HiRez Poll Earth Wind & Fire - HEAD TO THE SKY [SACD]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this April 2016 4.0 SACD release of Earth Wind & Fire's 1973 album "Head to the Sky"

PRE-RELEASE DISCUSSION THREAD: https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?21791

 

[rtbluray]

No reviews and only one vote so far for this one?
Wow, this one must have really slipped under the radar for a lot of you, so here's my best take on it:

It certainly starts off in a more experimental fashion than "Open Our Eyes" does. Quad mix is very discrete, but the instrument placement is not too off-the-wall, which is exactly how I like it.
I'll really need to revisit "Open Our Eyes" to know for sure, but I'm finding the music on this one to be more enjoyable.

The a cappella ending on "Keep Your Head to the Sky" is a nice touch in the surround channels.
Musically, "The World's A Masquerade" is one of the best tracks on the album. It's songs like these that make me really glad that AF have released some EWF albums on Multichannel SACD, as it's finally giving me the opportunity to check out some amazing album tracks from them that I would never have heard otherwise!
There are some purely strange moments though, like at the end of "Clover", but then that's one makes this one so effective in surround, especially when it comes to the epic instrumental closing track "Zanzibar".

Like "Open Our Eyes", I'm going with an '8' on this one, with the caveat that I do think that the music is better on this one, breaking down my vote this way:

Music: 2/3
Surround Mix: 2.5/3
Fidelity: 2.5/3
High-Res Disc: 1/1

Recommended!

 

[fredblue]

Very interesting you should say this one's come and gone so fast without much fanfare, Ryan.

Now, everyone's got their own personal story behind what's going on and the where's and the why's (and the wherefore art's! etc.) and when this disc arrived my other half was in the hospital in not such good shape and some other bad but less bad than that personal stuff was going on.. so that kind of all put the kibosh on enjoying the SACD at the time, you know.

In cheerier news (and for a good personal reason!) once I'd settled in the new place and got the Surround Master working late last year I got into the habit of playing the old SQ LP of this album -- a lot lot LOT.. it's a great record and found it much more fun than the Open Our Eyes Quad, imho.

So, as you can see for all sorts of reasons, this AF SACD has well and truly slipped off my personal radar! So, thanks Ryan for bringing the spotlight back onto it. I will endeavour to give it a proper listen this week and come back to this QQ Poll to vote asap (I feel an "8" or "9" coming on..! :banana: )

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Another 10. Earth Wind & Fire in Quadraphonic. What more could one want? Please support Audio Fidelity and the other fine Audio Fidelity Multi-Channel titles now.

Finally, as everyone knows from past experience, buy now or you will be paying $$$ on eBay in the future - wondering why you let titles pass you by. Thanks.

 

[quicksrt]

Listening to this right now, my copy just arrived 20 minutes ago. Great quad mix, and great music of course. But I am not of the opinion that this is better musically than "Open Our Eyes" which I found exceptional. This is just as interesting so far, a tie maybe.

It is interesting that they really go for the quad in the mixing here, and not just stereo spread out over 4 speakers, like they loved doing this mix.

 

[MIDIQ]

I finally decided to get both of the EWF releases. Glad i did. I like them better than i thought i would. Music 8, surround mix 10. Overall enjoyment 8.

 

[rtbluray]

Two more votes are needed to put this one in the high-res poll chart. Who's gonna be the ones to put this disc over the top?

 

[Cibola]

Two more votes are needed to put this one in the high-res poll chart. Who's gonna be the ones to put this disc over the top?

I have it and will give it my best to spin again and evaluate. It's funny, I was considering both AF Earth Wind and Fire SACD's when I got home but ended up with Gavin Harrison Cheating the Polygraph DVD-V instead.

 

[key_wiz]

Great quad mix. EWF is still finding their way towards their sound on this one. Which they get much closer to on "Open Our Eyes". Good early 70s R&B though.

I give it a 9

 

[Fourplay]

Short take: Perhaps not the best of Earth Wind & Fire, since it produced no hits, but great 70s R & B, a very discrete quad mix, and probably as clean a capture of the source material as possible. If you like this style of music, this is a must!

I was stunned to find this in a shop yesterday. In the last two years or so I have kept pretty close tabs on new surround releases via QQ, and in particular the Audio Fidelity series, and yet here was one staring me in the face that I had missed! How is that possible?

I am listening now, and the only reason I might not give this a 10 is that being familiar with most of the EW&F hits, I know they are capable of stronger material. But I cannot call this material weak either. It's just unfamiliar to me. Check out track 6 - Zanzibar: almost a classic Santana groove. Very nice!

The mix is classic 70s quad goodness. This is highly discrete - just like I like it. That alone makes this worth a listen.

At the risk of "poll inflation" I just have to give this a 10. This is a clean transfer of an active mix, the music is not weak, and it is high resolution. Is this not exactly what we beg for around here? 10 me baby! Check it on YouTube if you are not sure about the music. Otherwise it is a definite buy!

 

[sjcorne]

I really enjoy the two EWF quads released by AF - I think this one is a bit stronger musically than Open Our Eyes, but both are excellent. Typically amazing Columbia quad mixes. I'd give both 9s.

 

[Ninecats]

”That’s the way of the world” hasn’t been released in quad in the digital format, has it? It’s my favourite album of EW&F.

 

[Scott65]

A 9 from me

 

[fetchmybeer]

A tough one to rate. I like EWF, but am less familiar with their earlier stuff. The music here I like just fine, but I'm having some issues with the fidelity of the source material. It just doesn't sound well-recorded, unlike the later stuff when they obviously had a better budget and some hits under their belt. Even by the recording standards of the time, this one sounds a bit lo-fi to me.

The quad mix itself is fine, and some parts really stand out like in Zanzibar. I'm giving this an 8 (rounding up from 7.5) because it doesn't knock my socks off and it lacks some clarity that may or may not be the fault of the source material. It's still an enjoyable mix, but Spirit/Way of the World has superior source material and a superior mix by comparison.