Of all the gin joints in the world...

It looks like John Mellencamp is going to be among the first to release an album in HD-Audio using a new format developed by producer T-Bone Burnett. Mellencamp's album Life, Death, Love and Freedom will be released by Hear Music (Starbucks) on July 15. Burnett produced the record, in addition to bringing this new technology to the project.

We had Super Audio CDs and DVD-Audio, both of which delivered improved and enhanced audio. But I don't know that either claimed to be a High Definition format. This new format, called CODE, claims to be high definition. The theory behind the format is that high-definition audio files are created that are 'virtually indistinguishable' from the original masters.

It sounds interesting — and promising. The new Mellencamp record is going to be pacakged as a 2-disc set because it's possible not all standard CD players would accept the new CODE format pressed onto a standard CD. To get around this, a standard CD will be paired with a DVD that has the CODE version.

The good news? Plans now call for the album to be priced as a single-disc set rather. This is a good move. There are a lot of music listeners who won't give a toss about HD Audio and forcing them to absorb the development costs of a new format is a great way to tank an album.

I must say, though, I'm a little disappointed the HD-Audio is going to be tied to DVD. I wish I spent more time at home listening to CDs, but a lot of my musical consumption is done on the road. I'd love it if the new format was being offered in the more portable CD format, but I'm excited about this nonetheless.

We've been listening to pre-recorded music for so long we've taken the process of capturing sound for granted. It's a science and a miracle. The ability to transfer more sound and clearer sound and different elements of sound is a great thing for people who love music. Whether or not this technology is used to make better sounding records is still unknown, but it has that potential. This could be a great tool in the sonic toolbox for artists and producers.