Ultimate Spinach – Behold & See (1968)
Original 1968 Mono Mix
2017 Sundazed Music LP 5553
~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz/24bit + full scans~
~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz/24bit + full scans~
As one of my favorite albums, I was very excited to see that Sundazed was reissuing the impossible-to-find (promo-only) mono mix of this classic psych LP. Although it’s not perfect, it’s nice to finally have a physical copy of this. I’ve also included the Amazon “AutoRip” MP3 download for this, since it is clearly a different mastering and sounds quite different. Finally, the full versions of all the tracks, re-released officially!
It sounds to me like Sundazed did a little patching at the beginning and ending of some tracks. Either some parts were patched from an LP, or suffered a bit of noise reduction. Regardless, this pressing is certainly worth a listen. ̶I̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶e̶q̶u̶a̶l̶i̶z̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶r̶i̶p̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶t̶u̶r̶a̶l̶ ̶s̶o̶u̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶i̶r̶d̶ ̶t̶r̶e̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶b̶o̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶l̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶L̶P̶.̶ UPDATE: I've now left the Sundazed mastering as-is, and only corrected for my system's frequency response.
This LP mastering is quite spotty, with sections spliced from vinyl and others from tape, with different EQ applied to each. I think Sundazed's version of “Suite: Genesis Of Beauty (In Four Parts)” is probably one of the most unevenly mastered things of all time.
Track listing:
1) Gilded Lamp Of The Cosmos - 3:02
2) Visions Of Your Reality - 5:50
3) Jazz Thing - 9:28
4) Mind Flowers - 9:35
5) Where You're At - 3:11
6) Suite: Genesis Of Beauty (In Four Parts) - 9:39
7) Fifth Horseman Of The Apocalypse - 5:37
8) Fragmentary March Of Green - 6:41
Vinyl Condition: Mint (brand new!)
Dynamic Range: DR13
Lineage:
– Audio-Technica AT150MLx Dual Moving-Magnet Cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– TCC TC-754 RIAA Phono Preamp (new regulated power supply, added LM7812 regulator)
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2017.0.2 (recording)
– iZotope RX 5 Audio Editor (light declick, remove subsonic rumble, mono collapse)
– Audacity 2.1.2 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.3.14 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/5xpkGQrC#emhO6L2ScgK4jjo0jTBMOw
Enjoy, and as always, comments are welcomed and appreciated!
Vinyl Condition: Mint (brand new!)
Dynamic Range: DR13
Lineage:
– Audio-Technica AT150MLx Dual Moving-Magnet Cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– TCC TC-754 RIAA Phono Preamp (new regulated power supply, added LM7812 regulator)
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2017.0.2 (recording)
– iZotope RX 5 Audio Editor (light declick, remove subsonic rumble, mono collapse)
– Audacity 2.1.2 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.3.14 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/5xpkGQrC#emhO6L2ScgK4jjo0jTBMOw
Enjoy, and as always, comments are welcomed and appreciated!
Great Album of an almost forgotten band......awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your remaster of the 'remastered,' Ultimate Spinach 'Behold and See.' I previously owned an original 'promo only' copy of the LP (since lost to a purge) and was unaware that Sundazed had reissued it. I'm now anxious to hear it once again under the sonic improvement of your impressive skills. My gratitude!
ReplyDeleteHi Miles, I recently purchased an original yellow-label promo copy off eBay but it was only in VG- condition (perhaps you were the seller!). I'm astonished at how closely I was able to reproduce the sound of an original here without ever hearing one! Although the original has slightly better top end response, this copy is not clean enough to warrant a rip. If I find another someday, I will gladly work on an upgrade.
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteThere's no FLAC T08 In the download folder. I assume that's in error?
Hi John -- fixed now, thanks. Though I'm pretty sure that track is sourced from an MP3 of a vinyl dub... ugh.
DeleteI really need to clean up my rip of the original so I can delete this rather poor Sundazed version; it sits here and mocks me daily. A standard Bob Irwin patchwork job.
No Problem.
DeleteI downloaded this originally, so given the EQ change, I felt I had to sync my copy too.
IMHO this is the best Ultimate Spinach LP. Musically the first LP is it's equal but the lyrics on some of the tracks are a little cringeworthy, which detracts from the listening experience. Some people have claimed they are satirical but if so it doesn't work on me (whereas Franks Zappa does).
I've got this LP about 5 times. 1st a Greek 1980s repro, then the Big Beat CD [this is a reprogrammed remix with 2 renamed and one dropped tracks. Mind Flowers loses a minute and Fragmentary March loses 30 sec. I guess Alan Lorber had more control than Ian Bruce-Douglas]. Next came the Akarma Box Set and finally the original and replacement copies of this LP from you.
Sorry for the self indulgent screed, but as always thanks for the postings.
Totally agree this is the best Spinach outing, and if I remember I B-D's old website correctly, he agreed, too!
DeleteThat ole Big Beat CD woulda been perfect if "The Creative Genius" (as I B-D called him) wouldn'tve dicked around with the edits & track order. I made way-back-when a "compiled" version using that CD, the box set, and an original LP to replicate the original mix in as best sound as possible, but I haven't posted it here because I think I could do better on the vinyl splices. One more on the to-do list...
In the meantime, I hope that the Sundazed is enough to make do! :) Cheers and thanks for the nice comments as always.
Thank you so much!!!
ReplyDelete