The CDs: orginals & remasters

[rjl]

Out of pointless curiosity, does anyone who picked up the remasters still listen to the originals? Any reasons for or against?

I find myself keeping the originals for "car use", as I keep the discs in my car in a small binder, and have the normal front-loading car player, both of which where they may risk small surface scuffs over time.

What's scary is that I ripped them all to MP3 for my office computer, both versions.

Was wondering if anyone remains faithful to the originals, or has tossed them completely in favor of the new versions.

[Bloodflower]

I've since chucked my old copies of Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography; I got them all at the same garage sale, and they were very much beat up.

[nausearockpig]

I reckon that it would be interesting to listen to say One Hundred Years from both versions one after the other with headphones on to see the difference. I wonder if the sound is any clearer [no doubt someone's scoffing at my stupidity here] .. it's probably louder though...
I know little of the whole frequencies and other sound wave thingies..

I would hope we've all paid for clearer sounding cds... along with the second discs of course..

but no, I haven't listened to the old versions since buying the new ones... just packed them all away in with my old cds...

[japanesebaby]

i still regularly listen to my vinyl versions, especially the early 80s albums, sometimes up until 'disintegration'.
i grew up with vinyls, they are full of memories and i like the "process" of listening to a vinyl recording: all those "annoying"  little tasks you have to perform, using the cleaning brush, flipping the record over. i like vinyl records as objects, i like the concept of having real A and B sides.
i also always preferred the sound on the vinyl versions. that's why i didn't even buy CD copies of all the old stuff (as for the vinyls, i confess i did end up buying several editions though - that was nuts: but yes at some point it did indeed seem to be great to have different copies with different colored labels and different serial numbers - ha! ).
i remember how disappointed i was when i bought my first CD copy of 'seventeen seconds' and listened to it - there was something instantly wrong with it, it was like a spell had been broken... i think i never listened to that CD again. i never bothered to make any detailed comparisons on the sound though, i just instantly knew i didn't like the way the old CD versions sounded like so i didn't bother. maybe strangely i never bothered making any vinyl>CD transfers though, so the next time ever i listened to 'seventeen seconds' on CD was when the remasters came out...

i've been pretty pleased with the remasters. i admit i never bothered to make any detailed comparison between the remasters and the vinyls either, but i guess the convenience of listening to a CD has grown on me so i listen to them a lot more now. but i still do listen to the vinyls too, just because i sometimes enjoy the process of listening to a vinyl record.
so anyone feel free to consider it as some silly nostalgic rant only, but i just like that moment, the sound when the needle is dropped on the record, when it pops and crackles for a moment, then gets stabilized, the first song hasn't started yet but you literally can hear that the "tape is rolling, it's about to start...soon...."
i guess one loses that magic with CDs - the price of getting rid of the background noise, little pops and cracks, tape hiss etc.

(just for the record: i definitely don't mind getting rid of all those annoying flaws on bootlegs/live recordings - sure, the less hiss and pops the better! no doubt about that.
but with the official albums, i can strangely enjoy it: it literally takes me back in time, and the CDs can't quite achieve that...)


(anyway i never ended up throwing any of those crap old CD versions away either - maybe because i still couldn't make myself to throw away a cure record... hmm.
i always thought i'd give the old CDs to someone but since the remasters came out it's become rather useless.)

[Oso Blanco]

In case of TIB and The Top I'd definitely stay with my original CDs, because the remastered versions have cut The Weedy Burton and Shake Dog Shake.

Actually, I have burned my own version the first album, containing the tracks from both TIB and BDC. And the original version of World War sounds a hundred times better than the so called remastered version. And it has Killing An Arab on it!

[rjl]

Agreed on TIB & The Top for the stupid cuts. Especially the Shake Dog Shake cut. I mean, it's right at the beginning - how did that slip through?!? Also, as much as I think Bananafishbones really benefited from the pitch/speed fix on the remaster, I like having the old version as well.

I'll have to compare the World War versions at some point. Not a favorite track, however.

Also agreed about Seventeen Seconds. I had only ever owned it on CD, and hardly ever listened to it. It sounded absolutely gross and boring. However, the remaster (the first one I was really excited about) seemed to breathe some life into it.

I've still held onto my originals - as I said, they're mostly for car-use and other "hazardous conditions". I've considered giving them to friends who are just casual Cure fans (I've done it with other remasters), but cannot quite part with them for some odd reason.

At least I'm not alone/insane in this!

edit: For one, KMx3 is totally replaceable - the original CD version is way too quiet and maybe a little muddy. The remaster, as far as I noticed, doesn't seem to cut anything, includes "Hey You!!", and you can even hear Robert count off before "Catch". Can you hear that on the vinyl?

[Oso Blanco]

Yes, Kiss Me is the only album that really benefitted from the remastering process, where it REALLY makes a difference.

Although I could hear Robert counting in on "Catch" on the vinyl as well as on the first cd, the remaster sounds much clearer, especially "Fight". And "Hey You" is back again, I almost didn't believe it would be ... after all those disappointments with the previous Deluxe Editions.

I think Kiss Me is the only album that was was actually remastered, while the other albums only sound louder and somewhat treated with an equalizer.

[Dillinger]

all my cure albums are vinyl with the exceptions of bloodflowers and disintegration (dont have self titled yet and concert and greatest hits dont count) but im going to buy wish on cd just so i have it, i can always rebuy on vinyl and probably will. is it like 17 seconds worse on cd? (please reply quickly, im buying tomorrow when i got to cinema w/ friends)

[japanesebaby]

Yes, Kiss Me is the only album that really benefitted from the remastering process, where it REALLY makes a difference.

'seventeen seconds' is another one. the old CD version is a lot worse than the vinyl ever was, so the remaster (or "remaster", whatever) is really an upgrade when compared to the old CD version.
there are certain moments on pornography and faith too that do greatly benefit from the remastering.

@farquad: i'd say just see you don't go and buy the old CD pressing. if you don't want the 2 cd deluxe remaster then just go and buy the re-issued version without the bonus disc.

[Oso Blanco]

@farquad: i'd say just see you don't go and buy the old CD pressing. if you don't want the 2 cd deluxe remaster then just go and buy the re-issued version without the bonus disc.

And that's really the worst part of it. The old CDs are slowly going out of print, so that very soon those butchered versions of The Weedy Burton and Shake Dog Shage will be the only versions officially available!

[japanesebaby]

@farquad: i'd say just see you don't go and buy the old CD pressing. if you don't want the 2 cd deluxe remaster then just go and buy the re-issued version without the bonus disc.

And that's really the worst part of it. The old CDs are slowly going out of print, so that very soon those butchered versions of The Weedy Burton and Shake Dog Shage will be the only versions officially available!

what comes to those two songs, that's right of course. i don't disagree.
so i wasn't talking about 'the top' or 'TIB' but about 'seventeen seconds' only here. as i see no such great flaws in that remaster so i just see no reason why anyone should go and buy the old CD pressing today - unless  for some strange reasonone really prefers to have a copy with crappier sound.

(old vinyl pressings have been out of print too for a long time, yet they are thankfully still pretty easy to find (and even in well kept copies) if one wants to - thanksfully they used to sell enough copies back then! )

[Oso Blanco]

unless  for some strange reasonone really prefers to have a copy with crappier sound.

With the exception of Kiss Me, I don't think the older versions sound any crappier than the new ones. Different, perhaps ... but not crappier.

[japanesebaby]

unless  for some strange reasonone really prefers to have a copy with crappier sound.

With the exception of Kiss Me, I don't think the older versions sound any crappier than the new ones. Different, perhaps ... but not crappier.

again, i was talking about 'seventeen seconds' only. i do agree with rjl that the old CD pressing of that album is notably poorer than vinyl version ever was. i said 'crappier' because to me the way it's different is also inferior to what can be heard on the original vinyl.
i also remember reading robert commenting this somewhere too (can't remember where). he said something about how the original CD pressings for all the pre-CD era albums were in his opinion made in a bad way, i remember he said something about how at that time there was only one guy who alone was pretty much in charge of all the mastering of CDs and how he did anything and everything according to his own taste - which nearly always wasn't nowhere near what the artists would have preferred.

[Janko]

Out of pointless curiosity, does anyone who picked up the remasters still listen to the originals? Any reasons for or against?

I find myself keeping the originals for "car use", as I keep the discs in my car in a small binder, and have the normal front-loading car player, both of which where they may risk small surface scuffs over time.

What's scary is that I ripped them all to MP3 for my office computer, both versions.

Was wondering if anyone remains faithful to the originals, or has tossed them completely in favor of the new versions.

WELL THEORETICALLY ORIGINALS ARE FAR MORE VALUABLE THAN REISSUES.
ORIGINALS ARE TRUE ARTEFACTS.
THE STUFF YOU KEEP FOREVER (OR SELL IN 20 YEARS FOR A FAST BUCK)...

REISSUES HAVE BETTER SOUND BUT THEY HAVE NO SENTIMENTAL VALUE...
SO IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO LISTEN TO REISSUES IN THE CAR, WHILE KEEPING THE ORIGINALS IN THE VAULT SOMEWHERE...

[rjl]

WELL THEORETICALLY ORIGINALS ARE FAR MORE VALUABLE THAN REISSUES.
ORIGINALS ARE TRUE ARTEFACTS.
THE STUFF YOU KEEP FOREVER (OR SELL IN 20 YEARS FOR A FAST BUCK)...

REISSUES HAVE BETTER SOUND BUT THEY HAVE NO SENTIMENTAL VALUE...
SO IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO LISTEN TO REISSUES IN THE CAR, WHILE KEEPING THE ORIGINALS IN THE VAULT SOMEWHERE...

That's one way of looking at it, but I have no plans of selling them, and doubt they'd appreciate in value, being widely-released albums and all.

Oh well, time will tell. I am neurotically careful with my discs and LPs anyhow...

No plans on selling them (maybe one day giving them to a friend in a random fit of mania), unless the going price climbs unreasonably fast and I can't not sell them.

(When I had an attention span and free time, I'd watch what rarities of certain bands were going for, and then try to find them and turn them around really fast. Or at least see what bands were doing well generally in the rarities market, and just go to town. In one case I bought a Misfits record for $30, and turned around and sold it for $180. The next week the band (well, the re-formed Misfits) "found" a stack of copies, selling them on their site for $80.   )