Depeche Mode back catalogue to be released in surround sound
 

I was reading somewhere last week that Depeche Mode will be releasing their back catalogue on SACD early this year in batches of three. Unfortunately I can't find a link at the moment, but I noticed that CDWOW has the first three up for preorder - Speak and Spell, Music for the Masses and Violator - and they seem to be exactly like the Playing the Angel import - Disc one is a hybrid SACD and disc 2 is a DVD containing the 5.1 mix as well as a few bonus tracks. I assume that the US release probably will be a regular CD+DVD, but at $16 each I'll be picking up each of the imports.

I'll be looking forward to more artists doing the same. Bjork's entire back catalogue is currently being remixed in 5.1 at the moment as well.

Black Celebration is in dire need of a remaster. Music for the Masses could use a little help too. Hope they sound good.

I used to be a big fan, I might pick up Violator. The other releases don't hold up well for then. I don't think they did then either.

Strong agreement. I would definitely pick up new such releases of that album and Violator, they are my two favourite DM albums. :up:

thanks for the heads up on these releases - just preordered mine from CDWow

It looks like CDWOW usually sells them for $18, but there's a link in the international forum which will take $2 to $8 off any item there. For these discs it brings it down to $16.

I'm looking forward to these because there are still a few of their older albums which I haven't heard. I've been picking up tons of hi-rez music titles lately so it's always nice to see that the hi-rez formats haven't been abandoned entirely. It would be nice if more bands would go this route. I certainly paid more than $16 each for the recent Cure rereleases and those were just 2 CD sets. A hybrid SACD would have been nice with those.

Well, the first batch of these discs came out last Tuesday and I just got Violator and Music for the Masses in the mail from CDWow today. I'll give them a listen tonight and hopefully toss up a little review.

Listened to "Music for the Masses" the other night - the multichannel SACD is stellar - a literal widescreen tapestry of music and vocals. Have yet to dive into the DVD extras.

any news if and when "Some Great Reward" will get the 5.1 remix?

Wow. I listened to the 5.1 mixes of Violator and Music for the Masses last night. As with most hi-rez music I've heard, it was like listening to them for the first time. I've never heard any of these songs sound better. Even my girlfriend commented on how fantastic they sounded and she's not usually one to care too much about sound quality. The mixes of the individual songs ranged from subtle and effective to much more aggressive, but I never found it distracting.

I also haven't touched the extras at all.

Depeche Mode's website used to have more info about upcoming releases, but now the rerelease section of their website only lists the three that are out and there are seven placeholders for future releases. (A Broken Frame, Construction Time Again, Some Great Reward, Black Celebration, Songs of Faith and Devotion, Ultra and Exciter). Apparently more of them will be released later this year, so hopefully it won't take too long before they're all out.

I'm confused. They don't come out till the 25th in the US. Are these the british versions? Are the DVDs in PAL format? Is everything compatible with US regions and TVs?

Yeah, sorry, we've been talking about the British versions. Really, the only reason to pick up the imports is if you have a SACD player. Otherwise, they're generally the same. I mean, yes, the DVD in the British release is PAL, while the US one will be NTSC, but otherwise the content is identical.

The main difference, though, is the hybrid SACD included in the British sets. It's not essential or anything, but it is a higher resolution version of the mix on the DVD.

where did you hear these discs were coming out on the 25th?

On DM's mini-website for the releases, it says that US versions are coming on April 25th.

Remasters Site

Looks like the US releases have been pushed back to June 6th according to the website I listed.

according to your link it looks like the US versions have the 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital mixes on the DVD side, but not the multi channel SACD layer on the CD.

Is it possible to make mp3s out of DVD bonus audio tracks?

I bit the bullet and ordered them from Amazon UK. Fast shipping. I actually got them faster than stuff I order from the US store.

Overall, the sound is awesome, especially the SACD surround. My only gripe is that the DVDs are region encoded and so they don't even play in my DVD player. Kind of waste. The DVDs are basically coasters for me.

Thank God I have an all regional player. The U.S. release date for the first three albums have been pushed back to early June because of a snafu with Mute (the label). So I said fuck it and ordered from amazon.co.uk as well. DM keep getting the shaft in America from their label. Their PR department SUCKS! There is no excuse for "Playing the Angel" to have only sold 371,000 copies so far (in the U.S.). It's their best work in years. I didn't see any promotion for it anywhere. And "Precious" (their most commercial sounding single since "Enjoy the Silence") didn't get any air play in my area (Washington D.C.).

Anyone have confirmation we're not getting the SA-CDs here in the States?

that's because commercial music radio in DC is lame, lame, lame.

It would pretty much be a crazy miracle if we did get the SACDs here. All the info from the label so far indicates that the U.S. releases will be a regular CD along with a DVD.

I sometimes feel bad about importing discs in cases like this, but that quickly passes. I'm not going to pass up a SACD (in this case), or wait an extra six months to a year for a U.S. release (in many other cases).

Thank you! (x 3)

Does the nations capital really need three country stations? We don't even have one modern rock station for fuck sake.

sorry for digressing from the Depeche Mode topic on hand, but - the reason the nation's capital needs THREE country station, cause it thinks it's still part of the South. Corporate radio believes that DC is a talk-radio town, and R&B/Hip-Hop, Latin and country - classical, rock, college radio/indie music... nah.

I got my copies of "MFTM" and "Violator" from amazon.co.uk yesterday. My God! It's a whole new experience, the surround sound. Just amazing. I can't wait for the rest of the albums. Save for "SOFAD".