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Remasters info




Hi all,

Here's the copy from the article on renovation of the Who's catalog
that appears on the front page of the Jan. '95 issue of ICE.

-John



The first step in MCA's extensive overhaul plan for The Who's catalog
(ICE #90) will be the release of a radically reshaped Live At Leeds on
February 14, approximately the 25th anniversary of the epochal Leeds
University concert. Originally issued in the spring of 1970, Live At
Leeds has long been considered one the best live albums
ever released, and the prospect of a new, expanded version Qnow 76
minutes longQ has had Who fans buzzing for months. MCA VP of Catalog
Development Andy McKaie tells ICE, "Their whole set from that night is
going to be thereQ except for most of TommyQ and a lot of it is
previously unreleased. And there are also full versions of songs that
were previously released in edited form." The new disc contains all of
the packaging elements from the album, whose original design replicated
the bootleg style of the period, with reproductions of rare Who tour
memorabilia. This time, the elements are incorporated into the CD
booklet. Liner notes were penned by Chris Charlesworth, producer of the
recent Who box set, and additional photos from the Leeds gig are
included. Longtime Pete Townshend associate Jon Astley produced the
reissue, and remixed and remastered it with Andy MacPherson; executive
producers are Who manager Bill Curbishley, Robert Rosenberg, and
Charlesworth. MCA Executive VP Randy Miller tells ICE, "We're also
going to release a special-edition CD in a limited run. It will come in
a 12"x12" album sleeve thick enough to hold a CD, and when you open it
up, it will have all the original Live At Leeds packaging." Miller says
MCA is tentatively planning a 10,000-copy run, priced somewhat
higher than the regular release, for the special edition. 

The album will double in length and now comprise 14 songs,
compared to six on the original version. Apart from "Amazing Journey" Q
the only Tommy song taken from the concert's lengthy performance of the
rock operaQ all the new tracks date from the group's early days. The
other new tracks are "I Can't Explain," "Heaven And Hell" (a John
Entwistle song dating from 1967-68, although it wasn't released until
1970), "Fortune Teller" (the New Orleans standard whose Who studio
version was released for the first time on their box set), "Tattoo,"
"Happy Jack," "I'm A Boy," and "A Quick One While He's Away" (an 8:30
rendition of their first mini-opera). In addition, the title of
"Shakin' All Over" has been amended to "Shakin' All Over/Spoonful" and
incorporates an extra minute of music, while "Magic Bus" times out at
two and a half minutes longer than the original. (A double-CD release
incorporating more Tommy material was once under consideration, but was
rejected in favor of the more unified single disc.) Miller provided ICE
with a rundown on the rest of MCA's 1995 Who catalog refurbishment
plans. "In May we're going to have Who's Next, The Who Sell Out, and A
Quick One," he says. "A Quick One is going to be completely remixed.
Everything else is remastered. Jon Astley is coordinating all of the
production along with Pete Townshend. "In June we're going to have a
remastered Tom my and a remastered and remixed Quadroph enia. In August
we come with Who Are You, Who By Numbers, and Odds And Sods, all newly
remastered. And in October we have a single-disc hits album coming,
which will include stereo versions of 'My Generation' and 'The Kids Are
Alright."' As detailed in ICE #90, bonus tracks will probably be added
to each album. "All of the packaging will be expanded, and I'm sure
we'll be doing special editions as we go," Miller says, but adds that
no firm plans are in place. "Live At Leeds will set the tone for the
way the rest of the campaign opens up. There are some great things we
can do. "That will become the Who catalog for the U.S. Most everything
else is in the process of being deleted. A lot of records were made-up
compilations, so we're going to delete some of the duplications. Some
of the rare tracks may come back in the form of another hits package,
but right now the focus is to clean up the catalog and get it back to
the original titles. In some cases, the reissues we put out may be
closer to the English version if there were track changes." Plans are
not yet set for the Who albums that followed Keith Moon's death, but
Miller says, "If we do something with those, it will not be in '95."
The group's first album, The Who Sings My Generaaon, is not slated for
reissue yet e ither, pending negotiations with producer Shel Talmy, who
retains the album's masters. Miller adds, "We're also talking about a
Best Of The Who Live album for '96 that may include material from the
Isle Of Wight and Woodstock festivals. We're also planning a Who
tribute album for '95, in time for Christmas." No artist s have been
set yet. however. "I think the sou nd quality will be as good as it can
get at this point," Miller says of the program. "The packaging will be
outstanding, similar in quality to what we've done with the Jimi
Hendrix repackages we've put out. I don 't think people will be
disappointed; in fact, I'm sure they will be pleased that this catalog
is finally being given its due treatment.'

EOF