At 4,500 yen each (approx. US$54 each), I got these three SHM-CD SA-CD which are non-hybrid (you cannot play them on a CD player, you must use an SA-CD player) – the verdict? All 3 are re-mastered in Tokyo in 2010 and are amazing. Master tape sound. Bit hissy for the Black Sabbath and Blind Faith, but all the sound’s there. The 10cc is very impressive, really big sound. I can’t imagine re-buying all my favorite classic rock titles in this format, for this price, however. Great sound, but…too expensive!
On the horizon, Universal Japan is making SHM-CD SA-CD non-hybrids for Traffic “John Barleycorn” and Caravan “In The Land of Grey & Pink”. I also got The Who “Who’s Next” in this format, but the sound is not as impressive as, say, “Tommy” in SA-CD. The UK mastering, no doubt?
– RK
I remember my US Mercury pressing of “The Original Soundtrack” had amazing sound for the time. I maintain that it was possibly the best-produced album of the 70s. It honestly sounded like what Trevor Horn was doing 5-8 years later with cutting edge computer technology.
The SHM-CD SA-CD non-hybrid has astonishing sound. How’d they get it so clear? Must be the DSD 2010 mastering in Tokyo…
I never get tired of hating that Blind Faith cover, though. Has there ever been as dismal a face for an album? The only Blind Faith cover I love is Torch Song’s life-changing cover of “Can’t Find My Way Home.” It sits at the front of my mind, habitually as the best cover version I’ve ever heard. I can almost never listen to is just once, when I do. I usually play it very loudly and then play it some more!
I believe it’s either The Persuasions or the 5 Blind Boys of Alabama that cover “Presence Of The Lord” – unbelievable.
I remember asking Pete Brown about the cover; he said something to the effect that “the band couldn’t be moved” when it was suggested to them to change it. Apparently, the US cover (band photo) was done without their permission, per se.