Japanese 50th Anniversary SHM-CD releases

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HenryG

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Throughout 2012, Universal Japan released a series of SHM-CDs to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of A&M Records. I never saw a complete list, so I pieced together the following list from the information on CDJapan.com. Some of them (I believe all the ones released March 7, March 14 and April 18) are also part of a series for the Nick DeCaro “Posthumous 20th Anniversary”.

Many of these (as noted) include both mono and stereo versions of the album, or at least some mono singles. I’d like to collect a few of these, and I’m mainly interested in the mono mixes.

Here are my questions:

1. Did I miss any of the releases in these series?

2. Can anyone tell me if any of the mono album mixes are not dedicated mono mixes? I’d like to avoid any that are fold-downs of the stereo mix.

I'd also be really interested in any comments on the sound quality of these releases or the mono mixes in general.

Released March 7, 2012:

UICY-75139 Nick De Caro and Orchestra – Happy Heart (stereo album + mono singles) (1969)
UICY-75140 Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends – Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends (1968)*
UICY-75141 Chris Montez – The More I See You – Call Me (stereo + mono albums) (1966)
UICY-75142 Chris Montez – Time After Time (stereo + mono albums) (1966)
UICY-75143 Chris Montez – Foolin’ Around (stereo + mono albums) (1967)
UICY-75144 Chris Montez – Watch What Happens (stereo + mono singles) (1968)
UICZ-1433 Various Artists – Nick DeCaro Works (2012) (new compilation)

Released March 14, 2012:

UICY-75145 Baja Marimba Band – Those Were the Days (stereo album only) (1968)
UICY-75146 Baja Marimba Band – Fresh Air (stereo album only) (1969)

Released April 18, 2012:

UICY-75160 The Parade – The Parade (stereo album + mono singles) (1968)
UICY-75161 Claudine Longet – Claudine (stereo + mono albums) (1967)
UICY-75162 Claudine Longet – The Look of Love (stereo + mono albums) (1967)
UICY-75163 Claudine Longet – Love Is Blue (stereo + mono albums) (1968)
UICY-75164 Claudine Longet – Colours (stereo album only) (1968)
UICY-75165 Claudine Longet – Run Wild, Run Free (stereo album only) (1970)
UICY-75166 The Sandpipers – Guantanamera (stereo + mono albums) (1966)
UICY-75167 The Sandpipers – The Sandpipers (stereo + mono albums) (1967)
UICY-75168 The Sandpipers – Misty Roses (stereo + mono albums) (1967)
UICY-75169 The Sandpipers – Softly (stereo album only) (1968)
UICY-75170 The Sandpipers – The Wonder of You (stereo album only) (1969)
UICY-75171 The Sandpipers – Come Saturday Morning (stereo album only) (1970)
UICY-75172 Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends – Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends-Deluxe Edition (2 CDs, stereo + mono albums + mono singles) (1967)

Released September 26, 2012:

UICY-75306 Michelle Phillips – Victim of Romance (stereo album + bonus tracks) (1977)
UICY-75307 The Merry-Go-Round – You’re a Very Lovely Woman – Live (stereo + mono albums + mono singles) (1967)
UICY-75308 We Five – You Were on My Mind (stereo + mono albums) (1965)
UICY-75309 We Five – Make Someone Happy (stereo + mono albums) (1967)
UICY-75310 We Five – The Return of We Five (stereo album only) (1969)
UICY-75311 Bossa Rio – Bossa Rio (stereo album only) (1969)
UICY-75313 Seemon & Marijke – Son of America (stereo album + mono singles) (1971)
UICY-75314 Brewer & Shipley – Down in L.A. (stereo album + mono singles) (1968)

Released October 3, 2012:

UICY-75312 Punch – Punch (stereo album + mono singles) (1971)

*I’m not sure a one-disc version of this was actually released as UICY-75140 or if it was replaced with UICY-75172, the two-disc Deluxe Edition.
 
I can tell you that the ROGER NICHOLS UICY-75172/3 is a two-disc set with one disc in stereo and the second in mono and the mono mixes are all dedicated mono mixes. Some of the singles in mono were issued previously in other expanded releases, but the main album mono mixes are all new-to-CD in this release. It's a marvelous set that I recommend highly.

The only oddity about the set is that the second disc is housed in a jacket that was released in Mexico called MONTEMOS. That was their version of the album and it had different artwork. Though that release and the pictured version on the jacket says STEREO, and the track list of the album is jumbled around, the disc contained inside is the mono version of the main ROGER NICHOLS AND THE SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS album + singles.

I also purchased the Baja Marimba Band's THOSE WERE THE DAYS which is only stereo and the Sandpipers SOFTLY, also only stereo.

Harry
 
I can tell you that the ROGER NICHOLS UICY-75172/3 is a two-disc set with one disc in stereo and the second in mono and the mono mixes are all dedicated mono mixes. Some of the singles in mono were issued previously in other expanded releases, but the main album mono mixes are all new-to-CD in this release. It's a marvelous set that I recommend highly.

The only oddity about the set is that the second disc is housed in a jacket that was released in Mexico called MONTEMOS. That was their version of the album and it had different artwork. Though that release and the pictured version on the jacket says STEREO, and the track list of the album is jumbled around, the disc contained inside is the mono version of the main ROGER NICHOLS AND THE SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS album + singles.

I also purchased the Baja Marimba Band's THOSE WERE THE DAYS which is only stereo and the Sandpipers SOFTLY, also only stereo.

Harry

Thanks, Harry! Any idea whether A&M ever used mono fold-downs from stereo? I have a feeling these Japanese releases might be my only chance to snap up some mono mixes of these albums, but they're so expensive, I'm a little reluctant to order a bunch without knowing what I'm getting.
 
There are surely some examples of rather unexciting mono mixes on A&M albums. When I listen to SOUNDS LIKE or SRO in mono, it all just sounds to me like fold-downs for the most part.

Still, I can't help but think that if the Japanese issued anything in mono, it must be for a reason. I was really bowled over by the ROGER NICHOLS mono mixes.

Harry
 
There are surely some examples of rather unexciting mono mixes on A&M albums. When I listen to SOUNDS LIKE or SRO in mono, it all just sounds to me like fold-downs for the most part.

Still, I can't help but think that if the Japanese issued anything in mono, it must be for a reason. I was really bowled over by the ROGER NICHOLS mono mixes.




Harry
Hello Harry. On the subject of mono issues. I recently was given a Good condition Mono copy of Chris Montez The more i see you. I read somewhere the original dedicated mono masters had disintegrated long ago. I was wondering if you had any official knowlege or info on that? In my opinion it may be one of many reasons why mono reissues we see of anything these days are possibly Fold Downs from the Stereo masters. And by the way the aforementioned chris montez Lp sounds excellent. ( a good friend graciously made a custom cd transfer for me.)
 
It's certainly possible that some mono masters either haven't held up over the years, or were simply destroyed with the thought that the stereo was what everyone was interested in. I firmly believe that if there's a Japanese reissue of a mono album, they'll go to great lengths to find the right audio - even if that means needle-dropping from vinyl.

Harry
 
I picked up the Sandpipers Softly reissue while in Tokyo this past summer, because I was never able to secure a digital copy. It sounds great, as does the DeCaro Works comp listed above which makes for a great overview of his career.
 
The arrangements for the Chris Montez CALL ME album sound *a lot* like the "mood" of the B.M.B.'s WATCH OUT! album (even though the TJB is the "backing band" for the Call Me single/hit).
 
The arrangements for the Chris Montez CALL ME album sound *a lot* like the "mood" of the B.M.B.'s WATCH OUT! album (even though the TJB is the "backing band" for the Call Me single/hit).

Well, partially correct on the "backing band" - AFM session sheets show Herb Alpert, Chuck Berghofer (bass), Nick Ceroli, Pete Jolly (piano), Donald Peake (guitar), John Pisano, Julius Wechter [9/22/65] and on [2/10/66] the same crew less Peake. The BMB similarity is likely due to Julius being Chris' musical director.
 
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