Universal Music Releases 14 New Super Audio CDs

August 10, 2004

Kicking off the first of four weekly Super Audio CD releases this month, the Universal Music Group has issued 14 new SACDs today which are now available in music stores in the U.S. Today’s Super Audio CDs include a Surround Sound SACD from Sheryl Crow as well as 8 Surround Sound SACDs and 5 Stereo SACDs from the Deutsche Grammophon label. Also new today were a series of updates to Universal Music’s SACD Release List.

The Globe Sessions
Sheryl Crow
SACD Surround Sound/SACD Stereo/CD Stereo
(A&M Records B0003057-36)

Today’s Super Audio CD release of The Globe Sessions by Sheryl Crow is the third time that this album has appeared in Surround Sound in recent years. It originally was released as a DTS Music Disc in 2001, then as a DVD-A disc last September and now as a Surround Sound Super Audio CD. The SACD was made by Sony DADC in Terre Haute, Indiana.

As with the earlier editions, the SACD features Surround Sound mixing and mastering by engineer David Tickle. The Surround Sound mix features Crow’s vocals primarily in the Center channel with use of the Surround Channels varied based on the song. It’s used for backing vocals and instruments on some tracks and more subtly on others. I should also note that Track 12 (Sweet Child O’ Mine) is not available on the SACD Surround Sound track.

Album Selections
1. My Favorite Mistake
2. There Goes The Neighborhood
3. Riverwide
4. It Don’t Hurt
5. Maybe That’s Something
6. Am I Getting Through (Part I & II)
7. Anything But Down
8. The Difficult Kind
9. Mississippi
10. Members Only
11. Crash And Burn
12. Sweet Child O’ Mine (Stereo SACD & CD Tracks Only)

13 Super Audio CDs from Deutsche Grammophon
Also new today are a series of Classical Music Super Audio CDs from the Deutsche Grammophon label. Included in the group are Surround Sound SACDs by Claudio Abbado & the Berlin Philharmonic, Juliane Banse, Pierre Boulez & the Cleveland Orchestra, Concerto Koln & Saraband, Reinhard Goebel & Musica Antiqua Köln, Olivier Latry, Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort & Players, Mikhail Pletnev, Mstislav Rostropovich & the Russian National Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev. Two of the SACDs (the ones by Abbado & the Berlin Philharmonic perfoming Mahler’s 5th Symphony and Pletnev with Rostropovich conducting the Russian National Orchestra) are 2 SACD sets yet they also carry the single SACD list price of $18.99.

In addition, Deutsche Grammophon released the Beethoven Symphony cycle by Herbert Von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic as five separate Hybrid Stereo SACDs. High Fidelity Review readers will recall that this cycle was released previously on Hybrid Stereo Super Audio CD as a 6 SACD Boxed Set. For some reason, the five individual SACDs were shown on the Universal Music New Formats web site as having a Surround Sound SACD track but the actual released discs are in fact Hybrid Stereo SACDs as expected.

Here’s a summary of today’s SACD releases from Deutsche Grammophon:

  • 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)
  • Reinhard Goebel, Musica Antiqua Köln – Le Roi Danse Original Soundtrack (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 Rössel-Majdan, Waldemar Kmentt, Walter Berry, Wiener Singverein, Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Olivier Latry – Midnight at Notre Dame: Organ Transcriptions (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)

Availability
Today’s 14 Universal Music Super Audio CD releases are now available and in stock at Tower Records music stores. They are also available from the Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc and Music Direct web sites.

News About The Upcoming Carpenters Super Audio CD Release
Visitors to the Richard Carpenter web site were treated to some advance news regarding the upcoming release of The Carpenters album Singles: 1969-1981 in 5.1 Surround Sound SACD. According to the FAQs section there, the new Super Audio CD will use the original Stereo mixes of the Carpenters songs on the SACD and CD Stereo tracks while using original and newer musical parts in the Surround Sound mix.

Turning to the Surround Sound mix, Richard Carpenter tells web viewers that he is not a fan of the 1970’s 4 Channel Quad mixes of the Carpenters albums done by former A&M Records staffers Marv Bornstein and Bart Chiate. Instead, the upcoming Super Audio CD will have brand new 5.1 Surround Sound mixes done by Carpenter with the help of ace producer and engineer Al Schmitt. It will be interesting to hear the new mixes although I will say that I found the 1970’s Quad Mixes to be quite good.

Finally, Carpenter says that a DVD-A version of the album is also in the planning stages. He says we should expect to see that “within the next 12 months, if not sooner”.

Upcoming Universal Music SACD Release List
Checking the Universal Music SACD Release list, it has several changes worth noting.

Diana Krall’s Love Scenes Surround Sound SACD has been moved up from the Coming Soon list to SACD release next week on August 17th.

Date changes include Bryn Terfel’s recording of Don Giovanni moving from 9/14 to 10/12 and The Carpenters Singles SACD moving from 9/28 to 10/26.

Several SACDs have been bumped back to the Coming Soon list including planned SACD releases by Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Shirley Horn, Chet Baker, John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman and the Polish Festival Orchestra performance of Chopin’s Piano Concertos 1 and 2.

Here’s the complete list of upcoming SACDs from Universal Music with the new additions and changes included:

August 17, 2004 SACD Release

  • Diana Krall – Love Scenes (Verve)
  • Lionel Ritchie – Just For You (Island)

August 24, 2004 SACD Releases

  • Allman Brothers Band – Live At Fillmore East (Mercury)
  • Monica Mancini, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rankin, Joey De Francesco, Tom Scott, Gary Burton, Take 6, Michael Lang & Plas Johnson – Ultimate Mancini (Concord Records)
  • Snow Patrol – Final Straw (Interscope)

August 31, 2004 SACD Releases
Toby Keith – Shock ‘n’ Ya’ll (Dreamworks Nashville)
Lee Ann Womack – Greatest Hits (MCA Nashville)

September 14, 2004 SACD Releases

  • Pierre Boulez, Berlin Philharmonic – Ravel: Bolero (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Ray Charles with Norah Jones, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Elton John, Natalie Cole, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis & Van Morrison – Genius Loves Company (Concord Records)
  • Marvin Gaye – The Marvin Gaye Collection (Motown)
  • Anne Sofie Von Otter, Thomas Quasthoff, Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra of Europe – Schubert: Lieder With Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)

October 12, 2004 SACD Release

  • Argerich & Pletnev – Cinderella Suite from the Ballet for 2 Pianos & La Mere (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Antal Dorati, Philharmonia Hugarica Orchestra – Respighi: Ancient Airs & Dances for Lute (Decca Classics)
  • Antal Dorati, London Symphony Orchestra – Stravinsky: The Firebird (Complete);Tango; Scherzo à la Russe (Decca Classics)
  • Byron Janis, Antal Dorati, London Sympohny Orchestra, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninov: Piano Concerti 2 & 3; 2 Preludes (Decca Classics)
  • Paul Mc Creesh, Gabrieli Consort & Players – Music for San Rocco (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Paul Paray, Detroit Symphony Orchestra – Suppé: Overtures (+Auber) (Decca Classics)
  • Janos Starker – Bach: Six Suites For Solo Cello (Philips)
  • Bryn Terfel, Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra Europe – Mozart: Don Giovanni (3 SACD Box Set) (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Jaap van Zweden, Residentie Orchestra – Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (5 SACD Box Set) (Philips)

October 26, 2004 SACD Release
The Carpenters – Singles: 1969-1981 (A&M Records)

November 9, 2004 SACD Releases
Cotrubas, Domingo, Kleiber, Bayerischer, Staatsorchester – Verdi: La Traviata (2 SACD Set) (Deutsche Grammophon)
Richard Croft, Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre – Gluck: Orphee et Eurydice (Deutsche Grammophon)

SACD Releases Coming Soon

  • Chet Baker – Baker’s Holiday: Chet Baker Plays & Sings The Billie Holiday Songbook (Verve)
  • Count Basie & His Orchestra – April In Paris (Verve)
  • John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman – John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman (Impulse)
  • Dorati, Enescu, London Symphony Orch – Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies (Decca Classics)
  • Frederick Fennell, Eastman Wind Ensemble – Sousa Marches (Decca Classics)
  • Renee Fleming – Handel (Decca Classics)
  • Juan Diego Florez – Great Tenor Arias (Decca Classics)
  • Hilary Hahn, Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Elgar: Violin Concerto Op. 61 & Williams: The Lark Ascending
  • (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Herbie Hancock – Gershwin’s World (Verve)
  • Howard Hanson, Eastman Rochester Orchestra – Hanson: Symphonies No. 1 (Nordic) & 2 (Romantic); Song of Democracy (Philips)
  • Joe Henderson – Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (Verve)
  • Shirley Horn – Here’s to Live: Shirley Horn With Strings (Verve)
  • Elton John – Captain Fantastic (Island)
  • Elton John – Elton John (Island)
  • Elton John – Honky Chateau (Island)
  • Elton John – Madman Across The Water (Island)
  • Elton John – Tumbleweed Connection (Island)
  • Tonu Kaljuste – Te Deum (ECM)
  • Eleni Karaindrou – Soundtrack: Ulysses’ Gaze (ECM)
  • Christina Milian – It’s About Time (Island)
  • Motley Crüe – Greatest Hits (Hip-O Records)
  • Anne Sofie Mutter, Andre Previn, London Symphony Orchestra – Tchaikovsky & Korngold: Violin Concertos (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Anna Netrebko, Claudio Abbado, Mahler Chamber Orchestra – Sempre Libera (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Zimerman, Polish Festival Orchestra – Chopin: Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2 (Deutsche Grammophon)
  • Linda Ronstadt – Humming to Myself (Verve)