Tangerine Dream / Japan reissues
The Japanese Tangerine Dream SHM-SACD/CDs are released this week and SDE brings you an exclusive photo gallery of these exquisite packages.
It is the band’s first four albums for Virgin Records that are being reissued, namely, Phaedra (1974), Rubycon (1975), Ricochet (1975) and Stratosfear (1976).
Each album is available in three formats, all of which use brand new 2015 mastering from the original UK analog master tape. All also boast splendid Japan vinyl replica packaging. Your options are:
- • SHM-SACD: Hi-res better-than-CD sound. Single layer non-hybrid discs that won’t play on ‘normal’ CD players, just SACD players.
- • Platinum SHM-CD: Compatible with all CD players. Uses platinum in place of the aluminium to form the reflective coating on the disc for supposed improvement in performance.
- • SHM-CD: As above but no platinum coating. Compatible with all CD players.
Since Universal Music Japan appear to have abandoned the outer boxes (see this image) which used to be exclusive to SACD and Platinum CD, the latter have now arguably lost any appeal since they were really only worth buying for the enhanced packaging. The SACDs are obviously still desirable for the high resolution sound.
These are all officially released tomorrow, 25 February 2015.
Images courtesy of Universal Music Japan.
Phaedra
SHM-SACD
Platinum SHM-CD
SHM-CD
Rubycon
SHM-SACD
Platinum SHM-CD
SHM-CD
Ricochet
SHM-SACD
Platinum SHM-CD
SHM-CD
Stratosfear
SHM-SACD
Platinum SHM-CD
SHM-CD
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Anyone got any reports on the sound quality? Japanese mini-LP editions are always nice, but I’ve already got previous CD and LP editions of these albums (not sure if they’re even from the best spectrum either) – my favorite ones from TD, btw , so it’d be nice to know if these ones are worth getting sound quality-wise (and pay 160 € for all 4 of them, incl. shipping from Japan :P).
Be wary that the *Platinum* SHM-CD are NOT compatible will ALL CD players: as the Platinum surface has less reflection than normal aluminum CDs (more akin to homemade CD-Rs) older players which are not compatible with CD-R will have trouble reading them or won’t read them at all.
Okay, thanks. Good to know.
Indeed a pity that the boxes are discontinued :/
Anyway, I’m about to soon receive the Platinum SHM-CD set…
…in a Disk Union box :-)
Universal in Japan are doing a splendid job of these reissues over the last few years. Initially they were doing just the odd album here and there hence why they were “boxed”. Now they seem to be releasing whole catalogues (not only the Tangs, but Roxy Music and VdGG) so I assume it’s not practical to release these in individual boxes. They will sound good as they will be DSD flat transfers as is usual for these releases. However, I have the papersleeve editions of a few years back which used Simon Heyworths masters and they sounded pretty good, so it will be interesting to find out what improvement, if any these new releases offer in comparison.
Fitting (unknowing) tribute to Edgar.
Phaedra/Mysterious Semblance are hard-wired in my grey matter.
Still have Phaedra picture cd from a back in the day Virgin triple box of Tangs/Edgar-Aqua/Ashra-Blackouts.