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Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:09 am
by Rubellan
It was brought to my attention that Cherry Red are releasing a "Complete Recordings" CD by Berlin Blondes in October. I did have this confirmed, though I have no idea what the source material is or how "Complete" it really is. I will be devastated if they f*ck this one up because I absolutely love this album. It is something I was contemplating requesting to license in the future, but since it's so obscure I was really concerned about sales potential. So I will be happy that CR decided to run with it as long as it's done properly.

Scott @ Rubellan Remasters

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:27 am
by postpunkmonk
I waited from 1980 until 1997 to find this album! I then waited until 2009 to finally play/remaster it and the "Framework" 12" I bought in the same store and made a CD of it. It's pretty Sparks influenced, but also redolent of the Numan aesthetic of the time. I recently found the "Science" and "Marseilles" 7" singles and was pondering one of the inevitable remasters to my own line of discs that need to happen after numerous years. Even my hobbyist label falls prey to this trend as new sounds are unearthed. Now I will hold off and see what Cherry Red will do. Hopefully, it will be perfect. But I will buy it in any case since it will be glass mastered. That still counts for a lot by me.

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 10:47 am
by thunderbird2
yippee another one off the list lets hope CR does it credit like some of the better ones they have done eg kissing the pink

work ...work...framework

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:42 am
by omar
And here's the track list according to CR's website. Released Oct. 9th, and there's no mention of how or who remastered this.

BERLIN BLONDES: ORIGINAL ALBUM

1. FRAMEWORK
2. ASTRO
3. SCIENCE
4. ROMANCE
5. TRAIL TO ISTANBUL
6. SECRET DAYS
7. MANNEQUIN
8. NEON PROBE
9. ZERO SONG

BONUS TRACKS

10.FRAMEWORK (7″ REMIX)
11.FRAMEWORK (12″ REMIX)
12.ZERO SONG (INSTRUMENTAL)
13.SCIENCE (7″ MIX)
14.MANIKIN (MANNEQUIN INSTRUMENTAL)
15.MARSEILLE
16.THE POET
17.SCIENCE (AUSTRALIAN 7” MIX)

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:24 am
by postpunkmonk
Yow! Can't argue with that track listing! I didn't know about the Oz mix of "Science." Hopefully the mastering will be up to snuff.

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:03 am
by BigManRestless
I'm playing my copy now and it sounds pretty good to me. I'm not overly familiar with the album but I'm loving it so far.

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 5:30 am
by Rubellan
BigManRestless wrote:I'm playing my copy now and it sounds pretty good to me. I'm not overly familiar with the album but I'm loving it so far.


I had it confirmed that all but two songs are from masters. I have my copy ordered but I'm sure it will be a little time before I get my hands on it and can verify if it's over-compressed or not, or how it sounds overall. One of my all time favorite albums.

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2018 8:10 am
by omar
I was waiting for you to get yours Scott and post some opinions and then i'd perhaps order it.

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:15 pm
by Rubellan
omar wrote:I was waiting for you to get yours Scott and post some opinions and then i'd perhaps order it.


I just got the CD. I gave it a quick scan and here's the differences I noticed:

Track 4 - Romance: There's a very quiet part that opens the song on the vinyl LP, very low but it almost sounds like a machine starting up in the distance before the low-end sound that kicks the song off. That parts is absent, approximately 3 seconds.

Track 5 - Trail to Istanbul: Right at the end on the LP, there are 3 loud drum hits and the song continues with a very gradual synth fade. On the CD the song ends with the 3 drum hits, cutting the last 20 seconds of the fade off.

Track 6 - Secret Days: There's a brief sort of chirp sound that opens the song right before the drums start. That first second is missing from the CD and it starts right at the drum sound.

Track 13 - Science (7" mix): The version on the CD is not the actual UK 7" version, it is the Aussie single version with a small edit towards the end. It's identical to track 17 on the CD (which is correctly listed as the Aussie single mix), aside from the aforementioned slight edit. The original UK 7" version has more in common with the LP version.

I was pleased to see the CD is very dynamic, no over-compression, which was a big concern of mine. Aside from the few issues mentioned above, I wouldn't suggest anyone avoid the release. Just be aware that it is slightly different than the LP. Though I haven't played the CD in full yet, the general sound quality is very good.

UPDATE: There is a note in the back of the booklet stating the cutting of the last 20 seconds of Track 5 was intentional. Being a purist, I disagree with the decision but what can you do.

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:34 am
by postpunkmonk
Rubellan wrote:
omar wrote:I was waiting for you to get yours Scott and post some opinions and then i'd perhaps order it.


I just got the CD. I gave it a quick scan and here's the differences I noticed:

Track 4 - Romance: There's a very quiet part that opens the song on the vinyl LP, very low but it almost sounds like a machine starting up in the distance before the low-end sound that kicks the song off. That parts is absent, approximately 3 seconds.

Track 5 - Trail to Istanbul: Right at the end on the LP, there are 3 loud drum hits and the song continues with a very gradual synth fade. On the CD the song ends with the 3 drum hits, cutting the last 20 seconds of the fade off.

Track 6 - Secret Days: There's a brief sort of chirp sound that opens the song right before the drums start. That first second is missing from the CD and it starts right at the drum sound.

Track 13 - Science (7" mix): The version on the CD is not the actual UK 7" version, it is the Aussie single version with a small edit towards the end. It's identical to track 17 on the CD (which is correctly listed as the Aussie single mix), aside from the aforementioned slight edit. The original UK 7" version has more in common with the LP version.

I was pleased to see the CD is very dynamic, no over-compression, which was a big concern of mine. Aside from the few issues mentioned above, I wouldn't suggest anyone avoid the release. Just be aware that it is slightly different than the LP. Though I haven't played the CD in full yet, the general sound quality is very good.

UPDATE: There is a note in the back of the booklet stating the cutting of the last 20 seconds of Track 5 was intentional. Being a purist, I disagree with the decision but what can you do.


So do you think that the master tapes were used or is this a vinyl rip. Because fading out the last 20 seconds of a track sure points to that technique.

Re: Berlin Blondes "Complete Recordings" in October

PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:49 am
by Rubellan
postpunkmonk wrote:So do you think that the master tapes were used or is this a vinyl rip. Because fading out the last 20 seconds of a track sure points to that technique.


I had it confirmed that masters were used for everything other than tracks 15 and 16, since they were from an indie label and couldn't be located. Everything else is from masters. I checked for all the signs, and the project manager did confirm all the EMI/Warner masters were available. I equate the slight lopping off of intros on Tracks 4 and 6 to unfamiliarity or carelessness, but the truncated Track 5 outro is explained on the last page of the book, which I'm still not in agreement with.