Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT-33PTG
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias. editing. (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops.. adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.7 used with setting Cl: 15 Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer & Restoration by Prof. Stoned

Prof sez:

Here's another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd" for a change.
This rip is taken from a clean US copy (made at the Monarch pressing plant), which was chosen after auditioning
the three different cuttings that are known to exist.

An essential album viewed from an entirely different angle. Nowadays very hard to find in ANY condition,
this rare US mono version has become somewhat of an enigma (the UK mono is to be avoided, as this was a straight fold
from the stereo mastertape that was delivered to Elektra's London headquarters).
It has long been discussed on various message boards how many of the songs were true mono mixes. When asked recently,
original recording engineer Bruce Botnick has pointed out that most of the tracks were dedicated mono mixes but he
couldn't remember which songs it concerned.

So, I've done an attempt to figure this out. After two extensive comparing sessions with a folded stereo version,
I have come to the conclusion that only three songs could possibly be folddowns. I will give a brief breakdown of notable
differences here:

Tr. 01: Different echo on moog effect on vocals in parts. Listen to "We shall GO ON PLAYING OR FIND a new town";
on the stereo version the effect is mostly absent on the lines marked in capitol letters, while being there loud and clear
on the mono. The moog effect was not on the multitracks, as evidenced by the pretty awful 2006 stereo remix.

Tr. 02: The balances are more or less the same. This could be a folddown touched-up with some additional EQ and compression.
Actually, the whole album is more compressed sounding in mono than in stereo. This was probably done with the purpose
of achieving a more radio friendly sound. But point is, it's really hard to distinguish the mono/stereo differences between
most of the tracks here and it seems likely that the stereo and mono mixes were prepared during the same sessions because
the reverb (and other side FX) sound exactly the same on nearly every song. So, there really is no way for me to be 100%
certain about this song.

Tr. 03: Same conclusion as Tr. 02.

Tr. 04: The handclaps & tambourine are missing entirely on the stereo version, suggesting that the producer thought of this
song as a potential hit.

tr. 05: Likely to be a fold. Most of the manipulated white noise that is heard so clearly at the beginning on the stereo is
cancelled out when folded, giving the exact same sound as on the mono mix. No differences between the elements or the balance.

Tr. 06: Reverb on voice at the end of the song is missing in mono and the outro lasts about 3 secs longer.

Tr. 07: This always sounded like a fold to me, but clearly it isn't. The rhythm guitar which plays the muted chords is
much less present in mono (for example: it's hardly there at 0.36 - 0.39 and absent during the guitar & piano solo's.).

Tr. 08: Different bass intro and the vocals are faded much earlier at the end of the mono version.

Tr. 09: Backward recorded percussion effect (sounds like ticking) starts on both mixes at 1.39 but is faded out quickly
after four seconds on the mono, while lasting the whole chorus in stereo.

Tr. 10: Morrison does some yelling before the grand double guitar solo at 2:56 (something like "f***ing $!@^!@ ....baby",
I think, or is it just me?!). The word "baby" is much more buried within the mono mix. Also, at the end of the solo,
when the guitar notes are still fading, Manzarek hits the same note three times on the organ. These notes are better
noticeable on the mono mix. I wish I could find more obvious examples than this, but this song has very few overdubs or
studio trickery and the balancing is very much alike. Overall, there is more bass organ present on the mono mix,
but I wouldn't necessarily include that as proof of being a true mono mix.

So there you have it. Any comments, thoughts or differing conclusions about this are welcome.

I've auditioned three different cuttings of this album, in order to present the best possible sound.
These cuttings were respectively pressed at Columbia's Terre Haute, IN (CTH on deadwax), Columbia's Pitman,
NJ (CP on deadwax) & Monarch Record Mfg. in Los Angeles, CA (MON on deadwax). I chose to work with the latter cutting
because it sounded best to me. Still, there is quite a bit of distortion during the climax of Tr. 05 that is present on all
three cuttings, so I'm afraid it will have to be lived with.

This may be well be my favourite Doors album. I find it more mature and slightly darker in mood than the first album.
From the mysterious sounding title track to the thunderous finale of "When the music's over", there is no weak spot in here.
Strange Days was recorded by Bruce Botnick under guidance of Paul Rothchild, who captured the band playing
'live' in the studio mostly. Despite the fact that this was the first Doors album to be recorded on an 8-track machine,
overdubs were relatively sparse. This 8-track machine (3M Isoloop) was solid state and in combination with a valve console,
gave the album a 'harder' sound as opposed to the debut which was recorded on a 4-track valve machine with ditto console.

The record was professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s Enzymantic formula,
Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5 (using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2.
I cleaned up a lot of clicks and pops manually (some of them are on the actual recording) and also repaired a few
tape-dropouts. All this was done without harming the music.

Enjoy!

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT-33PTG
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias. editing. (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops.. adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.5.3 used with setting Cl: 15 Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer & Restoration by Prof. Stoned

Prof sez:

Here's yet another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd".
This rip is taken from a mint US copy (1st pressing w/ deep groove) which I've bought in still-sealed condition.

Lovin Spoonful...even though they had quite an impressive array of hits, history seems to have degraded them
to some kind of equivalent of the Monkees. How wrong! Back when this album came out they were one of the
coolest bands in town and that's how they should have been remembered.

John Sebastian, their leader, was a gifted song-smith with a wicked sense of humour. A skilled musician too.
His father was a renowned harmonica player and little John Jr. was exposed to all the musical greats
(sometimes in person) from a very tender age. Sebastian integrated jazz, blues, folk, pop, rock & country in his
music and yet made it sound completely natural.

Now, Hums was the band's third record and the last one that was made by the original line-up (not counting
the 2nd soundtrack album). It is arguably their best or at least their most consistent one.
The band's lack of pretence was one of their big strengths but also their biggest weakness at the same time.
But most tracks here hold up remarkable well IMO and even the oddball tunes (Henry Thomas) will put a smile
on your face, or maybe not. Of course, everybody knows Summer in the City which may be one of the greatest
anthems of the 60's. But how many have heard the reflective "Coconut grove" (covered in the 80's by Dave Lee Roth)
or the lovely 'Rain on the roof' Okay, okay, that was actually a minor hit...

At the time, the album appeared both in mono and stereo. Clearly, it was the mono mix that got the most
attention from the band & producer and it should be regarded the main version.
Yet, it most likely that MGM (who amongst others stored Buddah's mastertapes) had all their mono mastertapes
destroyed in the early 70's in order to save up some space in their tape archives. It is my opinion that the
executive who was responsible for this short-sighted decision should have been thrown off a cliff, but since I'm not
in charge of those sort of things, he probably came out unscathed.

Anyway, back to my zen-self, the Lovin Spoonful reissue program has been hopeless for decades and only since
the last fifteen years, some decent sounding CD's of the original albums have appeared but all of them are stereo.
With this release, I'm hoping to set something straight and give you the album as it was meant to be heard.

I've added three bonustracks from the two soundtrack albums that appeared just before and after 'Hums'.
Zal Yanovsky was forced out of the band before recording the actual fourth studio album, triggered by a drug-related
incident that had turned him into a persona-non-grata on the scene and which greatly affected his behaviour.
However, Yanovsky is all over the soundtrack albums and the one cut I took from "What's up Tiger Lily" is my
little tribute to him: a spooky instrumental that would later become Coconut Grove. The other two tracks are from
"You're a big boy now", with the heartfelt ballad 'Darling be home soon' being the best known.

All 14 tracks were transferred from original US mono copies that were still sealed when I bought them.
Despite that, some patches had to be made from my back-up copy of Hums because there were gliches on side 2 that
were difficult to remove. There is also some inner groove distortion on Tr. 6 that I'm afraid we'll have to live with.
I A/B the LP version of tr. 12 to my orig. US 45, which has a radical different mastering, but went with the
more natural sounding album version. Same thing for Tr. 11. The 45's were mastered to sound good on AM radio
and they do indeed have more presence and punch, but the LP versions give a better idea what the tracks
sounded like in the studio and sound less fatigue on the ears.

The records were professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s
Enzymantic formula, Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5
(using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2. After applying a medium setting of CR, I spent quite a few hours
declicking manually. MGM pressed vinyl from the 60's has been known for its noisy surfaces.

Enjoy!

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT-33PTG
- Pro-Ject Tube Box SE-2
- Yamaha CA-1010
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias. editing. (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops.. adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.7 used with setting Cl: 5. Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer & Restoration by Prof. Stoned

Prof sez:

Here's another one in the series "essential in mono but not available on cd". This is a fresh rip
to replace the first one I did in 2010. They are very close, except that this one is slightly less
bright sounding to match a near neutral response.

A brilliant debut of a highly influential writer and performer. This was Cohen's 'The Freewheelin'.
I never tire of this album after years of listening. In fact, once I get older it's lyrical & musical depth only
seem to broaden.
This rare dedicated mono mix does not just offer a different glimpse. It merely provides a whole new sonic
dimension to what already was an athmospheric recording.
Despite the fact that Sony has rejected it from their reissue's, it is THE mix. I'm sure only the most
fanatical stereo purists will disagree with me.

This was transferred from an NM copy.
You can hear some noises that you may perceive as clicks. However, these are artifacts picked
up by the vocal mic and can be heard on the official stereo CD's as well.
The record was professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s
Enzymantic formula, Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5
(using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2. After applying a light setting of CR, a handful of clicks
were removed manually, as the vinyl was very quiet to begin with.

Enjoy!

Hardware:
- Technics 1210mk2
- Jelco SA-750D Tonearm (w/ JAC 501 cable)
- Audio Technica AT-OC9ML/II
- Yamaha CA-1010 (integrated PRE-AMP)
- RME ADI-2 A/D Interface

Software:
- Audition 3.0 used for adjusting DC bias, editing, (incl. manual removal of clicks
and pops), adding gain and making the cue points.
- Click Repair 3.5.3 used with setting Cl: 10, Cr: 0
- CueListTool v1.7 & Mediaval CueSplitter used for generating the .cue's & .m3u's.

Transfer & Restoration by Prof. Stoned

Prof. sez:

Another one in the series "essential in mono but never available on cd".
I have released this one before in 2008 but this new rip reproduces the sound closer to what
the actual LP master sounds like due to a better source and more sophisticated equipment.
On top of that, it has also two extra tracks (also previously ripped and released in 2009).

This is a dedicated mix, meaning that it was specifically designed for mono playback.
When comparing the mono and stereo mix, I would say that most time and thought was put into the former.
Not that the stereo sucks, but it is inconsistent and has a few elements which seemed to have been
deliberately mixed out of the mono version, like the sloppy 2nd leadguitar line in Tr.6.
The mono also has much more thicker and focused sound and in some instances far better balancing too.

When this record was released in 1967, the mono format was already on its way out in the States and
because of that, most copies ended up being dumped by Atlantic in 1968 (which makes it difficult
to find a copy without a cutout hole).
There are two different US cuttings out there; one was made at the Atlantic Studio in L.A.
and one by Columbia in N.Y. The latter was cut from an additionally EQ'd/compressed dub supplied by
Atlantic, while the former was made from a cleaner source, quite possibly the master tape.
My 2008 rip was sourced from a VG+ US copy which had the Columbia stamped matrixes, while
this new 2011 rip is made from an almost as-new copy With the hand-written Atlantic matrices*.
I do believe it is an enormous upgrade. Everyone who even remotely enjoyed the old rip, should get this.

Musically, this album is one the true highlights of the 60's, even though created by a splintered group.
Bass player Bruce Palmer had been deported back to Canada after a drugbust in early '67 and shortly after
the initial sessions had started in February, Neil Young left the band to go solo.
In the months that followed he collaborated with Phil Spector's long-time musical arranger Jack Nitsche
to record 'Expecting to fly'; an achingly beautiful masterpiece that took a few weeks to complete.
Meanwhile, the rest of the band had gone on to record their own material with a new bassplayer & a new
guitarist, who at his turn was shortly replaced by David Crosby (unaccredited co-writer of Tr.9).
However, near the completion of the record Neil Young & Bruce Plamer were brought back into the group.**

The 2 bonuscuts are from an 45 which preceded the album's release date by a few months.
They are not included here for their brilliant soundquality; the significance of this 45 -of course-
lies mostly in the early version of Mr. Soul with its alternate guitar solo and the fact that it has
never been reissued since 1971 (both on vinyl or CD).
These tracks were transferred from a 45 that came from a new-old-stock collection.
This copy was issued in 1971 as part of the first batch of the Oldies Series which were pressed from
the same metal parts as the original 1967 US single (Atlantic cutting)***.
The problem with the original single is that it was cut so hot that you simply cannot play it back
without hearing distortion at some points (I even bought a second NOS copy and it had the same issue's).
So, we'll just have to take it as it comes. This new rip slightly improves up on the soundquality
of the 2009 one, though.

The records were professionally and carefully cleaned in three steps using Audio Intelligent’s
Enzymantic formula, Super Cleaner Formula, and Ultra pure water on a VPI 16.5
(using VPI brushes) and Nitty Gritty mini-pro 2.
Then I spent a few evenings manually declicking the wave file (after Click Repair had already been
applied with a medium setting) to make sure the cleanest and most natural sounding result
possible was achieved.

Enjoy!