In short:
- Real Gone has been fully remixed
- We're getting 'individual releases' of each of the 3 discs of Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
- From ANTI-: “Remastering significantly improves the quality of sound files and restores the integrity and intent of the original recording. Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan personally oversaw this process for both the vinyl and digital formats of the catalog.”
- A Tom Waits quote: “This restoration project could arrogantly be compared to restoring a faded tapestry, a painstaking process that requires meticulous attention to each color faded thread. Spending months on something completed once, many years ago was necessary though cursedly laborious for us.”
More about the individual albums on ANTI-'s website.
Both of these are fairly recent and not typically the titles anyone would necessarily wish to see remastered. Now some of that over orchestrated Island stuff maybe.....
ReplyDeleteBTW I'm not unknown, I'm his most annoying fan....
ReplyDeleteI've just finished listening to the new mix of "Real Gone" and I can say that, overall, the new mix is slightly better than the original:
ReplyDelete1. “Top Of The Hill” - Vocals are higher in the mix and there is less distortion. Big swooping effect in the free part after third chorus. Better mix than the original.
2. “Hoist That Rag” - Horns and harmonica are added and the big slow gong-like cymbal sound in the chorus has been removed. The horns are all over Marc Ribot’s classic guitar solo and take the sting out of it. Dry it might be but the original mix fares significantly better.
3. “Sins Of My Father” - The original mix for this is pretty good. The new mix is very similar but with minor changes manages to lose much of the soft swinging rhythm of the original.
4. “Shake It” - The new mix is better than the original. The upright bass is loud in the mix and vocals are clearer than before. Great balance in the chorus with the kick drum echoing Ribot’s electric guitar. The percussive rhythm works a charm and the outro is eerily soothing.
5. “Don't Go Into That Barn” - The new mix is again very similar to the original mix but the vocals are a lot higher in the mix. A curious wave-like effect replaces the beat-box rhythm of the original in the intro and continues throughout. Upright bass is more prominent than before in the mix. This is a better mix than the original.
6. “How’s It Gonna End” - Original mix for this is one is one of the successful mixes on the original album. Everything is pretty much in just right balance originally. The new mix is similar to the original but louder. Again, the mood is affected by the new mix and not for the good.
7. “Metropolitan Glide” - The new mix has added electric guitar that works quite well, especially in the chorus. Casey Waits’ turntablism is mixed differently. Vocals are clearer in the mix and the vocal chorus of DOO-DOO-DOO has been dug from the murk of the original mix. The new mix is an improvement.
8. “Dead And Lovely” - The original mix has slight continuous distortion with the upright bass throughout the song and it eventually starts to drag the song down. That has been removed in the new mix and as a result the song flows better. This is a significant improvement.
9. “Circus” - The best mix on the original album. For the new mix some distortion and vinyl crackle have been removed. The tightrope balance of the mix is jeopardized by adding volume in the mix. Casey Waits’ scratching has been brought up in the mix to the extent that it makes the spoken word sound like trip hop. The new mix also has the Livery Stable Blues section mixed really loud. The old mix is a lot better.
10. “Trampled Rose” - Electric guitar has been added for the chorus. The old mix is great and this new one confuses the emphasis of the original mix.
11. “Green Grass” - The new mix is louder than the original. Overall mix has been altered slightly and, one feels, not for the better.
12. “Baby Gonna Leave Me” - For the original LP this song has vocals too low in the mix. That has been corrected and now we can hear background guitar in the mix supporting the lead guitar. The percussion has been mixed with great balance and presence. For the outro, vocal grunts, guitar and shakers work in perfect balance. This is the best of the new mixes and a lot better than the original.
14. “Make It Rain” - For this, vocals have been brought up in the mix. The guitar mix works wonders adding shades of distortion to the guitar. This is a well balanced mix that corrects a few issues the original has and is an improvement to the original mix, without a doubt.
15. “Day After Tomorrow” - The overall volume has been brought up and the electric guitar has become more of a lead instrument in the new mix and here’s less distortion to tone of the guitar. The electric guitar gives a totally new mood to the ballad. This is a better mix than the original.