Q65 - Revolution (1966) === The Mono Version === Garage, R&B, Proto-Punk
[24bit/96kHz High Resolution FLAC]
01. The Life I Live
02. I Got Nightmares
03. Just Who's In Sight
04. Mr. Pitiful
05. I'm A Man
06. Middle-Age Talk
07. Summer Thoughts In A Field Of Weed
08. Down In The Bottom
09. Get out Of my Life, Woman
10. Spoonful
11. Sour Wine
12. Bring It On Home
All Tracks Are The Original Mono Mixes
Never Available on CD/Download in Mono except Tr. 01 which only exist in mono
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Source:
- Revolution (LP, Album, Mono, Ltd, RE) Pseudonym VP99.007 Netherlands 2001
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Vinyl Recorded & Mastered using:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm
- Audio Technica AT33PTG MC
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2 (using a matched pair of Genalex Gold Lion tubes)
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface @ 24/96
- Audition 3.0 (editing, manual clean up)
All mono recordings were mastered from a single stereo channel, no L+R folding was done.
Transfers & Restoration by Prof. Stoned
Photo's of the original 1966 pressing are included.
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Mastering Note:
I'm happy to present a rare chance to hear the original mono mix of this album in fantastic quality. All credit must go to the independent company Pseudonym who produced the only mono reissue of this album that ever was (albeit on vinyl in a limited scale). Pseudonym has done multiple reissues of Q65's old work on CD for over 2 decades but sadly they always stuck with the same mastering facility who has consistently fucked up the sound of pretty much all their re-releases with excessive noise reduction artifacts. But somehow, this one came out excellent.
For those wondering, I have an original Decca LP from 1966 in decent condition but like many pop records from that time, it was mastered with the high-end rolled-off to avoid skipping needles. It sounds charming like an old Stones record, but this version is simply a whole different experience.
Q65's own former company Decca has since become a part of Universal and they have not done a much better job in preserving the band's catalog. Granted, there have been a good number of CD reissues over the years but nearly all them with horrible overcooked sound quality. Only the 1988 CD reissue of Revolution (in stereo) I can recommend.
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Notes:
Q65 in its original incarnation (mid-1965 - late 1967) was simply one of the best things that ever happened in the history of Dutch rock music. Apart for guitarist Frank Buyens, none of the members had a musical background but within 9 months after the formation (and without the interference of a professional manager), the group had a record on the national charts. 'You're the Victor' had been recorded during an audition for Decca and was duly released by the company who did not even bother to inform the group. It was an instant classic. No other Dutch band had yet produced something so ferocious yet catchy.
The band quickly upped their game with their second single, which produced their most enduring song "The Life I Live". It had been written as the B-side to the equally impressive 'Cry in the Night' but the sides were swapped at the last moment at the suggestion of a radio deejay. It became their biggest hit and the go-ahead was given for a full-length record. With a sympathetic producers team assisting them in the studio (Hans van Hemert & engineer Jan Audier, both at about the same age as the band members), the sessions were reasonably relaxed and even allowed for some experimentation. In quick response to the Stones LP "Aftermath", a 14-minute mostly improvised track was added.
The record came out late in the summer of 1966 and was a great success, not least because of its reasonable retail price: 9.90 Dutch guilders. Today, it has lost very little of its charm. Guitarist and founding member Joop Roelofs once noted: "It was not about what we were capable of doing, it was what we dared doing" and I think that pretty much sums up what set the Q65 apart from all the other Dutch bands of their time.
