Carpenters, Sheryl Crow, Animals and Hermans Hermits Join SACD Release Schedule

June 5, 2004

Switching gears this week from Classical to Pop Music, Universal Music has added 4 Pop titles to its SACD Release Schedule. The new titles include Super Audio CDs from The Carpenters and Sheryl Crow on the A&M Records label and SACDs from The Animals and Herman’s Hermits on the ABKCO label that is distributed by Universal Music. Here’s more on this week’s SACD release news from the Universal Music Group.

A&M Records Adds Carpenters & Sheryl Crow SACDs
The new Super Audio CDs additions to the release list from A&M Records are the album Singles: 1969-1981 which previously appeared as a Stereo CD release and features 21 of the best known single releases by The Carpenters. Recent industry rumors had talked of Richard Carpenter working in the studio on a 5.1 Surround Sound edition of the Carpenters Greatest Hits. Presumably this newly announced SACD release is the result of that rumored studio activity. It is scheduled for release on September 14th.

Sheryl Crow’s The Globe Sessions is the other new addition to the SACD Release List. It had previously been on Universal’s «Coming Soon» SACD list and has now been moved up to the active release list. The SACD edition of The Globe Sessions is slated for release on August 10th. (This album has been previously released in 5.1 Surround Sound in both the DTS 5.1 Music Disc and DVD-A formats.)

  • The Carpenters — Singles: 1969-1981 (A&M Records B0002996-36)
  • Sheryl Crow — The Globe Sessions (A&M Records B0003057-26)

ABKCO Records Slates Greatest Hits Sets by The Animals and Herman’s Hermits for Release
Also added to the SACD release list this week are greatest hits albums by The Animals and Herman’s Hermits. For their Super Audio CD release, the albums will each be titled «Retrospective» and will packaged in a digipak.The Retrospective title differs from ABKCO’s current «Best of Animals» and «Herman’s Hermits Greatest Hits» titles from these groups on Stereo CD. It will be interesting to see if the new title means a different song line up for these upcoming SACDs.

Also of note, ABKCO informs us that the two albums will feature Stereo and Mono tracks, not 5.1 Surround Sound mixes as previously reported. Both of these SACDs are due out on July 20th.

  • The Animals — Retrospective (ABKCO Records 93252)
  • Herman’s Hermits — Retrospective (ABKCO Records 92282)

Upcoming Universal Music SACD Release List
Other changes announced this week include moving the SACD edition of Lionel Ritchie’s Just for You album on Island Records from June 22nd to July 13th and moving the performance of Ravel’s Bolero by Pierre Boulez and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from August 10th to September 14th.Here’s an updated look at the Universal Music SACD Release List with the 4 additions and the 2 date changes from this week as mentioned above.

June 15, 2004 SACD Releases

  • Joseph Calleja — Tenor Arias (Decca Classical)
  • Riccardo Chailly, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra — Mahler: Symphony 3 (Decca Classics)
  • Jamie Cullum — Twenty Something (Verve)
  • Valery Gergiev, Kirov Opera — Shostakovich: Symphonies 5 & 9 (Philips)
  • Various Artists — SACD: The Ultimate Audio Experience — The Classics Sampler (Universal Music Classics)

July 13, 2004 SACD Releases

  • Allman Brothers Band — Eat A Peach (Mercury)
  • Allman Brothers Band — Live At Fillmore East (Mercury)
  • Vince Gill — High Lonesome Sound (MCA Nashville)
  • Diana Krall — Love Scenes (Verve)
  • Christina Milian — It’s About Time (Island)
  • Lionel Ritchie — Just For You (Island)

July 20, 2004 SACD Releases

  • The Animals — Retrospective (ABKCO Records)
  • Herman’s Hermits — Retrospective (ABKCO Records)

August 10, 2004 SACD Releases

  • Sheryl Crow — The Globe Sessions (A&M Records)
  • Claudio Abbado, Berlin Philharmonic — Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Juliane Banse, Pierre Boulez, Cleveland Orchestra — Mahler: Symphony No. 4 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Concerto Koln & Saraband — Dream of the Orient (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Herbert Von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic — Beethoven: Symphonies No. 1 & 2 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Herbert Von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic — Beethoven: Symphonies No. 3 & 4 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Herbert Von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic — Beethoven: Symphonies No. 5 & 6 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Herbert Von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic — Beethoven: Symphonies No. 7 & 8 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Gundula Janowitz, Hilde Rцssel-Majdan, Waldemar Kmentt, Walter Berry, Wiener Singverein, Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra — Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort & Players — Handel: Messiah (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Mikhail Pletnev, Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian National Orchestra — Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 & Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Mikhail Pletnev — Pletnev Plays Schumann (Deutsche Grammophon)

September 14, 2004 SACD Releases

  • The Carpenters — Singles: 1969-1981 (A&M Records)
  • Pierre Boulez, Berlin Philharmonic — Ravel: Bolero (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Richard Croft, Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre — Gluck: Orphee et Eurydice (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Bryn Terfel, Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra Europe — Mozart: Don Giovanni (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Anne Sofie Von Otter, Thomas Quasthoff, Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra of Europe — Schubert: Lieder With Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)

SACD Releases Coming Soon

  • Count Basie & His Orchestra — April In Paris (Verve)
  • John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman — John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (Impulse)
  • 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)
  • Marvin Gaye — The Marvin Gaye Collection (Motown)
  • Herbie Hancock — Gershwin’s World (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)
  • Olivier Latry — Midnight at Notre Dame: Organ Transcriptions (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • 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)
    Singles: 1969-1981 by the Carpenters and The Globe Sessions by Sheryl Crow — New to the Universal Music SACD Release Schedule This Week