HW: Quality control? (Lack of?)

[Tigger]

I treated myself to a bunch of the Weird CDs, after seeing the blurb on
the Voiceprint website about how they'd been enhanced... I was very,
very disappointed, as I have all the original tapes and I can't detect
any difference. The actual tracks from the tapes seem to have been
transferred straight to CD without *any* enhancement at all. With no EQ,
it's dull, lifeless material that with a press of a single button on an
(150 quid) Aphex aural exciter magically comes to life. I can actually
hear the solos, the cymbals, and the wonderful Korg Minikorg 700 the way
it *really* sounds.

What beats me is why the (IMHO) greatest band this side of the Horsehead
nebula release sub-standard material, when it's so easy to improve. I
got the Glastonbury 90 CD, full price, and felt rather ripped off - it
should have had a label on saying 'this is the worst quality bootleg
you'll ever hear'. Having heard it, I don't know if I'll ever play it
again, the quality is so bad.

Even with a basic (Ish - Spirit folio rac pac) mixer and EQ and exciter
I can get the Weird tapes sounding *much* more like they should - I'll
end up remixing them and listening to the reworked versions instead - so
why can't a band with their own studio put even a small effort into
improving the 'collectors' series?  Sure, given the source material on
some of them it's not possible to get perfect recordings, but they can
be improved dramatically, which shouldn't be a problem for a band with
(IIRC) their own studio.... if it's a question of time, I'd be happy to
do it for free.
--
David Blair