First pressings or reissues?

Which do you prefer? The original versions or the reissues, usually with bonus tracks, tons of pics etc.?

Much prefer originals.

I've never really been a fan of reissues. Especially lately, as you see a reissue come out when the original press is still in print! (Roadrunner, anyone?)

I voted for originals, but in all honesty, it depends on the release. If I already own the original, it depends on what the re-issue includes. Rare b-sides or unreleased songs usually grab my interest, demo-versions or live versions do not.

I don't really care. I would rather have a re-issue than none at all.

Depends on the reissues. For example, the original Combat CD release of
Raven's "Nothing Exceeds Like Excess" has terrible mastering, while the
newer Century Media reissue has great sound. However, the recent Ozzy
and Megadeth reissues contain re-recorded parts, additional parts that
weren't in the original recordings, etc., so I am not as anxious to get
those.



Trog and I compared the original mix of "Into the Lungs of Hell" to the
"remixed" version and those added keyboard/horns just suck.



I like the Judas Priest remasters, although I have read some complaints
about the way they were mastered from some people. The KISS remasters
are great.

Well, I do prefer original first versions as well, although some
reissues do come in a very nice packages (Century Media reissues, Judas
Priest reissues, Metal Mind Production ...).



Some of it were done really horrible, though (Onslaught - The Force -
the sound totally sucks there!! - It's way better on my mp3 copy; or
Exciter - Violence and Force, which has no booklet at all).

I don't mind either because I'm usually exposed to the reissues, but I started listening to megadeth with some cd'rs my friend burned for me. When i bought the album Rust in peace and youthanasia I was pretty sad because it sounded different to the originals.

I prefer the originals as well, but when the Judas Priest re-issues came out thet were excellent but it depended on what version you got. They had the grey remaster logo and they had they silver grey shiney one! I had the whole remaster set but I sold it like a dummy I still kick myself today for it! And it came with the box as well!

Wargod48

NP: Nameless Crime - Law And Persecution

Doesn't really make a difference to me ... if I can find an original pressing on the cheap, then that's fine by me, but I have no problems with a reissue either. Especially if you're talkin about a particularly rare CD that's been OOP for a long time and the original is going for insane amounts of $$ on eBay, then I will gladly settle for a re-issue!

Couldn't vote, as the completist in me usually requires I get both.



Arttie

I usually go for the reissues. Bonus tracks are my bread and butter!

Fat Freddy wrote:

Doesn't really make a difference to me ... if I can find an original pressing on the cheap, then that's fine by me, but I have no problems with a reissue either. Especially if you're talkin about a particularly rare CD that's been OOP for a long time and the original is going for insane amounts of $$ on eBay, then I will gladly settle for a re-issue!

Those are my sentiments exactly.

Either way for me, as long as it sounds good. I may slightly prefer having originals, and a lot of "bonus" material is not worth listening to.

ack

I do prefer original first versions..

either way for me, although I do give a slight favor to originals because It does annoy me when they rearange tracklisting on re-issues sometimes. The band made them in that order usually for a reason (unless they reordered them, a la Megadeth reissues).

Just because of the ideosyncratic way I have of accessing my playlists, I prefer the originals. (I like to program a bunch of music from a similar genre into a group mode, and then let it play randomly).
The re-issues often have the levels cranked way up compared to what I would call "traditional" levels, but then they also like to add "bonus" tracks that are sometimes interesting, but all too often very poorly recorded or deteriorated live tracks that someone found in a vault. The combination sometimes makes random play kind of hard on the nerves. Sometimes I have to re-burn certain discs to get the levels compatible with the rest of my collection, or to delete very poorly recorded bonus tracks. The up side of the re-issues is that the sound quality is often better, even though it is way up in the red.

Parksey wrote:

either way for me, although I do give a slight favor to originals because It does annoy me when they rearange tracklisting on re-issues sometimes. The band made them in that order usually for a reason (unless they reordered them, a la Megadeth reissues).

Yeah, the Raw Power Maiden reissues changed the track order of the self-titled release. That ws lame!

ack

I don't really care. I usually buy the least expensive stuff I can find.

TH Joe wrote:

I don't really care. I usually buy the least expensive stuff I can find.

That's pretty much how it boils down for me too.

I try to get most value for my money, so i try to own the version with the most songs :p

I probably own more remasters than originals, but it depends. As long as I have it, it's fine with me.

If they are done well, I usually prefer the remasters. In the case of Megadeth (as ult mentioned above) and even some of the Priest ones, there are some differences from the originals. When I notice that, I usually get the remasters and then have cdr copies of the original releases as well, especially if they are albums that have been extremely familiar to me for many years. That being said though, I think the Megadeth and Priest remasters are quite good for the most part. The remasters also tend to have superior packaging in most cases, and I like that aspect.

In the case of the latest Ozzy remasters, history was violated FAR too much for my liking when Lee Kerslake's and Bob Daisley's drum and bass parts (respectively) were totally re-recorded by two other players. A few added embellishments here and there is one thing, but to totally replace the rhythm tracks in their entirety on 25 year old CLASSIC albums? That's just going WAY too far, IMO. I boycott those versions like the plague. I have the 22-bit remasters from the mid-90's instead, since the original rhythm tracks are intact on those. I've heard the "new" versions and anyone who has grown up with the original recordings will pick out the differences immediately. The parts are solid, but you simply can't reproduce the subtle nuances and the vibe that was present at the original sessions.

Some GREAT remasters series I have:

BLACK SABBATH (Castle - superior packaging to the Black Box versions, though the sound might not be quite as good)

BLUE OYSTER CULT (Columbia - awesome bonus tracks and packaging)

DEEP PURPLE (EMI/Spitfire - first 3 albums remastered from the original masters - possibly for the first time - with superior packaging)

IRON MAIDEN (Century Media - great remasters with great packaging. If these are different from the originals in any way, I can't tell.)

KISS (Mercury - the remasters' sound quality is exponentially better than the original CD releases)

OZZY OSBOURNE (Sony 22 bit remasters from the mid-90's with the original rhythm tracks intact)

STRYPER (Hollywood - not much different in the packaging dept. but the sound is better than the original Enigma releases)

TWISTED SISTER (Spitfire - my only complaint is that Under the Blade is the American mix, which was not nearly as heavy as the original Secret records mix.)

Most times I will go for the reissue.
More songs, more pictures and better sound can`t be bad?

Would you pay $15 for rerelease with two bonus tracks and cool booklet ... or $130 for a first press?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290082718009

I seriously didn't know that this is so rare and worthy, especially since it's been rereleased and is widely accessible!

sovdat wrote:

Would you pay $15 for rerelease with two bonus tracks and cool booklet ... or $130 for a first press?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290082718009

I seriously didn't know that this is so rare and worthy, especially since it's been rereleased and is widely accessible!

That is just complete stupidity IMO.