Woochifer
03-07-2007, 06:52 PM
Another casualty of an earlier format war ... the first six remastered Genesis discs will come out in April in Europe, but the SACD versions will be unavailable in North America. Why? Because Rhino Records is distributed by Warner Music, which only supports DVD-A (all the while no longer issuing any new titles in that format) even though they are no longer part of the Time Warner media empire.
About the SACDs, why did you chose the format SACD for the Rereleases and why will they not be releases on SACD in North America?
Nick Davis: Well, we've chosen the format SACD because - well I really like the sound of it! We had a demo of that machine three or four years ago and I thought it was fantastic. At the time we thought it would be the best way to deal with the Genesis music and do the re-release justice, really - by mixing it in this format. Ok, we see now that it's quite a niche market.
Not releasing the stuff on this format in America has nothing to do with the band, it's just that Warner won't support SACD and so it's not our choice really. We could force them to do DVD-A, but then we would be stuck with two DVD releases and no CD. So that would be quite complicated. So in America, they get a regular CD and a DVD-Video and in Europe you get a SACD and DVD-V
...
Speaking about the new mixes, what did you do, did you just remix the stuff or it it something completely new?
Nick Davis: We did a complete new mix of everything. We've taken the old analogue multitrack tapes and transfered them onto our protools-system which is running at 192kHz and 24 bit PCM and then mix through on a SSL analogue desk onto this DSD [Direct Stream Digital] system. So you get completely new 5.1 and Stereo Mixes on both, the SACD and CD Layer.
http://www.genesis-news.com/genesis/reviews/sacds/interview-with-nick-davis.htm
Basically, these discs are totally new mixes, so even the CD versions will sound very different from previous versions. I've heard some of the new two-channel remixes, and they improve upon the earlier CD versions. But, with all the effort that went into the 5.1 mixes, it's unbelievable that fans in North American are stuck without any high res version because of some format war remnant that has long since faded into irrelevancy.
As it is, the remasters will be issued as two-disc sets with a CD and a DVD. The DVD will feature video content plus the 5.1 audio mix in DTS 96/24, while the CD will feature the new Nick Davis mixes. The initial six releases will also be featured in a Genesis: 1976-1982 boxed set that also includes a 40-page booklet and a bonus disc featuring b-sides (includes the four tracks from 2x2/Side 4 of the North American version of Three Sides Live) and other non-album tracks.
http://www.genesis-news.com/genesis/reviews/sacds/1976-1982.htm
For fans in Asia, Europe, and South America, the remasters will have the same two-disc content, except with a CD/SACD hybrid disc. So, for anyone who wants the Genesis SACDs, they'll have to order them as imports.
While the European version is due out first, the DVD included with each set is in the PAL video standard, which makes it incompatible with North American TVs. I already checked CD Universe, and they are asking $44 per title! This is for a CD/SACD hybrid disc plus a DVD that most fans in North America cannot play through their TV. Amazon's asking $246 for the boxed set that contains Genesis' six 1976-1982 albums.
The Asian version is the one to get because it includes the hybrid disc and the DVD is encoded for NTSC. But, the release information has not yet been posted, so who knows what the pricing will be.
About the SACDs, why did you chose the format SACD for the Rereleases and why will they not be releases on SACD in North America?
Nick Davis: Well, we've chosen the format SACD because - well I really like the sound of it! We had a demo of that machine three or four years ago and I thought it was fantastic. At the time we thought it would be the best way to deal with the Genesis music and do the re-release justice, really - by mixing it in this format. Ok, we see now that it's quite a niche market.
Not releasing the stuff on this format in America has nothing to do with the band, it's just that Warner won't support SACD and so it's not our choice really. We could force them to do DVD-A, but then we would be stuck with two DVD releases and no CD. So that would be quite complicated. So in America, they get a regular CD and a DVD-Video and in Europe you get a SACD and DVD-V
...
Speaking about the new mixes, what did you do, did you just remix the stuff or it it something completely new?
Nick Davis: We did a complete new mix of everything. We've taken the old analogue multitrack tapes and transfered them onto our protools-system which is running at 192kHz and 24 bit PCM and then mix through on a SSL analogue desk onto this DSD [Direct Stream Digital] system. So you get completely new 5.1 and Stereo Mixes on both, the SACD and CD Layer.
http://www.genesis-news.com/genesis/reviews/sacds/interview-with-nick-davis.htm
Basically, these discs are totally new mixes, so even the CD versions will sound very different from previous versions. I've heard some of the new two-channel remixes, and they improve upon the earlier CD versions. But, with all the effort that went into the 5.1 mixes, it's unbelievable that fans in North American are stuck without any high res version because of some format war remnant that has long since faded into irrelevancy.
As it is, the remasters will be issued as two-disc sets with a CD and a DVD. The DVD will feature video content plus the 5.1 audio mix in DTS 96/24, while the CD will feature the new Nick Davis mixes. The initial six releases will also be featured in a Genesis: 1976-1982 boxed set that also includes a 40-page booklet and a bonus disc featuring b-sides (includes the four tracks from 2x2/Side 4 of the North American version of Three Sides Live) and other non-album tracks.
http://www.genesis-news.com/genesis/reviews/sacds/1976-1982.htm
For fans in Asia, Europe, and South America, the remasters will have the same two-disc content, except with a CD/SACD hybrid disc. So, for anyone who wants the Genesis SACDs, they'll have to order them as imports.
While the European version is due out first, the DVD included with each set is in the PAL video standard, which makes it incompatible with North American TVs. I already checked CD Universe, and they are asking $44 per title! This is for a CD/SACD hybrid disc plus a DVD that most fans in North America cannot play through their TV. Amazon's asking $246 for the boxed set that contains Genesis' six 1976-1982 albums.
The Asian version is the one to get because it includes the hybrid disc and the DVD is encoded for NTSC. But, the release information has not yet been posted, so who knows what the pricing will be.