Aside from a couple of pointless Motely Crue reissues a couple of years ago, next week's remaster of Peter Gabriel's "Us" is the most recently released album (1992) that has been, now remastered, that I can think of. My question is: When does it stop? I would think that 1992 isn't that long ago, and actually discs from that year sound pretty impressive still. I'd be real interested in A/B comparisons between the '92 issue and the new one. You can make them louder, but can any improvement be made for something that recent (or is it merely to fill in a catalog?)? My point is: Are there going to be remasters for CD's that came out this year in 10 years? I should hope not. Aren't we at a point right now that we can make a CD sound as good as humanly possible, where no remasters are possible- where there is NOTHING you could do to improve it (operative word: improve)? Weren't engineers at that point 10 years ago? Is a CD ever at a stage where you say "It's perfect the way it is"? You'll see I like hard to answer paradoxes. nashreed
Well, stay tuned for a remastered "Secret World Live" from '94 in a few months. Most recent remaster off the top of my head would probably be Elvis Costello's "All This Useless Beauty," but at least that came with a bonus disc of goodies. Ryan
Death Row re-released some of their more popular titles last year, such as Dr. Dre - The Chronic Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle and some other ones. Doggystyle, for one, was originally released in 1993.
I believe I read somewhere that Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering suggests to artists to "update" their catalog every 7-8 years. Seems like a great way to generate some cashflow to me....
"So" what?? Here's another idea...and I've been noticing... Reissuing catalog stuff puts the titles back "as new" in the stores. Let's say you went to the record store to get a copy of "So" by Peter Gabriel. You get frustrated because you know it's his most popular CD by far, yet, all they have is the ATCO S/t and the "Shaking The Tree" Cd. Well you end up buying "So" used, gladly too, because for some reason, in your neighborhood, "So" is just NOT on anyone's restocking list. Days pass, and you stroll into a mall store with a freind or your significant other. A small stack of 3 copies of "So" appear with the label "Remastered by the artist". You see, "So" wouldn't be in stock unless it adoned a new catalog number. Suddenly it starts selling units! Woo hoo! It's really stupid. I do share the feeling most people have here about how the labels are re-polishing everything to sound brighter.
When Does It Stop? When People Stop Buying The Same "Ole Stuff "Over And Over Again! It Will Stop If We Stop. At Least When Steve Does A Re-Issue That's The FINAL VERSION. For Me Anyway!
Yes, the Hoffman version IS the definitive version! I agree Michael! But wait.... isn't DCC going to come out with SACD and DVD titles? Steve's versions will still be the definitive versions..... on all formats! So for other "record company" labels if SACD or DVD takes off that means we'll have the original SACD's & DVD's, the remastered SACD's and DVD's, special edition SACD's and DVD's, bonus track SACD's and DVD's.....
I used to wonder the same thing about reissues (i.e. whether there will ever be an end). However, you look at a consumer society like ours, and there are always new angles to marketing the same products, whether music, cars, or appliances. I guess I have come to accept it and really just look at it from the following angles - (1) I don't have to buy any product I don't want and (2) with record companies constantly scouring their catalogs to make a buck, for every four rehash reissues, there is a fifth that deserves the tender loving care. Therefore, the endless rehashing is just the price of getting the good stuff out there, especially for the smaller niches I enjoy most like the early blues.
Martin, Then there's the DCC 24kt Original multi-channel Ultimate Master by the Master of Mastering from the Original Master Recordings.
The quick answer is never, as long as there's someone who wants to listen to the latest issue. Ludwig has a point, but the bigger point is that there's always something that could be done to improve the sound of the master if time and money were unlimited. Of course improve is a relative and subjective term here. And then there are those of us who at some point arbitrarily say 'it's finished the way it is' and move on.
"When Does It Stop? When People Stop Buying The Same "Ole Stuff "Over And Over Again! " Ask Steely Dan and Beach Boy fans that question...they cant get enough. Anyway, Music Companies make more money on reissues, than they do on new titles.
Music companies make more money on reissues than new titles.If that's true Warner Brothers doesn't agree.While most over labels (especially Universal Music Group) have been busy remastering most of their popular albums over the last 5-7 years.Warner Brothers has remastered nearly nothing except for the last year or so ago for some oldies comps under their Rhino label.I must say this pent up demand may serve them well now that DVD-A is a reality.Artists like Van Morrison,NeilYoung,Black Sabbath,Grateful Dead etc. have been SUPER SAVER versioned to death-WB stategy now appears to offer these classic albums on cd in boxsets only or on DVD-A to extract the maximum money possible.
nashreed, Actually, some paradoxes in life are easy to answer....it will not end!..it will not stop! Remember this--while the technology presently exists to produce outstanding sounding CDs nearly every time out (SH mastered CDs, as an example), record labels are not motivated nor are they compelled to produce outstanding sounding CDs. That is not where the demand is. Rather, it is about marketing initiatives that produce hype that result in unit purchases! Bob
Reissues Whats interesting is that no one has stated the reality. That the future of reissues is in Surround Sound. SS is the next major push by the Record Industry to make us by our LP collections all over again, the same way we did when Cds came in 1982, and the same way we did AGAIN to get the remasters with bonus tracks. At least, a 5.1 disk is a major change over whats been issued before and isnt JUST a marketing ploy. Its a totally different listening experience. I'm sure, 10 years from now, there will be ANOTHER major technical upheaval to make us buy our music over again. Perhaps by then, they will be able to make a GOOD stereo mix from a mono source. We are not quite there yet, but its something thats coming, Im sure. Superfast PCs will be able to analyze and pick out, say, a Fender Jazzmaster guitar and seperate it from the rest of the mono track. Then the same with a Hammond organ or something. With computer advances coming SO quickly these days, this might be here sooner than later.
Re: Reissues Mikey, While the "surround" formats are well known in these circles, the general public, to date, is not demanding in it big numbers for music only discs. Sales of pure audio discs in "surround" formats are very, very low so far. Perhaps, sales will explode and this will change. I am not convinced, yet, that this format will ever be big for strictly music discs. At one time, I was very excited to hear the original two-channel Stereo mixes in more dynamic and accurate 24/96. But until more titles are widely available, I have held off on purchasing the equipment for reproduction. My fear is that if sales do not take off soon for the music only discs, the format will be abandoned. The record labels have yet to get 16/44 discs right anyway. Perhaps, they never will and we will all jump into the brave new world of surround formats head first! Bob
When will it end??? That's what I asked myself many years ago and THAT'S why I went back to vinyl only. Speaking only from the sonics viewpoint, the problem with digital is that it ain't up to the sound of what was on the master tape. Technology marches on and better formats come along (dvd, SACD, etc). Of course, for the most part, they sound better than early cd's. And off you go to buy the better sounding one for your cd player. Now with vinyl it's a little different. Yes, it is true that vinyl is not equal to the master tape. Vinyl has its own problems that do add or subtract to the sound. But I will say this: those grooves hold a tremendous amount of information. Upgrade your cartridge or table or phono preamp and you will hear things you never thought existed on that record. With the cd, for the most part, information with older digital formats is simply not there. You could make it sound a little better by upgrading your digital hardware, but for the most part you are stuck with what was encoded onto that disc. Hence the upgrade cycle.
Great example. I can go the store right now and buy (1) the complete recordings of Blind Willie Johnson, (2) individual albums of Blind Willie Johnson, or (3) selections of Blind Willie Johnson. If having ten different versions of the Steely Dan catalog reissued also allows the record company to get out and keep in print niche product like pre-war blues, and do so at the depth of the Willie Johnson example, I say go for it. While some niches have not been scoured and explored to the depth of others, as a blues collector, I have been the beneficiary of some very well-thought out reissue programs and am extremely pleased at the depth of the catalogs that remain in-print. By the way, Michael, I too love Blind Willie Johnson, as well as Son House, and Charley Patton, and Robert Johnson, and Tommy Johnson, and....
Excellent post. When vinyl was the format of choice (the only choice), if you got a decent pressing (which was 95% of the time) and you had a good system, you were happy. Now with CD and digital, everybody is always restless, unhappy with what they have. This speaks volumes about the damage the CD format has done to the enjoyment of music.
Wouldn't it be nice if these Music Companies came up with some nominal credit return policy on new technology reissues, with retailers ? That'll be the day, right ?
I think Mikey 5967 is on the right track. The reason so many remastered reissues are coming out now is because the same titles are going to be released on SACD or DVD-a in the next few years - and then the cycle can start again. IMHO that is why the record companies are taking their time with the inevitable conversion to the new format(s). It provides them more time to squeeze more revenue from redbook cds. I say inevitable conversion because the $200 cd and dvd players now being sold at Best Buy incorporate SACD/DVD-a capability. It doesn't take audiophile ears to hear the difference between redbook cd and the new formats, especially when gee-whiz-bang 5.1 is thrown in. And so these "cd" players will be taken home. And the next time that consumer goes out to buy some music, he's likely going to choose the new format that his "cd" player is capable of playing and that sounds better.
