Me and My Shadows (oh dear...)

[drakula63]

Sadly, I have to report that listening to this recently released CD of their 1960 album did not prove to be as enjoyable an experience as I'd hoped!

Now, I'm not complaining about the actual album, the quality of the writing and performing is not in doubt, but the quality of this CD... Oh dear!!!!

On the front it states "Original Recording". What it really should say is "Original Record" !!!! To my surprise and horror I quickly realised that they, Hallmark, had simply used what surely must have been an old copy of the LP in order to produce the CD! And not a very well looked after LP by the sounds of it! Unbelievable; the sound distorts, there are cracks and pops and on at least a couple of tracks the record actually JUMPS!!!! I sat there with my mouth agape, wondering if my ears were deceiving me!

So, in a word, if you are thinking of buying this CD -- DON'T!!! What a shame that, due to this 50 year rule, anyone can now issue CDs like this. It's clearly a great album, but it deserves better. So, come on EMI, pull your fingers out and give us a proper re-release, taken from the master tapes, in both stereo and mono.

Oh well, maybe the price of £2.99 should have told me something!!!!!

[d jones]

Hi Chris

Hallmark have done exactly the same with the first three Duane Eddy album's!Keep checking ebay as i recently picked up a copy of me and my shadows the 1998 release with both mono and stereo versions for £4.20

Dave

[Didier]

On the front it states "Original Recording". What it really should say is "Original Record" !!!! To my surprise and horror I quickly realised that they, Hallmark, had simply used what surely must have been an old copy of the LP in order to produce the CD!

May be they meant : "mastered from original worn vinyl LP, played on a vintage Dansette record player !..."

Didier

[iefje]

That's the problem then, I think, when copyrights run out. Just take any source you like, put it on a CD, design some sort of Photoshopped sleeve and put it on the market! These releases or not much better than the average bootleg of some years back. I won't buy this rubbish, not even for a few cents.

[JimN]

What label and catalogue number is this CD, please?

And is it possible to scan the sleeve and reproduce it here?

JN

Hmmm... how do I delete the duplicate?

[JimN]

What label and catalogue number is this CD, please?

And is it possible to scan the sleeve and reproduce it here?

JN

[d jones]

Hi Jim

It's on the Hallmark label and available from amazon at 2.99

Dave

[Martin Page]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Me-My-Shadows-Cliff-Richard/dp/B004INTNI0/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1297956387&sr=1-2

[JimN]

Thanks, Martin.

Hmmm - it's a bit of a cheek - though technically accurate - to call a dub from a scratchy vinyl record a "Stereo 2008 digital remaster"!

JN

NB: The LP has been legitimately reissued on CD several times already:

(a) by EMI Australia c. 1990 (only as part of a special five-disc Cliff Richard "bundle") - 7 98089 2 (stereo)

(b) by EMI UK as part of a 2-CD set coupled with "Cliff Sings" ("Cliff Sings" in mono, "Me And My Shadows" in stereo) - 7 80417 2 (mono/stereo)

(c) by EMI UK as a DigiPak mono and stereo version - all tracks in both mono and stereo - from original master tapes - 4 95440 2 (mono/stereo*)

HTH - JN

[drakula63]

On the front it states "Original Recording". What it really should say is "Original Record" !!!! To my surprise and horror I quickly realised that they, Hallmark, had simply used what surely must have been an old copy of the LP in order to produce the CD!

May be they meant : "mastered from original worn vinyl LP, played on a vintage Dansette record player !..."

Didier

Yes, no doubt that is what they meant!!!



Such a shame that such a great album should be rendered almost unlistenable due to this kind of cheapskate release. They could at least have used a vinyl LP that was in good condition and didn't actually jump!! The mind boggles....

I shall not be playing it again. But I shall keep an eye on eBay - the source of many a real bargain over the years!

Cheers everyone.