Comments on: Bruce Springsteen – Greetings From Liberty Hall TX. (Wonderland Records WLR-2100)

By: Cliff

Cliff — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:47:56 +0000

Thanks for the kind words about the review, tmoq. I have a handful of Wonderland titles, two of which feature continuous concert performances. One is the Bingley Hall Jam release, which, as robert green mentions, does not have this problem and the other is the Sex Pistols’ Live In Manchester 2007, which does. Due to my awareness of Brucebase’s contention that the songs were broadcast piecemeal, I began listening and reviewing with some expectation of gaps between songs. Listening again, I think your point about the pauses may well be a valid one, especially as my CD player’s time counter also displays a two-second pause with both the Springsteen and Pistols releases.

By: mats22

mats22 — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:22:07 +0000

I have many WRL titles. Often, these are copies of other titles. If the problem was already in the source, it will also be on the WRL discs. But most of the WRL titles I have play fine and have no gaps. But I must admit that I have a whole series of Dylan 2007 Wonderland titles that all are suffering by this problem.
But the main problem with Wonderland is that the quality control concerning the material is not always there. There are many cd/dvd-boxsets with dvds that contain officially released material. It was first bootlegged when the titles were not yet published by the record companies. So at that time, it made sense to print it on boot. (There was once an Elvis gospel longbox with 3 cds with outtakes and one dvd with a docu. The docu was the one that was officially released but with poorer picture quality. It was the version once showed on tv). There are also Rolling Stones touring boxsets and they didn’t always use the best available tapes.
But even with all the imperfections, I like the Wonderland releases because they offer good value for the price you pay. And often they reprint hard to find jewels that are not on the market anymore. And the package is also quite nice!

By: tmoq

tmoq — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:00:42 +0000

Thanks for the input Robert. Can anyone else add anything to this discussion?

By: robert green

robert green — Sat, 07 May 2011 07:05:14 +0000

I have two Wonderland CD titles (a few more on DVD) and I don’t think they’re plagued with this problem….:
Johnny Cash – De Neiuwe Rai – Amsterdam, 26 February 1972 [WLR-2052]
The Jam – Bingley Hall Staffs 1982 [WLR-2061]

By: tmoq

tmoq — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:07:58 +0000

Terrific review Cliff! I;ve been meaning to turn in a review of this release but have never found the time. There should be one thing noted and I feel it’s important to bring it up since it’s been on my mind since I made this purchase.
You mentioned in your review: “The fact that there are breaks between the songs on these CDs would seem to support the contention that the songs were broadcast piecemeal.”
It’s my belief that the fact that there are breaks between each song is that the recording was sourced from a cdr burn that included the dreaded “2 second gap” problem. The reason I belief this to be the case is each gap bewteen songs is exactly the same length. After purchasing this box set, I figured it was just a fluke, a one time thing.
Well, I purchased another Wonderland Records title soon after; a Roger Waters title and it too has the 2 second gap!!
It’s a frustrating listening experience to say the least. In fact, this box set has been sitting on my shelf for the last couple of years, unplayed, because it’s such an annoyance.
I’ve noticed that Wonderland has been releasing a tremendous amount of titles , including some pretty elaborate box sets in the last few years-are they all like this??! Can anyone chime in on this particular point? I’ve noticed there aren’t any other Wonderland reviews on this site-it’s time the subject has been brought up.
How can these guys put so much time & effort into such an attractive package and not even listen to their source tapes? I personally will never purchase another Wonderland title.
Would love to hear anyone else’s experience with this label.