The Shangri-Las – The Best Of The Red Bird And Mercury Recordings

Terrific compilation ...these tracks have never sounded so good and punchy and excellent packaging with smokey vinyl and interesting insert..... one of the best purchases ive made this year.

I can’t say enough good things about this stellar comp. Best sound I’ve ever heard on these tracks (I thought my ‘90s Dutch Philips pressing sounded good, but this beats it all to hell). Annotation and packaging are spectacular, as is the pressing. I’ve gotten too many damaged pressings lately from supposedly “top shelf” pressing plants - this is not one. Until I can get those pristine NM Red Bird originals, th8s will be my go-to.

these are the ten stereo tracks on this vinyl release:

Remember (Walkin' In The Sand)
Leader Of The Pack
Give Him A Great Big Kiss
Out In The Streets
Give Us Your Blessings
Never Again
The Train From Kansas City
Heaven Only Knows
I Can Never Go Home Anymore
Long Live Our Love

A very good listen! It’s not audiophile quality but it is quite good. I do respect how they’ve put the records in very good anti-static sleeves and the booklet is a nice touch too. If you’re after a Shangri-las compilation, I’d definitely recommend this.

Contrary to some of these other reviews, I think this sounds pretty fantastic. First of all, it should be noted that while many (not all) of the selections are in stereo, they are all true stereo mixes, not simulated stereo. Many of the stereo mixes have a clarity lacking in the mono versions, and some creative use of the stereo field. The first releases of these songs were all mono, so it's possible that the stereo mixes were produced from the original tapes for later issues.

There are certain tracks ("Out in the Streets" especially) where the stereo version loses much of the impact of the original mono, but for the most part I think this compilation sounds great, and certainly better than my jukebox-clawed vintage 45s. The mastering is well done, and while the noise floor is a little high on disc 2, it's flat, centered, and free of defects. Anti-static sleeves and a very nice heavyweight jacket.

I dunno, this is definitely a cut above most RSD product in my view, and an excellent showcase for some of the Shangri-Las greatest sides!

I'm not able to listen to my copy yet, but damn shame about the sound and mixing complaints. They'd talked this thing up to be *the* definitive shangri-las vinyl compilation. It's certainly a pretty pressing

Ugh, this sounds like a bad Collector's Choice CD reissue from 1997 pressed onto vinyl.

I don't like the stereo mixes...but i haven't made it through the whole album yet...IMO stereo sound is not how it was originally intended to sound.

So how’s the sound? I wanna get this but it’s kinda pricey. Don’t wanna drop the $ if it sounds meh.