No sooner do I bicker about the forever unarriving Dead Can Dance SACDs that I had pre-ordered with Amazon, then a partial order arrives on Saturday. Of course, I immediately put one in, the first being Aion...just to hear "Saltarello." However, the first percussive punch on "The Arrival and The Reunion" literally floored me. The rest of Aion is just so absolutely amazing a mix that there are no other ways to listen to this. First off, after a fairly long absence of any SACDs, you just kind of fall in love all over again. All of which beggers the eternal question, Why isn't this being pursued at least a little more vigourously than it currently is?

If I'm a band and I have control, or some control at the very least, I'm finding a way to preserve my legacy in this format. I understand a large scale roadblock is the fact that so few people have SACD players, and that because of a seeming disinterest, many manufacturers have quit making them. I believe that PS3s have SACD capability (but I'm not sure) and that could help if the machine ever takes off.

Having stated all of this and STILL having little to no faith at all of the resurrection of SACD, I DO have hope that it arises in a different format. I'm hoping that Blu-ray becomes more than a mainstream format, putting millions of Blu-ray machinery in as many homes. When that happens, I'm sure that Sony's DSD technology (the core essence of SACDs) will find its way onto Blu-ray discs. Call them SABDs (Super Audio Blu-ray Discs) if they want. Rob Halford is already planning on releasing a Blu-ray Super Audio disc at some point with Stereo and 5.1 mixes of music. Hopefully, he leads the charge into this next phase and all of us music lovers who care enough to have the very best, will get our wish after all.

Keep your Hi-Res fingers tightly crossed for a renaissance. Watch for an upcoming review of Dead Can Dance SACDs.

We now have had a breather and will put up our next Best Of Poll, our BoP, as it were. This week, we're going to ask for The Byrds, which should tender a lot of variable responses. I still have a wish-list from all of you and will follow The Byrds up with a good one that you'll all salivate over for sure. And you all already know that there will be a Wishbone Ash one up...it's coming. And The Faces. But all in good time...all in good time. I'm just glad that we're ALL enjoying this as much as we have been. And so:

Give us your view of the best Byrds contribution and we'll judge the response, answering accordingly. Send your choice at this link.

We'll leave you with this review of CD re-masters (2005) of five album from Penguin Café Orchestra, imported by Caroline Records. The albums include Music from Penguin Café Orchestra; Penguin Café Orchestra; Broadcasting From Home; Signs of Life; and When in Rome...!

If you have missed the last As The Disc Spins (updated), check it out here.

To access the previous site and catch up, click here.

Of super interest, especially to Graham Nash fans (and Hollies fans and CSN/CSNY fans too) is the Rhino/Atlantic reissue of Songs for Beginners (1971).  What makes this extra special is that it is a CD/DVD-A configuration with the CD containing a re-mastered version of the album and the DVD containing a 5.1 Surround mix and a Stereo Mix in DVD-Audio.  The DVD will also contain a 2008 video interview with Graham Nash along with a photo gallery and lyrics.  This digipak reissue is planned for September 23.

The previously released Stephen Stills title, Just Roll Tape – April 26th, 1968, will be re-released in 180g LP form, single-pocket.  It will retail at $24.98 and is scheduled for September 23.

Also being re-released in 180g LP format are three Van Morrison classics (Astral Weeks – 1968; His Band and the Street Choir – 19xx; Moondance – 1970).  These are being released by Warner Brothers and Rhino Records, planned for September 23.

Holland’s Within Temptation will release their stage production of Black Symphony on CD with a DVD of the production included.  Black Symphony is planned for September 23 by Road Runner Records.

The Blu-ray DVD version of How to be a Megastar Live! From Blue Man Group has been bumped to November 4.

Nonesuch Records will release a 2CD set from John Adams called A Flowering Tree.  It is scheduled for September 23.  A Flowering Tree is an opera commissioned to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of Mozart’s birthday.

Caroline Records will release an album from the Pete Best Band called Hayman’s Green.  It is scheduled for release on September 16.

Astralwerks will release Pop Uo on 2LPs from Yelle.  It is on the calendar for September 16 in limited numbers.

UB40 will get a ‘best of’ on September 30, rescheduled from September 16.  It will be called Greatest Hits.

Angel Records will reissue a whole batch of Jazz titles from greats that include Cannonball Adderley (Somethin’ Else - 1958); Art Blakey (Moanin’ - 1958); Kenny Burrell (Midnight Blue - 1963); John Coltrane (Blue Train - 1957); Dexter Gordon (Gondoliers - ); Herbie Hancock (Maiden Voyage - 1965); Joe Henderson (Page One - 1963); Hank Mobley (Soul Station - 1960); Lee Morgan (The Sidewinder - 1963); Wayne Shorter (Speak No Evil - 1964); Horace Silver (Song for My Father - 1964) and Tyner McCoy (The Real McCoy - 1967).  These titles have all been slated for October 14.

Sparrow Records will release a ‘best of’ for Andy Griffith called Greatest Hits.  It is scheduled way down on the calendar at October 28.

Blue Note Records will release a compilation for Eliane Elias called Bossa Nova Stories.  It is scheduled for release on October 14.

Watch for Greatest Hits from each of these CMG artists: Audio Adrenaline; Carman; Jump5; Matt Redman; DC Talk; Craig and Dean Phillips; Rebecca St. James; Twila Paris; Zoegirl; Steven Curtis Chapman; Nichole Nordeman; Switchfoot; and Michelle Tumes.

Blessid Union of Souls will release their upcoming new album, Close to the Edge, on September 16. This Torque Records album can be heard, in part, at their MySpace page.

The Pretenders will release their next album, Break Up the Concrete on September 23 via LA's Shangri-La Music.

Ray Lamontagne will release his latest album from RCA Records planned for October 14 called Gossip in the Grain. He will support the album on a tour that begins September 30.

Ben Folds will release their latest called Way to Normal on September 30. Epic Records will handle that distribution.

Penguin Café Orchestra was the brainchild of Simon Jeffes. His experimentation and his love for all things classical opened the door for the band to create very interesting music. With Brian Eno's attention captured, they were signed to a division of Eno's EG Records called Obscure. Since then, this band, who worked from The mythical Penguin Café over several years before releasing a new album, released a small batch of albums that hold water to this day. The re-masters are from 2005 and the albums are released in glossy digipak packages with no booklets. The albums reviewed include Music From Penguin Café Orchestra; Penguin Café Orchestra; Broadcasting From Home; Signs of Life; and When in Rome... (Live).

There's a lot of good music coming out of the UK. One of those gems is the Paul Weller approved The Rifles. We stumbled across them in our investigations and are now very happy to introduce you to them. Enjoy them.