The Who - My Generation Japanese CD box set *

Mine arrived last night. Quick shipping from CD Japan, really.

And for one night I was 15 again hearing this album for the first time.

Love the packaging (cool box with great graphics, booklet almost all in Japanese w/few pictures, two CDs in clear sleeves, 7 paper sleeve repros of original My Generation album sleeves, plus 20 mini-sleeves that encompass all the singles and EPs from the album that came out anywhere with picture sleeves).

Now, to be fair, it's priced at about exactly double what you're getting. But it's a Japanese product, that's par for the course. As for me, worth every penny. Heck, I'd have paid $50 for a CD single w/sleeve of this new version of Circles alone. But that's me and I readily confess to being obsessive about the 'Oo.

Audiophiles can debate this until the cows come home, but for my money disc one (the mono, only one I played last nite) sounds terrific, probably as good as this poorly recorded album will ever sound. Hearing the long Kids Are Alright, I'm A Man, Circles, etc., with the previously unissued 1st LP sessions in mono (sounding tougher than ever) was pretty much a religious experience for me.

The Who were always my favorite band. This was my favorite album when I was 15.

Playing it really, really loud in mono it was just amazing. [To be fair, I'm listening to it on headphones at work, and the sonic limitations on the master tape are only too obvious that way in the cold light of day.]

Folks, as someone who's been extremely critical of Jon Astley's work in the past (in print, too, as a writer), I just want to say I think this is his best work. I can hear NR, but I suspect in his shoes I'd have done similar things to it.

I'm sure Jon's not out there reading this, but god bless 'im.

 

It seems as if the problem was more in the mono mixing than the recording. There are some pretty bad mixes on the Deluxe Edition, but on a few you *can* tell that the original recordings were pretty good.

I'm curious - where?

 

I have very strong suspicions that "Circles" is sourced from the old US mastertape, it sounds nowhere near as clear as the other tracks.

 

Yes, apparently the original master may no longer exist.

Anyone have an original (A Legal Matter) single? Do they sound any better?

 

Oh well, that's probably why we got the alternate mix...

 

Maybe Mr. Astley's been lurking here and taken our comments to heart? After I heard his superb mastering of the SACD Deluxe Edition of Tommy, I'm thinking he's turned over a new leaf.

Derek

 

That'd be great. Thanks.

 

I can't think of anything terrible coming from him since Ultimate Collection, at least as far as The Who are concerned.

The A Quick One box will be a good test case considering how screwed up the re-issues have been on that.

 

Not terrible, but I still didn't like the NR in places on the Tommy and Who's Next Deluxe Editions...

 

Personally I think it sucks when things like this only get released in Japan.

 

Just getting to the stereo disc. Obviously it sounds no better (they used My Gen Deluxe), but I must say I like it much better than MGD.

Why?

Simple: they put the two longer versions into the running order of the album, and sequenced the whole thing better than the MGD is sequenced.

It plays better.

I haven't played that stereo My Generation (the title song itself) and again, it's just wacky hearing that without all the guitar overdubs in stereo. Fascinating, but just plain wacky.

 

I thought this would be as good a place as any to report on some plays of the vinyl versions this morning:

The mono LP of The Who Sings My Generation, the stereo LP and the first CD release from MCA are all pretty much the same except that the mono is hard mono and the other two are fake stereo. The sound is brighter with less bass than the next set. The drums in particular have that "biscuit tin" quality that John Entwistle hated.

The Brunswick LP and the corrected MCA CD of The Who Sings My Generation sound much the same having a much flatter response than those in the paragraph above. The mono My Generation Box disc from Japan also has the same general sound quality.

I know you guys would probably hear differences between all of them but on my system and to my 51-year old ears, the various versions definitely separate into one of the two camps. You could almost mistake one for the other within their own camps but you'd immediately notice the difference hearing any one from the other camp.

 

What's your opinion on the mono mix of "Circles" between the corrected MCA CD, the 2008 Japanese My Generation Box and your US Decca LP?

Does anyone have the original Brunswick single? (B/W "A Legal Matter" I believe)

 

Somebody put thin drumheads on Moon's kit, or removed the bottom heads.

 

So, then, those samples I posted. The first version of "The Ox" comes from this new Japanese disc. The second is from the old mono MCA. The second's not bad, but I like the crisp drums on the first one better.

The three "I Can't Explain" samples are from, respectively, the MCA Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy, the MCA Who's Better Who's Best, and the new disc. The WBWB version, like many others, has a couple of crackles in the intro. The other two don't. The new one sounds cleanest to me, but also sounds a little pinched; as is, the MBBB is the one I like best, but I think the new one might come out better with a little EQ tweaking. Some night when I have too much time on my hands ....

 

Does anyone know if the new version of A Quick One is availible in a single disc or is this a must in the 2 disc format?

 

So far they've only announced the ¥10,000 two-disc version, and we're not sure exactly what mixes are being included on those.

Give it some time. As of last week, they hadn't started the mastering yet; I wouldn't expect it to be released on schedule in September. Universal Japan will put something up on their webpage when it's ready.

 

I'll give them all a listen the next time I can but listening to the "Instant Party" on the mono The Who Sings My Generation yesterday afternoon, it sounds noticeably worse than the rest of the LP. I have no idea why, whether it's the complexity of the sound (with all the additional Entwistle horns) or it being a recording from a different date.

I also remember from the last time I played the B-side of the Brunswick "A Legal Matter" single that that version of "Instant Party" sounded really good.

 

I'd be interested in what you find, Brian. The recording itself should have been fine - the alternate version/mix on the new Japanese CD sounds pretty good. I have a feeling, though, that due to the (ahem) legal matters at the time, the master for the released version went missing.

 

Well, I just A/B'd the original "Instant Party" on the b-side of the Brunswick single "A Legal Matter" against the 2008 1st "Circles" on the My Generation Box. It's certainly the same mix and take but the single sounds "closer" while the 2008 CD sounds "farther away."

It's hard to describe. The single sounds like the band is right up at the mike and the CD version sounds like they're a few feet away from the mike, a bit muffled. Does this make sense to you audiophiles?

 

I'm not exactly an audiophile but I know what you're talking about, I hear the same difference between the 2 versions of "Circles" on the 2008 disc

 

I'll have to listen more to add a more definitive opinion, but on first listen I think the cd beats the Classic LP. Less brittle, more bass, more air. Again, this is on first comparison, but I'm very impressed with this cd. If you are a fan of this album, I'd say grab this version before you can't. It's quite amazing.

 

Interesting..

my copy of the deluxe box arrived (which by the way is as beautiful as the photos show it to be) and I threw it in the car right away to listen to. To me, this has no noise written all over it. I haven't played the Classic lp to compare it to, but I remember loving it the minute I heard it. Astley strikes again. To me the top end seems flat, and I think it is because the tape hiss is gone (or what I will call "The Good's Gone!!!")...I will listen to the lp over the course of the weekend and report back later.

It is not "artifcaty" no noise bad, it's just a bit lifeless in my opinion.

It will be fine in the car, but I need to make a needledrop of the Classic.

I was worried about spending so much on the box, but I am happy I did - the covers are beautiful (even down to the ep's having the pinched spines like in the UK Apple releases - "Imagine" comes to mind). It is still one of my top 3 fave Who albums, so it was worth it.

 

I haven't heard the stereo, but there's hiss on the mono.

 

There is? I was talking about the mono...hmmm...maybe my hearing really IS shot...lol!