John Lennon / High Resolution Japanese SHM-SACDs to be issued

Seven John Lennon solo albums will be reissued at the end of this year in Japan on the hi-res SHM-SACD format.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Some Time In New York City (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974), Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975) and Double Fantasy (1980) will enjoy the usual lavish Japanese SACD packaging (see these photos of The Police’s Zenyatta Mondatta) but will also be available as in standard resolution ‘red book’ SHM-CD editions. The ‘platinum’ version of the latter shares the same SACD packaging.

These physical releases coincide with the announcement that the hi-res audio will also be available to download via various providers, if that’s your how you prefer to buy your music.

These new Japanese sets are expected to use the 2010 remastering which arguably means that the CD versions aren’t going to sound a whole lot different to what has already been released. Unlike other titles issued on the SHM-SACD/CD format in the last 18 months or so, a new flat transfer isn’t being created for each album, which means we might need to manage expectations in terms of how much different/better the SACDs sound.

We will find out soon enough though with Japanese retailers showing a release date of 3 December 2014 for these Lennon sets.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band / SHM-SACD

• • Pre-order from CD-Japan

Imagine / SHM-SACD

• • Pre-order from CD-Japan

Some Time In New York City / SHM-SACD

• • Pre-order from CD-Japan

Mind Games / SHM-SACD

• • Pre-order from CD-Japan

Walls and Bridges/ SHM-SACD

• • Pre-order from CD-Japan

Rock ‘N’ Roll / SHM-SACD

• • Pre-order from CD-Japan

Double Fantasy/ SHM-SACD

• • Pre-order from CD-Japan