Elton John Diamonds (SDE Blu-Ray #31) Dec. 27th, 2024

[jaybird100]

Ordered!!!

 

[jaybird100]

Although I own 5 multichannel sacds covering most of his 70's output I really like, I'll probably still get this. Frankly, it's the hits I enjoy most about Elton's music so there are a lot of tracks I regularly skip over on full length albums. Having such a huge cherry picked greatest hits set, most of which I don't own and mixed in Atmos, is pretty much a dream release for this artist, for me. Damn, every time I think I'm out, Paul/SDE pulls me back in.

There are a lot of hot tracks on this disc that weren't on the other 5. Well worth the add.

 

[fredblue]

very little from Don't Shoot Me or Caribou.

I have all the other surround mixes up to Cpt Fantastic already. Not interested in the after-stuff, so: Pass.

(actually, if there's a new surround mix of 'Philadelphia Freedom' that isn't as stupendously loud as the current one, I might be interested.)

to be fair, "Diamonds" is a Hits compilation.

while i wish the 1974 original of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" was on "Diamonds" rather than the 90's duet with George Michael, the inclusion of "Daniel", "Crocodile Rock" and "The ***** Is Back" as important singles from the "Don't Shoot Me.." and "Caribou" albums is very welcome.

then there's also notable associated tracks from both those LPs on "Diamonds", including the lovely re-recording (aka the 'Piano Version') of "Skyline Pigeon", "Step Into Christmas" and "Pinball Wizard".

all these tracks are in fabulous Atmos on the "Diamonds" compilation.

while i'd love both the "Don't Shoot Me.." & "Caribou" albums in Surround Sound and i'm sure i'm not alone in that, especially among our number at QQ, i wouldn't expect the likes of "Pinky", "Ticking", "I've Seen The Saucers", "Dixie Lily", "You're So Static" etc., to appear on a Hits compilation, nor would "Midnight Creeper", "Teacher I Need You", "I'm Gonna Be A Teenage Idol", or "Blues For Baby And Me" and so on be suitable song choices for a Hits compilation either.

also, fwiw, the Atmos rendering of "Philadelphia Freedom" is an entirely new mix, quite distinct from the 5.1, with different panning and balances and it's also not as loud overall as the 5.1 bonus track on the "Captain Fantastic.." SACD either.

 

[fredblue]

There are a lot of hot tracks on this disc that weren't on the other 5. Well worth the add.

yeah.. tbh i'm aghast at some of the "meh" responses and even negative reaction online to this release.

even if i set aside my personal adoration of 'all things Elton', this still surely has to be a benchmark, some might say landmark even, Surround Music release.

Thirty -- 30 (!! ) genuinely noteworthy Pop Hits and another hour-plus worth of singles and notable tracks from one of the biggest solo Pop artists of all-time. kinda tough crowd "here and there"! ahh.. well..

 

[LuvMyQuad]

.while i'd love both the "Don't Shoot Me.." & "Caribou" albums in Surround Sound and i'm sure i'm not alone in that, especially among our number at QQ, i wouldn't expect the likes of "Pinky", "Ticking", "I've Seen The Saucers", "Dixie Lily", "You're So Static" etc., to appear on a Hits compilation, nor would "Midnight Creeper", "Teacher I Need You", "I'm Gonna Be A Teenage Idol", or "Blues For Baby And Me" and so on be suitable song choices for a Hits compilation either

Bringing those wonderful missing tracks into the discussion is just cruel Adam.

This is a great compilation.

 

[JonUrban]

I ordered this the microsecond I saw the email yesterday (or was it 2 days ago?) as it's such a no brainer, I can't understand how folks can be underwhelmed.

And like Adam, I would LOVE to hear those deep tracks from 'Don't Shoot Me' and 'Caribou', probably WAY more than the hits. The older you get, the more you find yourself gravitating to the non-hits because you've just heard the hits too many times over the years. The deep tracks on those two albums are part of the fabric of my youth and I don't play them often these days, and a 5.1 or Atmos Bluray of those 2 albums would be incredible. I am so pissed they never saw the light of day, and that AF had the ability to release them but Universal held them hostage by forcing them to take the other released titles as well, when there were plenty copies of those other albums in the marketplace selling for far less than AF would have to sell them for

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Empty garden
Lucy in the Sky
I'm still standing
Circle of Life
Sacrifice

Those pretty much make up for no Elderberry Wine, no Ticking, and no I've Seen The Saucers for me.

 

[fredblue]

Empty garden
Lucy in the Sky
I'm still standing
Circle of Life
Sacrifice

Those pretty much make up for no Elderberry Wine, no Ticking, and no I've Seen The Saucers for me.

...and those 5 are Surround stonkers! (not "Stinker(s)"! another Caribou-boo!! )

i was literally floored when i first heard the deft, tasteful, delightful Atmos renderings of tracks i had got kinda tired of hearing or hadn't played much over the years, things like "Part Time Love", "Nikita", "Sad Songs Say So Much", "Are You Ready For Love", "Little Jeannie", "Believe".. those tracks became real highlights in Atmos, so beautifully rendered in Surround i just wanted to hear them again and again, all over again!!

Greg Penny, you are a marvellous multichannelist man. short of a **** up this will surely be my Surround release of the year

 

[JediJoker]

I'm getting really tired of these singleton releases from SDE... To make it more financially palatable, there needs to be more overlap in availability for purchase. That, or the ability to combine orders for shipping after-the-fact.

 

[madscot]

I'm getting really tired of these singleton releases from SDE... To make it more financially palatable, there needs to be more overlap in availability for purchase. That, or the ability to combine orders for shipping after-the-fact.

Don’t tell anyone I told you this (sscchh) buy 2 of each disc, same p&p, keep one for yourself, sell one and you might find it will pay for both copies

 

[fredblue]

I'm getting really tired of these singleton releases from SDE... To make it more financially palatable, there needs to be more overlap in availability for purchase. That, or the ability to combine orders for shipping after-the-fact.

i respect and fully appreciate it's expensive importing titles on such a piecemeal basis

that being said, this is a super significant, very meaningful release for some of us, dare i say almost irrespective of logistics and expense and hassle and so forth?

dabbling in the Quad/5.1 hobby so many years and hoping for more new Elton Surround Music mixes for 20 of those years after Universal pulled the plug (and pulled the rug out from under us!) in 2004 i can't lose sight of my personal joy of this wonderful crazy announcement!

in a financial sense i'm also mindful that back when i first bought the Elton Surround SACDs on import (since they were U.S. releases) they cost £25 quid each in HMV 20 years ago..!!

now we've 48 EJ tracks in Surround on one disc for £25 plus shipping! wow-zurrrzz that's progress...!!

the mega hits aside, i think i'm most looking forward to things like the details in the Heights now without compromise and compression artefacts, the glorious woodwind in "Part Time Love", the sumptuous strings and horns in "Are You Ready For Love"...

Atmos fan! burning out his fuse up here at QQ!

 

[Thonolan]

I'm on the fence about this... I'm sure it's awesome, but on the other hand I'm totally not into compilation/hits albums. I'd buy an Atmos blu-ray of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in a heartbeat!

Decisions, decisions...

 

[fredblue]

I'm on the fence about this... I'm sure it's awesome, but on the other hand I'm totally not into compilation/hits albums. I'd buy an Atmos blu-ray of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in a heartbeat!

Decisions, decisions...

mind blowing decisions!!

if it helps get you off the fence and Diamonds in the cart at least some of the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album is on the Diamonds comp.. we've got all the Hits like Sandal In The Bin, J-J-J-Jenny and The Betssss and Friday Afternoon's Alright For Snoozing! woo!!

 

[Titch]

Here is an article I wrote about the streaming release of Diamonds in Atmos, including an interview with Greg Penny.

Very nice article!

 

[perzon57]

I will order this as I like EJ, I know the mix will be good and it's very good value for the money. I'll only buy new SDE releases if I've heard the mix or know it's a mixer I can trust will do a good job. SDE releases is the most expensive single discs I buy because the costly shipping and the fact that they are not part of the VOEC system for collecting Norwegian VAT, and don't intend to be either. Both Burning Shed and Amazon is VOEC members, but SDE wouldn't bother with that they said to me. So I basically pay VAT twice.

 

[Quadkid]

Instant order for me as well. Big Elton fan. WhooooooooHoooooo!

Same here!!!!

 

[Uncle Obscure]

Instant pre-order! WOW!

 

[britmarc]

As this is a UMG title I wonder if this bodes well for other UMG Atmos titles such as Janet Jackson's hits collection which has already been mixed for this format...

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

As this is a UMG title I wonder if this bodes well for other UMG Atmos titles such as Janet Jackson's hits collection which has already been mixed for this format...

I hope so... It would also be rather ironic given that Universal launched the HFPA disc format in the first place!

 

[Monkish]

I will probably get this simply because of the price point and the sheer volume of songs, but the truth is I already have most of the EJ stuff that I enjoy in 5.1 and am happy with that. Half the songs here are from the 80s and beyond, which is a part of his catalog that I simply don't care for.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I just don't have the necessary love for Elton's post-1976 catalog (a few tracks aside), I'm not equipped for Atmos, and I already have all of the SACD 5.1 mixes. This is definitely a huge get for SDE, and I love how much excitement this is generating on the QQ board, but I can't share the excitement. I'm fine with listening to the fold-downs on Apple Music for Daniel, Blue Eyes, etc.