Hard to Find Jukebox Classics 1960-64 30 Amazing Stereo Hits

These fake stereo CDs are the best!

This is an excellent CD of superior sound quality. I already have virtually all of these tracks on other compilations or albums from quality labels and low-budget labels with a mix of excellent quality releases along with others that are muffled, sourced from vinyl or tapes with dropouts. The sound quality of this release from Hit Parade is excellent across the board and worth the re-purchase. All of the songs on the CD sound as good as, or in most cases are better than what I already have.19 of these tracks are true stereo mixes. The remaining 11 of these tracks are mono reprocessed into stereo. The liner notes are very clear about this fact. I don’t understand the handful of bad reviews with comments like “doesn’t sound like stereo”. These poor reviews seem to hate the entire CD saying it is all reprocessed stereo that should have been left mono, which is not the case. I have the other releases with some of these true stereo recordings and they are the same as they exist here, such as Ray Charles and Roy Orbison. There is no reason to call these poor quality fake stereo as most are *true* stereo.Looking first at the true stereo mixes, a handful of them aren’t hard to find, like Roy Orbison or Wayne Newton. However, as the title states, the majority of them are hard to find. Some were stereo mixes that just aren’t common and have been dug out of the archives. Some tracks are new stereo mixes from multi-tracks, attempting to recreate the sound of the original single but in stereo. The liner notes are pretty extensive on each track. Some audiophiles may only want original mono mixes, that’s fine. However, an important point is that mono mixes were often mixed down on older mono master machines which didn’t have the audio fidelity of the “new” multi-track machines of the time that had much better fidelity. Going back to these true stereo mixes gives a better fidelity because the machines simply could reproduce better fidelity. An excellent example of this that I have seen elsewhere are with several releases of the original 2 track recordings of Elvis from the 50s that were mixed to mono for release and the two track sound quality has a night and day difference in sound quality although it is the exact same recording. That audio quality difference shows in the recordings in this CD release as well. If you love these songs, these stereo versions are worth adding to your collection simply for the improved fidelity…. And most of these tracks are true stereo.Looking at the reprocessed stereo tracks, called Digitally Extracted Stereo (DES). If you are not aware, in the 60s there was a push to move to stereo so many companies took older mono recordings and reprocessed them to simulated stereo. There were various techniques like more bass in one channel and treble in the other, or adding reverb or echo in one channel in an attempt to spread the sound. These changes also changed the sound of the music or made it muddy. Over the years, companies learned that people preferred the original mono and the process was eventually stopped. With today’s technology, specific sounds can be extracted and mixed as if it was a multi-track recording. This is a very targeted remixing that is night and day compared to the process from the 1960s. As mentioned in the liner notes, not all songs work well with this process and, to do it well, it takes skill and time.It is obvious that the people mastering this CD care about the music and did their best to create new stereo mixes that preserve the original sound. It sounds like they started with an excellent master of the original mono, which is necessary and adds to the fidelity of the audio. Overall, they did an excellent job. Louie, Louie is one fine example. I have never heard a clearer version of this song. The vocal on Locomotion has a bit of a hollow sound to me. If Louie, Louie was 5 out 5 stars in quality, I would give Locomotion 4 out of 5. Yes, I understand the desire to keep to the original mono recordings. Even if that is your preference, I would not condemn all 30 tracks because 11 of them are reprocessed into stereo. It gives a new perspective on these recordings. The mono versions can be found in other places, but watch out for poor quality compilations.

Music is many things, but primarily music is sound! I own an exceptional sound system and I appreciate good sound and I like stereo . . . stereo is good! I like the width and the movement and the extra separation of instruments. And, when I say I like stereo, I mean I like good stereo (as opposed to "ping pong" stereo). And, somehow, these amazingly skilled engineers---Echard Buttner, Paul Wilkie, Christopher Kissel, Janek Nee, Mark Mathews---are able to create not just stereo, but good stereo, from mono sources. What makes their stereo good? It's tastefully and appropriately applied, and with modern sensibilities. When presenting a small combo, the sound has the appropriate width. If it's a pop orchestra, then that’s given the appropriate width. Lead vocals are centered and, where possible, percussion is also centered (for maximum impact). Sounds are nicely and distinctly distributed across the sound field.Even more important, these guys are magicians at sussing out sound quality. It’s amazing how clear and clean and *musical* the sound is. Clearly, these guys don’t settle for anything less than access to the original, first-generation master tapes. These great old classics are presented sounding better than they’ve ever sounded before! I think it breathes new life into these "oldies" and grants them an extra measure of timelessness.Some of the songs chosen are truly important masterpieces and that makes what these guys are doing important as well (Wow, would I ever love to hear what these guys could do with the first two Beatles’ albums and associated singles!). Much gratitude to all involved for their devotion to the art of song and commitment to excellence!So don’t hesitate, support this important work; click “Buy Now”!

Have got Big Bad John on 45 and believe me the version on this CD is Not it. This version on this CD does nor even sound like Jimmy Dean

These songs will take you back to those heady days of the early 60s when radio was king, when romance and dancing fanned the flames of adolescence desire and pre-pubescent fantasies. The Ronettes, the Chiffons, the Dixie Cups, Little Eva, the Kingsmen, the Kinks, Marianne Faithful, Ray Charles, the Honeycombs, the Four Seasons, the Ramrods, Rick Nelson, Jackie DeShannon, Same Cooke, Roy Orbison. Some were a flash in the pan, others were major stars for decades, but all these songs are timeless. AND, they are recorded so well, it really makes this CD special. Great stereo sound, a vast improvement over the usual tinny flat dynamics of songs from this era.

It seems as though in later years, there has been a new stereo technology, digitally extracted stereo (DES), where mono recordings have been translated into true stereo with one channel extracting some the the sounds in pitches, while another channel extacts other sounds in pitches, while the centre channel extracts the remaning sounds in pitches, making these tracks sound like true stereos. But I think it is to the expense of some of the sound quality, as the vocals never seem to sound so clear. Yet it still sounds amuzing. But maybe, it is not as noticeable with instrumentals turned from mono to stereo. But it is still a damn sight better than the "technology" that was developed in the seventies which was called electronically reprocessed stereo where you had a high tinny treble out of one channel, and a deep thudding bass out the other which just ruined the sound, and slightly later, duophonic stereo where you had the same music coming out of both channels, but a very tiny delay in one channel which again just ruined the sound. But with this new technology, the stereo separation varies according to the sound quality of the recording, or to the contrasting sound pitches within the recording. Nice to hear The Kinks' You Really Got Me in "true" stereo for the first time. Some tracks are literally in true stereo, including a few delightful first time stereos. No point in including Stereo 45 Edit Debut of Sam Cookes' The Change Is Gonna Come, as it is the same as the previously released full length stereo recording with the same stereo mix, but shortened. The Zombies' hit She's Not There does not sound too good in stereo here, as it gives much better and wider stereo elsewhere. But a few of the tracks here such as Bruce Channel' Hey Baby are not in my repertoire.

Eric Records issue a few of these goodies every year and I tend to pick up most of their offerings. Many will have been issued as mono 45s originally and converted to stereo by Eric Records by use of digitally extracted stereo (DES). Some audiophile 'purists' do not hear them as true stereo but to my ears they do, and who does not want to listen to Stay by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, Surfin' Safari by the Beach Boys or Da Doo Ron Ron by the Crystals in great stereo. These all go into my Walkman on shuffle and are top jukebox listens

GOOD ASSORTMENT OF TRACKS AND A LOT OF THEM, SO GREAT VALUE. ALL TRACKS ARE STEREO, SOME FROM ORIGINAL AND OFTEN RARE SOURCES, OTHERS ARE MONO TO STEREO CONVERSIONS.All the many Cd's I have from Eric Records are superb quality, whether you like the music is up to you, I make no other comment about personal tastes, but the sound quality is near perfect considering some tracks are around 60 years old. I highly recommend this CD.

One of the best compilations ever of 60s music. Every song, except one, is a real gem. Some of these are definitely hard to find. Again, Eric Records has done a brilliant job in compiling these awesome songs in one CD. If you're in to 60s classics, this is the one to have. You definitely won't be disappointed.

I present My Generation a sixties radio show so these recordings are great for me to air.Some people prefer to stick with the traditional mono recordings but with these you can hear instruments which simply don't show up in monoA song I would really like them to turn their attention to is When You Walk In The Room by The Searchers, only ever mixed in mono