HiRez Poll Doors - STRANGE DAYS [DVD-A/SACD]

[JonUrban]

Please post your comments, thoughts and observations on this title released in first in the "Perception" Box set in the DVD-Audio format, and again in 2014 as a single US SACD (Made in Austria) or as part of the Limited Numbered Edition "Infinite" Box from Analog Productions.

 

[Quad Linda]

9. A limited # of tracks (4?) to work with. Some of the material like You're Lost Little Girl is weak. Yet, Love Me Two Times, People Are Strange and Moonlight Drive are killers.

 

[timbre4]

I believe this is the first album done on 8 tracks.


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[rusinurbe]

My understanding was it was 8 track, but some on four, either way my least favourite Doors album.

Conservative mix again (sounding like a broken record)

 

[cupboy]

...either way my least favourite Doors album.

I agree. This is the only Doors SACD title I did not purchase. As for the first album, I went with the Warners Japan version.

 

[keenly]

I have this SACD on right now. Greta mastering with lots of dynamic range. Horrible place of drums. In right front channel or slightly to right off center. I hate that. Drums should be in middle; spread across fronts or spread across entire soundstage. Putting them to one side sounds horrible and ruins everything. I like everything else. Some fantastic use of rears at time.

 

[rtbluray]

Well looks like these Doors discs need more votes and reviews, so here's my review for "Strange Days".

Overall, this is SUCH a better surround experience than the first album but still lacks a little bit.
There's so much clarity and separation that was never readily apparent before these albums got mixed in surround.
The title track is a particular treat in surround, while others don't really have much surround to them at all.
"Happy Girl" has some nice surround action going on in it, particularly at the very beginning, and the same goes for "Moonlight Drive", "People Are Strange", and "My Eyes Have Seen You", while "Horse Latitudes" is just a playground for crazy surround panning, adding to the manic craziness of the track.
The lovely "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind" sounds even more oriental in surround, highlighting some of the unique instrumental textures.

The epic beast closing the album "When the Music is Over" has always been a favorite of mine, and it doesn't really do much in surround until the guitar solos come in. What a fun moment that was when the guitars entered, finally giving the track some life in surround. There's not that much after that, except for a few moments where Jim's vocal comes out and doubles itself before the track gets big again.

This disc gets around a '7' for me, though it's really closer to a '7.5'

 

[seilerbird]

It pains me but I only gave it a six. It is just not a great surround sound experience. I understand they only had a few tracks to work with and it is a 1968 recording. But what really ticked me off is the massive amount of echo they applied to the title track. Sounds like an Annette Funicello record. Why would they do that? It is like painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa. However my all time favorite one minute of recorded music is orgasmic. I am referring to the dual guitar solo on When The Music's Over. I thought that they had swapped the channels so I played it back to back with my stereo version and they were no swapped. Just radically different sounding due to the clarity of the surround format. But what a revelation. My conclusion is stereo sucks big time. Everything is all mixed together and jumbled. No definition, no clarity. Hip hip hooray for surround sound.

 

[whatsmyname4]

I just recently purchased a used Perception box, so I'm hearing these 5. 1 mixes for the first time.

I'm late to the party on this, so here's my superfluous review:

I give this a 7. I can't fault the music since I think this album is a classic. Most of the mixes are pretty involving and the sound stage is definitely expanded on most tracks. There is limited use of the rear channels on a few of the tracks, but some of these songs aren't loaded with instrumentation, so I don't think I can fault the 5.1 mix too much. One major criticism I have is with the tonality on the 5.1 mix. Some of these songs sound a tad too bright on my system compared to some other versions I have of the stereo mix.

Some thoughts while listening:

"Strange Days": Nice panning on the intro. Jim's voice sounds seriously disembodied here. The sound stage is pretty enveloping. The only criticism I would give on this track is the reverb used seems a little cold and clinical.

"You're Lost Little Girl": This track has always been a highlight on this album for me, mainly for Robbie Krieger's solo. The 5.1 mix sounds spacious and enlarged. Unfortunately, the guitar solo I love so much on this seems a bit overly processed on the 5.1 mix.

"Love Me Two Times": This falls flat in surround. Hollow and narrow.

"Unhappy Girl": Wow! Hand chimes and hand claps in the rears. A fun mix.

"Horse Latitudes": Well, this sounds amazing in 5.1. Very nice use of the surrounds.

"Moonlight Drive": Another great 5.1 mix. Well placed instrumentation that expands nicely on the original stereo mix. Jim's voice sounds very present on this one.

"People Are Strange": Great song, but a mediocre 5.1 mix.

"My Eyes Have Seen You": Well, this just rocks in 5.1 (not to say it didn't rock in stereo too). This maybe one of the best 5.1 mixes on this disc.

"I Can't See Your Face in My Mind": Another solid 5.1 mix.

"When the Music's Over": There's a fairly widened sound stage on this compared to the stereo mix. There's some nice use of the rears in the solo and for some of the vocal overdubs at the end of the song, but mostly the rears are just filled with a lot of reverb.

 

[marpow]

I voted 10, who cares, I always vote 10, anyway, I am surprised I have never voted on any of these Doors surround discs. They where recorded so good back in the day by Bruce, what's his name, and all of them sound great.
But if you want to really blow your mind turn up to 72db When The Musics Over, super duper good.
Couldn't live without it.
I was listening to the SACD.

 

[4-earredwonder]

I voted 10, who cares, I always vote 10, anyway, I am surprised I have never voted on any of these Doors surround discs. They where recorded so good back in the day by Bruce, what's his name, and all of them sound great.
But if you want to really blow your mind turn up to 72db When The Musics Over, super duper good.
Couldn't live without it.

Thanks for reminding me, Markie. I likewise voted a 10 ..... Classic Doors!

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

It's an 8 from me. Moonlight Drive alone is worth the price of admission. Perception Box Set DVD-audio.

 

[marpow]

I have changed my vote from a 10 to an 8. I can only say that between 2019 and today, my rig changed dramatically, and my knowledge and education of surround mixes has changed.
This remix of my post #10 is based on the Hybrid SACD 5.1 Analogue Productions,
CAPP 74014 SA, DSD64 with DR's of 11's, 12's, 13, 15.
Post # 9 @whatsmyname4 nailed it, his track-by-track review is spot on, in fact while I listened, I read his track list, very good.
This also has GREAT INFORMATION.
KEEP SURROUND POLLS PURE. NO OFF TOPIC OR NON RELEVANT CHATTER.

 

[JediJoker]

...RELEVENT...

*Relevant.

 

[Titch]

I have changed my vote from a 10 to an 8. I can only say that between 2019 and today, my rig changed dramatically, and my knowledge and education of surround mixes has changed.
This remix of my post #10 is based on the Hybrid SACD 5.1 Analogue Productions,
CAPP 74014 SA, DSD64 with DR's of 11's, 12's, 13, 15.
Post # 9 @whatsmyname4 nailed it, his track-by-track review is spot on, in fact while I listened, I read his track list, very good.
This also has GREAT INFORMATION.
KEEP SURROUND POLLS PURE. NO OFF TOPIC OR NON RELEVENT CHATTER.
View attachment 76199

I only started listening to multichannel releases in 2016, when I finally purchased an audiophile system for my home theatre. Discovering my Oppo 103 could handle multichannel SACD, DVD-A and blu-ray audio was a revelatory experience. Also, my Denon AVR 7200 (which was the top model back then) calibrated itself very nicely using Audyssey. Since 2016, I have acquired about 300 multichannel discs. I have been noticing that many of the reviews on the high-res poll are nearly 20 years old. I seriously doubt that the majority of people listening then had the equipment to do proper justice to the discs. Kal Rubinson admitted as much:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/cooder-ry-buena-vista-social-club-dvd-a.6222/page-2
An 8 for Strange Days is probably accurate, listening to it today on calibrated, audiophile multichannel equipment.

 

[Todd 987]

8

A big fan of these songs, never felt it was a lesser Doors album. Wish the mix had been more adventurous. I listen to multichannel to be wowed and this mix didn’t take me there.

 

[stoopid]

Grabbed the Hybrid SACD 5.1 Analogue Productions for $30 (plus tax and shipping, but I bought some more things to get free shipping).

There's albums and artists I purchase a surround mix and expect certain elements to be present in the mix/final presentation. With classic rock (legacy) artists who had limited means in the studio at the time, my expectations are fairly low. They often don't have separate tracks for each instrument, there's sometimes tape hiss (or other anomalies), and the mixdowns may favor one instrument over the other sharing the track making it tough to pull them apart even with the best modern tools.

I feel this mix is on par with other older albums. My contentment is achieved as long as there's solid separation between instruments/vocals, some attempt to stay true to the original studio recording's intent, and it's presented in good fidelity. All these boxes were checked for this album, so much so I went back to Analogue Production's website and bought the remaining Doors albums in 5.1 sacd. This is the best I've heard the album and it's fairly cheap entry point to having what I'd consider to be an archival grade copy. To be able to casually listen to it in 2 channel at my leisure is just bonus. 9/10