very With Sympathy-ish. I dig it, but I gotta admit the video edit was more raw to my ears. much in the vein of Fad Gadget, PiL…crazy how this gets released twenty years later.
would love to hear more of these tapes. So much Al tinkering tracks would surely sell more than some remixxx release. I refuse to believe he finds those pieces of shit more than a cash grab. did anyone who remixed those fucking things even get paid? the biggest roster I guess was the last Revco, it had Rave, Tweaker and others right? wasted opportunity.
would love to hear more of these tapes. So much Al tinkering tracks would surely sell more than some remixxx release. I refuse to believe he finds those pieces of shit more than a cash grab. did anyone who remixed those fucking things even get paid? the biggest roster I guess was the last Revco, it had Rave, Tweaker and others right? wasted opportunity.
That would be Sex-O Mixxx-O. The last one was Got Mixxx, which was handled by Erie.
Still has the I’m Falling versions labeled backwards…
As far as i can tell the Nature Of Love Cruelty Mixes are the same version, same length, one is compressed slightly more.
The I’m Falling mixes do get a bit confusing. Technically the slower, more Cure sounding version is the original, which was meant to be released (with Overkill on the b-sides) as a Wax Trax! 7".
The version on the Cold Life 12" is V2.0 or the “alternate” version. Early Trax got it right. I don’t have the new CD yet, but it looks like Cleo typo-d it as “alternative”.
There is a slight difference between Cruelty and Cruelty B, but not enough to merit having both included.
At this point, everyone assumes that the second version of Same Old Madness is the one included here, and not the version heard in the video. Can you confirm this?
Definitely the longer version from Hans DeVente’s demo tape. They did not do a very good mastering job on his transfer for cd.
So the drum machine intro version of I’m Falling was released before Early Trax? Pretty sure my 1st pressing 12in has what they labeled as the alternate mix, as you noted. i had not heard the other version before Early Trax, but i never picked up other pressings and the mp3 i had was always the “alternate mix”.
Definitely the longer version from Hans DeVente’s demo tape. They did not do a very good mastering job on his transfer for cd.
So the drum machine intro version of I’m Falling was released before Early Trax? Pretty sure my 1st pressing 12in has what they labeled as the alternate mix, i had not heard the other version before Early Trax, but i never picked up other pressings and the mp3 i had was always the “alternate mix”.
The preview clips sounded good, but I’ll give my full audiophile/music nerd review when my CD show up later this week.
Both versions of I’m Falling have a drum machine type into, but the one that is more upbeat and menacing sounding is the one from the original 1981 Cold Life/I’m Falling 12". The one that is slower with Cure type guitars is the 1980 version which was never released until Early Trax came out in 2004. I know it’s confusing, but technically the 1980 version is the first, and the 1981 version is the alternate. Early Trax was the first time either version was released on CD (Wax Trax left it off completely for the first edition of 12" singles).
To make things simpler, they just should have tagged the 1980 version as a “demo” version, since the 1981 version is the one most people are familiar with.
My copy showed up today. This is a perfect 10/10! Cleopatra put a lot of care into this release.
I can almost bet the mastering engineer is the same who did the With Sympathy Re-issue. The overall sound is slightly louder, clearer and punchier. There is no distortion or ear fatigue commonly found in modern day mastering techniques. So hats off to whoever mastered this.
Disc One isn’t a copy/paste from the first edition. Each track has carefully been remastered. Everday Is Halloween no longer has the EQ glitch during the first verse and the vocal effects are more clearer and noticeable in Cold Life.
The artwork is a faithful re-creation of the original, instead of a copy/paste. As mentioned earlier, they took the time to scan and include all the original artwork (front and back!) from the Wax Trax 12" releases. They also included two excellent band photos.
Overall, a perfect score. Finally we have a good sounding complete set of the official Wax Trax! material. Cleopatra took their time with this project and made a killer release. I’m still hopeful for a compilation of unreleased tracks from this same time period.
You can now safely sell off your original Twelve Inch Singles and Early Trax CDs and buy this instead.
Wemp-would love to hear your take on this when you get the chance.
My copy showed up today. This is a perfect 10/10! Cleopatra put a lot of care into this release.
I’m honestly still trying to wrap my head around this concept (i.e. Cleo and “quality” sharing the same sentence.)
But if it’s a harbinger of more things to come, then good for them. I certainly enjoy experiencing good work more than I enjoy laughing at the missteps of the Cleopatras and Invisibles of the world…the returns on that last activity do diminish pretty quickly.
Disappointed that “Same Old Madness” isn’t the video version. That one has a more raw punk simplicity to it. It’s made even worse after reading about this version as told by the band’s original keyboardist, Rob Roberts recently (should just be shit canned IMHO):
The version with guitar and big vox FX added was kind of a rarity. I’m surprised to see it surface on this new release, to be honest. It’s the same basic tracks as the video version, but the guitar and FX and editing were added in Boston. It sure sounds like the same kind of editing that’s in “A Walk In the Park” and even the “Work for Love” dub/dance edits. The overdubs, arrangement and editing that appears on the Cleopatra release had zero input from Al or anyone else in the band. Al didn’t even play the guitar overdub. It was worked up by the crew back at SynchroSound in Boston with Ian Taylor behind the board. Neither my source nor I can remember exactly who played guitar, but it was either Walter Turbitt [Groove Brothers] or Elliot Easton [The Cars].
ok but then who recorded vocals? its a different vocal track for sure and unlike the video version it has harmony bg vocals in places
Hmm. Good point about the vocals. In my comment on DM I was referring to the new mix/edit and guitar bits. It hadn’t occurred to me that the vocals might have been redone by Al in Boston… and who knows…maybe even yours truly as I did my share of bg vocals. I just assumed that the vocals were a different mix or sourced from some other tracks from the original session.
But the remix and guitars were done while we were on the road and then a copy (likely just a cassette) was forwarded to us. At least one other band member remembers this as being the case.
But the remix and guitars were done while we were on the road and then a copy (likely just a cassette) was forwarded to us. At least one other band member remembers this as being the case.
I would love to know why it took so long to get released, it’s a killer track!
Have you picked up a copy yet? If so, what did you think of the mastering? Some fans are complaining about typical modern day compression, but to me the remaster is stellar. I can hear some things in the mixes that I never heard before.
They also included my two favorite pictures of the band. Nice to see all of you guys together on an official release
Have you picked up a copy yet? If so, what did you think of the mastering? Some fans are complaining about typical modern day compression, but to me the remaster is stellar. I can hear some things in the mixes that I never heard before.
I have not. But with your recommendation I may have to…at least for posterity’s sake. If it was on vinyl…I wouldn’t have hesitated.
