This is a copy of an email, written in 1992 by Ken <!-- Alexander -->
comparing the two different releases of the BBC 1972 recording.
This email is presented here entirely without permission of the author.


> Date: 12 Sep 1992 20:52:05 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Ken Alexander
> Subject: BBC vs SRfL

>               _BBC Radio One_ vs _Space Rock from London_
>
> Due to the courtesy of another listmember, I was able to make a comparison
> of _BBC Radio One Live in Concert_ and _Space Rock from London_.
> These are two different mixes of the same concert, recorded 28 September 1972
> and broadcast on 14 October 1972.  I've had _BBC_ for a while, and knew of
> its slightly less-than-perfect sound quality, so I was excited at the chance
> to compare _SRfL_, which was reputed to have much better quality.
> Unfortunately, I was very disappointed with _SRfL_.  What follows is a
> comparison, with flames inserted in the appropriate places.
>
> First, some track listings.  These are times as listed by my CD Player,
> since both of the CDs have screwed-up listings.
>
>                              BBC             SRfL
>                            ___              ___
> Countdown                 1   \ 12:15      1___>  1:08
> Born to Go                 ___/            2___> 10:28
> The Black Corridor        2   \  9:35      3   \  8:58
> Seven by Seven             ___/             ___/
> Brainstorm                3___> 10:38      4___>  7:49
> Master of the Universe    4___>  9:52      5___>  9:15
> Paranoia                  5___>  9:23      6___>  9:21
> Silver Machine               \             7   \  6:50
> Welcome to the Future     6   >  7:48       ___/
> Credits  (BBC Only)        __/
>
>                    totals       59:39            53:55
>
> The differences start out fairly minor.  SRfL begins with a few sentences of
> "This is London, Earth" which aren't on BBC.  On BBC, Stacia's counting
> screwup was edited out, so hear "10,9,8..." instead of "10 <big pause>,9,8..."
>
> "Born to Go" and "Black Corridor" aren't much differnt between the two
> versions.  The sound on SRfL is a little crisper and cleaner, and at this
> point I was thinking that SRfL might be an improvement over BBC.
>
> Then, major complaint!  Where did the "7x7" lyrics go?  It turns out that
> SRfL removed the first half of the song's lyrics, by EQ'ing them to nothing!
> If you've heard BBC to know where they are, you can pick out a few traces of
> them, but otherwise the first half of the song appears as just an instrumental
> instead.  Why???
>
> The track divisions are a bit screwed at this point, because the "7x7" music
> extends about 1:23 into the track that is supposedly "Brainstorm".  Then,
> another major complaint: they lopped off the first *four minutes* of
> Brainstorm!  On BBC, the entire 10:38 is really brainstorm.  On SRfL, after
> you subtract the 1:23 that is really 7x7, you're left with about six minutes
> of Brainstorm that cuts in during the chanting part in the middle.  Why???
>
> "Master of the Universe" really sounds bad.  There is a really ugly twangy
> bass driving through much of it, that doesn't exist on BBC.  It honestly
> sounds like the SRfL people took the BBC version, cut it to 2/3 volume, and
> dubbed in this other instrument at a later date!  Also, on BBC, the first
> line of the song is soft but exists; on SRfL they removed it entirely, so
> the song starts with "Wind of time is blowing through me..."  Why???
> Master of the Universe is divided into three main sections with brief
> pauses in between.  On SRfL, they taped in some extra bullshit on top of
> the beginning of the third section, which used to be my favorite part!  Why???
>
> Paranoia is approximately the same on both CDs.  On "Silver Machine", however,
> that shitty twanger from MotU is back, and makes it sound horrible!  You can
> even hear exactly where it cuts in, so was definitely remixed in later.
> It is NOT part of the original recording, at least not in that form.
> This addition really sounds "fucking prissy" as someone else put it.  Why???
>
> In all, I have to say that BBC wins.  The problems with BBC are with the mix:
> the vocals are too soft, the loud parts get a bit fuzzy, and it might even be
> a mono recording.  SRfL fixes these problems, but at great cost.  SRfL's
> sound is clearer, but it starts sounding a bit fake since so much manual
> tweaking and remixing has occurred.  The music has ceased to *flow* the way
> that it does on BBC.
>
> The major problems with SRfL lead me to believe that the people who
> made SRfL have the following philosophy:
>
>     "If we can't make it sound clearer, we'll just destroy it."
>
> This might perhaps explain the loss of the 7x7 lyrics and other vocals,
> the removal of four minutes of Brainstorm, and the wholesale replacement of
> certain instruments on Master of the Universe and Silver Machine.
> The back of SRfL says "The recordings on this CD have the best sound quality
> that you can imagine."  My definition of sound quality includes a somewhat
> faithful and complete representation of the original sound, and I think that
> the makers of SRfL sacrificed this in their fanaticism for sound clarity.
> If something wasn't clear, they were willing to chop it up or drown it out.
>
> The major butchery and strange sound of SRfL cause me to prefer
> BBC by a wide margin, despite the slight fuzziness of BBC's sound.
>
> -Ken
>
> Disclaimer:  Sorry, it's only my opinion.
>