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Simple Minds / New Gold Dream & Sparkle in the Rain issued on SDE exclusive blu-ray

Two classic albums on limited SDE blu-ray

By Paul Sinclair

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135

Simple Minds Blu-ray Bundle / New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and Sparkle in the Rain SDE exclusive blu-ray audios with Dolby Atmos Mix

Exclusive & limited blu-rays only via the SDE shop: Quick Pre-order link!

Simple Minds‘ sublime 1982 album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and its follow up, 1984’s chart-topping Sparkle in the Rain, will be reissued simultaneously as SDE exclusive blu-rays early next year.

New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) is considered a true classic of the era described by Jim Kerr as the band’s “holy grail”. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the album spawned the three top 40 UK singles ‘Promised You A Miracle’, ‘Glittering Prize’ and ‘Someone Somewhere in the Summertime’.

The blu-ray features a brand new Dolby Atmos Mix of New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) by legendary mixer Bob Clearmountain, in addition to new 5. 1 mixes, new stereo mixes and instrumental mixes, also by Clearmountain.

In fact, the SDE exclusive blu-ray features an impressive SIX different versions of the album:

  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 5.1 Mix (48/24)
  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 Stereo Mix (48/24)
  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
  • Ronald Prent & Charlie Burchill 2005 5.1 Mix (96/24)
  • Original Stereo mix (96/24)

This release represents the first time an entirely instrumental version of New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) has been released.

It’s worth highlighting that the 2005 mix 5.1 mix is lossless on the blu-ray and features unique longer versions of many of the songs. It also exclusively includes a bonus track: ‘In Every Heaven’. Note: The original 5.1 mix features up-mixes of ‘Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel’ and ‘Promised You A Miracle’ because the multi-track tapes could not be found (they have since been located for the 2024 mixes).

Sparkle in the Rain was Simple Minds’ sixth studio album and was produced by Steve Lillywhite. It built on the success of New Gold Dream and features the iconic single ‘Waterfront’ as well other classic hits ‘Up On The Catwalk’ and ‘Speed Your Love To Me’.

The SDE blu-ray features a brand new Dolby Atmos Mix of Sparkle in the Rain by Bob Clearmountain, as well as new 5. 1 mixes, new stereo mixes and instrumental mixes, also by Clearmountain.

Additionally, Steven Wilson’s 5.1 and stereo mixes from 2014 have been remastered by Steven Wilson himself for inclusion on this blu-ray and Wilson’s unreleased instrumental mixes from 2014 are included as a bonus. The original stereo mix of the album completes a massively comprehensive offering.

The SDE exclusive blu-ray features an incredible EIGHT different versions of the album:

  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 5.1 Mix (48/24)
  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 Stereo Mix (48/24)
  • Bob Clearmountain 2024 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
  • Steven Wilson 2014 5.1 Mix (96/24)
  • Steven Wilson 2014 Stereo Mix (96/24)
  • Steven Wilson 2014 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
  • Original 1984 Stereo Mix (48/24)

Again, this is the first time an entirely instrumental version of Sparkle in the Rain has been album has been available.

New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and Sparkle in the Rain are numbers 32 and 33 in the ongoing SDE Surround Series of blu-ray audios with Atmos Mixes and both will ship with the free, collectible SDE slipcase. This acclaimed series has already delivered some classic 80s albums over the last few years including ABC’s The Lexicon of Love, Tears For Fears’ The Hurting, Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret and Bronski Beat’s The Age of Consent (all are now out-of-print).

Here’s the now traditional reminder as to why this product is highly recommended:

  • It’s the only way to enjoy the Dolby Atmos mix of the albums via a physical product
  • You don’t need to sign-up to a streaming service such as Tidal or Apple Music to hear the spatial audio mixes
  • The Atmos Mix on the Blu-ray is not compressed due to streaming bandwidth restrictions. The Dolby Atmos version on a Blu-ray is encoded in Dolby TrueHD Atmos and has a bit rate 10 times higher (up to 8000 kbits/s) compared to streaming’s Dolby Digital Plus (768 kbits/s)
  • You own the product, you are not renting it from a digital service provider
  • The Blu-ray audio is an excellent format for music and you don’t want to see it die off
  • Supporting SDE with these initiatives leads to similar collaborations with labels/artists and we are keen to bring your more in the near future!

Both Simple Minds blu-rays are region-free and limited editions. They come with booklets and Sparkle in the Rain includes Jim Kerr’s track-by-track guide. They are available to pre-order for 14 days and the pre-order window will close on 2 December 2024. Availability after that cannot be guaranteed, so secure your copy today by pre-ordering at the SDE shop, either directly via this link or using the special SDE shop buy button below. A two-blu-ray bundle is available. We ship worldwide.

The New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and Sparkle in the Rain blu-rays are a collaboration between SDE and UMR and will be released on 7 February 2025.

TECHNICAL NOTES: This blu-ray audio requires a blu-ray player. Decoding the Dolby Atmos mix requires a Dolby Atmos-certified soundbar or a Dolby Atmos-compatible AV Receiver/Amp. The Dolby Atmos mix will ‘fold down’ to 5.1 or stereo if a Dolby Atmos decoder is not detected. This product contains no video.

Tracklisting

Simple Minds / New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) SDE exclusive blu-ray audio with Dolby Atmos Mix

New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) Simple Minds / SDE exclusive blu-ray

    • New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) in the following audio streams:
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 5.1 Mix (48/24)
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 Stereo Mix (48/24)
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
      – Original Stereo mix (96/24)
      1. Someone Somewhere in Summertime 4:36
      2. Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel 3:49
      3. Promised You a Miracle 4:28
      4. Big Sleep 5:00
      5. Somebody Up There Likes You 5:02
      6. New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)  5.39
      7. Glittering Prize 4.33
      8. Hunter and the Hunted 5.55
      9. King is White and in the Crowd 7.00

      Ronald Prent & Charlie Burchill 2005 5.1 Mix (96/24)

      1. Someone Somewhere in Summertime 5:22
      2. Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel* 3:49
      3. Promised You a Miracle*4:28
      4. Big Sleep 5:27
      5. Somebody Up There Likes You 5:45
      6. New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) 6:08
      7. Glittering Prize 4:40
      8. Hunter and the Hunted 6:09
      9. King is White and in the Crowd 7:31
      10. In Every Heaven✝︎ 4:46
      *Up-mixes on 2005 5.1 mix ONLY
      ✝︎Appears only on 2005 5.1 mix

Tracklisting

Simple Minds / Sparkle in the Rain SDE exclusive blu-ray audio with Dolby Atmos Mix

Sparkle in the Rain Simple Minds / SDE exclusive blu-ray

    • Sparkle in the Rain in the following audio streams:
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 5.1 Mix (48/24)
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 Stereo Mix (48/24)
      – Bob Clearmountain 2024 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
      – Steven Wilson 2014 5.1 Mix (96/24)
      – Steven Wilson 2014 Stereo Mix (96/24)
      – Steven Wilson 2014 Instrumental Mix (96/24)
      – Original 1984 Stereo Mix (48/24)
      1. Up On the Catwalk
      2. Book Of Brilliant Things
      3. Speed Your Love to Me
      4. Waterfront
      5. East At Easter
      6. Street Hassle
      7. White Hot Day
      8. “C” Moon Cry Like a Baby
      9. The Kick Inside of Me
      10. Shake Off the Ghosts

1 Tears For Fears / The Tipping Point

2 xPropaganda / The Heart is Strange

3 Gilbert O’Sullivan / Driven

4 Shakespears Sister / Hormonally Yours

5 Brian Eno / ForeverAndEverNoMore

6. Orbital / Optical Delusion

6.5 Various Artists / Concert For George

7 Ten Years After / A Space in Time

8 Bob Dylan / Time Out Of Mind (2022 Remix)

9 Tears For Fears / The Hurting

10 Mike Oldfield / Tubular Bells

11 Suede

12 ABC / The Lexicon of Love

13 Duran Duran / Danse Macabre

13a Duran Duran / Danse Macabre De Luxe

14 Trevor Horn / Echoes – Ancient and Modern

15 Soft Cell / Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

16 Def Leppard / Diamond Star Halos

17 Paul Young / No Parlez

18 Mark Knopfler / One Deep River

19 Wham! / Fantastic

20 Wham! / Make It Big

21 Keane / Hopes and Fears

22 Luther Vandross / Never Too Much

23 Crowded House / Gravity Stairs

24 Ultravox / Lament

25 Tori Amos / Unrepentant Geraldines

26 Bronski Beat / The Age of Consent

27 Thin Lizzy / 1976: Jailbreak and Johnny The Fox

28 Tears For Fears / Songs For A Nervous Planet

29 Thompson Twins / Into The Gap

30 The Who / Who’s Next

31 Elton John / Diamonds

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135 Comments

135 thoughts on “Simple Minds / New Gold Dream & Sparkle in the Rain issued on SDE exclusive blu-ray”

  1. Hi Paul. Just wanted to express my gratitude for the sterling service received from Anne. Emailed the SDE shop late last night (gone midnight) asking if there was any way I could get a slip case for the Xpropaganda blu ray (I didn’t receive one with my order and it was the first I purchased so didn’t know that it should have arrived with one). Lovely reply received at 8am and slipcase added to my Thompson Twins blu ray order. That’s how you do service. Fantastic. Simple Minds bundle ordered too. Thanks again.

    1. Thanks Branny, great to hear! Appreciate the orders. The reason you didn’t get an xPropaganda slipcase originally is that we weren’t doing them then! We started on #3 (Gilbert O’Sullivan) and produced slipcases for #1 (Tears For Fears) and #2 (Xprop) after the fact!

      1. I have to echo the comment by Branny, as I had a slight issue with an order this fall, and Anne sorted it out immediately. This is how it’s done!

  2. Just like the Tears For Fears Hurting release, suddenly there’s loads of Simple Minds Blu-ray Audios discs available on e-bay with a wide price range. It’s as if no one knows about this release and will buy a copy at an over the top price.

  5. Paul,

    Couldn’t say no to this bundle!!! I think it’s really an important collaborative release as UMR has been very sparse with ATMOS releases of their artists. I hope UMR will look to partner with SDE for future ATMOS releases as well.

    Ken

  8. NGD is one of my desert island discs, an album which I never tire to listen to from start to finish. SITR is not quite as good but still a great album, especially side A (the first five tracks). I’ll be happy to add both BRs to my collection.

  10. Hello Paul,
    was an instant purchase. So happy that you gave us the chance to get such beautiful pysical products, which normally would never see the light of day. And i must say, that you have an absolute friendly costumer service of your shop that solve problems in really fast response time. Perfect. Was looking for further releases that will make much more holes in my pocket. Cheers

  11. Paul,

    Any information of how Bob C has mastered the 2014 stereo mixes, has aggressive limiting been used.

    I note the 2005 stereo remixes of NGD have not been included here only the 5.1 but we get the original stereo mix instead.

    Is the original stereo mix an EQ flat transfer?

    Many thanks,

    Mark

      1. Hi Paul,

        Yes I get that I did not suggest Bob C had any input on the original mixes.

        I asked two separate mastering questions:

        1) The mastering of Bob C’s new stereo mixes

        2) The mastering of the original mixes – you have answered this several times and appreciate they are EQ flat masters.

        My purchase decision rests on how the NEW Bob C stereo mixes will be mastered here?

          1. On this basis let’s hope they are flat transfers of Bob C’s new stereo derived mixes……

            I’m in purchased.

  12. This is an interesting exciting final 2024 BluRay announcement with not 1 but 2 releases a la Wham!! And being “Sparkle” has a new 2024 reissue boxset without the DVD, this BluRay serves as an updated replacement yes?? I never owned these albums before…only “Once Upon a Time”, “Live in the City of Light” & the import “Glittering Prize” collection for “Love Song”, a fave not on the US version…now i have the killer 3CD “Celebration” box…i will preorder these, will get the new “Sparkle” box & back catalogue & recent/new stuff too…

  14. I adored the early records by Simple Minds, rushing to Rough Trade on Grant St to buy Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call when it arrived and then working backwards through the rest of records by the original quintet, seeing them live at tiny and disreputable venues. But Promised You a Miracle, the first single from New Gold Dream, was a shock. The glorious Forbes-McGee rhythm was gone, and the first of three new drummers was up to something completely different (happily Forbes himself remained). As happened with many bands that year, the darkness was lifting, and something closer to pop was peeking out. The album, however, was gorgeous, retaining the mystery of the early records while reaching for grandeur, the atmosphere reflecting the Dream in the title. It reminded of Roxy Music’s Avalon, which preceded it by mere months, but only in production, making that album’s mixer, Bob Clearmountain, an ideal choice for these new mixes. Sparkle in the Rain, meanwhile, was the last Simple Minds album I liked, with the previously restrained drumming by Mel Gaynor now turned to thunder in songs with the relentless forward momentum remembered from Love Song and I Travel. (And then: Don’t You Forget about Me. I didn’t, but I didn’t continue either.) Needless to say, these are instant purchases for me. But being locked in the stereo world by the geometry of my flat, I wonder, echoing Wayne C: why are the Clearmountain stereo mixes in 48/24 when the instrumental versions of those mixes are in 96/24? If there is anything here that I would like in 96/24, it is precisely these Clearmountain stereo mixes. I wonder as well why the original mix of Sparkle in the Rain is only 48/24 when that for New Gold Dream is 96/24. Is it a space issue? If so, I would happily get the Clearmountain stereo mixes in 96/24 even if the instrumental mixes were in 48/24. Anyway, these are mere details. This is fantastic news and amazing work to get one of my favorite bands, and one with a massive early influence on me musically, into the SDE series. First Ultravox, now Simple Minds, good heavens, what next? Japan?

  15. I edited my post about The Lamb and it vanished. (It has an extra S so was the tiniest correction) Not complaining as it wasn’t adding much probably, but did I break some rule so I know for next time, when my comment is indispensable.

      1. Have you tried asking the people in charge of the mastering?

        I have a theory that it could be the mixes are a recent addition as I think 96k was only recentishly added to the dolby atmos studio where the stereo and 5.1 mixes are also derived from.

          1. Does it matter? I doubt any human over 50 can tell the difference whether it’s 324/28.6 or 48/24. Being an audiophile seems unnecessarily stressful to me, caring more about technicalities than the music!

          2. I get why you say that, but if that’s the case why mention it at all in the product description? Because it’s a selling point that particularly applies when we are talking about a release like this. Many will also argue your point re people’s hearing I’m sure, I don’t have a strong view on that.

          3. I mention it because I know people want to know this kind of detail and I want to report it accurately.

          4. Yes it’s very important information as you say, I don’t have Atmos, I can’t fit Atmos into my living arrangements as probably a lot of fans of the site can’t. I buy these discs purely and simply due to them been high resolution and the inclusion of 24/96 on most of them is the essential thing for me personally. I can tell the difference in clarity fairly easily but anything over 24/96 I would say is harder to differentiate. It’s great that the series goes from strength to strength even if theses two that I pre ordered are a little backwards, instrumentals ain’t as important as the albums but a great bonus.

          5. I was responding to Mike not you Paul:)
            Sorry my comment wasn’t clear – as Wayne C says below I’m a stereo listener so this stuff is important to me too. Being an ‘audiophile’ can be frustrating but in the end the music is the most important thing! I’ve ordered both discs and look forward to hearing them.

          6. I’m an audiophile and have been since 16 , currently have active ATC speakers / Linn Sondek and professional Benchmark digital audio converters and when you can hear what I can hear at home it is most definitely about the music as sometimes the sonic purity and clarity can bring tears to your eyes . I don’t sit at home checking out all the specs I just love to hear music properly . I’d love to get Atmos but a soundbar seems a half way house. I’ll still buy these discs atmos or not at home as they offer things that I really want even in stereo.

  17. Imagine these SDE editions having all the associated content (remixes, edits etc.) even in stereo as well as the album in Atmos / 5.1.

    These would have Themes Volume 1 and Volume 2, respectively.

    A box set on one disc like The Thompson Twins.

    One disc £30 – £40 as opposed to ever increasing prices for the big boxes.

  22. Thanks for more great titles, Paul. Although I would have preferred Once Upon a Time (as I don’t own that one in any format) these two are awesome. As finances are a bit tight (I’ve been working on my Christmas shopping) I’ll wait until a little later in the preorder window to order. A small correction – I believe Sparkle in the Rain was Simple Minds 7th album (after Life in a Day, Reel to Reel Cacophony, Empires and Dance, Sons and Fascination, Sister Feelings Call, and New Gold Dream).

      1. Thanks for that info. I do now see it was originally released as such. I have the vinyl box set of those first 7 and those two are in there separately, thus the confusion.

    1. If only! That really would be Paul surpassing himself even more than some of the brilliant stuff he has already sorted out!!! I’m certainly in for NGD, the last great Simple Minds album.

  27. I’m really happy that it’s possible to order two items at once and save on shipping costs. It’s a shame that the ordering window for Elton John Diamonds closed yesterday, and I missed out because there wasn’t anything else to order at the time. But I completely understand that things don’t always align with my plans, and there are good reasons for having these ordering windows.
    Some SDE products are ‘must-haves’ for me, which I order no matter what, while others are ‘nice-to-haves’ that I only order if I can combine them with something else.

    Thank you once again to SDE for the amazing work!

  28. Excellent – so we’ve now got to the stage where Steve Wilson is remastering his previous remasters :)
    How much better can it get? Will be fun finding out. Essential purchases.
    Thanks again Paul

  29. My first order (from Vegas)! Can’t wait, I already have the NGD and SITR DVD-A. Purchased this to hear Clearmountains work which is usually spectacular. I have the DVD-A of Once Upon a Time too. If SDE releases that too its an instant buy.

  30. I own all the Simple Minds box sets but these are an immediate purchase!! Nice also that the original tape issue with New Gold Dream has been worked out. Amazing offering as usual. Especially psyched about the instrumentals. Must have releases! Thank you!!!

  31. That is a definite purchase if ever there was one. I like the two-fer offering which helps with the shipping cost to all of those exotic, overseas destinations around the globe . . .
    Thanks for making these Blu Ray offerings available Paul.

  32. I just bought the Fleetwood Mac – Rumours Blu-ray – my most purchased album. I think New Gold Dream is my second. These will surely be the definitive versions. Bundle instantly ordered!

    So happy the master tapes for ‘Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel’ and ‘Promised You A Miracle’ were found as that really was a gut punch with the 2005 remaster. And the extra mixes absolutely make repurchase of these albums a no brainer! I hope that Bob Clearmountain has finally done a decent stereo mix of New Gold Dream. The 2005 sounded muffled and the 2013 too brittle.

    Was hoping for, and almost expecting, TFF’s The Seeds of Love as the final announcement of 2024. But this is even better: two classic albums, reworked stereo, 5.1 and Atmos, and all from the master tapes. I can retire my DVD-As.

    Congratulations Paul!

    1. No TFF prob cuz that BluRay is in the boxset…as for FM’s Rumours, i have the boxset & the DVD-A with the 5.1 mix, Silver Springs, audio interview & video content…if the BluRay replicated all that content, i would buy that too, but my fave FM is “Tusk”…

      1. The Seeds of Love boxed set included a 5.1 mix but no Atmos and Steven Wilson said, earlier this year I think, that he has done an Atmos mix of the album. And an SDE Surround Series Blu-ray seems the perfect vehicle for a comprehensive release of the album like was done for The Hurting which was more pressing as The Hurting didn’t have a any multichannel mix in its boxed set.

        Regarding Rumours, I also have the Box, DVD-A, and the SACD (and numerous CD versions). Comparing the multichannel mixes I found the Atmos wanting and preferred the DVD-A 5.1 though I prefer the Blu-ray intro to Gold Dust Woman. Would love to get the original album version of Sara in 5.1 or Atmos. The version on the DVD in the box is not as good.

    2. I politely beg to differ, I really like the 2005 stereo mix of NGD but I can imagine it sounding a bit “flabby” on some systems unless bass is extremely well controlled

      The detail and high frequencies are there for sure but a flabby bass would give the perception of muffled mix.

      1. I need to play around with my system more next time I listen to this album. Back when I got the DVD-A it was very early on in my (and I am sure most people’s) multichannel days and I haven’t listed to this album much since. Bass management is an issue when switching between watching TV/movies via the Apple TV versus music through HMDI, Analogue stereo, and Analogue multichannel on my system.

  33. Yet again, SDE comes up with the goods. Simple Minds fans have been hoping for years that an Atmos version of at least New Gold Dream would be released, and now two buses come along at once. Both have previously had hi-res 5.1 releases (albeit in dts-hd), but Atmos is the (current) holy grail of multichannel sound.

    Content wise, I already own both of the previous versions (as well as NGD on dvd audio). So I would’ve preferred Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call this time around. But at least it isn’t one of their shouty later albums.

    And as these come hot on the heels of so many other great releases in the last year, this is a real “take a bow” moment for Paul and crew. I can’t wait to see what comes next. I just hope it’s not a disappointment.

    1. Their most recent albums were nightmarishly mastered, I think? Those could benefit quite a bit from opening up into surround as long as the artists don’t grow some sense and undo the loudness war damage on the stereo mixes…

      1. Sometimes I think the artists don’t have control of the loudness issue. Peter Gabriel’s I/O stereo mixes suffer from brickwalling and you’d think someone of his stature and owning the label would have had the final say. I’ve also seen digital versions brickwalled while vinyl versions are given the full dynamics. No wonder some people say the vinyl sounds better when the CD/download has been compressed for play in a car or via earbuds. I’d image the majority of people who still buy CDs or downloads are listening on home systems as well as on the go. Its a huge shame that uncompressed digital recordings are not being made available unless they are multichannel.

        1. I emailed Real World about the mastering of I/O and was told in no uncertain terms that Peter had approved the mastering and was very happy with it….

          I was also informed that the vinyl for both mixes was cut from exactly the same master with the same amount of compression/limiting applied.

          The master therefore must have been passed through a high pass filter to enable it to be cut without a ridiculously low overall volume and S/N ratio.

          I also asked if Peter would consider releasing an EQ flat transfer at least on Hi Res download and was told a categoric no interest in that….

          I totally agree about compression/limiting used at the mastering stage, some can be helpful to take out the odd instantaneous spike but……

          Interestingly done well EQ flat transfers can sound amazing. The Roxy CD box set and Bryan Ferry SHM-CDs are EQ flat transfers with no mastering compression and they sound absolutely superb.

          1. Great to get the final word from the label. The I/O stereo has a DR of 6 which is quite low but thankfully the instrument separation is good so it doesn’t hit your ears like a (sledge)hammer. The Atmos, being required to have a higher DR, is the preferred mix. My reference to CD v. vinyl DRs was not for I/O but others as I have not seen a DR for the I/O vinyl and do not buy vinyl.

          2. I agree I listen to the stereo folddown of the Inside (Atmos) mix ripped from the Blu Ray and not the stereo mixes.

            A lot of vinyl is cut from the same master and high pass filters used to reduce lower bass energy which increases the DR of the vinyl rip.

            Vinyl rip DR measurements are really a waste of time as the source master cut from can still be heavily compressed. A DR5 master used to cut the vinyl from often results in a DR11 vinyl rip.

          3. Ah. I didn’t know that. So vinyl DRs mean nothing? I was wondering because I listened to a friend’s copy of Gary Numan album (Savage) on CD and vinyl. They sounded different but I would say one sound better than the other. The CD has a DR 4 and vinyl DR 11. But I can tell the difference between different digital masters. The recent Soft Cell CD remasters sound worse than their DRs of 6 and 7 suggest, compared to the DR12 of the originals and first remasters which are much easier on the ears.

          4. The problem with a higher vinyl rip DR is that you can not tell whether it’s truly more dynamic and cut from a more dynamic master or simply cut from the same compressed master using a high pass filter. A high pass filter simply drains some of the low frequency energy and increases the DR. The only will sound more dynamic and less dense but it’s not the dynamics of the original music it’s processing.

            Also DR does not truly manage dynamic range of the entire track.

  34. Hi Paul. I have started buying these Dolby Atmos blu rays. One issue. I have no clue what is the best equipment to buy to play them! I would appreciate a nudge in the right direction. Can I add a bit to my current system? I have A Marantz cd player and tape deck system with four top grade speakers.

    1. a blu ray player (not knowing your price point i can recommend the pioneer https://www.richersounds.com/panasonic-dp-ub450/ ) but you can make that decision you already have 4 good speakers so you would need a sub woofer and also an amp capable of getting the sound from the blu ray connected by optical or HDMI and outputting in 5.1 ( if i assume you are wanting full spatial sound) id also pop into richer sounds and have a chat as with all things hi-fi you can start off small price and go into stupid amounts

      1. Another option, if you are into films, is the Panasonic DP820 blu-ray player, which adds the ability to play 4k films. I recently bought one, together with a good (but budget!) Panasonic TV, and similarly a Denon soundbar. Its a dolby atmos set-up on a budget : )

        1. the 450 also plays 4k i used that as a starter if hes wanting to dip his toes rather than buying the more expensive but better DP-850 the good thing is that both can take a seperate hdmi for the audion to an amp

  36. Great, greater, greatest!! One of my favourite bands on blu ray audio!! Again ordered bundle without hesitation. I’ve got the old blurays, but the atmos mix is a nice extra, as the instrumentals. Thanks Paul!!
    Will FGTH be released as a bluray? I was expecting this as the SW atmos mix is not on the streaming services.

  37. Hi Paul, for us 2-channel hi-rez folks, can you tell us if the original stereo mixes on these have a new mastering, or are they the same as on the 2015/2016 blu-ray releases? Thanks!

  38. Aaaargh, another almost instant purchase. I saw the mail while working. Ordered the bundle.
    I’m in for Once Upon A Time and Street Fighting Years. Add Real Life with all the extended versions.
    Thank you Paul for this.

  39. Fantastic! This is definitely an instant purchase. I can’t believe how fast you are cranking these out Paul! Keep the new wave 80s coming and I’ll keep buying!

  40. Pre ordered both, no brainer really this purchase and the saving in postage and the discount for buying both is great. Love this site it’s like Christmas when you see these Atmos releases wondering what’s next and then being surprised. Great stuff Paul , hopefully soon Welcome To The Pleasuredome will be on my shelf!!.

  41. Thank you, Paul, for keeping on releasing amazing exclusive blu-ray audio discs.
    Instant purchase of two bundles, one for my collector friend and one for me!

    Then – please, please, please – could you manage to add Street Fighting Years and Real Life to the series in the (near) future?

    1. Definitely! I’d love to get “Street Fighting Years” and “Real Life” (including b-sides and extended versions/mixes) as these are my favourite Simple Minds albums.

  42. Paul, any chance you could write a column one day that details your process in getting these SDE editions made? I’m very very interested in the details of who is contacted, who approaches who, who funds these things, etc. If you could walk us through what you went through to get “The Hurting” put together, for instance, I myself would find that fascinating.

    I guess the main reason I’m so interested is because you’re living my fanboy dreams of getting my favorite, forgotten albums remastered and given the deluxe treatment. Oh, if only I had the resources to get A Flock Of Seagulls’ “Listen” or Ebn-Ozn’s “Feeling Cavalier” remixed by Steven Wilson…

  43. Perfect news for a Monday! Loving all the 80’s stuff. Paul Young, Ultravox, Thompson Twins on the way……. wow …. and now this!
    One of my favourite albums, NGD. Really looking forward to listening to these beauties. Thanks again.

  44. Paul, first a request: please push for instrumentals in Atmos/5.1. It’s not clear to me whether this is the case with these new releases. I’d think most people who are truly interested in instrumental tracks would really appreciate the greater clarity/separation afforded by the surround mixes.
    Now, on to my normal comments. No apologies if they’re a bit scattershot, I’m still picking myself up from this news.
    OMG PAUL YOU ARE KILLING MY WALLET. The SDE Surround Series keeps getting better and better! Can I just setup an SDE SS subscription, so you can send new releases to me automatically? Or focus on ’70s and ’90s music for a while so I (and my bank account) can recover!
    These releases are a bit of a full circle for me. The earlier Simple Minds boxes with 5.1 mixes on DVD are the point where I really jumped into buying box sets & surround music. So I’m having a twinge of nostalgia here.
    Super nice that the earlier 5.1 mixes are included – and now lossless! And the instrumental mixes! So much bonus content, these two are great additions to a great series.
    Fingers crossed that a similar announcement for SDE SS releases of Once Upon A Time and Street Fighting Years is just around the corner!

  45. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity ! “New Gold Dream” ordered. I don’t like “Sparkle In The Rain” quite as much and I don’t enjoy the 5.1 mix on the previous blu-ray audio I own. So just NGD for me.
    I really hope “Street Fighting Years” and “Real Life” will also be considered for an Atmos blu-ray release.

    1. Add in How Men Are too, would love to hear Five Minutes To Midnight alone in a surround mix.
      I’ve gone for New Gold Dream, but Sparkle In Rain was a massive drop off for me. Up to NGD Simple Minds were untouchable, but they lost me with the bombastic years. They still come up the occasional strong song and decent album, but for me NGD was a line in the sand.
      I loved the alternative mixes on the DVD-A, they’ve become my go to versions. Really excited to hear the new instrumentals. If one band made great instrumentals it was Simple Minds; Theme For Great Cities being the pinnacle.

  48. @ Paul

    Excellent, I have these both on Blu Ray as well as OUAT.

    I am stereo only so the key question for me here is whether BC’s new stereo mix will me limited/compressed?

    All three existing Blu Ray stereo mixes have pretty good dynamics and sound fantastic.

    I’m a little on the fence, I love both of these but have good stereo mixes on Blu Ray already…..

  50. I’m going to have to wait till the last moment to order these or my bank will be sending people round to check on me, so I hope the customary reminder email goes out. This is an expensive period for audio. I do appreciate the bundle though, mainly for the saving in shipping costs to Canada.
    Incidentally, Canada Post went on strike on Friday so anything you ship to your Canadian customers by regular mail isn’t arriving anytime soon. Royal Mail hand parcels off to Canada Post. Not sure if you have the ability to switch providers.

    2. Im happy for these 14 day windows so i can budget myself accordingly…i usually end up cancelling/pushing certain preorders from Amazon to a later date cuz these beauties are truly unavailable after the window closes…for instance i pushed off the TT ITG 3CD, NO Brotherhood box & Bruce Wooley…plus my soon-to-end (you guessed it) cruise payments…im happy for these releases & my collection to keep my mind off the impending doom & apocalypse headed our way end of January…

  51. Never been much of a fan of Sparkle in the Rain except for “Waterfront” (and the album artwork), but New Gold Dream has long been a favorite. I’ll be interested to see how Bob Clearmountain approached the mix, since the 5.1 mix on the box set brought Jim Kerr’s vocal more to the fore than in the original album mix.

  52. Oh no, not again, please. The bundle purchased. I already have NGD (and OUAT) on DVD-Audio and Sparkle in the Rain on standalone Blu-ray and DVD-Audio / DVD-Video from the 2015 box set. But this I cannot miss. What I can do…

  53. fantastic instantly ordered the bundle!

    but now i am wondering, who would order just one or the other and not both? is it possible when the window closes we could get some insight into how many of each were ordered individually versus the bundle? i would guess it would be on the order of at least 90% bundle orders…

  56. Excellent stuff, love these two albums… Put me down for ‘Once upon a time’ if it gets a new release.

    Also gonna mention Big Country again. They are criminally overlooked for anything like this.

    ‘The Crossing’ would sound epic in Atmos. Steve Lillywhite has expressed an interest in remastering ‘Steeltown’ because he was never happy with the mix as it was one of the first digitally recorded albums ever made and they had horrendous technical issues. Also, the original mix of ‘The Seer’ by Robin Millar has now been discovered in the vaults and is gonna be released at some point.

  57. What a double-whammy! I couldn’t have pre-ordered the bundle quicker! Thanks very much for all your work on this excellent series – this has become my favourite way of engaging with music. Do you have any plans to cover Genesis, perchance? It would a dream come true to have Invisible Touch on disc like this…

  58. Ah, finally some relief for my pocketbook. Already have these and don’t need just for Atmos…..wait….instrumentals?……..multis found???…CURSE YOU SDE!!!!!! obviously ordered post haste. Now, does anybody want some legacy Simple Minds BDs?

  59. I was so close to purchasing the old blu rays at an inflated price from a seller that had them up on eBay just a few months ago. I’m so glad I held off now! Another instant preorder from me Paul, keep up the fantastic work!

  60. Thrilled to see the Minds content get this treatment – especially after the DVD-A editions of NEW GOLD DREAM and ONCE UPON A TIME (2005) became so hard to come by (happy the “expanded” NGD wasn’t left behind). Hopefully OUAT might get such an update for its 40th anniversary coming up. SPARKLE IN THE RAIN losing surround sound DVD in the recent reissue of the box set was troubling, at least there is this expanded option.

  68. Thanks Paul, even though I have the previous releases, there’s seems to be just enough to buy this again. Sometimes predictions do come true (see here)

    Paul, if there’s going to be a Dolby Atmos version of ‘Once Upon A Time’ in the future, please try and get ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ in surround added, it was criminally left off the previous 5.1 release and to me it begins the next period of the Simple Minds sound with ‘Alive And Kicking’ following it.

    Of course, the one deluxe release that should have got the 5.1 treatment was ‘Street Fighting Years’ with the brilliant ‘Belfast Child’. It still seems a strange why it didn’t get the surround treatment unless there’s a good reason for it, hopefully the multi-tracks are around to create a Dolby-Atmos version.

    1. I’ll second that for a future release of ‘Once Upon A Time’, one of my all time favourite albums, but I missed out of the blu-ray. Not making that mistake again, even though I don’t have a surround sound system.

  69. Two excellent albums. I already have the original BRDs, but I’ll be getting these.
    Will there be a Once Upon a Time BRD as well? I’d also love SFY as that didn’t get a BRD.

    Paul – you need to persuade Suede to let you do a physical version of Dog Man Star. Or ideally all of their albums.

      1. Please indulge an old man’s ravings. Can we stop abbreviating everything? There is no way I would have worked out what SFY means without Paul’s reply. It’s only a few seconds of your time, but it would make an old and befuddled man very happy

        1. I thought it was obvious, though I didn’t consider using initials for OUAT. I think it’s too many vowels probably. I was too excited to type Street Fighting Years in full.

          Also I enjoy working out the abbreviations. It’s a little code that means you are in if you understand it. TTFN.

      2. Hi Paul,
        I actually spoke with Ronald Prent after he’d done OUAT and NGD in 2005 and he did so a 5.1 mix from the original masters BUT virgin / whoever blocked the release.
        He was paid ;-) so that exists in the vaults, possibly those original 2005 releases didn’t sell as well?

        instant purchase for these two, the limited instrumentals from the 2016 box sets (NGD) mean lots of new mixes for my ears!!

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