CDs that skip and have statics

[Fall Breaks]

I know, there's an old thread that discussed this, but I was met by such scary red letters when trying to reply to that one (since no post had been made for more than 120 days). So I created a new thread.

Problem: CD3 and 4 of my GV box set have statics all over them, from about the tenth song and on. My Friends/20/20 is even worse; it's full of statics from start to finish. These are among my most played CDs, but the two at the very top (Pet Sounds and SS/WH) have none of it (so far...). I have taken good care of all of them and I don't think this static thing is fair to me at all. Is there anything I can do about it? What about these machines that are said to take care of worn and scratched CDs, do they actually work? Or do I have to buy new ones?

[Dr. Tim]

It may be your CD player, not the discs.  Sometimes a player's lens will get dirty or give out over time.  The test is to play the discs in other players.  Or try ripping them and see if the ripped copies play OK.  If the discs play without static on those machines, the discs are fine, just replace your player.  Maybe try a lens cleaner first if you're really fond of the player, but really, there are lots of good CD players to be found cheap if that's not an option for you.

OTOH, if the discs are static-filled everywhere you play them, but they are not severely scratched, they may be suffering from CD rot, which happens when outside air gets through the plastic shield and the oxygen eats away the aluminum.   It is rare, but does happen, more with CDs from the initial era in the early/mid-80s.

[Sheriff John Stone]

The only two Beach Boys-related CDs that skip - and it really bothers me because they're on my favorite songs are:

Live In London - during the intro to "Do It Again", when Mike is saying, "It's nice to be back in Lon-skip-don again...."

Spring - right at the beginning of "Fallin' In Love", there is a muffle/flaw...of all songs for that to happen...my favorite...

[The Shift]

Problem I've had is playing CDs in a Walkman-style portable player -  not matter how much they try, the manufacturers just can't stop the CDs wobblling inside, which leaves them scratched to blazes.   Burn yourself a CDR copy, or use an MP3 player -  save those CDs!

[mrski]

The only two Beach Boys-related CDs that skip - and it really bothers me because they're on my favorite songs are:

Live In London - during the intro to "Do It Again", when Mike is saying, "It's nice to be back in Lon-skip-don again...."

This is not a skip. It is a mastering glich. It is on ALL of these CDs as I found out at the time.

I don't know if this was corrected when the 2fers were reissued some years later, but someone will know I'm sure...

[The Shift]

Don't hear it on the last two-fer...

[mikeyj]

Don't hear it on the last two-fer...

Neither, sounds fine to me.

[Jay]

The Live '69, or whatever it's called, skips. The Live in London two-fer does not skip. At least not my copy.

[Fall Breaks]

Problem I've had is playing CDs in a Walkman-style portable player -  not matter how much they try, the manufacturers just can't stop the CDs wobblling inside, which leaves them scratched to blazes.   Burn yourself a CDR copy, or use an MP3 player -  save those CDs!

Now that might just be the explanation. I've tried playing them in different players, but they're full of static no matter where. So I guess the solution is to open wallet, buy new records and burn copies then.

[The Shift]

The Live '69, or whatever it's called, skips. The Live in London two-fer does not skip. At least not my copy.

Live '69 and Live in London are the same thing aren't they? One's the US release, the other's the UK release.

This, from AGD's site relates to the original vinyl releases:

UK
5/70 -  Capitol ST21715     Live  In London   

USA
11/76 -   Capitol ST 11584     Beach Boys '69 - Live In London*   
Originally released in the UK 5/70 as Live In London

Were the two-fer releases either side of the pond created from different masters? Surely not...   Maybe there are different versions out there.