Special Editions and re-issues.

[Onhell]

I was driving my mom's car the other day and as always I brought one of my cds with me: Dream Theater's Systematic Chaos. When my trip was done and I took it out I payed close attention to the packaging. The reason I did so is because it is a Special Edition DVD and I haven't gotten rid of the extra cardboard case surrounding the jewel box. Then it hit me... I own several "Special Edition" Cds. Apocalyptica's Worlds Collide, Opeth's Watershed, the DT album already mentioned and Angra's Temple of Shadows to name a few. Then I started thinking of some re-issue cds I own.

The biggest difference between an SE and a RI cd, of course, is price. An SE cd is between 20-24US while RI usually go for the same price of the original release. The second difference is content. SE cds usually contain a DVD disc with the 5.1 surround mix of the album along with a documentary and sometimes extra tracks and/or music videos. RI cds contain between 2-4 "bonus tracks" which are either demos, re-recordings, live tracks or covers (my Dark Tranquility "The Gallery" comes to mind).

I make trips to the record store often and I noticed that In Flames re-issued their early catalogue. I was excited as I am a big fan of their early stuff, but I was disappointed to find that aside from 3  extra tracks their was nothing worth getting as I had the original release.

Now... My questions and propositions. I think it is worth paying an extra 5 dollars for an SE cd due to the unique packaging (Opeth's Watershed looks like an old fashioned mailed package), documentary/interviews and 5.1 surround mix. I feel cheated by re-issues of bands that I already own, however I don't own many Megadeth cds and the prospect of getting the remixed reissues is an exciting prospect for me.

So what do you guys think? are SE cds the future for said recording media to compete with cheaper web downloads? Are re-issues worth the effort even if you are a hardcore fan or are they just a cash cow like endless Best Of collections *cough* Maiden *cough*?

 

[Perun]

Special Editions are money-milking in my opinion. By now, most new albums come with an extra DVD in the first pressing, which usually has some sort of live clips on it, and I'm not sure why we need that. It usually raises the price by five or ten Euros (and sometimes even doubles it), and what do we have for our money? A box-set that looks nice, but doesn't even fit in the CD shelf (like with the recent Amon Amarth album), a live DVD that doesn't contain a whole show but usually some heavily edited clips from the recent summer festival and interviews that don't say anything worthwhile. You end up watching it once and then forgetting about it. I'd rather wait for a full live album. And even that's not necessary, because most bands already have more live DVDs out there than regular studio albums. Look at Testament, for instance. It's really not necessary. Here's a hint: If every gig is so "special" that you need to document it, chances are that it isn't that special at all.

Now as for reissues, they too have become nothing but a money-milker. They used to be necessary, because most albums got degraded when they were converted to CD from LP in the eighties and nineties. I have some first generation Judas Priest CDs, and they sound awful. The material they come with (booklet) isn't something to look at either, they only contain the lyrics crammed together without any sort of style. So remastering the albums and putting them out with new bonus material (new liner notes, bonus tracks and stuff like that) was OK and probably even made the one or other old fan actually get a CD player in the first place. Note that the bonus material was initially just that: Bonus material. Those CD issues were mostly about the sound. In fact, some bands even put out rarities collections so that people who only wanted that didn't have to buy the entire discography again. Uriah Heep is a good example. They re-released all their albums with two or three bonus tracks, but also had a two-disc compilation with all those tracks on them for those that were happy with the LP or CD issues they had.

Now, for bands that have initially had their entire back catalogue produced for CD, like In Flames or Blind Guardian (OK, their first two albums were still produced for LP, but the initial CD issues already contained bonus tracks), re-issues are a RIP-OFF. There is no improvement in sound quality, or at least none that you can hear on a normal stereo system. The only argument for buying them are the bonus tracks, but they are usually not worth it. Take Iced Earth, for example: They had their entire back-catalogue reissued recently, with a few bonus tracks. At first I thought, "hey cool, this is gonna rock". However, the sound quality was not improved from the previous run of CD issues, and the bonus tracks were a joke. Either, I already had them all, or they were retakes, demos or alternate mixes that weren't initially released, or had been replaced for a reason. It looked good, but that alone didn't justify spending 80 'kin Euros on it. It is, however, a bargain for those who don't own any Iced Earth release yet.

CD Re-issues are, as far as I am concerned, a desperate attempt of the music industry to fill a financial gap. I'm not talking about MP3 downloads at all. A few years ago, the industry pokered high on a new medium, namely 5.1 Audio-DVD, to replace the CD soon, so that they would have a new huge wave of re-issues. It didn't happen. No matter how much it was hyped, only wealthy upper-middle-class households could afford a 5.1 system, and still, I know only two households that actually have such a thing. A few years ago, several bands, among them Iron Maiden and Queen, launched a run of 5.1 issues or re-issues only to give up after two or three attempts because nobody would buy it. Proof? There is a DVD-A for Dance of Death, but none for A Matter of Life and Death. I already mentioned a while ago in a different thread that the Dance of Death-era releases sounded awful on the CD mix, because they were produced for 5.1, and the CD was considered a necessary evil, an altruism, just like the video tape was when the DVD appeared. They were wrong. Nobody wants to buy expensive 5.1 equipment, because people actually don't care that much for audio quality. They care enough to prefer old vinyl to old CDs, but not enough to prefer 5.1 to a normal CD.

So the great wave of re-issues that had been hoped for didn't appear, but the record companies still want people to buy the old albums again. So they are taking any reason they can get from the band, be it a shift in style, a change of labels or whatever, to re-release the back catalogue and put some worthless bonus tracks on them as an "argument" to buy them. Bonus tracks used to be a good thing, when they were all about old, obscure B-Sides people hadn't heard in decades, or long-lost alternative versions or other stuff that was really worthwhile. Who's Next by The Who had the entire Lifehouse sessions on it, stuff that never got released before because the album it was done for never happened. But today, I get the feeling that some bonus material is actually initially produced to become just that. And then, it's not worth anything at all.

[/rant]

 

[Forostar]

Are re-issues worth the effort even if you are a hardcore fan or are they just a cash cow like endless Best Of collections *cough* Maiden *cough*?

People who are passionate about certain (albums of) artists love special editions.
But of course, it depends:
A- what is on them
B- how passionate are you about the artist, the improved sound and/or extra tracks, liner notes, artwork etc.

Re-releases with extra (never before released) tracks and new, extra liner notes are imo worth getting.
24-bits remastered stuff is also interesting. In jazz there are numerous examples, and imo the Judas Priest re-releases and the Bruce Dickinson re-releases are excellent examples of why they are worth getting.

Maybe metal is a different story, and a re-release that comes out only one freakin' year after the original release is ridiculous, but I assure you that many old recordings (especially jazz and probably most other music from .... - the 1970s) have come out with improved soundquality, extra tracks and new/updated information.

 

[Perun]

Yeah, maybe I should have mentioned that Bruce's re-issues are how it should be done if you must re-issue your stuff.

 

[Onhell]

I am starting to go straight to Special Edition cds if they are released along with the regular release. It is worth it 90% of the time. The last two I've bought Dream Theater's Systematic Chaos and Opeth's Watershed have been VERY worth it just with the 5.1 mix alone. I do not have one, but a very good friend of mine has a surround system so when I go over I take them with me. I have to say it is definitely for fans not just of the band but of music overall. Both albums are a sonic love affair in 5.1. Apocalyptica's was a let down, it only included a "making of the music video" documentary, the music video they just showed you how they made and not that great interviews.... I could've gone with the normal release.

 

[Onhell]

See, some Special Editions are special

Roadrunner will release the record on June 23. In addition to the standard version CD, the album will also be available on vinyl LP, as well as a 3-disc Special Edition CD that will include the full album, a CD of instrumental mixes of the album and a CD of six cover songs, the titles of which will be revealed at a later date.

from www.dreamtheater.net