Since 1975 we've had *4* different masterings or mixes of the original USA album.
- original 1975 LP/cassette USA mix & mastering (sourced from Asbury Park and Providence concerts, with Eddie Jobson overdubs)
- 30th Anniversary USA remastering for CD (and expansion to include all the other Asbury Park concert tracks). The USA mix of the improv track 'Asbury Park' was also made available previously on the Frame by Frame boxed set.
- 2005 mix (by Ronan Chris Murphy) of the whole Asbury Park concert (first offered online by DGM) (UPDATE: and then released on CD as part of The Collectible King Crimson Vol 1)
- 2013 mix (by Fripp and Singleton) of the whole Asbury Park concert (first offered in the Road to Red boxed set) (CORRECTION: first offered on the 40th Anniversary edition of USA)
All four versions are available for comparison on the Road to Red Bluray disc 2. It's kind of interesting to hear how different they are . I still prefer the original LP mix/mastering (available as a UK vinyl transfer on Road to Red) , where Wetton's bass growls fiercely. It's still growling on the 30th Anniversary remastering, but unfortunately there's an irritating new layer of reverb added to everything, and it's much louder. The 2005 mix keeps the growl and and also makes everything louder/compressed, but there's no annoying additional reverb, so this my best alternative (though Cross's mellotron noodling on the 'Asbury Park' improv is not a revelation). The 2013 remix restored the dynamic range missing on the 2005, but emasculates Wetton's bass almost completely -- the worst alternative.
The Frame By Frame 'Asbury Park' improv, to my knowledge, is the only digital transfer ever made available directly from the USA album masters, and pretty valuable for that (it sounds great).
Other opinions?
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