It's not bad IMO. It's a bit louder, some limiting here and there but far from brickwalled. Tonally it resembles the old cd, a bit more bass & treble (which to me it didn't really need, but they didn't go overboard with the processing).
I just heard the 'Wishful Thinking' remix for the first time a few days ago. I had no idea who this band was and stumbled upon the album by accident. I was reminded of Berlin's 'Pleasure Victim' when listening to it. I really enjoyed it.
I'm playing a mint vinyl copy I found of A Secret Wish (replacing an 80's well partied copy) and WOW! The deluxe CD is very good but this is a real treat. (PS I bought this for £5.00 from the Southside Records branch in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland who seem to have acquired a lot of stock from radio/tv station record libraries, most of which are in extremely good condition except most of the covers have indexing labels on them.) (PPS I have no connection with them other than being a customer.)
Just bought the original 1985 EU CD and think it is fascinating. Being so used to my vinyl album this was almost a revelation. Even though I find it highly unusual that the artwork doesn't give away the fact that this isn't simply the vinyl mix with added extra track "Frozen Faces" but a subtle but effective makeover, changing mixes, extending songs, rearranging the running order. No info in the booklet or on the disc itself, not even track durations. This is really remarkable since it would have been the perfect reason for vinyl fans to get the CD too. Back in 1985 these things still were very expensive after all. What amazed me most was the "AAD" code though. So "A Secret Wish" REALLY was an analogue creation? Wow....who would have thought.... BTW: Are there vintage - or at least pre-2000's unremastered - CD editions that use other mixes or are all CDs like the 1985 original?
I'm not sure, but the version I bought on the iTunes store is a mix of the LP and first CD versions. The volume is relatively low (especially compared to the deluxe edition, which I later ordered from amazon UK), which suggests to me it was ripped from an older CD.
For those who've taken the plunge and purchased the 25th Anniversary edition, I'm wondering if my '85 LP and my late '80s US CD should be enough? (I've subsequently purchased a lossy iTunes version, too.) Now, I don't own "Do Well," or many of the mixes, but should I stand pat? Or should I act like many a forum member and buy my *fourth* copy of this album?
The SACD (2003) uses the original mix, but it states that the recording was Sony 1610, 44.1 kHz, no pre-emphasis, so the AAD credit on the 80s ZTT/Island/Ariola CD (with the extensively re-mixed Dream...) is clearly wrong. (I seem to recall there were other ZTT titles where they indicated that the source was Sony 1610, 44.1 kHz.) If you use the discography links I posted on Page #2, you will find that there are pre-2000 CDs with the original mixes, and some of those share the same graphical style of the SACD, showing the Sony 1610 credit, e.g.: http://www.hirschbergers.de/Propaganda/dpics/asw_cd2_ge1.jpg You can see how the listed tracks vs. what the CDs play stack up here: http://www.zttaat.com/uniqueitems.php?title=116
I got these: 4509-94749-2 made in Germany, 10 tracks CDID 126 (90288-2) made in England, 9 tracks And yes, Dream within a Dream is 8 minutes on the first mentioned CD and 9 on the second one.
I just picked this up. 10 track CD — ZTT118CD. It seems to be a straight reissue (2003) — no loudness at all. Sounds good.
The first US CD (Island 7635524) has the LP mix on it (including the short instrumental "Jewel" and NO "Frozen Faces" although it does list this on the cover). If you want the vinyl mix on CD this is the way to go. Be aware that you can only tell you have the correct version by playing the CD.
I only discovered this album a couple of years ago and love it - better late than never. I got the original UK 9 track CD version on eBay.
Nice to know there's still love for this album... I remember once, where a 'upscale' audio store would use the CD to 'show-off' their wonderfully expensive audio set-up.
The original vinyl version of "Dream Within a Dream" doesn't contain the drum solo in the middle or the staccato string part which makes up the extra minute in total. This extended version was on the original CD released in 1985. I have both. Great stuff.
Having seen Claudia Live in 2012 at the Scala, she certainly doesn't need Autotune. Her voice has never been better. If you listen to all tracks on that album carefully you'll notice that its done only for effect on that one particular track. Nightschool - where its intentionally artificial and very creative effect rather than as a melodic fixing process. Autotune has parameters to adjust and tweak so its virtually undetectable, Claudia's music has always embraced electronics - hence that approach in my opinion.
Suzanne's spoken vocal is a different take on the CD version, and the guitar solo doesn't appear at all. I prefer the vinyl version by far.
It gets even more confusing. There must be another CD version. The CD I bought back in the day is identical to the vinyl version, despite 'Frozen Faces' being on the tracklist. Listened to the vinyl version the other week. I took it so seriously when I was 13 and thought I was deep and smart for listening to it, but now it seems pretentious and a little silly, so I enjoyed laughing at my teenage self. It's kind of like finding a picture of myself wearing moon boots.
I'm like that. I've been listening to a lot of stuff recently that I bought in my teens (mid-1980s) - I still enjoy it but some of it I would never recommend to others. Just my own (nostalgic) guilty pleasure.
Funny, but I just pulled a mint, never played "promo" copy of this album, at my mothers house, where I store my "overload" LP's these days. I'll have to give it a spin and see what I've been missing.
