(Folk Rock)[LP] [24/96] Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, Bookends +2, Mrs Robinson,1966,1968,1968, FLAC (tracks+.cue)

01. Scarborough Fair-Canticle
02. Patterns
03. Cloudy
04. Homeward Bound
05. The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
06. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)
07. The Dangling Conversation
08. Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall
09. A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara’d Into Submission)
10. For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
11. A Poem On The Underground Wall
12. 7 O’Clock News-Silent Night

foobar2000 1.1.10 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2012-04-09 19:47:31

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Simon & Garfunkel / Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (US Mono - Prof. Stoned 2012)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR10 -1.82 dB -14.71 dB 3:13 ?-01. Scarborough Fair-Canticle
DR12 -0.12 dB -14.98 dB 2:45 ?-02. Patterns
DR11 -2.23 dB -15.30 dB 2:13 ?-03. Cloudy
DR10 -2.89 dB -14.98 dB 2:33 ?-04. Homeward Bound
DR10 -1.40 dB -13.49 dB 2:47 ?-05. The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
DR11 -0.93 dB -14.76 dB 1:50 ?-06. The 59th Street Bridge Song
DR11 -0.79 dB -13.77 dB 2:42 ?-07. The Dangling Conversation
DR10 -2.11 dB -13.80 dB 2:15 ?-08. Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall
DR11 -0.23 dB -13.37 dB 2:16 ?-09. A Simple Desultory Philippic
DR10 -0.71 dB -15.86 dB 2:08 ?-10. For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
DR10 -0.06 dB -13.11 dB 2:00 ?-11. A Poem On The Underground Wall
DR11 -2.41 dB -15.59 dB 2:00 ?-12. 7 O'Clock News-Silent Night
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 12
Official DR value: DR10

Samplerate: 96000 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 1336 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

Simon & Garfunkel – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (1966) Orig. US Mono – 24/96 + CD

Posted by prof. stoned @ April 8th, 2012

Simon & Garfunkel – Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme {Orig. US Mono} (1966)
Vinyl rip in 24 bit/96 kHz + 16 bit/44.1 kHz | 1LP | HQ Artwork
276 MB + 105 MB | Orig. US Pressing | Columbia CL 2563 | Rapidshare

Here’s another one in the series “essential in mono but not available on cd”. This is a fresh rip to replace the first one I did in 2008. The old rip was taken from an original UK copy, this one comes from an original US copy which I think sounds slightly less veiled and more dynamic.

This may be the duo’s finest album (although I certainly wouldn’t wanna dismiss the ones following it). Highlight for me are the angelic openingtrack (a traditional Paul Simon learned from Martin Carthy), the follow-up track with its insanely thick sounding bass guitar (played by session veteran Carol Kaye), and Tr. 11 on which I’d like to quote a contributor from songmeaning.net: “Only Paul Simon could make such a beautiful song about some guy writing the F. word on a subway wall”. And let’s forgot the closing track. Love or loathe it, it stands as a powerful unsettling statement, one that you cannot ignore.

I think the mono version adds something extra to this already fine sounding album. For its time, this was a remarkable production job, courtesy of the considerable talents of Mr. Halee. The mono version is probably the version that was given the most care and thought, and thus the only true original. I prefer to the stereo mixes because the voices are much more within the music, rather than on top of them.

It is well-known that Paul Simon hates the mono word and has blocked every attempt to reissue these original and often superior mixes. But then again, the original stereo mixes of the first three records (incl. this one) have been replaced as well by modern sounding remixes. This has to do with worn out state of the mastertapes. Whatever the case, chances of ever hearing these vintage monaural mixes again on a newly released officially released medium are pretty slim. And one should certainly not waste his time waiting for these.

There are several different pressings that could be labelled as US originals, but these are not sonically identical. To my knowledge there are at least 5 unmatching pairs of cuttings known to exist for the mono version. (ranging from 1a to 1j, with 1i being non-existent). Naturally, you would think that A + B would the finest sounding but I believe this assumption is not correct in this instance. I bought a copy in unworn NM condition two years ago. That copy had 1F on the A side and 1A on the other. However, to my ears, the 1A side was not the great sounding holy grail I thought it was gonna be. In fact, I found it so lacking in fidelity and dynamics that I went back to eBay looking for another copy with a different cutting on side 2.

Despite the fact that tons of copies were sold, it’s not that easy to find a real clean one. So when I finally did, I was relieved to learn that my ears hadn’t been deceiving me. This copy had it pretty much the other way around: 1B on side 1 and 1J on the other. Against all the logics of matrix-knowledge, the 1J blew the 1A out of the water. Same for the other side: the 1F was quiet different and to my ears superior to the 1B on a few tracks while others sounded pretty much the same (in no particular order). Fascinating stuff, IMO, though I was happy to stop my search right there and settle for these two copies.

Enjoy!

Tracklist:
01. Scarborough Fair-Canticle
02. Patterns
03. Cloudy
04. Homeward Bound
05. The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
06. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)
07. The Dangling Conversation
08. Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall
09. A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara’d Into Submission)
10. For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
11. A Poem On The Underground Wall
12. 7 O’Clock News-Silent Night

All tracks are Mono.
These mixes did never appear officially on CD.

Credits:
Produced by Bob Johnston
Recorded by Roy Halee and others at CBS Studio’s Nashville, L.A. & New York, Dec. 1965 & June-Aug. 1966

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT-33PTG
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias. editing. (incl. manual removal of clicks and pops.. adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.7 used with setting Cl: 10 Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue’s & .m3u’s.

Post-production note:

The records were professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s Enzymantic formula, Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5 (using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2. Then I spent a few evenings manually declicking the wave file (after Click Repair had already been applied with a light setting) to make sure the cleanest and most natural sounding result possible was achieved.

01. Bookends Theme
02. Save The Life Of My Child
03. America
04. Overs
05. Voices Of Old People
06. Old Friends
07. Bookends Theme
08. Fakin’ It
09. Punky’s Dilemma
10. Mrs Robinson
11. A Hazy Shade Of Winter
12. At The Zoo
bonus:
13. You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lies (B-side of ‘Fakin’ It’ 45rpm)
14. A Hazy Shade Of Winter (45rpm version)

foobar2000 1.1.10 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2012-04-09 19:47:18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Simon & Garfunkel / Bookends (US mono)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR12 -5.54 dB -18.87 dB 0:31 ?-01. Bookends Theme
DR12 -0.10 dB -13.69 dB 2:45 ?-02. Save The Life Of My Child
DR11 -0.10 dB -15.82 dB 3:36 ?-03. America
DR13 -0.10 dB -16.22 dB 2:22 ?-04. Overs
DR19 -2.88 dB -27.18 dB 2:07 ?-05. Voices Of Old People
DR12 -0.10 dB -15.33 dB 2:36 ?-06. Old Friends
DR14 -2.15 dB -21.34 dB 1:25 ?-07. Bookends Theme
DR13 -0.10 dB -15.78 dB 3:16 ?-08. Fakin' It
DR13 -0.10 dB -17.13 dB 2:17 ?-09. Punky's Dilemma
DR12 -1.63 dB -16.13 dB 4:12 ?-10. Mrs Robinson
DR12 -0.34 dB -14.48 dB 2:18 ?-11. A Hazy Shade Of Winter
DR9 -0.67 dB -12.84 dB 2:17 ?-12. At The Zoo
DR10 -0.49 dB -12.67 dB 2:23 ?-13. You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies
DR13 -0.10 dB -14.39 dB 2:19 ?-14. A Hazy Shade Of Winter (45 Mix)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 14
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 96000 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 1693 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends + 2 Bonus (1968) Orig. US Mono – 24/96 + CD (Re-Post)

Posted by prof. stoned @ April 8th, 2012

Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends {Orig. US Mono} (1968)
Vinyl rip in 24 bit/96 kHz + 16 bit/44.1 kHz | 1LP | HQ Artwork
401 MB + 123 MB | Orig. US Pressing | Columbia KCL 2729 | Rapidshare

This is a Re-Post from the 2011 ‘Rare & Deleted Blog’ Version (w/ some new sleeve pics).

This is a Re-Post from the 2011 ‘Rare & Deleted Blog’ Version (w/ some new sleeve pics).

Another one in the series “essential in mono but not available on cd”. This transfer -I believe- is the best and certainly the most complete digital version to date of this masterpiece in mono. I recently bought this record an in breathtaking honest-to-God near mint condition (not in a $1 bin, I’m sorry to say….).

For all you doubters, yes this is a dedicated mix, meaning it is not a collapsion of the stereo version. And yes, it WILL blow you away. The mixing is quite different from the stereo and you may hear things you did not noticed before. The true mono mix of this album was only briefly available on US Columbia in 1968/1969. It did get a mono version in the UK, but that one is actually a reduction of the stereo mix, as the US stereo matrix (starting with KCS) on the label indicates.

The bonustracks are taken from original US 45?s in pristine condition. Of course, a number of tracks on the Bookends album were previously available on 45. I have auditioned those singles to verify and compare its content. My findings were that the mono album mixes of Tr. 8, 10 & 12 are identical to those on the singles and therefore it seemed pointless to include transfers of the 45?s.

A quick word on the soundquality; I have compared this to the other two well-known rips that are out there. I find one of them ear-piercingly bright and brittle sounding. The other one sounds fine but uses a less clean vinyl source than this transfer. It has rumbling in the low-end and Tr. 12 suffers from distortion not heard here. The only minor critism I have on my own work is the sound of Tr. 13. It seems impossible to find a copy of this 45 that does not distort at the end of each side. This has to do with its loud cutting (typical for Columbia pop singles from this era) and the fact that it clearly was not produced with hi-fi equipment in mind. Still, this is the best I can offer right now. I’ll upgrade if I find a better source..

Enjoy!

Tracklist:
01. Bookends Theme
02. Save The Life Of My Child
03. America
04. Overs
05. Voices Of Old People
06. Old Friends
07. Bookends Theme
08. Fakin’ It
09. Punky’s Dilemma
10. Mrs Robinson
11. A Hazy Shade Of Winter
12. At The Zoo
bonus:
13. You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lies (B-side of ‘Fakin’ It’ 45rpm)
14. A Hazy Shade Of Winter (45rpm version)

None of these Mono mixes appear officially on CD except Tr. 8.

Credits:
Producer: Simon & Garfunkel, Roy Halee
Engineers: Roy Halee

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT33PTG MC
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias, editing, (incl. manual removal of clicks and pops), adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.5.3 used with setting Cl: 10, Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue’s & .m3u’s.

Post-production note:

The records were professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s Enzymantic formula, Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5 (using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2. I spent some time manually declicking the wave file (after Click Repair had already been applied with a light setting) to make sure the cleanest and most natural sounding result possible was achieved.

Side One
01. Mrs Robinson
02. April Come She Will

Side Two
03. Scarborough Fair - Canticle
04. The Sound Of Silence

foobar2000 1.1.10 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2012-04-09 19:51:39

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: SIMON & GARFUNKEL / MRS ROBINSON EP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR12 -4.53 dB -20.08 dB 4:01 ?-MRS ROBINSON
DR12 -2.76 dB -16.67 dB 1:47 ?-APRIL COME SHE WILL
DR9 -2.82 dB -15.29 dB 3:09 ?-SCARBOROUGH FAIR - CANTICLE
DR10 -2.07 dB -14.72 dB 3:03 ?-THE SOUND OF SILENCE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 4
Official DR value: DR11

Samplerate: 96000 Hz
Channels: 1
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 1421 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

Created by sgtweatherman 18 hours ago

Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs Robinson EP EP (UK Mono) 96-24 Vinyl Rip
CBS EP6400 A1 & B1

Transfered by Sgt Weatherman
Sony PS-T22 turntable
Grado Black Cartridge
Aiwa A60 Amp
ASUS Xonar DS Audio Card
Recorded with Sony Sound Forge 10, de-clicked using iZotope De-clicker, hand editing & volume balance with Wavlab 6,
converted to FLAC (level 8) with traders Little helper. Files tagged with Tag & rename

Side One
01. Mrs Robinson
02. April Come She Will

Side Two
03. Scarborough Fair - Canticle
04. The Sound Of Silence

01. Mrs Robinson.wav: successfully encoded to '01. Mrs Robinson.flac' (ratio = 0.598; foreign metadata 'PAD' removed).
02. April Come She Will.wav: successfully encoded to '02. April Come She Will.flac' (ratio = 0.597; foreign metadata 'PAD' removed).
03. Scarborough Fair - Canticle.wav: successfully encoded to '03. Scarborough Fair - Canticle.flac' (ratio = 0.622; foreign metadata 'PAD' removed).
04. The Sound Of Silence.wav: successfully encoded to '04. The Sound Of Silence.flac' (ratio = 0.617; foreign metadata 'CDIF', 'LIST', 'PAD', 'CUE', 'LIST' removed).

01. Mrs Robinson.flac: tested ok (file is decodable without error).
02. April Come She Will.flac: tested ok (file is decodable without error).
03. Scarborough Fair - Canticle.flac: tested ok (file is decodable without error).
04. The Sound Of Silence.flac: tested ok (file is decodable without error).

9ac5257fc7d66e06bfea68cb4e6477c9 *01. Mrs Robinson.flac
cd0bf8bee5ec07ea11133c0ebd57df1b *02. April Come She Will.flac
b9eb104364f711f2e5a06d1c0c208ed9 *03. Scarborough Fair - Canticle.flac
991ca1536ab6fe6d90121fd258b7acfc *04. The Sound Of Silence.flac

01. Mrs Robinson.flac:91da7657de02274a996f4e0a39329a89
02. April Come She Will.flac:64776f627822fe62e4392db37b835188
03. Scarborough Fair - Canticle.flac:b85d29f39db054655fb5dea60b6aa58e
04. The Sound Of Silence.flac:a2a65c8ff7054b713427fd513d012a08