u2songs.com: Running to Stand Still
Site Related => Discography & Releases => Topic started by: Aaron on March 01, 2018, 10:14:15 AM
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http://www.u2songs.com/news/vinyl_reissues_for_four_recordings
Just a heads up - three of the four reissues we wrote about last month are now appearing on Amazon in the UK. They will be pressed on 180g vinyl, and will come with a download card. The fourth hasn't been listed yet, but expect it a few months from now as it is being released a couple of months later.
Descriptions from Amazon:
All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the tenth studio album from U2, garnered multiple Grammy awards following its release in October 2000 and shot to #1 in 32 countries. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and recorded in Dublin (HQ, Windmill Lane, Westland and Totally Wired) and the South of France, it includes the singles Beautiful Day, Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of, Elevation and Walk On. Remastered and pressed on 180gsm vinyl, this reissue also includes a download card. The artwork comprises a 16-page booklet featuring lyrics and photography by Anton Corbijn.
3rd March 2018 marks the 21st anniversary of Pop, U2’s ninth studio album, which reached #1 in the UK, US, Ireland and 26 other countries around the world following its release in 1997. Produced by Flood, with Howie B and Steve Osborne, the album was recorded in Dublin (Hanover Quay, Windmill Lane, The Works) and Miami (South Beach Studios). It features the singles: Discothèque, Staring At The Sun, Last Night On Earth, Please, If God Will Send His Angels and Mofo. Remastered and pressed on 180gsm vinyl, this reissue includes a download card. The artwork has been faithfully reproduced from the original release, including a gatefold sleeve, printed inner sleeves and a lyrics insert.
Wide Awake In America is a four-track half live/half studio EP from 1985. Originally released only in North America and Japan, it was subsequently re-released internationally in the late 1980s. Side A features live performances of A Sort Of Homecoming and Bad from UK shows on The Unforgettable Fire tour in late 1984. Side B features two B-sides from the 12” single of The Unforgettable Fire – The Three Sunrises and Love Comes Tumbling. Remastered and pressed on 180gsm vinyl, this reissue includes a download card and the artwork is a faithful reproduction of the original.
There is more information in the article including links to Amazon for those who want to preorder. These will be pretty easy to come by and should be available at record stores worldwide, although only one pressing is likely out of Europe.
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I think that the big news in this, if it's accurate, is that each of these releases has been remastered. I wonder what this means for future digital formats of these releases. I thought that it was said, perhaps by The Edge, that the albums from Achtung Baby onward do not require remastering.
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My theory on this, which I have shared before, is that all the albums up to Pop or maybe ATYCLB were remastered for the CD reissue campaign back in 07/08. The whole "remastering overseen by the Edge" situation. There were clearly more remasters planned after Unforgettable Fire. We got the Achtung Baby anniversary set after that, but it was famously NOT remastered.
This is also why the recent Mastered for iTunes versions of ATYCLB, R&H, and Pop all carried a remastering credit for The Edge. I seriously doubt that he got involved in remastering just those three titles for iTunes. I think his involvement dates back to when those were planned as CD reissues. Those 08 remasters were the basis for the MFiT versions.
At any rate, I think it's possible that's why we see the "remastered" credit on these new vinyl copies. They were remastered back in 07 or 08 for the CD reissue campaign and haven't been released until now. Plus, WAIA was remastered in 08 for the UF reissue, and I can't imagine they would have done anything else unique to it for this round.
All pure speculation on my part, of course!
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I should also add that Aaron has an article coming soon that totally blows my theory out of the water. :)
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Ha! Actually, thanks to some late breaking information in this article, my theory was pretty much correct. Pop, R&H, and ATYCLB were remastered with the Edge back in the day but the CD reissue campaign stopped, so the remasters aren't being released until now (both for iTunes and the upcoming vinyl). http://www.u2songs.com/news/pop_reissued_remastered_collected_and_dreams
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Ha! Actually, thanks to some late breaking information in this article, my theory was pretty much correct. Pop, R&H, and ATYCLB were remastered with the Edge back in the day but the CD reissue campaign stopped, so the remasters aren't being released until now (both for iTunes and the upcoming vinyl). http://www.u2songs.com/news/pop_reissued_remastered_collected_and_dreams
So these releases are quite significant than. Not as much as the 2CD box editions but more so than the recent HTDAAB edition. After all, these got a tweet from U2. So only R&H hasn't been remastered save iTunes release? What's everyone's opinion on that one?
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http://www.u2songs.com/news/pop_reissued_remastered_collected_and_dreams
Aaron - the write-up that you did on the website is just fantastic. It's amazing - u2songs.com has consistently been putting out, for me, the best, most comprehensive write-ups on U2 stuff anywhere to be found. Well done!
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Thanks George. I haven't forgotten that I need to sit down and put a few notes together for you on it all as well. But we have been keeping busy lol. :)
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I always compliment Aaron's writings. It might be a good idea to collect them and publish them one day. So many diaries, journals etc now get published in volumes.
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So that leaves, R&H, Passengers, NLOTH and Best of 90/00 and U218 as having not been released on vinyl since 2007.
Any corrections?
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So that leaves, R&H, Passengers, NLOTH and Best of 90/00 and U218 as having not been released on vinyl since 2007.
Any corrections?
U218 is still in print and is regularly repressed. There was a refresh a few years back of that one. The icons on the back are slightly differently sized.
R&H also had a more recent pressing in Europe, think it dates to around 2010, and is still pretty common to find. The pressing coming in October will use the new remaster that was also used for iTunes. (The Rattle and Hum news is here: http://www.u2songs.com/news/new_vinyl_releases_july_27) Both NLOTH and the Best Of 1990 - 2000 should be out on or before next April. That will leave Passengers.
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I understand why they did it, to fill up four sides of vinyl, but it's kind of strange that Zooropa got two remixes tagged on to the album for this release. It sticks out like a sore thumb. The inclusion of One Tree Hill on 80-90 is more understandable because at least that was on the original release in some regions.
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Comparing the recent reissue of Pop to my original, I noticed that my copy of the new version has a black hairline rule printed horizontally across the yellow arch. Anybody else have that on theirs?
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Aaron, do you know if there any way to get a lossless version of the 2017 version of SOI? I purchased the 2017 MFiT version on iTunes, but I would really like to get that particular remaster in lossless.
I recently picked up the recent vinyls with the new WAV remasters of Pop, ATYCLB, AB, Zooropa, Best of 80-90, and WAIA. And I will get Best of 90-00 and Rattle & Hum when they come out. But again, I really want the new remaster of SOI in a non-lossy format. Thanks in advance!
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Aaron, do you know if there any way to get a lossless version of the 2017 version of SOI? I purchased the 2017 MFiT version on iTunes, but I would really like to get that particular remaster in lossless.
I recently picked up the recent vinyls with the new WAV remasters of Pop, ATYCLB, AB, Zooropa, Best of 80-90, and WAIA. And I will get Best of 90-00 and Rattle & Hum when they come out. But again, I really want the new remaster of SOI in a non-lossy format. Thanks in advance!
The issue with "The Troubles" that was on all the other CD pressings, and fixed for the MFiT recording, also seems to have been fixed for the Japanese SHM CD that was released last year. Will confirm over the next day or so but that may be the one you are looking for.
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The issue with "The Troubles" that was on all the other CD pressings, and fixed for the MFiT recording, also seems to have been fixed for the Japanese SHM CD that was released last year. Will confirm over the next day or so but that may be the one you are looking for.
Huh!! If true, that'd be amazing. CD Japan's site for that release (see link below) says "Japanese exclusive release. First-to-mini LP reissue from U2 features SHM-CD format. Uses the master used for the original release" which always made me think it was just another re-press of the 2014 original master. But then the description on that same page goes on to say "2008 remastering", soooo... if you can confirm that they actually used the new 2017 MFiT remaster for the Japan release, I would be all over that. Thanks again!
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UICI-9067?s_ssid=e416f85b7f96a8a7da
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The issue with "The Troubles" that was on all the other CD pressings, and fixed for the MFiT recording, also seems to have been fixed for the Japanese SHM CD that was released last year. Will confirm over the next day or so but that may be the one you are looking for.
Huh!! If true, that'd be amazing. CD Japan's site for that release (see link below) says "Japanese exclusive release. First-to-mini LP reissue from U2 features SHM-CD format. Uses the master used for the original release" which always made me think it was just another re-press of the 2014 original master. But then the description on that same page goes on to say "2008 remastering", soooo... if you can confirm that they actually used the new 2017 MFiT remaster for the Japan release, I would be all over that. Thanks again!
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UICI-9067?s_ssid=e416f85b7f96a8a7da
Cannot confirm if it its the same mix as the MFiT pressing. But the Japan SHM CD does fix the issue in The Troubles where some of the frequencies are cut off after a certain point...
You can see the cut off in the USA version, and the original Japan issue, but not in the newer SHM CD from Japan.
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Wow!! That's awesome. Thank you sooo much for confirming. You're the best. My wallet doesn't thank you, but me and my ears do!! ;)
And now that it's confirmed... I guess u2songs should update the articles it wrote about the 2017 Japan SHM release where it said that it used the original master and that "The Troubles" had not been fixed.
i.e. - see here: https://www.u2songs.com/news/the_history_mix_u2s_catalog_reissues (where it states "Songs of Innocence once again has the technical defect that was removed in the MFiT collection").
and here:
https://www.u2songs.com/news/u2_catalog_to_be_released_on_shm_cd_for_the_first_time_in_japan (where it states "Songs of Innocence (UICI-9067, UPC: 4988031237380, Original Master)").
Thank you again!!
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Was the recent vinyl edition of HTDAAB remastered? That R&H edition never materialized. So we should be getting some Christmas releases soon and then I presume maybe two or three album remaster in the spring.
#justguessin
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Was the recent vinyl edition of HTDAAB remastered? That R&H edition never materialized. So we should be getting some Christmas releases soon and then I presume maybe two or three album remaster in the spring.
#justguessin
Rattle and Hum has been delayed. Look for it next spring or summer. Universal isn't sure if NLOTH will be bumped back, or if it will be released first, or both at the same time.
We are getting The Joshua Tree and Zooropa on coloured vinyl for Black Friday, as well as a Record Store Day release for the fall.
The recent vinyl version of HTDAAB was not a remaster. But as Joshua can tell you it was tweaked a bit for the release...
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The Joshua tweak, right. :)
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Was the recent vinyl edition of HTDAAB remastered? That R&H edition never materialized. So we should be getting some Christmas releases soon and then I presume maybe two or three album remaster in the spring.
#justguessin
The recent vinyl version of HTDAAB was not a remaster. But as Joshua can tell you it was tweaked a bit for the release...
What were some of the tweaks? And did that tweaked version end up on the 2017 Japanese SHM-CD?
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Here's an analysis I did across most known digital sources of HTDAAB regarding volume peaks, RMS and Dynamic Range (DR).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gvdaES2ePTF-x6k1LiRcm79xoJm2wuus2qvpIOYTBWs/edit#gid=1068086223
As you can see, most all sources are pretty darned close. However, it appears that in 2017 there were some tweaks, and it appears that common source was used for the Mastered for iTunes release, as well as the Japanese SHM-CD and the Vinyl Digital Download.
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Here's an analysis I did across most known digital sources of HTDAAB regarding volume peaks, RMS and Dynamic Range (DR).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gvdaES2ePTF-x6k1LiRcm79xoJm2wuus2qvpIOYTBWs/edit#gid=1068086223
As you can see, most all sources are pretty darned close. However, it appears that in 2017 there were some tweaks, and it appears that common source was used for the Mastered for iTunes release, as well as the Japanese SHM-CD and the Vinyl Digital Download.
Thanks for posting that. I wonder why the peak levels are different between the 2017 vinyl download and the SHM-CD. I would guess that they just applied some peak limiting when they mastered the CD. I will try to take a look at the actual SHM-CD waveform and see if there is still clipping despite levels being below peak.
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Exactly, @Brad. I think that the -0.10dB peaks are the result of a limiter to avoid clipping. And, in that sense, I think the SHM-CD is the "best" digital source available, to date.
Although, my overall understanding of clipping and its effects are limited, at best, and I don't know the true impact it has on playback. Is it detrimental, regardless of the playback mechanism? In other words, is clipping bad on CD, and on digital files played back on a personal Digital Audio Player (DAP)? Or, is the medium of the CD a factor for which clipping produces undesired results, but on a DAP clipping may be of less consequence, or even none at all?
These days, I'm playing my music back on a Sony NW-ZX300 High Resolution Walkman, and everything is in lossless (when available), and Hi-res (when available). I wonder, for example, if the high-end nature of the device handles clipping differently / better than other devices / playback mechanisms, etc. :-\
#thingsthatmakeyougohmm
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Exactly, @Brad. I think that the -0.10dB peaks are the result of a limiter to avoid clipping. And, in that sense, I think the SHM-CD is the "best" digital source available, to date.
Although, my overall understanding of clipping and its effects are limited, at best, and I don't know the true impact it has on playback. Is it detrimental, regardless of the playback mechanism? In other words, is clipping bad on CD, and on digital files played back on a personal Digital Audio Player (DAP)? Or, is the medium of the CD a factor for which clipping produces undesired results, but on a DAP clipping may be of less consequence, or even none at all?
These days, I'm playing my music back on a Sony NW-ZX300 High Resolution Walkman, and everything is in lossless (when available), and Hi-res (when available). I wonder, for example, if the high-end nature of the device handles clipping differently / better than other devices / playback mechanisms, etc. :-\
#thingsthatmakeyougohmm
Clipping causes audible distortion because the waveform is driven beyond the maximum sample value, so even if you upconvert to high-res or reduce the amplitude by 0.1 dB, that distortion is going to be baked into the signal. I haven't ripped the SHM-CD, but I will fish it out and see if the peaks appear flattened.
(https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-1dd11742bb76e58202389797424a0502)
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Thank you all for the very insightful responses!!
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So here is an example from the WAV file and from the SHM-CD of "All Because of You." You can see that clipping is present in both. So I'm not sure they actually prevented any clipping when they mastered the SHM-CD. They may have just taken an already clipped signal and reduced the amplitude slightly, but that wouldn't eliminate the distortion.
(https://i.postimg.cc/mkVmSGXn/ABOY-SHM.png) (https://i.postimg.cc/T2cNxrdc/ABOY-WAV.png)
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One might think that as professionals that one might try to avoid doing this. As someone who dabbles in audio things on a recreational basis, I do it myself, and it's easy, so I'm genuinely confused as to why this happens on recordings that have so much money invested in them.
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One might think that as professionals that one might try to avoid doing this. As someone who dabbles in audio things on a recreational basis, I do it myself, and it's easy, so I'm genuinely confused as to why this happens on recordings that have so much money invested in them.
Probably because most people's ears can't tell the difference, no matter what the waveforms say. The few people who still buy CDs at all will likely import them into iTunes or some other digital library, and the common wisdom is that "louder" albums sound better when they are converted into lossy formats.
I'm not defending this practice. I'm just saying that it's the standard now and it happens too often to just be a matter of sloppy or careless mastering. It's intentional. And again, most of the music buying public doesn't even know there is such a thing as the "loudness wars."
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Brad, do you have an opinion on the vinyl digital download? I know there some peaks that are over 0.0dB, but have you looked at the waveform like you did the SHM-CD to determine if you feel one is better than the other?
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They look basically identical to me. I think they may have just decreased the amplitude on the SHM-CD by 0.1 dB, but the mastering looks the same.
Which makes sense if the DR numbers are pretty much the same.
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Even though the new Rattle & Hum vinyl that’s coming out is just a repress of the 2002 European release of the original master, is there any chance that the digital download that comes with it is the 2017 remaster?
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Even though the new Rattle & Hum vinyl that’s coming out is just a repress of the 2002 European release of the original master, is there any chance that the digital download that comes with it is the 2017 remaster?
Was told no. Have a copy on order will confirm when it arrives.
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Was told no. Have a copy on order will confirm when it arrives.
Thanks! I'll look forward to your report.
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Even though the new Rattle & Hum vinyl that’s coming out is just a repress of the 2002 European release of the original master, is there any chance that the digital download that comes with it is the 2017 remaster?
Was told no. Have a copy on order will confirm when it arrives.
@Aaron, just curious if you were ever able to confirm whether the download card for the recent Ratttle & Hum vinyl reissue gives the original master or the 2017 remaster?
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Even though the new Rattle & Hum vinyl that’s coming out is just a repress of the 2002 European release of the original master, is there any chance that the digital download that comes with it is the 2017 remaster?
Was told no. Have a copy on order will confirm when it arrives.
@Aaron, just curious if you were ever able to confirm whether the download card for the recent Ratttle & Hum vinyl reissue gives the original master or the 2017 remaster?
Still waiting for it to arrive :(
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Even though the new Rattle & Hum vinyl that’s coming out is just a repress of the 2002 European release of the original master, is there any chance that the digital download that comes with it is the 2017 remaster?
Was told no. Have a copy on order will confirm when it arrives.
@Aaron, just curious if you were ever able to confirm whether the download card for the recent Ratttle & Hum vinyl reissue gives the original master or the 2017 remaster?
I got it today and looked at the digital download.
One thing to remember, the "original" release was often mastered in each country for release, and this results in differences in track timing and even volume as you go country to country.
This new digital download is not the MFiT remaster from iTunes. The volume is lower, and it has very different track timings and editing decisions (how much crowd noise to leave attached to Van Diemen's land for instance.)
So I then went back through and compared this new digital download to all of the CD pressings I own, including pressings from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the USA. It doesn't look like the versions from Canada, USA or Japan. There's enough little differences to make me say those are different. But two of my pressings pop out as very similar, the French and German CDs, both from Universal and both with the label number 842 299-2, which matches with the label number on the vinyl itself, 842 299-1.
Track timings are very similar (off by ms) and the volume of the tracks, and dynamics of the tracks are very similar to these pressings on CD.
I looked at an earlier version from Germany as well for comparison, that CD was closer to the Canadian / USA mastering for timing and volume. So it looks like when Universal took over in 1999, at some point along the way they released a new set of CDs, likely around 2002 when this vinyl first appeared. The original vinyl at that time (2002) had claimed to be remastered from the original tapes, so there may have been a bit of tweaking, but it is not listed in the credits, and likely wasn't done by the band.
This new download is definitely not the mfit version. It most closely matches CDs from Europe pressed by Universal after 1990, which carry a similar catalog number. The vinyl itself appears to be a faithful replica of the vinyl that was first issued in 2002 as well.
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Not sure if this post is on topic or not for this thread, but figured it's as good of a place as any.
I recently purchased the Nov 2019 Japanese budget release of SOI (UICY 79043), figuring that it would be the same new mastering that was on the recent SHM-CD releases with the fixed, "Troubles." I've been wanting the SHM-CD of SOI for a while now, but it's so expensive, so I thought this would be a great alternative cheaper way to get that mastering, even if it wasn't on an SHM-CD.
Well, it's just a reprint of the original 2014 CD with the bad "Troubles", and not only that, but it's the US version to boot without the bonus Crystal Ballroom remix. I feel so ripped off! haha Anyway, if anyone was thinking along my same lines, I figured it was my duty to sound a warning cry on the Nov 2019 Japan re-releases.