Wait a minute!  Just when you think the SACD format was headed to a shallow grave somewhere, Japan steps up to the SACD plate and augments their SHM (Super High Material) lineup with an opening volley of SACDs, some of them mouthwatering titles with previously unheard DSD mixes.  Most notable for NOT being on SACD (go figure cuz I can't) is Who's Next by The Who.

Back when SACD seemed to be gaining steam, Tommy was released as an SACD as well as My Generation.  Who's Next should have been a no-brainer followed by Quadrophenia.  But neither materialized despite the revelation that Pete was working on a multi-channel version of Quadrophenia.  We haven't heard anything since.

And then, there was the endless announcements of Steely Dan SACDs that never materialized.  The rampant speculation was that the mixes had been completed.  In this SHM-SACD news, we learn that Aja is one of the titles being released indicating that the speculation might have been correct. (If so, and these sales prove worthy, we may see them yet.).

We know that most of the SHM-SACDs being offered in this first round have already seen release as SACD.  Of the first round, only Who's Next, Aja, and Velvet Underground & Nico have not.  But that's not to say that the three not previously released are new transfers.  They may have been completed years ago.

Here are the upcoming SACDs, available only as pricey imports from Japan:

• Every Good Boy Deserves Favour - The Moody Blues
• Aja - Steely Dan
• Synchronicity - The Police
• Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground
• Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones
• Who's Next - The Who
• Layla - Derek & The Dominoes
• Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard
• What's Going On? - Marvin Gaye
• At Fillmore East - The Allman Bros Band
• A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
• Getz/Gilberto
• John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman
• Ella & Louis - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
• Sarah Vaughan - Sarah Vaughan

There are also a few classical titles in there as well. Go here or here to order.

One gem to score if you have an SACD is the long out-of-print Rolling Stones title, Let It Bleed.  If you do not have it, scramble.  Aja, Who's Next, and likely Velvet Underground & Nico should sell out FAST!  The remaining titles should do brisk business.  But do not hesitate.  Get what you can when you can.  We all know that Columbia's unreleased SACD of Rocks (Aerosmith) has been acquired in the wild.  Perhaps we'll be able to score that title soon as well as a myriad of other likely completed DSD masters that we have been deprived of (The Steely Dan catalogue comes to mind).

More importantly, if these titles do well, perhaps we'll begin to see newly remixed DSD remasters of more classic titles.  Keep your fingers tightly crossed!

Bravo, Japan.  You have always put art before anything else and I salute you for it.  I'm breathless with anticipation for more SACDs, even if they are pricey SHM discs.

This could be a bonanza.  Shortlived, but a bonanza nonetheless.  Line up!

We have two reviews today that include my review of the 2009 release of Live in San Francisco 1979 featuring Graham Parker & The Rumour, and Chapman.Whitney Streetwalkers' First Cut as reviewed by Robert Metcalf.

Who picked up their copy of Exile on Main Street? First impressions?

I want to alert TAP readers to the fact that I have finally put together a FaceBook fan page that you can access and join by clicking on the badge below.  What this offers is the exact same thing as my Twitter feeds provide and that is first buzz on upcoming releases and free offered downloads, many announcements  that beat our main post, sometimes by days.  We also provide a Google BUZZ page that expands on most of the Twitter/FB feeds. On Buzz, you can even hear the music stream if a stream is offered.  There are still things that I'm working on in the FB page, like calender notes as well as links to great sites like The Second Disc.  I invite you to join us at our FB page and bookmark it.  Visit it daily and you'll be rewarded with much news and info.  Of course, you'll still want to come to the main MusicTAP page for our noisy commentaries.  Remember, with our Twitter feeds, you can elect to receive the news bursts as text on your mobile phone keeping you effortlessly up to date with stuff.  Lots of choices.  Find one, or two, that fits.

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Watch for the upcoming new solo release from Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance) planned for June 7 (UK), and July 6 (US). The new album is called Ark.

Raven Records (Australia) will re-release two Johnny Winter titles on a two-fer set scheduled for July 13. Those titles are The Progressive Blues Experiment and the Columbia S/T debut, Johnny Winter.

Razor & Tie Records will release Return of the Son of by Dweezil Zappa, which is expected on June 22.

Mobile Fidelity will reissue The Yes Album on Gold CD on June 29.

Universal Motown will release the vinyl LP version of Crystal Castles by Chrystal Castles on June 29.

Need some downloadable Paul McCartney & Wings? Hear Music is prepping the material for reissue, with firstfruits arriving as DD (Digital Download) on June 8. Expected titles are Ram, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Flaming Pie, Tug of War, Unplugged - The Official Bootleg, and Red Rose Speedway. The Wings titles are Back to the Egg, London Town, Wings at the Speed of Sound, and Wings Greatest.

Collector's Choice will release a two-fer disc with Terry Knight & The Pack, and Reflections, titles from Terry Knight & The Pack. And just in case you didn't know, Mark Farner and Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad fame arose from this band. Set is expected on June 22.

Fans of the New York Dolls and the broken components that made up that legendary outfit should be happen for this upcoming Sylvain Sylvain collection called Bowery Butterflys ('78 Vintage NYC Rock and Roll Gems). It's planned for July 13 by GB Music.

A&M Records will release the new Sheryl Crow album on July 20. It is called 100 Miles From Memphis.

Tthe next M.I.A. album is to be released on the artist's own label N.E.E.T. via Interscope Records on July 13. It's titled a mind-bending /\ /\ /\ Y /\. No, YOU figure it out.

The Second Disc has revealed a Deluxe Edition of Fables of the Reconstruction, a 1985 release by R.E.M., is planned for release on July 13 via EMI Records. Check out the announcement and the track listing at this The Second Disc link.