HiRez Poll Earth Wind & Fire - OPEN OUR EYES [SACD]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thought and comments on this April 2015 SACD of the original quadraphonic mix of the album "OPEN OUR EYES" by Earth Wind and Fire, released by Audio Fidelity.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Ok...I received the disc today...ordered straight from AF this time...this was my first time with a direct order from them and I was surprised to see an email letting me know the product was shipped...with Marshall Bronstein's name on the email..nice touch...I'm only 5 songs in and this disc is clear and uncompressed...couldn't ask for more at this point...it's got some punch to it as well... very nice...you definitely get vocals from the surrounds on this one...drum song was very cool...I'll revisit this post when I finish this disc...

Ok..I have now heard the entire disc..from a sound quality viewpoint it's another home run transfer by AF...the only very small nitpick I could muster was on song 7..it's a little "congested" and less separation that I would like...but it's not "bright" because you can crank it up and your ears aren't going to bleed...to me it's a throw away song anyway...

Now the only area that I can see any complaints is the content...and that's the area that usually is a lightning rod on liking a disc...the first 6 songs are easy to like...song 7 IMO is a "filler" song...song 8 and 9 are barely songs they are so short...song 9 lasts 32 seconds..LOL...caribou is pretty good and the title song is the last song on the disc and it's good...this content isn't as good as That's The Way Of The World or Gratitude..or Spirit..but it gives you 5 or 6 pretty good songs...and that's enough for me...I'm very happy with this disc...I'll give it a few more spins before I rate it but it will be a high rating..

 

[Quad Linda]

10. Some of the songs border on the experimental, especially the instrumentals on side 2. Although there are a few EWF songs that are as good as the best here, IMHO Devotion and Feelin' Blue, the album has something that no EWF album prior to this had: Charles Stepney: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Stepney

Stepney was the brains behind Rotary Connection, an experimental aggregation on Chess' Cadet Concept label. Rotary Connection combined soul, rock and classical musicians from Chicago Symphony in a fusion of all those styles. It also introduced the world to the vocalist Minnie Ripperton. He worked as an arranger, musician and producer with many Chicago jazz and soul greats before teaming up with EWF.

Stepney was integral part of EWF's signature sound, IMHO as much as leader Maurice White. Stepney worked with EWF on OOE, That's the Way of The World, Gratitude, Spirit, and the EWF/Ramsey Lewis Sun Goddess album. Stepney unexpectedly died of a heart attack at 45. His touch was missing from subsequent EWF albums, although they still did much stellar work after his death.

The 2ch versions on this disc by Steve Hoffman are superb. Far better than I've ever heard them before.

The Quad mix is one of the best ever. Would you expect anything less from a vintage CBS Quad mix of a band with eight guys? A wonderful digital transfer of a great Quad album.

The classic EWF sound is solidified with this record. Gone were the female singers that had been part of their previous incarnations. According to Maurice, having women in the band posed too many problems with a bunch of young, horny guys. Although EWF did four albums previously, this is the template for nearly everything that followed. My favorite EWF record, and I have them all! BTW, it is far from their only great album.

Great performance, great fidelity, and a fantastic Quad resurrected. You NEED this!

10 minutes after originally posting this, I couldn't stand it anymore, and had to spin one of my 100 favorite albums: Rotary Connection, their first. Although his EWF work is truly stellar, Rotary Connection is Stepney's masterpiece, IMHO. It synthesizes Quad very well!!!

 

[dr. simple]

This is another AF quad mix that requires this:
How I listen to quad
So instead, I reduced the rear speakers by about 4 db and it seems just about perfect. So far, this is just wonderful.

 

[keenly]

I do indeed need this.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Hmm I'll hold my vote until I've listened to it more often,
The first thing is that SH put a HF Cutoff on this BIG TIME....NOTHING above 20K (I'd say 15K)..not even gonna bother with a spectrum analysis..wow, I'm sure that the SQ LP would sound MUCH BETTER (the SACD sounds as if somebody put ,not one, but SEVERAL blankets on top of the speakers...
Also, as dr. simple states, this being a 70s QUAD mix you have to sit in the middle of the square, so turn down the rear channels about 3 dB (depends on your setup and hearing).
I mean, it's great that these guys are rereleasing these mixes....but , if this is how it's gonna be, I'd rather buy the SQ LPs and do my own conversion....

 

[dr. simple]

Also, as dr. simple states, this being a 70s QUAD mix you have to sit in the middle of the square, so turn down the rear channels about 3 dB (depends on your setup and hearing).

I agree. 4 db is a little much. I've been decreasing by 2.5-3.0 db since writing that post.

 

[John Svensson]

I'll wait to vote on this one, but it just arrived yesterday and I had to time to give it a quick spin......I likey what I heard. Rears may be a little elevated but I'll have to play around with it....or move my butt for the sweet spot.

 

[fredblue]

I'm lovin' it! Only criticism: it's too SHORT.. ah well it's SWEET! It's an "8" :upthumb

 

[blue.monk]

Good stuff - a solid 9 for me. The only thing missing at this stage is the horn section but otherwise all the classic EW&F elements are in place - dynamic group vocals, tasty funk/soul grooves and a decidedly positive vibe. It’s a fun quad mix with instruments and vocals effectively spaced. The sound is very good although I wish the drums were a hotter in the mix. The material is terrific from the infectious opener, Mighty Mighty, through the closing gospel-tinged title track. The odd man out for me, however, is Spasmodic Movements which comes across rather like an assignment from the Charlie Parker portion of a university jazz composition class. And the change in mix (one instrument per channel) separates it further still from the other tracks.

Another winner from AF. Can’t wait to see what else is in store!

 

[privateuniverse]

Just got this one today. (importcds.com has great prices, but their shipping is a bit on the slow side.) Really love the mix on this. I love how much more aggressive they were with the use of the rear speakers on the 70's quad mixes. It's a very active, discrete mix. I knew some of the songs on this album but had never heard the whole thing before so I'll hold off voting until after a few more listens, but this is easily an 8, if not better.

Bring on more 70's quads! (Atom Heart Mother please!!!)

 

[GOS]

Just got this one today. (importcds.com has great prices, but their shipping is a bit on the slow side.) Really love the mix on this. I love how much more aggressive they were with the use of the rear speakers on the 70's quad mixes. It's a very active, discrete mix. I knew some of the songs on this album but had never heard the whole thing before so I'll hold off voting until after a few more listens, but this is easily an 8, if not better.

Bring on more 70's quads! (Atom Heart Mother please!!!)

OMG....Atom Heart Mother.....I would spend some serious money for that one.......whoa...

 

[infaze]

.

Earth Wind and Fire is always smooth R & B soul

my favorite version of Devotion

other albums from them are 5.1 , and it's not missed here

a 10 for sure

 

[Quad Linda]

Actually, Gratitude and Alive in '75 are both 5.1 SACD's. Of course, Open Our Eyes is a 4.0 SACD.

That's the Way of the World (studio album - MoFi SACD) and All in All (Japan SACD) are 2.0 SACD's.

Head to the Sky, Open Our Eyes, That's the Way of the World (studio album) and Spirit were all available on SQ Quad LP & Q8 (4.0 mixes.)

"Literal Linda, everybody!" - My guy Joe

.

Earth Wind and Fire is always smooth R & B soul

my favorite version of Devotion

other albums from them are 5.1 , and it's not missed here

a 10 for sure

 

[timbre4]

Work (audio & video editing as of late) subsided and I started to catch up on new releases last night. Confession: I did not own this quad back in the day so I didn't know what to expect. Wow, what a great mix! Spacious, discrete and the interplay between channels was mighty good. The rapid panning during the thumb piano feature was amazing in that the directionality was realized and no energy (volume) loss on any of the movements, making for an unexpected demo track IMHO.

To think I almost skipped this one. (running and ducking) Will be listening to this more than I expected to.

 

[infaze]

.

whoops - thanks

"my" other albums from them are 5.1

Actually, Gratitude and Alive in '75 are both 5.1 SACD's. Of course, Open Our Eyes is a 4.0 SACD.

That's the Way of the World (studio album - MoFi SACD) and All in All (Japan SACD) are 2.0 SACD's.

Head to the Sky, Open Our Eyes, That's the Way of the World (studio album) and Spirit were all available on SQ Quad LP & Q8 (4.0 mixes.)

"Literal Linda, everybody!" - My guy Joe

 

[dr. simple]

This is another AF quad mix that requires this:
How I listen to quad
So instead, I reduced the rear speakers by about 4 db and it seems just about perfect. So far, this is just wonderful.

I've been turning down the rears on the AF quad mixes BEFORE listening, but today I'm listening to "Open Your Eyes" withOUT reducing the rears, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. Odd how some quad mixes are more rear-heavy than others. That's not to say that this has little in the rears, just that all that musical goodness coming from the rears is balanced with rhythm section and lead vocals in the front speakers. It's a tad heavy in the rears, but I'm digging it.

 

[bmoura]

Hmm I'll hold my vote until I've listened to it more often,
The first thing is that SH put a HF Cutoff on this BIG TIME....NOTHING above 20K (I'd say 15K)..not even gonna bother with a spectrum analysis..wow, I'm sure that the SQ LP would sound MUCH BETTER (the SACD sounds as if somebody put ,not one, but SEVERAL blankets on top of the speakers...
Also, as dr. simple states, this being a 70s QUAD mix you have to sit in the middle of the square, so turn down the rear channels about 3 dB (depends on your setup and hearing).
I mean, it's great that these guys are rereleasing these mixes....but , if this is how it's gonna be, I'd rather buy the SQ LPs and do my own conversion....

Do you mean on the Stereo remastering? Gus Skinas at the Super Audio Center did the Surround Sound mastering and transfer.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Do you mean on the Stereo remastering? Gus Skinas at the Super Audio Center did the Surround Sound mastering and transfer.

Nope , I mean the 4.0 layer, I really do not listen to the Stereo layer anymore...

Just that the listener's position was in the "middle of the square" was the "norm" for these 70's Quad mixes AFAIK----

 

[bmoura]

Having Earth, Wind & Fire's "Open Our Eyes" back in 4.0 Surround Sound is a treat. Definitely worth getting on Multichannel SACD.
I give it an "8".