Operation: Mindcrime

Description
Operation: Mindcrime is regarded as one of the greatest concept metal albums of all time. The band’s third album originally released May 3rd 1988, is based around Nikki, a recovering drug addict, who becomes disillusioned with a corrupt society and joins a revolutionary group to assassinate political leaders. Operation: Mindcrime was produced by Peter Collins (Bon Jovi, Rush, Alice Cooper) and was recorded, mixed and mastered digitally on a Sony 24-track digital tape machine. It was certified platinum in 1991 in the US and was ranked in the Top 100 Metal Albums Of All Time by both Kerrang! and Billboard magazines.

Available on multi-formats, this new version was remastered at Abbey Road Studios and brings together all the available recordings to tell the story of this remarkable album.

The deluxe version, housed in a 10″ x 10″ box, is the final word on this exceptional album. It also contains a DVD which features the accompanying promotional videos and a live performance of the album. The expanded booklet features new sleeve notes by noted journalist Alex Milas who spoke with Geoff Tate about the making of the album and the concept behind it.

[tracklisting][CD1]
1. I Remember Now
2. Anarchy-X
3. Revolution Calling
4. Operation: Mindcrime
5. Speak
6. Spreading The Disease
7. The Mission
8. Suite Sister Mary
9. The Needle Lies
10. Electric Requiem
11. Breaking The Silence
12. I Don't Believe In Love
13. Waiting For 22
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes Of A Stranger

[CD2]
1. I Don't Believe In Love - Extended Version
2. The Mission - Bonus Track
3. My Empty Room - Bonus Track
4. Interview With Queensryche - Speak The Word
5. Overseeeing The Operation - B-Side
6. The Lady Wore Black - Bonus Track
7. Roads To Madness - Bonus Track

[CD3: Operation: Mindcrime Live At Hammersmith Odeon, London, England 1990]
1. I Remember Now
2. Anarchy-X
3. Revolution Calling
4. Operation: Mindcrime
5. Speak
6. Spreading The Disease
7. The Mission
8. Suite Sister Mary
9. The Needle Lies
10. Electric Requiem
11. Breaking The Silence
12. I Don't Believe In Love
13. Waiting For 22
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes Of A Stranger

[CD4: Operation: Mindcrime Live From Wisconsin 1991]
1. I Remember Now
2. Anarchy-X
3. Revolution Calling
4. Operation: Mindcrime
5. Speak
6. Spreading The Disease
7. The Mission
8. Suite Sister Mary
9. The Needle Lies
10. Electric Requiem
11. Breaking The Silence
12. I Don't Believe In Love
13. Waiting For 22
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes Of A Stranger

[DVD: Operation: Mindcrime Live / Promo Videos]
1. I Remember Now
2. Anarchy-X
3. Revolution Calling
4. Operation: Mindcrime
5. Speak
6. Spreading The Disease
7. The Mission
8. Suite Sister Mary
9. The Needle Lies
10. Electric Requiem
11. Breaking The Silence
12. I Don't Believe In Love
13. Waiting For 22
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes Of A Stranger
16. I Remember Now
17. Anarchy-X (Promo Video)
18. Revolution Calling (Promo Video)
19. Operation: Mindcrime (Promo Video)
20. Speak (Promo Video)
21. Breaking The Silence (Promo Video)
22. I Don't Believe In Love (Promo Video)
23. Waiting For 22 (Promo Video)
24. Eyes Of A Stranger (Promo Video)
25. Credits (Sister Mary Suite) (Promo Video)
26. The Making of Operation: Mindcrime (Bonus Track)
27. Operation: Mindcrime TV Spot[/tracklisting]

4CD/1DVD Box Set (shown above)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083XRVRYC/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083XRVRYC/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083XRVRYC/?tag=imwan-21

2CD Set (contains CD1 and CD2)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083XVXFPJ/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083XVXFPJ/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083XVXFPJ/?tag=imwan-21

---

Empire

Description
Empire features the Top 10 hit, "Silent Lucidity," which was nominated for 2 Grammys. This version, newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios, brings together all the available recordings to narrate the story of this remarkable album on 3 CDs. DVD contains promotional videos and live performances. Featuring new sleeve notes by Alex Milas who spoke with Geoff Tate at length, discussing the making of the album and the concept behind it. Housed in a 10″ x 10″ box.

[tracklisting][CD1]
1. Best I Can
2. The Thin Line
3. Jet City Woman
4. Della Brown
5. Another Rainy Night (Without You)
6. Empire
7. Resistance
8. Silent Lucidity
9. Hand On Heart
10. One And Only
11. Anybody Listening?

[CD2]
1. Last Time In Paris - (Bonus Track)
2. Scarborough Fair - (Bonus Track)
3. Dirty Lil Secret - (Bonus Track)
4. Silent Lucidity - Edit
5. Empire - Edit
6. I Dream In Infrared - Acoustic Version
7. Prophecy - Live In Tokyo
8. Best I Can - Radio Edit
9. Anybody Listening? - Radio Edit

[CD3: Live At Hammersmith Odeon, London 1990]
1. Resistance
2. Walk in The Shadows
3. Best I Can
4. Empire
5. The Thin Line
6. Jet City Woman
7. Roads To Madness
8. Silent Lucidity
9. Hand On Heart
10. Take Hold Of The Flame

[DVD]
1. Nightrider
2. Prophecy (Live In Tokyo 1983)
3. Gonna Get Close To You
4. Eyes of A Stranger -Alternate Version
5. Empire
6. Best I Can
7. Silent Lucidity
8. Jet City Woman
9. Another Rainy Night (Without You)
10. Another Rainy Night (Without You) - Alternate Version
11. Anybody Listening?
12. Resistance (Live)
13. Walk In The Shadows (Live)
14. The Thin Line (Live)
15. Take Hold Of The Flame (Live)
16. The Lady Wore Black (Live)
17. Silent Lucidity (Live)[/tracklisting]

3CD/1DVD Box Set (shown above)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083XX252G/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083XX252G/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083XX252G/?tag=imwan-21

2CD Set (contains CD1 and CD2)
US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083XQF3MZ/?tag=imwan-20
CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083XQF3MZ/?tag=imwanca-20
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083XQF3MZ/?tag=imwan-21

From a recent interview with Geoff Tate:


https://www.eonmusic.co.uk/geoff-tate-e ... -2018.html

this release has my official attention.

Hope this still has your attention 2 1/2 years later. I've updated the opening post since details are finally starting to be announced.

I mean, it’s nice to see Tate take a break from milking Operation Mindcrime for every dollar he possibly can, but for god's sake they did an anniversary edition of Empire not that long ago. Would it have killed them to do more comprehensive releases of Warning or Rage for Order? The Live in Tokyo video has never been re-released and there’s tons of demos available.

I'm in. Have gotten more and more selective with any reissues I get, but I didn't get the last deluxe version so discs 2-4 will all be new for me. I'm sure the Building Empires DVD will look rough on modern televisions, but I think it's a great inclusion in this set.

A box set for Operation: Mindcrime has been announced for the same day. I've added details to the opening post.

I’d be more interested in a re-release of the 5.1 mix. Buying a copy of the DVD audio is pricey these days. Hell, they could throw that and building empires on the same Blu-ray.

Update: All of the pre-order links are active now.

I've seen the tracklists. This is ALL recycled material, but it looks pretty comprehensive in terms of gathering up that material.

And of course there's the remastering... will be interesting to see what they've done with Mindcrime in particular.

Yep, just by looking at the labels in the above packshots, you can see it’s recycling the same live shows from Wisconsin (which was used for Livecrime) and London, both of which were on the previous anniversary releases, as was Video: Mindcrime. I’m pretty sure the WI show is the one that was filmed and split up between Livecrime and Building Empires. About the only thing I’m not sure about is the “Concealed Empire” and “Overseeing the Operation” discs, which I’m assuming are demos and B-sides.

Again, they did a 5.1 mix for Empire, why not add it? That and a 5.1 of Mindcrime are about the only things that would make me consider re-buying.

I'm in for the Operation:Mindcrime box as well.

Operation:Mindcrime may be my favorite album of all time.

I was at two of the three shows that were used in the live video. That video pales in comparison to what they were like live. Hands down the best live act I've ever seen.

I'd be pretty shocked if the remastering is significantly better than the original releases. Capitol records (and their subsidiaries) did the best and most consistent job with sound quality on CD releases, and I have absolutely no complaints with the sound of either of the original CDs.

ted262, can't agree more that the Empire 5.1 should have been included here. Never thought of that since I am not a 5.1 guy. But those 5.1 mixes seem to be a real selling point these days and it's hard for me to believe they would hold it back for a different future release.

Overseeing the Operation was a 10" vinyl single that had the complete Suite Sister Mary on side A and excerpts of 5 other album tracks on side B. Total running time was about 20 minutes. If that's all that disc is in this set, most people will see it as a completely throw-away item. I think it could be pretty cool if they put it in a mini-sleeve and do a good job of reproducing the original artwork. I have an autographed copy in my collection.
https://www.discogs.com/Queensr%C3%BFch ... se/1401616

Tracklists have been added to the opening post.

Somebody needs to help me on Disc 2's #6 and #7 in the Mindcrime set-

[CD2]
1. I Don't Believe In Love - Extended Version
2. The Mission - Bonus Track
3. My Empty Room - Bonus Track
4. Interview With Queensryche - Speak The Word
5. Overseeeing The Operation - B-Side
6. The Lady Wore Black - Bonus Track
7. Roads To Madness - Bonus Track

1. I Don't Believe In Love - Extended Version was on a promo single back in the day. Run time is 5:36. I have a promo CD single but the one I have only has 1 track and it's the album version. Found out that there was this Extended Version though listings on Discogs. I don't ever remember hearing it before. Hope it's not just the album cut with Waiting for 22 tacked on the end of it. Couldn't find audio of it on Youtube.

2 & 3. The Mission and My Empty Room - Bonus Tracks. Live versions that appeared an previous CD reissues of the album. The version of The Mission looks to be the exact same version that is included on disc 3, but this version of My Empty Room was recorded in 1994. In addition to have been released on the previous CD reissue of the album, this version had also been released on one of the many versions of the Bridge single back in the Promised Land days.

4, Interview With Queensryche - Speak the Word was a 10 minute interview issued as a 12" promo single.

5 Overseeing the Operation - B-side. 10" commercially released single. A-side was Suite Sister Mary complete. The B-side runs 10+ minutes and is just clips of 5 songs from the album.

6 & 7. That Lady Wore Black and Roads To Madness - Bonus Tracks. Would have to assume that these are just live versions. This is what is bugging me. I am sure I had a live version of Roads To Madness somewhere in my collection and can't figure out on what single it was on. I think there has been multiple live versions of The Lady Wore Black that have been released so who knows which one it is or if it's a live version that hasn't been released before. I would appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on these.

I'm still in for the Operation: Mindcrime set but the studio albums plus the album live three times (1 audio, 1 video and then the video gets repeated as an audio CD), seems a bit excessive. On the Operation: Mindcrime tour they opened with Queen of the Reich nearly every show, played Take Hold of the Flame most nights and Chemical Youth and Walk in the Shadows were played and a few other songs made an appearance. Too bad they did mix some of this material in instead of just repeating Operation: Mindcrime again and again.

Nothing in there is interesting enough to warrant a re-buy of those 2 albums for me. I bought the last anniversary editions, so I have most of that stuff, and I don't care all that much about what Geoff Tate has to say about it.

Still wish they'd pay someone to do a 5.1 Mindcrime (and since Wilton used a Stereo-Ripley guitar for some tracks there could be some interesting effects) but at this rate there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of interest in providing actual new content, just more milking of the catalog to pay for retirement accounts or late in life kids.

"The Mission" was originally a live b-side from the "Silent Lucidity" single and "My Empty Room" was originally a live b-side from the "Bridge" single. Both were included as bonus tracks on the 2006 reissue of Operation:Mindcrime. FWIW, credits for "The Mission" indicate it is a composite version taken from recordings at Hammersmith Odeon on November 14 and 15, whereas CD3 from the box set is supposedly taken from November 15 only.




"The Lady Wore Black" and "Roads To Madness" were from the live 1991 Wisconsin recordings and were included as bonus tracks on the 2001 reissue of Operation:Livecrime.

Thanks, I knew Roads To Madness had popped up somewhere and I just couldn't figure out where.

I don't often pre-order items but I did it with these, so I'll have a review once I get them.

double yum!

So much for all that "remastered at Abbey Road" stuff. I put on Operation:Mindcrime last night and listened to 3 songs...Speak, Suite Sister Mary, I Don't Believe In Love and thought the sound was loud and definitely sub-par. Not at all impressed. Ran the full album through the DR meter this morning and, as expected, a DR6.

The previous remastering of the early Queensryche catalog was widely criticized as being poor and too loud...I looked it up in the DR database and the previous remaster of Operation:Mindcrime was a DR7. I wasn't expecting a full dynamic range remaster but thought they would go a little bit in the right direction, but if anything the meter indicates they went for "even louder" instead.

Hopefully Empire will be better, but there is little to no hope of that as it was mastered by the same guy (Ed Courage at Abbey Road). So including the bonus discs, I likely have several hours of shitty loud listening ahead of me.

This is exactly why I never buy CDs based on remastering only these days, and just go for bonus material instead.

For what it's worth, I have received both of these from Amazon and they are scratched to shit. I reordered them and both new boxes had the exact same problems. Unrippable with DB Poweramp due to scratches. I returned the second set as well. They are labelled as manufactured in Germany. I have decided to hold off on reordering another set.

Discs 2 and 4 of the Mindcrime set and disc 2 of the Empire set are scuffed up in my copies. Basically all the CDs in the bottom half of the folder...the ones in the top half look mint. The DVD in Empire was spared because it's in the extra sleeve. The Def Leppard Early Years set is in similar packaging but all of the discs in that set were given their own mini sleeves and all those discs got to me in good shape. I checked the scuffed discs and the first 5 seconds of each song plays, so I am assuming these discs will all work but still very disappointed to get scuffed up discs like this. Unfortunately Queensryche is not like Pink Floyd, so I'd be surprised if there is any replacement disc program. Another real black mark on these sets.