WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Bruce Springsteen Remasters Announced - with a Twist

February 18, 2014 By Mike Duquette 19 Comments

Born to RunIt's one of the biggest headlines catalogue music fans have been waiting decades to hear - if not necessarily in the context they'd like.

Today, Bruce Springsteen announced ten of his albums from across his entire discography have been newly remastered from the original analogue tapes by Bob Ludwig. The list includes five classic LPs - Springsteen's first four albums Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973), The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973), Born to Run (1975), Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and Born in the U.S.A. (1984) - and five recent ones - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006), Working on a Dream (2009), The Promise (2010), Wrecking Ball (2012) and the just-released High Hopes. While Born to Run, Darkness and the Darkness-era outtakes set The Promise were all significantly improved for remastered box set treatments in recent years, this marks the first time that anything has been done to the first two albums (as manager Jon Landau had alluded to earlier this year) or the celebrated Born in the U.S.A. since they were first transferred to CD some three decades ago.

These albums, mastered by Ludwig under the personal supervision of Springsteen and his engineer Toby Scott, were indeed sourced from the original tapes, newly transferred by Jamie Howarth of Plangent Process. The Plangent Process playback system is lauded for its ability to correct pitch errors and other distortions in the magnetic tape over time, allowing for what may be the most detailed take on Springsteen and The E Street Band's sound.

Now: all of this is great news so far, which was an attempt to steel you against the not-so-great news: these 10 masters so far currently only exist as Mastered for iTunes titles. While the MFiT process as a guideline starts with 96 kHz/24-bit resolution masters - well beyond the quality of a compact disc - these masters will be ostensibly compressed to some degree in order to fit as an AAC file.

Which, of course, begs the question: will these new remasters be available in some other capacity? Certainly services like HD Tracks would post the remasters as lossless files. And of course, there's the idea of remastered CDs - a practice that Springsteen's catalogue - which, alongside that of Prince's, is probably the most glaring in this respect - has largely evaded over the years. (That doesn't even consider if other albums - say, The River (1980) or Nebraska (1982) - will be restored by Ludwig and company.)

We've reached out to Sony Music for comment on the matter of possible physical releases of these new Bruce Springsteen masters, which would certainly be one of 2014's bigger stories on the catalogue/reissue beat were it to happen. When we find out, we'll make sure you, our treasured reader, is kept in the know.

Until then? As a wise man once said, "Show a little faith - there's magic in the night."

Categories: News Tags: Bruce Springsteen

Avatar photo

Mike Duquette

Michael Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he discovered there was more than one version of John Williams' soundtrack to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, with bylines on catalog at Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Prince and credits on titles including the Grammy-winning 'Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic.' Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with an ever-expanding collection of music.

Connect With Mike:

You Might Also Like

  • Rolling Stones Grrr LiveRespectable: The Rolling Stones Release Star-Studded 50th Anniversary Show on "GRRR Live!"
  • StreamThe Weekend Stream: November 26, 2022
  • Steve and Eydie That Holiday FeelingRelease Round-Up: Week of November 11
  • StreamThe Weekend Stream: April 30, 2022

Comments

  1. Jim Regan (@Jbones72) says

    February 18, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    So best to wait to see if they release the cd's?

    Reply
    • Mike Duquette says

      February 18, 2014 at 12:49 pm

      They'd be crazy not to, wouldn't they?

      Reply
      • Steve Cunningham (@AnalogWalrus) says

        February 19, 2014 at 10:18 am

        They still make CD's?

        Reply
  2. JM says

    February 18, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    "these masters will be ostensibly compressed"? why "ostensibly"? they will _necessarily_ be compressed.

    given the horrible noise compression and digital artefacts on Springsteen's albums since the mid-1990s (particularly bad on the last few releases), which he seems not to notice, the Boss is hardly the man I would trust to oversee new masters of his own material. 🙁

    Reply
  3. Tom says

    February 18, 2014 at 12:56 pm

    I really want physical editions. Sorry, but I think I'm safe in presuming the main market for these would be CD or vinyl buyers.

    Reply
  4. Jeff says

    February 18, 2014 at 1:04 pm

    So, the remastering on these are better than those from the previous reissues? So, what you are saying is that I threw away a wad of money on the Born To Run set a while back?

    Reply
  5. Earl Cambron says

    February 18, 2014 at 1:26 pm

    Would love deluxe editions of The River, Nebraska, BITUSA & Tunnel Of Love.....

    Reply
  6. Mr MacGoo says

    February 18, 2014 at 2:49 pm

    Unfortunately ladies and gentlemen the CD is becoming extinct. This year there will be a number of artists that will only release their music via digital distribution. Economics, convenience and instant gratification is driving this market. I really like these reissue labels but most are hurting ... just ask Sundazed, Iconclassic, Friday Music, Collectors choice and many others about their margins. It's a real shame.

    Reply
    • JoeF. says

      February 19, 2014 at 11:11 am

      Yes, CD's are on the way out, but it's a long goodbye. If they're still releasing CD's of obscure acts-and they still are--they are obviously going to be releasing new and archival material by major artists in a physical format for probably a few more years. And don't forget, for all the ink spilled about vinyl, it's still a niche format. CD's still outsell vinyl editions. And who knows, just as vinyl made a comeback after it was declared dead, CD's may still get a second life....

      Reply
  7. Seth Hollander says

    February 18, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    I would imagine that the "average" buyer/rebuyer for these titles is not someone looking for an upgraded edition, but rather someone who doesn't buy CDs (or stopped buying them some time ago) and/or doesn't understand how to convert them to files in iTunes.
    We readers of websites like TheSecondDisc are too small an audience to prioritize. We may still see some deluxe editions come out on CD, but these will be high-priced boutique/collector items.
    Selling music commercially is about moving units, not finessing individual sales. I believe that the music industry still wants to tap baby-boomer wallets, and it realizes that the majority of these people need to find recognizable-to-them products in iTunes. Most geezers aren't going to look to hard to find music. It needs to be shown to them in banner ads and suggestion boxes. Remastering old titles "for iTunes" is a perfect window to promoting those titles in the iTunes marketplace!
    This is "now", and we are "then": it happened to our parents, and to their parents too...

    Reply
    • Earl Cambron says

      February 18, 2014 at 5:11 pm

      Bruce and Jon Landau have to know there is still decent physical demand for the after mentioned titles, right?

      Reply
      • JG says

        February 18, 2014 at 7:22 pm

        That's just it, though...IS there still "decent" demand? "Decent," of course, being defined by the industry execs who make these decisions. Put another way, it doesn't matter how you or I feel about it, or how badly we want the item in question. What matters is whether the prospective sellers are optimistic about the potential sales figures. Yes, I'll be bummed if Greetings, Wild, and Born never get a physical remaster, but I can't act as though it's a given that it's financially justifiable (especially since the industry's idea of what's "justifiable" might be way different than mine, but that's a whole other tangent).

        Seth nailed it above regarding the numbers at play with the general population vs. audiophile enthusiasts. Not a knock against TSD, but it's easy to end up in an echo-chamber internet bubble and lose sight of the larger world. I can't remember how many times I've gotten strange looks from people when the concept of buying physical CDs comes up. For vast swaths of the public, it's just not the norm anymore. (And honestly, I think the only reason it hasn't already hit the DVD/Blu-ray market to the same extent is the much larger storage needs of video, which will likely be less and less of an issue as technology keeps advancing.)

        Reply
    • Mr MacGoo says

      February 19, 2014 at 12:12 am

      The one bright spot is that audiophile manufacturers are recognizing this shift in music distribution. Over the past few years ... Bryston, Linn & Naim have all put out products that are able to do wonders with these lossy files. I have been playing the Black Sabbath mastered for iTunes through my Naim Uniti2. Surprisingly the old warner brother edition of Paranoid & Master of Reality (ripped to ALAC) only marginally better on the high frequencies!

      Reply
  8. knirps says

    February 18, 2014 at 5:00 pm

    I wonder if these remasters are the source of the 44.1 khz / 24-bit downloads available from Qobuz in France? Some have been available since December.

    Reply
    • Tom Gardner says

      February 19, 2014 at 4:07 am

      I bought the first two albums from Qobuz when they first appeared at the tail end of the last year. Greetings seemed a marginal improvement however The Wild, The Innocent etc was especially good. I'm not jumping in on these itunes files (yet) but I will consider the additional downloads now available on Qobuz.

      Ideally I'd like a CD set of the remasters and it crossed my mind that there is one major Sony artist who has yet to be given the "complete" album box set collection treatment like Dylan received last year. Fingers crossed.

      Reply
  9. Eric says

    February 18, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    Although I held no real hope it would ever happen, it is still disappointing to see what may be our only chance to get those rare BITU-era single remixes go by without even one of them tacked on as a bonus track.

    Reply
    • bfromc says

      February 18, 2014 at 7:46 pm

      Sony wants to do something special for Born In The USA's 30th anniversary — though it was reported on this site that Bruce's management is looking at expanding The River as well, much like it did the last two.

      To me, this is Sony doing like Hear Music is doing with Paul McCartney: re-releasing new masters for iTunes, but saving all the extra material for big anniversary/archival editions that will be released wide. This way you don't have to go and buy an extra copy of The River, Nebraska or Born In The USA again when they become part of a box set the following year.

      Reply
  10. Joe Marchese says

    February 19, 2014 at 11:54 am

    For all this talk of how dead the CD is, The Second Disc covered approximately 500 physical catalogue-related releases last year...and I know we missed more than a few! There's still a sizable market for physical product...even if it's a far cry from years past and dwindling each year due to a shifting paradigm. I wouldn't call the gravedigger quite yet, friends, nor would I expect there to come a time when physical product (niche or otherwise) isn't available in one format or another.

    Reply
  11. Wayne says

    July 16, 2014 at 12:33 am

    Sony must be completely daft to not realize that some kind of rights deal with Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab would only be to their benefit. Every Bruce fan with or without a job would find a way to snap up superior sounding versions of the back catalogue. I mean, what's to lose here?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Carole King Home Again
    Home Again: Live in Central Park
    Carole King
    February 10, 2023
  • Rolling Stones Grrr Live
    GRRR! Live
    The Rolling Stones
    February 10, 2023
  • Robert Palmer Island Years
    The Island Records Years
    Robert Palmer
    February 17, 2023
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,545 other subscribers

Popular

  • Honky Chateau
    Get Back to the Woods: Elton John's 'Honky Château' Gets New Deluxe Edition in March posted on February 1, 2023 | under News
  • Stream Vox
    The Weekend Stream: January 28, 2023 posted on January 28, 2023 | under The Weekend Stream
  • Philip Bailey State of the Heart
    Walking on the Chinese Wall: SoulMusic Records Collects Philip Bailey's First Three Solo Pop Albums posted on January 30, 2023 | under News

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2023 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy