The Presidents Of The USA (PUSA) – S/T – Popllama VS Columbia version.

The Presidents Of The United States Of America (PUSA) – Self Titled – Original Popllama version with Bill Clinton sleeve.

When I bought the original Poplama version of the debut album “The Presidents Of The United States Of America” from Ebay (actually bought two copies), I didn’t pay too much attention to it. Like most of my Ebay items…shelf it went. I might have listened it once, but thanks to “clean version” of Kitty, I never really listened to it…

…Until recently.

To my big surprise, the original version is much much better fidelity wise. Fidelity isn’t the only difference. Original version features a picture of the PUSA with Bill Clinton. Extented version of Feather Pluckn, sligthly different version of We’re Not Gonna Make It, and dozens of other small things that is not on Columbia version…When you have listened the Columbia version for hundreds of times, those small things really makes you grinning, and pointing “That wasn’t there!”

Is the original still for sale? I don’t know, but this is what i came up with Google: Egg Studios Site

Why the original version got (re)mixed?

zeke: Can you tell me why the PUSA – S/T was so poorly mixed on Sony/Columbia version, when the original Popllama release (with Bill Clinton photo) is so much better. Did they want to give it more punk/grunge sound?

Dave: Funny…Conrad Uno, who co-produced and mixed the first version, would love to hear you say that. He said he cried the first time he heard the remixed Columbia version.

I haven’t listened to them side-by-side in over ten years.

We (meaning the band) wanted to remix the album. We didn’t think it sounded punchy enough. Columbia was ready to put it out exactly as it had come out on PopLlama release.

Chris and I heard “Lump” from the original version played on the radio in the spring of 1995. We thought it sounded muddy. So we remixed.

Taken from Music Still Matters – Stop The Reissues blog  comments