Just noticed the "Target" early CD thread; why are these sought after?

Just noticed the "target" thread; why are these sought after?

thanks

 

they are the first pressings of Warner Bros./Elektra/Atlantic CDs from 1983-1985.

 

Refreshingly enough for this forum of audio-cranks, it's because they're pretty!

 

Yeah. They can be odd looking, but that's the quirky uniqueness. The same masters were used for the subsiquent US issues. I have no idea why they they used a "target" label.

The Atco/Islands are neato. I like the purple ones like U2/War and Pete Townshend "Empty Glass". They are sometimes found as normal used CDs in the bins... sometimes easy to spot... sometimes not.

Eye candy, and offer a perspective of a flat transfer with almost nothing in the chain of mastering, usually by the Warner's mastering group, although many times they used production safties. The W. German ones are made really solid too!

 

I have not heard one of these. I understand they are flat transfers, but wasn't the A/D conversion poor back then compared to today (or even the early 90's on)?

 

I like the way my West German target of "Morrison Hotel" sounds. It's the only CD version I have of it, but it does fine by me!

 

I wish I knew about all this years ago. I started buying CDs in 1983 - and had tons of these "target" CDs. But as the years went by, and albums were remastered, I fell into the trap that "newer is better" - and I invariably traded a lot of my target CDs away. I still have a bunch - but if I knew then what I know today I would have kept them all.

In fact, thanks to this forum, and others like it, I very rarely trade away any more CDs. I still buy the remasters, but I keep the old issue just in case.

 

The Who's It's Hard is another target that sounds really awful in my opinion. No matter how loud you turn it up, it just lays there like a damp dishrag. I'm not a fan of the changes made in the remix, but the sound itself is worlds better.

Joe Walsh's The Confessor, on the other hand, is nice and clear and punchy, though the production was a bit too synthy for my tastes.

So the targets can be good or bad, just like CDs in general. They are awfully pretty, though.

(I had a ton of these in the past -- Houses Of The Holy, The Cars, Hotel California, Building The Perfect Beast, Agent Provocateur, etc., etc. -- but sold or traded most of them away before I knew any better. Oh, well, look forward not back, right?)

Ryan

 

I wish I could put a finger on why the target CD is so seductive. I just remember going to Musicland in 1984 and all they had was a small set-up in the middle of the store with about 75 discs (kind of like SACDs today). Buying those early targets made an impression in my mind that I just couldn’t shake. My wife thinks I’m nuts, but I just love them!

 

Yes, in the early days, Polygram W. German CDs were displayed in plastic blister packs (The same kind of annoying packaging you get when you buy packaged goods that have a mylar plastic around them at Radio Shack or a hardware store).

They were displayed with the booklet in a top section, taken outside of the jewel, and the disc and back "J" card in the bottom half. They realized that this size would fit where LPs used to be, two sections per LP placement.

This was before and during the longbox ordeals. But the allure of the new format, the Compact Disc Digital Audio, and the neato target labels, were proudly displayed in the see-thru packaging, right inside the jewel.

So, when you got home, you had to cut the package with a carpet knife or something sharp and strong (sissors MIGHT work...), be CAREFUL not to cut the booklet, then assemble the booklet inside the jewel. Done.

The distributors were at fault, because discs in Germany, Japan and the UK for the most part were not shrink wrapped, just like Lps. For export, they had to package them into polyboxes (same size as a longbox) and they costed 30c a piece.

What's sad is, those discs were usually $16.99 each. Now, discs are $18.99 at retail sometimes, when we were promised lower prices when US plants got errected. Psyche!

 

A lot of the CD's Musicland had in '84 were imports. I remember seeing the import of "Aftermath" in a blister pack selling for close to $35 (somewhere around that). I Japanese import was even more!!! I thought that was outrageous! I just couldn't see spending that kind of $$$ at the time.

 

Hey, an 11% price increase over 20 years ain't too bad--take inflation into account and it's actually a decent price reduction.

Peter (in an uncharacteristic glass-half-full kind of mood)

 

Crap? I didn't think the original target sounded that bad. I don't believe there's ever really been a "crappy" sounding Doors CD.

 

I remember seeing CBS Cds as low as $7.99 in stores, and "NEW" Cds starting at $11.99... which seems to continue, so I guess things could be worse.

In the case of the older Doors CD, it wasn't too bad, but I did think it lacked depth. No balls....

 

I never heard the very first generation of the studio stuff, but the original two-disc "Best Of The Doors" from the mid-80s (not a target) was pretty dire, at least compared to Steve's work or the latest ('99) remasters.

The original "Alive She Cried" sounded pretty good, though. I don't remember if my copy was a target or not.

Ryan

 

I had several of these when I started buying CDs in the mid-80s. I especially remember buying the Pretenders self-titled and U2, "War." They were pretty cool. Of course, I sold them a long time ago.

 

I am addicted to target CDs. I enjoy them for many of the reasons others here have shared. Most of them sound great, plus they look great. In addition, they are a piece of history and are relatively difficult to track down. I enjoy venturing into used CD shops looking for the diamond in the rough.

 

Steve,
I am glad you mentioned that, about the Doors, as I got rid of all me Target Doors as soon as they were Re-Mastered by Rothchild (sp?) and then again as soon as your DCC's hit the market.

I do have some left, my entire Dire Straits collection, and have started to re-listen. And they do seem to sound fine, that is until you ever try your hand at them.

And thanks to everyone here for the heads up on the endless stream of re-masters, it has saved me a lot of needless expenditures and heartache.

 

Shakey said:

Darn, I wish I had been around when you got rid of those Doors targets. I'm still looking for a Morrison Hotel target.

 

I thought the original original Doors CDs were made from nth generation LP dubs. So wouldn't they have had some EQ built in?

The second generation of CDs were bastardized with removal of our beloved bass cloud, whilst Bernie had his own way of ruining the latest remasters. Indeed, the DCCs are the only listenable versions of these titles.