Rick Wakeman: 1st 8 A&M recordings properly remastered FINALLY!

[DennisMoore Jr.]

:banana:

From Rick's website: http://www.rwcc.com/gorr.asp

"One of the most asked questions I get is about the release on CD of the old A&M albums as the cost of the imports from places like Japan are extortionate.

For quite a few years now I have tried to license some of these albums back in order to try and get them released myself, but it’s not as easy to do as many people may think. Having said that, it did shed awareness up at Universal who own the A&M catalogue and three very senior players there worked tirelessly in order to circumnavigate all the red tape and to confirm to me yesterday (Friday the 7th), that all of the 8 A&M albums will be remastered and released in the UK and indeed worldwide, the first releases commencing this coming July."

Wakey-mon fans like me have been waiting for this for decades, since the CDs that have been released through the years have come from dubious sources and nothing near a clean early gen 2.0 tape. And we can always hope for some kind of 5.1 magic to be sprinkled in here.


I can't underscore how crappy & shitty the prior CD releases have been. I paid big $$$ for the Japanese paper sleeve version of Criminal Record & No Earthly Connection and the hiss from the start is appalling. :howl I found years ago that (the 3 Criminal Record tracks):

http://www.amazon.com/Recollections...=Recollections:+The+Very+Best+Of+Rick+Wakeman

... had much better mastering and they obviously had a better source tape to work with... And yes, I own the original Japanese CD release of CR and that is no big prize in sound quality either....

So... we have the potential to finally have an exceptional verison of White Rock & CR & the other classic A&M recordings.

I say: this is a blessing of EPIC proportions. I can't effin wait till June. :banana: :banana: :banana:

 

[ssully]

Your reaction is a bit premature..

I was told by someone in the know, who helped get the project done, that Criminal Record on Hip-O select arm of Rhino, was sourced from the original masters.

http://www.hip-oselect.com/scr.public.product.asp?product_id=3de3f0d3-3202-4d07-2a6a-c8e0c52241c7


I have that, I have the LP, I have the original Japanese CD, I have 'Recollections' and 'Voyage' collections, and I have the Japanese mini-sleeve version. The latter, IIRC, was more dynamically compressed than the others, which may explain why the tape hiss sounded louder to you. Aggressive compression raises the level of very low-level signals, like hiss.

Even so, the thing is, all these different masterings: they don't really sound THAT different. It's not anything near a change from 'crap ' to 'gold'. Remasters rarely are.

And hiss in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It might be what's on the tape. All analog tapes have hiss. (I thought the White Rock minisleeve sounded very good -- and I had my own needledrop of a clean LP to compare it to).

And as I hope we know, 'remastering' doesn't necessarily mean 'better mastering'.

So don't be too disappointed if these aren't the revelation you are hoping for.

 

[fredblue]

FWIW, I don't have any of Rick Wakeman's A&M CDs but so many of those 80's A&M Master Series + CDs sound amazing and very faithful to the original imho.. and again I can't speak for Rick Wakeman but artists like Paul Williams, the few Japanese A&M CDs are superb.. the East Central One remasters... well.. at least they got them out on CD domestically is the kindest thing I can say.. and of course its great news to have domestic issues of A&M artists (so many of whom have been overlooked in the CD age.. heaven forbid you're into Tim Weisberg or Chuck Mangione and no longer play vinyl..!!) in these strapped times for the majority of people.

 

[DuncanS]

I e-mailed RWCC about a week ago, and asked if we'd see the Quad versions getting released. If they are ever re-released it'll be down to Universal.

 

[bmoura]

I e-mailed RWCC about a week ago, and asked if we'd see the Quad versions getting released. If they are ever re-released it'll be down to Universal.

Not necessarily. One of the reissue labels like Analogue Productions or even Audio Fidelity could look at Multichannel SACD releases for the Wakeman Quads. (See the Audio Fidelity to do Surround? discussion on the SACD section of QQ.
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?18765-AF-to-do-surround-SACDs

 

[DuncanS]

Not necessarily. One of the reissue labels like Analogue Productions or even Audio Fidelity could look at Multichannel SACD releases for the Wakeman Quads. (See the Audio Fidelity to do Surround? discussion on the SACD section of QQ.
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?18765-AF-to-do-surround-SACDs

That would be great if they did. RWCC came back with "Difficult to say because Universal haven't told us yet how they intend to package the stuff yet. Keep checking the website for more details as they emerge."

 

[DennisMoore Jr.]

FWIW, I don't have any of Rick Wakeman's A&M CDs ...

Hi Fred

Do you mean to say that you haven't heard Rick's Journey To The Center Of The Earth or King Arthur? If not, those are compulsory buys, as they would appeal to any music lover. The other RW A&M recordings are fabulous but are more keyboard oriented(which is no bad thing, mind you...)

Journey(the original live version) & King Arthur are two of the finest recordings made from back in the 1970's. I dare say.

 

[ssully]

I'd say Six Wives, White Rock , and Criminal Record (all three almost entirely instrumental) show him at his best. The others, not so much -- they're more or less cringe-inducing to me.

 

[Robert van Diggele]

No Quad or 5.1 for Journey to the Centre of the Earth,

Cd's and LP's are available and a super deluxe edition, but no surround.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the release of his landmark concept album, Rick Wakeman presents the repackaged, re-recorded, extended Journey To The Centre Of The Earth.

Based on the novel by Jules Verne, which will also mark its 150th anniversary in 2014, the album is one of the rock era's landmark achievements - a record that sold 15 million copies and rewrote the rules.

"This is the start of a new Journey," says Rick Wakeman, "the original score for the album had been lost for so many years, making any new performances impossible, but after it turned up without warning, we managed to restore it and add previously missing music that was not included in the original performances. It has taken another half decade to develop it into this album and tour, but I can't wait to take Jules Verne's magnificent story on the road again."

The new, extended re-recorded ‘Journey To The Centre Of The Earth’ comes beautifully packaged complete with new, original artwork from legendary artist Roger Dean.

Limited Edition Box Set

Double 180gm heavyweight LP of the newly recorded Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, packed in full colour case bound 12” gatefold sleeve

Double 180 gm heavyweight LP of the newly reissued Return From The Centre Of The Earth, packed in full colour case bound 12” gatefold sleeve

Full length CD of both albums, exclusive 12x12” in-bound book featuring never seen before photos, images & sketches from the private archives of Rick Wakeman & Roger Dean AND numbered certificate of authenticity & ownership exclusively designed by Roger Dean, all packed in full colour case bound 12” gatefold sleeve

All housed in a rigid, Wibalin cloth bound slipcase with printed and foil-blocked cover and spine

All artwork including outbox, LP sleeves, inners & labels are all beautiful brand new Roger Dean designs.

This highly desirable item will be limited to one pressing only, will be kept in stock for initial demand only and will not be repressed

Preorder now to avoid disappointment!

LEBX, £129.99

 

[ssully]

Apparently A&M has already started releasing these. My copy of White Rock (on the A&M/Real Gone Music/Universal Music Special Marketing label) arrived a few days ago week. Pacakging and album notes are quite nice. Will be giving it a listen soon.

http://www.amazon.com/White-Rock-Rick-Wakeman/dp/B00IQ8TT28

 

[DuncanS]

Its a real shame that there is no 5.1, I'd have liked a Hi-Res surround of Six Wives, glad I've got an SQ LP.

 

[steelydave]

It's worth noting that that expensive box set is a re-recording of the original 'Journey', not the 1974 version.

 

[Quad Linda]

In the last few days, I've been reading the book from the '02 Cat Stevens box "In Search of the Center of the Universe." Paul Samwell-Smith, the ex-Yardbird who produced "Teaser and the Firecat" commented on the track "Morning Has Broken": "It was extraordinary to watch Cat Stevens and Rick Wakeman working together on the piano, working this part out between them. And every time they came up with an astonishing line, I'd rush into the studio and say things like 'That sounds Fantastic!' And they'd look at me like I was a bit mad and say 'Yeah, yeah, but leave us alone now.' By 9 that night it was recorded, mixed, finished, everything. The record company didn't want to put Rick's credit on the album, so for all these years few people knew it was him playing piano."



4 CD In Search of the Center of the Universe:

 

[user 1679]

In the last few days, I've been reading the book from the '02 Cat Stevens box "In Search of the Center of the Universe." Paul Samwell-Smith, the ex-Yardbird who produced "Teaser and the Firecat" commented on the track "Morning Has Broken": "It was extraordinary to watch Cat Stevens and Rick Wakeman working together on the piano, working this part out between them. And every time they came up with an astonishing line, I'd rush into the studio and say things like 'That sounds Fantastic!' And they'd look at me like I was a bit mad and say 'Yeah, yeah, but leave us alone now.' By 9 that night it was recorded, mixed, finished, everything. The record company didn't want to put Rick's credit on the album, so for all these years few people knew it was him playing piano."

I'd really like to see Rick's show that he's doing now - he seems to do a "history" of odd session stuff he did - Cat Stevens, Bowie etc before getting into the Journey part of the show...sounds like a lot of fun! Hopefully he's recording some shows for at very least some kind of "official bootleg" release.

 

[richy2times]

Your reaction is a bit premature..

I was told by someone in the know, who helped get the project done, that Criminal Record on Hip-O select arm of Rhino, was sourced from the original masters.

http://www.hip-oselect.com/scr.public.product.asp?product_id=3de3f0d3-3202-4d07-2a6a-c8e0c52241c7


I have that, I have the LP, I have the original Japanese CD, I have 'Recollections' and 'Voyage' collections, and I have the Japanese mini-sleeve version. The latter, IIRC, was more dynamically compressed than the others, which may explain why the tape hiss sounded louder to you. Aggressive compression raises the level of very low-level signals, like hiss.

Even so, the thing is, all these different masterings: they don't really sound THAT different. It's not anything near a change from 'crap ' to 'gold'. Remasters rarely are.

And hiss in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It might be what's on the tape. All analog tapes have hiss. (I thought the White Rock minisleeve sounded very good -- and I had my own needledrop of a clean LP to compare it to).

And as I hope we know, 'remastering' doesn't necessarily mean 'better mastering'.

So don't be too disappointed if these aren't the revelation you are hoping for.

Hello Everyone. This is my first post on this forum. Coming into this one a little late, but the thread subject caught my eye. I have been a big fan of RW for years.

I have the Hip-O Select of Criminal Record. It sounds wonderful and is still in print. I have some bootleg versions probably ripped from the first Japanese cd that I found on ebay years ago. These sound decent. They are clones of the legit cd. Factory pressed. Not cdr's. I have most of his 70's catalog that did not get proper US releases on cd. All probably from the Russian Federation. No Earthly Connection is probably the worst of the bunch. It is an obvious needle drop. If memory serves, without doing a search, NEC has only recently been released on cd?