In 1989, Philips Polygram decided to reissue the Mercury Living Presence catalogue on CD. They invited Wilma Cozart Fine – the pioneering producer who oversaw the catalogue’s creation during the 1950s and 60s – to remaster the CD reissues. Together with mastering engineer Dennis Drake, she transferred some of Mercury’s most celebrated classical recordings to the digital domain, resulting in a remarkable set of CDs that still sound spectacular 30 years later.
Dennis and Wilma’s work was made possible with the arrival of dCS’s first-ever audio device, the dCS 900 A-D converter. In this film, we discover how the 900 enabled Wilma and Dennis to bring the Mercury catalogue to a new medium while preserving the nuance, depth, and distinctive sound quality heard in the original Mercury LPs. Dennis Drake reflects on the remastering process and explores his and Wilma’s equipment setup at Polygram Studios in Edison, New Jersey. dCS founder Mike Story discusses the unique technology at the heart of the 900, and Tom Fine explains how Dennis and Wilma’s renowned CD remasters are being given a new lease of life on streaming services.
Part of dCS and Decca Classics’ “Trust Your Ears” campaign, which honors the 70th anniversary of MLP’s inception, the film celebrates the enduring appeal of Mercury’s music and the creativity, skill, and technological innovation involved in bringing the label’s much-loved catalogue to digital formats.
For more on Mercury Living Presence, watch Part 1 of the ‘Trust Your Ears’ documentary series here or listen to the podcast at trust-your-ears.simplecast.com
