Now finally revealed, and marking the 20th anniversary of its release, Pink Floyd’s final album The Division Bell is the subject of a deluxe box set arriving on June 30th, 2014. Chock-full of goodies, it features six discs, including three replica coloured or clear vinyl discs, 5 collectors‘ prints, a Blu-ray disc and for the first time Andy Jackson’s 5.1 audio mix of the album. We detail the contents below.
The Division Bell debuted at No 1 in the UK and in the USA and, to date, has reached total album sales of over 12 million. The album was recorded by the band at Astoria and Britannia Row Studios. David Gilmour: „The three of us went into Britannia Row studios, and improvised for 2 weeks. Playing together and starting from scratch was interesting and exciting, it kick started the album and the process was very good, it was collaborative and felt more cohesive“.
The Division Bell 20th Anniversary collector’s box set will feature the new, much-anticipated 2-LP vinyl edition of the album, remastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab from the original analogue tapes, including all the full length tracks (originally edited to fit on a single LP) in a gatefold sleeve designed by Hipgnosis/StormStudios. Five other discs are included: a red 7″ vinyl replica of single Take It Back, clear 7″ vinyl replica of High Hopes, 12″ blue vinyl replica of High Hopes with reverse laser etched design, the 2011 Discovery remaster of The Division Bell and a Blu-ray disc including the album in HD Audio, plus the previously unreleased 5.1 surround sound version mixed and mastered by Andy Jackson and Damon Iddins.
Another addition included on the Blu-ray disc is a new video for Marooned, the track that won a Grammy for ‚Best Rock Instrumental‘ in 1994. Filmed in Ukraine during the first week of April 2014, the video was directed by Aubrey Powell at Hipgnosis. It is nice that this is included in stereo and also 5.1 audio versions. For those yet to see the video, it’s quite an eerie and poignant glimpse at the city abandoned after the nuclear power plant tragedy in 1986, and works well with this instrumental.
Bob Ezrin and David Gilmour produced the original album, with orchestral arrangements by the late Michael Kamen. The anniversary box set discs have been remastered by long term Pink Floyd audio associates James Guthrie and Joel Plante.
The vinyl release will please many, and because some will naturally have wanted a separate issue of this (without buying the whole boxset), you can indeed get it separately. The original vinyl didn’t feature the album in its entirety, so this is the first time to hear all the songs completely on this format. Whilst on the subject of the vinyl, for those who weren’t able to buy the limited edition singles when they came out in 1994, the replicas included in this set are sure to please – particularly as the packaging has been reproduced with the various picture sleeves, poster bag and film cards in a wallet.
The 2011 Discovery edition of the album comes in what is called a „new dedicated wallet“ which presumably echoes the rest of the packaging. Finally, there are five 26cm x 26cm art prints designed by Hipgnosis/StormStudios in the set, and a small card with an unique code for downloading the album audio in HD and MP3 formats.
This is sure to be a popular release, and hopefully marks the start of a new era of Floyd releases, following the move from EMI to Warner Music.
Quelle: www.brain-damage.co.uk
Wenn ich das richtig kalkuliere: zig Driss an Vinyl (7″ Vinyl Replica) – aber nur 1CD???? Dann sieht das demnach aus, dass auch keine „Experience Version“ mit 2 CDs oder gar 3 CDs kommt …
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