HiRez Poll Bowie, David - THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS [Blu-ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[edisonbaggins]

7.2.4
After two listens, I’d say Star Man and R&R Suicide are on par with 5 Years for demonstration potential.

 

[coolerking101]

Strong 9. The quality of the transfer is a 10. Ziggy has never sounded so clear. The Atmos mix makes regular use of the rear and ATMOS channels so that this truly feels like an immersive mix. It clearly surpasses the prior 5.1 version in every conceivable way.

As for the mix, IMO, Ken Scott has given a bump to Bowie’s vocals across the board and slightly reduced Ronson’s guitar which for me, is disappointing. Hence why this gets a 9 rather than a 10. But admittedly, that’s just personal preference. I will note that I don’t detect similar change in the 2024 stereo mix.[EDIT - after several listenings, I don’t think the guitar volume is reduced. Instead, Bowie’s main and backing vocals are boosted, which explains why Mick’s guitar sounds less prominent]

I’m also disappointed that Sweet Head and Velvet Goldmine are not included here. For any fan of the album, those outtakes have become staples and their absence is perplexing. Judging from the absence of the ATMOS mix from the recent box set, I’ll assume those tracks will come in ATMOS format 2 years from now in the ultra, double secret $1000 version .

As for packaging…it’s bare bones. If you want fancy, there’s already a box set for that.

 

[dquad]

7.2.4
After two listens, I’d say Star Man and R&R Suicide are on par with 5 Years for demonstration potential.

Rock 'n' Roll Suicide was my second pick. Funny how it starts and ends excellent.

 

[Whit]

Just finished my first listen. At Maximum Volume, of course. Oh yeah, this is a keeper. 5.1.2 system(front height/Atmos).

For those that were worried about the drums, whatever Mr. Scott did worked. It's the first time I've heard Ziggy where it seems the compression blanket has finally been lifted and there's actually life in the sticks. A beautiful thing.

Admittedly not a very adventurous mix but certainly room encompasing and worlds better than the old 5.1 SACD. Seems a bit frontcentric, but that may be my 5.1.2 setup and the fact that my rear surrounds were in the walls before I moved here and are not ideally placed for my main listening positon. I can see what Scott meant by trying to get a stagelike presence for Bowie's vocals. At times during Ziggy/Suffragette/Suicide the vocal seems to be more center/right like he's moving about the stage. Noticeable, but it didn't bother me. It might have been there in other songs, but that is where I first started to notice. And the last "give me your hands" seems to come from everywhere. The vocals do sound a little different from the earlier versions, but not in a bad way. Just different and not much in the center channel.

The acoustic guitars in Lady Stardust are much more up front which is a nice touch. About the only negatives I can come up with is I wish he had been a bit more adventurous during Moonage Daydream, and Mick's guitar doesn't quite seem to have the power during "THE solo" as the original stereo version (haven't listened to the 2024 stereo yet). Crank that thing and let it float around everywhere! And Five Years didn't quite pack the punch I was expecting.

I'm not casting my vote until I get a few more listens to all the mixes, but I can't see it going lower than a 9.

Agreed on MD. I was waiting for Micks guitar to drift and punch and it did neither.
Otherwise nothing else to complain about.

 

[Whit]

Strong 9. The quality of the transfer is a 10. Ziggy has never sounded so clear. The Atmos mix makes regular use of the rear and ATMOS channels so that this truly feels like an immersive mix. It clearly surpasses the prior 5.1 version in every conceivable way.

As for the mix, IMO, Ken Scott has given a bump to Bowie’s vocals across the board and slightly reduced Ronson’s guitar which for me, is disappointing. Hence why this gets a 9 rather than a 10. But admitterly, that’s just personal preference. I will note that I don’t detect similar change in the 2024 stereo mix.

I’m also disappointed that Sweet Head and Velvet Goldmine are not included here. For any fan of the album, those outtakes have become staples and their absence is perplexing. Judging from the absence of the ATMOS mix from the recent box set, I’ll assume those tracks will come in ATMOS format 2 years from now in the ultra, double secret $1000 version .

As for packaging…it’s bare bones. If you want fancy, there’s already a box set for that.

Agreed. Bowie’s voice is the ️
Should have lifted Mick’s guitar along with it, especially that MD solo.

 

[relaxing]

The way the fade out at the end of Starman drifts up into the heights is just lovely.

Ton of ambiance in the heights on Bowie’s vocals at the beginning of Lady Stardust, really makes it sounds like he’s singing in a music hall.

Overall the material really benefits from being spread over multiple channels. The acoustic, piano and strings in the sides really opens up the mix. Although occasionally it works against the material, as in Star and Hang on to Yourself where the electric guitar is relegated to a single position in the sound bubble, when it should be coming from all directions, driving the track. What should be raucous feels strangely neutered.

On the title track the two electrics are spread front left and rear right, which feels like more of a proper balance. Weird intrusion of some vocals at too high a volume into the center channel. Probably a configuration issue with my system.

Suffragette City again doesn’t go hard enough. Nice bubble of ambiance on the track, but I want a more aggressive mix. The pick scrapes just after “wham bam thank you ma‘am” come in loud, but then the guitars vanish back into the mix - why?

RnR Suicide - why is the electric guitar so quiet? The way his voice comes from different positions on each “give me your hands” is a nice touch.

Overall nice presentation with the animated photos from the cover shoot.

Very tasteful mix, wish it went harder. 8/10

 

[privateuniverse]

Just had my first listen. (In 5.1). It downmixes to 5.1 quite well. Feels very discrete to me. There were a couple of places where things that were very upfront in the original stereo are buried here, but I am thinking that may be an artifact of my receiver's downmix. So I'll wait to cast a vote until I've gotten a chance to get over to a friend's place and hear it in full Atmos. But just going by the 5.1 downmix, this does feel like a significant upgrade to the original 5.1. Feels like Ken Scott wanted to be a bit more adventurous this time around.

Ken, you now have my blessing to do an Atmos mix of Aladdin Sane. And Supertramp's Crime of the Century. And The Tubes' Young and Rich. And....

 

[ssully]

The acoustic guitars in Lady Stardust are much more up front which is a nice touch. About the only negatives I can come up with is I wish he had been a bit more adventurous during Moonage Daydream, and Mick's guitar doesn't quite seem to have the power during "THE solo" as the original stereo version (haven't listened to the 2024 stereo yet). Crank that thing and let it float around everywhere! And Five Years didn't quite pack the punch I was expecting.

The big solo moved around a fair bit on Ken Scott's 5.1 Moonage Daydream ix. Youre saying it does less so on this?

 

[Infomas]

Strong 9. The quality of the transfer is a 10. Ziggy has never sounded so clear. The Atmos mix makes regular use of the rear and ATMOS channels so that this truly feels like an immersive mix. It clearly surpasses the prior 5.1 version in every conceivable way.

As for the mix, IMO, Ken Scott has given a bump to Bowie’s vocals across the board and slightly reduced Ronson’s guitar which for me, is disappointing. Hence why this gets a 9 rather than a 10. But admitterly, that’s just personal preference. I will note that I don’t detect similar change in the 2024 stereo mix.

I’m also disappointed that Sweet Head and Velvet Goldmine are not included here. For any fan of the album, those outtakes have become staples and their absence is perplexing. Judging from the absence of the ATMOS mix from the recent box set, I’ll assume those tracks will come in ATMOS format 2 years from now in the ultra, double secret $1000 version .

As for packaging…it’s bare bones. If you want fancy, there’s already a box set for that.

Just before I read " Ken Scott has given a bump to Bowie’s vocals across the board ", I just randomly threw on the old 5.1 of Moonage Daydream after listening to the new mix. Bowie's voice was coming out strong on all 5 speakers. On the new mix the focus of his vocals are in the front 2 with quieter or ambient vocals on the other speakers. So, in the 5.1 his voice just overwhelms the song. That doesn't sound like a bump to me. But I do like it more this way. I don't have the time or patience to A/B the whole album, but I'm liking what I'm hearing so far.

 

[texquad]

I never thought the SACD was very good, so I was going to wait for this to show up on Amazon Music till I started reading these reviews. No comparison, it's really good.

 

[Dynamic Editor]

I don't understand people who are saying there's very little activity going on. It's pretty substantial. I don't think it's as good as other surround sound mixes I've come across, but it is by no means a half-assed effort, nor would I classify it as wonky or front-heavy.

The worst aspect of this release by far has to be the marketing. Ken Scott is just not that good at explaining his mix in a surround sound sense (a live performance? Really?) and it really made it seem like we were headed for a lame release as a result. But push aside the marketing and listen to what people say in here. It's better than you'd think.

Feeling around a 7 or 8, but I'd have to give additional listens. (Listening in 7.1, for reference.)

 

[Andrew M]

I guess I’m a fan as I have 7 versions of Ziggy Stardust (including all the previous surround versions SACD/DVD Video) but the latest ATMOS version is my favourite!
I really like the mix with a strong full sound stage and great fidelity… will get repeated plays of course!!
Strange that Ken Scott didn’t include the 4 (5.1 DTS) bonus tracks from the 40th DVD Video with an ATMOS mix this time.
A 10 from me…

 

[Jim.olga]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this new reissue of the classic David Bowie album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars".
The album has been newly remixed in Dolby Atmos and is now available on Blu-ray Audio disc.

I gave this a listen yesterday. Didn't get to crank it but I was impressed with fidelity and the Atmos mix. The new stereo mix was great as well. I didn't think anything was wrong with the original mix but both the new stereo and Atmos mixes sounded even better to my old ears. I rated this release as an 8. I feel the music and the mixes are a strong 9 but the cardboard envelope package with lack of protection to the media and the sparse booklet was a 5 at best. I'm thankful the disk was delivered unscathed because it was packaged without any cushion just a thin cardboard envelope with a thin cardboard jacket. Otherwise, I enjoyed the music and the sound experience immensely! I'm really happy it was sold as a stand alone and if that's the reason for the limited attention to the packaging then I'm OK with that.

 

[JediJoker]

Strange that Ken Scott didn’t include the 4 (5.1 DTS) bonus tracks from the 40th DVD Video with an ATMOS mix this time.

It looks like three of the four are included on the Blu-ray in the Rock 'n' Roll Star! box set:



Only the instrumental mix of "Moonage Daydream" is absent.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

At last... My standalone Blu-ray disc arrived this afternoon from Amazon.

Currently I can only play the stereo mixes as all my other amps and speakers are disconnected.

 

[bktouchstone]

In summary: Great album, excellent fidelity, mix is supportive of the material. A 9 from me. Oh, and at $22 possibly one of the best values. Packing is…well I will probably create a super jewel case for it.

 

[bayards]

Reading these reviews, I am becoming excited to hear mine. Got a 5.1.2 Atmos system.

 

[4-earredwonder]

The Bowie surround reissues have been a mixed bag medley over the years and has pretty much encompassed all formats including dualdisc but with the release of ZIGGY via the Pure Audio BD~A ATMOS format including a revitalized 2024 STEREO remix as well as the original, I think we can all agree it sounds better than the early SONY 5.1 SACD!

Most certainly, an artist of Bowie’s stature who over decades has given the world cause to rejoice with his multi faceted musical genius is, IMO, finally getting his due if The Rise and Fall of ZIGGY Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is any indication.

I voted a 9 even though musically it’s a 10 and only hope the future of David’s catalogue is accorded the same treatment as this very fine Pure Audio BD~A ATMOS remix/remaster!

 

[H.A.L.]

I voted 9, for the same reason eddisonbaggins did: overall -- especially if you crank it! -- it's not your granddad's Ziggy! It's an expansive, fun, jaunt back to the 70s -- but I do agree that Mick Ronson's guitars lost some of their crispness and edge. I can live with that. Maybe ALADDIN SANE will bring Ronson back up in the mix if that ever comes out; his hands are all over that album. [edit: 7.2.4 Dolby Atmos]

 

[Atomic Punk]

got to listen to the first "side" yesterday. i agree with most of the comments. i'm not sure you can turn it up too loud! and yeah, there are times where i thought the mix could've been better but the fidelity is pretty strong and the vocals are definitely highlighted. i'll give it a solid 8.

p.s. i listened on my 5.1 system. no atmos.