Black Sabbath "Paranoid" CD+DVD/DTS Release October 7th 2008

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I got my ELP SACD yesterday, so that did come out for sure. Amazon.co.uk is showing ELP in stock, but has adjusted Paranoid to "unavailable" in the last two days.

My thought is that Paranoid was held from release to put it through another QC pass. Here is why:

The ELP release is the weirdest, most haphazard release I've laid eyes on in a while, maybe ever. On the outside it looks like a standard UMG Deluxe Edition, with track listings for the three discs. Track lists for discs one and three are identical, but disc three is noted as "STS 5.1 Surround, 2.0 Stereo Mix," whatever the hell STS is. Labeling inside lists disc three as "DVD 5.1 Mix." There is no indication on the outside of the package that there is an SACD inside, no logos or anything familiar to the disc collector.

Disc one is indeed the main album with no bonus tracks or added content, disc two is the usual bonus tracks (though the track list only contains 11 tracks, the disc contains 12 - I'm not sure what track 12 is, since I haven't listened to it yet, but it's roughly three minutes long), and disc three is a HYBRID SACD containing, again, the original album with no added content. In short, you get two complete CD copies of ELP's Brain Salad Surgery on two separate discs. The discs appear to be labeled properly, with disc three bearing an SACD logo. Discs one and two are housed in normal digipack trays, and disc three is unceremoniously stuffed without protection into the booklet slot, which is not big enough to contain both the booklet and the disc. The SACD wasn't scratched, but it took some serious pulling to get it out in the first place.

I'm not one of those guys who lives and dies by accuracy/appropriateness of packaging (anyone who's read a thread on the Hoffman forums about MoFi's releases over the last year knows what I'm talking about), but this just reeks of a complete lack of QC. I'm really happy to have BSS in surround (I just listened for a couple of minutes - it seems nice) and I'd buy Paranoid in a heartbeat even if I knew it was going to be just like this. The content's there, that's what matters most.
 
So it's out (ELP), and it is in fact a 5.1 SACD? That's cool. I'll have to add that to the poll. First I need to know if it's a different mix than the DVD-A. This will impact the way it's entered into the poll. Is it like Machine Head (different), or the same (like T Rex)
 
Nope. Black Sabbath/Paranoid is no longer listed at CD-WOW. However my order status still says Pre-Order. I sent over a query, and they were quick to point out I needed to include my order number, but I have not heard anything since then. I'll report back with an update.
 
Bummer about Paranoid. I want it! It's still listed on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com, but my gut feeling is those will get pulled soon too.

I'm not sure if ELP is the same mix, and I never managed to secure a copy of the DVD-A to compare. The use of the term "5.1 DVD Mix" would be an indicator but, given the weirdness of the packaging, who knows. It's definitely a 5.1 SACD, though. Guess we'll have to wait for someone to else to take the plunge and have a listen.
 
I am getting sick and tired of music being held for ransom while these tapes are deteriorating, and no one seems to care. The music industry needs to get with it already.
 
Hold on now, there may still be a chance. I just received the following reply.

Hi Mike

Thank you for contacting me and sorry for the delay in dispatching this item.

Unfortunately, we have experienced a slight delay in receiving this product from our suppliers.

At this stage we have been advised that we will have this item available to ship on 20th October.

Once again, sorry for the inconvenience caused to you by this delay, and thank you very much for your patience – it is sincerely appreciated.

If you would prefer to cancel the item from your order and receive a full refund, please get back to us and we can arrange this.

If you require any further assistance at this time then please do not hesitate to get back to me.

Kind Regards,

Jessica | Customer Services
 
I went to Amazon UK yesterday and ordered the ELP, but all links to the Paranoid were bringing up 404 pages.
 
Sorry guys, I threw in the towel today. and cancelled my order after my latest CD-WOW update.

Hi,

Thank you for your recent order.

The reason why you have yet to receive this title from us is because it is a
pre-release item and cannot be dispatched until the day of release.

We have been advised that the International release date for this title has
been postponed to 02/02/2009. We will dispatch this item to you upon the
date of release. As soon as your order is dispatched we will send you an
e-mail message confirming the shipment of this item.

Sorry for the disappointment this may cause - we sincerely appreciate your
patience in this matter.


Kind Regards,

Edwin | Customer Services Representative
CD WOW!
 
According to Amazon.co.uk :

Paranoid [Hybrid SACD]
~ Black Sabbath (Artist)

Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.
 
DO NOT ORDER FROM MUSIC WOW.

I am now in a game of ring-around-the-email over the Black Sabbath SACD and the Brain Salad Surgery SACD. Music Wow has my money via paypal and is not shipping anything, instead I get e-mails telling me I will have it "next week".

This is spectacularly poor service and I am through with Music Wow; I would caution anyone else from ordering from them for any item.
 
It's not really that unusual...and Music Wow--and others--are being strung along just as they have to string you along. They really don't know anything, and the whims of release dates for anything are so iffy and capricious I don't blame anyone for being pissed.

If you want to cancel and your account credited, they will probably do that.

In my years of dealing with internet mail order, the only time I became angry was when I had to wait for NY's HARVEST DVD-A through a seller. I'd pre-ordered, but they stupidly didn't order enough to cover the initial demand, and I had to wait a week. Looking back, it was no big deal, but at the time, being an asshole, I raised hell with them over it. They were wrong, I overreacted. And as most of us are aware, that mix ain't exactly *right*...:D

ED :)
 
From Amazon yesterday, this after the delivery date was expected to be January 2009.

_________________________________________________________________________

Hello from Amazon.com.

We are sorry to report that we will not be able to obtain the following item(s) from your order:

Black Sabbath (Artist) "Paranoid [Hybrid SACD] [Import]"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001D2AYCI

Though we had expected to be able to send this item to you, we've since found that it is not available from any of our sources at this time. We realize this is disappointing news to hear, and we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you.

We have cancelled this item from your order.

While this item is not available directly from Amazon.com, you may be able to purchase it from one of the many other sellers with product listings on Amazon.com. Please click on the link above to visit the product detail page. If the item is available from a third-party seller, you will see a "Used & new" link on the product detail page that will provide a list of merchants currently selling the item.

Note: If you took advantage of a promotional offer when placing this order, this cancellation may affect your order's eligibility for that offer. If this is the case, please contact customer service; if we determine that you should still receive the offer, we'll reimburse you for the value of the promotional discount. Please note that this will not apply if all items in the order were cancelled.

Your credit card will NOT BE CHARGED for this item because you only pay for items when we ship them to you.

Your order is now closed.
 
I received the same message. I assume the release has been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. Anyone know what the deal is?
 
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