I've been listening more thoroughly to the first couple Enz albums recently and really hearing the changes in their various re-recordings. I know I have my personal preferences but I was wondering what this forum thought in general. Was it worth re-recording so much of their early catalog?

I'm aware that many fans of the early Enz stuff can be very defensive of Mental Notes and don't think the Enz should have re-recorded any of it. Personally, I find it to be more of a mixed bag. For me it has to do with whether or not the band was still "feeling" the songs at the time of their re-recording. For example, I think the Rear Enz re-recording of "Late in Rome" felt totally soulless simply because the re-recording took place probably a decade after the song was originally written and recorded. However, many of the Second Thoughts tracks were re-recorded at a time when the band was still really feeling those songs and I think that some of the re-recordings reflect that.

What do you think?

(Also, I know there are probably third and fourth recorded versions of many of these songs out there but I'm sticking with what has been officially released.)

Question:
"The 129 Song" / "Matinee Idyll" (appears on The Beginning of the Enz and Second Thoughts).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with Beginning of the Enz version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Lovey Dovey" (appears on The Beginning of the Enz and Second Thoughts).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Beginning of the Enz version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Spellbound" (appears on The Beginning of the Enz and Mental Notes).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Beginning of the Enz version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Walking Down a Road" (appears on Mental Notes and Second Thoughts).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with Mental Notes version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Stranger Than Fiction" (appears on Mental Notes and Second Thoughts).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Mental Notes version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Time for a Change" (appears on Mental Notes and Second Thoughts).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Mental Notes version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Titus" (appears on Mental Notes and Second Thoughts).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Mental Notes version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Late in Rome" / "Serge" (appears on The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Tapes and Rear Enz).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Luton version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Remember When" (appears on The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Tapes and Rear Enz).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Luton version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

Question:
"Next Exit" (appears on The Rootin' Tootin' Luton Tapes bonus disc and Rear Enz).

Choices:
Shouldn't have messed with the Luton version
Re-recording was a much needed improvement
I like them both

 

Can we reply to this thread or is it only for voting?. Anyway - too late!

I really don't go with the general consensus on most of this stuff.

I tend to like the basic versions of the early songs on BotE as opposed to the stuffy, clownish and awkward versions that appeared later apart from 129 which is much of a muchness except for differences both for and against in a few little details.

I also prefer the re-workings of most of the songs that appeared on Second Thoughts as the arrangements make more sense and are smoother, especially Titus and WDaR. However, I like the more prominent sighing sound at the end of Time for a Change and I think the horns on the second version spoil the mood.

I prefer the rare single version of LLN but I still believe the more common version is perfect in it's own right.

I have not developed a firm enough opinion on LiR/Serge but suspect the original has more spirit. I didn't really know what to make of the SY'R version but it makes more sense now that I know the context.

The original Remember When is vastly superior and does not sound 'tossed-off' like the remake.

I don't understand all the vitriol against Next Exit and I think the rough nature of the original demo lessons its appeal. I like my rarities polished and completed if possible but I still appreciate rough demos of otherwise unrecorded songs.

To be honest, I'm not familiar enough with the Mental Notes material to comment.

But I adore the Rear Enz versions of Serge and Next Exit. They wipe the floor with every other version of them. Wonderful. Worth the price of the box.

For me I think the majority of the songs redone Second Thoughts were better or at least as good as those on Mental Notes. The remakes from the Beginning of the Enz that are on Mental Notes I'd say were neccessary as they were only singles (if that) before so had to be recorded for the debut album. For me both Walking Down a Road and Stranger than Fiction are improved on Second Thoughts enough to warrant them being re-recorded