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The
reissue
This
Dusk Fire recording was 24-Bit 96k/Hz digitally remastered by Miles
Showell at Metropolis Mastering, London, Decmber 2004 Miles writes:
'Kaleidoscope of Rainbows' was originally recorded at Morgan Studios in
late March 1976, with the final mix being completed in early April.
The
album became infamous not only for its' supremely original music, but
also for its' impeccable engineering by Martin Levan. However for the
original release, despite the fact that it was well regarded at the
time, the sound had to be compromised in order that it could be made to
fit onto a single LP vinyl record.
The
original recording features excellent stereo separation and extended
bass response, but at twenty-seven and a half minutes a side (long for
an LP side) both the stereo width and the bass had to be substantially
reduced.
At the
time of the original album cut a copy tape was made featuring all the
changes made to the recording to facilitate the vinyl medium, this tape
was then copied again, and this final copy became the 'production
master'. It would appear that all subsequent reissues have been made
from this third generation (and compromised) tape.
Fortunately for this new reissue, Dusk Fire was able to secure access to
all the known tapes of this album. Sadly the original masters are lost,
but a safety copy made at Morgan at the time of the final mix survives,
this was excellent news as this safety copy is free of all vinyl-related
limitations.
These
safety copy tapes were in perfect condition, and allied to the excellent
production and mixing the only thing for me to do was to transfer the
recording as faithfully as possible to the digital medium. Only minimal
signal processing was applied.
So
finally, for the first time ever, it is possible to hear this album in
all its' glory. I personally would like to thank Martin Levan (the
original engineer) for making my job easy, were it that all recordings
were as good as this.
Kaleidoscope of Rainbows is a wonderful album, with beautiful sound.
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