Audio Fidelity Steve Hoffman Gold Pet Sounds

[buddhahat]

I posted this in the Steve Hoffman thread but fear it may sink without a trace so ...

Anyone ordered this yet? It's available from Amazon US, but takes potentially 1 or 2 months to ship to the UK, so I ordered mine from system records who allegedly will have it in 3 weeks, and a few quid cheaper too.

What I want to know, as I'm no audiofile nut, is whether it's worth getting this latest incarnation of PS. Is it really going to sound any different from my PS box mono version, or the mono mix done a year or so ago? Apparently Hoffman's using Brian's original fades which differs from previous CD releases, and it's exactly how Brian mixed it in 66 so surely worth getting? Or maybe not.

[sockittome]

surely worth getting?

Oh, definitely, for investment purposes!  Have you seen how much these gold cds go for used after a few years when they've gone out of print?  That's the only reason I might buy it.   I'll probably even keep it wrapped.

Ya see, I love stereo Pet Sounds, and SH refuses to have anything to do with that.  I would be curious to hear if there is anything revelatory about this new release, though.

[alanjames]

Buddha, can you post this Amazon US link, please?
Thanks!

[buddhahat]

Here you go ...

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Sounds-Beach-Boys/dp/B001KNUQ64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1239347292&sr=8-1

and for anyone in the UK, I found this site that works out a couple of quid cheaper, bearing in mind Amazon's international shipping charges, and also by their delivery quotes, slightly faster (in theory, although they have to order it in first so potentially there could be delays):

http://www.systemrecords.co.uk/beach-boys-sounds-p-990242.html

[Andreas]

Ya see, I love stereo Pet Sounds, and SH refuses to have anything to do with that.

Steve has asked Brian to remix Pet Sounds in stereo for the DCC Gold CD release in 1993 (in addition to a remaster of the original mono mix). He was not permitted to do a remix.

[blazer]

What is the better cd to have the 1993 Gold or this new 2009 mix?  What are the pros/cons of each? Thanks.

[buddhahat]

What is the better cd to have the 1993 Gold or this new 2009 mix?  What are the pros/cons of each? Thanks.

There's a thread on the Steve Hoffman site where someone has compared the two and they think the 93 version sounds warmer. They prefer it to the new release, but this is the only one person's opinion of course.

[Andrew G. Doe]

What is the better cd to have the 1993 Gold or this new 2009 mix?  What are the pros/cons of each? Thanks.

I'll keep saying this until everyone understands - Hoffman is not remixing it, he's remastering it. BIG difference.

[AKA]

Even though I have umpteen versions of Pet Sounds, including the 1993 DCC disc, I bought this, because I'm a fan of the album and of Steve Hoffman's work.

However, there's something I noticed in the liners of the Audio Fidelity that kind of rubbed me the wrong way the first time I saw it: "This album was originally mixed to full-track only. Since authentic stereo mixes do not exist, we are presenting this album in its original monophonic form."

To me, this seems like a dig on the 1996 stereo mix. How is it not authentic? Because it was mixed 30 years after the fact? Because they had to substitute some vocal parts? I really enjoy the stereo mix and don't think of it as any less legitimate than the mono.

[Bean Bag]

I think I'll get this.  Only because I'm interested in hearing a good clean transfer.  I haven't liked any of the recent releases --- the 2001 version sounded harsh and loud.  The recent 40th anniversary version, while better and cleaner, still wasn't right.  Maybe because I heard it was from a 1980s or early 90s digital copy (??) and I don't trust early digital.  I know, I'm crazy.  Actually it didn't sound as good as my favorite -- the mono single disc from the PS Box.

That's my favorite.  Yet I've heard so much about the 93 DCC version that I just might have to get this.


I do not like the fact that there's a bonus track on this though.  Totally ruins it for me.