question related to the early CD versions of Dire Straits

[Kidd]

as I know, there exists many versions of DS' cd, e.g. the LOG album, i've seen 4 different kinds of west germany versions, and i believe they were all made in 1984. The target CD ?the blue swirl with blue text ?the blue swirl with black text  and  the orange swirl , they may share the identical mastering, my question is which one came first? and which last? thx 

[vgonis]

I think the blue swirl is the first one to come out from West Germany, in 1984. Then the red swirl. And the target ones later in the USA.

[twm]

I have no idea but, if you look in the central area of a CD, you will see some words/numbers/letters in a circle around the middle - sometimes clear, sometimes less so. You may need to turn the disc to catch the light in the middle area of the CD. Anyway, these words/numbers/letters can, on occasions, give clues as to origin and when the discs were made (or, at least, which came before which in a given sequence). They may offer some clues to you.

[rudiger]

as I know, there exists many versions of DS' cd, e.g. the LOG album, i've seen 4 different kinds of west germany versions, and i believe they were all made in 1984. The target CD ?the blue swirl with blue text ?the blue swirl with black text  and  the orange swirl , they may share the identical mastering, my question is which one came first? and which last? thx 

nice pic, but not updated: I've added also the "missing piece" 



The first kind of blue swirl (on the left in the pic) represents the first european (and world) release, dated early 83 (or late 82).
The second kind of blue swirl is the second european release (late 83? 1984?): for each title there are 2 variations: Made in West Germany (earlier) and Made in West Germany by Polygram, at 8 o'clock.
Then came the red swirls (Made in West Germany by Polygram, Made in W.Germany, Made in France, Made in Korea, Made in Germany,....)

Those with the target design are the first US releases (1983? 1984?): for each title there is a West Germany and a Japan release, but I can't say which came first (probably they are coeval)

For completeness: for Making Movies there isn't any "target"; for Alchemy there isn't the first kind of blue swirl nor the Japan target

[vgonis]

Most importantly are there any differences in the content! Is the sound equally good? Are there differences in tracks and lengths?

[dmg]

Hmm...interesting info.  I had seen these blue swirls before but thought they were maybe just from different markets.  I had the red swirl on all up to and including Alchemy, but when the remasters came out in '96 I gave the red swirl MM and LOG to a friend.  Regret it now.

[Kidd]

as I know, there exists many versions of DS' cd, e.g. the LOG album, i've seen 4 different kinds of west germany versions, and i believe they were all made in 1984. The target CD ?the blue swirl with blue text ?the blue swirl with black text  and  the orange swirl , they may share the identical mastering, my question is which one came first? and which last? thx 

nice pic, but not updated: I've added also the "missing piece" 



The first kind of blue swirl (on the left in the pic) represents the first european (and world) release, dated early 83 (or late 82).
The second kind of blue swirl is the second european release (late 83? 1984?): for each title there are 2 variations: Made in West Germany (earlier) and Made in West Germany by Polygram, at 8 o'clock.
Then came the red swirls (Made in West Germany by Polygram, Made in W.Germany, Made in France, Made in Korea, Made in Germany,....)

Those with the target design are the first US releases (1983? 1984?): for each title there is a West Germany and a Japan release, but I can't say which came first (probably they are coeval)

For completeness: for Making Movies there isn't any "target"; for Alchemy there isn't the first kind of blue swirl nor the Japan target

thank you very much   that's help me a lot   

[Kidd]

b.t.w.  the collection picture  shown above is not mine  it's from  the link http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/vertigo-blue-swirl-cd-version-of-communique-by-dire-straits-is-coming-to-me.245219/   
and i've found another explaination for the blue and red swirl label problem    see the link: http://www.keithhirsch.com/the-many-faces-of-phonogram-cds-part-4-the-vertigo-label   

[vgonis]

So the first DS album, Communique and Love over gold not only have different mastering for Europe, USA and Japan, but they also have different track lengths and drop -outs (different from fade outs?) . Communique in almost all songs is longer at the Japanese for US WB targets! Total over 40 sec! Stunning! But is it a longer track to fade out or slightly different speed?

[vgonis]

Thanks Kidd and Rudiger! I know rudiger is an avid collector    , and I was glad to see his signature at Hoffman's site. I knew about the longer SOS, but not about the longer Lions and Communique. And I really don't get what they mean drop-out at 3:38 at Telegraph road.

[Fletch]

Forget CDs - vinyl original (2nd hand not re-issues) is the real deal. + phono amp & best speakers you can get...

[vgonis]

Fletch, I am with you. Rudiger knows that I collect mainly vinyl, but it is the collector bug that makes me participate here!  I wouldn't buy the blue swirls with the money they usually ask at discogs and ebay, but I am interested if the versions are different, longer, other mastering, etc.

[rudiger]

Hi Vassilis, with "drop out" they mean a sudden drop in volume or a break (but we are talking about 1 second), but honestly I've never noticed it in Telegraph road.
With regard to the different masterings, I don't own an audiophile equipment and I can't notice substantial differences between West Germany and Japan releases. From a brief analysis of the preferences gathered around, there seems to be a larger appreciation for the West Germany versions, but not everyone agrees.
With regard to the different lenght of some songs, mostly it's a matter of seconds divided between music fading and a longer pause between songs. The only consistent (if one can use this term) difference is appreciable in SOS, where the final solo is a few seconds longer in the Warner Bros Japan and. IIRC, in the later "Made in USA" releases

[vgonis]

Thanks for the explanations Rudiger! Do you know if this longer version is available in the remastered ones, or any other release? Which version is used for the vinyl editions?

[MK_live]

I have the made in USA version and have it listed here:

http://www.oneverybootleg.nl/officially_owned_DS6.htm

On two songs, a bit longer tracktime.


Jeroen