The Catalogue: Difference between revisions

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==Reception==
==Reception==
The British music magazine ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' gave a unfavorable review of the remasters, stating, "Sadly, the remaster is a fiasco. The soft tones of “Computer Love” become sharp, the wide spaces of “Home Computer” contract into tunnels, and “Pocket Calculator” bears down on us like a spiked ceiling in a horror film. Equally poor is the remastered ''Radio-Activity'', where atmospheric crackles and hisses have been removed by noise reduction software. For pity’s sake, they’re part of the music! ''Autobahn'', ''Trans-Europe Express'', and ''The Man-Machine'' have less sound-quality issues but are all inferior to the original EMI CDs. Anyone planning to buy the 8 CD ''The Catalogue'' would be well-advised to sample an individual remaster first."<ref name="UNCUT_REVIEW"/>
The British music magazine ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' gave a unfavorable review of the remasters, stating, "Sadly, the remaster is a fiasco. The soft tones of “Computer Love” become sharp, the wide spaces of “Home Computer” contract into tunnels, and “Pocket Calculator” bears down on us like a spiked ceiling in a horror film. Equally poor is the remastered ''Radio-Activity'', where atmospheric crackles and hisses have been removed by noise reduction software. For pity’s sake, they’re part of the music! ''Autobahn'', ''Trans-Europe Express'', and ''The Man-Machine'' have less sound-quality issues but are all inferior to the original EMI CDs. Anyone planning to buy the 8 CD ''The Catalogue'' would be well-advised to sample an individual remaster first."<ref name="UNCUT_REVIEW"/>

An in-depth review is available on music blog ''5:4'', which draws some equally negative conclusions, saying, "To buy ''The Catalogue'' would be a mistake (unless you're a sucker for superficial packaging); only ''Autobahn'', ''Radio-Activity'', ''Trans-Europe Express'' and ''The Man-Machine'' are worthwhile investments, their 2009 remasters significantly contributing to the original material, aiding its clarity and genuinely bestowing on it a new lease of life. All of these can be bought individually and should be. ''Computer World'' is horrid to listen to, & should be avoided, while ''Techno Pop''...deserves nothing more than derision, being the most shameful result in the entire enterprise. In both cases the originals far outstrip the 2009 remasters—although in the case of ''Techno Pop'', the 2004 remaster is worth seeking out.... Neither ''The Mix'' nor ''Tour de France'' are better in 2009 than they were in 1991 and 2003 (indeed, ''Tour de France'', as noted, is worse), so again, the originals are the version of choice."<ref name = "5:4 REVIEW">{{cite web | url = http://5-against-4.blogspot.com/2009/11/kraftwerk-remastered-retrospective.html | title = Kraftwerk - a remastered retrospective | date = 2009-11-8 | accessdate = 2009-12-03}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 17:04, 28 December 2009

Untitled

The Catalogue (German title: Der Katalog) is a boxed set comprising eight albums by Kraftwerk that were released from 1974 to 2003. All albums are digitally remastered, with most of the cover art redesigned, including rare photographs in the liner notes that were not part of each album's original release.

We've been digitally transferring all of Kraftwerk's original recordings and sound sources from our badly degrading master tapes while our engineers, Fritz and Henning, have been working in parallel to remaster our early albums for re-release. So for the first time, our recordings will be available in crisp, clear Kling Klang sound with all the fold-out covers and images our label at the time either messed up or wouldn't pay for. There will be some alternate mixes of tracks and some unedited versions, but unfortunately we don't have much unreleased material. We never recorded extra songs or twenty different versions of the same song. We would complete a song and then move forward, always keeping very focused on one Kling Klang project at a time.

— Ralf Hütter, 2004 [8]

The sound needed remastering…it’s like a reconstruction, like when a painter takes his paintings from the archives and blows the dust off and puts them in a retrospective. It was quite time-consuming work, but I think once you see it you will immediately understand.

– Ralf Hütter


Contents

The albums included in the boxed set are the following:

Formats

As with previous Kraftwerk releases, the collection is distributed in two versions: English-language vocal tracks for international distribution and another (Der Katalog) with German-language vocal tracks. The box set contains eight CDs in mini-vinyl card wallet packaging, plus individual large-format booklets. On October 5, 2009, Kraftwerk released several remastered albums with redesigned artwork.

Release

File:12345678-front.jpg
Front cover of the 2004 promo version of The Catalogue.

The boxed set was initially planned for release in 2004 on compact disc and vinyl format and was distributed as a promotional boxed set on compact disc. Copies were often sold on eBay for high prices. An actual release date was not announced and the project remained unreleased for years, despite having a page on the Kraftwerk Web site during this time.

The individual remastered albums were eventually made available on compact disc in October 2009, while an 8-CD boxed set and heavyweight vinyl versions followed in November.[9][10] Because of licensing issues, the albums Computer World, Techno Pop and The Mix are only available in the USA as part of The Catalogue boxed set.

Discontinuation of original albums

Kraftwerk has discontinued the original albums or the ones that have not been remastered. For example, Radio-Activity from 1975 was discontinued, compared to the remastered 2009 'version. However, in the USA, the WEA-issued titles (Computer World, Electric Café, The Mix) were not reissued individually because of licensing issues.

Proposed second boxed set

Kraftwerk suggested that a second boxed set could be on its way and be released in 2010 This is not a confirmed rumor. However, it is possible that Kraftwerk's first three albums could be reissued.

We've just never really taken a look at those albums. They've always been available, but as really bad bootlegs. Now we have more artwork. Emil has researched extra contemporary drawings, graphics, and photographs to go with each album, collections of paintings that we worked with, and drawings that Florian and I did. We took a lot of Polaroids in those days.

— Ralf Hütter, 2006 [11]

Reception

The British music magazine Uncut gave a unfavorable review of the remasters, stating, "Sadly, the remaster is a fiasco. The soft tones of “Computer Love” become sharp, the wide spaces of “Home Computer” contract into tunnels, and “Pocket Calculator” bears down on us like a spiked ceiling in a horror film. Equally poor is the remastered Radio-Activity, where atmospheric crackles and hisses have been removed by noise reduction software. For pity’s sake, they’re part of the music! Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express, and The Man-Machine have less sound-quality issues but are all inferior to the original EMI CDs. Anyone planning to buy the 8 CD The Catalogue would be well-advised to sample an individual remaster first."[7]

References

  1. ^ http://www.emimusic.nl/external/microsites/Catalogus/binnenkort.html
  2. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Review: The Catalogue". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  3. ^ Salmon, Ed (2009-08-10). "The Catalogue review". Clash (magazine). Retrieved 2009-12-2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Caldwell, Sean (2009-12-24). "The Catalogue review". No Ripcord. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
  5. ^ Ewing, Tom (2009-12-1). "The Catalogue review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2009-12-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Perry, Andrew (2009-10-05). "The Catalogue review". The Daily Telegraph. The Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 2009-12-02. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  7. ^ a b Cavanagh, David. "The Catalogue review". Uncut. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  8. ^ Perlich, Tim (2004-04). "article". Now Toronto. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Mute Records. Retrieved 4 November 2009 from Mute.com.
  10. ^ EMI Germany. Retrieved 20 August 2009 from EMImusic.de
  11. ^ Witter, Simon (Spring 2006). "article". Dummy (magazine).

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Catalogue&oldid=334574153"