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« ตอบ #637 เมื่อ: 16 สิงหาคม 2013 | 04:12:28 PM » |
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ไปเสริช์เจอมา สำหรับเกร็ดเล็กน้อยสำหรับคนสะสมซีดี Pink Floyd ครับ
Hi everyone,
I registered some time ago, but never posted on the forum before. I wanted to do it when I was able to make a really informative and interesting post or thread. I think this is the case, so this is my first post.
Some time ago I read the threads and posts regarding the virtual inexistence of the Pink Floyd 1992-1995 Doug Sax remastered CDs in european markets, apart from the Shine On box. Apparently, some of the proper remasters were released in the US in 1997 by Columbia and were never ever released in the EU, no matter that the artwork stated otherwise. Especially interesting was the case of Animals, which in Europe seems to be an old UK Harvest mastering (even in the Oh by the Way box) instead of the great-sounding Sax remaster released in 1997 in the US.
When I read those things, I was worried. Why?, because in my country (Chile) we get the European releases of the Pink Floyd CDs, so I wondered what if I have the old-master discs, instead of the remastered ones?, what if, back in the old 90s, I bought old-mastered Pink Floyd albums believing that they were the Sax Remasters (as it is stated in the artwork of ALL of them)?
Then I decided to do a little research, using as a main source of information my own collection, and working with the Pink Floyd CDs from Piper to AMLOR that I own and, supposedly, are Sax remasters.
Here is the list of the Sax remasters I have, with catalog numbers, label and place of release:
Piper at the Gates of Dawn: 7243 8 31261 2 5 EMI Europe
A Saucerful of Secrets: 7243 8 29751 2 0 EMI Europe CDP 0777 7 46383 2 6 USA - Capitol
Music from the film More: 7243 8 35631 2 8 EMI Europe CDP 0777 7 46386 2 3 USA Capitol
Ummagumma: 7243 8 31213 2 7/8 EMI Europe CDP 0777 7 46404 2 8 Capitol - USA
Atom Heart Mother: 7243 8 31246 2 6 EMI Europe
Relics: 7243 8 35603 2 5 EMI Europe CDP 7243 8 35603 2 5 Capitol - USA
Meddle: 7243 8 29749 2 5 EMI Europe
Obscured by Clouds: 7243 8 35609 2 9 EMI Europe
Dark Side of the Moon 7243 8 29752 2 9 EMI Europe
Wish you Were Here: 7243 8 29750 2 1 EMI Europe CK 68522 Columbia USA
Animals: 7243 8 29748 2 6 EMI Europe CK 68521 Columbia - USA
The Wall: 7243 8 31243 2 9 EMI Europe C2K 68519 Columbia - USA
The Final Cut: 7243 8 31242 2 0 EMI Europe CK 68517 Columbia USA
A Momentary Lapse of Reason: CDK 68581 Columbia USA
Before we get to the results, please keep some information in mind:
1.- This analysis refers ONLY to the market releases of the remastered CDs, that means independent CDs and NOT those in the US and/or EU editions of the Shine On Box.
2.- In cases when I didnt have the EU or US counterpart of an album to compare, I used the EAC peak levels information available in the excellent database of Vernon Fitchs website to make the comparisons. That is stated alongside the albums data as PFA.
3.- All of the CDs here reviewed (except for the 1997 Columbia releases) clearly state in the artwork that they are Digital Remasters from 1992, 1994 or 1995 and credited to Doug Sax. All of the Columbia CDs here reviewed dont state that in the artwork, but have the 1997 Anniversary Edition round sticker in the jewel case and have 1997 written in the copyright legal statement.
So, lets see the results:
Piper at the Gates of Dawn: Europe: 100 / 91.3 / 100 / 93.3 / 96.9 / 92.4 / 100 / 87.5 / 85.1 / 80.5 / 100 USA: 100 / 91.3 / 100 / 93.3 / 96.9 / 92.4 / 100 / 87.5 / 85.1 / 80.5 / 100 (PFA) Peak levels are identical.
A Saucerful of Secrets: Europe: 86.7 / 70.8 / 82.7 / 86.8 / 86.7 / 89.2 / 54.4 USA: 100 / 98.4 / 93.3 / 95.7 / 89.9 / 94.6 / 75.7 Peak levels are different. Also, Set the Controls have a really awkward cut/paste sound in the middle part in the European release. This is not present in the US release.
Music from the film More: Europe: 68.7 / 100 / 62.4 / 100 / 86.0 / 72.1 / 74.1 / 99.9 / 100 / 97.2 / 73.6 / 97.2 / 100 USA: 68.7 / 100 / 62.4 / 100 / 86.0 / 72.1 / 74.1 / 99.9 / 100 / 97.2 / 73.6 / 97.2 / 100 Peak levels are identical.
Ummagumma: Disc 1 Europe: 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 USA: 100 / 100 / 100 / 100
Disc2 Europe: 90.1 / 65.6 / 70.7 / 86.9 / 100 / 86.8 / 80.1 / 99.4 / 100 / 83.6 / 100 / 54.9 USA: 90.1 / 65.6 / 70.7 / 86.9 / 100 / 86.8 / 80.1 / 99.4 / 100 / 83.6 / 100 / 54.9 Peak levels are identical in both discs.
Atom Heart Mother: Europe: 100 / 74.2 / 100 / 100 / 100 USA: 100 / 74.2 / 100 / 100 / 100 (PFA) Peak levels are identical.
Relics: Europe: 89.3 / 92.2 / 84.1 / 100 / 75.6 / 96.2 / 87.4 / 62.7 / 100 / 100 / 74.5 USA: 89.3 / 92.2 / 84.1 / 100 / 75.6 / 96.2 / 87.4 / 62.7 / 100 / 100 / 74.5 Peak levels are identical.
Meddle: Europe: 82.2 / 56.5 / 97.7 / 96.8 / 42.8 / 97.7 USA: 100 / 79.4 / 100 / 100 / 70.8 / 96.9 (PFA) Peak levels are different.
Obscured by Clouds: Europe: 84.6 / 94.7 / 86.5 / 100 / 99.3 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 USA: 84.6 / 94.7 / 86.5 / 100.0 / 99.3 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 (PFA) Peak levels are identical.
Dark Side of the Moon: Europe: 87.8 / 94.7 / 100 / 97.2 / 100 / 99.1 / 97.7 / 93.9 / 97.7 USA: 67.9 / 69.1 / 76.9 / 75 / 96.8 / 69.6 / 89.3 / 75.7 / 82.5 (PFA) Peak levels are different.
Wish you Were Here: Europe: 97.7 / 97.7 / 97.7 / 97.7 / 97.7 USA: 100 / 100 / 99.9 / 88.8 / 92.2 Peak levels are different.
Animals: Europe: 48.3 / 82.7 / 64.8 / 75.7 / 32.4 USA: 53.8 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 56.7 Peak levels are different.
The Wall: Disc 1 Europe: 97.2 / 87.2 / 95.3 / 97.2 / 93.6 / 93.8 / 47.9 / 57.6 / 97.2 / 97.2 / 93.5 / 97.2 / 26.9 USA: 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 54.4 / 62.0 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 30.6
Disc 2 Europe: 95.0 / 65.9 / 61.9 / 48.8 / 90.2 / 95.4 / 78.8 / 97.2 / 97.2 / 97.2 / 18.7 / 85.7 / 11.5 USA: 100 / 75.6 / 69.7 / 53.8 / 100 / 100 / 84.2 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 19.4 / 100 / 17.0 Peak levels are different in both discs. European discs match the Italian release, although they have UK artwork.
The Final Cut: Europe: 75.6 / 75.7 / 21.8 / 90.3 / 76.4 / 55.1 / 70.3 / 74.8 / 29.6 / 72.4 / 91.2 / 66.8 USA: 88.4 / 93.0 / 25.6 / 100.0 / 99.2 / 84.8 / 83.0 / 100.0 / 36.4 / 87.1 / 97.0 / 86.5 Peak levels are different.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason: Europe: 64.1 / 100 / 88.8 / 85.2 / 83.1 / 97.6 / 39.9 / 97.5 / 38.8 / 90.9 (PFA) USA: 72.7 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 62.7 / 100 / 55.9 / 100 Peak levels are different. However, there is no record of a 1994 remaster in the European catalog of Vernons site, so I used the edition that was being sold at the same time as the 1997 Columbia issue to compare.
Conclusions. The first conclusion I got from my analysis is that I have to replace my EMI Meddle with a Capitol CD. On the other hand, I have the Columbia 1997 releases so all I have to do is get rid of some of the bad sounding un-remastered EMI releases from WYWH to TFC. I got rid of the European Animals (that sounded REALLY bad) and Wish you Were Here (bad sound, really really bad sound), and am looking forward to get rid of the other European versions.
However, the main conclusion is not that. As we can see from the results, the following albums have different peak levels in EU and US: Saucerful of Secrets, Meddle, DSOTM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall, TFC and AMLOR. On the other hand, Piper, More, Ummagumma, AHM, Relics and OBC have the same peak levels in the US and the EU.
After doing some comparisons in Vernons site, and after reading some useful posts in this forum, I concluded that the European remastered release of Animals is actually an old UK Harvest mastering, WYWH is a level shifted old UK mastering, and something similar happens with Saucerful, Meddle, TFC, AMLOR and The Wall.
Now, some facts: Pink Floyd catalogue was licensed (until 2000) to 2 different companies in the USA: Capitol Records had the first half (Piper to Dark Side) and Columbia Records had the second half (WYWH to PULSE). In Europe, the entire Floyd catalogue was licensed to EMI. Doug Sax made some remasters in 1992 for the Shine On Box, and in 1994-1995 he remastered the rest of the catalogue. The first half (Piper to DSOTM) of these remasters were issued in the US by Capitol in 1994-1995 as independent CDs. The second half of the remasters (WYWH to AMLOR) were held back by Columbia until 1997. There was no 1997 remastering. The albums released in 1997 by Columbia are the Sax remasters from 1992-1995. In Europe, the whole remastered catalogue was issued between 1994 and 1996. However, as weve seen, only some of the albums released in Europe were real Sax remasters, and the majority were old masters in a new packaging.
So, the real Sax remasters of WYWH, Animals, TW, TFC and AMLOR werent released as independent CDs, in any place of Earth, until 1997. The real Sax remasters of Saucerful, Meddle and DSOTM were released as independent CDs only in the USA by Capitol in 1993-1994. And the real Sax remasters of the rest of the catalogue were released in 1993-1996 in the US and the EU by Capitol and EMI respectively.
It seems that all the albums that were in hands of Columbia in the US were NOT released as Sax remasters by EMI outside the US. Never. They still havent. And the same happened to the Sax remastered Capitol albums present in the Shine On box. What happened? I dont really know. I can only guess. Probably some problems between labels, probably Columbia had the power to retain the remasters of their half of the catalogue and prevent EMI from releasing them worldwide, perhaps the remasters of the Capitol albums present on the Shine On box were only allowed to be released in the US and not by EMI. Or perhaps EMI just didnt care about the remasters. Perhaps they chose to release the old mastered CDs (with a new artwork full of lies, by the way) than to pay somebody the rights for the remasters. Who knows what happened back in the early 90s?
I dont. All I can say is this, if you want the REAL Sax remasters, you have the following choices:
- Get the US Capitol 1994-1995/Columbia 1997 releases. The Capitol 2000 releases are also good. They have the same remastering of the 1997 Columbia releases. There was NO new mastering in 2000. Only the Columbia contract ended and the rights went back to Capitol, and they re-released the albums under their label and with the Sax remastering. This doesnt apply to the 2005 AMLOR, thats another story.
- If you are not in the USA, you can be sure that the European releases of Piper, More, Ummagumma, Relics, AHM and OBC are the real Sax remasters. For the other albums, you can try to get a Shine On box (Sax mastering, a little level shifted though, but fine) or import the US or Japanese releases of the independent CDs. Avoid, at any extent, European releases of the other CDs or the "Oh By the Way" box (it contains the European pressings, so youll get a 1980s Animals in a nice 2007s box).
Thats it. I hope this helps someone (maybe a Sax fan trying to get all of the the Sax Floyd), and really hope that this thread can be of good use in this forum. I did all this work some time ago for myself, to be clear of what CDs I should look for and what CDs I had to get rid of, and now I wanted to share my results and conclusions.
Cheers!!
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