Talking Heads Remastered


Anyone out there splurg on the newly remastered Talking Heads Catalog "Brick"? Released on dualdisc with remastered stereo mixes on CD layer and extra tracks from the recording sessions and video and 5.1 mixes on the DVD layer. Every Talking Heads studio album is in the collection.

These albums were in desperate need of remastering as they came out in the late seventies and 80s. The original CD attempts sound pretty bad.

I've only been istening for a week and don't do 5.1, but the new mixes really add alot. They are tastfully done (Jerry Harrison had a lot to do with it) and sound great. I encourage any Talking heads fan to update their collection with this set.

Anyone else hear these things?

-Karl
128x128karl_desch
Heh.

I believe I was typing, and believe it or not, I did read what you wrote. If you were referring to the 4 disc boxed set "Once in a lifetime" then I appologize as I don't recall the packaging. But if you were referring to the Brick as Paradales was, and still think the art is horrible, I disagree. I think the artwork complements the spirit of the music nicely.

Sorry to disappoint but if you listen to the Brick (and read the production credits) you will see that these are not the the same remasters released 2 years ago on the "Once in a Lifetime" collection. The brick benefits from Mr. Harrisons personal touch.

Cheers.
Karl seems we are talking at cross purposes I thought Paradales reference to the Brick (which I now think he thought I was talking about but was mistaken)was a nickname for the very long Once In A Lifetime box set shape.

So the three of us have picked it up wrong somewhere.
I apologise for my part in that.

The artwork for OIAL is horrendous imho and totally at odds (probably the reason why)with the usual TH artwork.The packaging is awkward and hopeless to be frank.

As for the remastering, the bottom line is OIAL was the first major remastering of the TH back catalogue and done by Bob Ludwig who is widely considered the best in the business.
The British versions of the single albums have nothing on the outside to distinguish that they've been done again

Your implying that the new ones are better maybe they are but unless I've misread your note you haven't compared both either.

Personally to be honest I'd rather have the single albums in their original form and I'll probably pick them up when they come down in price and are released without the 5.1/DVD disc.
That's what usually happens with these type of releases.
Yes it is clear. Sorry for the confusion.

I have enjoyed a lot of releases done by Bob Ludwig recently. The new Air album comes to mind. I think if you can avoid the trend of mastering with incredibly hot levels you can avoid the inherent loss of dynamics and still please the band.

On the new remasters I can find no mention of Mr Ludwig. The only reason they may be better is that they include the complete album. I think both the stereo and the DVD-A mixes were done by Jerry Harrison and another engineer who's name escapes me at the moment.

I also prefer the whole album approach as opposed to the compilation. Single albums are now available on the dreaded dual disk format which happily work just fine in my CD player.
Out of interest it'd be nice to know if anybody has compared the two different remasters-Ludwig's box set from 2003 and the new single albums (and Brick!) by Harrison.
I like the new Brick Harrison version better than the Ludwig box. Both were an improvement, but the low level eff ects seem to get better captured on the Harrison discs

haven't done a direct a/b just recall the jump up for the early box then more nuances second time around

that long box artwork - especially the naked men was horrid
the liner notes were stellar and a shame they couldn't do something similar for the brick

I would have like to seen the songs listed on the back of the brick discs. You have to pull out the small booklets to get a track reading - annoying

like the Remain in Light extras

Tom