HiRez Poll America - HOMECOMING [DVD-A/SACD]

[John Svensson]

Just like the good old "East German" judges for their own at the Olympics......yuk, yuk....

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I really wish the scale allowed for decimals....I'd be all over that. Just imagine. GOS votes 9.4!

It would be even worse with decimals...imagine Gos 2.0 votes 9.4..but on a "somewhat" serious note...it's hard enough for any disc that's not progressive music to score high on here...so when there are deserving titles you have to reward them..I guess I shouldn't have made that statement about giving out 10's to you...but that was in an effort to stop you from over voting on the Doors..hehe...I guess that didn't work out like I planned...nothing wrong with a 9...but everytime you listen to Ventura Highway you are going to be reminded of your "shortcoming":ugham:

 

[GOS]

LOL! Yeah, " I reckon so" hehe. I work in a world of numbers...percentages....just another day in the park. I would think if the voting is mostly 9's and 10's...then it's a pretty damn good disc.

It would be even worse with decimals...imagine Gos 2.0 votes 9.4..but on a "somewhat" serious note...it's hard enough for any disc that's not progressive music to score high on here...so when there are deserving titles you have to reward them..I guess I shouldn't have made that statement about giving out 10's to you...but that was in an effort to stop you from over voting on the Doors..hehe...I guess that didn't work out like I planned...nothing wrong with a 9...but everytime you listen to Ventura Highway you are going to be reminded of your "shortcoming":ugham:

 

[rtbluray]

Ok, I know I said in the other thread that I was smelling a '10' for this disc, but it's a '9'.
Why? Well when I looked back through some of my votes, "Hotel California", "Captain & Me", "The Nightfly", and "Winelight" were all '9's, and honestly this mix is no better or worse than those.

With that said, it's been in CONSTANT rotation since I received it yesterday morning.
The highlights for me include "Ventura Highway" with those twin lead acoustic guitars and harmonies filling up the surround channels.
Next highlight would be "Moon Song". Very haunting, atmospheric, and just plain beautiful, and the surround mix only accentuates those lovely features! Also, how about those circling vocals at the end?!
Does anyone else besides me think that "Only In Your Heart" is actually a CSN(Y) song written and sung by Graham Nash? It's eerily similar to a lot of his songs from that period. The playout section on the end of that song is also really cool.
Then comes the also hauntingly beautiful "Till the Sun Comes Up Again". A very sophisticated chord sequence in this particular song with lovely surround separation from Mr Scheiner!
Track 7 is probably my favorite, "Cornwall Blank". Right from the start, you know it's gonna be a powerhouse in surround, and it is, mostly thanks to the dueling electric lead guitars, and those INCREDIBLE harmony vocals! KILLER!
There's also some really great harmony moments on "Saturn Nights" too.

So this SACD deserves everyone's undivided attention (unless of course you already own the DVD-A), so what are you waiting for? Go get your copy from AF today, and be sure to thank them for resurrecting this gem!

 

[blue.monk]

Does anyone else besides me think that "Only In Your Heart" is actually a CSN(Y) song written and sung by Graham Nash? It's eerily similar to a lot of his songs from that period.

It's funny you mention that because my overarching thought as I listened to the album was the stylistic similarities to CSN (although they are far from being a clone).

 

[blue.monk]

This may be the most pleasant surprise in the AF series for me thus far. I was familiar with perhaps half the tunes beforehand and after half a dozen spins or so I find the whole album uniformly excellent. Strong compositions, beautiful harmonies with solid & varied arrangements (including unexpected backwards vocals/guitar and some very tasteful synth). The mix is terrific and snares you immediately with that ultra-cool intro to Ventura Highway and the sound is clear, warm and balanced. All this and Hal Blaine! A 10 for me.

 

[fredblue]

This may be the most pleasant surprise in the AF series for me thus far. I was familiar with perhaps half the tunes beforehand and after half a dozen spins or so I find the whole album uniformly excellent. Strong compositions, beautiful harmonies with solid & varied arrangements (including unexpected backwards vocals/guitar and some very tasteful synth). The mix is terrific and snares you immediately with that ultra-cool intro to Ventura Highway and the sound is clear, warm and balanced. All this and Hal Blaine! A 10 for me.

To each his own it's plain to see
A 10 for you a 9 for me..

(I do wish I could "upgrade" to a "10" in this instance.. ashamed to admit I was almost indifferent to the music itself for a while.. yet now it's easily become one of my all-time fave 5.1's.. a 9's no slouch obviously but this is pretty much the perfect disc and it deserves the highest mark.
Scheiner strikes - AGAIN..!!! I love that man, if only he would swing by QQ one day. Ho hum.. I hope he knows the high regard he is held in by a fair few of us Quaddies at the very least.. Oh Multichannel Maven Mister Moura, could you please convey sincere thanks for all Mr.Scheiner's superlative surround stuff over the years from a no-one fan? )

 

[sf49erjohn]

I can only rate this an 8 at the most since I am not a fan of the collection of songs, other than Ventura Highway which I agree is awesome. I spend more time listening to The Guess Who, BS&T, and Bread SACD's then this one. The 5.1 surround sound is excellent and I agree ES has done a great job with it but I am glad I never spent big bucks for the DVD-A. Not sure it has stood up to the test of time for me. If only I could relate to the tunes more.

 

[DuncanS]

Is a 9 for the music, 9 for the mix, and a 9 for the sound quality, a strong 9 from me. I've the DVD-A which I haven't listened to in ages, and I'd forgotten about their cover of the John Martyn song!

PS: This vote is for the SACD!

 

[Circular Vibes]

OK, so I WAS gonna vote a nine for this on SACD, but it IS the first time I have ever played any digital disc twice in a row. I agonized over hitting play again for about three minutes while reading the comments here. My initial nine was because even though I love the surround mix(thanx Elliot) and the fidelity is excellent, I was waffling on the song content as there are only two songs I knew previously. However, upon more thinking and listening, I realised that the songs are very comfortable to listen to. It makes me yearn for 1970's AM radio again. Even the songs I don't know seem very familiar. After all is said and done, I voted ten and am glad I broke down and bought this title. I can't recommend this highly enough.

 

[edisonbaggins]

10. I thought about shaving a point for content. The album is nice, but I like a lot of their other works much better.
My favorite America song is the theme to The Last Unicorn. @:
But, enough other members regretted low-balling that I went with 10...

 

[cardinal4]

I have the DVD-A, definitively one the better sounding discs in my collection, the definition of crystal clear. Never been a big fan of America but I enjoy listening to this album from start to finish, a great late night with the lights outs listen. The surround mix fits the music, balanced, no gimmicks. My favorite tracks, Ventura Highway and Cornwall Blank. Gave it a 10 for the impressive sonics.

 

[Spock]

I am just amazed over how good this (sacd) disc sounds, in pure sound quality it's a perfect 10. Many old recordings lacks bass, not this one, and it have that deep and smooth one - that I love. Nice collection of songs and a very good surround mix makes for a high 9.

 

[atlantasteve]

Just took a listen on Independence Day (get it?). Laid down on my sofa and closed my eyes. Sounds enveloped me fom all sides. Harmonies, guitars, percussion from every speaker. The music may be mellow, but the mix is active. I gave it a 9.

 

[Ninecats]

A great disc, I must admit I thought it was a bit so so at first. But when I finally was able to crank it then things started to take off, the duelling guitars in Cornwall Blank is an instant surround classic, but really all the tracks, especially the last side of the disc, are excellent in surround, although not as strong song wise as the first side. Anyway, very good surround mix, very good sound quality, content is mostly excellent - a 9 it is.

 

[fredblue]

years later i get my wish!
time to act on it.

upgraded to a "10".

 

[ar surround]

years later i get my wish!
time to act on it.

upgraded to a "10".

View attachment 42546

Absolutely terrific sonics and ES mix. No compression, no brickwalling, etc. One of the cleanest and smoothest recordings in my surround-sound collection. So yes, I deeply regret only giving this one a "10" the first time around, so I'd like to change my rating to a "12." Oh wait, my initial rating of "10" is already brickwalled.

 

[markshan]

I see I never voted on this one. My second favorite America album in stunning fidelity. A certain 9.

 

[The56Kid]

The Homecoming DVD-A was my introduction to this fantastic hobby of ours as I missed out on the entire quadraphonic thang in the 70s. Still love it to death and played it just a week ago. Beautiful music beautifully rendered! A solid 9 from me.

 

[Gmat25]

My very first DVD Audio purchase and still love it today. A friend of mine is writing the authorized bio on the group coming out later this year!