Tangerine Dream

sparrow wrote:Just listened to both Poland discs and the remaster is wonderful. No hint of distortion and not as loud as the old single cd remaster. Not got Zeit yet as there seems to be a delay.

Chris Monk wrote:Been enjoying Poland very much the last few days. It's been a bit of a reintroduction to an old classic that I haven't heard in a while. The sound is very good and, to my ears at least, it sounds a lot brighter than the original 2CD release. They seem to have brought out different aspects of the music being played and I keep hearing things that I'd not noticed before.

I really like the sleeve as well. It's a vast improvement on the slip of paper that came with original 2CD release. The essay by our Andy King is first class, a wonderful description of the tour that really puts the significance and scale of the Poland tour into perspective. There's loads of information in there that I'd not been aware of before.

Overall it wipes the floor with the original release.

I agree.

Little complaints even though: instead of fading out Poland and fading in Tangent the remasterer could have edited/connected both tracks, so how it apparently was really played at that time (> Dresden 1983). And I don't understand why they indexed Rare Bird but not also Polish Dance and Warsaw in the Sun.

Cyclone wrote:I agree.

Little complaints even though: instead of fading out Poland and fading in Tangent the remasterer could have edited/connected both tracks, so how it apparently was really played at that time (> Dresden 1983). And I don't understand why they indexed Rare Bird but not also Polish Dance and Warsaw in the Sun.

I'd concur with that. It'd also have been nice to have some additional material but as it stands I'm very happy with this release.

Cyclone wrote:

sparrow wrote:Just listened to both Poland discs and the remaster is wonderful. No hint of distortion and not as loud as the old single cd remaster. Not got Zeit yet as there seems to be a delay.

Chris Monk wrote:Been enjoying Poland very much the last few days. It's been a bit of a reintroduction to an old classic that I haven't heard in a while. The sound is very good and, to my ears at least, it sounds a lot brighter than the original 2CD release. They seem to have brought out different aspects of the music being played and I keep hearing things that I'd not noticed before.

I really like the sleeve as well. It's a vast improvement on the slip of paper that came with original 2CD release. The essay by our Andy King is first class, a wonderful description of the tour that really puts the significance and scale of the Poland tour into perspective. There's loads of information in there that I'd not been aware of before.

Overall it wipes the floor with the original release.

I agree.

Little complaints even though: instead of fading out Poland and fading in Tangent the remasterer could have edited/connected both tracks, so how it apparently was really played at that time (> Dresden 1983). And I don't understand why they indexed Rare Bird but not also Polish Dance and Warsaw in the Sun.

I listened to mine on weekend. I was terribly disappointed at the waste of my money. I've nothing good to say about the sound quality on this release so I'll stop now but will say the Relativity blows it away.

Flashpoint wrote:

Cyclone wrote:

sparrow wrote:Just listened to both Poland discs and the remaster is wonderful. No hint of distortion and not as loud as the old single cd remaster. Not got Zeit yet as there seems to be a delay.

Chris Monk wrote:Been enjoying Poland very much the last few days. It's been a bit of a reintroduction to an old classic that I haven't heard in a while. The sound is very good and, to my ears at least, it sounds a lot brighter than the original 2CD release. They seem to have brought out different aspects of the music being played and I keep hearing things that I'd not noticed before.

I really like the sleeve as well. It's a vast improvement on the slip of paper that came with original 2CD release. The essay by our Andy King is first class, a wonderful description of the tour that really puts the significance and scale of the Poland tour into perspective. There's loads of information in there that I'd not been aware of before.

Overall it wipes the floor with the original release.

I agree.

Little complaints even though: instead of fading out Poland and fading in Tangent the remasterer could have edited/connected both tracks, so how it apparently was really played at that time (> Dresden 1983). And I don't understand why they indexed Rare Bird but not also Polish Dance and Warsaw in the Sun.

I listened to mine on weekend. I was terribly disappointed at the waste of my money. I've nothing good to say about the sound quality on this release so I'll stop now but will say the Relativity bows it away.

You should try to explain why you don't like it and where do you play it, what kind of equipment... It can make a difference I suppose. Recently, I read somethings about some remasters (from Procol Harum) that I owned and I had already other versions... and I totally disagreed with what was said on Amazon by a reviewer who said the new ones were really bad.... I thought that : " I must be deaf or it's the guy writing the review on Amazon who's deaf... or... one of us has got an equipment that's got a problem or is not good quality... My stereo equipment is not top notch but it's a bit more than middle range, more on the good side, I think (my Pionner CD player is very good altohugh a tad bombastic sometimes, my NAD 2x50 W amplifier is very good and my Siare speakers are pretty clear, for instance, more or less a compromise designed for classical music, but if the mastering lacks bass, which is rare for me but happens now and then lately nonetheless, they're not going to help) )

That is one assets of a forum... to get some good informations.
I'd really like to read a clear & precise review, and a comparison between this reissue and the one of Sanctuary (apart from the fact this one is complete, of course - that, I knew it right from the start)

Tired of having only what's now an old cracking LP, an old casssette recording of the original LP (with a good sound but well, it's a tape !) and only many excerpts of the tracks on "Dream Roots Collection" and other compilations, I finally bought for a cheap price the Sanctuary re-release, in spite of me knowing there was one part missing. I di this maybe one or 2 weeks before I read on this forum that Esoteric had planned a relmaster of the complete double LP !!! Of course, it drove me nuts. Poland is probably the album I prefer from the Johannes Schmoelling era, apart from "Tangram". So I'm very frustrated not to have the missing part and I thought I'd maybe try to to sell it and buy this new one.. I never bought the Relativity Release, I didn't even know it existed, indeed. At the time it was done, they used tomaster in 16 bits and now, maybe it's in 24 bits. I suusaly hear a neat difference.

The Sanctuary release is quite nice, a bit metallic maybe. Obviously, it is isn't as good a as a new LP that doesn't have cracking noises.
I'd be happy ot know precisely what is changed on this new one.
Thanks to you all for your input.

Th new version of Poland DOES sound better than the Relativity version. Don't know how anyone can say the Relativity one is better. I own it and did an a - b comparison and Esoteric is much more clear with no compression which was on the Sanctuary release. The Relativity version is good but the new one from my ears is better.

sparrow wrote:Th new version of Poland DOES sound better than the Relativity version. Don't know how anyone can say the Relativity one is better. I own it and did an a - b comparison and Esoteric is much more clear with no compression which was on the Sanctuary release. The Relativity version is good but the new one from my ears is better.

I thought that the Esoteric version was better than the Relativity version. It is marginal, there's not a huge difference, but it certainly isn't any worse. What is definitely better is the packaging and, let's not forget, that this is the first chance that many fans have had to own all of the Poland recording on CD. Now, at least, they won't have to pay silly money to own the Relativity version.

sparrow wrote:Th new version of Poland DOES sound better than the Relativity version. Don't know how anyone can say the Relativity one is better. I own it and did an a - b comparison and Esoteric is much more clear with no compression which was on the Sanctuary release. The Relativity version is good but the new one from my ears is better.

Agreed it's better than the awful Sanctuary but compared to the Relativity the Esoteric is colder, duller and lifeless. My guess [only a guess] is they hit it somewhat hard with NR - and I don't like NR even when used "correctly. The Esoteric also lacks some of the naturalness of the Relativity due to what my ears tell me is reduced dynamics. Still it's great now the whole concert is back in print on CD without having to spend over $35.

To me the Relativity and the vinyl are somewhat close. While the Esoteric is dwarfed by the vinyl. This after 2 hours of extensive a-b and a-b-c compressions. For those that own the Relativity my advice is not to bother with the Esoteric. Just my honest opinion.

P.S. My equipment is a mix of reference level - Rega and Denon.

I don't play my music using high-end equipment; just a PC with a budget (but decent sounding) pair of PC speakers. Poland sounds great to me, and I like the presentation of the CD in general, with the booklet and printed CDs. I hope Esoteric release more.

wayfarer wrote:I hope Esoteric release more.

Amen to that. Been very happy with what they've done so far and not just the TD stuff either. To me they're picking up the ball dropped by the major labels.

Chris Monk wrote:

wayfarer wrote:I hope Esoteric release more.

Amen to that. Been very happy with what they've done so far and not just the TD stuff either. To me they're picking up the ball dropped by the major labels.

A friend, who sometimes posts here, metnioned that he had bought some other releases and was very happy with the audio quality, and he's an audiophile.

I'll be buying Zeit at lunchtime.

wayfarer wrote:

Chris Monk wrote:

wayfarer wrote:I hope Esoteric release more.

Amen to that. Been very happy with what they've done so far and not just the TD stuff either. To me they're picking up the ball dropped by the major labels.

A friend, who sometimes posts here, metnioned that he had bought some other releases and was very happy with the audio quality, and he's an audiophile.

I'll be buying Zeit at lunchtime.

Yep. I've got a few Hawkwind releases of theirs and they're great, as good as you could possibly expect given the source material.

I'd really like to read a clear & precise review, and a comparison between this reissue and the one of Sanctuary (apart from the fact this one is complete, of course - that, I knew it right from the start)

Probably pretty impossible, as some people don't mind extra bass and some don't mind increased treble. All the good equipment in the world won't alter someone's preferences.
One man's "too much bass" is another man's "chunky sound"

T4N63R1N3 DR34M wrote:I'd really like to read a clear & precise review, and a comparison between this reissue and the one of Sanctuary (apart from the fact this one is complete, of course - that, I knew it right from the start)

Probably pretty impossible, as some people don't mind extra bass and some don't mind increased treble. All the good equipment in the world won't alter someone's preferences.
One man's "too much bass" is another man's "chunky sound"

Very true. It's all very subjective. I personally like bass you can sit on....

Chris Monk wrote:

T4N63R1N3 DR34M wrote:I'd really like to read a clear & precise review, and a comparison between this reissue and the one of Sanctuary (apart from the fact this one is complete, of course - that, I knew it right from the start)

Probably pretty impossible, as some people don't mind extra bass and some don't mind increased treble. All the good equipment in the world won't alter someone's preferences.
One man's "too much bass" is another man's "chunky sound"

Very true. It's all very subjective. I personally like bass you can sit on....

I prefer Bass you can drink..

coat on..