Opinions on best Hollies cd issues

[nashfan076]

So I'm interested in opinions on the best versions of the Hollies original albums on cd. Are the BGOs worth hearing or the EMI mono/stereo and the Japanese SACD ones?

[cameron]

This is very much a can of worms! I'll just add my preference: 

1. Stay With The Hollies - EMI stereo/mono
2. In The Hollies Style - EMI stereo/mono
3. Hollies (1965) - French Magic Records 
4. Would You Believe - EMI stereo/mono
5. For Certain Because... - EMI stereo/mono
6. Evolution - Sundazed Records (US)
7. Butterfly - French Magic Records or 
8. Hollies Sing Dylan - EMI either the 1999 issue or the later reissue with 20 Golden Greats as a 2CD set
9. Hollies Sing Hollies - EMI 1999
10. Confessions of the Mind - EMI 1999
12. Distant Light - USA Epic CD
13. Romany - EMI 2007
14. Hollies (1974) - EMI 2007
15. Another Night - EMI 2007
16. Write On - French Magic Records
17. Russian Roulette - French Magic Records
18. A Crazy Steal - Four Hollies Originals (EMI)
19. 5317704 - Four More Hollies Originals (EMI)
19. Buddy Holly - EMI 2007

I don't mess with the Japanese SACDs as they claim to have new mastering but they don't. They also have appalling coupling of the bonus tracks with the wrong albums. The basic mastering is as follows: 

BGO 1990 - usually the mono mixes of albums pre-1969, fairly flat transfers 
EMI 1997 - these are usually quite lively clean sounding transfers, found mostly on the 3CD 'Special Collection' from 1997. 
Sundazed 1999 - These are slightly beefier sounding transfers than the ones used by EMI
EMI 1999 - completely flat lifeless transfers complete with some flaws in the mastering, but these form the basis for all CD releases since except... 
Magic Records 2005-6 - a very mixed bag but the ones noted in my list above sound noticeably more lively than the flat 1999 transfers 
EMI 2003 - some were redone for the 2003 'Long Road Home' boxset and sound cleaner and more lively 
EMI 2007 - these are the best remasters so far, 'Romany' through to 'Buddy Holly' with some of the late 1970s albums missing. Listen to 'The Baby' on the 2003 master vs the 2007 master and you can instantly hear the improvement
Japan SACD 2020 - these are NOT new masters despite the claims, and some of the bonus tracks are not sourced from the master tapes 

Notable/good sounding compilations include: 
1990 'Epic Anthology' - great sounding compilation from the US with some session chat and rarities that made their debut here.
1991 '20 Golden Greats' - a nice authentic sounding CD using pre-noise reduction transfers. 
1993 '30th Anniversary Collection' - virtually all remixed from the session tapes, sadly cooked at the mastering stage, but a very interesting comp nonetheless. 
1997 'Special Collection 3CD' - very clean and warm sounding with unique master tape transfers to my ears. 
2003 'Long Road Home' - lots of new mastering for this set, very clean overall with some rare tracks unique to this boxset.
2011 'Clarke Hicks & Nash Years' - Very much a mixed bag of mastering, but the only place to get the live Lewisham Odeon set.
2016 'Changin Times' - clean sounding throughout, all the 1999 and 2007 remasters used here sound great and the CD debut of the cancelled 'Out On The Road' album from the master tapes  

[nashfan076]

Very nice assessment. I had to read it a couple times because it makes your head spin with all these different issues mixes etc. Interesting choice on the Sundazed Evolution. I also keep hearing that Magic Records Butterfly is the way to go too. I'm seeing at the Hoffman forums that the Japanese sacds are the same as those earlier EMI mono/stereo ones but with bonus tracks.

[baz]

Feb 28, 2023 19:28:52 GMT nashfan076 said:

Very nice assessment. I had to read it a couple times because it makes your head spin with all these different issues mixes etc. Interesting choice on the Sundazed Evolution. I also keep hearing that Magic Records Butterfly is the way to go too. I'm seeing at the Hoffman forums that the Japanese sacds are the same as those earlier EMI mono/stereo ones but with bonus tracks.

Avoid the 1999 EMI Butterfly... that had a mastering glitch which had the first half a second of each track clipped so the very start of each track was at the end of the preceding track... given that's my fave Hollies album, you need not guess how annoyed I was when I got that! It also has some strange stereo balancing issues on the stereo mix proving it was a half-assed job done badly. EMI went nuts with the no-noise stuff and that plagued many of their reissues during the late 90's, early noughties. The Hoffman forum sure gets colourful when those come under their microscope, a particular fave being the 2001 version of ELO's first album.

[nashfan076]

Oh that's the one. I'd be aggravated about that too. I won't even bother with that. I will say it gets interesting on the Hoffman forums. I'll have to check out that thread about the ELO album. I like that one.

[cameron]

It’s worth noting that none of these CDs come close to the excitement of the original vinyl. ‘Confessions of the Mind’ has so much clarity, depth and presence on vinyl, but is as flat as a pancake on CD. Same with ‘Distant Light’, it’s very bass-heavy on vinyl and flat on CD. The original stereo pressing of ‘Butterfly’ is also powerful and dynamic, whereas the CDs are all flat with the Magic Records version coming the closest to reproducing the original vinyl, but sadly clips the first drum beat on ‘Away Away Away’. ‘Evolution’ also has a psychedelic “warble” on ‘Then The Heartaches Begin’ that’s missing on all CD issues. By vinyl I refer to the original Parlophone pressings from the UK.

Where things improve was with EMI’s 2007 remasters. ‘Romany’ comes so close to the original UK vinyl on CD here. Plus the appropriate bonus tracks are included too. The Japanese ones are a mess. 1968 Nash-era stuff with ‘Hollies Sing Hollies’?! It’s like pairing Sgt. Pepper era outtakes with Abbey Road.

[nashfan076]

Yes I heard that as far as vinyl the original UK Parlophone ones are best. US issues are not great.