In the run-up to the official launch of the CD format in March 1983, PolyGram produced a number of different prototype discs of differing musical genres to test their manufacturing processes and eventually promote the new format among the press.
The chosen pop CD prototype was The Visitors, seemingly chosen because it had been mostly digitally recorded and it was the then latest record by PolyGram’s best-selling European artist, Abba.
In all, there were three different prototypes of The Visitors produced, each with different characteristics. Only one of these versions is known to be playable – the other two only appear to have been preserved encased in plastic in commemorative pieces presented to PolyGram staff to celebrate the launch of the new format.
All three versions have identical disc faces, which feature a different textual layout to the publicly released version. The most notable of these is that the catalogue number is printed as 8000 112 on the prototypes but appears as 800 011-2 on the released version.
ABBA - The Visitors (Prototype 1) The first version can be identified from its data side, which features no matrix number etched on the inner hub and strange grooves throughout the disc unlike any subsequent CDs. It is highly unlikely to have been playable.
ABBA - The Visitors (Prototype 2) The second version may have been playable but it is doubtful whether it played The Visitors. The data side’s matrix number is 400 029-2, which corresponds with the early classical release, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra’s version of Tchaikovsky’s Symphonie Nr. 6. As a result, it seems likely that this ‘dummy’ version was produced for marketing purposes.
ABBA - The Visitors (Prototype 3) The third version was definitely playable and was sent out to the press with pre-production CD players for review purposes. Among these reviewers were Bjorn, Benny and Abba’s manager Stig Anderson, who were presented with copies (and a CD player) by PolyGram. While the third version was essentially the finished product, it wasn’t the one that made it into the shops in March 1983.
ABBA - The Visitors (Commercial Release) For a start, the text print on the CD had been changed to exclude track running times so that there was more space for producing and publishing credits. The digits in the title’s catalogue number had also been reshuffled to follow the familiar pattern adopted by all PolyGram CD releases until the late 1990s.
In addition, it is possible that the actual mastering on the disc was also changed – early reviewers of the disc had observed that tape hiss was audible during the segue between Slipping Through My Fingers, which was recorded on analogue equipment, and Like An Angel Passing Through My Room, which had been recorded digitally. This hiss isn’t evident on the commercially released version of the album.Packaged in a jewel case with transparent tray. Booklet: 4 pages
On front cover printed: 24 bit digitally remasteredIncludes A Voucher To Download An Mp3 Version Of The Album This Version does not include the locked groove at the end of "Like an Angel" like the original pressing.
Barcodes
Rights Society: GEMA
Label Code: LC 0309
Barcode: 6 02527 34654 0
Matrix / Runout (Side A (stamped)): BA16252-01 A2 HL
Matrix / Runout (Side B (stamped)): BA16252-01 B3 HL
Barcode (Text): 7 31454 99652 5
Barcode (String): 731454996525
Label Code: LC 00309
Rights Society (on CD): BIEM/MCPS
Matrix / Runout: ABBA FC CD 8
Barcode: 0 42280 00112 4 97
Matrix / Runout: #920830GG 422800011-2 MFG BY CINRAM
Companies
Manufactured By – Back To Black – B2BSTK_ABBA
Licensed From – Universal Music Group International – 00602527346540
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Polar Music International AB
Copyright (c) – Polar Music International AB
Pressed By – Optimal Media Production – BA16252
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Polar Music International AB
Copyright (c) – Polar Music International AB
Manufactured By – Polygram, Hanover, West Germany
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Polar Music International AB
.jpg "ABBA - The Remix Project (Volume 1) FLAC")
