Genesis / Phil Collins: Audiophile reissues

Atlantic Records celebrates 75th anniversary with special editions

The American record company Atlantic Records celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, there are a whole series of reissues, also in audiophile formats, including some albums by Genesis and Phil Collins.

In addition to normal LP reissues in clear or black vinyl in 180g (including the Genesis album Selling England By The Pound), there will be an Acoustic Sounds Collection, which has a few special features that we would like to briefly introduce to you.

There will be seven Genesis albums and two Phil Collins albums released via the Analogue Productions Label (Atlantic 75 Series): Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down On Boradway, A Trick Of The Tail, Abacab and Genesis will be released from Genesis, plus Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going! from Phil Collins. Each of these albums will be 180g vinyl with 45 RPM playback - so all albums will be issued as double vinyl and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway as a 4LP set. In addition, the Genesis albums will also be released as a hybrid SACD, but only in stereo.

Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot

Vinyl: 180-gram 45 RPM double LP (Supper's Ready will be split over two sides!)

Mastered directly from the original master tape by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

Hybrid Stereo SACD: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering

Selling England By The Pound

Vinyl: 180-gram 45 RPM double LP

Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

Hybrid Stereo SACD: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Vinyl: 180-gram 45 RPM 4LP

Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI

Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

Hybrid Stereo SACD: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman

A Trick Of The Tail

Vinyl: 180-gram 45 RPM double LP

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

Hybrid Stereo SACD: no info about Mastering

Abacab, Genesis

Vinyl: 180-gram 45 RPM double LP

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Gatefold old-style "tip-on" jacket by Stoughton Printing

Hybrid Stereo SACD: no info about Mastering

Face Value, Hello, I Must Be Going!

Vinyl: 180-gram 45 RPM double LP release

Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and cut to lacquer from a 1/4" EQ'd Dolby tape copy of the original master tape

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI

Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

Both albums will NOT be available on Hybrid Stereo SACD. The original cover artwork was used for both albums.

These editions are limited, even though follow-up pressings have already been announced for some titles.

All in all

In summary, it can be stated for Genesis that the Gabriel-era albums are the original mixes (and this is the first time since 2007 that these have been used for a reissue of the studio albums) - it is unclear for the Collins-era albums (even though it would only be logical that the same procedure was followed here - not least because it is an "Analogue Production"). The Collins solo albums are also based on the original master tapes (there were no new mixes here anyway).
It is a bit disappointing, however, that the SACD versions of the Genesis albums are only available in stereo (even if the target group for these price-intensive releases are surely only audiophile buyers and not surround fetishists), but then again makes sense as the original mixes were used and those are unavailable in multichannel.

How to get them

In Europe, we have only found Face Value ina German Online-Shop (see here). Otherwise, the records and SACDs are available from Acoustic Sounds in the USA. (Genesis | Phil Collins). Release date for the first few records is 6 October and Acoustic Sounds intend to release two titles every month following that.