The only place you'll find the STEREO mix of Little Sister's "You're The One" on CD... and tape-sourced and complete to boot! Unfortunately this CD isn't mastered well and does make use of NR (especially noticeable in the fades)... but you'll sadly have to live with it.

AVOID THIS REISSUE! It was remastered by Jon Astley during his worst years and is smothered in NR, making JLH's guitar sound like it's underwater. Also Dave Sax's liner notes are axed for some reason. Get the original Flyright CD if you want it done right.

More info (thanks to Laservampire from SHForums): https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/john-lee-hooker-best-sources-thread.747745/#post-18562978

Perfect example of not judging a book CD by its cover. The original Flyright CD of JLH's 1949 private home recordings might look worse than the later Astley-mastered Eagle CD, but it actually sounds much better with no smothering NR to be found here! Not an audiophile recording by any means, but you get the flat transfer warts-and-all and are free to adjust it to your own tastes with your own EQ. You also get Dave Sax's liner notes which were dropped from the later CD.

More info here (along with just being an excellent well of info if you're interested in finding JLH's stuff in the best quality): https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/john-lee-hooker-best-sources-thread.747745/#post-18562978

P.S. Yes, it's recorded by THAT Gene Deitch, the famous independent animation director. If all you've seen is his crummy Tom & Jerrys, I encourage you to look at the rest of his film oeuvre (e.g. his Terrytoons, Nudnik)... they're MUCH better.

This collection is like the poster child for bad remastering: bad EQ, bad brickwalling, and bad NR (noise reduction) to top it off! You'll be completely unsurprised as to who remastered this. He definitely improved his work later in the late 2000s, but his work from this period ranks among the worst of remastering jobs (just have a listen to the 1998 Odds & Sods and see what I mean!).

If it wasn't for the songs themselves being enjoyable once you look past the deficiencies, I would have given this only 1 star instead of 2. It's just a shame it isn't likely there'll be a redo of the mastering here any time soon.

Some info from SH.TV about this compilation (and the two other volumes in 50s Christmas Classics):

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/current-sony-remaster-campaign-digital-only-releases.776635/page-33#post-33025907

I've just received confirmation from Sony's top A&R man on the mastering for this set:

all the 50s Christmas singles (all hitting DSPs ‘officially’ for the first time) are from original tapes and lacquers carefully remastered by Dr. Mark Wilder at Battery Studios over the past 9 months at true 24/192!

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/50s-christmas-classics-vol-1-sony-legacy-2023-45-track-set.1185911/

A lot of hard work was put into digging for tapes and mastering these. These look to be 45s from the 50's and must have spanned a good number of labels. There might even be one or two previously unreleased tracks here. Let's hope Volume 2 will fiollow next year. Many of these artists I've never heard of. I'll definitely be getting this.

These tracks are from original tapes and lacquers carefully remastered by Dr. Mark Wilder at Battery Studios over the past 9 months at true 24/192!

Some info from SH.TV about this compilation (and the two other volumes in 50s Christmas Classics):

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/current-sony-remaster-campaign-digital-only-releases.776635/page-33#post-33025907

I've just received confirmation from Sony's top A&R man on the mastering for this set:

all the 50s Christmas singles (all hitting DSPs ‘officially’ for the first time) are from original tapes and lacquers carefully remastered by Dr. Mark Wilder at Battery Studios over the past 9 months at true 24/192!

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/50s-christmas-classics-vol-1-sony-legacy-2023-45-track-set.1185911/

A lot of hard work was put into digging for tapes and mastering these. These look to be 45s from the 50's and must have spanned a good number of labels. There might even be one or two previously unreleased tracks here. Let's hope Volume 2 will fiollow next year. Many of these artists I've never heard of. I'll definitely be getting this.

These tracks are from original tapes and lacquers carefully remastered by Dr. Mark Wilder at Battery Studios over the past 9 months at true 24/192!

Some info from SH.TV about this compilation (and the two other volumes in 50s Christmas Classics):

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/current-sony-remaster-campaign-digital-only-releases.776635/page-33#post-33025907

I've just received confirmation from Sony's top A&R man on the mastering for this set:

all the 50s Christmas singles (all hitting DSPs ‘officially’ for the first time) are from original tapes and lacquers carefully remastered by Dr. Mark Wilder at Battery Studios over the past 9 months at true 24/192!

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/50s-christmas-classics-vol-1-sony-legacy-2023-45-track-set.1185911/

A lot of hard work was put into digging for tapes and mastering these. These look to be 45s from the 50's and must have spanned a good number of labels. There might even be one or two previously unreleased tracks here. Let's hope Volume 2 will fiollow next year. Many of these artists I've never heard of. I'll definitely be getting this.

These tracks are from original tapes and lacquers carefully remastered by Dr. Mark Wilder at Battery Studios over the past 9 months at true 24/192!

This is THE compilation to get w/r/t the Beach Boys' Christmas stuff. You get the original Christmas Album in stereo, with the actual stereo album mix of "Little Saint Nick" with the jingle bells deliberately mixed out (also mixed out on the mono album mix), along with the tracks for the aborted 1970's Christmas album, and well-mastered to boot! One of compilation producer Andrew Sandoval's finest work, and a taste of what could have been if he was allowed to do the rest of the Beach Boys' catalogue.

P.S. You want this original 1998 release, not the subsequent 2004 reissue Christmas with the Beach Boys, since the latter omits track 18 "Christmas Time Is Here Again" for whatever reason.

P.P.S. Most reissues of the Beach Boys' Christmas Album replace the actual stereo album mix with a remix that reinserts the jingle bells, for whatever reason.

All of the Stone Flower outtakes recorded in 1970 (2, 15, 17, 18) appear to be lossy-sourced for some reason.

No one mentioned the biggest error on this set, though: the Joe Hicks version of "Life & Death In G & A (Parts 1 & 2)" is a completely different version from the one that was actually released on 45! Listen to the intro and you can immediately tell the organ line is different. Overall it appears to be an earlier version however, considering a lot of the effects like reverb are absent. The actual single version is definitely superior.

Unfortunately, this means the actual single version of "Life & Death In G & A" is missing from this set! Which is a shame, since all the Stone Flower singles are actually from tape this time, unlike Listen to the Voices from Ace Records (which sources these from vinyl). There are no plans to fix this either sadly.

Still, sound-quality aside I prefer Listen to the Voices over this set, simply based on its stronger tracklisting. But this is like choosing one bag of gold over another. Ultimately IMO you'll need both these CDs if you want essential prime Sly.

Unlike the Harden Trio's Columbia Singles compilation, this singles collection for Arlene Harden definitely sticks to its premise and omits the tracks that already appeared on her two Columbia albums. It's a little disappointing not to get the mono single mixes for the singles up to "Lovin' Man", but the omitted tracks from "Funny Familiar Forgotten Feeling" onwards most likely just reuse their respective stereo mixes from their albums, since this collection is stereo from "Coming Home Soldier" onwards.

Another Donovan compilation, this time collecting the 2005 EMI remasters of his albums from Sunshine Superman to Barabajagal, along with some related tracks. Unfortunately since it's just a repackaging, this also means the "fake mix" of "Aye My Love" that just repeats the first verse before fading out at 2 minutes is reused once again!

The REAL version is on the B-side of the original single "Laléna", runs at 1:45 to a cold stop, and features a second verse (credit to Jae from SHForums and website Donovan Unofficial for this info):

Silly would I be to want you
Just to be here by me
Lonely am I this chilly night
But, my love, that is all

As of this writing this version has never been rereleased. Let's hope the next release of this song finally gets it right!

The 2005 remaster of Hurdy Gurdy Man unfortunately reuses the "fake mix" of "Aye My Love" that just repeats the first verse before fading out at 2 minutes, first used on the 1989 EMI compilation Greatest Hits . . . And More. The REAL version is on the B-side to the original single "Laléna", runs at 1:45 to a cold stop, and features a second verse (credit to Jae from SHForums and website Donovan Unofficial for this info):

Silly would I be to want you
Just to be here by me
Lonely am I this chilly night
But, my love, that is all

As of this writing this version has never been rereleased. Let's hope the next release of this song finally gets it right!

What a confusing compilation. Despite what the title may imply, this collection does NOT feature this group's complete set of Columbia singles. At first I thought only single-exclusive tracks were included, but two tracks ("Husbands and Wives", "Childhood Place") actually do appear on the album Sing Me Back Home.

Comparing with 45cat.com, here are the non-45 exclusive tracks omitted:
- Poor Boy (A-side to "Let It Be Me")
- Tippy Toeing / Don't Remind Me
- Little Boy Walk Like A Man / Dear Brother
- He Looks A Lot Like You / My Friend Mr. Echo

The main issue is that this group's albums as reissued digitally by Columbia/Legacy are in stereo, while this collection is strictly in mono. And knowing Columbia, that's at least 7 dedicated mono tracks we're missing out on!

At least this collection offers two tracks that seemingly haven't been released until now (and I can't find any trace of them on here or 45cat): "Trip to Tijuana" and "Tijuana Taxi". Still, it's a lopsided compilation that seemingly can't follow its own unstated rules.

This CD is also the origin of the "fake" mix of "Aye My Love", where the first verse is just repeated and then the instrumental is just looped as it fades out. Unfortunately this has been the version used on all subsequent CDs, even on the 2005 remaster of The Hurdy Gurdy Man!

The REAL original mono 45 of "Aye My Love" (B-side to "Lalena") ends cold at 1:45 rather than fading out, and has a second verse not heard since its release, which goes like so:

Silly would I be to want you
Just to be here by me
Lonely am I this chilly night
But, my love, that is all

Many thanks to Jae on the SHForums and the Donovan Unofficial website for bringing this to light!

Important note: the original 45 mix of "Aye My Love" here has NEVER been officially rereleased digitally! The original runs 1:45 while every rerelease since the 1989 EMI comp Greatest Hits . . . And More uses an edited version that runs around 2 minutes but just repeats the first verse before fading out. Even the 2005 remaster of The Hurdy Gurdy Man uses this edit!

The REAL 45 mix features a second verse never heard since its release, and then ends cold rather than fading out. Here is the verse:

Silly would I be to want you
Just to be here by me
Lonely am I this chilly night
But, my love, that is all

Many thanks to Jae on the SHForums and the Donovan Unofficial website for bringing this to light!

Not really a surprise since this came out in 1967, but the mono mix of this album is 100% dedicated, and oh what a glorious mix it is! The tracks that stand out the most with mixing differences are the following:

- "All Strung Out Over You"
- "I Can't Stand It"
- "Uptown"

All 3 of these tracks were originally released as A-sides on 45 and share the same mixes here. Their mono mixes all feature additional overdubs that were omitted from the stereo versions; with extra handclaps on "All Strung Out", crowd overdubs on "Uptown", and a mix of both on "I Can't Stand It" (which also features an extra count-in not on the stereo mix)! Check out the videos on the side in the Discogs entries linked to see how the singles sound like.

Surprisingly the title track ("Time Has Come Today") doesn't really have much differences between mono/stereo, but that's probably due to the nature of its recording (it was produced, effects and all, in one continuous take!).

EDIT: Updated to mention the extra count-in on "I Can't Stand It".

The CD features 19 tracks while the cassette features 22 tracks in total, with 3 extra tracks (B8-10) inserted between T Bone Burnett's "Nothing In Return" and The Jesus & Mary Chain's "Reverberation", with the two tracks being tracks 18 and 19 on the CD.

The Mighty Lemon Drops' "Splash 1" can be found on their compilation CD Happy Head, which combines two of their albums, one of which is also called Happy Head while the other is called Out Of Hand, the latter on which "Splash 1" first appeared.

Lyres' "We Sell Soul" can be found digitally on either their EP Nobody But Lyres or their later release Some Lyres (which was also released on vinyl and cassette).

That leaves only the Angry Samoans' "White Faces"... which can only be found on the cassette or RSD vinyl edition for this album. Aaargh!! Come on Sire/WB, put all the extra cassette tracks on digital or CD already!