GZS-1083

10cc
The Original Soundtrack

This is a new unplayed uncut DCC GOLD CD in a Generic Jewel Case , #1083, Mastered by Steve Hoffman from the original master tapes.

Spend a Night In Paris but go First Class, with Steve Hoffman's dramatically superior version of 10cc's amazing third album: The Original Soundtrack.

Those of you who still cling to the illusion that all gold CDs are created equal should find this title instructive. Due to a licensing foulup with Polygram, DCC was never able to release their version of The Original Soundtrack, although Steve Hoffman had already mastered it from the original master tapes and it had been given a catalog number, GZS-1083. Mobile Fidelity rushed out their gold CD version while Polygram stalled, and then it was too late. The project was reluctantly shelved.

Knowing that I'm a big fan, Steve kindly gave me a promo gold disc in a generic jewel case. DCC had never even gotten as far as producing the booklet or the back. They would typically run off a couple dozen promos of a title like that, and I counted myself one of the lucky few to get one.

Playing it against my best British original LP, I knew that Steve had worked his magic once again -- the sound was gorgeous. I'm an LP guy, so I still liked my vinyl version better, but it was hard to fault the sound of the gold disc. It's an amazing recording, one I've demonstrated my stereo with for 20 years. The ambience, sound effects, and especially the dynamic multi-tracked voices on One Night in Paris at the climax of the song are nothing short of stunning. This is the kind of recording that makes one sit up and take notice. It's classic 10cc everything-but-the-kitchen-sink "Wall of Sound" sound (minus the Phil Spector distortion), the kind I live for. Supertramp, Jellyfish, Ambrosia, Yes -- to this day I'm a sucker for that Cinerama size soundstage they like to play on. It's one of the reasons I have the Legacy Whisper speaker system, with its eight fifteen inch woofers. You need that kind of driver power to produce The Big Sound. And the louder the better.

Back to my story. So one day I happened to get hold of the MOFI Original Soundtrack. I practically could not believe my ears. They had ruined it. Completely. It sounded nothing like my good LP or the DCC CD. It was thin, harsh, flat, grainy. Man, it was really a piece of crap.

It may be self serving to say so, but I invite everyone to do the shootout for themselves. I suppose those people who hold MOFI in high esteem can say everyone has a bad day now and then. But that label had a lot of bad days if you ask me.

If you want to hear this music right on CD, I'm afraid it's this or nothing.

This is not a CDR.

This is a brand new unplayed DCC Gold CD mastered by Steve Hoffman. It comes with no paperwork of any kind, just the disc in an open generic jewel case. DCC never got around to producing the paperwork -- the booklet or the back -- before the project was shelved, so the only way this CD comes is in a open jewel case with none of the printed material for the front or the back.