New Wave Outpost Forum

Well i couldn't disagree more would have to disagree TOTALLY 100% i'm afraid. Immaculate was a bunch of remixes from the time (1990). GHV2 was a kind of Greatest hits version 2 but as i said there was no version 1. As for Celebration, have you ever seen a fan pull that release apart? I'd love to find something i read at the time regarding that truly shocking release. There were edits on there like Cherish which had NEVER appeared anywhere before and didn't even make sense. No one seems to know where they came from some speculate there were made-up new edits for the release. Real fans were appalled by it. I certainly don't mean every release from around the world but these three single collections you mentioned were a joke. You can't even obtain the single mixes to her first dozen or so hits. Holiday, Borderline, Lucky star.

Don't want to hijack this Midge Ure thread but i still can't find that piece from the time. This is one piece i have found though... There are 16 previously released songs featured in their full-length, original album versions... MUSIC - MASTERING ERROR: multiple digital pops and clicks that are not part of the original recording can be heard throughout this song... DIE ANOTHER DAY - MASTERING ERROR: Track fades up late due to the incorrectly placed track index on the American Life album. This is ridiculous. The unaffected album version appears on both the US Promo CD single and the Die Another Day film soundtrack, all Warner Bros. releases... HOLLYWOOD - MASTERING ERROR: Track starts abruptly and end of "American Life"'s fade out is audible... Of these, ten were released as singles in versions that differ from these LP mixes. I would have much preferred the inclusion of the difficult to obtain single mixes, but I'm in therapy and have mostly moved on. Mostly... ...and one more is a rarity from a US promo CD: HUNG UP ([Unblended] Album Version)... Next up, there are five remixes lifted directly from The Immaculate Collection... BORDERLINE (1990) (Q Sound Mix), LIKE A VIRGIN (1990) (Q Sound Mix), CRAZY FOR YOU (1990) (Q Sound Mix), OPEN YOUR HEART (1990) (Q Sound Mix), VOGUE (1990) (Q Sound Mix)... And now we pause to ask ourselves why... One appears to be a from-the-vault rarity, likely included by mistake. LUCKY STAR - ALTERNATIVE Q SOUND MIX

As for the rest, quality control has reached an all time low: EVERYBODY - FAKE EDIT

This uses the full length, original 12" version as its starting point (as did the official 7" single version), but is structured differently. While the overall idea for this edit wasn't horrendous, whoever was placed in charge of actually executing the edits needs to be tortured. Slowly... painfully
DRESS YOU UP - ****ED UP INTRO

What the hell happened here? This isn't a mix variation so much as a mastering error... the album version started late with severe tape pinch/phasing issues right at the top. Of the four beats on the intro, all but the fourth are missing
EXPRESS YOURSELF - FAKE ****ING ****.

The most offensive. In a failed attempt to kindofsortof recreate the video version, they have taken the complete intro straight off of the Local Mix, "zipper" included. The actual, official video version starts at the percussion and is specially mixed to have echo on the line "Do you believe in love..." which is dry on the Local Mix and therefore not present here. This new monstrosity then incorrectly cuts to the 7" Remix/Edit version and then again where they have BUTCHERED the song right at the bridge. A bad edit jumps the track from the end of the chorus to the repeat of the bridge which kills the structure of the track. This version is unlistenable.
EROTICA - FAKE Radio Edit

The edit points are around the same places as the OFFICIAL radio edit, but are poorly executed. The worst is around 3:30... they cut a beat late making for one of the sloppiest moments on this royal****upofacompilation. I don't understand why this needed to be recreated as the official edit appears on countless singles and 2001's GHV2 compilation. Oh. And the "surface noise" on the end of "Erotica" overlaps the beginning of "Justify My Love"
DON'T TELL ME - FAKE Radio Edit

The least offensive/noticeable fake edit, but incorrect nonetheless. The true radio edit was a unique mix for the very last second that does not feature the "whimsical strings" tag. For Celebration, they have chopped off the end, but the first millisecond of this tag is audible.

Oh and this is from Discogs...

Noteable errors in liner notes:
Patrick Leonard is mistakenly given writting credit for "Beautiful Stranger" instead of William Orbit.
William Orbit is mistakenly given producer credit for "Die Another Day" instead of Mirwais.

There are also editing errors on Erotica and Cherish, which were corrected on the second edition.

Madonna singles collections have to be the most f***** up appalling set of releases EVER to hit the shelves IMO.

I apologize in advance for veering off topic, but I could not agree with Neil Kelly more. I'm a huge fan of Madonna, and her so-called "hits" collections are appalling. "Immaculate Collection" worked for a remixed "hits" collection but not for a standard "greatest hits" type of release. All hits were remixed, which was a nice treat for fans wanting something new. However, those are not the original released hit single versions. Many of those hit single versions remain hard to find and available on rare vinyl or promo-only discs still to this day.

"GHV2" was a better attempt since it used mostly single mixes/edits for its selection, yet it used album versions for some tracks in which radio/single edit versions should have been used (i.e. "Drowned World", "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like For A Girl".) It wasn't consistent.

Just when one thought that it could not get any worse we got the "Celebration" collection. You already nailed all the f*ck-ups. With "Cherish", we got new lyrics with "can't get away, I won't let to" instead of "can't get away, I won't let you" due to the "Album Version" being sliced at the wrong point. Don't get me started on the quick fade-out. It just didn't work.

Let's not forget that two of her biggest hits, "Like A Prayer" and "Express Yourself", are still unavailable commercially on CD in their radio/single versions 24 years after their release. (They are only available on promo CDs).

Warner has also neglected her back catalog. Her first three albums were remastered in 2001, yet we have not seen any further remastering or upgrading of the rest of her back catalog. It's unfortunate since she is apparently the biggest selling female artist of all time, yet we get artists who have not sold nearly as many records having their back catalogs reissued over and over again. I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that for now.

As for the topic at hand, I intend on picking up this new Midge Ure compilation ... eventually. First, I'm concerned about MP3 files being used like with the Blancmange Music Club Deluxe best of from 2012.

Lol Bellenger1981 you have hit the nail on the head too my friend. Don't know what rules are on posting links (if i'm in the wrong someone please tell me) but i have to post this.. http://forum.rollingstone.de/showthread.php?t=38348 The 'Celebration' DVD review had me in hysterics. Favourite bits No. 27 'Worth pulling your eyes out with a dirty spoon used by someone with Avian flue' and No. 38 'The fart of a dead moose would sound better than this (at least it wouldn't start with the last bits of another song!)'

Sorry I mentioned it.

BTW, Warner probably hasn't bothered to remaster the rest of Madonna's back catalog because she's no longer on the label. And someone of her clout probably has a sweet revenue deal on all re-releases, so the label's thinking is, "Why bother?" (See also, Prince.)

[quote][i]Originally posted by rewind[/i]
<br>Sorry I mentioned it.
[/quote]

[:D][:D][:D]

Sugoi !!!

Well, sorry to interrupt the Madonna stuff, but for a moment back to Mr. Ure - is there anything on this best-of that hasn't been released on the remasters of his albums?

Only Textures seem to be new for CD (and I'm not even sure about that and may be wrong). Overall, a missed opportunity - just a bog-standard compilation the likes of which on Midge were released already several times in the past. Boring. I personally won't bother.

Crystal, as i said apologies for going off topic but it's hardly worth starting a new thread over now is it? Do we have to stick 100% to topic? It turned into a discussion on possibilities of a Midge Ure Production release and went from there. If Madonna bores you, just ignore my later comments. Lol, Rewind, just that the subject is one which, as a fan, i'm sure you understand, greatly annoys me.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Passing_Stranger[/i]
<br>Only Textures seem to be new for CD (and I'm not even sure about that and may be wrong). Overall, a missed opportunity - just a bog-standard compilation the likes of which on Midge were released already several times in the past. Boring. I personally won't bother.
[/quote]

I seem to recall Textures is on one of the other Midge compilations (No Regrets, perhaps)

[quote][i]Originally posted by Neil Kelly[/i]
<br>Lol Bellenger1981 you have hit the nail on the head too my friend. Don't know what rules are on posting links (if i'm in the wrong someone please tell me) but i have to post this.. http://forum.rollingstone.de/showthread.php?t=38348 The 'Celebration' DVD review had me in hysterics. Favourite bits No. 27 'Worth pulling your eyes out with a dirty spoon used by someone with Avian flue' and No. 38 'The fart of a dead moose would sound better than this (at least it wouldn't start with the last bits of another song!)'
[/quote]
Thanks for the link. Very informative and funny.

[quote][i]Originally posted by rewind[/i]
<br>BTW, Warner probably hasn't bothered to remaster the rest of Madonna's back catalog because she's no longer on the label. And someone of her clout probably has a sweet revenue deal on all re-releases, so the label's thinking is, "Why bother?" (See also, Prince.)
[/quote]
But, she was on the label until 2008, giving Warner seven years to reissue remaining albums. It probably has to do with the latter -- that is, her having a big stake in all reissues. She's not the only major Warner artist whose back catalog has been neglected, so maybe it's just a Warner thing.