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 Post subject: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 28 Jul 2012, 17:35 
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There have been lots of discussions to date on late laserdisc releases in general, mostly focused around films though.

I wanted to start a thread exclusively for the final official music releases issued on laserdisc.
I'd like to exclude promo or jukebox music LDs from this thread as they were never officially available to the public and really warrant a separate thread for discussion.

From my own collection the last non promo American and European music releases appear to have been in 1998 whereas music releases continued in Japan to at least early 2000.

To start the ball rolling here are a few late music releases:

Image

The Mariah Carey LDs had beautiful covers - they really illustrate how powerful black and white photography can be.
I doubt if those covers would have had the same impact if colour pictures had been used.

The Madonna LD was released on the 02/11/1999 although until a few months ago when I posted a separate thread about it (Madonna cancelled laserdisc really DOES exist) this title was thought to not even exist so does appear to be extremly rare.

According to LDDB.com Queen greatest hits III was released 13/01/2000. Not surprisingly it is tough to find however I would not rate it the rarest Queen related LD.

Many 1998 music releases from the US are very tough to find now - I would guess music LDs didn't get pressed in such large quantities as films and the total quantity pressed in the final few years was probably even less as sales of the laserdisc format declined. You only need to try to find a copy of that Beach Boys LD if you don't believe me.


Last edited by laserdisc_fan on 18 Nov 2013, 22:11, edited 2 times in total.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 28 Jul 2012, 20:13 
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For some reason, music always sold poorly on LD in America. According to Image they sold less than 1500 copies of New Wave Hits Of The 80's Vol 1&2. The Sun City LD had a large press run of 3000 copies and ended up as a punch out for $2.99 in those special Image cut-out end-cap displays they used to have.

Weirdly, music sold REALLY WELL on CED VideoDisc - so CED got titles like Culture Club A Kiss Across The Ocean that was only issued on LD in Japan - Blondie's Eat To The Beat was on CED, with Heart Of Glass added as a bonus. Queen Greatest Flix had Bicycle Race that was cut out on the American LD. Music discs were consistently in the top 10 lists of CED VideoDiscs when it was still around. Except for the rare title like Olivia Physical or Elephant Parts, music discs barely made a blip on the LD sales charts. And, at least here in America, Pioneer couldn't seem to issue music titles when they were popular - their 8-inch discs and video clip discs always seemed to lag about a year behind the big hit on each release. Yet in Japan they got discs while the artists were still burning up the charts.

LD was such a great format for music videos and in America handled very poorly.

I can't believe Madonna's 93:99 compilation was released on LD - since Erotica was originally supposed to be on it, and Madonna cut it only about 2 weeks before release, I wonder if any LD's got pressed with Erotica on them? That's one disc, with or without Erotica, that I would gladly pay $125 for. The comb filter used on the DVD release is just terrible - like The Immaculate Collection DVD, they used a cheap non-adaptive comb filter and the image is full of dot-crawl, cross-color and hanging dots. The Girlie Show DVD is similarly damaged by Warner's low quality comb filters. Which is sad, considering companies like Snell & Wilcox make very sophisticated comb filters that can deliver near-component quality results. I often think that the "engineers" responsible for making the transfer from NTSC to digital for DVD release have no clue about comb filters, how they work, which are appropriate, etc...
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 28 Jul 2012, 20:35 
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I agree on the Mariah stuff, Madonna for some reason always had decent covers as well, at least I think so.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 29 Jul 2012, 00:52 
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Here are a few more:

Image

Phil Collins had several late releases - Japan and European versions of his live & loose concert in Paris (1998) and a very late entry (1999) in the classic album series for his Face Value album. The last entry in this classic album series was the laserdisc release for The Who - Who's Next issued in 21/10/1999.

Then there are some other nice titles such as a Cheap Trick concert in Australia from 1988 issued in 1999 and a B52's music video compilation only released in the US in 1998 which has always been very popular when it turns up on Ebay.

I've also included a few later j-pop titles as well.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 29 Jul 2012, 02:19 
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Yeah. Time capsule did well for me. Great ld as well.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 29 Jul 2012, 04:19 
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mikeystoyz wrote:
Yeah. Time capsule did well for me. Great ld as well.



Here is where the DVD release I think is excellent and I won't waste my time with the LD. Remastered in PCM with 2304 kbps sound. I don't find any of these late music LD's significant enough to warrent a need to acquire or at least not to my music taste. Not so interested in live performances unless it's an artist I desire and the promo tracks don't exist for certain significant tracks.

8-)
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 29 Jul 2012, 10:32 
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The concert titled The Struggle Continues... shown in the first picture deserves a mention. It took place on December 10, 1998 - the exact 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was presented in Paris, France - the city where the original Declaration had been signed in 1948. The concert issued in 1999 starred Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin), Tracy Chapman, Alanis Morissette and Shania Twain. The laserdisc is a beautiful gatefold double LD featuring 172 minutes of concert footage. Although this same concert has been issued on DVD it was put on a single disc to keep costs down so the quality was massively compromised compared with the laserdisc.

All in all I think some of the final music titles issued hold up extremely well. There were laserdiscs issued by some of the biggest names in the music industry like Madonna, Rolling Stones, Queen, Mariah Carey, The Beach Boys and Metallica, not to mention the aforementioned solo artists in the Paris concert.

In addition it was clear some attention to detail was paid when it came to selecting which titles would be issued in the classic album series - selecting Who's Next as the final album was pure genius as that album is generally regarded as a masterpiece.

When you think of the general state of the music charts circa 1999/2000 the music selected for release on laserdisc was pretty darn good. At least these releases were all by credible artists who still have successful careers unlike the flash in the pan artists of today who are forgotten in a few months (or should that be days!). In fact even if you prefer one hit wonders the here today gone tomorrow artists of 1999/2000 were also captured on laserdisc, albeit on promotional laserdiscs for satelite broadcast but that is a topic I'll save for another day.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 30 Jul 2012, 03:40 
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laserdisc_fan wrote:
this title was thought to not even exist so does appear to be extremly rare.

According to LDDB.com Queen greatest hits III was released 13/01/2000. Not surprisingly it is tough to find however I would not rate it the rarest Queen related LD.


What would you say is the rarest Queen laserdisc?
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 30 Jul 2012, 20:41 
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bullruckle wrote:
laserdisc_fan wrote:
According to LDDB.com Queen greatest hits III was released 13/01/2000. Not surprisingly it is tough to find however I would not rate it the rarest Queen related LD.


What would you say is the rarest Queen laserdisc?


I haven't seen a single Queen collection yet that had all the other Queen LDs + the following:

Freddie Mercury: Video EP [58LP-108]

Freddie Mercury: & Montserrat Caballé: The Barcelona EP [VAL-3095]

Features Brian May on guitar on several tracks:
Minako Honda: Dramatic Flash! (1986) [L050-1085]

Then there is the metal sided promo LD which features Roger Taylor solo material discussed in thread:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=29&hilit=roger+taylor
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 01 Jan 2014, 01:23 
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Over the last few years I've gathered a few more late release non promo music laserdiscs worthy of listing.

Image Entertainment was one of the main companies responsible for issuing music titles in the US, particularly towards the end of the format's life.

All of the releases below in the first picture except for 200 Motels were issued by Image Entertainment:

Image

From my own perspective I'd probably rate the Mary Chapin Carpenter LD the toughest to find since I've only ever seen it once on Ebay in 7 years but I may have missed it given I was more focused on rock orientated titles for a long time. It might not be very sought after so probably isn't that valuable even though it is quite rare.

Two further US late releases are these two Van Halen laserdiscs:

Image

The US edition of Live Without A Net was issued in 1999 so was certainly a very late US music laserdisc.

The US edition of Video Hits Vol. 1 came out over a year after the Japanese edition getting released in December 1997. It is significant because unlike the Japanese edition the US version featured dolby surround sound and Side A in CAV format.

Interestingly the DVD of Video Hits Vol. 1 features 1 extra video not present on either laserdisc from the ill fated Van Halen III album - the track 'Without You' (which was released in Feb 1998) which if they had delayed the LD release by a few more months they could have included. In hindsight although 'Without You' did fare quite well in the billboard charts it is not considered a fan favourite given it features Gary Cherone on vocals so should probably have been left off the DVD! Apparently the video for Without You cost 1 million dollars to make which is hard to believe given how ordinary it looks. The only thing I remember about it was some silly hat which Eddie Van Halen was wearing which he probably regrets!

Getting hold a mint copy of the US edition of the Video Hits Vol. 1 on laserdisc is no small challenge as the cover was very flimsy compared to the Japanese edition and the all black glossy finish (unlike the Japanese edition which is more of a matt finish) tended to show every little fingerprint although it can be cleaned up very easily. I was lucky to find a beautiful copy on Ebay with shrinkwrap still fully intact which I only just removed this evening. Most of the copies on Ebay are usually in terrible shape.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 01 Jan 2014, 06:56 
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Quote:
From my own perspective I'd probably rate the Mary Chapin Carpenter LD the toughest to find since I've only ever seen it once on Ebay in 7 years but I may have missed it given I was more focused on rock orientated titles for a long time. It might not be very sought after so probably isn't that valuable even though it is quite rare.


Interesting enough I saw yesterday in LDDB this release was listed as simple surround, however it is a Dolby Digital release (verified my own copy), so I made a quick update. I also have seen it only once (my copy)
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 20 Jun 2014, 20:47 
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This U2 laserdisc definitely deserves a mention in this post:

Image

Image

I've been searching for this for some time and only located a copy quite recently.
It is a very flimsy cover so I was very pleased to manage to obtain a copy in excellent overall condition that has been well looked after in general.

It reminds me a bit of the Madonna Video Collection LD in that it features a massive band like U2 and assembles their videos overs a set period. As with the Madonna LD it was also released in 1999 so certainly qualifies as a late release - perhaps one of the last European music LDs ever pressed excluding promos which I have deliberately ignored in this post.

In addition it was only released in France which is very unusual given the worldwide popularity of the band so you'll need a PAL player!
I've been struggling to even find a region 2 DVD release of this title. It appears to have been released on Region 1 but is long deleted and impossible to find on DVD never mind on laserdisc!

As you would expect with such a late pressing the quality is stunning - both in terms of picture and sound.
In my opinion this disc alone justifies owning a PAL LD player and is certainly the rarest of all the U2 laserdiscs by a mile.

The laserdisc features all the best U2 video's from the 1980's with a few rarities thrown in such as:

The video for 'I Will Follow' which I've never seen on other compilations or other music laserdiscs.

The 1998 re-recorded version of 'Sweetest Thing' which was originally released in 1987 as a B-side on the "Where the Streets Have No Name" single.

A previously unreleased cut of 'One Tree Hill' from Rattle and Hum footage complete with timecodes still intact.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 20 Jun 2014, 21:42 
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I think the latest non-promo music LDs I have are these Seal music video LDs . . .

Image Image

Bought the US one when it came out in late '98. Got the Japan release a few years ago (wanted to see what the Dolby Surround mix was like.)

Still the only way to get the acoustic music videos filmed at The Church Studios in London (one of those videos, "Wild" was what got me interested in Seal) outside of the VHS release.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 20 Jun 2014, 22:40 
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elahrairrah wrote:
I think the latest non-promo music LDs I have are these Seal music video LDs . . .


I only got round to getting the US version of that Seal LD this year. I've had the Japan edition for some years.
I'm not sure when the Japan edition was released but I have a suspicion the US version was the later pressing of the two being 1998 since it is a good deal harder to find even if it has no Dolby Surround mix.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 21 Jun 2014, 21:47 
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I'd previously shown the Japanese edition of Paris Concert for Amnesty International, The (1998) [COLG-6234~5] already in this post. A US edition of this same title also exists Paris Concert For Amnesty International (1998) [ID5637AM]. Before you get too excited the US edition features only a single disc, no gatefold sleeve and is only 120 mins long. The Japan edition featueres 2 LDs in a beautiful thick gatefold sleeve and runs to 172 mins. On the plus side the US edition does features a dolby surround soundtrack.

Both are shown below for comparision - The US edition being the later release of the two by 2 months (20-07-1999):

Image

While I'm on the subject of comparing US and Japan late music releases another pair worth including in this post is the following:

Image

There are many Billy Joel laserdiscs to collect but these two were the last ones presssed in 1998. Again the US pressing was released 1 month later (on 22-04-1998) than the Japan edition making it that little bit rarer to locate. The US edition also features the traditional US flimsy sleeve :( so getting a perfect copy is very difficult - I do however prefer the enlarged picture on the US edition. Both are identical in terms of content however the US edition states a running time of 80 mins and the Japan edition says 79 mins!

Another related pair of late music LDs is the following:

Image

In the late 90's you couldn't switch on the TV at the weekend without seeing Michael Flatley either performing or being interviewed. Not suprisingly at the peak of his fame 2 LDs were issued - one in 1997 and the other in 1998 - although LDDB says 1999 so maybe it got delayed. These US editions are the only laserdisc versions available of these titles.

Finally I've added a few older bands that also had some nice late music releases:

Image

It is a real shame most US releases came in such flimsy sleeves. The Grateful dead title is a double LD crammed into a single sleeve so very prone to creases and damage. I tried to track down the best copy I could get but even it is not perfect.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 29 Mar 2015, 12:00 
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Worth adding another one from the Classic Album series here by U2 which was released 18/09/1999 only in Japan:

Image
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 31 Mar 2015, 14:16 
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laserdisc_fan wrote:
This U2 laserdisc definitely deserves a mention in this post:

Image

Image

I've been searching for this for some time and only located a copy quite recently.
It is a very flimsy cover so I was very pleased to manage to obtain a copy in excellent overall condition that has been well looked after in general.

It reminds me a bit of the Madonna Video Collection LD in that it features a massive band like U2 and assembles their videos overs a set period. As with the Madonna LD it was also released in 1999 so certainly qualifies as a late release - perhaps one of the last European music LDs ever pressed excluding promos which I have deliberately ignored in this post.

In addition it was only released in France which is very unusual given the worldwide popularity of the band so you'll need a PAL player!
I've been struggling to even find a region 2 DVD release of this title. It appears to have been released on Region 1 but is long deleted and impossible to find on DVD never mind on laserdisc!

As you would expect with such a late pressing the quality is stunning - both in terms of picture and sound.
In my opinion this disc alone justifies owning a PAL LD player and is certainly the rarest of all the U2 laserdiscs by a mile.

The laserdisc features all the best U2 video's from the 1980's with a few rarities thrown in such as:

The video for 'I Will Follow' which I've never seen on other compilations or other music laserdiscs.

The 1998 re-recorded version of 'Sweetest Thing' which was originally released in 1987 as a B-side on the "Where the Streets Have No Name" single.

A previously unreleased cut of 'One Tree Hill' from Rattle and Hum footage complete with timecodes still intact.

Does that also have the video for "All I Want Is You"?

And how is the transfer? Was it sourced from a decent master or a VHS master?
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 31 Mar 2015, 18:36 
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Yes the video for 'All I Want Is You' is on that U2 laserdisc.
The quality of the whole disc is fantastic.
I know it doesn't feature all of the videos from that period but it features the best.

For the ones not featured you'll need to buy this VHS Video Sampler promo which plugs the gaps.
Image

Don't be put off by the title "Sampler" it contains 13 full length videos including the following videos not on that laserdisc:
A Celebration
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
A Day Without You
The Electric Co
Gloria
Two Hearts Beat As One
A Sort Of Homecoming

Actually some of these I don't believe are available on any other source.
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 31 Mar 2015, 18:45 
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laserdisc_fan wrote:
Yes the video for 'All I Want Is You' is on that U2 laserdisc.
The quality of the whole disc is fantastic.
I know it doesn't feature all of the videos from that period but it features the best.

For the ones not featured you'll need to buy this VHS Video Sampler promo which plugs the gaps.
Image

Don't be put off by the title "Sampler" it contains 13 full length videos including the following videos not on that laserdisc:
A Celebration
11 O'Clock Tick Tock
A Day Without You
The Electric Co
Gloria
Two Hearts Beat As One
A Sort Of Homecoming

Actually some of these I don't believe are available on any other source.



In the last few days I wondering if I was wrong... I use to remember watching "Gloria" videoclip on TV in mid 80's... "yes.. I swear... They are playing on the water.. not sure... I think on a boat..."
I have this "Best of" on VHS, and a few other DVD and Laserdisc of U2, but no info about "Gloria",,,
Thanks, laserdisc_fan, my memory is (still) really good!!
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 Post subject: Re: Late release non promo music laserdiscs
PostPosted: 31 Mar 2015, 18:51 
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One of the videos is right beside the water like at a harbour - I've so many videos I can't remember which one but I think you are right!
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