Rhino High Fidelity The Captain And Me - The Doobie Brothers
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- Опубликовано: 10 июл 2024
- The Doobie Brothers forth studio album The Captain And Me has recently been reissued in the Rhino High Fidelity Series, featuring a new mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearant. The new release follows the highly successful The Cars S/T debut and its followup Van Morrison, His Band And The Street Choir, both reviewed here:
Van Morrison His Band And The Street Choir
• Rhino High Fidelity Au...
The Cars - The Cars
• The Cars S/T Rhino Hig...
00:00 Introduction
02:21 The Warner Pressing
03:23 The Speakers Corner Pressing
05:10 The Rhino High Fidelity Pressing
06:41 Conclusion
"The Captain and Me" is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 1973. It features popular songs such as "China Grove," "Long Runnin'," and "Without You." The album showcases the band's unique blend of rock, folk, and R&B influences, with tight harmonies and catchy melodies. Overall, "The Captain and Me" is considered one of The Doobie Brothers' most successful and critically acclaimed albums.
All Rhino High Fidelity titles are available exclusively from Rhino
store.rhino.com/en/rhino-stor...
The Speakers Corner edition is available at most audiophile retailers
store.acousticsounds.com/d/42...
For this comparison, I have the Speaker's Corner, also cut by Kevin Gray and a later Warner's pressing from the '80s. Thanks to my friend John for supplying those copies for this video.
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One of my top five albums of all time…not one weak track. It’s a full listen..no skipping. Love the fade out of Ukiah into the fade in of The Captain and Me. Might have to check out the Speakers Corner pressing. Currently have just my original WB pressing I bought in 1973.
I might need to spend more time with it honestly. Opinions are all over the place with this Rhino. Some love it, some swear by the Speakers, and many like the first pressing in the olive label.
Thank you
Already have had the Speakers Corner for years now. Have loved the album for 51+ years now.
I think there would be no real reason to go for the Rhino. I much preferred the Speakers Corner. If you wanted to explore further perhaps an early original would be your next stop.
@@ThePressingMatters already been there, done with this one.
You landed in a good place. Speaker's Corner is great.
I have the Original olive green Warner Brothers Pressing and it sounds Awesome. Thank you for you research on these other pressings!
You probably have the best of all of them!
Nice job Scott, i do have copies of all 3 versions of The Captain and Me and agree, the Speaker's Corner pressing is my favorite. It just has that little bit extra over the Rhino reissue but i do love the Rhino cover. ;)
Thanks,
Yes the jacket is a beauty, just amazing. But the Speakers Corner just comes across my system as more integrated and involving. I suppose the Rhino is technically better in individual characteristics, but for this record I want slightly laid back and rocking. Interesting of the reviews I did watch, each came to different conclusions. One liked the Nautilus, one the Speakers Corner and one the Rhino. Definitely system, room and expectation dependent. Thanks for watching!
Hi Scott, great video. I don't have this one, but I do have Rhino high fidelity Coltrane, Van Morrison and Jaco Patorius and they all sound absolutely great. The Pastorius is, imho, the best of all. The sound (and music) of the Rhino high fidelity Word Of Mouth is simply superb. It is wonderful.
Thanks, Ricardo. There is no question these are all very well done releases. I have the Cars, Coltrane and Van Morrison and really love them. This one is great too - just didn't seem better, just different in the ways I described. I'll have to try another Jazz title. Let's hope they are a bit more creative with the rock title next time around. Thanks so much for commenting!
One thing I have learned Scott like you hit on is about your system step up. What might sound good on a 200,000 dollar system might not sound good on a 5,000 dollar system or visa versa. I was lucky to have ordered Santana Abraxas one step when it came out for pre order and same with UHQR titles. I have a friend getting back into vinyl and I have been showing him what to look for now.
It's true. I tend to like a warmer sound. My system is about $10,000 retail. I have a friend with a $50,000 system. I do go there on occasion to do shootouts on his system and we often come to different conclusions. So subjective reviews are just that. Each person has their priorities and preferences. What might sound dull on my system comes alive on his. What sounds too forward on his sounds just right on mine. That's why you can always check the current state of my system in the description box. And watching me over time, you'll have a good idea if out sonic tastes align.
Another nice review. WB switched to those cream labels in the late 70’s, and for whatever reason, I’ve never really had good luck with them (several James Taylor and Van Morrison titles come to mind). I bought the Rhino, it’s a (very) modest improvement over my Columbia Santa Maria press on the palm tree label. Several have mentioned the original green label press, I’m sure it’s superb-my original green label Toulouse Street is one of my best sounding rock records (Columbia Terre Haute).
Thank you Ken!
I'm curious if you found the Rhino to have more or less bass than the palm tree label. Also did you find either one fatiguing in the top end?
@@ThePressingMatters I just now compared side one of both-the Rhino has just a smidge more bass and Tiran Porter’s bass is a bit better defined, but very close. The Rhino is a little brighter and more detailed and just a tad less smooth than the palm tree, but I wouldn’t call it fatiguing, at least on my system (Rega P10 w/Apheta 3, Parasound JC 3 Jr phono pre, PS Audio Stellar pre & amps, Vandersteen 2ce Sig II speakers w/2wq sub). That bit of extra detail really brings some things to new life on the Rhino, an example being the acoustic guitars in Clear as the Driven Snow. Soundstage depth of the Rhino is really noticeable on that track, too-the sleigh bells ring out so clearly in front of the speakers. Keep up the good work on your channel!
@@kenw.8013 Thank you for your thoughts on it.
From now on, Kevin Gray is my hero : - )
If you watch me regularly you know I love Kevin's work. In this case we have two different takes on the same tape, both excellent with slight differences. Nice to have choices!
Looking forward to your experience with this release. Happy Holiday Scott!
Thanks David, I hope you had a great holiday too!
I really enjoyed your take on this one in your excellent video.
Hi Scott! I got the rhino and I really enjoyed it! Actually I used to like the album until I heard this version now I love it but I don't have the speakers corner. I won't be buying it cause I don't need 3 copies of it glad that it's even better but I do agree with these companies reissueing the same albums. Rhino just reissued the john coltrane, coltrane sound and now analog productions is doing it lol those poor tapes keep getting used over and over. Let's hope the next rhino isn't an Atlantic 75 record lol.
Hi Robert,
The Rhino is still an excellent record no question. I'm happy to have such a good mastering. It's only in comparison do you get that it's just a different flavor. One a bit warmer and one more detailed. It's all good!
Scott, great review, thanks !! Please consider doing a video on the lp's that you played the most in 2023. That would be a fun watch.
Thank you! Sure, I've started tossing around some ideas for that type of video. I hope to get it out soon.
Hi Scott:
Like you, I did a shootout on my system 3 weeks ago between a 1973 LP, a CD, the Speakers Corner LP & the Rhino HiFi. While I agree with most of your findings I disagree with your final conclusions. For me, I vastly prefer the Rhino HiFi version to the Speakers Corner version, in my room, on my system, to my ears: I found the Speakers Corner pressing thin & weak sounding, with less detail, less bass and a much narrower sound stage. None of the recordings had much of a top end. I do totally agree with you the results could be very system dependent & also may depend on personal tastes.
My Parasound JC5 amp & JC2 BP pre-amp have a reputation of being very detailed and discerning. That is the sound I like & I am used to. That could easily explain our similar results but different conclusions. Others mileage may completely vary too. First off I will say this is not a recording session which was good enough to result in an audiophile recording. A bit like putting lipstick on a pig. My CD & 1973 LP were at best a (C-) to a (C). The Speakers Corner was a (B-) & the Rhino HiFi was a (B )to (B+). Still not an audiophile pressing. Why Rhino chose this LP out of all the possibilities available is beyond me.
I level matched the sources, but the Rhino clearly had more dynamic range than the other 3. This could easily explain some of the reasons I liked the Rhino version. The Rhino had more bass and it was cleaner sounding. I have a well adjusted subwoofer which could be part of the reason for our different conclusions. I don’t believe you have a sub right now.
My ’73 LP & the CD were a swirling, dense and rather compressed sounding mess. This is basically how I remember this LP sounding back in the day. The Speakers Corner did open things up more and present greater detail. But when I played the Rhino, the detail and clarity were raised to a different plane. This surprised me, because until I heard the Rhino I thought the Speakers Corner was a decent sounding recording. There was more air and space separating the instruments & musicians on the Rhino. This let far more detail shine through. For me, on the Rhino there was a greater sense of realism to the instruments. Some instruments actual sounded like real instruments, not just a recording of the instruments. Less so on the Rhino. There was not much top end on this session, but I heard a bit more shimmer on the Rhino
Lastly there was the soundstage. It was confined to the space between the speakers on the ’73 LP and the CD. The Speakers Corners brought the soundstage to a foot or two beyond the speakers. The Rhino brought soundstage out to the walls of my listening room and sometimes even beyond that.
Another difference was my pressing was dead silent, I didn’t have the swirling sound you described. This certainly could have affected our judgements and conclusions in some way too.
I think we both agree this is not an essential record for either of us. At best neither the Speakers Corner nor the Rhino is an audiophile grade recording. We heard many of the same things, but we drew different conclusions. This could be easily explained by differences in our systems and personal taste. We both agree Rhino might have choose a title more wisely.
Hi Jim,
Thanks so much for your comments. Your review was one of the three I watched of course, and you did an excellent job describing what you heard. I know your system and really gave your opinion a lot of weight. Of the two others I saw, one preferred the Speakers Corner and one the Nautilus! Three divergent opinions but I think your system would give the most credible results. Of course I had to come to my own conclusion, and although I chose the Speakers Corner, I did really like the Rhino too. I could see with a few system changes that I'm planning that I might come to prefer it as you did. For both of us, this record may not be a favorite - a decent rock recording for its time, but not audiophile grade sound. Still I wanted a great copy and I'm glad to have the Rhino. I think once I do my speaker upgrade, my opinions will have to be revisited. This will be a good one to double check, for all the reasons you have stated.
Thanks so much for your videos and leaving such an insightful comment here.
Have a great New Year my friend and wishing you all the best.
@@ThePressingMatters Scott:
My pleasure. You are right the record is not a favorite of mine either. I originally liked it say the first 10,000 times or so I heard it on the radio. That explains the '73 LP & CD, plus the Speakers Corner versions I owned. I definitely think the sound of this record, where it is not particularly good to begin with, would be very system dependent. I think my putting: "lipstick on a pig" analogy applies here. There are lots of blemishes any particular system may bring out or conceal.
FYI I am planning to listen to the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, but with the holidays upon us there hasn't been time to give the LP the multiple focussed listening sessions it will take. I don't plan on doing my own review.
I've enjoyed your channel immensely through out the year. I've discovered some great LPs thanks to your reviews. I hope you & all your family Have a Very Happy New Year. I wish all of your friends family & loved ones have an even better 2024.
@@jfm0830 Thank you. I wish you and your family a wonderful New Year as well Jim. I've really enjoyed sharing out love of this hobby. Your comments are always so thoughtful and informative. Looking forward to some new videos from you too.
@@ThePressingMatters Thanks Scott. I flipped on something I said earlier. I'm getting ready to audition Lamb Lies Down on Broadway & though I am late to the party, I think I may do a video on it. I haven't watched and reviews of it yet, so it's now or never. I just did the photos for a video.
Thanks, a fantastic comparison, appreciate your thoughts.
I have over two dozen titles on Speakers Corner, representing a variety of genres, and all of them sound wonderful.
It's hard for me to summarize my experience with Rhino. Searching for "Rhino" in my discogs collection gives me >60 titles, but most of them have other labels associated with them and were not pressed/manufactured specifically by or for Rhino. For example, there are pressings from ORG music, MoFi, and others.
I know the recent Van Morrison (which you reviewed) and Coltrane's Sound are a Rhino-specific titles. The Van M sounds wonderful. I haven't had a chance to give Coltrane's sound a complete and careful listen yet.
I am a fan of gorgeous jackets, tho. But I'm a bigger fan of SQ, and would probably opt for the Speakers Corner version based on your comparison here.
I hope you are well. See you in the next video!
Ron
Finally got around to listening to my press copy. Gave it a good clean on the Degritter.
Thought I was more of a fan but the music is a little meh to me. Overly arranged with lots of thick guitar-laden midrange. Voices back in the mix, too.
Bass is good but I’ve never heard an original or Kevin’s SC.
I think your assessment is spot on, Scott. Wish I could be more enthusiastic about the music and the recording.
Hi Anthony,
My memories of the music must have been a bit skewed. It's a fine album but I'm past this musically. Sound did not win me over either. Wish it had been a press copy! I feel it wasn't the best use of funds.
Thanks for getting back to me with your thoughts on it!
Hi Scott, great review. I have a Speakers Corner pressing and love it. I don't have the Rhino, but do have a couple of other Rhino releases...Van Morrison, which sounds excellent (thanks for the recommendation!), and Court and Spark...which sounds great BUT has a significant flaw in the first 45 seconds of Court and Spark...I can't stand to listen to it! Should have returned, but I thought shipping back to Rhino from Canada would be too much of an issue. So I think Rhino does have some quality issues.
Is that the latest remaster of Court? Bernie Grundman 2022? That is an awesome sounding record! Can't you get it from Amazon Canada?
Oh but you'd still be stuck with the defective one.
I absolutely love this record! I have the OG but I gotta tell you this is one of my very favorite Doobie Brothers probably because it was the first Doobie Brothers in my collection! However, I wish they would’ve spent more time on something like living on the Fault line!I believe that was the very first record that Michael McDonald was on! The writing playing and saying is genius on that! Plus it was a very noisy recording, so it is really benefit from this treatment! Just saying! Thanks for the review, Scott! Happy new year🎉
Hi Matt,
Thanks for your comments and wishing you a wonderful New Year!
I also think it’s strange to remaster the Captain And Me by the same engineer as the excellent Speakers Corner thats out there already. I have the Speakers Corner, and gave my original pressing to my sister. I would love it if Rhino would remaster some Chicago albums.
Yeah it was a strange choice. I'd love the first two Chicago albums too but I don't think Warner Rhino has access to those.
@@ThePressingMatters Yes, I and II are top shelf classics. Chicago VII is one of my favorite albums to turn my vinyl/audiophile friends onto. That’s their progressive sounding (on the path to downplaying jazz) record that sounds even better now than it did back in the day. Plus “Wishing You Were Here” with the amazing harmonizing of The Beach Boys. A real sleeper record in their canon. Wish all of these could get a Kevin Gray treatment before he retires.
@kendavis3604 I remember that was my first Chicago album and yes I loved Wishing You Were Here. You're absolutely right, an excellent choice for a quality reissue.
The og WB Olive label is excellent, should have included in the shootout.
I wish we could have. I've heard it sounds great.
Funny. I felt the exact same way about getting it, which I did. Not one of my favorites, but worth a try based on the others. Glad I got it. Sort of. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
I have a mint UK 1st press and the speakers corner on my system the OG wins more vibrant, alive and dynamic BUT as I say relatedly, the problem with OG's is prior use. I have multiple identical pressing of classic 1960's 70's etc yet they can sound dramatically different, some are dull flat & lifeless others are WOW. Many UK 1st pressings were only produced at 1 plant so it's down to number of plays & on what! Thank you for your hard work last year and long may it continue
Thank you so much for letting me know about the UK pressings in comparison. I'd be curious if you ever get to hear the Rhino what you thought about it.
Thanks for your continued support and have a happy and safe New Year!
The Rhino's are very difficult to buy in the UK, I obtained 1 and was underwhelmed@@ThePressingMatters
PS: I bought Herbie Hancock Crossings, but it is still on its way to Brazil.
My audition of that one on streaming sounded very interesting!
Nice review Scott! Fun fact; I just received a VG+ cream label Captain as “stiffener” in a recent shipment. I will NOT be picking this up (although in general I usually buy AAA pressings, especially with tape box photos!).
I have several Quad versions (R2R, 8-track, CD4 LP and the Quadio box from a few years back). If I feel compelled to get another vinyl copy it will be SC. I’m hoping Rhino steps up their game with the next selections. Happy Holidaze!
That is funny. I guess the dealer thought it was a stiff too! Sounds like you're all set with this title. SC if you do get the itch, is my recommendation.
Yes, please Rhino, let's get something that's never been done before! I don't know if they have access to the catalog (originally on Warner) but I'd love to see A Gordon Lightfool If You Could Read My Mind or James Taylor Sweet Baby James. Something a bit more acoustic that was recorded really well.
And of course Black Sabbath LOL!
I am listening to mine right now. The Rhino is my only copy, so the only the thing I have to compare is my memory of hearing these songs over the radio, friends' stereos etc. I have never owned the album before in any form. For some reason, the fist time since I set up my system in this new space, I got some bass feedback, or what seemed to be all through side 1. Everything equal on side two with my system and no "booming" bass feedback. Maybe it was in the music/recording, but I don;'t think so. Side 2 is.stunning to me. It has some great system sho-off tracks. It is visceral, and a superbly recorded and mixed album. Musically, very palatable and familiar. I like it and I am spinning a second time as typing this. I'll play it a lot I think. Thank You for your review.
Thanks for your comments! That is odd about side one. It was not that way in my copy. Did you ever resolve that? There's no question it's a great rock recording and I have no doubt the Rhino excels in many systems. I still have some upgrades I want to accomplish so I'm glad to have it as my sole copy. Sometimes comparisons are not fun when two excellent pressings are up against each other. In this case, at this time, I just preferred the Speakers Corner. There's a lot to love in the Rhino and I'll be interested to see how I feel after more time with it and the upgrade I have in mind.Thanks for sharing your experience with it.
@@ThePressingMatters have another issue with side 1, a click in the first seconds. I think it needs a good cleaning.. I'm not sure how that might affect bass feedback. I know one thing is for sure, I will not be taking out a mortgage for a new tone arm, since this is the only record I have had this issue with. :)
Also, listening again after a wet cleaning, moving my speakers a bit, and then cranking this record up to the volume it should be listened to at. It sounds good, and whatever was causing the problem is gone. There are some bass frequencies in this that are not usually prominent in recordings. I will be getting an early pressing to compare. Thank you again for putting this up.
and then farther into the mystery. Part of it was in the runout groove. Seems to be a LF tone pressed into the runout.
@jayzeeshawn On Side One lead out? I'll listen to mine tonight to see if it's there on my copy.
The Nautilus edition would have been good to add to the mix. Next time you visit we should compare them Scott.
Cheers!
Oz
LTBS
I know. I will revisit, as one channel did prefer it, one preferred the SC, and one the Rhino! No consensus not surprisingly.
…what do you mean by us detail freaks 🙂. Good vid!
That was a sly reference to you! Plus you got name dropped! Thank you for supplying the alternative pressings.
Hi Scott I won't be getting the Rhino release for 2 reasons , first is they are not available to buy in the UK and I have this album and don't need to go for a better release, as I enjoy the speakers corner I have had for many years . Might need to blow the dust off and play it , as I have done so for a couple of years 😁. Great review.
Absolutely, you have a great one in the Speakers Corner. I don't think there's a need to look further.
Happy New Year, my friend. I didn’t ask, but they sent me one for review. I sent it on to one of our team. Just wasn’t feeling the release.
Cheers, a
Hi Anthony,
Happy New Year!
Some may like it. Just not for me. Maybe if I change components, records like this might sound better. That's why I hang onto ALL of them. :-)
Hi Scott hope you had a lovely Christmas and here is to happy new year . 2024 is looking like another good year for new vinyl .
I know you have Yes Fragile one step , are you planning on getting the Atlantic 75 edition ? I know I will be getting the yes albums 😁😁
Hi Tony,
Yes I did have a nice Christmas thank you! Wishing you the best this year.
Yes I do have Fragile One Step. I have the AP preordered! I wouldn't miss it. Very excited for all the Yes albums.
@@ThePressingMatters same here , I missed the one step as they sold out very quickly . Have the 4 AP s on order 😁
I have a white label promo. IMHO it beat the speakers corner.
Hi Tyler,
Good to know, and not surprising to me. I'm thinking the olive label and white label promos would be the best option for this record.
Appreciated the articulation about the SC KG vs Rhino. Looks like we had a similar experience. I actually talked to Kevin about this release for some background:
ruclips.net/video/r6Nr4D7TqlY/видео.html
Yes I saw that and found it interesting he didn't refer back to anything prior and just did what he felt was the best he could do today.
@@ThePressingMatters always a back story!
The Rhino copy sounds good until you put the Speakers Corner copy on.
It does sound good, I agree. But it's just not as musical as the SC. And for most listeners we want to get involved on that level.