that they're the same as the Columbia remasters without the bonus tracks.
If you can find them (and you only want one album), I'd recommend buying the 1998/1999 remasters with the bonus tracks, but they might be more difficult to find now (I want to say that they were only manufactured for a year or two). If you might want to pick up two or three of the albums, think about getting the Sho' Nuff box set--four separate albums with two extra tracks each, and a really good live disc.
Matt the Long-Winded

 

[Todd Stout]

Wow... thanks for that information.

I think the Sho' Nuff box was definately worth the price... especially now that I hear the bonus tracks are no longer available on the individual releases.

 

[KeithH]

Ron, when amorica. was released in '94, you could it with either a censored cover or an uncensored cover. The censored cover is black and just shows the American flag bathing suit. The uncensored version shows the woman's body along with the bathing suit, with some hair showing.

 

[Ron Reda]

Well, I finally got my Universal copy and, to me, it sounds sub-par. On my system, the bass is somewhat boomy and bloated and even during casual listening I noticed some (what appeared to be) tape-hiss and an audible "pop." When I heard the pop, I freaked thinking that it was my right speaker, but alas, upon rewinding the passage in question, it's on the CD. For a CD that was supposedly "digitally remastered" (as per the sticker), I'm not really impressed. :frowning: Oh well...