Albums that exist with very different mixes

Two that come to mind immediately are the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa (1969 vs. 1971 mixes) and Frank Zappa's Hot Rats (1969 vs. 1987). What are some others worth noting? I guess I'm not looking for albums where remastering made a dramatic change in the record, but cases where the record was completely remixed from the original tapes (which excludes the FZ remixes where he recorded new bass & drum parts).

I did a search but couldn't find any threads specifically about this.

Raw Power: Iggy vs Bowie
The Velvet Underground: closet vs non

re-recorded with a totally different rhythm section from the original:
Blizzard of Oz
Diary of a Madman

completely remixed:
most of the ZZ Top catalog's CD reissues

The 2 different versions of Mesopotamia by the The B-52's (one of which was released in error I think?), and then there was another mix for a CD release that is pretty different again, apparently

Like mono vs stereo mixes i.e. The Beatles?

Several Zappas.

isn't the heartbreakers' LAMF famous for this?

Heart of the Congos

Pearl Jam remixed Ten for the anniversary edition, removing a bunch of digital reverb and other early '90s timestamping.

What Beatles album has the most differences in the mono & stereo versions?

C. Grisso, which FZ records did you have in mind?

Heart of the Congos

Huh, I'd like to find both versions of that one.

MX80 Sound - Hard Attack

numerous Nurse With Wound releases have different mixes w/r/t CD vs LP versions

Slapp Happy's Acnalbasac Noom was completely re-recorded, but I guess that's different

What Beatles album has the most differences in the mono & stereo versions?

Either Revolver or the white album.

I'd vote Sgt. Pepper, but yeah, big differences on the other.

do the Cocteaus reissues by Robin Guthrie count? i recall that a lot of ILX folk complained about what he'd done to them and even i fond the results pretty jarring at times. bits that were previously in *this* channel now appearing in *that* channel etc.

xxp Beatles albums with the most differences; probably Pepper and Revolver. i'm sure others will disagree.

Reissues: In Utero Albini Mix

as far as beatles albums go, the early US/UK mixes are pretty different.

this is a pretty neat summing up (IMO) of the most different er, differences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dchCB-2TPY

OTTOMH RE: Zappa

Freak Out!: Digital reverb added (to cover 'mistakes') to most cd editions.
Absolutely Free: IIRC, there are 'censored' and 'uncensored' versions floating around. Don't know the differences offhand.
We're Only In It For The Money: In addition to the new rhythm tracks on the 80s version, Zappa restored some lyrics and spoken bits (such as Tom Wilson (?) talking about the Velvet Underground) that disappeared again when the original version was recovered.

After that, I think it's more a matter of different mixes/edits of individual tracks happening than whole albums. My best friend is a huge Zappa/Beefheart stan, so all this knowledge I got from him over the past several years.

censored version are of We're Only In It For The Money iirc, not AF

I really hate what Zappa did to those records when he made the CD versions, but I guess his options were limited due to source tape degradation

Lilys - "Precollection" vs. "S/T"

overview of the evolution of Heart of the Congos and various mixes:
http://sweetrarereggaemusic.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-congos-heart-of-congos-original.html

xp

There's a handful of noticeable differences on The Who Sell Out mono vs. stereo mixes. Most obvious is "Our Love Was," which has an entirely different (pedal steel!) guitar solo.

yeah pretty much all of the canonical pre-'68 albums by Beatles, Stones, Kinks, etc have very different stereo/mono mixes, and in some cases very different US/UK mixes

there are a couple different versions of Basehead's "2000 BC". There's different versions of "Not Over You" that include completely different songs in the part where they are scanning the radio dial.

Blonde on Blonde has multiple mono mixes spread across different country's releases:
summary: http://www.rdf.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/BobAppend/AppendixC.htm
in detail: http://www.rdf.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/BobPart2/BobPart2.htm

Definitely noticeable in Visions of Johanna and some of the side 2 tracks.

The Fall's "Real New Fall Album" has very different US/UK versions/mixes

x-post -- meant to say noticeable between the uk mono and the us mono. haven't heard the french or canadian releases.

IQ's Tales From the Lush Attic comes to mind here - I was stunned to find that nothing was actually re-recorded. The 2013 mix is so good it makes the original sound like a demo tape in comparison.

The most recent batch of Doors remasters are supposed to be totally remixed, but offhand it seems like most of it is mixing up to more tracks for a bigger soundstage and they have added some extra Morrison vocals to some tracks.

Interesting about Freak Out! -- I guess I've never heard the original vinyl mix.

When FZ's catalog went on Spotify, I was really surprised that the version of Hot Rats was the 1969 mix, not the 1987 one. They're both worth having (if you're a fan to begin with).

Οὖτις, thanks for the info on the original Congos release. I'll, uh, have it in about 20 minutes.

Lilys - "Precollection" vs. "S/T"

― Evan, Tuesday, November 4, 2014 3:52 PM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark

Also "Better Can't Make Your Life Better" -- they remixed it, added additional instruments, and switched a song or two out it 2 years after the original release.

Hasn't A Guy Called Gerald remixed/remastered "Black Secret Technology" twice now, so there are three different version of it around?

xp about The Doors, yeah the 'new Stereo versions' of some familiar tracks (Touch Me, Peace Frog etc) are just pulverisingly good; sound like much improved records to my ears and i was never the world's biggest Doors fan.

Similarly, most of the Who's catalog was remixed in the 90s. Sometimes the results were shockingly good (The Who Sell Out, the 1995 Live At Leeds reissue), sometimes awful (Who Are You), sometimes barely discernible from the originals (the remixed songs on Who's Next), but mostly completely pointless and stupid (Quadrophenia, Tommy, The Who By Numbers, the Jones-era records).

Does Sly and the Family Stone's "Fresh" count here, where an alternate mix was erroneously issued on CD?

Rush remixed Vapor Trails to remove the absurd brickwall compression from the original. Still a dull album, but it doesn't clip so much now.

We're Only In It For The Money: In addition to the new rhythm tracks on the 80s version, Zappa restored some lyrics and spoken bits (such as Tom Wilson (?) talking about the Velvet Underground)

That's Gary Kellgren, engineer on "Money" and "White Light/ White Heat".

The Associates, "The Affectionate Punch", never heard the 2nd mix.

Does Sly and the Family Stone's "Fresh" count here, where an alternate mix was erroneously issued on CD?

Or Cold Spring Harbor by Billy Joel.

The Band, Stage Fright has different mixes by Glyn Johns (who did two sets) and Todd Rundgren. The original lp was a hybrid of their work, but the initial cd versions were all previously unissued Johns mixes, and it wasn't until the most recent remastered cd that the og mixes were available again, with three of the Johns mixes included as bonus tracks.

Interesting about Freak Out! -- I guess I've never heard the original vinyl mix.

You can get the original mix on the Mofo collection(s).

Weren't the U.S./Europe releases of Bob Marley's albums on Island all different mixes from the Jamaican versions?

^^not just mixes--Catch A Fire has Rabbit Bundrick keyboard overdubs.

Velvet Underground & Nico had distinct mono and stereo mixes, as does the first (but not the second, for some reason) side of White Light/White Heat.

(The mono of the 2nd side on the box set is a fold-down of the stereo, rather than a dedicated mono mix.)

Recent Genesis 70s albums in box set had new, sometimes pretty different mixes.

The current remix of Iggy's Kill City isn't really a remix, but a "mix" over the initial shitty unmixed tape dump whatever it was originally.

No Let It Be yet, or does that not count?

SKip Spence's "Oar" first cd issue is a different mix from the Sundazed reissue.
It'd be nice to hear the original lp and compare them all.

Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible had a US (or Canadian maybe) mixdown. Instead of the sparser post-punk aesthetic of the UK version the States were treated to lashings of classic rock reverb on everything.

The Manic Street Preachers' Generation Terrorists also had some tracks mixed differently for the US release (and some tracks dropped entirely), as well as having live drums to replace the original drum machine.

Re: WL/WH- the tracks on the second side DO both have different mixes, though- the weird, bass-heavy rejected single (?) mix of "I Heard Her Call My Name" and the so-called "Swan Mix" of Sister Ray.

Oh, and Amon Duul II- most mixes of _Phallus Dei_ have obnoxious phasing all over the second half of the title track, but the original issue is unphased. Also, with _Yeti_, most versions of the album inexplicably fade out "Pale Gallery" three minutes early.

Not to forget the '80s CD remixes of the first and third Henry Cow albums, _Leg End_ and _In Praise of Learning_!

Clinic's Free Reign was followed a few months later by the album Free Reign II, containing completely different mixes of the same songs in reverse order.

Oh, wait, what about the "backwards mix" of the second Gnarls Barkley album?

Love's Forever Changes, there's a reasonably different alternate mix that came out somewhere in the 2000s.

... and there are two different versions of "Four Sail", the version that came out on the crappy Thunderbolt label in the late 80s had different mixes for some if not all of the tracks.

Freak Out!: Digital reverb added (to cover 'mistakes') to most cd editions.

Yeah, the CD versions are garbage, what was Zappa thinking?

Holy shit I spent a good hour last night comparing the two mixes of Pearl Jam'a Ten and the new one is I mean awful of course, sure, but more so just BAFFLING!!! How do you take an album and remove such a crucial component of its signature sound???

Yes - Close To The Edge, very tastefully and clarifyingly re-mixed last year by Steven Wilson. Stereo, not 5.1 (which I assume we're not counting here).

speaking of, King Crimson's Lizard, also done by SW, including bits that weren't on the original

The Rolling Stones' "Their Satanic Majesties Request" (mono)

The first pressing was a true mono mixdown, later pressings were just a fold-down of the stereo.

I did a CDr of one of my copies, but felt that it wasn't that great for some reason, then I looked it up and found out why.

Two ways of discerning: 1) if you can see T2 in the deadwax, it's a stereo fold-down, 2) if there are three clock-chimes before "Citadel", it's a true mono. If there are two, then it's a T2.

I can only assume Decca managed to lose the mono master tape, and created a fold-down from the stereo master.

Also, with _Yeti_, most versions of the album inexplicably fade out "Pale Gallery" three minutes early.

this is how the track is on the original german album. only the first uk lp (and a later cd reissue) had the extended version.

The Sisters of Mercy - First and Last and Always

"There were originally two versions of the album, one which contained the original mixes and was release on vinyl in Europe (and America I think) and re-released on CD in 2006 by Rhino. The second version is known as the Japanese version, this was released in Japan on vinyl and all subsequent CD versions (including the 1988 CD versions) were mastered from these Japanese mixes because the originals were supposedly lost. Eldritch's 1992 remaster of the album is sourced from the Japanese mixes. The exception to this is of course the 2006 Rhino CD which utilises the original mixes."

(that's from http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/sisters-of-mercy-mofi-silver-series-first-and-last-and-always.248497/page-3#post-6531403 btw)

Two mixes of Lilys Better Can't Make Your Life Better

the Stevehoffman.tv version of this thread would be 1000 pages long. god bless those guys.

The Alan Parsons Project - "Tales of Mystery and Imagination".

There are two different mixes, the first done in 1976 and the second done in 1987. The 1987 version has some overdubs that are not on the 1976 version. Some of the audio signal processing is different too.

Killing Joke - "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns".

There are two versions, one released in 1986 and another released in 2007. The 1986 version was mainly mixed by Julian Mendelsohn. The version released in 2007 features mixes done by Chris Kimsey.

Head of David - "Dustbowl" versus "The Saveana Mixes".

"Dustbowl" was done by Steve Albini, "The Saveana Mixes" were done by John Fryer. I think the master tapes of the original mixes were lost so that's why they had to be redone.

Radio Birdman' two albums come in two different flavors, both of which can be found in the new box set.

The Verve - "This is Music: The Singles 92 - 98".

This is a greatest hits compilation. Some of the tracks from the bands early singles and EPs ("She's a Superstar", "Gravity Grave", "All in the Mind") have different mixes to make them more sonically consistent with the bands later tracks.

There are also two different versions of The Verve's single "Blue", the original mix and the "USA mix".

Is re-recording complete albums a metal thing?
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Verminous/re_recorded__re_arranged__re_worked_albums/

sometimes it's a publishing rights thing, see Squeeze and Gang Of Four

These mostly seem to fall in two categories:
- re-recorded demo tracks
- re-recordings due to label problems

It was briefly in vogue for Rock Band- DEVO for instance re-recorded some of their songs because they didn't have tapes of the original recordings they could make stems from.

Southern Culture on the Skids recently rerecorded all of their 1994 Ditch Diggin' album. It's now called "Dig This." Not entirely sure if that was a rights-related thing, or they just felt like a sonic upgrade would be fun.

Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible had a US (or Canadian maybe) mixdown. Instead of the sparser post-punk aesthetic of the UK version the States were treated to lashings of classic rock reverb on everything.

― Willl, Wednesday, November 5, 2014 10:56 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The differences between the UK mix of The Holy Bible and Tom Lord-Alge's US mix are a very good example of just how much the mixing process can alter a record, IMO. I often think that sometimes when people talk about the "production" of a record, sometimes they're actually confusing it with the "mix". Like, both the UK and US mixes of the album obviously come from the same source material, but the feel and overall sound of both mixes couldn't be any more different.

I hadn't heard that Sisters Of Mercy tidbit - are the mixes radically different? Is one better than the other?

The US version of We Are The Pipettes vs. the UK version.

The Enid re-recorded their first two albums roughly a decade after the originals but a few years ago the originals were reissued.

Art Zoyd re-recorded their debut only five years after the original but I think they have stuck with the second version. Sadly there isn't much info about which reissues contain which mix or how different they are.

Sleeve- weren't you unhappy about the new Rudimentry Peni mixes?

nah, that's remastering not remixing

Gerald, yes, they sound quite different. I don't know which one I prefer though, I first had the vinyl, then the first CD sounded weird and wrong, but now, years later, the remaster (which is the first mix I had again) sounds strange again.

There's one pressing of Eric Clapton's first solo LP ("CTH" in the deadwax) that has several tracks with different mixes. It's apparently quite collectible.

I haven't heard them in 20 years, but I seem to remember that the "Deutsches Album" versions of Peter Gabriel's 3rd & 4th albums had some significant differences in the mixes.

I know Spotify is the enemy and all, but this is where streaming services could really useful, offering multiple mixes of albums for easy A-B comparison (with the artists' blessing of course).

One might think, but oftentimes the only one up there is the rerecord