First CD releases 1982-83?

I've always thought the early 80's European CDs were colourless. If i saw one i would treat it as the late 80's issue. Thank you for the links Kenny

 

are you sure this is the label of the ABBA Phillips pressing from 1982 ?

with an LC OVAL ???????????

even the first Japan-for-Europe CD's didn't have those!

puzzled?

 

Does anybody know what some of the first titles out of the French pressing plant were? Just trying to figure out how early my copy of Jean Michel Jarre "Oxygene" cat# MCO 1000 is?

 

My first cd player was a Technics in 1983. Can't remember the model number but it had a nasty habit of skipping a lot even on brand new cd's... Took it back several times before they finally fixed it then it worked great for years after.

 

To add to the confusion, here is a post from an earlier thread on the history of CD: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showpost.php?p=2752615&postcount=241

Notice that the cat. no. is 8000 112, whereas the cat. no. on the ABBA site that was linked is 8000011-2.

To further muddy the waters, check this link from Bayer: http://www.press.bayer.com/baynews/...90297C12572FF00320E07?Open&ccm=000&presskit=1 Download the hi-rez picture and zoom to find that the ABBA disc he is holding is just like the one on the ABBA site (however, we have no way of knowing whether the disc he is holding is from 1982, or not!).

 

Hi Andrey,

While the new format was exciting in some ways, at the time I felt like a lone voice (though I know there were others) saying all the build-up is not being supported by what I heard from the loudspeakers.

My colleagues were telling me how flat the frequency response was and that there was no noise. I said "If you listen to the noise, it is definitely better but if you listen to the Music..."

Soon afterward, I sat on an AES panel with a few other early CD mastering engineers and I recall how I felt being the only voice in the room (timidly at the time) saying "I just don't feel it sounds as good as my vinyl yet."
(Yet?!?)

Remember, this was a few years before the high end audiophile manufacturers got into the picture and before anyone was talking about "jitter", etc. I knew of audiophiles complaining about the sound back then but every other pro I knew was smitten.

I figured, well, we've had vinyl for about a hundred years, so in another hundred years, CD will be pretty good.
Happily, a lot of progress has been made in just 25 years. (Maybe in another 25... )

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

Hi Frank,

Thank you for your kindness. However, I'm confident Franklin's notes would be more interesting than mine.

Yes, I'm quite sure there are no more notes around. Last year I found a box of notes that had gotten waterlogged (long story for another time). I did glean a few more credits I'd forgotten about and added them to the list on the BDA site.

As to Ratt or Dokken, sorry, no interesting story. If memory serves, those were all done from EQd limited tapes. Too bad getting originals was so rare at Atlantic back then. Music like that (any music really) should have dynamic Life, which is to my ears, the first thing removed from most records and one of the weakest links in the sound of most releases, vinyl or CD.

And yes, I had no idea that after more than two decades, I'd encounter a whole bunch of folks who really care about the sound of their records. At the time, it felt like only a very small group. Nowadays, I keep extensive notes and multiple backups of those notes. So, twenty years from now, if you ask me a question... ;-}

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

All the Red Face Polydors are either from 1982 or 1983. I am pretty sure that by 1984 they had gone over to plain silver - hence the limited number of Red Face titles. I am sure that the discs Beyer has are samples from the first pressings - I doubt they bought them in the Hoffman Forum classifieds .

Interesting on that Beyer link they say: "When PolyGram began mass-producing CDs in 1982, it took 27 seconds to produce a CD from molten polycarbonate and to remove it from the injection mold. It now takes less than three seconds..."

I remember Barry saying that in his experience slower molding gave better sound quality. Perhaps this is another reason why those old discs sound so good.

 

These red faced Polydor's aren't something you run into everyday. They are extremely hard to find in my experience. How many of them were pressed of each artist?

 

I think like everything it varied.

If it was a new release, there would likely be more than if it were a reissue. I have seen quite a few copies of Roxy Music Avalon. My guess would be that most issues had an original 5000 pressed, and in some cases more were pressed. I think by the end of 83 the Red Faces had been replaced by all silvers. The Mercury Green Arrows seem to be rarer, and were probably replaced early in 83 by the atomic design.

 

I found a cd of the Visitors by Abba today. It is #800 011-2. The case and booklet note that the CD was made by Polygram in W. Germany. But, the Cd says "Made in France by PDO." The wording in the outside circle is in German. This must be a really early disc. It has the Polydor red face. France a typo?

 

I also found an early made in Japan copy of Brothers in Arms. I forgot how beautiful the disc itself is. The blue flower design is really nice.

 

I don't think yours is "Red Face" - see here:

http://www.abba4therecord.com/detail.php?recordID=1138

The PDO suggests yours was made after 1986.

 

I think you should really think about writing a book about the history of recorded sound,Barry,Because the "Younger Generation" needs to know just where their i-Pod and Mp3 Players came from! And,may I suggest a title,such as"Walking In Your Footsteps:The History of Recorded Sound" Michael Boyce

 

You are right. A "red face" is all red, not just red trim (like mine.") Thanks.

 

The Beastie Boys' CDs on Rat Cage were also made in France.

 

I've been away for a while, hence the delay in the reply. Just two quick points:

1. All early Polydor CDs had LC ovals from the start and the symbol was also featured prominently on the back cover artwork.

2. Production of coated discs (Red Polydors etc.) stopped in 1985 or very late in 1984. I have several coated discs with a copyright date of 1984 printed on them.

 

what exactly do the LC oval's symbolize ? anyone know ?

 

Wasn't The Bee Gees' Living Eyes pressed on CD in 1981 for demonstration and development purposes? It was the album that was being played on BBC Television's Tommorow's World when they first introduced the CD player. This was before the development of the jewel box.

 

It's the IFPI label code, a unique number used to determine each record label.

 

Originally Posted by ffracer
Bought CDs way before the player. Player was very expensive for me then.


Ditto! Players came out far in advance of any CD titles I was interested in. I think the very first two I bought were "Slider" and "Tanx" on the Marc On Wax label.

I ignored them for YEARS, I didn't like the fact that the original cover artwork was not used, and I like many here, fell for the new and improved BS. Hook line and sinker! It was just within the last two months or so I broke them out, as someone said they felt they were the best sounding. And they were absolutely right! Fortunately though, I'm a packrat and still have every Cd I ever bought, with the exception of three I just sold for personal reasons.

I had given my son a few RCA Bowie Cd's but was able to "reacquire" them since he has him on his iPod. And fortunately, they are not in too bad of shape either.

 

more information here:

http://www.keithhirsch.com/the-first-cd-single-dire-straits-brothers-in-arms

 

Isn't there some kind of controversy regarding whether the Dire Straits CD single was a promo or not, as oppose to a CD single that was commercially available?

 

Interesting!

The 820 Series were released in 84, and I have never seen a Red Face.

What titles do you have that are dated 1984?

 

Here's two -- Arrival and The Album from Abba, which although not red faces, are coated in the colours of Abba's record label Polar. They were released in Spring 1984. Both are in the 821 series.