Sly & the Family Stone remasters

Thanks much for the report, Ivor. That's a huge dissappointment.

It's really puzzling that they would list certain tracks as "single versions" when they are nothing of the sort. Does make you wonder...

 

Yep....forget it.

 

I haven't read the whole thread but if the remasters suck and I want to buy their albums on CD and not pay out the nose, what do I get?

 

Who said the remasters suck? The main issue at hand is obtaining the mono (single) versions of "Hot Fun in the Summertime," "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)," and "Everybody Is a Star" from Greatest Hits. Subsequent cd versions and other compilations have made these songs available in stereo only.

For me, it's not a dealbreaker. I'm just plain fine with stereo versions (which is how they were originally recorded, if I understand correctly). But for others, it is a major sore point. And if that's what they grew up with, then I understand.

Many people, however, agree that the remasters are spectacular. Some just fault the fact that mono versions of these three songs were never made available.

 

The remasters don't suck...

 

The remasters are fantastic, some of the best I've ever heard by anyone.

 

Sorry then, I misunderstood.

 

They sound great, it's just frustrating that they included some mono single mixes as bonus tracks on the albums but left off others, like Everyday People and Family Affair.

 

If this disc is 100% stereo, why are they advertising certain tracks as being the single mixes?

 

My own personal guess is that it's just bad metadata that's circulating around. As people increasingly buy stuff online, the problem of incorrect titles and the like is only going cause more frustration. I know, it had to originate from somewhere. But isn't possible that whoever put up the tracklistings for that Playlist disc online and at retailers like Amazon just cut and pasted it from somewhere else, without regard to whether or not it was 100 percent accurate?

 

I suppose we'll eventually get a 45 rpm single box set from Sundazed featuring all the original mono single mixes. Personally, I just don't understand the aversion to releasing mono single mixes on CD. Sly & the Family Stone is hardly an isolated instance -- we've see this problem with the Byrds, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who ("I Can See for Miles"), the Mamas and the Papas, just to name a few.

 

Out of curiosity, does the CD packaging specify certain songs as "single version" like the Amazon listing does?

 

Probably a longstanding assumption (incorrect, I'll add) by record companies that CD buyers are not interested in mono anything, but rather stereo. It could also be that the CD era was so focused on reissuing albums rather than singles.

 

Amazon grabs its metadata from the same place that most places do... The very flawed Gracenote as well as some from the also very flawed AMG. It's what iTunes uses too.

Frank R.

 

Yes, I held it in my hands and read the back cover. I haven't bought it, though.

 

I think it's even more of a shame that the mono versions of "Life", "M'Lady", "Everyday People" and "Sing A Simple Song" weren't included - they are all very different from the stereo mixes and sound fantastic.

I bought the CD before I knew they DIDN'T use the "single versions" they advertised on Amazon. Oh well, stuck with my 45's.

I love the remasters, though! They gave us some great bonus stuff. Between those and the Mastersound STAND, Sly is pretty well represented on CD (except for those elusive single tracks).

 

Add a request to Legacy's Uservoice:
http://legacyrecordings.uservoice.com/pages/general

After thie release of the Sly Woodstock Experience set, I am hoping there will be more S&TFS live releases. A 4 or 5 CD boxed set would be great!

 

My CD package doesn't mention anything about single versions...??

 

there's a sly "best of" import coming on vinyl. anyone know anything about this?


http://www.musicdirect.com/product/86541

thanks,
doug