The Dark Side Of The Moon 50th Anniversary SACD Multi-ch Hybrid Edition - [7-inch Cardboard Sleeve (mini LP)] [Limited Release] Japan

[Markbot]

I just received this SACD from CDJapan. I couldn't remember why I ordered it until I opened it. It has a ton of memorabilia inside like books, 45rpm single jackets Japanese editions, all the original post cards and posters, replica tickets, Japan tour book and a bunch of stuff I can't immediately figure out what it is. I took a couple photos with my phone. It's really a solid package.
I have the original SACD, the Acoustic Sounds SACD and now this 50th anniversary SACD, From the translated description it looks like it is the same musical content as the AS 2021 SACD. It's a hybrid disk so it will play in any CD player.


https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/SICP-10143

Description
Features 5.1ch Surround Sound and remastering. Japanese original mini LP reissue of "The Dark Side of the Moon" from Pink Floyd. Uses the Hybrid Multichannel SACD masters released by Analogue Productions in 2021. Features 7-inch cardboard sleeve packaging, faithfully replicating its UK original LP design. Comes with an obi featuring the "golden obi" used for its 4ch Quadraphonic edition released in 1970's in Japan. Rare items related to their second Japan tour in 1972 are faithfully replicated as follows

[1972 Japan tour related reissue]

1972 Pink Floyd In Japan Photo Book (48pages, Airport, Live, and Japan stay in 1972)
1972 Pink Floyd In Japan Tour Pamphlet (16 pages)
Ticket for 1972 tour in Japan (Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, March 6, 1972 )
Ticket for 1972 Tour in Japan (Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, March 7, 1972 )
1972 Tour in Japan Tour Poster (Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium)
The leaflet of the lyrics "The other side of the moon - works for all kinds of madmen -" distributed at the venue of 1972 tour in Japan
Flyer announcing the 1972 tour in Japan (Osaka: Festival Hall)
Promotional leaflet (handwritten by record company to promote "The other side of the moon")
Commemorative sticker (round sticker for the campaign to promote the band's visit to Japan at that time)
Commemorative single jacket ("Pink Floyd/Big 4")
Commemorative single jacket ("Point Me at the Sky")

[Original LP related reissue]

2 kinds of posters which were enclosed in the original LP
2 kinds of stickers which were enclosed in the original LP

They threw in a free DSOTM post card (center in the photo). I just jammed that in the SACD package on the left.
Though I bought the SDE 50th boxed set I also bought the Japan version of the Wembley show as a packaging variant.

[jjy]

Got mine yesterday pretty cool/I also have the AHM one from a couple years ago.I would love more of these as the anniversaries come by but I wonder if they are only doing tours where they came thru Japan.

[rontoon]

Received mine as well. A much better tribute to the 50th than the big box.

[fatoldpig]

I like the packaging and all the goodies inside

[rontoon]

Keep 'em coming, Japan!

[direwolf]

Got mine yesterday pretty cool/I also have the AHM one from a couple years ago.I would love more of these as the anniversaries come by but I wonder if they are only doing tours where they came thru Japan.

I didn't know about the AHM one, looks very tasty.

https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/SICP-6396

[MGoBlue1989]

The AHM release is worth every penny. Do yourself a favor... get it and don't think twice about it.

[tkd]

Ordered my copy today, loved the AHM release so expect this to be just as good.

[PFC67]

Everything issued coming out of the Japanese market is of such high quality - the now exclusive two releases have really showed that a nice little package of an album with associated replica memorabilia is the way to go.

It doesn’t necessarily need huge boxes that may be out of reach for many, and the JP SACD standalone for TDSOTM is fabulous - a real gem of a package!

[ruben77]

I got mine this week, and having it in your hands is an incredible experience. You may see photos and videos of the contents, but you can only see how huge this is once you can actually touch it and peruse the contents. The Japanese tour photo book is delightfu and all the memorabilia reproduction is top notch.

I really hope the Japanese releases of the following albums (WYWH, Animals, The Wall) are presented in as good fashion as this and AHM when their time comes.

[fatoldpig]

I didn't know about the AHM one, looks very tasty.

https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/SICP-6396

I got the AHM too. When it came out 2 years back, I ordered the limited edition 9.5 inch mega-jacket version from Amazon Japan but they had some issues with my Amazon credit card and by the time they fixed it, mega-jacket version was sold out. I sent an email to Mr. Bezos explaining that I couldn't get the limited-edition version because of their system problem. Some higher up manager from Amazon Japan quickly responded and sent me the 7" version for free (yeepee!!!).

[prudence2001]

I bought one too, and even decided to pick up a SACD-compatible Blu-Ray to access that layer, though in stereo. What a beautiful product with all the extras and really high quality packaging. I don't feel like I missed out anything by not buying the 50th anniversary box.

[ruben77]

For those of you who are wondering about the contents of the 20-page Japanese booklet that came inside the SACD book of this release: I scanned it and ran it through a OCR software, and then copied the text on an on-line translator.

Of course, automatic translation from Japanese is not the best and requires careful human revision to get a proper text. Instead of copying the tortuous to read text that the machine translation produced I offer you a summary of what is understandable from the text:

(*Note: "Madness" is the name given to the album in Japanese kanji)

There are four short essays, as follow:


The first essay is titled "Madness, Memories, and a Record" written by Naoki Tachikawa on January 2023.

The author remembers the 1971 Hakone festival and his expectations for the Pink Floyd visit to Japan in March 1972. He tells the anecdote of how the band wanted the lyrics to be translated into Japanese for the audience to understand, and how the leaflets containing the lyrics were translated and printed to be distributed to the audience in a matter of hours prior to the show on March 6, 1972.

There are also snippets of an interview to "Music Life" magazine where the Floyd explain how lights are a part of the performance, and how the sound has improved with each new tour. (If I understand correctly, the photobook that accompanies this release contains material from that interview on March 1972.)



The second essay is called "The rest of the dream was a world nobody knew". Written by Masanori Ito on January 2023.

Here the author recalls his experience as a teenager seeing the first Tokyo 1972 show, and the huge amazement and confusion him and all the crowd experienced when listening the then-unkown Dark Side suite. He also recalls an unannounced FM broadcast of a recording (audience?) of that 1st Tokyo show the day afterwards on a radio station.




The third essay is called "The immeasurable appeal of the 5.1ch surround mix of 'Madness'" by Akihiko Takeda, written also on January 2023.

Here the author goes into detail of the multichannel releases of the album: mentions the quad LP, the use of quad sound on the shows, and the 2003 SACD release, as well as the 2011 immersion release and the several multichannel versions contained in it. Then goes on a song by song description of how the surround sounds, instruments and voices are experienced throughout the album.



The fourth essay is called "A Classic and Enduring: Madness half a century after its release". It is written by Hiroyuki Ayuzawa.

Here the author describes the importance of the album and how it stands among several of the best seller pop/rock albums of all time. Then talks about the composition process and how the music evolved during the live performances.

There's nothing really new in this essay, as it mostly a historical description on how the album was born (things every fan already knows or can easily find on the internet).

Then the essay describes each song including some production details (which are also already well known by now).

It ends with a brief mention to the material included in the 2011 Immersion boxset, and also mentions the 2021-2022 "official bootlegs" releases noting their poor quality but their historical importance to appreciate the evolution of the album. And closes with a biographical note of each of the additional musicians and vocalists that participated in the album.




The last part of the book contains the Japanese lyrics of the album.

There's also a small disclaimer stating that the reproduction memorabilia may not be exactly identical to the originals as some phone numbers on them may have changed in the intervening years.

And the last page is just the technical details on SACD and DSD.