The Art of Remasters?

Listening through the Art of Noise tracks on my media player I can't help but notice a missed opportunity. ZZT seem to continually recycle the original early material from '83/'84 (and boy do they milk it) whilst China seem content to let the bulk of the bands back catalogue languish.

I only realised how little of the Art of Noise's music is still being issued when a box of my CD's was 'lost' during a house move some years ago. Trying to replace their albums via eBay became a surprisingly annoying and expensive chore (thankfully cut short by the idiot who took my CDs into "safekeeping" finding them some months later). Having just scanned eBay I can see only one copy of "In No Sense? Nonsense!" on CD and one exorbitantly priced copy of "Invisible Silence" listed.

So why don't Warner Bros or whoever own the rights reissue these albums? There is lots of additional/bonus material from 12" singles and b-sides hanging around and there are plenty of fans ready to buy shiny new masters of their favourite 80's albums. If ZZT can spin out one albums worth of material into a 2 CD retrospective, a 3 CD box set, 2 expanded reissues and a "Best of", why can't we get the 12" version of "Legs" on CD?

Less pops in my pop music please

As I sit listening to the remastered version of “No 1 in Heaven” by Sparks I can’t help but notice that some of the extra tracks are sourced from vinyl. I understand that 30 year old master tapes get lost and I can accept that sometimes this is the only source available. But what I don’t understand is why they are always so badly mastered.

If an enthusiast such as DJPaulT can master vinyl to sound immaculate for his excellent “Burning the Ground” website; why can’t professional engineers do the same? It doesn’t take long to remove pops and crackles from a digital recording and adjusting EQ isn’t too complicated if performed by someone with skill.

Either record companies need to start looking harder for master tapes or employ DJPaulT to master their vinyl. Take pride in your work like Paul or don't bother I say. Music is too important for half hearted efforts.

Jarre remastered?

Most of the artists I listen to have had their back catalogue remastered and released in some form or another. The first artists to do this were the Pet Shop Boys, followed more recently by Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, New Order, Mike Oldfield, The Beatles and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The list goes on and on. But why I asked myself have Jean Michel Jarre’s albums not been re-mastered?

Various Jarre CDs in my collection

Well the truth is I forgot it had already been done. It's been done more than once in fact. Dreyfus released tweaked versions of all Jarre’s albums in 1991. These CDs were not released in the UK and were only available for a short time. Thus I own only two of the discs and don’t remember them particularly well.

The second attempt at a reissue was made available when Jarre transferred to Epic in 1997. These CDs have clear trays and the name of the album written in the tray insert. They we all remastered by Scott Hull in New York.

However, both sets of reissues have one thing in common; they don't sound different from the original pressings. Yes, the live albums and compilations have different running orders or double albums have been shrunk into a single disc, but the music doesn't actually sound very different. Only with 2011's "Essentials and Rarities" did Jarre's old works receive what I would consider a true remastering.

Happily Jarre has begun work on a set of new masters which are to be reissued by Sony sometime on the near future. Zoolook seems to have been the first to have the fairy dust sprinkled upon it and whilst nothing has been announced officially, it seems all of his back catalogue is to receive the same treatment. Let's hope there will be new vinyl as well as CDs. New remastered vinyl would help banish the memories of the terrible reissues of his fist 3 albums from 2011.