Dire Straits Brothers in Arms 1st cd issue ?

I need help on this one
I found a copy of brothers in arms cd in smooth case (pat. pend)
cd has dobro imprint to the inner most hole
made in japan on bottom edge
no manufacture identiication as i've seen on other posts in classified
9 o'clock position it has gema box and 1985 phonogram london underneath
the inserts say printed in u.s.
this is a bit different from my w. german version as it has plastic hub
etched around hub is 25264-2 X-48 1A1

is this same master as wg version?
which is older?
which japanese plant manufactured this?

any help is appreciated

 

no dire straits experts?

 

Rob, personally I'd grab it. Just the allure of the smooth sided jewel case lends an ear to it being old. Who knows, it may be the one that does it for you.

 

My Japanese copy is exactly as you described, but it does have the plastic hub.

 

"Brothers In Arms" was huge seller at the time. Warner used West German and Japanese pressings to satisfy the demand. They were both "first pressings", just from a different pressing plant in a different country.

 

Didn't the first pressing contain an edited version of Money For Nothing? Or was it the 45 "single" version?

 

rob, It could be a CTA plant pressing. It would be a contemporary of the West German pressing and may have the same mastering. Grab it and compare!

Brothers in Arms was obviously very popular in those days, and it was pressed on CD by many plants, likely to keep up with demand. I have Japanese pressings from the Daio Kosan, Matsushita, and Sanyo plants. Your disc is different from these pressings.

 

Rob, my preference copy is 9 25264-2. My matrix is nothing like the one you describe though. Made in Japan by Matsushita in 1985 on the WBs label. The one you describe sounds like it pre-dates mine. I still say grab it!

 

The last time I played my copy from W Germany that I bought in 1987, I thought it sounded lifeless. Why did we think it sounded so good then?

 

Also there is the "rare" 1st US pressing by DADC. On this one the artwork on the non play side of the CD does not extend into the plastic hub as "Made IN USA By Digital Audio Disc Corp." is imprinted there.


Rick

 

I've never found a version with an edited version of "Money for nothing", however the intro to "Your latest trick" has been cut off on the vinyl version that I have.

 

Perhaps you are thinking of the "Money For Nothing" Collection which I believe wass from 1988?

 

thanks for all the response
i think i was not completely clear in my post
my w. german cd does not have plastic hub
the japan cd has a plastic hub w/ 25264-2 X-48 1A1 etched

what does an 01 in matrix mean

 

Matrix codes on West German Polygram pressings end in 0X. It seems as though the earliest pressings of a given title have matrix codes ending in 01. However, one should not assume that the mastering changed in going from 01 to 02 to 03, etc. Maybe it did in some cases, but that is not the norm. The different suffix simply means that a different presser was used.

 

Rob also has a U.S. issue on Warner Bros., just from a different Japanese pressing plant. It probably has the same mastering as your Matsushita pressing, but obviously there are no guarantees with these things.

A few years ago, I remember at least one person here stating a preference for the West German pressing on Vertigo that was issued in Europe. I haven't done that comparison but I've always meant to.

 

That CD was pressed by CTA. BIA was so popular that on this forum alone I have counted 11 different pressing plants used on that title from 1985-7 for US WB issues.

The PolyGram WG pressed BIA WBs have the Vertigo cat no in the matrix.

The one I have is made by Matsushita Electric (Technics). First pressing. Got it from Columbia House in 1985 - in a sealed longbox!

 

I bought it within a week of it being released in the U.S., and mine was a WB branded Vertigo-Polygram West German CD. IIRC, one of the first Japan presses had the channels reversed(?)

 

So I am trying to get to the bottom of this...

The Brothers In Arms CD was such a huge worldwide CD release, I have always assumed that all CD masterings were the same. Well, as has been observed in another thread, they are not:

I just picked up a West Germany-for-USA PolyGram pressing, and I am comparing it to my U.S. DADC pressing. First of all, the channels are reversed on the WG pressing, as reported. But what really surprises me is that they are (aside from the channel swap) different masterings. Here are peak levels:

PolyGram, 25264-2, West Germany-for-USA
Matrix: 824 499-2 02 *
100.0 / 100.0 / 56.3 / 41.6 / 22.7 / 72.6 / 69.1 / 89.6 / 56.5

DADC, 25264-2, USA
Matrix: DIDX 477 51A9
100.0 / 100.0 / 50.3 / 40.8 / 23.1 / 75.6 / 77.8 / 100.0 / 63.0

They do sound different, but it's difficult for me to describe, because of the swapped channels and the slightly different levels. The DADC sounds hotter -- but interestingly the PolyGram disc tends to be about the same or louder when I measure Leq (Long-Term Equivalent Level).

 

Hi, I am thinking about picking up this CD. Is the Japanese for US market the same as the West Germany in that the channels are reversed or is it the same as the USA. Is it also possible the Japan could be the same mastering as the West Germany but with correct channels? Thanks.

 

Hi,

I found a copy of the Japan for US, 9 25264-2 (on artwork and front of CD), Made in Japan by Matsushita, matrix w9 25264-2

I compared it to my* WG for USA and early DADC. I was able to discern No difference between them. I then ran EAC peaks and they were exactly the same. They CD's appear to all be digitally identical.

* = my WG for US > 9 25264-2 (on artwork and front of CD) , Made In W.Germany By Polygram, matrix 824 499-2 07 The EAC values match my early DADC and Japan for US. It looks as there is more than one WG for USA mastering with 824 499-2 02 * matrix possibly being not as good???

PolyGram, 25264-2, West Germany-for-USA
Matrix: 824 499-2 02 *
100.0 / 100.0 / 56.3 / 41.6 / 22.7 / 72.6 / 69.1 / 89.6 / 56.5

PolyGram, 9 25264-2, West Germany for USA
Matrix: 824 499-2 07 #
100.0 / 100.0 / 50.3 / 40.8 / 23.1 / 75.6 / 77.8 / 100.0 / 63.0

DADC, 25264-2, USA
Matrix: DIDX 477 51A9
100.0 / 100.0 / 50.3 / 40.8 / 23.1 / 75.6 / 77.8 / 100.0 / 63.0

early DADC, 25264-2, USA
Matrix: DIDX 477 91A23
100.0 / 100.0 / 50.3 / 40.8 / 23.1 / 75.6 / 77.8 / 100.0 / 63.0

Matsushita, 9 25264-2, Japan for USA
Matrix: w9 25264-2 0
100.0 / 100.0 / 50.3 / 40.8 / 23.1 / 75.6 / 77.8 / 100.0 / 63.0

 

Then there's the original West German pressing -

79.4/79.4/44.7/33.0/18.0/57.6/54.9/71.1/44.9

I suspect there was some sort of level shifting for some of the other pressings mentioned; this is a fairly low-volume disc as the values indicate.