Cocteau Twins reissues: worth the plunge?

OF COURSE NOT. THEY SUCK.

laugh out loud by the way after that lorelei drums comment.

I still think Head Over Heels is their best.

(Plus, the reissues cost me $11, not $20.)

The drums on Lorelei are a little bit too 80's for even my taste, but that's more than made up for by Simon's heavily compressed dub bass and Liz's childlike/sexual/spiritual singing.

The beats on BBK and HOLV prove the Cocteaus knew a thing or two about percussion.

I've only heard two of the remasters. 'Victorialand' still sounds pretty great (it's my favorite ct album, but only by a hair). There are no drum machines on that album. Everything sounds sharper and clearer, often to good effect, which is surprising because the original album has such a dreamy gauzey feel.

'Blue Bell Knoll' sounds like a completely different record. So different that it's difficult to make a balanced judgement. The compression's been laid on so thick that it sounds more like a remix than a remaster; the drums and guitars are now much louder with razor sharp highs, which has the effect of pushing the vocals further down into the mix. It's also insanely loud and squashed in typical 00's mastering fashion. So if a quieter Liz and louder drum machines sounds like a good idea to you, go for the new one.

For Fraser fans, she's just recorded some soundtrack music for some drama production Wire in my Blood (wasn't that the one with Robson Greene?)... she's been recording with The Insects in Bristol, and apparently it sounds great.

Anyway, Treasure is probably my favorite album by them. I had the LP, but traded it away a while back. I know, I know. But I’m honestly not playing my LP collection like I used to. It’s become sort of a pain in the neck, and it’s expensive and tweaky trying to keep the LP-12 in shape. I just can’t justify replacing the Rega Exact (not a top-dollar cartridge but hardly cheap) every year and a half or so, and I’m not about to throw some cheapie on it. I held onto Head Over Heels on LP though… but I haven’t played it in ages (see?).

But I did buy the remastered Treasure, and have spent a few hours over the last few days comparing them, and I share my knowledge with you lucky folks (zzz…)

I felt the Capitol original sounded thin, with somewhat brittle highs, which is totally characteristic of Cds mastered in the late 80s, and could easily see an improvement over it. The first thing you notice when putting the new version on is that it’s certainly mastered louder. And while Robin Guthrie avows that it’s not remixing he did, simply remastering, the bass sounds a bit louder as well. But after endless back-and-forth, I have come to the conclusion that there is definitely more compression present on the remaster than on the earlier edition. Sounds that were way in the background aren’t just clearer, they’re LOUDER, and that’s clearly the result of compression. Elizabeth’s voice sounds a bit softer now. While the Capitol version’s high end was on the verge of being fizzy, now the vocal track almost sounds muffled. Bare in mind these changes are very subtle (except for the overall loudness). When going from the new one back to the old one, I expected to find it lacking in fullness, and to sound thin. And while it is true that the bass on the original lacks the heft the new one’s slight emphasis affords it, I actually found the original’s tonal balance to be superior, especially in regard to how the vocals sound. Overall the differences are slight, but if I had to pick one (and I do, as I plan on trading away the “loser”), I have to say I’m going with the original issue. It does surprise me, seeing that the mid to late 80s were the pits for digital sound, and I really expected a new issue (especially one overseen by band members) to easily outdo the originals, which did (and do) sound a bit thin. But I guess I prefer the thinness to the remaster’s compression and slight veil over the high end.

The new edition’s cover does look better, though.

I got the Garlands reissue and was kind of startled by exactly how deeply I fell in love with it; I completely slept on the Coctaues until Milk & Kisses because I heard a very muddled copy of Blue Bell Knoll on a bad car stereo when I was 15 and decided I didn't like them. OH HOW WRONG I WAS.

Yeah! How ya doin', sir.

I picked up the singles comp, of course, but I have not been particularly tempted to go for the reissues still. (Were they double-disc suckers with a lot of bonus cuts like A Certain Robert Smith Led Band, perhaps, but...)

This is true, I admit, since among other things that means I have "Millimillenary" around. (Similarly with the bonus disc from the original singles box.)

-- Andy K (xndkx...), March 15th, 2003.

So fucking OTM.

Also, "Musette and Drums," which kinda invented all female-sung dark goth metal from the nineties onward. Well, sorta.

I wish I had Milimililmilm...whatever. I used to have it on some NME thing.

This is how my daughter says "Emily".

-- Ned Raggett (ne...), October 11th, 2006.

COCTEAU TWINS IMPLICATED IN TODAY'S EVANESCENCE #1 BILLBOARD 200 DEBUT SHOCKAH

It's amazing how it happens.

while the CT poll is under way i just thought i'd revive this. the remasters weren't much cop then in the final reckoning?

nope, not from what I read or heard. I got to A/B the Japanese HOH/S&S CD versus the HOH remaster, and I definitely preferred the older Japan version.

Been scouting original 4AD vinyl pressings lately. They're getting expensive. Any recommendations on the best versions (US vs. UK vs Japan) of their albums to buy on vinyl?

I would always say Japan given those options, but UK is probably almost as good. I don't have any copies to compare, though, all of mine are UK up to BBK.