| April 2001"It’s yesterday once more"
Classic Records, along with Mosaic, Analogue Productions, Speakers Corner and a few others, is owed a huge debt of gratitude by audiophiles the world over for their unceasing devotion to bringing back to us treasured memories from the past in the form of both remastered heavyweight vinyl albums as well as gold CDs -- albums that we’ve listened to and loved for years. These albums, complete with the original cover and label art, are, for the most part, tremendously superior to the original releases (if, that is, you can find any of the originals around that haven’t been used and abused down through the years). Classic, using the talents of Bernie Grundman in the remastering process, has been on such a roll lately that it almost boggles the mind in trying to decipher what innovations it might possibly dream up that could top its latest triumph. I was completely impressed with the packaging from Classic. The gatefold covers on both records were of excellent stock, and the photos, both inside and out, were clear and full color. (When you consider the age of those photos and/or artwork, they’re all the more impressive.) The vinyl itself is flat and clear of any noticeable defects. It’s also a real hoot to see such thick vinyl with the original label art. Those of you old enough to remember when these albums first came out will recall how flimsy they were, so these reissues make a distinct impression.
When the three left the highly successful groups they were with previously (Stills left Buffalo Springfield, Nash jumped the Hollies, and Crosby quit the Byrds) to come together, it created quite a stir. Their accomplishments laid the groundwork for all such future endeavors. But it wasn’t just this fact that made their debut album such a hit. No, it was more about the music that CS&N made that caught everyone by surprise. Here were timeless tunes that even way back then people knew would last. And last they have. "Helplessly Hoping," "Marrakesh Express," "Wooden Ships" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" are songs that have been listened to by multiple generations of rock fans since they were first recorded in the late '60s, and they show no signs of losing their charm. As I listened to this album, I was once again a teenager, the years having just melted away. And yet something was different? What was it? Oh yeah, I didn’t remember this album sounding this good before. I know that my stereo system has markedly improved since those halcyon days of my youth, but even so, this remaster sounded much better than I ever recall hearing it in the past. It was so much easier to follow the vocals here (and wasn’t that the genius of CS&N?). I found the bass plentiful and tight enough to carry the music, and the guitars were easily differentiated. The only problem I heard (if you want to call it that) was that the highs were somewhat rolled off. Now, I don’t know if that is a fault of Classic’s remastering or if that’s the way the original tapes sounded. It’s not a big deal -- just something to keep in mind.
Even though this was not my favorite Genesis record, even when it first came out, I did own it and listened to it because I liked the group. But it never sounded completely whole to me, more a work in progress. Many of the songs started off well, but the group (who wrote all the words and music) seemed to run out of ideas halfway through, or couldn’t think up clever ways to complete the songs, so they let them end in odd ways. And to me, some tunes just seemed like filler. However, it was easy to hear within the grooves of Nursery Cryme many of the stylistic techniques the group would put to much better use later. Songs like "Musical Box" and "Harlequin," however, rate right up with the best songs Genesis ever recorded. And, much as with the CS&N album, the sound is much improved over the original release. All of the different instruments used by the band (and they were all multi instrumentalists) are clearly heard, as are all the vocals -- yes, you can even make out Phil Collins’ voice. This made for fun listening. I’ve built a substantial collection of reissues from Chesky and Classic, Mosaic and Classic Columbia, Verve, Prestige and Blue Note. But these are the first popular-music reissues that I’ve listened to. The sound quality of my previous acquisitions, mostly jazz, has always been first-rate, and I can now add these pop albums to this category. Now, there has been some discussion on a few of the audiophile chat boards lately about the sound quality of these and other reissues. And while I’ll not be attempting to answer those questions here, I will weigh in with my opinion on the subject. Whether or not these are THE best-sounding versions of each of these individual titles is irrelevant. Each of us will have to make that decision for ourselves. We all listen for different reasons, and have different things that push our sonic buttons. But just remember one thing: There is no other place that you will be able to find these records new, presented with this much attention to detail, in such a perfect a condition, and at this price. Neither of these albums, when they were originally recorded, were done to audiophile standards, so, realistically, how much better could they sound? And when compared to the originals, do they sound better, worse, the same or a mixture of all three? Should you worry as to their quality? No. Why? Because each of these titles has been made available again because it is a special album, one that many, many music lovers will want to hear in as impressive a manner as possible -- over and over again. And they look and sound superb. So worry not. Be happy that they are available again, and enjoy them. ...John Crossett GO BACK TO: |
Karen
Carpenter’s words echoed through my head as I sat listening to two new re-releases
from Classic Records. Both, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Genesis's Nursery
Cryme, are old and dear friends from my long-lost youth. It was especially enjoyable
to be able to relive those old musical memories with this pair of superbly reissued,
180-gram slabs of black vinyl. And each of these really are "classic" records in
every sense of the word; the former because it announced the arrival of one of the first
super groups in rock history, and the latter because it marked the major US coming out for
a group that was to be highly influential in rock music for years.
I don’t know that much needs to be said about Crosby, Stills
& Nash -- it’s a masterpiece (not that it won’t stop me from trying,
however). I’m sure that almost everyone out there is familiar with at least one song
from the album, and the majority of you with most of them. These three men were, it seems
to me, born to play and sing together. Their vocal talents meshed almost perfectly, they
seemed to sing, play and write as one person, anticipating each other in the manner of a
jazz combo. They became, to many, the late '60’s version of the Beach Boys because of
their harmonies.
Moving on, we come to the
Genesis album. Nursery Cryme was the group's third album, recorded in 1971, almost
two years before one of their most popular albums, Selling England By The Pound.
And while never the big seller that Selling…was (no pun intended), Nursery
Cryme nonetheless offered both interesting songwriting as well as superb musicianship.
It was also an album on which Peter Gabriel alone handled the vocals. Beginning with Selling…
and on down to today, Phil Collins would usurp a larger and larger role in both writing
and singing. And it wouldn’t be much longer until Gabriel would leave the band
completely to head out on his own, a move that marked the beginning of the end for the
Genesis that caught the music-world's attention. So Nursery Cryme grants us the
opportunity to hear Genesis as they matured musically, just one step removed from stardom.