In Need Of Info On "The Meters"

[visuals]

I am a big Meters fan that generally likes anything done in the style of their stuff on Josie. I own their complete Josie catalogue but there has been one that I know nothing about and would like to hear the experts opinion of and that's "Zony Mash".



I see that this one was rightfully released by "Sundazed" and has a couple of tunes that are on the"Look-A-Py-Py", "Struttin" and the Josie debut albums. Is this one of those disc that was thrown together to fool fans into purchasing by rounding up a few good tracks from the original albums and dropping a couple of "so-called" rare-unreleased numbers to wind up being yet another space-filler on our CD rack shelves?

Somebody hip me.

[Disco Funk]

Its mainly a compilation of the non-album tracks that they did after Struttin, like 'Groovy Lady' or 'Zony Mash'. I don't know if there ever was any intention to put out another album after Struttin before they left Josie, so this is the next best thing.

What I'd like to know is if tracks like 'I Need More Time' are in stereo. I have that track on a number of compilations and its only in mono, while many of the other single-only tracks were presented in stereo. I had the same problem with the tracks from Struttin like 'Chicken Strut' - everything in mono, until they put out the Sundazed CD.

Disco Funk

[eddie]

All tracks are stereo except "Zony Mash" and "I need more time". You're right Visuals this reissue craze has went amuck. If an artist has 10 Lps, I often have 15 CDs and still don't have all the tracks.

If you have the 3 Josie/Sundazed reissues and the Rhino Anthology, you will have every track except "Sassy Lady."

[visuals]

Originally Posted by Disco Funk

What I'd like to know is if tracks like 'I Need More Time' are in stereo. I have that track on a number of compilations and its only in mono, while many of the other single-only tracks were presented in stereo

Disco Funk, This is also a problem that I have with a lot of the Meters stuff as well as a few other artists...Waiting around for a decent re-master with stereo tracks. I am an audiophile as well so mono tracks just wont cut it unless absolutely nessesary.

Originally Posted by eddie

If an artist has 10 Lps, I often have 15 CDs and still don't have all the tracks

I'm afraid that I am also on the same train as you eddie. There has been many occasions where certain albums by whomever have been released yet the main ones that we are looking for and they know were the best remain out of print. We collectors/consumers then shoot for the next best thing....Greatest hits and Anthology releases at outrageous prices only to find the songs have either been cut and butchered to death, contains an alternate version of the song or in extreme cases, Find that the song isn't even on the disc. I have been burned numerous times this way. (most notable from my collection was the Collectable's re-issue of "Johnny Guitar Watson's "What The Hell Is This" (1979) album. I was truly pissed when I heard one of my favorite tunes..."Mother-In-Law".....This track on the re-issue sounds as if someone was trying to sound like JGW on top of a phony synthesized rhythm section with a drum machine beat.:evil: ...Talk about HEATED!!!

Thanks for the replies fellas but tell me....Since all I have from The Meters Josie years are the 3 "Sundazed" reissues, Do you think it would be wise to get the "Zony Mash" or shoot for the 2-disc anthology (which I tend to stay away from)? Also, I am not a fan of their Warner period stuff at all which I'm pretty sure the anthology has tons of tracks from.

[eddie]

If I were to choose, I would go with Zony Mash. Then you have EVERYTHING on Josie. About half of the Rhino Anthology is the Warner Brothers materials since Rhino is just an extension of the Warner-Elektra-Atlantic conglomerate.

There's also a live Uptown Rulers disc that I don't have but many critics rave about.

[Disco Funk]

Originally Posted by visuals

Disco Funk, This is also a problem that I have with a lot of the Meters stuff as well as a few other artists...Waiting around for a decent re-master with stereo tracks. I am an audiophile as well so mono tracks just wont cut it unless absolutely nessesary.

Yes! You don't even understand how irritated I've been with the James Brown compilations! They've been putting out tracks like Cold Sweat in mono or tight mixes, when the original released versions had the drums separated onto on channel. The people at Universal justified this by insisting this is how the Godfather liked to hear his music, but if that was the case, why were the original releases available in stereo mixes?!! Even on the 20 Greatest Hits album released in '76, there were stereo mixes of tracks like Soul Power and Make It Funky, which were later put onto CD as mono only!

Disco Funk

[visuals]

Originally Posted by Disco Funk

Yes! You don't even understand how irritated I've been with the James Brown compilations!

I feel you on this Disco Funk. I have noticed that about James's stuff and the JB's. I also have one by "Maceo & The King's Men" (released by Charly so I should have known better) that is the same way. I only paid $10.00 for the disc while the re-mastered import was a whopping $29.00. The price has since dropped considerably. I also own 2 "Ripple" cd's and both of them suffer this all throughout both discs. Some tracks are stereo while the others remain mono and sound as if they were transfered by a boom box that was recording from an AM radio station. Most of the time, There are usually the real gems that they do this to. (sigh)....Guess we'll have to wait for yet ANOTHER "import" re-issue at outrageous bucks a shot.
I AM going to order that "Zony Mash" disc just for being the completist that I am though.

Originally Posted by eddie

There's also a live Uptown Rulers disc that I don't have but many critics rave about.

Seems like I have heard about this one before but not too sure. Although I am not too fond of live recordings, By it being The Meters I think I'll check into it. Thanks for the info you both.

[Disco Funk]

Originally Posted by visuals

I feel you on this Disco Funk. I have noticed that about James's stuff and the JB's. I also have one by "Maceo & The King's Men" (released by Charly so I should have known better) that is the same way. I only paid $10.00 for the disc while the re-mastered import was a whopping $29.00.

That is another annoyance for me too. I didn't even know the original album was released in stereo until I looked around on the internet to find out why its been released only in mono. I have the old cassette from Charly and the CD. Plus, Got To Getcha has appeared on various funk compilations, also as mono. So when I discovered there was an original stereo release, that surprised me. I hope it gets put onto CD that way, soon.

Disco Funk