Reissue roundup: Groove Note's concord reissues and a host of others.

The most recent major record company to jump onto the SACD bandwagon is Fantasy, the giant jazz label. In early summer they announced that they would soon be entering the ever-growing list of record labels that are hopeful that this new format knight bring some redemption to their sagging bottom lines. While Fantasy hadn't announced its initial SACD offerings at this writing, it isn't clear whether the two audiophile boutique labels who have been mining their vaults (the new Mobile Fidelity and Audiophile Productions) will be left out in the cold or not. Meanwhile, Concord Records has also been busy releasing its own SACDs even though it has been licensing some of its titles to Groove Note and Pure Audioptule. Concord made its announcement that their SACDs would be released in commemoration of their 30th anniversary. While the Groove Note releases thus far have contained stereo-only content, all of Concord's own SACDs have offered stereo and multi-channel sound. This is, it seems to me, a maneuver for them to gauge consumers' reactions to their titles in surround sound. This installment reports on many of these new reissues from Groove Note, Universal, Blue Note, Concord and EMI. I'll be saving the best for last.

Let's begin, though, with what many SACD proponents consider the format's most momentous coup to date: the reissue of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (EMI 82136; hybrid stereo/multi-channel). There isn't much more that can be said about this classic album's impact on music sales, or its influence on the music that followed it. If the reader is very much interested in Pink Floyd, he or she would have already taken note of this release last March and purchased it soon after. The big deal on this one is that for its multi-channel segment (only), the producers went back to the original session tapes to concoct a 5.1 surround mix. In short, they were successful at this, especially in view of the novelty. While I don't personally own a multi-channel SACD player, I know several enthusiasts who do, so it was at a friend's house where 1 came to the conclusion that this release was not 100% turkey. If you haven't yet succumbed to the notion that you need 5 speakers and a subwoofer to hear your music properly, you can save your money. The stereo segment of the SACD layer as well as the CD layer reveal heavy-handed equalization that makes for some rather perplexed reactions to the sound. On my Marantz SA-14, I find it dull, opaque, lifeless and muffled. The original EMI/Harvest LP still sounds best, in my opinion, although many audiophiles consider the new 180-gram vinyl reissue to be superior to the highly collectible original.

There's more to the story on this one though. I've heard reports that in preparation for this release, EMI ordered nearly 1/2 million copies of the disc, pressed at various plants around the world. Most of those to reach American customers were manufactured at the new Crest facility in California. It turns out that there is a manufacturing defect in those early Crest pressings that causes the disc to crack at or near the spindle hole. I count six fissures on my copy, although none of these appear to be encroaching on the data area. To my knowledge, neither EMI nor Crest has offered to replace these defective discs with new ones so any interested readers would be advised to look for a copy that was manufactured in Japan. The origin of the disc is in the fine print on the back of the case. In late August 2003 1 read a report on the Internet that the album has surpassed 550,000 copies sold in the SACD format. While many of these are not likely being played on SACD-compatible players, this single factor contributes much to the new format's recognition outside the audiophile community.

Now it's time for some good news that can be summed up in two words: Groove Note. Following up on their excellent Ray Brown (Soular Energy) and LA4 (Just Friends) releases earlier this year, the company has licensed two more Concord titles for reissue; both have excellent sound. The first of these is The Gene Harris Trio Plus One (Groove Note GRV1019-3), which comes from live performances at the Blue Note in New York City in November/December 1985. I have to confess that as a long-time ardent supporter of the Concord Jazz label, this recording is one that I had not previously owned or heard. It features Gene and Ray together again, as on Soular Energy, with Mickey Roker on drums. The Plus One is Stanley Turrentine whose smooth, mellow tenor sax impresses on all 6 of the album's upbeat, blues-tinged tracks. This one's a winner all the way, and could end up on my annual staff picks column as the best jazz reissue of the year; highly recommended.

Groove Note's other new Concord reissue is Rosemary Clooney: With Love (Groove Note GRV1018-3). I have owned tits on LP since its initial release in 1981, and, as usual, the Groove Note recording team has done an excellent job of retaining the LP's best sonic attributes. The album features a top-notch septet of backup musicians, Scott Hamilton, Nat Pierce, Cal Tjader and Jake Hanna, among them; all have recorded numerous times for Concord. The selections are a little unusual for Ms. Clooney, comprised primarily of more contemporary tunes such as Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" or Marvin Hamllsch's "The Way We Were." She doesn't quite seem to have mastered these two songs as well as I would have hoped. The other 7 tracks are much more in keeping with her singing style, and the album retains, here, much upon which Clooney's well-deserved reputation is based. As with all of Groove Note's SACDs, these two are stereo-only hybrids (no multi-channel) that are backward compatible to conventional CD players. The company's newest release (that is not a reissue), Jacintha: Jacintha is Her Name Groove Note GRV1014-3, hybrid stereo/ multi-channel), follows on the heels of their excellent-sounding Eden Atwood SACD (see last year's Staff Picks article).

The $64 question is, though, to what extent will Ying Tan of Groove Note be able to provide us with these quality reissues in the future? If their involvement in this series is curtailed by Concord's own decision to release their products as SACDs, then I think there is just cause for a little dismay. Obviously, Groove Note would be more Interested In licensing those rifles that were the best combination of sound and music, whereas Concord may be Interested in releasing those that have been among its best sellers. I selected three of Concord's first SACD releases, two of which have been In my collection as LPs since their original release: Stan Getz: Pure Getz (Concord SACD-10006), Tania Maria: Come With Me (Concord SACD-10002) and Tito Puente: Goza Mi Timbal (Concord SACD-10004). Noting again that these recordings haven't been heard much in their multi-channel format because I prefer the traditional two-channel stereo, it is fair to say that although these three recordings appear to have made the transition to DSD well, there's something coldly analytical about their sound that has me solidly In the Groove Note camp. The Groove Note transfers simply sound more musical to these ears; Concord's choice of titles didn't impress me either.

Both Universal's Verve and EMI's Blue Note labels have reissued several classic jazz albums In the SACD format, and of the many available I selected Bob Belden: Black Dahlia (Blue Note 41745-2), John Coltrane: Blue Train (Blue Note 41757-2), John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse 589 596), Muddy Waters: Folk Singer (Chess 112-940-2) and Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto: Get# Gilberto (Verve 314 589 595) to get some idea where these labels were headed.

Universal has employed two marketing strategies with their SACD reissues: the older, classic recordings are single layer stereo-only releases with no PCM layer; newer recordings like those from Diana Krall are stereo/multi-channel hybrids. In many instances their SACD releases are selling at or below the price of conventional CDs; the hybrid multi-channel ones sell for a few dollars more. All of Blue Note's reissues are hybrids, but like Universal, no attempt to fabricate an ersatz multi-channel mix for the classic recordings has been perpetrated on consumers. And, like Universal, a multi-channel mix is offered on the more contemporary Belden release. Many SACD adopters complain that single layer releases preclude them from playing their purchases in conventional CD players they may have in locations other than their main listening room. I have no quibble with the labels' decisions to release them as such since the single layer discs generally have appeared at lower prices. Beyond that, I would imagine that in most instances these consumers already own the CD version of these recordings. Philips has announced that it will be releasing an SACD player for cars, so the objection becomes even weaker.

There are a lot of audiophile favorites among this group of Verve and Blue Note reissues, but, by and large, I was not impressed by any of these when comparing them to their earlier releases on CD and/ or LP. In my opinion, they do not reflect an adequate amount of attention to detail in preparing the DSD masters. While I can usually identify an improvement in sound quality in analog to DSD transfers, I believe that the new medium itself accounts for less than 10% of any sonic improvements we hear, but the selection of proper tape recorders, mixing consoles and equalization contribute more than 90%. I would cite the remastering work done for various labels by Doug Sax and Steve Hoffman and the well-trained ears of Joe Harley and Ying Tan as examples of what can be done to proffer the kinds of improvements audiophiles and music lovers should expect to receive whenever they elect to buy reissued music--several times over in most cases. If you listen closely to these, you might detect some differences; whether or not those differences could be interpreted as improvements would depend on each listener's preferences. What is clear to this writer is that there are differences on most of these, but not necessarily any I could regard as significant improvements. Of course, if you don't already own any of these titles (and you have an SACD player), then the fact that many of the major labels are often pricing their new SACD releases below the cost of conventional CDs should be of some interest to you.

I am becoming painfully aware of the fact that this new medium is quickly falling victim to the whims of the home theater crowd who, in general, want the chance to hear their favorite music In multi-channel, no matter how far that sound might depart from natural or realistic. Although this doesn't appear to be detrimental to the traditional audio purist on the surface, and with Sony's vow to provide a two-channel mix on all SACDs notwithstanding, I believe that the future of the medium is largely predicated on the industry's success at supplanting consumers' conventional CD players with new hardware capable of doing it all--movies in the DVD format, and music in any of the various formats currently available. What appears to be making matters worse for audiophiles is that the industry is paying less attention to the quality of the stereo segments than they are to the multi-channel. Unlike DVD-Audio, which has the option of converting a multi-channel mix into stereo using the listener's Digital Signal Processor in his receiver, SACD provides discrete programming that doesn't depend on the variable quality of the DSP. But once the medium is established, chances are good that these stereo segments will be deleted from future releases, forcing the few stragglers to buy Into the multi-channel fantasy. How quickly the audio industry turns its back on the ardent audiophiles who give a new format a foothold is what amazes me most.

It gives me great pleasure to conclude this installment of my column on two joyful notes. First is Universal's recent announcement that the classic Mercury Living Presence recordings will begin to appear in late 2003 in the SACD format. As with their very successful conversion to the CD medium in the nineties, Wilma Cozart Fine will be overseeing the new conversions. Those who want to hear these often definitive recordings in multi-channel will be pleased to know that most of them will offer a three-channel segment in addition to newly remastered stereo.

Thanks to the astute business practices of Telarc, the company is importing and distributing Pentatone Classics from Holland. Former Philips executives established this new label to offer multi-channel versions of some classic Philips recordings as well as new offerings they have commissioned.

My first of two Pentatone acquisitions is Beethoven Piano Concertos 2 & 4; Stephen Kovacevich (piano), London Symphony, Colin Davis (5186-101) This particular recording has been a favorite of mine since its initial release nearly 30 years ago. Stephen Kovacevich (or Bishop-Kovacevich. If you prefer) appeals as one of those pianists whose playing is rather forthright and precise, giving us here a rather lyrical presentation of the concerti full of grace and good demeanor. A little on the light side compared to those who pound out their Beethovens some would think.

Colin Davis is the consummate accompanist as conductor here as he has been on so many of the Davis/ Kovacevich collaborations. A first-rate pianist deserves a first-rate conductor, after all, and the BBC Symphony give their all here to the pair to make this a class act through and through and start to finish.

Sound quality is better on this new Pentatone release than in any of the various releases on vinyl and CD I've heard in the past. I have not yet listened to this in its multi-channel, but the stereo segment is so lifelike, I may not ever make the effort to find an M-C player to hear it. Strongly recommended to those who prefer their Beethoven a little understated, and demand the best sound possible.

With this Beethoven, the Rossini Famous Overtures; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner (5186-106), ranks atop a list of the best sounding analog to DSD transfers I have yet to hear. This collection of Rossini overtures has been another one of my favorite Philips recordings, appearing originally in 1974 as 6500 878 in the USA. A sequel to this LP (9500 349) was released in 1977, adding some important overtures sorely missed in the original volume--La Gazza Ladra, William Tell, The Seige of Corinth--that make it just as indispensable as the first. Both of these rank among Philips' best sounding LP releases, although neither should be regarded as the last word in dynamics or high-resolution detail. In my opinion there is no finer collection of the Rossini overtures than what you'll find on these two records.

As with my reaction to the sound of the Kovacevich/Davis Beethoven Piano Concerti, I was obligated to compare the new SACD to the original LP just to verify that the performances were the same, and they are. And, like the Beethoven disc, there is much detail and character to the sound that you would find missing on the original Rossini LP.

Listening to this SACD in stereo mode only, I find the textures in any of the groups of instruments to be significantly more transparent; the record sounds just that much more veiled now. There is a continuum in the sound stage that was missing from the LP as I now hear it. The LP has more of a left/right presentation, as if a wall were placed between each half of the orchestra, but there IS slightly more depth perceived on it. My only complaint is that Pentatone should have given us the six additional overtures that graced the second volume. There's more than ample space available to have done so.

If you didn't already know this, Sony will be releasing 15 of Bob Dylan's classic albums before the end of the year. I look forward to reporting on these in my next column. Meanwhile, if you have any comments or questions about the SACD format or anything discussed in this column, drop me a line at [e-mail].

--SGB