The Doors - 4 New 5.1 SACD re releases from Analogue Productions

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I'm all for surround but why this need to rerelease DVD-A on SACD? Is there a real need I am not seeing? Is SACD so good now (since it's development stopped a decade ago) that our DVD-A's are sonically obsolete? Or are they giving the SACD another go around? Seems like the silliest format to be releasing music in today. I have SACDs. I like SACDs. That doesn't mean I get why they are still being produced. Particularly with titles that have been released to death. Is anyone really expecting to hear some detail they never heard before with this release? Will the cymbals have a slightly different decay? I mean really there is not much left to do with a 40 or 50 year old recording once you've upsampled, re-re-re-remastered it to absurdity...Can I just get some albums by someone who isn't dead or who's last good album wasn't released at some point in the 70's?
 
I won't rebuy them, since I have the Perception DVD-A box with the peep hole. I prefer DVD-A. It is technically superior.

Although I agree with much of what you say, bleedink, here are my thoughts: Obviously, WEA is no longer supporting DVD-A. Why rerelease old 5.1 titles, rather than create new ones? Simple? It's cheaper. As far as rereleasing old recordings in lieu of newer ones, perhaps they have some experience of what will sell on 5.1? The sure winners are easier to bet on, than something that may not sell in 5.1, even if it sold gobs in 2ch and downloads. Perhaps few people would pop for Justin Bieber or Katy Perry in 5.1. I would like to see more Foo Fighters in 5.1, in fact I'm dying to hear Rope off Wasting Light in surround. Tori Amos is another who I'd love to hear in surround. Finally, SACD probably seems like a safer bet than DVD-A, since a hybrid disc will play as a CD on any player. A retailer (remember them?) could stock one SKU and sell it to both those looking for surround, as well as the standard CD.

Don't blame the messenger.


I'm all for surround but why this need to rerelease DVD-A on SACD? Is there a real need I am not seeing? Is SACD so good now (since it's development stopped a decade ago) that our DVD-A's are sonically obsolete? Or are they giving the SACD another go around? Seems like the silliest format to be releasing music in today. I have SACDs. I like SACDs. That doesn't mean I get why they are still being produced. Particularly with titles that have been released to death. Is anyone really expecting to hear some detail they never heard before with this release? Will the cymbals have a slightly different decay? I mean really there is not much left to do with a 40 or 50 year old recording once you've upsampled, re-re-re-remastered it to absurdity...Can I just get some albums by someone who isn't dead or who's last good album wasn't released at some point in the 70's?
 
I won't rebuy them, since I have the Perception DVD-A box with the peep hole. I prefer DVD-A. It is technically superior.

Well, that depends on your equipment and your opinion. In my setup, SACD sounds much better than DVD-A.
 
I guess the only other thing I might add is that my impression was that the surviving Doors were involved with the production of the DVD-A's. That would sorta make it the definitive version to some extent. I like the work that AP has done--don't get me wrong. It just seems a strange thing.
 
I guess the only other thing I might add is that my impression was that the surviving Doors were involved with the production of the DVD-A's. That would sorta make it the definitive version to some extent. I like the work that AP has done--don't get me wrong. It just seems a strange thing.

The announcement from Analogue Productions indicated that Bruce Botnick, engineer/producer for the Doors, would be overseeing this SACD and Vinyl LP reissue series that would be mastered by legendary mastering engineer Doug Sax. Clearly their goal is to appeal to the audiophile community and to have some very high quality releases by bringing Botnick and Sax on for the Doors project.

Very similar to their Sterling Sound remasters of classic albums from the Verve Jazz catalog to SACD and earlier SACD reissue/remastering series involving audiophile mastering engineers Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman with albums by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ray Charles and Nat King Cole. Along with Jazz SACD remasters from the Blue Note, Impulse, Fantasy Jazz and OJC labels.

And when you look at what is selling at the company's audiophile store, Acoustic Sounds, the "Top 50" is a mix of SACD reissues, Vinyl LPs and Vinyl 45s. See http://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=topsellers for a look.
So I don't think it's surprising at all - if you're in business, you certainly want to put out more products that are selling well at your company. No mystery there at all.
 
Got it. I hadn't realized that the Perception stereo mixes were brand new. I'd assumed they were the original tapes onto DVD-A with surround as a bonus. I was a bit weirded out by the comment earlier about the head turning remaster. Had no idea what that was referring to until now. It seems however that the 40th ann. mixes were done by Bruce Botnick. I'd thought I'd heard that and a google seems to confirm. I just assumed the stereo was unmolested except for the mastering for DVD. Apparently not. I'm not sure if they are doing new 5.1 mixes for this (doubt it...why do it again when you can sell it twice a la DSOTM--or rather sell it 20 times)--but for me at least my interest in the SACDs would only be if they were a new mix or something. To my ears the DVD-As already sound spectacular. Certainly some SACDs sound better. This thing of transferring tape to digital, then putting the digital back on tape to get a high sample rate, then back to digital to do the processing, then back to tape to transfer to DSD...When does such a process result in less fidelity than a straight tape to digital? I bring this up because as we know HDtracks has a habit of releasing music from the early ages of digital recording (the 16 bit days when 50,0000 samples was seen as overkill) in high def--by transferring 16 bit digital to tape then rereleasing it in a high res container. The Stones masters were all tape to PCM to DSD and back to PCM for HDtracks! I can't help but think that some of this back and forth can't be good for the sound. I may be wrong. I'm certainly no audio guru. A little off topic but it does beg the question...It sounds like they are going back to the original tapes for the stereo parts but what about the surround? Are they going to take the PCM from Perception and wrap it in DSD? Seems like a messy thing. FWIW I didn't find any significant difference in the Fagen SACDs as compared to the DVD-A's. While I think that the backward compatibility of SACDs was a very savvy move (that didn't help unfortunately), it's 2012 and that boat has sailed. Time to embrace the equipment most people have. Either DVD or BluRay. My personal choice is BluRay. Plenty of room for PCM low and high res stereo, surround, and quad.
 
There is one other HUGE reason for releasing Doors on individual MC SACD's: LA Woman was the only one that was available individually. It gives people who want to buy them in dribs and drabs a chance to acquire them. Likewise, anyone who doesn't want them all (perish the thought!) can buy only those that they want.

The wonderful thing about WYWH, Doors, Nat King Cole and Ray Charles MC titles from AP is that there is new product being released in MC. Those and the premium boxes released last year prove that MC is far from dead. That is the best news I've heard in a long time.
 
There is one other HUGE reason for releasing Doors on individual MC SACD's: LA Woman was the only one that was available individually. It gives people who want to buy them in dribs and drabs a chance to acquire them. Likewise, anyone who doesn't want them all (perish the thought!) can buy only those that they want.

The wonderful thing about WYWH, Doors, Nat King Cole and Ray Charles MC titles from AP is that there is new product being released in MC. Those and the premium boxes released last year prove that MC is far from dead. That is the best news I've heard in a long time.

True. And the quality of the Analogue Productions SACDs is really excellent. If you're a fan of Ray Charles, Nat King Cole or both - you really need to check these SACDs out. Wow.
 
The announcement from Analogue Productions indicated that Bruce Botnick, engineer/producer for the Doors, would be overseeing this SACD and Vinyl LP reissue series that would be mastered by legendary mastering engineer Doug Sax.

That's reason enough to consider buying the new SACDs right there. Bruce Botnick knew how to get the best out of the Doors in the studio so perhaps he also knows how to get the best out of the Doors' old tapes.

;)
 
I'd like to see them add Full Circle and Best Of (in original quad)to their upcoming SACD list (skip the vinyl).
 
Good idea. If they were to do that, they might as well add Other Voices and Absolutely Live, or the complete version, as later released on CD. While we're at it, a 5.1 American Prayer might be fun, too.

Who Do You Love? Indians and Ships w/Sails crowd my fragile, eggshell mind.


I'd like to see them add Full Circle and Best Of (in original quad)to their upcoming SACD list (skip the vinyl).
 
I'm confused, and I'm not even blonde! Acoustic Sounds lists Morrison Hotel & Soft Parade as stereo SACD, yet they list all 6 as MC within the box set. That seems truly odd. Are the two really stereo, or is that a misprint? Time will tell?

I think it's a typo. The original announcement talked about 4 MC SACDs and 2 Stereo SACDs. I doubt the box set will have different SACDs for the two albums available separately as Stereo SACDs.
 
I agree with that. The question is which is correct. Probably that two are stereo. I'd be curious to hear the SACD's A/B'ed to the DVD-A's. Since there is video content on the DVD-A's, Ill stick with my Perception w/peep hole.

Either way, there will be forests of azure in 5.1.

I think it's a typo. The original announcement talked about 4 MC SACDs and 2 Stereo SACDs. I doubt the box set will have different SACDs for the two albums available separately as Stereo SACDs.
 
Soft Parade was practically made for surround. Sad. One thing I would love to see added to this collection is An American Prayer. Granted, released after the ole bucket had been kicked, but it's a great collection and would sound great in surround. One of those CDs that was actually mastered really well. Where oh where is it?
 
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