what is current opinion on these remasters? discussion of them has seemed to wane, maybe because he's done with the studio albums, or maybe because most people have moved to downloading boots online, and his work is usually banned there. I have a few and wouldn't mind grabbing the rest. they're convenient for having key unreleased tracks alongside the finished album.
I usually think the outtakes sound better once he's tinkered with them. The official releases just sound like interesting variations. Well worth listening to for the different perspective it offers, but no replacement for the ABKCO or Virgin catalogs. MickBoy doesn't have access to the original master tapes, so you're still just listening to a CDR of a guy working with Japanese vinyl on his top of the line home equipment. Its better than anything I could do and he should get a job as a professional engineer for a reissue label like Rhino or Wounded Bird. His main contribution is speed correcting and properly balancing a number of outtakes that were in circulation for years in far inferior quality.
I personally dont like them much. They are sourced from vinyl which is fine, but then they are EQ'd etc and dont sound very natural to me. Also, things like changing the running order of "Beggars Banquet" and adding tracks into albums, as opposed to adding bonus tracks at the end is rather stupid in my opinion. I much prefer the old ABCKO & CBS cds from the 1980's or better still, a decent vinyl rip that has been left untampered. Just an opinion though!
Personally, I think they are great. I only have the original albums on vinyl, so they are a major improvement to me. I didn't realise that Mickboy had remastered Satanic Majesties. Anyone able to post it?
The Goats Head Soup remaster he did is amazing. You can hear a lot of detail that is totally missed otherwise,especially the double tracking on the vocals. He also hits the spot, because sometimes the digital remasters sound too clinical. This version, is a fantasy version of what the band would maybe have liked the original vinyl to sound like. Some of the sixties stuff sounds a little thin in his versions, the technology is just too far away,but still some very interesting mixes and he lays naked the recording process which is great if you know the material very well.