HiRez Poll Doors - THE BEST OF THE DOORS [SACD/BDA]

[Q-Eight]

I have the CD-4 (black label) and the Q8 and other than the opening "Who Do you Love?" the rest of the tracks are very, very dry. No canned echo whatsoever. "Riders..." has a bit of a tape delay going on with the storm, but it actually makes it sound more realistic! You'd never believe that was a mono track being delayed and piped to the other speakers. Great effect if you ask me!

 

[ar surround]

I have the CD-4 (black label) and the Q8 and other than the opening "Who Do you Love?" the rest of the tracks are very, very dry. No canned echo whatsoever. "Riders..." has a bit of a tape delay going on with the storm, but it actually makes it sound more realistic! You'd never believe that was a mono track being delayed and piped to the other speakers. Great effect if you ask me!

Perhaps my memory failed me a bit on this CD-4 title? It would be hard to believe that there was more than one version of the CD-4 issued, but I still recall not liking the sound quality and ditching the CD-4 circa 1983 - unless my memory fails me yet again!

 

[GOS]

Perhaps my memory failed me a bit on this CD-4 title? It would be hard to believe that there was more than one version of the CD-4 issued, but I still recall not liking the sound quality and ditching the CD-4 circa 1983 - unless my memory fails me yet again!

I always say... If you can't remember...forget it! :yikes

 

[Simon A]

"Riders..." has a bit of a tape delay going on with the storm, but it actually makes it sound more realistic! You'd never believe that was a mono track being delayed and piped to the other speakers. Great effect if you ask me!

Wow, I had no idea this was a Mono track! I am impressed with what Botnick did with it.

 

[wavelength]

Must. Have. This.

I loved this disc immediately; none of that "I'll learn to like it" stuff.

Jim's voice - what a rock treasure. He beats them all. As I listen to these songs his voice is so perfect (with one exception which I'll discuss later). How about that "The Doors do Vegas" sound on Touch Me? Insane!

The fidelity is the other beautiful thing going on. I love the sound. Well done; perhaps the Steve Hoffman mastering is one of the reasons for this. I don't really know about the technical side of things but this disc sounds really good. Better than my one other Doors disc - LA Woman (dvd-a). As for bass, it seems appropriate to me.

The mix is fine. Nothing special but nor does it detract in any way. FL, FR are discrete; phantom center for Jim's voice; some discrete RL, RR; some rear phantom center. It all works.

Some minuses:
1. I'll always skip Track 1 - I generally don't like surround mixes of live music. Of course that's a personal choice. It still is a great track fidelity-wise so you will like it if you like live stuff.
2. Light My Fire sounds cold and clinical. This is the one track where I don't hear any of the magic that I talked about earlier.
3. OK - nitpicking but still...The album is called The Best of Doors. Why the title change to The Best of The Doors? It just bugs me; oh well.

Even with those flaws this is a must-have disc for me. It captures the essence of The Doors. When I listen to this it is easy to see why this band is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. These guys had a sound all their own and it comes across beautifully here.

 

[par4ken]

I would rate this a 10. Ten for content, 10 for the mix and 10 for the sound. I have the CD-4 and the Quad reel and this sounds the best. The bass might be a little week but you do have tone controls don't you? This mix beats the crap out of all the 5.1 mixes, and I think I have them all. I recall I used to play side 2 of the LP first, seemed more natural as Riders was the last hit released after Morrison's death.

 

[MIDIQ]

A very good quad mix, glad to have it on SACD, a 9.

 

[EMB]

Yes, this is a wonderful disc. The track selection will probably confound some newbies who are (hard as it is to believe) unfamiliar with this compilation on vinyl. I ignore reviews that have no foundation in fact or sense, so it's nice to read all the intelligent reviews in this thread.

It's interesting that some folks still slag the PERCEPTION box as if it were a disaster. Granted, if you were there back in '73 and drank in the sounds here as some of us did, sampling the box set's mixes did reveal some aspects that made you glad you had the quad versions to fall back on. It's a pity ABSOLUTELY LIVE wasn't issued in the box set, since it has plenty of songs for which studio versions either weren't recorded or not released, and I've always considered it an essential part of the canon (obviously the Doors did, too, since "Who Do You Love" made the BEST OF DOORS cut over a few more obvious tracks that could have been chosen instead).

I think that old cliche 'warmth of the sound' applies to this disc as well. Perhaps only a mental perception on my part, but it feels organic in a way that some 5.1 remixes do not.

But it's great to hear these freed of the limitations of the CD-4 vinyl and the equipment I owned at the time (good but hardly top-of-the-line). It's also great that almost anyone interested, for a modest investment, can hear this music better than most anyone could have back in '73, and also hear the potential quad had for mass acceptance if a) the hardware had been more consistent and modestly priced and b) if more marquee titles like these had been issued.

A '10,' natch.


ED

 

[fizzywiggs41]

ED Bishop,

According to Bruce Botnick's last interview, he is considering more live DOORS in 5.1 and mentions the likelihood of a surround version of "ABSOLUTELY LIVE".So we'll await patiently.


This is an excellently recorded live disc, one of my favourite live albums, ever.

 

[EMB]

Not only that, but of course it has Celebration of the Lizard, which would alone be worth a nice 5.1 remix. But you're right, it's one of the better live rock albums extant, but for some reason, it gets mentioned little whenever critics run down their favorites.

ED

 

[Simon A]

According to Bruce Botnick's last interview, he is considering more live DOORS in 5.1 and mentions the likelihood of a surround version of "ABSOLUTELY LIVE".So we'll await patiently.

This is fabulous news!

 

[cupboy]

......3. OK - nitpicking but still...The album is called The Best of Doors. Why the title change to The Best of The Doors? It just bugs me; oh well.
.....

Check post #1 for the original vinyl labels. Says "The Best Of The Doors".

 

[Perp]

I was a bit underwhelmed with the sound quality of this disc because of the bass response in comparison to the original Q4 but after repeated listenings, I have opened up to the other positive qualities regarding this much anticipated release and have voted an 8. I will say that it's clearer sounding than the Q4 and that's always a positive aspect in my book. The Stereo layer sounds fantastic when I play it directly via DSD in my two-channel setup.

 

[wavelength]

Check post #1 for the original vinyl labels. Says "The Best Of The Doors".

Well, it is confusing. The front-side of the original quadradisc jacket says The Best of Doors.

 

[Perp]

Well, it is confusing. The front-side of the original quadradisc jacket says The Best of Doors.

I wonder if that was a mis-print. They've always been known as The Doors, not Doors. Same as The Beatles and The Stones.

 

[wavelength]

I wonder if that was a mis-print. They've always been known as The Doors, not Doors. Same as The Beatles and The Stones.

I'm sure you are correct. But my point is that the album (on the cover) is called The Best of Doors; misprint or not. As Cupboy pointed out, the LP labels on the vinyl say The Best of The Doors. Is the name of an album determined by the jacket or the labels on the vinyl? I used to work in a library so these things intrigue me but maybe others not so much.

 

[EMB]

I wonder if that was a mis-print. They've always been known as The Doors, not Doors. Same as The Beatles and The Stones.

It's a trick of the way the title and the band's unique logo are set on the cover; 'the' is supposed to be read twice. Note that it is slipped in next to the big 'd,' in Doors, and so you have the proper title.

ED

 

[wavelength]

It's a trick of the way the title and the band's unique logo are set on the cover; 'the' is supposed to be read twice. Note that it is slipped in next to the big 'd,' in Doors, and so you have the proper title.

ED

Far out dude! LOL. Thanks Ed for the explanation. It makes sense now. Whew!

 

[wavelength]

I just have to say it one more time - this disc is a killer. I can't get over the sound of Morrison's voice. He had a very special gift.

We are so lucky to get high-res surround music from the 60's.

 

[GOS]

I just have to say it one more time - this disc is a killer. I can't get over the sound of Morrison's voice. He had a very special gift.

We are so lucky to get high-res surround music from the 60's.

Yes, but it leaves me wanting more.... from the 60's.