The Very Best Of Blancmange 2 CD

[anorak]

Nice discography. is it me or is their recent new album 'blanc-burn' not included ?

IS THAT THE TWELVE INCH MIX ? Out late 2010 www.robgrillo.co.uk

[discoginfo]

10 Points to anorak. Thanks, I forgot about that, also because no tracks from that is included on any compilation CD. Will include it later. /JW

[Bellenger1981]

[quote][i]Originally posted by discoginfo[/i]
<br>I believe more recent CDs are based on compressed MP3s than we realize - not only this CD. After all it's a convenient way to store and send files before manufacturing. (Yes I am cynical) I have a feeling that younger people in the music industry tend to compress to and use MP3s, than "oldtimes" who are aware of music quality. I wonder if the original Blancmange deluxe CDs are also made from MP3s. Not to mention all the other artists I have on my site.

Maybe in the future there will be an "audiophile CD" wave, where great care is taken. Just like DVD became BluRay. No one in the film industry would ever dream of compressing the picture before manufacturing.

When will the music industry wake up, and follow the attitude of the film industry?

/JW
http://www.discog.info/


[/quote]
Exactly! I agree. It's interesting that most everything in film and television is high definition nowadays. Then we have a ton of old films being restored in high definition. What about music? It's so strange to me that so much bragging and advertisements go for digitally remastered HD movies, yet the music industry has no problem selling MP3 files by the millions. When is the music industry going to go the same way that the film industry has gone? I realize that there are HD and lossless sites out there, but they are not the standard. They are in the minority. It amazes me that iTunes will sell HD TV shows (my brother bought HD files of the television series, "Supernatural", via iTunes, with each episode being 1.3 GB), yet we don't get HD music there. I know that we are comparing TV to music, but an upgrade of music is long overdue.

[discoginfo]

Yes. Even with "lossless" digital tracks (FLAC / WAV) what's most important is the source they use. If they transfer the original tapes carefully with a loving audiophile approach (no brick wall or compression) then it will sound good even as a 256 or 320 kbps (not to mention lossless). But if they just take an old CD that has been mastered using sub-standard audio techniques (out of ignorance or arrogance) and rip it, it will not matter if they sell it uncompressed (WAV), it will still sound bad. I don't know what's worse in today's record company CD manufacturing: ignorance ("what do you mean I should not use MP3, I know what I'm doing, I'll just inflate it back to full quality before manufacturing!") or arrogance ("only nerdy die hard fans will ever notice any difference, and we're manufacturing for the general listener, the profit will be the same but with less work") ... /JW

[humanracer]

Good point Jonas but I think music is so disposable now. We have those awful reality TV shows such as X Factor and music really is only designed for the moment. I think the age of high quality pop albums is over sadly. That is why I find it difficult to find new music I like. Also people tend to download poor quality mp3's or worse still rip tracks from Youtube.I only rip from youtube if the track is rare and cannot be found elsewhere. I think original pressings of albums will become more valuable as people realise how rubbish modern mastering is.

[soundstory]

This is surprising, there is an interview in the new Classic Pop magazine.

The duo state that they were personally involved in this project, they picked the tracks too.

I'll have to have a further read, they certainly mentioned the inclusion of Waves.......

[Bellenger1981]

[quote][i]Originally posted by soundstory[/i]
<br>This is surprising, there is an interview in the new Classic Pop magazine.

The duo state that they were personally involved in this project, they picked the tracks too.

I'll have to have a further read, they certainly mentioned the inclusion of Waves.......
[/quote]
Probably what happened is that they picked the tracks but were not involved in the transfer of the files to CD or the mastering of the music. They probably said, "hey, we want these tracks please", and left it up to Warner or Demon Music Group to do the rest. That's why we ended up with incorrect versions and slipshod audio quality. Unfortunately, the guys probably did not listen to the finished product, or maybe they don't care. I'm not on Facebook, but maybe someone should comment on their Facebook wall about the use of MP3s and the incorrect versions included -- that is, if someone has not commented already.

[Dust]

Did anyone ever hear back from the record company about the use of MP3s in the mastering of this album?

[Bellenger1981]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Dust[/i]
<br>Did anyone ever hear back from the record company about the use of MP3s in the mastering of this album?
[/quote]
As expected, no.

[discoginfo]

I personally don't believe they will ever comment on that publicly, because they would have nothing to gain from that. It's probably only if it had affected sales negatively that they would chose to comment. That's business folks.

Cheers/JW

www.jonaswarstad.com (new book coming soon!)
www.discog.info (my music site)

[df118]

Jumping back to the Edsel release of Believe You Me...

The mix of Living On The Ceiling that appears in place of Mixing On The Ceiling...is actually the track Son Of Ceiling that was issued on an obscure 10" a year or so ago. I thought the 10" was unofficial, but it appears that may not be the case.

[discoginfo]

Chronology speaks against this, since the reissue CD came out in 2008, and you say the vinyl only came out a year or two ago. Or did I misunderstand you?
/JW

[discoginfo]

PS the distribution chain for that 12" just emailed me now:
"this release was out ALONG time ago ! '95/'96 ? "

Hmm, this also opens up more questions... and they are closed for the Holidays for now.

[df118]

[quote][i]Originally posted by discoginfo[/i]
<br>PS the distribution chain for that 12" just emailed me now:
"this release was out ALONG time ago ! '95/'96 ? "

Hmm, this also opens up more questions... and they are closed for the Holidays for now.
[/quote]

You may be right. I only came across it a couple of years ago and assumed it was a modern bootleg/unofficial remix (no date on the labels etc.)

[obs]

Great info.
Here's the 10" entry at Discogs:
http://www.discogs.com/release/148237

This release was originally entered into Discogs over ten years ago.
Some submission notes:
"This was released in the late 90s, long after the band had broken up, and is not on their official discography."

"Per the band themselves, as posted on their official Fan Questions page dated 11/30/2010, this is not an official Blancmange release: http://blancmange.fanbridge.com/fan_questions/?page=56"

The updated URL is http://blancmange.fanbridge.com/fan_questions/?page=266 ... midway down the page
Q Absolutely THRILLED to have you back! A few years ago I found a 10" called "Son of Ceiling" that was credited to you two. Is this legit, maybe something you guys slipped out privately? Cheers!

Blancmange responded on 11/30/2010
A i've got a copy too.
it isn't one of ours, although the sounds are mainly taken for the master tapes.
cheers
neil.