by Fred Taghon » Wed Jan 13, 2021 9:24 pm
The Missing Persons 3CD "Album Collection" set arrived today! Best investment I've made so far for 2021!
The box housing the 3 CD's was definitely worth the extra $6 - very sharp. All the CD's look great!
But the meat and potatoes is of course the music. I'm listening to "Spring Session M" now, which is hands down my favorite Missing Persons album. Holy sh*t does this CD sound AMAZING! I've got the 1995 One Way CD, the 1987 "Best Of" CD and the "Classic Masters" from 2002 which was a 24-bit remaster. This new Ruebellan Remasters reissue blows them ALL away. I didn't realize how harsh the "Classic Masters" disc was until I compared the two. The sound is so clean, balanced, full, natural and DYNAMIC. This is pretty much what I was hoping for, after purchasing the two Ruebellan Berlin reissues last year, and it absolutely exceeds my expectations.
I also have to note the bonus inclusion of the 1983 mix of "Action Reaction". I expected this to be the same track that appeared on the 2000 reissue of "Rhyme & Reason" and the 1997 CD "Late Nights Early Days". To my delight, this is a completely different mix indeed! This version certainly fits into the overall sonic palette of the "Spring Session M" album, so it's a welcome addition. Also nice to have the 3 remaining tracks from the "Missing Persons" EP FINALLY incorporated into the album. They really are an integral part of the overall fabric of the "Spring Session M" era. A gorgeous reissue of a New Wave classic.
Scanning through the "Rhyme & Reason" disc now and I'm once again extremely happy with the quality! The 2000 reissue was actually pretty decent, so I'm not surprised that there is no night and day difference between the two, but this new remaster definitely has a fuller dynamic range and a subtle warmth the other lacks. In fact I just loaded a track from each CD into my Vector 3 audio editing app and you can visually SEE less compression in the new Ruebellan version.
My favorite tracks from this album have always been the 3 mid tempo songs "Surrender Your Heart", "Waiting For A Million Years" and "If Only For The Moment" and all three have simply never sounded better. Rockers like "The Closer That You Get", "Right Now" and "Clandestine People" also shimmer just a bit more than their 2000 reissue counterparts. All "Rhyme And Reason" tracks here once again sound quite significantly better than the 2002 "Classic Masters" disc.
Of particular note is the bonus track "If Only For The Moment (Full Version)". It did previously appear on the "Classic Masters" disc, but compared to the 2021 version, the "Classic Masters" one sounds like an unrefined demo complete with excessive tape hiss. Here, it sounds polished and clean, lovingly refurbished and brought back to life. I loved this mix when I first heard it on the "Classic Masters" disc, but rarely listened to it because of the quality. So I am just over the moon with this new remaster. This track alone is worth the purchase for me! If you were a fan of the previously unreleased "Fight For Life" when it first appeared on the 2000 reissue, you will be very please with the new remaster here once again. The intro "countdown" is edited away which was a good choice and it has a weightier low end and, surprise, just sounds MUCH better.
I rarely ever listened to "Rhyme & Reason" from start to finish, but I anticipate this new remaster is going to pull me back in to reevaluate it as a whole, 37 years later. I already find myself thinking, wow I didn't realize how good "The Closer That You Get", "Now Is The Time (For Love)", "Clandestine People" and "All Fall Down" were! This is a completely different album, style-wise, than the first one. And maybe that's why I never delved into it when it came out. But I'm finding now that on it's own merits, it really is a pretty darn solid collection of songs.
Most of the interest in these 3 reissues will undoubtably focus on the first two albums. "Color In Your Life" has always been just too overly-produced for my personal tastes. There are definitely some good tunes here, but unlike my rekindled interest in "Rhyme & Reason", I probably still won't find myself listening to "Color In Your Life" from start to finish any time soon lol. That being said, as with the two other albums, this new remaster is at least a more enjoyable listen, sonically. Another clear improvement over the 2000 release. Nice to have the 3 bonus versions of "I Can't Think About Dancin'" all in one place as well. I don't think the Single Version has ever appeared on CD before. An excellent remaster of what otherwise comes across as a bit of a labored effort musically.
If you're a fan, you will not regret purchasing these remasters, and likely won't ever bother listening to any of the other issues or compilations ever again. Thank you again, Scott Davies and Ruebellan Remasters, for providing such high quality releases!