How about remixing all the classic Stones albums !! - I'm not talking about remastering - no - mixing !

The Doors have remixed their classic biggest hits for the 2008 compilation album The Future Starts Here - you can hear lot of little things that you never heard before, from Jim Morrison screams to other small details. How would you feel if the Stones would remix Exile, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Beggars Banquet, etc with modern high technology ... and not even try to keep the orginal sound.

Would you be interested in hearing new versions of the old classic albums.

An obvious album would be BETWEEN THE BUTTONS. An album full of inventive sounds, but ruined by bounced-down tracks which results in a very flat sounding record, and many details got lost. There are great examples on youtube of fantastic sounding backing tracks from this record, which suggests how great it could have been.

A remixing and new recording to adapt the sound for today.

I find for instance 'The Spider and the Fly' from 'Stripped' better than the original. The faster version of 'Live With Me' from 1995 has more energy. The versions from Paris Olympia 2003 (on Four Flicks, Theatre Show) are also not bad.

We could make a list with newer version of songs which are better than the original. So you can make the remix-album yourself.

Interersting idea. Might end up with classic tracks tha sound like they're from another land. Eg:

I'd love to hear the Stones remixed esp TSMR.

Back in the 80's, Andrew Oldham supervised some re-mixes of the catalog and I remember him talking about "discovering" the piano on "Satisfaction" which was then pushed way up in the new mix.

It ruined the song. A whole generation grew up listening to a version of that song that sounded like it just had one ball.


I hear those new mixes of "Break On Through" by the Doors on the radio, and now in this new "uncensored" version Jim can finally proclaim "She GETS HIGH!!"



Maybe I was just used to it, but I miss "She GETS!!" It was more open to interpretation.

Everything through Exile sounds perfect the way it is.

That remixed Gimme Shelter is painful.

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loog droog
Back in the 80's, Andrew Oldham supervised some re-mixes of the catalog and I remember him talking about "discovering" the piano on "Satisfaction" which was then pushed way up in the new mix.

It ruined the song. A whole generation grew up listening to a version of that song that sounded like it just had one ball.


I hear those new mixes of "Break On Through" by the Doors on the radio, and now in this new "uncensored" version Jim can finally proclaim "She GETS HIGH!!"



Maybe I was just used to it, but I miss "She GETS!!" It was more open to interpretation.

When was these mixes released? I know there was one instance where Jagger's vocal was pushed a little more upfront on "Let's Spend The Night Together", but I haven't heard of direct remixes.

Not keen on the Doors remixes. Roadhouse Blues used to rock and now it sounds like it has no bollocks and some drunk guy is wandering round off mic.
I'd much rather see a Stones mono box (fully annotated with recording details,session sheets,tape boxes etc.) and 2 or 3 2cd Anthology style sets before they start effing around with the original mixes. The remixed stuff i've heard by Beatles,Doors,Who,Fleetwood Mac has gained in terms of fidelity but lost in terms of vibe and to my mind that's part of the key to the Stones - vibe not fidelity. The stereo Get Off Of My cloud is more hi fi but sounds like a lame piece of rubbish. The 45 mono mix kicks your face in and is a soupy mess of noise. I know which i prefer. Ditto for a stack of stones 45's.
As far as the 60s output goes, do we have any idea how many of the multi tracks survive ? If parts were played directly into the mix then we could be left with critical parts missing like My Generation in stereo (missing guitar dub) or some of the Beach Boys tracks. At that point i feel you're really starting to mess with the integrity of the tracks and who's to stop some trendy producer engaging in a mahoosive loudification and over eq tweaking approach.
You also have to remember that while many producers are good producers/engineers, quite a few of the good ones are not musicians and make some clearly unmusical decisions when dealing with mixes/edits etc.
I really don't know who i'd trust for the job (apart from me of course).
I'll say no, just release Bill's 1964 Radio Luxembourg acetate and then review the situation.
(BTW a great example of how not to remix an album is the 1987 Help cd by those sacred cows from liverpool. That was remixed by flight commander martin himself and it is worse than shit. Check out the crap digital reverbs/echoes.awful.listen to dizzy miss lizzy from that one- it totally sucks production wise and was already something of a lowpoint. I used to like that album despite the dreadful run of songs on side 2. It was only when i listened to the mono a few years later that i realised how much difference a mix can make. and to think that that shit stereo is the go to for public consumption version in the shops. that's why they're called crapple. Stones fans be careful what you wish for. and if they do remix the stones albums and mess it up then fab 4 fans like me will be baiting you with how the beatles messed up their original recordings first and the stones copied them. er...is that enough reasons ? Leave it, it's not worth it...plus you'll have to buy all those albums from abcko again (for the 3rd/4th time or more) with their short running time/track duplication/expensive prices and track duplication.

No, thank you. I think what people like us, and fans of whatever band, want to hear are isolated tracks. What did Keith play on this one? What did Harrison play on this one? Name any band member of whatever band. That's more interesting, at least to me, than another remix or remaster.

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ash

(BTW a great example of how not to remix an album is the 1987 Help cd by those sacred cows from liverpool. That was remixed by flight commander martin himself and it is worse than shit. Check out the crap digital reverbs/echoes.awful.listen to dizzy miss lizzy from that one- it totally sucks production wise and was already something of a lowpoint. I used to like that album despite the dreadful run of songs on side 2. It was only when i listened to the mono a few years later that i realised how much difference a mix can make. a duplication.

An excellent and informative post. Tell me, how does the 1965 stereo mix of Help! compare to the 1987 remaster? My father only had the mono LP, which is what I am familiar with alongside the '87 CD. I also understand that the stereo-mix of Rubber Soul was radically altered from the original stereo release in '65. Again, vinyl-wise, I have only heard the mono version. I must say, I'm listening to the '87 Help! right now - I never bothered with the 2009(?) remasters, which I partially regret and may rectify at some point - and, well, it sounds more than fine to my ears.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-10-04 07:28 by Big Al.

The 2009 mono box is excellent. Gripes are of the nit picking variety. That 87 stereo Help has a funny metallic feel to my ears, the mix makes the tracks sound a bit weak (in my opinion) and they are using what sounds like 80s digital reverb which doesn't help. It's not the strongest Beatle album anyway (side 2 is really weak,possibly their worst side) but the attempt to make the stereo more central and using 80s technology is a big misfire as far as i'm concerned. The 65 mix while suffering from the usual EMI stereo problems (stuff panned to the extreme) at least sounds authentic as it was mixed "at the time". For the Anthology mixes (the new ones at least,not the crap "Sessions" mixes from the 80s) George Martin insisted Abbey Road reinstalled the echo chamber which had been decommissioned.
Rubber Soul isn't as bad in the remix but i have to say, mono really is the way to go up to and including the White album. Much more punch and as the Beatles intended.
When George Harrison heard the Sgt Pepper cd in 87 he apparently said that EMI had used the wrong tape ! He must have been remembering the mono which features far more ADT,phasing,limiting etc.
I guess ultimately it does come down to personal preference but i have to say when i revisited the Help mono vinyl some years ago it sounded a hell of a lot better than the remixed stereo cd. Even the crap songs !

Forget about the remixing.Just release mono and stereo originals remastered.It worked for the
Beatles (2009)The mono albums are a revelation.

How about finding the original analogue master tapes, cutting some fresh stampers and re-releasing them all on vinyl ?

That might actually sound good !


Nothing in the digital domain thus far has come anywhere near the quality of the original vinyl releases.

[The technology is now getting pretty good but it was sh*t for so long that nobody can remember what they should be aiming for it to sound like...ie MUSIC ! ]

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seitan
How about remixing all the classic Stones albums !! - I'm not talking about remastering - no - mixing !

The Doors have remixed their classic biggest hits for the 2008 compilation album The Future Starts Here - you can hear lot of little things that you never heard before, from Jim Morrison screams to other small details. How would you feel if the Stones would remix Exile, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Beggars Banquet, etc with modern high technology ... and not even try to keep the orginal sound.

Would you be interested in hearing new versions of the old classic albums.

the doors didn't just remix the hits. they released 40th anniversary editions of each of the morrison albums with bonus cuts. the 40th anniversay editions used the original session reels and things that were cut for various reasons are now restored. in fact what you hear is the original stuff instead of have parts relegated to the cutting room floor like 40 years ago

Remixing is taking every recorded track, giving them an improved or adjusted sound - seperately and together.

Then these tracks are mixed again, with different levelling, panning, separation, channeling etc.

Finally, the frequenzies must be adjusted to make a wholeness that makes the sound of the remixed song a good listening experience.

I probably have forgot several steps in the process. But are you really sure that they did all this for the Doors' 2008 compilation?

Why mess what in some cases is perfection? Modern standards aren't necessarily an improvement & in some cases not as good.

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DandelionPowderman
Remixing is taking every recorded track, giving them an improved or adjusted sound - seperately and together.

Then these tracks are mixed again, with different levelling, panning, separation, channeling etc.

Finally, the frequenzies must be adjusted to make a wholeness that makes the sound of the remixed song a good listening experience.

I probably have forgot several steps in the process. But are you really sure that they did all this for the Doors' 2008 compilation?

read my post above yours. they remastered them from the original source tapes and the original tapes had stuff that was cut upon initial release.

I did that, but it was this phrase: "didn't just remix the hits" that made me ask.

What people (and even the record companies) call a remix, is very rarely that.

Seems like they did a really good job with those Doors anniversary editions, though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-10-04 14:49 by DandelionPowderman.

I like to hear and get the original-mixing of what is aviable on Mono with The Rolling Stones...that's what intressts me...... no finger finished Willie who has poked at the controls ...

2 1 2 0

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DandelionPowderman
I did that, but it was this phrase: "didn't just remix the hits" that made me ask.

What people (and even the record companies) call a remix, is very rarely that.

Seems like they did a really good job with those Doors anniversary editions, though.

sorry that phrase messed up my post a bit. it was meant as in a no they didn't remix anything these are actually the original source reels just remastered

No probs, keef

No compression, please

You hvae to have some compression 'cos most folks can't listen to music at the original sound pressure levels levels on a top class system.

...The problem today is that everything is engineered to sound right on a freakin' i-pod !

The only Stones albums I would like to hear remixed for a better album:

Between the Buttons
Their Satanic Majesties Request
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll

Albums that would be interesting to hear once of twice with a cleared-up and punchier sound:

Goats Head Soup
Some Girls
Undercover

The pre-Aftermath material could also sound better remixed, but they were recorded so primitively that it would probably be similar to a remaster.

I wouldn't argue with that .

But as you hinted, more out of interest than any belief that they would sound better

I just wish we could get the albums from Sticky Fingers forward on CD, without all the awful compression.

If we could get these redone as well as the Beatles remixes a couple years ago, I would be thrilled.

I am perfectly content with the DSD versions pre-Sticky Fingers.

When i heard that The Doors was going to release new mixes from the original reels.. i was a little bit skeptical, but, the skepticism runs away at the first listen. Now, i prefer the new mixes.
It would be great that all the early Stones catalog(64-72) get the same treatment

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Blueranger

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loog droog
Back in the 80's, Andrew Oldham supervised some re-mixes of the catalog and I remember him talking about "discovering" the piano on "Satisfaction" which was then pushed way up in the new mix.

It ruined the song. A whole generation grew up listening to a version of that song that sounded like it just had one ball.


I hear those new mixes of "Break On Through" by the Doors on the radio, and now in this new "uncensored" version Jim can finally proclaim "She GETS HIGH!!"



Maybe I was just used to it, but I miss "She GETS!!" It was more open to interpretation.

When was these mixes released? I know there was one instance where Jagger's vocal was pushed a little more upfront on "Let's Spend The Night Together", but I haven't heard of direct remixes.

If you can hear the acoustic guitar clearly on "Satisfaction" it was one of those mid-80's Oldham mixes.

Nice archeology, but all the power is sapped right out of the record.

And they played that version on the radio for YEARS...

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sixessevensandnines

I just wish we could get the albums from Sticky Fingers forward on CD, without all the awful compression.

You can get the japanese SHM-CDs (based on the 2011 DSD-Master) of 'Sticky Fingers', 'Exile On Main Street', 'Goats Head Soup', 'Black And Blue', 'Some Girls' and 'Tattoo You' from this and next month on at CDJapan or JPC in Germany.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-10-04 18:00 by Irix.