News

KINKS KUT FROM ORIGINAL PYE MASTER TAPES!

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 9, 2015

Kount it as official: The recently released Sanctuary Kinks albums were mastered by Kevin Gray from the original Pye master tapes. Gray just got permission to reveal this.

Why make such great news a secret? All kind of politics we needn't get into here.

Krazy good news for Kinks fans. If you go to Amazon.com for instance and look up Kinks albums you will see so many reissues on vinyl and otherwise, it can get confusing. The ones to look for are dated 2015.

Before getting this information from Mr. Gray, I ordered Face to Face as a test and will compare to original Pye pressings but really, there should be little drama. If the tapes are in good condition (which I assume they are if the company was willing to ship masters), these reissues should be superb.

That said, consider that these were never 'sonic spectaculars' in the "audiophile sense" but were simple, direct and vibrant recordings that should rock.

When I interviewed Ray Davies, I have to say, he was about as enthusiastic about vinyl as is Howard Stern. Ray complained that the final result sounded little like the tape, but on what was he playing them?

COMMENTS
azmoon's picture
Submitted by azmoon on Tue, 2015-06-09 10:00

I guess there are people involved so no surprise. Do these people think revealing such things are life and death? If so, they should get a life!

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Tue, 2015-06-09 10:23
afraid of death
Leviethan's picture
Submitted by Leviethan on Tue, 2015-06-09 11:19

That is fantastic news! So when are the rest of the Pye albums coming out??

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on Tue, 2015-06-09 14:44

...sounded little like the tape raises several questions. One, as you noted, is what equipment was being used for playback. Two, what performance level/price range of equipment, if any, might be necessary for him to conclude otherwise. It also begs the question of his opinions about the sound quality of redbook CD vs. higher (or lower) resolution digital encoding schemes.

tolkencatholic's picture
Submitted by tolkencatholic on Tue, 2015-06-09 15:16

Which versions are these new reissues? On discogs they say that these reissues are all mono. If that's the case, sign me up :)

PeterPani's picture
Submitted by PeterPani on Tue, 2015-06-09 22:55

was done all analog?

tolkencatholic's picture
Submitted by tolkencatholic on Wed, 2015-06-10 13:38

at least that's the word on the Steve Hoffman forums.

I'm also in the camp that's totally perplexed at why this information is not stated on their vinyl description. Seems to me that it would only help the label to sell more units. Oh well....

mauidj's picture
Submitted by mauidj on Wed, 2015-06-10 13:41

and more info on these and hopefully the rest of the catalog.

jlstrat's picture
Submitted by jlstrat on Wed, 2015-06-10 14:45

A friend of mine has some early 2000s Kinks pressings he believes are on Sancturay. Were they digitally sourced? I feel certain they were.

swimming1's picture
Submitted by swimming1 on Fri, 2015-06-12 11:46

Hi, I couldn't wait for Mikey to do his magic. I just happened to be at Barnes and Nobles today looking for a book, and guess what,just what I needed a Vinyl lp display,wahoo!!Being a junkie ,in a very short search, they only had a couple of hunnerd lps, I found theThe Kinks and Kinks Kontroversy! Just what I needed. So hear I sit comparing my mono tri-color steamboat issues of Face to Face and Kinda Kinks,both in sweet condition and very early 1- B or C pressings,USA ,of course.OK ,so it's not scientific but neither is what we hear, as the the rockman said"you see what you want to see,you hear what you want to hear." I think that's what he said. Anyway,The new issues sound smaller and compressed,sheeny ,loud, and thin. The originals sound expansive with depth,vocals sound like real live people,drums sound like a rockin' drum set. Say it ain't so...somebody. Maybe the original tapes now 50 years old have lost some of that magical magnetic iron oxide, maybe they are just digital files.I'm easy and skeptical! The Kinks deserve the respect of all those other guys-The Beatles,Stones ,The Who,Small Faces,Dave Clark Five yea them too! Tired of waiting 'til the end of the day!Cheers, Chet

usernaim250's picture
Submitted by usernaim250 on Sat, 2015-06-13 00:53

Don't know these records but I wonder if Reprise just added reverb and compression to the tapes.

Logansport Berry's picture
Submitted by Logansport Berry on Thu, 2015-07-09 06:55

I'd say we have a winner. A great way to hear the UK mixes without added reverb and compression is on PRT CDKINK 7251, referred to as "Ugly Pink" because of the crappy/cheap-o cover. It was an early cd release that was often found in the bargain bin, apparently flat transfers of the masters. It's a pricey disc these days - if you see one you ought to pick it up.

swimming1's picture
Submitted by swimming1 on Fri, 2015-06-12 13:17

Oh, by the way,I finally broke down and purchased the Joni Mitchell , Blue , Rhino/RTI reissue!!! Holy cow,that is a phenomenal lp and a phenomenal sounding reissue,as good as a mint first pressing!
Cheers, Chet

vinyl_lady's picture
Submitted by vinyl_lady on Sat, 2015-06-13 11:37

I bought mine via Pop Market. All 4 are excellent pressings, very quiet, no pops or tics, no noticeable surface noise (I cleaned them in my Audio Desk ultrasonic before playing). All 4 sounded great to my ears played on an SME 20/2 with a Series IV arm, Lyra Skala cart through a ModWright PH 150 tube phono stage with mono button engaged. The Kinks really were a great band and IMO did not get the love they deserved. I have a mono first issue, tri colored steamboat label of You Really Got Me which was basically the US release of Kinks. To my ears, the reissue compared favorably to it--hard to say one was better than the other. If you are a Kinks fan, I think you will enjoy listening to these, especially if you don't have original UK or US pressings.

tolkencatholic's picture
Submitted by tolkencatholic on Wed, 2015-06-17 12:21

Just bought the bundle off of PopMarket after reading your post :-)

SimonH's picture
Submitted by SimonH on Sun, 2015-06-14 01:04

This does sound like great news but can someone clarify which records and which issues..

I see on Amazon.co.uk, 5 early (Kinks to Something Else) lp's were issued on Sanctuary at the end of December 2014 and the Arthur and VGPS issued in early Jan 2015, Then there are 3 (K, KK and KK but not FtF) Imports very recently issued this month, June 2015, and then there are 4 mono issues lined up for July. Does anyone know if all a KG cuts? Thank you

SimonH's picture
Submitted by SimonH on Sun, 2015-06-14 01:09

And unrelated - does anyone have any news on the mastering and cutting of the upcoming S&G box from Columbia?

X