Mastering Through an error in the album's mastering, the songs played slightly too fast, causing Joel's voice to sound unnaturally high, which he later compared to
the Bee Gees and
Alvin and the Chipmunks. In 1996, Joel recalled that, upon the album's release, he had organized a listening party with his friends and after hearing the album "I was, like, furious. I took the thing and I threw it like a
frisbee."
Artie Ripp, owner of Family Productions and hence the owner of the original master tapes, was responsible for the production error, and the mistake cost him his friendship with Joel. He had originally signed the 22-year-old Joel to a ten-record contract that stripped Joel of all rights to the original tapes and to the publishing rights to all current and future songs.
Remix In July–September 1983, Ripp and Larry Elliot remixed
Cold Spring Harbor at Ripp's Fidelity Studios in
Studio City, California. The album's speed was adjusted to correct Joel's vocal tone, and to enhance the album's sound, Ripp brought in studio musicians Mike McGee (drums),
Al Campbell (synthesizers), and L.D. Dixon (
Fender Rhodes) to overdub new rhythm sections on "Everybody Loves You Now" and "Turn Around". In addition, "You Can Make Me Free" was truncated by nearly three minutes (removing most of the original tail-end, fadeout jam), and the bass, drums, and orchestration on "Tomorrow Is Today" were removed. The remix was released through Columbia Records, without any involvement from Joel. ==Track listing==