Frankie Goes to Hollywood-Rage Hard: The Sonic Collection SACD

[bobou2]

I've been looking but no luck........any info????

 

[BiggerzBetter]

It's my understanding that this Hybrid M/C title isn't always in stock, but it does get reprinted every now and then.

Amazon.co.uk has it listed as shipping in "2 to 3 days," which usually means they can get their hands on a copy. The web site doesn't specifically list the disc as being SACD, but I checked the serial number against my SACD copy and it matches. It's a bit pricey, but that's always a personal choice.

Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005UUNB/ref=sr_aps_music_1_1/202-0664324-0589440

You can also check out http://www.ztt.com (the record label itself) because they have an online store. The disc is slightly cheaper there, but there's no status indicator of whether they actually have the disc in stock. For me, that's a roll of the dice.

 

[bmoura]

You can also check out http://www.ztt.com (the record label itself) because they have an online store. The disc is slightly cheaper there, but there's no status indicator of whether they actually have the disc in stock. For me, that's a roll of the dice.

I bought my SACD copy from ZTT Records direct. Good price and service - it was here from the U.K. in 1 week !

My experience with ZTT is that they de-list the SACD when it is out of stock. So surround fans should be able to buy it from them these days.

It's a fun SACD, recommended.

 

[bobou2]

Thanks for the help.........
now if only Crutchfield/Pioneer would stop tossing around the Stock date for my Universial machine :xp: it has gone from today(14th) to the 23rd to the 31st and now it stands at July 16th

 

[DrMabuse2001]

Hi,
for what it is worth I ordered my copy direct from ZTT as well and found the experience to be terrific all around. Not the cheapest route but I HAD to have it and it was well worth it.
One of my "show off" discs for sure.
/\/\

 

[Patrick Cleasby]

Who did the mix, and how is it?

If it wasn't Trevor Horn or Stephen Lipson, it ain't really kosher is it?

 

[bobou2]

Who did the mix, and how is it?

If it wasn't Trevor Horn or Stephen Lipson, it ain't really kosher is it?

From the ZTT website:

In stock once again, this album contains all the greatest Frankie hits remastered onto Super Audio CD. This format adds another dimension to the music through an immersive listening experience that the 5.1 multichannel mix creates. The SACD contains three discrete recordings - a stereo CD mix, stereo Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and multichannel DSD.


Produced by Trevor Horn, the album used the original multi-track studio masters to remix the album to DSD 5.1 channel and stereo.


These different recordings give the hybrid SACD the widest compatibility, with play back on either a standard CD player or the new generation of high-resolution SACD players.


1. Relax 2. Two Tribes 3. Ferry Cross The Mersey 4. The World Is My Oyster 5. Welcome To The Pleasuredome 6. Maximum Joy 7. San Jose 8. Warriors Of The Wasteland 9. Rage Hard 10. War 11. Watching The Wildlife 12. Born To Run 13. The Power Of Love

 

[Patrick Cleasby]

Does anyone know the cheapest place to get this in the UK?

 

[shark42]

does anybody know the cheapest place to get this in Canada?

 

[MacDaddy]

I can tell what is NOT the cheapest place to buy. I ordered a copy at HMV and it was about $60 CDN.

 

[Christian]

I found it here at this Canadian based etailer:

http://www.dv-depot.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=3&products_id=125878

$27.44 US dollars

Cheers!

Christian

:banana:

 

[bobou2]

Got mine from England today..........very fast
Sounds great too

 

[shark42]

gah, it's in burlington, and it's still $50 CND, with $6 or so for shipping. That's a lot for a disc that I'm enjoying most tracks from in Logic 7.

Is the mix THAT good, guys?

 

[bmoura]

Got mine from England today..........very fast
Sounds great too

Agreed - a very enjoyable 5.1 mix in Multichannel SACD !

 

[stormchaser]

Well, I've given this one a couple of listens and I thought I'd share my reactions. There is no slot for this in the hi-rez polls, so I'll post this under the SACD category. In short, Rage Hard is a hybrid MC SACD that, despite several excellent songs/mixes, I think will appeal mostly to Frankie fans and might disappoint more casual listeners looking for the next wow MC disc especially given its rarity/expense. For me, there is an element of nostalgia here that drew me to picking this up (Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome was something I listened to in high school occasionally). Additional thoughts follow:

This is hard to find. You can purchase it through the ZTT website or (as I did) through the occasional Amazon Marketplace seller. I ended up paying $26 with shipping from England included.

It is difficult to take the disc title Rage Hard seriously despite the presence of a track of that name when it shares disc space with a version of "San Jose" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey." Ah, those wacky Brits.

Snide comments aside, there are some great moments here. The best track for me is "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" which sounds great with evil laughter, waterfalls, and bird calls swirling around the room. FGTH's remake of Edwin Starr's "War" is also well-done. "Two Tribes" and "Relax" also benefit from the MC treatment. Overall, the MC mix is moderately agressive in an absolute sense but is a bit conservative given the nature of the original material. Most importantly, it is fun.

In terms of sound quality, there is substantial improvement here over what I remember from twenty years ago, but I have certainly heard better sounding hi-rez discs. To ZTT's credit, this disc was mastered without any nod to the loudness wars. Indeed, I really had to crank this one up for Frankie to sound like I remember Frankie sounding like. That comment is intended as a compliment and this music (okay, not "San Jose") is designed to be turned up to eleven.

To sum up, I'm very pleased with this disc and there are several tracks that I will return to again and again. But for the MC fan who is not even a casual Frankie fan, this disc may leave you a bit flat.

Now to get that Propaganda Secret Wish SACD.....

 

[Nova]

I also purchased this thinking I was going to be blown away ... instead I got soft mixes and low output ! Rage Hardly ! Pleasure Dome Kicked Ass in stereo and would have been the better choice to remix

 

[daved64]

I really expected Trevor Horn to be a multichannel mental case, but as we see with the Seal discs, he's pretty tame.

 

[Neon Kitten]

In terms of sound quality, there is substantial improvement here over what I remember from twenty years ago, but I have certainly heard better sounding hi-rez discs. To ZTT's credit, this disc was mastered without any nod to the loudness wars. Indeed, I really had to crank this one up for Frankie to sound like I remember Frankie sounding like.

It's worth noting that this SACD - as one of ZTT's first attempts at the format - was transferred unmastered from the multichannel mixes. While it might not be a "loudness war" problem disc, some degree of mastering and TLC is needed at the final stage before manufacture (as anyone who owns David Bridie's unmastered SACD of "Act Of Free Choice" will know well, with track levels all over the place and an immensely quiet overall level).

Now to get that Propaganda Secret Wish SACD.....

That one is superb (and actually DID get mastered properly, by Simon Heyworth). The MC mixes are terrific, though they do take some liberties with the production. Note that both the FGTH and Propaganda SACDs were not mixed by Trevor Horn. He is listed as the "executive producer", but the mix credit goes to someone else.

The only down side to the Propaganda disc is the use of simulated surround (extrapolated from stereo) on three tracks. This was, presumably, due to missing or unusable multitrack tapes (I did email ZTT about this one, but they never replied!)

 

[Felix E. Martinez]

I just rec'd an e-mail from CDUniverse - back in stock. I just ordered and will post back my thoughts...

 

[Felix E. Martinez]

Just got it. Very disappointed. Harsh high-end. Anemic low-end. The orig Pleasuredome and Liverpool CDs (I have the orig '80s CD pressings) smoke the tracks on the SACD, sadly, and while they're bright in a '80s DDD kinda way, they don't approach the sibilance of the M/C SACD and actually have more low-end. The orig Pleasuredome CD has a max. peak of -18db or thereabouts, but even when compensating for the low RMS volume, the orig. CD still blows the SACD away. Sad. I would still consider the SACD a collector's item as these are bonafide surround mixes from the multitracks, but you're not missing much.