Atlantic 75 - The Historic Reissue Series from Analogue Productions
- Thread starter MikeyFresh
- Start date
Hear that? It’s the sound of my wallet crying uncle. Thank goodness I limit my buying vinyl to blues and Jazz……sigh….
Have to say I'm disappointed that these seem to be 45 rpm only for LP's. I wonder if we'll see some Led Zeppelin in this series ?
They got me too this time with the inclusion of SACDs, some of AP's past reissue series were vinyl only, but not this one.
Some of the SACDs have release dates, Selling England By The Pound is January 23rd, John Prine is February 24th, and In The Right Place March 31st. At least some of these titles do not yet have an SACD release announced, Face Value for example.
There seem to be some at $24.98 on clear vinyl from this same series, I think maybe they just haven't listed everything yet or don't have all the rights to release on different format versions just yet:
Dusty Springfield-Dusty In Memphis-Vinyl Record|Acoustic Sounds
Acoustic Sounds Audiophile Vinyl Records
store.acousticsounds.com
Crosby Stills And Nash-Crosby Stills Nash-Vinyl Record|Acoustic Sounds
Acoustic Sounds Audiophile Vinyl Records
store.acousticsounds.com
This is a bit confusing, right down to the mention of old mastering versions as with the CSN above.
EDIT: I think I see the difference, Atlantic Records has their own 75th Anniversary Series in addition to the AP announced series.
First thing this morning, got a text message from a Chicago pal about the series. We're still texting back and forth about it. Are we really this excited? 🤣
Nice to see the Genesis and Collins titles. For the Genesis, though, there is no indication as to whether these are the original analog masters, or if these are the terrible late 2000s remixes by Nick Davis that Genesis insists is now the only "official" version that should be sold. I hope it's the former or it's no sale here. Davis didn't do too badly on the Peter Gabriel era titles, but everything from Trick of the Tail onward has been sucked of all life and brickwalled, with mixes that try to push everything to the forefront. Get out an older Genesis CD of Trick and compare it to what is available on streaming. Horrendous.
I left a question about this, but no reply from Analogue Productions.
One for the post-75 wishlist is for AP to do the Duke album. All vinyl versions have been lacking, as they cram 55 minutes of music onto a single LP. Four sides, 45 RPM, that would be ideal. I am surprised they chose Genesis over Duke or Invisible Touch though.
I like 45 RPM so I'm good with it. I'm also wondering if it was contractual--having the AP product at 45 RPM so it didn't conflict with Atlantic's 33-1/3 pressings. Same with SACDs, as the major labels largely avoid them.
Having said that, most of anything I get here will be the SACDs. And outside the Genesis/PC titles and one or two others, there's not much of interest here for me. Could they have included at least one of Jean-Luc Ponty's titles, for instance? It's also lacking in not having more of the early soul and R&B Atlantic made its name on. But since Chad hinted there were more possibilities beyond the end of the 75 titles in the series, they'll probably get around to more at a later time.
Nice to see the Genesis and Collins titles. For the Genesis, though, there is no indication as to whether these are the original analog masters, or if these are the terrible late 2000s remixes by Nick Davis that Genesis insists is now the only "official" version that should be sold. I hope it's the former or it's no sale here. Davis didn't do too badly on the Peter Gabriel era titles, but everything from Trick of the Tail onward has been sucked of all life and brickwalled, with mixes that try to push everything to the forefront. Get out an older Genesis CD of Trick and compare it to what is available on streaming. Horrendous.
I left a question about this, but no reply from Analogue Productions.
One for the post-75 wishlist is for AP to do the Duke album. All vinyl versions have been lacking, as they cram 55 minutes of music onto a single LP. Four sides, 45 RPM, that would be ideal. I am surprised they chose Genesis over Duke or Invisible Touch though.
Not only that, the Acoustic Sounds series reissues from Verve, Contemporary, and Craft Recordings are similarly yanking my chain. I've limited myself to very few. When the quality is this good, it's hard to resist. QRP seems to have solved their pressing plant issues as most things lately have been flawless, and their new equipment in the plant where they prepare the stampers now has precision machinery to center the spindle hole.
No go on the Led Zep, most likely--it would need Jimmy Page's approval, and he probably sees the last LP reissues as being plenty good enough. In all fairness, they sound good even with the digital mastering, and surprisingly all of mine are nearly perfect pressings. Would they be a good seller? I'd bet they would sell out rather quickly. Maybe one day?
I like 45 RPM so I'm good with it. I'm also wondering if it was contractual--having the AP product at 45 RPM so it didn't conflict with Atlantic's 33-1/3 pressings. Same with SACDs, as the major labels largely avoid them.
Having said that, most of anything I get here will be the SACDs. And outside the Genesis/PC titles and one or two others, there's not much of interest here for me. Could they have included at least one of Jean-Luc Ponty's titles, for instance? It's also lacking in not having more of the early soul and R&B Atlantic made its name on. But since Chad hinted there were more possibilities beyond the end of the 75 titles in the series, they'll probably get around to more at a later time.
Me too, and I bet it's going to be the real original master mixes used. I think they are finally ready to let someone right that wrong, there's been too much criticism of the enormously compressed/peak limited remixes they can't possibly be that stubborn as to insist they be used again. Duke is certainly a curious omission, kinda begs the question if that tape is damaged or lost.
I think there will be lots more titles in the end, they know the buying audience for this is dwindling, so cutting lucrative reissue deals now makes sense for both the label and the artists.
The major labels are a bitch to work with. So it's good that he was able to get a foot in the door. Not many audiophiles understand it, but most of the problem with getting reissues is the permission/licensing to move forward with it. Not only the label, but if the artist is in any way involved contractually, they all need to green light their use for LP or SACD reissue. (SACD can be tricky, and streaming even trickier, as they are formats which were not around when the artist originally signed the label contract.)
Unfortunately, anything with Sony is at a dead end. Chad will only work with analog original masters (if it was recorded in analog originally), so unlike MoFi who will drag an entire DSD recording rig into Sony's studios, Sony is no longer sending tapes beyond their walls. It's a shame since the RCA titles I got from Analogue Productions sounded fantastic. (Chad did say he's done with classical, though--it just doesn't sell enough to recoup costs. And probably why he never did any further Mancini titles, as that was one I asked him about specifically.)
I actually don't mind the Peter Gabriel era remixes--the original recordings were stuffy as it was, and if my faulty memory is thinking straight, I think Gabriel supervised their release. But anything past Lamb really doesn't sound that good, and I believe Tony Banks was instrumental in supervising those. I think the official word in 2007, either from the band or Atlantic (maybe both?) is that these were to be considered the "official" versions going forward.Now I feel bad because I don't think the 2008 remixes/remasters/whatever in my Genesis LP box-set sound that bad. But I really only listen to Nursery Cryme with any frequency. I'll have to compare some of the originals to the box set now.
They get a lot of hate in some places online, but I found the Definitive Edition CD remasters to sound better than some of the weak early pressings I had on Atlantic back in the mid 80s. Although as a rule, I found versions on CD from Europe/UK to sound better than what was released on first pressings in the US. My copies of Duke and Three Sides Live were on Charisma CDs. If you don't have anything on hand to compare, let me know.
The 70s era MoFi of Trick of the Tail is good if you can find it.
BTW, I hope Analogue Productions doesn't "remaster" the artwork and do both of the Collins album covers in the "old Phil" style that they are now! I think Chad was just holding up stock vinyl copies of the records in the video, not actual AP product (they're probably still in, or awaiting, production).
vs. 
Photo of the 1983 CD version I bought back then. (Not my copy but same release.) This one always sounded good.
vs. Photo of the 1983 CD version I bought back then. (Not my copy but same release.) This one always sounded good.
The box set that I have is the one with all of the Gabriel-era albums. I think I have earlier pressings of Duke and "And then there were three" and ...that's the extent of my Genesis knowledge. I'm coming at it from being a big Peter Gabriel fan, but I like solo Peter much better than Genesis Peter.
I like the recent 45rpm Peter Gabriel albums as far as sound goes, but the originals excepting the first one weren't that bad sonically, to my ears. I have a 1982 pressing of Security on that Quiex II vinyl that's really really nice sounding.
Cool, you missed the remixes on the post-Peter albums. 👍 I bought a couple of those separate from the box (Selling England and Lamb) and the differences really aren't that much, and much cleaner sounding. They are also not so smashed dynamically like the later albums. Although the diehard purists hate them.
Those are quite good--I bought all seven of the studio albums when they were available. A buddy bought a few of those and had a couple of those same titles on Classic Records when they were going overboard with the single-sided 45 RPM pressings on "clarity" vinyl, and I think PG's own 45 RPMs sounded a little more full-bodied. Comparing on an unfamiliar system, though, it's hard to tell.
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Those 1994 Definitive Edition CDs are the go-to digital versions for me, the SACDs were a big disappointment by comparison.
The difference was all the remixing, and the post-Peter albums were more an abomination than a disappointment. I'd seen complaints that the DE CDs were poorly EQed and/or "drenched in noise reduction" (as one member on another a forum once said). I can't vouch for EQ--I have never heard the original master tape to make that decision. Noise reduction...no idea. I'm not hearing any artifacts that stand out that scream noise reduction, but I also don't sit and microanalyze the sound of these albums either. They just sound good, and I like the music. 🤷♂️
I once read something that made sense. Brickwall compression sounds like a person's face would look when their features are pushed hard against a glass shower door. Those remixes had a similar effect on me--everything in the mix was pushed up way too loud and competing for each other. On Trick, Phil's voice is often distant (compare "Mad Man Moon") and the dynamics are much more delineated. A pal of mine brought over his SACD set right after it was released and hoo-boy, both of us were shaking our heads after playing that track.
I'm only thinking AP will use the original analog versions as the 2007 remixes would have been digital. And Chad has a very short path for his decisions. If there is one deal killer in a project, he'll end it right there. I think if he knew he had to work from a modern digital remix, he never would offer these.
So I remain hopeful we'll get the correct versions.
Acoustic Sounds now has all of this listed, and some of the originally stated release dates have either been changed, or removed.
In the case of the SACDs, Selling England By The Pound has had its original Jan.'24 release date revised to "TBA", while the original Feb.'24 release date for John Prine has been moved up to Oct. 6th of this year, right around the corner, so the wallet damage starts sooner than later (for me anyway).
Also getting that same Oct. 6th SACD release date is Charles Mingus' Blues & Roots, and while the original Mar.'24 SACD release date for Dr. John's In The Right Place has also been revised to "TBA", that title does still appear in their "Coming Soon" section, suggesting it too will be bumped up to sooner rather than later.
68 titles in all so far announced for SACD, 63 in stereo and 5 in mono. 70 titles in all so far announced for the 45rpm vinyl, the two titles listed as vinyl-only releases are Phil Collins' Face Value, and Hello, I Must Be Going.
In the case of the SACDs, Selling England By The Pound has had its original Jan.'24 release date revised to "TBA", while the original Feb.'24 release date for John Prine has been moved up to Oct. 6th of this year, right around the corner, so the wallet damage starts sooner than later (for me anyway).
Also getting that same Oct. 6th SACD release date is Charles Mingus' Blues & Roots, and while the original Mar.'24 SACD release date for Dr. John's In The Right Place has also been revised to "TBA", that title does still appear in their "Coming Soon" section, suggesting it too will be bumped up to sooner rather than later.
68 titles in all so far announced for SACD, 63 in stereo and 5 in mono. 70 titles in all so far announced for the 45rpm vinyl, the two titles listed as vinyl-only releases are Phil Collins' Face Value, and Hello, I Must Be Going.
Vinyl Records, SACDs, DVD Audio, Audiophile Equipment|Acoustic Sounds
Acoustic Sounds Audiophile Vinyl Records
store.acousticsounds.com
The good news is that I will not be buying all of them. The bad news is that I will be buying a lot more than I thought.
I was thinking this would be easy to pass on. Except for the Yes albums. Maybe Deja Vu. Otis Redding ? 🤔
Probably contractual. I think a similar issue came up with PC's titles when Audio Fidelity released the gold CDs. (No SACD version, nor even HDCD, which Audio Fidelity was using on some of their releases.)
With the Genesis titles (and probably some others), it was not uncommon for Atlantic to stuff a lot of time on each side of the record, so the 45 RPM versions are much welcomed. Sometimes the engineering on the UK side of the pond is on the bright side with weak bass, so I'm hoping the remasterings over here will sound better than what we've had.
If past reissues are any indication, SACDs might lag the LP versions. With the Steely Dan UHQRs, SACDs lag about 2-3 months behind the vinyl releases. (So far, the SACD of a previous release shows up around the time the next title is released.) A small handful of others I was watching in the past had the same issue. But it's no guarantee, as I've seen others come out much closer together.
I'm guessing Acoustic Sounds might also limit distribution to their own online store, with others to follow. Gives them a few weeks of head start against others. (I have actually ordered elsewhere so I don't have to pay for shipping, as some of their vinyl titles are not eligible for free shipping.)
Yeah...they always time this tempting stuff so I can't afford it. 😁
