DCC Archive Why can't DCC or Steve do Bowie or Sinatra's Capitol catalog?

I know this has been asked before, but I forgot what the answer was. Is Bowie or the Sinatra camp willing to license out their material to others? I know Bowie's letting Virgin do his CD's, but is this an exclusive contract or can others do some as well?

 

In order for DCC to release gold CDs (or SACD's) of titles from the Bowie or Sinatra catalog, they have to license the titles from the labels who currently control them. I don't know the details of Bowie's arrangement with Virgin, but it's possible that Bowie would also have to approve any licensing of titles to DCC (as well as things like the packaging and even the mastering). Given DCC's past work on the Artanis releases, I'm sure the Sinatra family wouldn't have any objection to DCC releasing audiophile versions of some of the Capitol albums, there's still the question of whether Capitol would be willing to license these titles and at what price. Several labels charge licensing fees that are prohibitively expensive.

 

Regarding Bowie, though...I dunno. He's been reissued *so many times* now, and I honestly don't think the Ryko Au20s were anything to scoff at. And yes, the recent Virgin reissues use NR and generally sound odd, but they don't necessarily sound bad.

I just don't think Bowie really NEEDS it, 'tis all.

-D

 

If I had to choose, I'd go with Rykodisc. I don't think the Bowies need NoNoise, either (then again, very few if any classic rock recordings on magnetic tape need NoNoise), but what makes Peter Mew's work so much worse than, say, the NoNoised work on the 1990 Beach Boys two-fers is how Mew jacks up the high and low ends. At first I thought he was trying to compensate for the NoNoise (and going overboard with it), but I think that's what he feels is "good" sound. I can't even listen to this stuff on headphones because it's so bright and the bass so overwhelming, it's really unnatural, not to mention the strange plastic-like timber he brings to every recording he touches. The Rykodiscs are easier on the ears, but people have pointed out the lack of bass warmth on those CD's (I think the Young Americans CD may have more than what you'd find on the other Rykodisc discs, but I don't have it anymore). It may be different with AU20's, but I've never heard these.

Awhile back, Steve mentioned the older RCA CD's as sounding more true to life despite coming from copies rather than original tapes. Haven't ever heard the RCA CD's, so I don't know how they compare to the others.

[ October 16, 2001: Message edited by: Camarillo ]

 

I don't like the RCAs at all...to me, they sound dull.

There *are* a few issues with the Ryko CDs...lots of people don't like the EQ on 'em, for example...but I've never really objected to them (although the bonus tracks DO usually suck, unfortunately). Young Americans is apparently a different mix from the LP and later Virgin CD, so that's another issue, although I don't know where the Au20 falls on that issue.


You really dislike the Virgins that much? They sound WEIRD to me, but not bad...I think that's the Prism noise-shaping talking.

-D

 

I'm just not fan of the Virgins. Maybe I hate them more than others, but hey, everyone's got different preferences and a different set of ears.

Oh, and yes, the bonus tracks do suck. There aren't many Bowie rarities that I feel are must own. Maybe the rare US single mix of Rebel Rebel that's on Sound + Vision, but that's about it.