Japanese "Vinyl Replical" CDs

I have Elton John's 'Tumbleweed Connection' and 'Focus 3' in this style of CD which are both sonically very good.

Any up to date Japanese made CD sounds better than its EU or USA made counterpart in my experience.

I use HMV Japan. Not cheap, but in stock CD's get to the UK from Japan in 4 or 5 days.

John.

hi john,
just received 2 jap pressings from hmv japan
gilmours new album and alan parsons - a valid path. pretty quick delivery and cost just over 6,000 yen - approx £30 which at £15 a cd is very good value i thought. the gilmour pressing in a cardboard booklet is especially nice. havent had a chance to have a serious listen yet but will post my thoughts soon.
regards, dave

Scottyhammer said:

quote:

havent had a chance to have a serious listen yet but will post my thoughts soon.

That would be good. I've just ordered 3 from Play.com at £10.99 each - I'll do the same.

Cheers, Steve.

OK, I've had time to go through three of the Kate Bush "EMI Vinyl Replica" CDs. They are The Kick Inside, Sensual World and Whole Story.

Having never thought that the sound on the original CDs was particularly good - to my ears the UK discs are better. No claims are made as to the sound of these new discs in terms of re-mastering, which is just as well.

I'm surprised, but there we are.

The packages are nice, inner sleeve original label and art work etc. But that's it. Worth noting that the card sleeve cover, unlike Aerial is larger than a jewel case. So they may not fit shelves that are designed for CDs.

Steve

Calling JN.

John,

While on the subject of remastering etc. I have two copies of Jackson Browne's first album (on CD). One is Elektra from the states and the other is a european copy on Asylum.

They are both supposed to be the remastered edition although it's not obvious - there is no confirmation on the cover as there is on other albums.

I know you are a fan of the USA pressings and this is the only one (of JB's) that I've compared. Another surprise, the european one is slightly but perceptively better (more natural, more space etc.). Did you ever compare them side by side?

I must say the recording level on both is well down on the remastered Late for the Sky.

Regards,

Steve

Pick your way thru the Virgin sale. I saw Cohen's 'I'm Your Man' on this format and a couple of others at £3.99!

I have several but only remasters. Good though the packaging is I wouldn’t pay again just for aesthetics. So far I’ve only had one duffer – Tull’s Warchild. All the others are as much a joy to hear as they are to behold. The other type of “remaster” which has turned out to be a mixed bag are HDCDs, some of which came in LP like packaging. The good ones are just amazing but some are piss poor – it seems that they either do a brilliant job or really screw up – there isn’t any middle ground.

I have one LP packaged remaster in the post, one on back order and one which is also HDCD on back order. I gusee this means that as far as my wallet is concerned, the potential benefits still justify the risks.

FWIW

Cheers

Harry

they are usually a great investment as some sell for many times
what they cost originally (try getting first issues of any early GENESIS albums)

i have heard that like japanese records they use better materials
and better manufacturing equipment to produce these limited editions.
whether it makes a difference or true especially for c.d.'s?

i have a few and i like them a lot but mostly for
collecting reasons. they look great take up less space.
some come with all the extras that were included with lp's
like posters and stickers or insert pictures (the pink floyd's are nice for extras)

Harry
I have stuck my toe in the HMV Japan water recently. I got Springsteen's "The Rover" and Floyd's "Division Bell", along with 3 Beach Boys Greatist Hits Volumes. They all sound pretty damned good to me. Which HDCDs are real stinkers? It would be nice to avoid them!

quote:

I have stuck my toe in the HMV Japan water recently

quote:

I have stuck my toe in the HMV Japan water recently. I got Springsteen's "The Rover" and Floyd's "Division Bell", along with 3 Beach Boys Greatist Hits Volumes. They all sound pretty damned good to me.

Have you been able to compare them with the UK release? The point I was making was that the EMI "Japanese Replica" Kate Bush albums are nicely packaged but sonically very slightly inferior - when I hoped they would be better.

The series is available in the UK - this may be why. So if you want the packaging, fine. But don't expect the Kate Bush ones to sound better than the original CD releases.

Both " The River" (not Rover! doh!) and the Division Bell sound excellent. The former is certainly better sounding than the version I bought in the US ages ago. Much fuller sound, though my memory of the original vinyl is that it sounded pretty thin too. The Floyd one is much better packaged but I'm not honestly able to say that it sounds better than the initial UK release.

Chris. The yes Album and Close to the Edge. They have over processed bass and high frequency artefacts. Yes was usually mixed with a bass bias. The first CDs in the UK just seemed to lose the magic of it and sounded dense and flat - limited dynamics. The remasters on Rhino set it straight in no uncertain terms, (some being better than others but no duffers) but the HDCDs have been a mixed bag in my ears and on my system. There has to be a system/room compoment to everything and other set ups might be kinder to the recordings, although I would think the HF hash won't be avoided.

I don't have a huge HDCD collection (about ten I think without going away and counting them). The best implementation I've heard to date is the B52s Time Capsule compilation which IMO is a showcase for the technology. Comes in the bog standard plastic case but in all other respects is a bit special. Close on it's heels is the Jap pseudo LP HDCD of Relayer (yes, Yes again!) which is a delight to behold and listen to.

Insert subjectivity disclaimer here.

Cheers

Harry

Thanks Harry. I have been a Yes fan since the early days. Saw them at Guildford Civic hall on the Yes Album Tour - September 70 I think but it's a long time ago. That was the "classic" lineup for me, Anderson, Howe, Squires, Kaye and Bruford. They were awesome. I have the Rhino remasters and they do sound pretty damned good I have to say. From what I have read, our musical tastes overlap quite well!

Ah that's a relief! If you don't "get" Yes it can be very boring when a YesNerd like me bangs on and on about it.

But since you're as sad as me....

I hear clicks and farts at various points on Your’s is No Disgrace which could well be the old adage of “the wider you open the window….” Squire’s rolling, swooping bass on Starship Trooper has been over egged to the point where it just can’t pick itself up off the floor. But I should say that our room is a bass box and even our rather modest S5es can be made to cover the carpet in a layer of low level, door banging rumbling if we’re not careful. I did a thread last year on how difficult it was to find speakers that matched the room.

Close to The Edge (which I hope you’ll agree Rhino did a lovely job on) has a “pulled apart” sound that seems broken. There’s a lot of layering which the HDCD seems to have lost control of and again, the modulating bass line seems to just dive into the floor because it’s too heavy to fly around the room as nature intended. The organ “solo” in the “I Get Up…” section breaks up regardless of volume level – it reminds me of the old teeth grinding effects we used to get on vinyl, where you braced yourself for the distortion you knew was coming next – if that makes sense? A speaker change hasn’t helped.

But after that it’s mostly good news. Relayer is a tour de force. The best recording I’ve ever heard. TFTO to my ears is a step up from the Rhino. Of all the Rhino remasters I think TFTO is the weakest. The HDCD addresses that. Going for the One is a beautifully crisp, clear, well staged HDCD which again IMO improves on Rhino’s impressive efforts – and puts the bass back in without tipping it over. Awaken is amazingly well separated into it’s swirling strands (particularly the multi tracked vocal sections) – an almost ethereal presentation which seems to hang in space so clearly that you could reach out and touch it.

Drama comes close to what I would consider to be a perfect recording – but the source material was almost certainly recorded to a much higher standard that any previous album. It’s difficult to improve on the Rhino job but the HDCD manages to make it a bit more detailed and “real”. I don’t know why I like this one so much – curiosity value?

On the non HDCD, plastic case front, I’ve recently been falling in love with the genius of Steve Hackett all over again. His recent remasters really are good if you like that sort of thing. I’ve only got up to Defector (and probably won’t go any further) but the new releases make the original UK CDs only fit for the bin. There are some good extra tracks (like the Yes on Rhino stuff) comprising alternative arrangements and live recordings (which I believe have just been culled from existing live material in circulation). Zep 1 and 2 are in the post from America – the latest cardboard clad remaster of 2 and 1 from a couple of years back. Am I a mug for buying the same stuff all over again? I don’t think so. Through upgrades and taking the occasional punt on remastered stuff I’ve been left in no doubt that much of the music that I grew up with hasn’t yet given me its full potential. All a bit trial and error though.

FWIW

Cheers

Harry