Sean Magee (Abbey Road) working on Black Sabbath vinyl

11h11 hours ago
sean magee ‏@iiirdsworld
New eq book started today, a great way to open it






I'm in.

 

OMG. Am I really going to buy these again? Yeah, probably!

 

I'm guessing these will be Rhino EU only...but dang, didn't they just remaster these?

 

Does that say it's to be a double LP? A|B|C|D

 

I don't think he remixes anything.

 

He did say when asked that he was doing only a few LPs, but since I have enjoyed his work with Rush and of course the Beatles monos, I am in for whatever comes of this.

 

It says "Black Sabbath 'Black Sabbath'" so I expect he's working on the first album.

I can't think of any double album he'd be working on apart from We Sold Our Souls... - I hope it's not just that one.

Also I notice it says, "Rhino", which makes me fear it's going to be US tapes all over again.

 

Bellman didn't do NSD and TE, to my knowledge, so if Magee does those, I'd be interested. Otherwise, I'm not buying these again.

 

I thought the word a while back was vertigo tapes reissues ?
Maybe it was a dream I had.

 

Ok, someone had to ask...

AAA?

 

Yeah...those came out a couple of months back. And they included a CD as well.

 

You're pulling my leg

 

It's true! Well, at least these have the Vertigo label on them. I'm not sure of the tape source.


http://www.discogs.com/Black-Sabbath-Master-of-Reality/release/7161096


Notes
Includes a CD of the album in a plastic sleeve. Sticker reads: Inlcudes CD of Album

 

Looked it up, Wow. The first four were cut at optimal. SBS was cut by GZ vinyl. bummer.
I wonder what the deal is with these ? I can't find any info yet. I would guess they are cut from files
but I wonder who did the mastering ? Thanks for the heads up.

 

Perhaps most interesting is the "2xLP" notation.

Could we see an expanded release with some outtakes!?

 

I'm wondering if this is a vinyl release of those deluxe editions that came out a few years ago?

 

There was a European release on vinyl back in 2009 for these deluxe editions, done by UMC with the Vertigo swirl labels.
The first BS album was done as a double (original album, then Wicked World, coupled with other outtakes for the 2nd album) for that release.

The record jackets feature a lengthy essay by David Wells, as well as pictures of both sides of the original tape box.

The 2nd side has "Evil Woman" listed as the first cut on the tape box, which I believe was the original Euro version of the album.

Not 100% positive, but I do believe they were cut from a digital source that had been mastered by Andy Pearce for the cds. There was no mention of who did the vinyl version of the 2009 release.

I'm guessing Magee is re-eq'ing this for Rhino/North American release.

 

^

I highly doubt this is from the Pearce digital master. Abbey Road has been working with analog tapes a lot recently. Lots of vinyl reissues on Universal stated to be mastered from analog tapes at Abbey Road.

Of course, I think they usually then cut the final master to digital and upload it to GZ for it to be pressed, but...

Some of those 2009 Universal vinyl reissues sucked, IMO. Yes, they all seemed to be sourced from the Pearce remasters, but on the first three albums some steroid EQ tweaking was employed by some vinyl cutter and to my ears they came out really strange.

The big box that came out a few years ago was loved by many, but I thought they sounded pretty smiley in the EQ dept.

Overall, Rhino's reissues have been best, IMO.

 

I wrote about this is Shifter's massive Sabbath thread.
Got an olive label WB about 2 weeks after buying the 2009 import.
The 2009 was definitely louder, more upfront, but I was comparing it to a 39 year old piece of vinyl (which was still powerful enough in its own right!)

Thought "MOR" was quite a bit clearer on the 2009 release, the drums really impressed me on that one.

As the 2009 re-issues went on, I do think the overall quality returns were less signifigant.

I think Vol. 4, was done by William Coehlo, under Pearce's supervision, and wasn't real impressed.
I didn't hear much improvement on "Sabotage" either.

Ironically enough, I don't own a vinyl copy of any version of "Paranoid".

Rhino's re-issue of "Mob Rules" is just a touch louder than the original release.
So getting one of those is probably advisable over searching for a clean original, if time is a factor.

 

Interesting they'd subject the tapes to another round of production.
Considering how many different versions there are of these albums, and the fact the Sabs didn't seem much into archiving (IMO) stuff.

 

I didn't care for the 2009 Sanctuary MOR. Sounded compressed and smiley to me.

Originals aren't the only other option. An almost endless number of pressings and options exist. Great deals can still be had on various 70's pressings with some patience.

 

Well, it may be digital, but if it is, my bet is that when the SHM-SACD was transferred from tape at FX Copyroom that it was saved in hi-res. I see no reason he'd be working from the Pearce remaster.

 

That Magee Avatar is hilarious!


I`m definitely in for these if they`re AAA from the UK tapes.

 

Yeah, he looks like Bill Ward's younger, more evil brother.

 

In the mastering notes photo I see a 96K with an arrow to another abbreviate note indicating a digital stage. Perhaps it's merely for the CD Mastering Stage.