Wow this is pretty crazy. So from what I can tell, the second disc here of "demos" are completely different from the Trombino demos that a lot of us have in our libraries. The Trombino demos only contained 5 songs that ended up on Futures but this is the full album worth of demos. PLUS on spotify, it lists Jimmy Eat World as producer for all the demos disc so it's definitely demo pre-producer. Disc 3 is where it get's interesting, looking at the credits here's what we have: You (Norton) When I Want (Trombino) The Concept (none listed) Work (Acoustic) (none listed) Sparkle (Jimmy Eat World) Shame (Trombino) so it's essentially a mixed bag of where these came from
Totally understand what you're saying and I don't disagree. I would also say that older albums often benefit from a remaster, just to bring the overall volume of the tracks up (to match the 2021 remastered bonus tracks, perhaps), at the very least. And occasionally they improve other aspects of the music, too.
i was gonna say most remasters just make it louder, which is typically to the detriment of clarity and depth. i have my own volume knob, its not annoying to turn up an album released earlier than 2021 loudness standards
Yeah I hear ya. I'm not an expert in mixing/mastering but I know a remaster can do more than just turn the volume up, if done well.
i can only think of one remaster off the top of my head that actually sounded better than the original, and thats acceptance speech by dance gavin dance but im pretty sure they went in and tweaked the mixes too because some of the changes there couldn't have possibly been achieved just through mastering. other than that, i struggle to think of any remasters in the last however many years that actually sounded better than the original and not just louder.
its the perfect balance between pop sheen and hard hitting rock punch where the performances really breathe, with the bells and whistles that come along with a mid 00's major label budget. its beautiful, its nearly perfect, and very few records ever have or will ever sound like it. the closest albums to it, in my opinion, just in terms of production quality, happen to be two other jimmy eat world albums (chase this light and integrity blues).
so i own the ... japanese import? it was two cd's. the second disc had all the demo/bonus tracks EXCEPT yer feet, which was a b side from one of the singles. the drumming in the demo of work is... somethin else. i almost prefer it over the final release. if someone can confirm that the original futures tracks are remastered, then i might have to pick this up. btw: if the band ever re-records or remasters big cars, my discography would be complete.
I had this same version of Futures for years as well before I lost it with all of my other belongings in a house fire - I think I even uploaded a pic of the CDs & case to here one time - and I had always loved that demo version of Work with the distinct drumming. I would listen to it just as a standalone song all of the time. The album version obviously fits better with all of the other songs but it is such a cool version. Literally just the drums would get stuck in my head, which is not something I can say has happened to me before.
I don't know what remastering an album really even means, aside from just the vaguest notion of what they're kinda doing - but the album that really jumps to mind for me to illustrate this point is Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit's self-titled album from 2009. They re-released it a while ago and Dave Cobb went back in and (I believe) remixed and remastered it, and I think it sounds vastly inferior to my original CD version from back when it first came out, nothing to do with the reshuffled tracklist. The original always struck me as more muscular and tougher sounding, which to me is better for that album, despite Dave Cobb being a great producer. Went off on a tangent, but it is such a welcome surprise to have these new, freshly remixed versions of songs that I've listened to for years in low quality.
Oh jeeze. I've never heard any of these demos! What I nice surprise. Heck, I've never listened to the Trombino sessions(I have them now though!). Is that tracklist for the Trombino Futures a fan made deal or some leaked early tracklisting?
It’s not the Surviving bsides but I’m happy to see some remastered stuff and new little things to sift through. Futures is an album worth celebrating.
Oh yeah. Futures is hands down the best sounding vinyl I have. The backing vocals, guitar layering, and bass lines absolutely POP and makes for a much richer listening experience.