Hiroshima: the Bridge.(The Bridge)(Sound Recording Review)

Telarc Heads Up SACD HUSA 9076.

Hiroshima's album The Bridge is one of the latest releases in Telarc's new line of Heads Up multichannel SACD hybrid discs that has concentrated largely on modern pop jazz. Given the slump the recording industry is in, one can understand Telarc's interest in pursuing alternative recording methods in the hope of attracting an ever-dwindling audience of music buyers. But it does appear that they are putting all of their eggs in one basket.

SACD probably represents the company's best shot in the multichannel field, given that it currently has a lead over DVD-Audio and other competitors, yet SACD still serves but a small niche following, and the reliance of SACD to win the day is problematical at best. For one thing there's price. Hybrid SACDs such as Telarc's--discs that utilize a layer of up to five discrete channels and a layer of regular two-chamlel stereo, thus enabling them to be played back on regular CD players as well multichannel SACD players--cost more to produce and sell. With many listeners pirating their material from the Internet and considering anything more costly than free an imposition, I wonder whether Telarc isn't pricing itself out of the ordinary marketplace. Second, there's the matter of where a retailer is expected to position these things in a store where the public will find them. Put them into a special bin of multichannel titles, and the discs may get little attention. Double placements in a store are often frowned upon by management. Can't win. ...