I just had the opportunity to re-release my second album from 1973 on vinyl again. I first thought this was great until I found several obstacles. The main obstacle was that the record companies wanted a digital master of the album on CD to make the Stampers to press the album. Last Summer I worked with a great engineer in his studio to copy all of my old analog master tapes to digital format, but all of the tapes were not salvageable. Some had deteriorated to a level where they could not be copied. When I got the Master ready to send off to the record companies, I found there was one song missing on the master, so I went to locate what had happened to it. I soon found that it was on a tape that was damaged and could not be copied. The record companies wanted a complete album; it was not acceptable to press it with a song missing. I told them that I have the Original Stampers from 1973 that could be used to press it and it would be the exact same original album from 1973. This was not acceptable. They wanted to make new Stampers.
Well after talking with several industry people, I found that the record companies want to clean up all of the little glitches that you have in analog recordings. I thought it over and came to the conclusion that the little glitches are what made the old albums so great. I now wonder how the audiophiles in the world feel about wanting a real album of music from the early days and getting a new clean digital mix on vinyl instead.
When I took all of my analog master tapes and mixed them to digital, I left the little glitches on them. On my Stuck in Phoenix album, I recorded in a live studio before multi-track recorders. On a couple songs you could hear me tapping my foot. In the new digital world this would be removed. I also had a song where I sing the word `puts’ in the digital world this word is shortened so it is not as noticeable.
If there are real audiophiles out there that want the real music, I will offer the original Stampers to the Daughter of the Moon album to a reputable record company to re-press it as it really was made in 1973.
I will be releasing a new CD after I get done touring this summer. it will be titled `Last of the Past’ and is my first two albums as they were recorded on analog tape without being digitally cleaned up. I will put them out myself so that the people who want the true sound can enjoy them.
I am trying really hard to embrace the new digital world, but the old analog sound had more soul, feeling and real warmth recorded with love from real talented musicians who had to make the sounds (not synthesize them). In the digital world it seems to me that the music is becoming sterilized.
‘Only God makes things perfect, all the rest of us make little glitches. I don’t want clean sterilized music.’