We are basically one week away from 2020, so I thought it might be a good idea to summarize what we might have to look forward to in the coming year.
Esoteric Recordings - Esoteric are already starting off 2020 on the right foot! In March, we already have 5.1 mixes of "Turn of the Cards" by Renaissance and (more importantly) "Ammonia Avenue" by the Alan Parsons Project to look forward to, but there should still be more releases in store as well! For the Alan Parsons Project, I think the next inevitable release would be "The Turn of a Friendly Card" in the Fall of 2020 for the album's 40th anniversary, but maybe they might have enough time to squeeze in a box set for "I, Robot" during the summer too! When it comes to Renaissance, Esoteric have already reissued most of their albums, but one notable absence has been a reissue of "Scheherazade and Other Stories" so I think that's the next likely candidate for a 5.1 surround release after "Turn of the Cards". Finally, Mark Powell has already hinted that "Axe Victim" will be the next box set release from Be-Bop Deluxe in the Spring of 2020, so that would leave "Drastic Plastic" as the last Be-Bop Deluxe box set release later in the year.
Pink Floyd - 2019 was a weird but still satisfying year to be a Pink Floyd fan. It was initially announced via Acoustic Sounds that "Animals" would be released as a 5.1 surround SACD (with the mixing done by longtime engineer James Guthrie.) However as the year went on, all fell silent on that particular release, and instead, we got "The Later Years" box set featuring material from 1987 onward, including a new 5.1 mix of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason". So with "The Later Years" box now released, will we finally get "Animals" in 2020? One can only hope cause the mixing has been done for years!
The Beatles - 2020 will see the release of a new edit of the "Let It Be" movie, put together by director Peter Jackson, so I'm sure there will be some type of audio-element to tie-in to the movie release, perhaps a box set that could have 5.1 surround mixes of both "Let It Be" and "Let It Be...Naked".
Marillion - The Marillion reissue series is definitely planned to continue in 2020 with a release of "Script for a Jester's Tear" sometime in the first half of the year, and then after that, I recall that "Season's End" will be next, followed by "Holidays in Eden" and "Fugazi" probably in 2021.
Gentle Giant - This year, the band's self-titled first album was released in 5.1 surround on Blu-Ray as part of the gigantic and expensive box set entitled "Unburied Treasure", but I feel very confident that 2020 will see the release of a smaller CD/Blu-Ray version of this album, with Steven Wilson's stereo remix on CD as Disc 1 and the Blu-Ray from the box set as Disc 2.
XTC - The XTC Surround Sound Series is still expected to continue, but with Andy Partridge off Twitter, we'll all have to dig a little harder from now on to figure out what's next in the series.
RUSH - The band have already indicated that they plan to release a 40th anniversary box set of "Permanent Waves" in 2020, so a 5.1 surround mix on Blu-Ray is certainly a possibility, as long as all the tapes are in order.
Jethro Tull - Right now it is unknown if the Jethro Tull reissue series will continue with "A" in 2020. My best guess is that Steven Wilson has now finally bowed out of future Jethro Tull remixes and the series will continue with someone else at the helm, probably Jakko Jakszyk.
Doobie Brothers - I know we have been waiting for the Quadio box set since 2018, but I think 2020 is the year! Why? The band are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2020, which includes a big tour with Michael McDonald back in the band, so the Quadio box set would be a nice tie-in with the tour. Plus, the band also might be inducted finally into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, so if that does happen, the Quadio box set would tie-in to that event too!
The Band - The Band have already released highly rated box sets for their first two albums, so I think the 50th anniversary series will continue in 2020 with a box set for "Stage Fright", once again featuring new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes from engineer Bob Clearmountain.
Others - Jim Kerr from Simple Minds announced on Facebook that a deluxe edition of the band's album "Street Fighting Years" would be released in February, so here's to hoping that 5.1 surround sound will be a part of this reissue as it has been for all other Simple Minds box sets.
Reissues (of previously released surround material) - 2020 could see opportunities to reissue some older 5.1 mixes on Blu-Ray via anniversary box sets. One such release could be a 40th anniversary box set of Queen's album "The Game" (which was previously available in 5.1 on DVD-Audio in 2003.) Another two releases could be 50th anniversary box sets from Rhino of the albums "Workingman's Dead" and "America Beauty" by the Grateful Dead, both of which were released in 5.1 on DVD-Audio in 2001.
Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention Dutton Vocalion and their continued dedication to reissuing old Quadraphonic mixes on SACD, and I have no doubt that they will continue to surprise us with some incredible releases!
Finally, the biggest disappointment of 2019 was the continued lack of a release of "The Seeds of Love" deluxe edition from Tears for Fears. Steven Wilson's 5.1 mix of the album has been completed for years. Maybe they will finally do us all a favor and release the deluxe edition in 2020.
If there's anything you feel like I have missed, please comment below!
Esoteric Recordings - Esoteric are already starting off 2020 on the right foot! In March, we already have 5.1 mixes of "Turn of the Cards" by Renaissance and (more importantly) "Ammonia Avenue" by the Alan Parsons Project to look forward to, but there should still be more releases in store as well! For the Alan Parsons Project, I think the next inevitable release would be "The Turn of a Friendly Card" in the Fall of 2020 for the album's 40th anniversary, but maybe they might have enough time to squeeze in a box set for "I, Robot" during the summer too! When it comes to Renaissance, Esoteric have already reissued most of their albums, but one notable absence has been a reissue of "Scheherazade and Other Stories" so I think that's the next likely candidate for a 5.1 surround release after "Turn of the Cards". Finally, Mark Powell has already hinted that "Axe Victim" will be the next box set release from Be-Bop Deluxe in the Spring of 2020, so that would leave "Drastic Plastic" as the last Be-Bop Deluxe box set release later in the year.
Pink Floyd - 2019 was a weird but still satisfying year to be a Pink Floyd fan. It was initially announced via Acoustic Sounds that "Animals" would be released as a 5.1 surround SACD (with the mixing done by longtime engineer James Guthrie.) However as the year went on, all fell silent on that particular release, and instead, we got "The Later Years" box set featuring material from 1987 onward, including a new 5.1 mix of "A Momentary Lapse of Reason". So with "The Later Years" box now released, will we finally get "Animals" in 2020? One can only hope cause the mixing has been done for years!
The Beatles - 2020 will see the release of a new edit of the "Let It Be" movie, put together by director Peter Jackson, so I'm sure there will be some type of audio-element to tie-in to the movie release, perhaps a box set that could have 5.1 surround mixes of both "Let It Be" and "Let It Be...Naked".
Marillion - The Marillion reissue series is definitely planned to continue in 2020 with a release of "Script for a Jester's Tear" sometime in the first half of the year, and then after that, I recall that "Season's End" will be next, followed by "Holidays in Eden" and "Fugazi" probably in 2021.
Gentle Giant - This year, the band's self-titled first album was released in 5.1 surround on Blu-Ray as part of the gigantic and expensive box set entitled "Unburied Treasure", but I feel very confident that 2020 will see the release of a smaller CD/Blu-Ray version of this album, with Steven Wilson's stereo remix on CD as Disc 1 and the Blu-Ray from the box set as Disc 2.
XTC - The XTC Surround Sound Series is still expected to continue, but with Andy Partridge off Twitter, we'll all have to dig a little harder from now on to figure out what's next in the series.
RUSH - The band have already indicated that they plan to release a 40th anniversary box set of "Permanent Waves" in 2020, so a 5.1 surround mix on Blu-Ray is certainly a possibility, as long as all the tapes are in order.
Jethro Tull - Right now it is unknown if the Jethro Tull reissue series will continue with "A" in 2020. My best guess is that Steven Wilson has now finally bowed out of future Jethro Tull remixes and the series will continue with someone else at the helm, probably Jakko Jakszyk.
Doobie Brothers - I know we have been waiting for the Quadio box set since 2018, but I think 2020 is the year! Why? The band are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2020, which includes a big tour with Michael McDonald back in the band, so the Quadio box set would be a nice tie-in with the tour. Plus, the band also might be inducted finally into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, so if that does happen, the Quadio box set would tie-in to that event too!
The Band - The Band have already released highly rated box sets for their first two albums, so I think the 50th anniversary series will continue in 2020 with a box set for "Stage Fright", once again featuring new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes from engineer Bob Clearmountain.
Others - Jim Kerr from Simple Minds announced on Facebook that a deluxe edition of the band's album "Street Fighting Years" would be released in February, so here's to hoping that 5.1 surround sound will be a part of this reissue as it has been for all other Simple Minds box sets.
Reissues (of previously released surround material) - 2020 could see opportunities to reissue some older 5.1 mixes on Blu-Ray via anniversary box sets. One such release could be a 40th anniversary box set of Queen's album "The Game" (which was previously available in 5.1 on DVD-Audio in 2003.) Another two releases could be 50th anniversary box sets from Rhino of the albums "Workingman's Dead" and "America Beauty" by the Grateful Dead, both of which were released in 5.1 on DVD-Audio in 2001.
Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention Dutton Vocalion and their continued dedication to reissuing old Quadraphonic mixes on SACD, and I have no doubt that they will continue to surprise us with some incredible releases!
Finally, the biggest disappointment of 2019 was the continued lack of a release of "The Seeds of Love" deluxe edition from Tears for Fears. Steven Wilson's 5.1 mix of the album has been completed for years. Maybe they will finally do us all a favor and release the deluxe edition in 2020.
If there's anything you feel like I have missed, please comment below!
