HiRez Poll Bowie, David - ZIGGY STARDUST [SACD]

[beached]

Yep. MC mix by Ken Scott and Paul Hicks at Abbey Rd 2003
I wish Tony Visconti had done it. Heathen is fantastic albiet with much newer masters. This effort is really lacking air. Hardly any LFE or is that Life.

 

[Felix E. Martinez]

Just bought this one - it's escaped my clutches for some time.

I agree about the pedestrian surround mix. I wouldn't be as harsh as some have been here, but certainly some missed opportunities in the mix. Strings and other orchestral elements in the rears would have gone a long way in opening this thing up.

Dynamic range is great! For those thinking this is anemic - turn it up! For that alone I bring it up one notch in rating.

 

[breakingglass]

The original LP states very clearly To Be Played At Maximum Volume. This applies as well to the surround release. I think we have all found this to be true, though, of many surround releases. The track Hotel California is often cited as one of the very best of the surround releases, but I was not impressed on first listen. HOWEVER, upon further review, and simply increasing the volume, led to an enitrely different listening experience. Surround mixes beg for high volume. Enjoy.

As for this release, it was my first surround purchase and I for one think it is brilliant. I love it. Turn it up, and love on.

 

[breakingglass]

... and, it was in fact remixed for surround by Ken Scott, who knows a thing or two about the music.

http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=VIRSAM1900

 

[wavelength]

Surround mixes beg for high volume.

I think it very much depends on the music whether it sounds better loud. Bela Fleck, Tales of the Acoustic Planet sounds great at a quieter volume. Machine Head is great cranked up. Every album has its optimum volume setting - it may be loud - it may be mid - or something else. If you like it loud then yes, high res will hold together better than other formats - so in that sense it's great for those who like to play their music loud. I love surround and I mostly listen at "normal" levels. I find I hear all of the detail in the songs that way. But hey, I'm 54 years old.

 

[neil wilkes]

Didn't Ken Scott do the mix? He was the original producer.

Yes, he did - it says so in the box.
It just sounds as if it was done in an afternoon by someone who doesn't know it IMHO.
This is actually starting to grow on me though.....

Still waiting to find the other MC SACD of Bowie - in case of.
I have heard Heathen & reality, and the mixes are a lot better.....
All I need is somewhere to buy the beasts.....cannot find here at all.

 

[breakingglass]

Try here:

http://www.musicdirect.com/product/79919

http://cgi.ebay.com/David-Bowie-Hea...3623465QQihZ006QQcategoryZ46354QQcmdZViewItem

 

[neil wilkes]

Appreciate the links - Reality there is a DualDisc though, and I already have that one thanks to a fellow member here.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

This SACD is the only multichannel SACD or DVD-A I could find at my local Best Buy yesterday that I don't already have. I almost picked it up, but I guess I will pass based on what I have read here and at Steve Hoffman Forum. My memory was that it was pretty good, but I have to conclude that once again, my memory was faulty.

Chris

 

[EMB]

Well, all you have to do is look at the poll results....while there are some misgivings and mediocre ratings, on the main, QQ seems to like the disc and mix, while acknowledging it shoulda been better. If you're a fan of the album, it's still a must-have; if you're more a MC enthusiast, you still need it, there just aren't that many '70s MC titles anyway, so it's worth the investment.

ED

 

[ClarkNovak]

I found a copy last night in with regular stock in my local Best Buy :banana: Find of the month!

I love this record, and the surround mix, though subtle, is well done. I think, as the blurb on the back cover states, you must play it LOUD to get the proper effect. Worth a 9 to me.

 

[ssully]

I bought this SACD as soom as it came out, and have no regrets. Always enjoy it, and I find the surround mix entirely appropriate to the material. Kudos to Ken Scott.

 

[filper]

A classic album lovingly mixed for surround by the legendary Ken Scott (and Paul Hicks) at Abbey Road Studios.

Ken knows how it should sound... he was there at the beginning.

A must have for any Rock surround collection.

9

 

[The Rang]

A classic album lovingly mixed for surround by the legendary Ken Scott (and Paul Hicks) at Abbey Road Studios.

Ken knows how it should sound... he was there at the beginning.

A must have for any Rock surround collection.

9

So what you're saying is I should have bought the copy I saw at a BB in Chicago in June?

 

[Siberian29]

I picked this up because I love the album musically it is incredible but sonically it was a let down. The mix isn't bad in multichannel but everything sounded much flatter than I was expecting from this source and I had to blast the volume to hear it.

 

[Felix E. Martinez]

I picked this up because I love the album musically it is incredible but sonically it was a let down. The mix isn't bad in multichannel but everything sounded much flatter than I was expecting from this source and I had to blast the volume to hear it.

That is a GOOD thing. Crank it, and the dynamic range is fantastic. Everything comes to life!

Remember: "you own the volume knob, not the producer."

 

[Q-Eight]

I got this album just to hear Suffragette City which is my all-time fave Bowie tune.

To me, the mix is .... I guess a good word is "static". It's not gimmicky or doing anything weird. In fact, when I found out this was released in the states as an RCA album, it kind of made me wonder if this was an unreleased vintage Quad mix?? It screams out like it was an older, CD-4 mix with a couple instruments in back, most everything else up front with some good left to right separation and vocals straight up the middle. It's not mind-blowing, but it works! I really don't know how it could be improved on?

 

[LizardKing]

6 - I just can't get into this - even though it is a classic....

 

[atlantasteve]

I was at my local record store in Atlanta and the salesman showed me this SACD. It cost a little more than I wanted to spend on a MC disc, but I could not pass it up. Just listening to it brings to mind two thoughts. First, this is a great album. I call it "strong", which to me means it is solid from start to finish. When Suffragette City is track 10, you know it is something special. Second, the MC mix is subtle but thorough. There were times I thought a vocal or chord could have been placed somewhere else, but overall the choices were intelligent. This is one of those discs that a touch here and there make it fun to listen to again.

 

[fredblue]

I gave it a "6" years ago and I'm still in that middling 5-6 range.

It's not quite as disappointing as when I first heard it.. but I still always get the sensation that there could have been so much more done with this incredible music!

The "Young Americans" DTS 5.1 DVD is a much better example of how to spruce up Bowie's classics in surround, IMHO.