Raw Energy

cover

Label Romance Records
Licensed from Musicrent, Parlin, NJ
Country US
Catalog # SB-18
Copyright/Release Date 1988
Total Playing Time 27:54

Song titles as listed on back cover:

1. Till There Was You 2:55
2. Take Good Care of My Baby 2:19
3. Memphis 2:15
4. Sure To Fall 1:59
5. Money 2:19
6. Three Cool Cats 2:17
7. To Know Him Is To Love Him 2:27
8. Crying, Waiting, Hoping 1:56
9. September in the Rain 1:50
10. Besame Mucho 2:33
11. Searchin’ 2:55
12. Sheik of Araby 1:35

I think the following excerpt from the inside liner notes of this dubious release says it all:

"And while you might have heard some other versions of these early Beatles recordings, you have never heard anything like this one. Previous releases may have been interesting to listen to for historical reason, but the tapes were either recorded so poorly to begin with or were so damaged over time that it was impossible to enjoy the Beatles’ music. These twelve selections from the Decca tapes were remastered using the revolutionary FDS digital processing system, which actually repairs and improves the original master recordings. No hiss, no pops, no audio distortion. If John and Paul were recorded while singing through one microphone, the FDS system would separate their voices and reproduce them true to life. If some of George’s guitar work was cancelled out by Pete’s cymbal crashes, each sound would be restored, actually better (their emphasis) than on the original master tape."

To further the credibility of this release, the cover states "In Stereo. From The Master Tape: Silver Beatles."

Unfortunately, reading the liner notes are far more entertaining than listening to this CD! This CD no doubt destroyed whatever credibility the (supposed) FDS system had since I have never seen it used on any other release. The marketing hype was used to cover the fact that this was mastered from a 10th generation copy!

The sound is reminiscent of the old mono reprocessed for stereo days – turn up the treble for the left channel and turn the bass up for the right channel. By the way, no where does the CD mention what FDS is short for. I will let you use your imagination. This CD is for completists (like myself) only.

Many thanks to xxx for submitting this complete page, and to Tom Drozewski for the cover scan!


Back | Home