shm cds verdict.

quote:

Originally posted by manxman:
I've just received my latest batches of SHM-CDs – Magma, Sandy Denny and Siouxsie & The Banshees. Can write detailed reviews, if anyone is interested in these artists?

I am

OK then! Let's start with…

MAGMA
The sound quality of all these SHM-CDs is superb - the format really seems to lend itself to progressive rock. That said, I'm sure some of the improvement is down to compression, as "MDK" in particular loses some of its subtlety on the quiet sections, so that title may not be for hi-fi purists. But the clarity, presence and heft of these versions is remarkable, so I recommend them thoroughly. On the packaging front, the discs are more disappointing, but that merely reflects the original issues (had Magma been British rather than French, and signed to a label like Vertigo, their albums would no doubt have come with stunning Hipgnosis-designed poster covers and all manner of inserts). In addition to the packaging listed below, all albums come with a fold-out black-and-white Japanese booklet and an obi.

MAGMA (1970)
Music: An extremely wide-ranging double album, with everything from Chicago-style brass-rock to hints of their blues roots to the genesis of the "zeuhl" style they would later pioneer. An excellent introduction to the band.
Packaging: Don't actually own this one, but assume it has a gatefold minisleeve

1001˚ CENTIGRADE (1971)
Music: Their most avant garde album - three long tracks full of weird free jazz moves. Fascinating, but not for the fainthearted!
Packaging: Don't own this SHM-CD, but assume it has a single minisleeve (there were two alternate vinyl sleeves, but doubt the reissue will include both)

MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏW KOMMANDÖH (1973)
Music: Their all-time classic – an amazing 40-minute suite fusing John Coltrane, Carl Orff and Richard Wagner, all sung in a bizarre alien language. A classic of both modern classical music and avant garde progressive rock.
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve, insert
Note: This does not include the bonus alternate take from the long deleted, very first (vinyl transcription) CD issue

KÖHNTARKÖSZ (1974)
Music: A more meditative take on the "MDK" sound, with 30 minutes of the slowly unfolding title track, plus two shorter pieces including the stunning fuzz bass and cello-driven "Ork Alarm".
Packaging: Single minisleeve
Note: This does not include the bonus alternate take from the long deleted, very first (vinyl transcription) CD issue. The running order follows all previous CDs, not the original vinyl.

HHAÏ LIVE (1975)
Music: Fantastic live double album, covering all their facets. Includes a full version of "Köhntarkösz", excerpts from "MDK" and the superb "Hhaï", which was never released in a studio version.
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve
Note: Includes the bonus tracks from the European remaster.

ÜDÜ WÜDÜ (1976)
Music: The only album with significant creative input from bassist Jannick Top. Side one is short, mainly instrumental tracks; side two has a single eighteen-minute cut "De Futura". A very varied LP, with lots of Top's overdriven fuzz bass and cello.
Packaging: Single minisleeve.
Note: Includes the bonus track from the European remaster.

ATTAHK (1978)
Music: Complete change here – band leader Christian Vander writes, sings and produces everything. A more commercial twist on the Magma sound, with lots of funk and soul influences – some fans dismiss it, but I like this a lot.
Packaging: Single minisleeve.

RÉTROSPECTIVE VOLS. 1 & 2 (1981)
Music: Live double album recorded in 1980 at the band's final shows. Absolutely superb, with powerful full length versions of "MDK" and the unrecorded "Theusz Hamtaahk".
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve (and what a tacky cover! No wonder they substituted generic artwork for the French issue!).

RÉTROSPECTIVE VOL. 3 (1981)
Music: More stuff from the final show. This has the unrecorded "Retrovision", in more of a commercial soul/funk style, an extended version of "Hhaï" and a third, very short track.
Packaging: Single sleeve.

MERCI (1985)
Music: Their comeback album, and most fans wished they hadn't bothered. Nothing like classic Magma, this is lightweight soul/rock and jazz/funk, sung in a mixture of English, French and their customary Kobaïan. I quite like it, but it's definitely for completists only.
Packaging: Single sleeve, fold-out insert.

KA (2004)
Music: First studio album in nearly two decades, and a return to the epic "MDK" sound, with a superb new suite.
Packaging: Very elaborate, with a thick laminated gatefold minisleeve, a big colour booklet and a smaller concertina-fold booklet.

And now for…

SANDY DENNY

Like the Fairport Convention albums that preceded them, the Sandy Denny SHM-CDs have lovely packaging. In addition to the sleeves and inserts detailed below, all come with a fold-out black-and-white booklet in Japanese, an individually numbered insert featuring the original labels (not for "Where The Time Goes" and "Gold Dust", for obvious reasons) and an obi. In each case, the sound quality is slightly but noticeably better than the European remasters. All albums have the same bonus tracks as the latest European versions (except "Fotheringay", which combines all the bonus tracks from both versions of the CD).

WHERE THE TIME GOES (recorded 1967)
Music: A reissue of a 2005 CD, this features all known songs and takes from Denny's first recording session in 1967 (material originally issued on the albums "Alex Campbell And His Friends", "Sandy And Johnny", "It's Sandy Denny" and "The Original Sandy Denny"). It's just her and her acoustic guitar, with no original songs, so it's very much for completists.
Packaging: Cleverly, the SHM-CD replicates the sleeve for "It's Sandy Denny" and adds the booklet from the UK "Where The Time Goes" CD.

FOTHERINGAY (1970)
Music: Denny's first post-Fairport album was the first to be dominated by her own songs. It's excellent folk/rock (although the uptempo tracks by Trevor Lucas break the flow a little), and the eight-minute version of the traditional "Banks Of The Nile" is superb.
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve.

THE NORTH STAR GRASSMAN AND THE RAVENS (1971)
Music: Possibly her best (and certainly her folkiest) solo album, with some brilliant original songs ("Late November", "John The Gun", "Next Time Around", the title track) plus a superb version of the traditional "Blackwaterside". Two cover versions are rather average, though.
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve, colour booklet.

SANDY (1972)
Music: A much slicker album, with country-rock and soft rock influences creeping in. Still very good, although the one cover version is (as usual) the weak point.
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve, colour booklet.

LIKE AN OLD-FASHIONED WALTZ (1973)
Music: The two cover versions are MOR vocal jazz, but the original songs are very polished transatlantic soft rock, with swathes of electric guitars and keyboards. Beautifully done, but the material is a bit insubstantial (which is probably why they took this approach).
Packaging: Textured gatefold minisleeve (absolutely gorgeous!), colour booklet.

RENDEZVOUS (1977)
Music: A big return to form and her most varied solo album, from lengthy epics with purely orchestrated backing ("All Our Days") to proggy jazz/rock like mid-seventies Joni Mitchell ("Gold Dust") to several beautiful ballads. Her cover of Richard Thompson's "For Shame Of Doing Wrong" is brilliant too, with a heavy rock beat and layers of almost pyschedelic guitars.
Packaging: Single minisleeve, inner sleeve, colour booklet.

GOLD DUST – LIVE AT THE ROYALTY (recorded 1977)
Music: Sandy Denny's final concert, extensively overdubbed in 1998 and completely resequenced. Allegedly sounds nothing like the actual concert, but still makes for a great live album.
Packaging: No vinyl original, but they've really gone to town, with a gatefold minisleeve and two separate inners.

And finally…

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES
Again these are very nicely packaged - all albums have individually numbered full colour inserts with the original labels, black-and-white Japanese fold-out booklets and obis in addition to the packaging detailed below. All discs feature the same bonus tracks as the European remasters (which means, for example, that on "The Scream" you get an entire bonus disc of demos and John Peel sessions, and on "Kaleidoscope" five songwriters' demos, three band demos and the brilliant non-album single "Israel"). On the downside, the sound quality isn't a vast improvement over the European issues, and the latter are available for about £6 each through a number of mail order outlets. As for "Juju", I can't comment - my copy was defective and refuses to play!

THE SCREAM (1978)
Music: Classic dark post-punk, with some krautrock elements (notable similarities to "Yeti"-era Amon Düül II) and even a prog rock blowout on the final track "Switch".
Packaging: Two separate minisleeves (with different artwork), inner sleeve and a large format booklet.

JOIN HANDS (1979)
Music: In the same style as "The Scream", but nowhere near as inspired - only three really great tracks out of eight.
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve, inner sleeve.

KALEIDOSCOPE (1980)
Music: My favourite album of all time! Totally different to their other LPs, this is superb progressive pop with almost every track in a different style - some are jazzy, some are guitar rock, some are almost psychedelic, one is eerie electronic pop and one is superb sympho-prog. All are very clever and inventive.
Packaging: Single minisleeve, inner sleeve.

JUJU (1981)
Music: The album that invented goth. Several tracks are brilliant ("Spellbound", "Arabian Knights", "Night Shift") but others are turgid nonsense with horror movie lyrics ("Halloween", "Head Cut", "Voodoo Dolly").
Packaging: Single minisleeve, inner sleeve.

A KISS IN THE DREAMHOUSE (1982)
Music: Another very varied album like "Kaleidoscope", but with a heavier band sound. Some tracks are psychedelic with organ and recorder, one is jazzy, another is built around tape loops, and another is a weird assemblage of breathing, sound effects and strings. A great LP!
Packaging: Single minisleeve, inner sleeve, insert.

NOCTURNE (1983)
Music: Live double album with powerful performances and an excellent selection of songs. Generally brilliant, but has a few rough edges (Siouxsie is very off-key on "Israel").
Packaging: Gatefold minisleeve, plain pink and blue inners.
Note: The original double LP is issued as a single SHM-CD.

HYAENA (1984)
Music: A softer LP overall, but aside from the brilliant singles ("Swimming Horses" and "Dazzle") it's mostly rather nondescript.
Packaging: Lovely textured minisleeve (strange, as I don't recall the LP having one!), inner sleeve.

TINDERBOX (1986)
Music: Another rather dull album; this time even the singles ("Cities In Dust" and "Candyman") are good rather than great.
Packaging: Single minisleeve, inner sleeve.

The whole Yes back catalogue has just been announced. Cardboard sleeve SHM. Due in July.

chris, 2009 remasters so they will sound different to the rhino remasters , for the better we hope .

I thought Rhino did a pretty good job with a couple of exceptions. I have the Yes catalogue on HDCD and I will be very surprised if SHM-CD can better these. But of course I’ve ordered them anyway! Moon Madness is in the post, Rush are getting closer and Yes have joined the queue. Things are looking good. I’ll be keeping the Yes Rhio collection for the extras included. I like these historical curios.

just received the first four stones shm remasters from polydor. due to the hot weather not playing to many cd at the moment but got to hear black and blue and sticky fingers. got to say they both sound pretty good , have not got the british copy to compare but the feedback i got i was fearing the worse so a good suprise .

Sticky Fingers, It's Only Rock&Roll and Some Girls arrived here. I am pretty impressed!

quote:

Some Girls arrived here. I am pretty impressed!

And some CDs?

A few nice packages have dropped through the letter box in the last month or three. As would be expected the results have been mixed. I can’t put in a recommendation for Alan Parsons’ Tales Of Mystery And Imagination. The quieter passages and voices have more subtle detail but it does seem to fall to bits when the power surges. Becomes rather hard and shabby.

Moonmadness is always a joy to listen to and I was particularly looking forward to the outing on SHM-CD. I have a remaster which I think dates back to the early 00s. There seemed to be more space and separation, particularly in the mid. This is a keeper but it’s not a significant advance over what’s already sitting on the shelf.

I haven’t had a chance to listen to Ogdens Nut Gone Flake yet. I’m really looking forward to that. What’s been grabbing my attention for the past two days is the cascade of Rush albums hitting the mat. Only three sampled so far, and in no particular order. Comparison point for all albums is the Rush Remasters that came out a few years back. First on was Kings. I’ve been waiting for a decent recording of this album – or at least a decently produced CD, and the wait continues. Not much cop really. It’s still got that boxed in, rather congested quality that you have to overlook and just get on with enjoying the music. There is definitely more detail, and in this respect alone the SHM-CD can be considered a move in the right direction. But it doesn’t add the kick and body which in reality I guess just isn’t there in the first place. The extra detail to my ears only seems to add to the feeling that something is missing.

Hemispheres next. This sounded like a remaster. More layers, more detail, more drive, particularly in the bass – which is where it needs to be for Rush. It was like hearing it “properly” for the first time. Compared to Kings it’s a huge success. I recommend it highly. Ditto Moving Pictures. Having missed the boat on the MFSL issue I’ve been itching to get a better version. This was one of their better recorded mid era albums and it has benefited from going onto SHM-CD. Similar to Hemispheres, more drive, detail, separation and layering. Fans of this album don’t need me to comment on the mic arrangement for the drum kit. I can say it is projected out with clarity, bite and edge on SHM-CD for all it’s worth.

I’ve already had a fish into Retrospective 1,2 and 3 on SHM-CD and with this in memory I’m particularly looking forward to hearing what the medium makes of the rather scrubbed clean soundscapes Rush were fond of for a time in the 80s. I think Power Windows is going to be a Tour De Force but before that it’s got to be Signals. I can’t wait to hear how that comes out. But for now the amp is off and my neighbours have removed their fingers from their ears. They’ll have to put them back tomorrow.

any got any of the new yes cds yet ? have ordered the first four
but have not arrived yet but would be interested to know what the
later ones sound like .
have ordered a prince cd as well like wise would like to hear if
anybody has any report of the sound quality of these cds .

quote:

Originally posted by Harry K:
What’s been grabbing my attention for the past two days is the cascade of Rush albums hitting the mat. Only three sampled so far, and in no particular order. Comparison point for all albums is the Rush Remasters that came out a few years back. First on was Kings. I’ve been waiting for a decent recording of this album – or at least a decently produced CD, and the wait continues. Not much cop really. It’s still got that boxed in, rather congested quality that you have to overlook and just get on with enjoying the music. There is definitely more detail, and in this respect alone the SHM-CD can be considered a move in the right direction. But it doesn’t add the kick and body which in reality I guess just isn’t there in the first place. The extra detail to my ears only seems to add to the feeling that something is missing.

Hemispheres next. This sounded like a remaster. More layers, more detail, more drive, particularly in the bass – which is where it needs to be for Rush. It was like hearing it “properly” for the first time. Compared to Kings it’s a huge success. I recommend it highly. Ditto Moving Pictures. Having missed the boat on the MFSL issue I’ve been itching to get a better version.

Hi there,

Could I suggest you try the original Rush releases? I'm a fan and the originals are far better than the "Rush Remasters" on which these are based. The SHM method of manufacture cannot improve the mastering.

In fact the original "Moving Pictures" doesn't give much away to the MFSL, if anything. I think it's better and I'm not alone.

This thread interested me because these SHMs are very patchy and it depends on the mastering they were taken from. Mostly they are taken from louder remasters that sound much worse than the original CDs having been peak limited and EQ'd to sound more 'lively'. Take the Steely Dan albums for example - the SHMs are OK compared to the remasters, they smooth them out but remain bright. Compare them to the original Japan or US originals, or European equivalents and there's no contest.

There are loads of other examples and the originals can be picked up often for not much money. You can usually tell an original by the fact that it goes loud without becoming harsh. Anything that's been EQ's and peak limited during the (re) mastering will make your ears hurt - SHM or not.

Comparing the SHM CDs to remasters can be misleading, and expensive.

Joe

Sorry, meant to say it doesn't cost much to try a few.

Joe

quote:

any got any of the new yes cds yet ?

The Yes Album and Fragile. Have been using them as test music as I explore the various systems in my new work environment. They sound good to me. I think the Yes album is the same remastering as a few years back with extra tracks. One of my all time favourites, and I think the SHM transfer does it justice.

david bowies first six cds to be released on shm cd, in cardboard sleeves.

They'll be hard-pressed to better the Rykodisk AU20 gold versions which I have.