New Compact Discs Replace Flawed Versions

Buy a compact disc and you’re getting the best possible version of an album, right?

Ideally, a CD should be a digital recording taken straight off the best existing master, engineered with the highest quality equipment by expert engineers, a disc that includes all of the LP’s original material plus, perhaps, one or more bonus tracks.

The ideal, however, is not always the reality.

In fact, some CD remastering jobs have been so bungled that record companies have had to start all over--and reissue a disc. And sometimes CDs are replaced with newer versions for other reasons, such as inadequate packaging.

That’s fine, unless you’ve already bought the flawed CD. Unlike automobile companies, record companies don’t issue recalls--they just gradually replace the old product with little or no fanfare. If you bought the inferior version, tough luck--generally.

This CD boondoggle may be more widespread that you think. Here are just some of the compact discs that have gone through this born-again process:

--THE DOORS’ “Alive She Cried,” “The Doors,” “Morrison Hotel” and “L.A. Woman.” There were so many complaints about the original 1984 CDs that Elektra--which blames the problem on poor engineering--has replaced them with newly remastered versions.

--BOB DYLAN’s “Blonde on Blonde.” When first released last year, this CD seemed a terrific bargain--getting “all” of the 1966 double-album on a single compact disc. But “all” is in quotes because to squeeze the LP onto the disc, a few seconds were trimmed from a few songs--most notably from the end of “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.” The CD release was just bad timing--coming just before the maximum length for CDs was raised from about 72 1/2 minutes to 74 1/2 minutes (and it’s since gone up to 77 minutes). Incredibly, though, CBS’s first attempt at a corrected “Blonde” still left off a few seconds from the master, resulting in a third (and finally complete) CD version.

--BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’s first four albums, “Greetings From Asbury Park,” “The Wild, the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle,” “Born to Run” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” The CDs were re-released last year by CBS with slight improvements in the remastering. The first three CDs, by the way, recently have been reduced in price and sell for about $10 in discount shops.

--FLEETWOOD MAC’s “Rumours,” RANDY NEWMAN’s “Trouble in Paradise” and GORDON LIGHTFOOT’s “If You Could Read My Mind” (Warner Bros.). All redone at the request of their producers.

--ERIC CLAPTON’s “461 Ocean Boulevard” and two CDs from Eric’s ‘60s band CREAM: “Disraeli Gears” and “Wheels of Fire.” “461” and “Gears” badly needed re-engineering but “Wheels” was done over simply because a mere half-second was missing.

--ELO’s “Face the Music.” CBS accidentally left nearly three minutes off the first CD version! The corrected CD runs about 37 minutes.

--ERIC CARMEN’s “The Best of Eric Carmen.” A second CD version was released with a bonus track not on the first--the single “Make Me Lose Control.”

What if you get stuck with the first version of a compact disc that’s later re-released in improved form?

Don’t bother calling or writing the record company, unless it’s a CBS disc--and even there only in certain cases.

Arista, Elektra and Warner Bros. won’t exchange discs. “We felt at the time of release (of the original version) that it was the best possible product,” explains Ed Autwater, Warner Bros. vice president for quality assurance.

On the other hand, CBS has a “quality control” 800 number to call--(800) 255-7514, or (609) 722-8224 in New Jersey--where you can make arrangements for exchanging the Dylan and ELO discs. However, CBS will not exchange old Springsteens for new.

How about another approach--going back to the record store where you bought the CD? We called several stores and chains in the Los Angeles area; only one chain was willing to make exchanges--and then only with a receipt.

At the Music Plus store on Fairfax in Hollywood, manager Rick Ostob said: “As far as Music Plus is concerned, there’s no problem (with returning uncorrected CDs for corrected versions) as long as the customer has the original receipt.