UPDATE (4/26/2013): Wow! A little over a year later, these sets are available to pre-order. Happily, SACD and vinyl configurations will exist for all of The Doors' studio efforts in this period. Additionally, 2,500 numbered copies of an SACD or vinyl box, entitled Infinite and featuring textured slipcase packaging with a new essay by former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres, will be available. Both of these are pre-orderable at the above links with a May 14 release date. Individual pre-order links are still being sussed out for all titles.

Original Post (11/2/2011): A picture often speaks a thousand words.

And so, there you have it.  The Year of the Doors campaign has launched an unexpected new salvo, bringing the band’s catalogue to multichannel hybrid SACD and audiophile vinyl (200-gram, mastered at 45 RPM) from Analogue Productions.  Analogue, of course, is the label responsible for the forthcoming SACD of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.  Of The Doors' six-album studio catalogue recorded during Jim Morrison’s lifetime, four of the titles will be available in both formats, while the remaining two are vinyl only:

1. The Doors (Elektra LP EKS-74007, 1967 - reissued Analogue Productions AAPP74007, 2011 – SACD and Vinyl)
2. Strange Days (Elektra LP EKS-74014, 1967 - reissued Analogue Productions AAPP 74014, 2011 – SACD and Vinyl)
3. Waiting for the Sun (Elektra LP EKS-74024, 1968 - reissued Analogue Productions AAPP 74024, 2011 – SACD and Vinyl)
4. The Soft Parade (Elektra LP EKS-75005, 1969 - reissued Analogue Productions AAPP 75005, 2011 – Vinyl Only)
5. Morrison Hotel (Elektra LP EKS-75007, 1970 - reissued Analogue Productions AAPP 75007, 2011 – Vinyl Only)
6. L.A. Woman (Elektra LP EKS-75011, 1971 - reissued Analogue Productions AAPP 75011, 2011 – SACD and Vinyl)

Other than a Japan-only release of the self-titled The Doors on SACD earlier this year, this campaign marks the band’s first appearance in the format.  The Doors’ catalogue has been available in surround before, with 5.1 mixes created for Rhino’s 2006 Perception box set.  Those DVD-Audio discs contained both new 5.1 mixes and stereo mixes, but the latter were engineer Bruce Botnick’s 40^th anniversary remixes.  These SACDs (with both stereo and surround on the SACD layer) mark the first time that the original vinyl mixes of The Doors’ albums will be available in advanced resolution.  As always, the stereo layer of the hybrid SACDs are playable on all CD players.

Hit the jump for more details on this new series!

The project has been supervised by Botnick, one of the keepers of the Doors flame, and acclaimed mastering engineer Doug Sax.  According to the label, all titles “have been cut from the original analog masters by Doug Sax, with the exception of The Doors, which was made from the best tape copy.  Sax and Doors producer/engineer Bruce Botnick went through a meticulous setup to guarantee a positively stunning reissue series.”  Analogue continues, “This is an all-tubes process.  These masters were recorded on tube equipment and the tape machine used for transfer for these releases is a tube machine, as is the cutting system.  Tubes, baby!  A truly authentic reissue project.”

It’s speculated that SACDs aren’t available for The Soft Parade and Morrison Hotel aren’t currently scheduled because both titles were licensed to another audiophile specialty label, Audio Fidelity, for 2009 Gold CD reissues.  As such, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that SACDs for these two albums may arrive at a later date.

These vinyl albums and SACDs are just one component of the ongoing Doors reissue projects.  They’re joined by the Record Store Day singles box set, the new documentary film Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman, arriving from Eagle Rock Entertainment on both DVD and Blu-Ray on January 24, 2012, and the planned L.A. Woman “Super Deluxe” box set, currently in the works for early 2012 release from Rhino.

No date has been revealed for the Analogue Productions titles yet.  Watch this space for more updates.