I've just spoken with Cerise - and she was unaware that these had been released... I couldn't see any mention of them on Midge's
website either...
Well I did say that I wasn't referring to Cerise and that I wasn't completely certain she was aware. My comments were really aimed at everyone else and reflected how dead the site had become again
Yes, it is a shame that this site has become so quiet - but that's common with a number of more traditional forums. Some people have moved their focus to other social media platforms - while others have simply moved on.
I'm puzzled - as the Amazon links you provided for both
No Regrets and
If I Was clearly state that they are taken from the 2010 remasters...
My bad - those two are from the 2010 remasters.
My point here - since you ask later on - was to question your previous statement where you said that
these are all newly sourced going back to the original masters I believe: the late noughties masters are not being used. I didn't believe that they had been newly sourced - and instead wanted to clarify that it was in fact the 2010 remasters that were being used.
All the cover art was restored including the back covers - Warners seem to have lost much of the original artwork during their management of the portfolio (not just Ultravox) and a lot of work went into getting these restored. Whether they are available with the music downloads, I'm not sure. However they all look really good.
The Amazon links only include the front covers...
OK but a) that's Amazon & b) don't they look good? But what's your point?
Amazon have been known to include the back covers for other releases - perhaps they weren't supplied in this instance?
Seeing as how
a lot of work went into getting these [sleeves] restored, then surely it would make sense for them to be made
available with the music downloads - otherwise that'll have been work that was done for nothing.
I also think
restored is over-egging it - and that
spruced up is probably nearer the mark. I'm open to being corrected here if I'm wrong, but it's likely that all that's happened is that the respective twelve inch single sleeves have been scanned and retouched.
The 'Wastelands' extended mix is available from Amazon and on 'The Gift' 2010 and, obviously, these are the 2010 remaster. However, the original master which has a greater dynamic range has not been released digitally to the best of my knowledge.
The
EMI Gold editions of
The Gift (from 1996) and
Answers To Nothing (from 1998) both used the associated production master tapes - this was
standard practice at the time.
However, the 2010
Definitive Edition Remasters used the original master tapes instead. We (myself, Cerise and Paul) identified all of the tapes which needed to be used as part of our work on both releases. Those tapes were retrieved from EMI's tape storage facility and sent to
Abbey Road where they were transferred. Those digital files were subsequently sent to
Denis Blackham (at
Skye Mastering) where they were remastered.
Again, I'm not sure what your point is here?
I thought that my point was perfectly clear. I agree that the original master tapes do have a greater dynamic range - and that's why they were used when we worked on both
The Gift and
Answers To Nothing back in 2010. Your comments imply that the original master tapes have so far not been used - and that's not correct.
If you don't mind me saying, we should just be celebrating that a new track is being digitally released, that the covers have been spruced up and that someone is actually bl00dy taking an interest in the band and its members rather indulge in a childishly pedantic tit for tat.
Of course I don't mind you saying... and by the same token I would hope that you won't mind me sharing my point of view.
I don't believe that some of the statements you've made in this thread have been entirely correct - and that's why I've responded accordingly with what I believe to be the correct information. That's not being either childish or pedantic - that's just wanting things to be right.
There's also nothing wrong with celebrating, but only for something that's worth celebrating. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here... this is simply a single thirty-five year old track which has been made available as an MP3.
Rob