Jean.Francois
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- May 31, 2022
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Hello,
Released in October 1985, Once Upon A Time marked a major turning point for Simple Minds.
For its 40th anniversary, a special edition has been released on CD and vinyl.
Does this 40th anniversary edition live up to the milestone?
For this review, you will find 11 versions tested:
Ed 1: CD 40th – 2025
Ed 2: Blu-ray 5.1 – 2015
Ed 3: Blu-ray Stereo – 2015
Ed 4: CD – 1985
Ed 5: CD SDE BOX – 2015
Ed 6: DVD SDE BOX 5.1 – 2015
Ed 7: DVD SDE BOX stereo – 2015
Ed 8: SACD – 2003
Ed 9: TIDAL MAX – 2025
Ed 10: Vinyl Japan – 1985
Ed 11: Vinyl RED 40th – 2025
The 2025 remastered CD version (identical to the 2015 CD version) provides a sound balance with less pronounced upper mids and a more detailed extreme high end. However, combined with dynamic compression (DR9), it loses some of the sonic impact compared to the original version (DR14).
Waveform : CD 2025 vs CD 1985
The graph below compares the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo – 2015 (white curve) with the spectrum of the CD – 1985 (blue curve).The difference introduced by the 2015 remaster is clear. There is a noticeable boost in the low frequencies below 200 Hz (green area), with a gain reaching up to +5 dB around 50 Hz, as well as an emphasis on the high frequencies above 5 kHz (yellow area), also peaking at about +5 dB above 15 kHz. The yellow arrow also shows the extended frequency range up to 48 kHz in the high-resolution version, whereas the CD is limited to 22 kHz.
A comparison between the 1985 and 2025 vinyl releases shows a reduction in dynamic range: DR14 for the original edition, versus DR12 for the 2025 version, which includes an additional track, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”.
waveform 2025 vinyl record vs 1985 vinyl record
This Simple Minds album celebrates its 40th anniversary, and one could have expected a truly new commemorative edition. Unfortunately, it’s merely a reissue of the 30th anniversary version released in 2015, but without the audio DVD or Blu-ray. As a result, the 5.1 mix is missing and there’s also no Dolby Atmos version, which is actually preferable to having a disappointing Atmos mix like the one made for “New Gold Dream”.
As for the stereo versions, it’s difficult to rework the 1985 mix without losing its original energy and dynamics. The original release remains unmatched, particularly on vinyl but also on CD. Among the remastered editions, the SACD version stays the closest to the original, adding a bit more presence in the low end.
Find all the measurements as well as audio excerpts allowing you to compare by listening the differences between all the versions presented here (link, thank you for your visit).
Enjoy listening,
Jean-François
Released in October 1985, Once Upon A Time marked a major turning point for Simple Minds.
For its 40th anniversary, a special edition has been released on CD and vinyl.
Does this 40th anniversary edition live up to the milestone?
For this review, you will find 11 versions tested:
Ed 1: CD 40th – 2025
Ed 2: Blu-ray 5.1 – 2015
Ed 3: Blu-ray Stereo – 2015
Ed 4: CD – 1985
Ed 5: CD SDE BOX – 2015
Ed 6: DVD SDE BOX 5.1 – 2015
Ed 7: DVD SDE BOX stereo – 2015
Ed 8: SACD – 2003
Ed 9: TIDAL MAX – 2025
Ed 10: Vinyl Japan – 1985
Ed 11: Vinyl RED 40th – 2025
The 2025 remastered CD version (identical to the 2015 CD version) provides a sound balance with less pronounced upper mids and a more detailed extreme high end. However, combined with dynamic compression (DR9), it loses some of the sonic impact compared to the original version (DR14).
Waveform : CD 2025 vs CD 1985
The graph below compares the spectrum of the Blu-ray Stereo – 2015 (white curve) with the spectrum of the CD – 1985 (blue curve).The difference introduced by the 2015 remaster is clear. There is a noticeable boost in the low frequencies below 200 Hz (green area), with a gain reaching up to +5 dB around 50 Hz, as well as an emphasis on the high frequencies above 5 kHz (yellow area), also peaking at about +5 dB above 15 kHz. The yellow arrow also shows the extended frequency range up to 48 kHz in the high-resolution version, whereas the CD is limited to 22 kHz.
A comparison between the 1985 and 2025 vinyl releases shows a reduction in dynamic range: DR14 for the original edition, versus DR12 for the 2025 version, which includes an additional track, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”.
waveform 2025 vinyl record vs 1985 vinyl record
This Simple Minds album celebrates its 40th anniversary, and one could have expected a truly new commemorative edition. Unfortunately, it’s merely a reissue of the 30th anniversary version released in 2015, but without the audio DVD or Blu-ray. As a result, the 5.1 mix is missing and there’s also no Dolby Atmos version, which is actually preferable to having a disappointing Atmos mix like the one made for “New Gold Dream”.
As for the stereo versions, it’s difficult to rework the 1985 mix without losing its original energy and dynamics. The original release remains unmatched, particularly on vinyl but also on CD. Among the remastered editions, the SACD version stays the closest to the original, adding a bit more presence in the low end.
Find all the measurements as well as audio excerpts allowing you to compare by listening the differences between all the versions presented here (link, thank you for your visit).
Enjoy listening,
Jean-François
