RICHARD ABOWITZ ON POP CULTURE
Even better than the real thing
How many times will you buy the same Jethro Tull songs? How many Who anthologies will the hardcore pick up? The compact disc versions of the classics gave way to re-issues with bonus tracks and then re-masters of those re-issues. Mostly, the differences mattered to technical geeks and audio aficionados. But some classics have been so altered by this process that to hear them now is a different musical journey than was on the original vinyl. Like dueling versions of James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” as rock becomes art there will be scholars bickering about the stereo mix that now comes attached to every re-issue of “Pet Sounds” or, for that matter, should the stereo separation on “Sgt. Pepper” mix vocals and instruments more to modern tastes? Would that be heresy? Here is my list of the top 5 classics that I think are better now than they ever were on vinyl:
1. The Doors, “The Doors”: The debut disc from the Doors had its most recent re-issue this year and it is the one to get. It includes three bonus tracks (two of which are versions of “Moonlight Drive”). But what makes this version of the debut worth getting is changes to the three most famous tracks: “Break On Through (to the Other Side),” “Light My Fire” and “The End.” Jim Morrison’s vocal on “Break on Through,” for the first time, offers his original lyric repeatedly screamed as “She gets high” instead of the garble of suppressed syllables following a couple of clipped “She gets … ” that generations of classic rock radio listeners were weaned upon. Also, Doors fans might want to grab the latest re-issue of “Waiting for the Sun,” which offers a studio version of the mythic ever-evolving “Celebration of the Lizard.”
2. Ramones, “Leave Home”: The Ramones second disc did not suffer from a sophomore slump and remains an essential part of any music collection. The 2001 re-issue restores “Carbona Not Glue,” which Carbona had removed from the original vinyl (to be replaced on vinyl and early compact discs by later single “Sheena is a Punk Rocker,” which did not fit Leave Home’s sound but kept the lawyers happy). But what really makes this 2001 re-issue the one to own is the addition of a complete 1976 concert from the Roxy. Yeah, that’s a lot of songs to fit on one disc but this is the band that worked its magic best when keeping each song under two minutes.
3. Iggy and the Stooges, “Raw Power”: Iggy notes in the liner notes: “The first time Rolling Stone covered us in words, the article carried a disclaimer ‘Coverage of this group does not constitute an endorsement on the part of the Rolling Stone editorial staff.’ ” Radio was as happy with the Stooges as the editorial staff of Rolling Stone. And, by 1972, when the band recorded its third disc, “Raw Power,” they probably only managed to hold a record contract because fan and megastar David Bowie stepped into mix the result. It’s hard to remember how raw the Stooges were back in this period. It also was impossible to hear on Bowie’s mix that was released on vinyl as “Raw Power.” This disastrous swan song would mark the end of the Stooges for decades. I owned the vinyl and remember how muffled David Bowie’s mix made these songs. But after three earlier compact disc versions of “Raw Power,” in 1996 Iggy Pop went back and remade the original master. The result issued by Columbia/Legacy the following year for the first time let “Raw Power” be the roaring monster that legend has always accorded this band. Get this.
4. The Allman Brothers, “At the Filmore East”: Long considered perhaps the greatest live album ever, the music from The Allman Brothers 1971 Fillmore concerts has enjoyed lots of re-issues including, most controversially, the remixed 1992 double disc, “The Fillmore Concerts,” which remade this into music Duane Allman (who died a few months after the original vinyl was released) may have played on but put it in a format he would not have recognized. This 2003 issue restores the running order and balance and has all of the bonus tracks to bring together a healthy and respectful version in fabulous fidelity of the Allmans’ hot June nights at the Fillmore.
5. Big Star, “Third/Sister Lover”: Like The Beach Boys’ “Smile” and The Who’s “Lighthouse,” Big Stars’ 1978 third release was more a myth than a reality. Though music geeks would value and trade and endlessly worship the music recorded from the sessions on a variety of official and unofficial releases -- what the official album was on vinyl was hard to say even for hardcore fans. Alex Chilton’s flawed masterpiece enjoyed numerous releases with different running orders and songs. Even basic questions were obscure in the vinyl era: Is the title “Third” or “Sister Lover”? By 1987, when the Replacements recorded fan letter “Alex Chilton,” there was no officially available version of this music. Finally, Rhino’s 1992 release brings 19 songs together from the 1978 sessions under the dual title “Third/Sister Lover” with no distinctions between vinyl predecessors and bonus tracks. This version offers an essay that gives some explanation of all of the mysteries. In short, this 1992 disc is really the first actual version of an album that had been a classic since 1978, a pretty neat trick.