Phantoms Reissue/'remaster'

[The Whistler]

I have the exact same arguement w/ a guy on another forum, I guess it's what you're brought up w/ and how your ear is trained. I have yet to hear a cd remaster that sounds warm, rich and has the separation of instruments that vinyl has, then again I am not seduced by technology, I pick and choose what works for me.

p.s. Listening to Calm Animals remaster, sounds thin and wirey.

[dejapete]

In spite of the aforementioned downfalls and disappointmets, I'd like to get a reissue of Phantoms. Where is one available?

[Skippy]

I ordered a copy from Amazon several months ago.

[Steve Pariseau]

Wow, don't tell me it's getting hard to come by again.

I took a look at Deepdiscountcd.com where I buy a lot of stuff from and Phantoms seems to be the only album not available (aside from Walkabout).

I hope you find it Deja.

[Skippy]

This was a lively thread some time ago. There was a good debate about the quality of the remaster. I must admit that I am not technically savvy enough to provide any insight on that issue. However, it seems that the concensus of replies finds Phantoms to be a special album for fans.

Since there is new material on the way, is there anyway the band could revisit whatever was going on in their collective minds when they created Phantoms? Not a repeat as that never seems to work, but something really drove it to be so original. I defer to the artistic genius of the band of course. Perhaps it is better to look at the horizon in front as opposed to the horizon behind.

Does anyone know the band well enough to ask if they could give us a retrospective look at Phantoms - or at least let them know how much the fans really appreciate Phantoms?

Thanks.

[Beached Male]

There is a review of Phantoms in Amazon that says the stereo imaging was reversed (Left Channel plays former Right Channel music, vice versa). Not sure if that is accurate.
I wore out 2 albums and one tape of Phantoms. Regardless of the audiophile critique, I'm expecting the CD to last longer.
BM

[Abacab]

Originally posted by Beached Male
There is a review of Phantoms in Amazon that says the stereo imaging was reversed (Left Channel plays former Right Channel music, vice versa). Not sure if that is accurate.
I wore out 2 albums and one tape of Phantoms. Regardless of the audiophile critique, I'm expecting the CD to last longer.
BM

Sadly, it is accurate.

[Skippy]

You have me intrigued Abacab. Last time I listened to an LP, I was not able to appreciate the dynamics of vinyl - there weren't CDs' to really compare it to. You seem confident with your assessment of vinyl over digital. I think record players are really expensive now. Do you have any advice for a cost effective way to check out vinyl again?
Thanks for the input on the sound.

[Abacab]

I imagine you can pick up a cheap turntable from an independent music store. Also try eBay. I must add the caveat on my opinion of digital over vinyl - the engineer doing the mastering is crucial. There are a lot of horrible "remasters" out there where my original CD from 1982 sounds better.

[Beached Male]

I never did respond again (Abacab) to this long ago, but did have a recent remembrance of this post, as I started up "Are We Ourselves" from the "Greatest Hits" version and noticed the initial guitar twang on the other channel than what I was used to (had been listening to the "remastered" Phantoms a lot that put it on opposite channel).

Sad but true, the Phantoms remaster was botched by the not-so-tech-savvy recording company knuckleheads. Now I'm wishing we'd have another, "correct" remastering done...
BM