Brothers In Arms Coming to SACD Surround Sound on May 9th

Brothers In Arms by the Dire Straits, one of the best known rock albums of the ’80s and one of the most sought after rock albums for a Surround Sound edition is coming to Surround Sound Super Audio CD next month on May 9th. News of the upcoming SACD release of Brothers In Arms broke last week on two web sites that closely follow the music of Mark Knopfler who was the lead vocalist, guitar player and leader of the group.

Brothers In Arms and Shangri-La in Hi Rez Audio
Brothers In Arms features 9 songs written by Knopfler, including one that was co-written by Sting who provides guest vocals on the album as well. It was originally released in 1985 and next month’s special edition marks the albums 20th Anniversary. The SACD of Brothers In Arms follows last year’s release of Knopfler’s most recent album entitled Shangri-La in Surround Sound SACD in the European market by Mercury Records and later in the U.S. on a DVD-A + CD Double Disc by Warner Music U.S.

News About the 5.1 Surround Sound SACD Mix
There’s also been some discussion about the Brother In Arms 5.1 Surround Sound mix over on the Hi Rez Highway Internet Forum. On that forum, Telarc Chief Engineer Michael Bishop says veteran producer and surround sound mixer and engineer Chuck Ainlay spent 3 months mixing Brothers In Arms into Surround Sound.

Interestingly, the mix was done in the “analog domain” and Ainlay was said to be “thrilled” with the final results. It sounds like this will be a very nice SACD to add to any rock fan’s collection.

The 3,000th SACD Release?
The Shangri-La gained some notariaty in Super Audio CD circles as the 2,500th SACD release worldwide. Some SACD fans have asked if Brothers In Arms will be the 3,000th SACD release since the current count stands at 2,942 according to the sa-cd.net web site in Australia that catalogs all Super Audio CDs released. We’ll have to wait until May 9th to see if that is the story.

Another Surround Sound Special Edition from Mercury Records
The SACD edition is coming from Mercury Records and the Vertigo label of Universal Music International in Europe. It closely follows their recent 40th Anniversary Surround Sound SACD by Dutch rock group Golden Earring.

Two SACD Editions of Brothers In Arms?
One of the interesting parts of the release is that we are told that there will be two versions of the Brothers In Arms SACD – one in a regular case (Vertigo/Mercury Records 987149-8) and a second will be a “Limited Edition” SACD in a Digipak (Vertigo/Mercury Records 987149-7). We’ll keep an eye out for more information on what the difference is between the two versions.

Preorders Being Taken by Amazon in the U.K.
Now that the Brothers In Arms: 20th Anniversary Edition SACD is just a month away, Amazon.Co.Uk has listed both versions of the Brothers In Arms SACD for preorders. Each carries a price of Ј11.99 and Amazon says that “This item will be released on May 9, 2005. You may order it now and we will dispatch it to you when we receive it from our supplier.”