The database lists six releases containing this Jeff Lynne-produced hit. I happen to own four of them (tehnically five since one of the database entries is the Dark Horse Years box set which collects the standalone remastered albums together in one box).
I thought I would go ahead and compare the four I own and post my finidngs here:
All four CDs contain the same mix of the track but they each are mastered very differently.
1) The first CD appearance as far as I can tell is the Warner Brothers/Dark Horse original issue of George's CLOUD NINE album. This CD was mastered by the very highly regarded Bernie Grundman. Bernie's body of work speaks for itself. Compared to every CD release that follows, this mastering seems somewhat dull with very muffled highs. I think it is highly possible that the same digital master was used to create both the CD and LP masters and, with this cut being the last song on side two, some of the high end might have been ducked and tamed down by Bernie in the mastering stage. I don't think it sounds bad but when you put it up against any of the other CD versions, it sticks out like a sore thumb. There is a couple instances of clipping but the dynamics are in tact.
2) Following the success of the CLOUD NINE album as well as the first Traveling Wilburys album, there was enough reknewed interest in George's solo output that Warner Brothers and Dark Horse compiled the BEST OF DARK HORSE 1976-1989 CD release. Compared to the CLOUD NINE CD, Got My Mind Set On You runs a tiny bit faster and has considerably brighter EQ. This disc was mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc. The fade out starts a little sooner than CLOUD NINE and there is a hiss (or digital dither) that runs into the next track. The dynamics are on par with CLOUD NINE but there is no clipping.
3) Three years following George Harrison's passing, EMI and his estate began a reissue campaign of his remastered albums (released both as standalone reissues and in a box set). The 2004 remaster of CLOUD NINE was handled by Simon Heyworth and John Etchells at Super Audio Mastering. There is considerably less dynamics and more loudness courtesy of processing such as limiting applied in the mastering chain. This makes some of the drum machine hits seem a little less pronounced but there is no clipping. The EQ is brighter than CLOUD NINE but not near as bright as BEST OF DARK HORSE. Most surprisingly is that the fade out lasts longer than any other release and you get to hear a fraction more of the song before the fade totally dissolves. It runs faster than the original CLOUD NINE CD but not quite as fast as the BEST OF DARK HORSE.
4) In 2009, the Harrison estate and Apple/EMI cobbled together the career-spanning LET IT ROLL: SONGS BY GEORGE HARRISON collection. This ambitious but flawed compilation was mastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering (the three tracks taken from the CONCERT FOR BANGLA DESH album utilized the Giles Martin/Paul Hicks at Abbey Road remix/mastering). Got My Mind Set On You kicks off the collection which is ironic considering the compilation is subtitled SONGS BY GEORGE HARRISON and this song is a cover version. This is probably the worst the song has ever sounded. Too much compression and limiting and questionable EQ absolutely squash the dynamic range and make it sound bloated. I'm not sure why the compilers couldn't have just used the 2004 remaster as-is (it was less than five years old at the time). AVOID this one.
I do not own the Warner Brothers Revolutions In Sound: The First 50 Years box set so I cannot comment on the sound quality.
I also don't own a CD copy of the Got My Mind Set On You extended remix version but I do have it on vinyl. Its a fun way to hear the track, but I don't consider it essential listening.
If you have to pick any of these, I think you would be fine with either of the CD issues of CLOUD NINE. I like the remaster best because of the longer fade-out and decent EQ but if you are a stickler for loudness and limiting/compression, you're better off with the original CLOUD NINE CD or the BEST OF DARK HORSE 1976-1989 CD.
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