Genesis[original recording re mastered] any good?

Lewis Besze · 06-10-2003, 12:34 AM

I'm in the search of opinions on the re masters of the early Genesis catalog,namely Foxtrott,Selling England by the Pound,Trick Of the Tail,The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.
Amazon sells them,but barely or no mention at all on the sound,and that's even conflicting.Are there better versions out there,perhaps import?
Any input appreciated!
Thanks!

Mike Broadman · 06-10-2003, 12:44 AM

The newer remasters are definitely a huge improvement. These albums have an unfortunate history of sounding bad on CD and, IIRC, vinyl. But this is a case where remastering was necessary and effective.

Lewis Besze · 06-10-2003, 12:50 AM

The ones I saw on Amazon were done in '94
Are you talking about those,or there are newer remasters out there?

Mike Broadman · 06-10-2003, 01:03 AM

I can't find the production dates on my CDs, but they are labeled on the back as "Definitive Edition Remaster."

Lewis Besze · 06-10-2003, 05:58 AM

Do you have catalog numbers from the "spine" of the case maybe?

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Mike Broadman · 06-10-2003, 04:19 PM

The catalog # from the spine of Foxtrot is 82674-2.
Hope this helps.

LarryDavenport · 06-10-2003, 04:40 PM

The 94 remasters are the latest and greatest.

Lewis Besze · 06-10-2003, 06:50 PM

I guess I'm gonna take the plunge and buy them.
Thanks guys!

andrew markworthy · 06-11-2003, 02:31 AM

The latest versions were done circa 1994 and are in many respects an improvement on the original CDs. However, two things:

(1) Try if possible to get the limited edition Japanese versions in the replica cardboard sleeves. These use the remastered versions. Easily the best-presented versions and the pressings I think are just slightly better than the remasters available in the West.

(2) Don't dismiss the original CDs totally. They sound different and aren't necessarily 'worse' in all cases (e.g. I far prefer 'One for the Vine' in the original CD version). A problem with the original CDs is that they at times sounded rather hard-edged and 'in your face' whereas Genesis on vinyl sounded fairly 'soft'. However, this is a matter of mixing, not necessarily recording, and Genesis live and in the studio sounded far harder-edged than the vinyl albums would have you believe. In addition, if you want to be a completist, you'll want to search out both versions of 'Three Sides Live' (on the original vinyl, one had a fourth side of studio tracks - not v. good ones IMHO - while the other version had an extra load of live tracks). You can only get both versions on the original CD issue.

Lewis Besze · 06-11-2003, 03:19 AM

Quote:

) Try if possible to get the limited edition Japanese versions in the replica cardboard sleeves.

Gladly if they don't cost an "arm and a leg".Where do I find them?

Quote:

They sound different and aren't necessarily 'worse' in all cases (e.g. I far prefer 'One for the Vine' in the original CD version). A problem with the original CDs is that they at times sounded rather hard-edged and 'in your face' whereas Genesis on vinyl sounded fairly 'soft'.

I never owned the vinyls,so I don't have any comparisons,but Lamb...sounds very harsh,and thin to me.
Trick of the tail,seems as lacks midrange,Foxtrott,yes indeed sounds "in your face",and Selling England..... is just OK,the best of the bunch.

Ken Stuart · 06-12-2003, 09:30 PM

In some cases, the Genesis remasters were better and in some cases, they were worse.

Unfortunately, there is no rule to follow with remasters in general.

Usually, in general, people who say "the original CDs were desperately in need of remastering", or "the new remasters are a great improvement over the original CDs", are referring to the original US CDs.

Just as with LPs in the 70's and 80's, many, if not most CDs manufactured in the US are done with little attention to sound quality. For example, just as the UK LPs of Jimi Hendrix were almost always superior in sound quality, it turns out that the UK CDs are superior as well.

This is certainly true of Genesis as well - although with the caveat that - unlike 10-15 years ago - CDs these days are often pressed from the same sources worldwide.

PS Notice that the one person who thinks that the original CDs have some merit is from the UK...

Lewis Besze · 06-12-2003, 10:42 PM

Quote:

In some cases, the Genesis remasters were better and in some cases, they were worse.

Ken can you be more specific?I'm interested on the details.
At least on the 4 titles I cited above?
Thnaks!