Additional to the Deluxe CD-Set I also bought the MP3-Version of the remastered Album for my Smart Speaker (which is not even a stereo device) and still you can hear the difference between the remastered Version in MP3 and the original album in MP3, despite the lower quality of the format.
Listening again to 'end' (paris 92), like for the Paris live album, I fully understand why Smith didn't like the sound of it and didn't want to release the full concert, it's awful, awful, awful.... ly stupid of him!!! you #@*$€%£!!!
Additional to the Deluxe CD-Set I also bought the MP3-Version of the remastered Album for my Smart Speaker (which is not even a stereo device) and still you can hear the difference between the remastered Version in MP3 and the original album in MP3, despite the lower quality of the format.
Finally. They're about to announce a remaster of the remaster. Get your order in early
Habaha, yep, almost.
nah, this one was a separate order from the vinyl, wich I received some weeks ago. I finally decided to order the CD from Amazon. Much cheaper and faster. Ordered yesterday and have it today.
Additional to the Deluxe CD-Set I also bought the MP3-Version of the remastered Album for my Smart Speaker (which is not even a stereo device) and still you can hear the difference between the remastered Version in MP3 and the original album in MP3, despite the lower quality of the format.
Can you not use FLAC or WAV instead of MP3?
No, those file formats are not available/supported for my Smart Speaker. But mostly I listen to music with my headphones playing the CDs in my CD-Player.
No, those file formats are not available/supported for my Smart Speaker. But mostly I listen to music with my headphones playing the CDs in my CD-Player.
Bought both the vinyl (for being in a relaxed mood) and the 3 - CD Version - I enjoy the redundancy sometimes, if an artist is important enough for me. Downloaded also a Flac version.
Post by nausearockpig on Jan 20, 2023 6:30:17 GMT 1
get ready for another big long post....
As promised, here's my thoughts on CDs 2 and 3 of the Deluxe Reissue:
CD2 The first four tracks are of course the studio demos of the at-the-time-of-Play-Out "new tracks" played that now famous T&CII Club secret show - Five Imaginary Boys. They're presented here in their T&CII/PlayOut arrangements. At the time, to me, these were brilliant new songs, a softening of Never Enough and a change of direction from the dirge of intensity that was Disintegration. I still love these versions / arrangements and really appreciate having almost-release-quality versions of these songs after all these years.
The Big Hand [1990 demo] I really like the way this sounds. You can hear it's a studio demo, it's not polished into that ready-to-release-studio sound, but it's far and away better than a home or rehearsal demo. The same goes for the sound of these versions of Away, A Letter to Elise and Wendy Time.
That wail should have been left in there, it's a shame they took it out for the final version. Some of the lyrics are a bit naff, they don't quite work, but are clearly just working lyrics, or were reworked for the studio version.
That acoustic guitar in the left channel is excellent. The stereo separation is very nice across the whole arrangement.
Cut [1990 Demo] C'mon, it's "Away" or "1, 2, 3, 4" like Robert said at T&CII
Maaaaan, that bassline... and the repetitive guitar riff. I think Away should have been played early in the set in the Wish tour shows as it's almost a completely different song to Cut in delivery anyway.
The "lead break" is OK I guess, and the guitar in the right channel should be mixed a little louder, and at the same time lowering (presumably) Robert's guitar, just to even things up a bit arually.
A Letter To Elise [1990 Demo] Not a super fan of Porl's overly distorted lead break sound at first, but upon subsequent listens I do like how it contrasts with the general tone and sound of the whole song - the distortion is too saturated to fit the sound of the track, which works in the way that it doesn't work.
From what I heard about the band letting Porl play out like crazy then turn him down in the mix, I get the feeling that from Porl's perspective this was done to eff with the band, or the mixing mentioned is a result of his playing style...
Otherwise, I really enjoyed the sound of the track. It sounds "sweet" and lovely, with the tinge of sadness.
Again the occassional naff lyrics which sound like placeholders for the final version; they're interesting and it's good to see where the lyrics ended up.
Hahah the toy piano that was played on MTV Unplugged is here. Excellent.
Wendy Time [1990 Demo] I've always loved this version of the song, and was gutted when the Play Out version had the RS interview over the top. WTF is that??? Whyyyy??
Anyway, you can hear Porl's distinctive sound cutting thru the mix on the left channel, slightly at odds with the rest of the instrumentation. It's like he's the constant contrarian to "the sound of The Cure", which is both odd in a normal sense, and typical for The Cure I guess.
This bassline is an old one though, I remember hearing it in one of the basslines to a 1983 version of Forever, so clearly it's been hanging around in Robert's head for a loooong time..
The keyboards on this really remind me of The Doors or that style and era of music, which I normally hate, but I like their sound in the context of the song, of course.
I love the progression from this version to the album version. I think it shows how songs grow from an idea, to a group rehearsal and studio demo to the final polished studio version.
The only thing I dislike is RS spoken bit right at the end. That should NEVER be a thing.
** Having listened to the B-sides as much as the album tracks, I'm intimately familiar with the songs, so it's great to hear these demos in their various stages. You really get to hear what stayed in the final version, what was removed, and what was changed.
Nice to have for the reasons above, but after hearing them a few times, they'll be relegated to the "yeah I've listened to them, but won't again" pile.
*** Same as the B-sides comment above.
I suspect that these demos are broken into three groups: 1) album songs have been fleshed out more, or presented in forms closer to their release versions and b) b-sides which have bigger "jumps" to the final version, and iii) those that didn't make it past named demos.
This Twilight Garden [Instrumental Demo]** Pretty similar to the final version, but not as polished, some changes to instrumentation and a different mix.
Scared As You [Instrumental Demo]** The crux of the song is still there, though there's a fair bit of difference to what we ended up getting. Overall a good view of how the idea was developed to a great final version.
To Wish Impossible Things [Instrumental Demo]*** It's fine, somewhat different mix to the final version, but the vocals and lyrics really make this track a winner.
Apart [Instrumental Demo]*** So very close to the album version that it's amazing. Another song that is "lifted" a lot by the vocals, but this instrumental version is outstanding.
T7 [Instrumental Demo] The melody on this is great! This would have ended up as an amazing song and fits the sound of The Cure perfectly.
Now Is The Time [Instrumental demo] Another track that I think could have been fleshed out past this amazing demo. That main riff is great on top of that bassline.
Miss Van Gogh [Instrumental demo] Another well conceived track that could have gone on to be something more than what it is.
T6 [Instrumental Demo] A slow funky almost prog song in parts. This song too feels like it could have been pushed out to fit in well with the general vibe of the album.
Play [Instrumental Demo]** Another pre-final-mix version that has the various instruments at much different levels as to what was eventually released. A good insight into all the parts that make up the song.
A Foolish Arrangement [Instrumental Demo]** At least one part of the song was dropped or mixed right down from this mix to the final version.
Halo [Instrumental Demo]** See A Foolish Arrangement, one of the demos closest to the final version released.
Trust [Instrumental Demo]*** This demo is very close to the album version. There are of course some differences which are obvious, and the mix, but it's as close as it can be without being the album version.
ABETABW [Instrumental Demo] Another song that should really have been given extra time and effort to flesh out to a full track. But I guess they can't all be winners, and not all records can be triple-albums!
T8 [Instrumental Demo] Yet another track that should've gotten more love. I like the heavily chorused (maybe 12 string?) acoustic, and this has got that bass-prominence going as well along with a pronounced change or bridge. Oh well.
Heart Attack [Instrumental Demo] This chuggs along nicely, and I really like that second progression - the "main bit". This could've stayed on as in instrumental too.
Swing Change [Instrumental Demo] This track bores me. Nothing about it does it for me.
Frogfish [Instrumental Demo] I like Porl's guitar on it, I do NOT like the "Saxamofone". Pass. HARD PASS.
I've listened to these demos a dozen or so times, and I'm pretty much done with them. The four 1990 demos will be added to my The Cure playlist between Disintegration and Never Enough as I think they're THAT good, but the rest will be relegated to an annual listen if that.
CD3 These first four tracks were presented to us on the Lost Wishes tape for which I foolishly filled out the order form, but never sent to Fiction! I still have it somewhere, packed away with a bunch of my other stuff...
In saying that I was never impressed with Lost Wishes. To me they sounded like unfinished cast-offs, and I only really thought one track had any potential but that opinion has changed.
Uyea Sound [Dim-D Mix] This is a nice, relaxed breezy tune. The keyboards are a bit too high in the mix for my liking, but I'm not in the band sooo.... The sound of the waves on the shore sound a bit contrived though.
Cloudberry [Dim-D Mix] Thiis is on the boring side of the scale, it just doesn't work without vocals. I guess if I listened to it over and over I grow to like it but I don't have the cycles for that.
Off To Sleep [Dim-D Mix] This is a bit whimsical sounding. Kind of like a Sugar Girl type of vibe. I dig it a lot more now than I used to.
The Three Sisters [Dim-D Mix] This is my favorite of Lost Wishes. It sounds like a mesh of Cut, From the Edge of The Deep Green Sea, Open and End. Obviously not a literal mash up of those songs, but something in the style of those tracks. A tad rockier, a tad psychedelic, but still fitting in with Wish. I used to think it was the poor cousin to FtEotDGS. It almost sounds like some of the Disintegration B-Sides too. Five Lost Wishes out of Five!
A Wendy Band [Instrumental] What's with the use of "Wendy" twice in two completely different songs? The questions are endless!
A quiet little ditty that sort of just meanders along and while is quite fine and nice, I'm not sure is up to scratch. I guess it's right where it sits now. A demo. Sorry A Wendy Band, you were not ever gonna be more than you ever were.
From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea [Partscheckruf Mix] "Parts checker, Rough mix" - an early or rough mix used to make sure the arrangement and parts are as per the agreed final version. Clearly, by the sounds of the stems, this is a pre-EQ/mix version. There's a lot going on in this mix that has changed for the final mix, the keyboards, the vocals are different, the acoustic guitar is mixed way louder
That waily thing at the beginning - NOPE. The missing Porl bit - NOPE. The vocal is pretty much spot on, though it's got a deeper clone going on that shoulda been left. The jangly piano bit should have stayed too. That dirty guitar riff is pretty cool, but not sure it fully fits the song. That high keyboard riff near "pleas stay" and the other one "not just for today" really work well. They should have stayed and added several layers of complexity to the song. Lots of fun vocal effects that really work. No proper lead break is sad but we all know the story of how that one came about. It's almost there though.
There are parts of this mix that I wish weren't dropped in the final version, and bits that I'm glad were dropped out of the final version.
Having bought all the CD singles as soon as humanly possible back in the day, and playing them relentlessly and endlessly, having these mixes on one disc is excellent, finally no need to cobble together a bunch of mixes from different sources!
Open [Fix Mix] From the moment I picked up that clear vinyl and made a copy of the tracks to one of my TDK MA-X90 cassettes (to ensure that I'd transferred to the highest quality cassette format, (none of this Type I garbage for me, Type IV all the way baby! you understand, right?)) I fell in love with this version of Open. It was so much more than Open already was, being my favorite track on the album, this took it up to another level.
It's definitely a non-album remix with all those swooshes and phasing and added bits and Bobs (hehe) and whilst it's absolutely great, it's definitely does not have a place on the album. Though the album version could have used a bit of the vocal effects this version has.
I played this song A LOT, though I prefer and always go back to the album version.
High [Higher Mix] It's no secret that I don't like High, I never liked it as a single the second I heard it, I don't like it as a part of the album, I don't like the live renditions, it's just never resonated with me. Of all the versions I've heard and got, this mix and arrangement is the one I prefer though. Given that, I don't have much to say about this song.
Doing The Unstuck [Extended 12 Mix] I REALLY LOVE this remix. Everything about it is fantastic other than the fact that as far as I know, it wasn't available anywhere til Join the Dots was released. What a crime!
Friday I'm In Love [Strangelove Mix] I love the acoustic rhythm guitar cutting thru the mix. Great extended remix of a great song. Nuff said.
A Letter To Elise [Blue Mix] A very different style of remix to the four previous mixes. I liked it a lot back then, and I still like it a lot now. Not much more I can say other than that dirty bass is nice and prominent and really drives the song. Huzzah!
End [Paris Live 92] Why, oh why did he include this, other than to act as a bookend to the tracklist? A live rendition of End is available on all formats of Show and there are lot of tracks played in the three Paris shows that were not included in either Show or Paris. Any one of which should have been included here instead. I like the song, I like this rendition, but I just don't see the point.
Some additional notes.
I was going to put together a Paris Deluxe from the Paris 92 shows I have on file, to give everyone a taste of what could have been, and may yet be (HINT HINT RS) but now I can't be bothered.
It would be great if the band decided to digitally release all three Paris shows, what a trip that would be! It's a shame Ric Gallup's Paris Deluxe playlist is now removed or hidden.
It's also a shame that the whole MTV Unplugged show hasn't been attached to this release. We've been waiting for that for such a long time. I guess the band doesn't have the rights to it, and the cost is extortionate.
Am I happy with the song selection? No, but as if I ever could be. I am happy enough that we got to hear a lot of demos, the four 1990 songs, the single extended mixes and a digital version of Lost Wishes.
Do I wish that Robert had done some of it differently? Yes, of course, but I'm glad for what he chose to give us.
Was it worth the wait? No and Yes. No, because I think there should have been a bunch of different songs on the CDs. This should have come out years ago. Yes, because what we got was indeed excellent.
What do YOU think of all of these extra tracks?
Will we ever see a Wish/Show/Paris micro-site? Oh Bob! Please make it so!
Last Edit: Jan 20, 2023 6:33:30 GMT 1 by nausearockpig: no, just because you have an opinion, doesn't mean I care.
If you have a lead on Brisbane 21 August 1992 - CT version, for the love of Bob, let me know. Please!
amazon now says that my wish vinyl is expected to arrive between Feb 15th and Mar 23rd. What is that about when it's released Jan 27th??
That's the vinyl supply chain for you. They keep running out of plastic & then, when they get it, they can't get capacity in the pressing plants. If you order the CD you'll probably have it in a few days.