Free Hand on Road Goes On Forever/Terrapin or...?

[Pekka]

Yes, One Way's first pressing of Free Hand was egregiously bad. Even pre-recorded cassettes sound better. So they recalled it and re-did it, but somehow they unwittingly got their hands on a rough mix of the entire album. And it does indeed sound fantastic but it's clearly not a final mix. I agree that's it's a great find for hardcore GG fans who already know the album well, but it's no substitute for the real thing, great sound quality notwithstanding.

One more thing is that One Way made no changes to the packaging so the only way to tell which pressings have the rough mix is by looking at the CD's matrix. This page lists some of them:

http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/Free_Hand

The rough mix version was the first version I ever heard of "Free Hand" so when I got the UK vinyl it sounded a bit strange at first and I'm still a bit more used to the One Way 2nd version.

[Rand Kelly]

Yes, One Way's first pressing of Free Hand was egregiously bad. Even pre-recorded cassettes sound better. So they recalled it and re-did it, but somehow they unwittingly got their hands on a rough mix of the entire album. And it does indeed sound fantastic but it's clearly not a final mix. I agree that's it's a great find for hardcore GG fans who already know the album well, but it's no substitute for the real thing, great sound quality notwithstanding.

One more thing is that One Way made no changes to the packaging so the only way to tell which pressings have the rough mix is by looking at the CD's matrix. This page lists some of them:

http://www.blazemonger.com/GG/Free_Hand





Any chance you're thinking of "Cema Special Markets"? Because my second pressing has that on the back cover and on the disc's label. I no longer have that dreadful first pressing, but I can tell you that when I first got the replacement, the two of them looked absolutely identical.





Yes it is!

CEMA,right!!! Thanks. I don't know why I thought it was Cinema. I have the Terrapin Trucking cd and the DRT. I played the DRT once and my ears were instantly on fire. The TT is much warmer.

[no.nine]

CEMA,right!!! Thanks. I don't know why I thought it was Cinema.

It was probably a subconscious desire on your part to turn this into a Yes thread.

[Rand Kelly]

[no.nine]

OK.

I posted earlier that some Terrapins may have the same mastering as their earlier RGOF issues - it's now confirmed. There's a new thread over at the Hoffman forum on the subject, and thanks to the posting of some matrix info, I was able to compare to my RGOFs. And In a Glass House & Interview are indeed the same.

Now, I don't know if this means Terrapin eventually did 'secret remasters' of these two or if it's simply that not all Terrapins used no-noise after all. All I know is I remember reading in the old On Reflection newsletter at the time that the GG CDs were reissued on Terrapin to address these tape hiss "issues", and to differentiate them from the earlier "hissy" versions.



http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread.../#post-9302215

[strawberrybrick]

I have this one. I bought it in 1989 and was in the first batch that started my collection,excellent sounding cd.

Yes, the original Capitol of PatG really was/is an amazing sounding CD, I don't think any version really out-did it.

[old school]

Yes, the original Capitol of PatG really was/is an amazing sounding CD, I don't think any version really out-did it.

Is that the Canadian Capitol release?

[syncopatico]

Yes, the original Capitol of PatG really was/is an amazing sounding CD, I don't think any version really out-did it.

I have the Capitol PatG CD: actually the back cover is sullied by having "Manufactured by Columbia House. A Division of CBS Records, Inc..." printed on it. It was one of my picks when i was a member of Columbia House record club for a short time in the mid(?) eighties. It was (of course! ) the only GG disc available through Columbia House!

[no.nine]

I have the Capitol PatG CD: actually the back cover is sullied by having "Manufactured by Columbia House. A Division of CBS Records, Inc..." printed on it. It was one of my picks when i was a member of Columbia House record club for a short time in the mid(?) eighties. It was (of course! ) the only GG disc available through Columbia House!

Wow, I never knew that ANY GG CDs were ever available through Columbia House! I wouldn't be surprised if you were the only person to order one from them!

[syncopatico]

Wow, I never knew that ANY GG CDs were ever available through Columbia House! I wouldn't be surprised if you were the only person to order one from them!

That's entirely possible!

(It was available through Columbia House because it was the ONLY GG album released on the Capitol label. "A one-shot deal" before they were dropped by Capitol and then signed with Terry Ellis'/Jethro Tull Chrysalis label for the next record, Free Hand.)