Steely Dan’s “Can’t Buy A Thrill” and Sting’s “Brand New Day” are among the new titles that Universal Music has added to its Super Audio CD release list. Also of interest this week were some release date changes and some added information about the surround mixes on the upcoming Allman Brothers Band Surround Sound SACD releases. Here are the highlights:
New Surround Sound SACDs Planned from Steely Dan and Sting
This week brought both good and bad news to Steely Dan fans. The good news is that the group’s album “Can’t Buy A Thrill” has been added to the list of Surround Sound Super Audio CDs planned for release this summer. The bad news is that the release date for all 6 Steely Dan SACDs has been pushed back from June 22nd to July 20th.
Also noteworthy is the news that Sting’s album “Brand New Day” is headed for release on Surround Sound Super Audio CD on April 27th. The album has previously appeared in Surround Sound as a DTS 5.1 Music Disc and later on as a DVD-A release. It will be interesting to see if the DTS and DVD-A mix is used for the upcoming Surround Sound SACD edition as well.
Some Release Date Changes
In terms of release dates, some changes have been made as well. The 6 Stereo SACDs by Oscar Peterson have been moved back one week to April 13th. The SACDs of Tenor Arias by Joseph Calleja has been bumped from May 11th to June 15th. The Calleja SACD will be joined on that date by the SACD edition of Riccardo Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s performance of Mahler’s 3rd Symphony on Decca Classics.
Here’s how Universal Music’s upcoming Surround Sound SACD release list is shaping up with these additions and changes:
April 13, 2004 SACD Releases
Oscar Peterson – Exclusively For My Friends, Vol 1: Action (Verve)
Oscar Peterson – Exclusively For My Friends, Vol 2: Girl Talk (Verve)
Oscar Peterson – Exclusively For My Friends, Vol 3: The Way I Really Play (Verve)
Oscar Peterson – Exclusively For My Friends, Vol 4: My Favorite Instrument (Verve)
Oscar Peterson – Exclusively For My Friends, Vol 5: Mellow Mood (Verve)
Oscar Peterson – Exclusively For My Friends, Vol 6: Travelin’ On (Verve)
April 27, 2004 SACD Releases
Gary Allan – See If I Care (MCA Nashville)
Diana Krall – The Girl In The Other Room (Verve)
Sting – Brand New Day (A&M)
The Wallflowers – Red Letter Days (Interscope)
Bryn Terfel – Bryn (Deutsche Grammophon)
Hйlиne Grimaud – Credo (Deutsche Grammophon)
May 4, 2004 SACD Release
Godsmack – The Other Side (Universal Records)
May 11, 2004 SACD Releases
Vladimir Ashkenazy – Shostakovich: Piano Works (Decca Classical)
Jamie Cullum – Twenty Something (Verve)
Ottavio Dantone, Accademia Bizantina – Scarlatti: Il Giardinodi Rose (Decca Classical)
Lang Lang, Piano – Live At Carnegie Hall (Deutsche Grammophon)
Mischa Maisky, Violin; Mehta, Berlin Philharmonic – Dvorak: Cello Concerto & Strauss: Don Quixote (Deutsche Grammophon)
May 18, 2004 SACD Releases
Allman Brothers Band – Eat A Peach (Mercury)
Allman Brothers Band – Live At Fillmore East (Mercury)
June 15, 2004 SACD Releases
Joseph Calleja – Tenor Arias (Decca Classical)
Riccardo Chailly, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – Mahler: Symphony 3 (Decca Classics)
July 20, 2004 SACD Releases
Steely Dan – Aja (MCA)
Steely Dan – Can’t Buy A Thrill (MCA)
Steely Dan – Countdown to Ecstasy (MCA)
Steely Dan – Katy Lied (MCA)
Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic (MCA)
Steely Dan – The Royal Scam (MCA)
SACD Releases Coming Soon
Count Basie & His Orchestra – April In Paris (Verve)
Eric Clapton – 461 Ocean Blvd. (Polydor)
Eric Clapton – Slow Hand (Polydor)
John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (Impulse)
Derek & the Dominoes – Layla (Polydor)
Antal Dorati, Philharmonia Hugarica Orchestra – Respighi: Ancient Airs & Dances for Lute (Decca Classics)
Antal Dorati, London Symphony Orchestra – Stravinsky: The Firebird (Complete);Tango; Scherzo а la Russe (Decca Classics)
Herbie Hancock – Gershwin’s World (Verve)
Joe Henderson – Lush Life: The Music Of Billy Strayhorn (Verve)
Shirley Horn – Here’s to Live: Shirley Horn With Strings (Verve)
Byron Janis, Antal Dorati, London Sympohny Orchestra, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninov: Piano Concerti 2 & 3; 2 Preludes (Decca Classics)
Tonu Kaljuste – Te Deum (ECM)
Eleni Karaindrou – Soundtrack: Ulysses’ Gaze (ECM)
Motley Crьe – Greatest Hits (Hip-O Records)
Paul Paray, Detroit Symphony Orchestra – Suppй: Overtures (+Auber) (Decca Classics)
Janos Starker – Bach: Six Suites For Solo Cello (Philips)
Allman Brothers SACD Surround Sound Mixes
There have been several questions raised by Surround Sound fans as to whether Universal Music would use the original 4 Channel “Quad” mixes for the upcoming “Live at Fillmore East” and “Eat A Peach” SACDs by the Allman Brothers Band. I ran the question by the key players at Universal Music’s eLabs Division.
They inform me that the 5.1 Surround Sound mixes on both of the Allman Brothers SACDs are entirely new mixes which “sound great”. We’ll have to wait until May 18th to hear if the Allman Brothers Band fans agree!