Elton John in Atmos
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I'm pretty sure this is the first week where the featured artist didn't change on apple. Just a guess but I wonder if more Elton was planned as a featured artist from apple and there were issues.
Pretty weird to have 3 unannounced releases and one big unrelease.
Pretty weird to have 3 unannounced releases and one big unrelease.
i've been thinking about this and i think you're right!
the choices for the first 3 Atmos EJ albums are fairly leftfield as well, particularly Too Low For Zero..
if a big Atmos rollout of his albums were to happen at all (and i don't want to tempt fate but it looks like maybe it is!) i'd thought they might start out with the biggies of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Captain Fantastic and go from there maybe?
anyway, something is definitely happening, even if the Atmos version of Too Low For Zero rather alarmingly disappeared briefly earlier this afternoon (!) i was able to add the whole thing back to my Library again tonight.. phew!
some nice Surround mixes on there, especially the 3 bonus tracks; Dreamboat, Earn While You Learn & The Retreat 
Listening to Elton John's Honky Chateau in Dolby Atmos via Apple 4K.
Very weak heights, in fact when they are charged it is mostly rear heights, if at all.
This is a good example of, IF, they came out with an Atmos Box Set, and this was the Atmos on the hard disc it certainly would be a waste of money and a disappointment.
Like The Band's Cahoots, released in Atmos, what was the point? 5.1 in Cahoots and in the Elton John on Apple.
Very weak heights, in fact when they are charged it is mostly rear heights, if at all.
This is a good example of, IF, they came out with an Atmos Box Set, and this was the Atmos on the hard disc it certainly would be a waste of money and a disappointment.
Like The Band's Cahoots, released in Atmos, what was the point? 5.1 in Cahoots and in the Elton John on Apple.
I spent some time with the full on Atmos Honky Chateau. Im still picking up my jaw from after it dropped. Its a tremendous mix. Mona Lisa never sounded better. Think I'm gonna Kill myself and Suzie as well. Probably the best Atmos mixes I've auditioned. Then I went to Diamonds for some Empty Garden.... still in Atmos. Alas, no Tiny Dancer... stereo only. Apple giveith and Apple taketh away I guess.
Wow. I played the EJ today too and thought it was pretty awesome. There was all kinds of stuff coming from the heights. Maybe they were the rear heights, but there was a lot of it. Rocket Man might be the best Atmos track I've heard.
Apple is a store. The labels decide what to put on and off the shelves.
But, I do think in cases like this it is likely the labels not being able to understand how to use Apple's likely insufferable interfaces to manage their content along with really poor Apple methodologies like combining the Atmos and stereo versions of things into one "release" and sharing content willy nilly across compilations such that when you change something on the main album it also changes all the compilations it appears on, etc.
Not saying I understand it at all, but I feel like it could be done better.
tbh i wasn't expecting a great deal of Height action from the Honky Chateau album, its a fairly go-ahead rocky record after all, less complex than the Elton albums just before and directly after it and even though the old 5.1's got a fair bit of cool stuff going in the Rears its a fairly Front-Centric mix and perhaps the least active of the Surround SACDs that saw release (aside from Legs Larry Smith tap-dancing round the room in Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself!
) now i've only got Front Heights in a 5.1.2 arrangement so i'm possibly not gonna be the best Atmos judge round here but i had a good old listen or eight for what might be in them there channels and came back with mostly a bit of drum/reverb, occasional (well, fairly frequent near-silence and quite a bit of those mp3-like watery compression artifacts) and then sometimes the Heights would burst into life with what felt like copies of other channels, mostly seemingly reinforcing ooh's and aah's from the Rears.
cool stuff i noticed most in the Heights were; horns in Honky Cat, the spacey sweeping guitar and backing vocals in Rocket Man, double-tracked/harmony vocals in Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, some "doo-wop-sha-wop-sha-wop-ahh-ahh-ahh's" in Hercules and i think that was about it.
i can't say for sure because i didn't do any proper comparison yet but it feels like the new Atmos is more bass-y and less treble-y than the old SACD?
i think most of the die-hards and long-time QQ members know how beloved the EJ 5.1's are to many of us (including little ol' moi.. and the ol' Quad Classics of course, we
them round here too!) but really i've gotta say i've been having such a blast with all this Atmos content, its overwhelming and now Elton's albums are happening!! something Greg Penny's been trying to make happen for over 15 years!! wow.. props to Mr. Penny for devotion and dedication to the cause there's so much new Atmos music, pretty much everyday something nice and Surround-y or genuinely different comes up!!
ok so not all of it is mixed as "multichannelly madly" as some of the Old Quads and there's wee niggly issues with the App etc but there's plenty of variety to try out and the good stuff is often great and sometimes superb!! more more amoré!!
well you don't have to check if your Rears and Heights are plugged in with this Atmos album, there's oodles of backing vocals back and up there on the big tracks like I'm Still Standing and I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues but even the less well-known numbers have been lavished with care and attention in the Surround mixing process 
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/too-low-for-zero-bonus-track-version/1440912988
opener "Cold As Christmas" has backing vocals and some of the harp from the outro in the Rears and Heights.. lovely and loaded with Atmos-phere!
☀
wow..
check out bits of the 'rhythm ace' drum machine that plays throughout the title track - its up in the Heights too! so cool!
the track "Crystal" starts off with a sound-effect intro of wind and wuthering and aspects of all that stuffs swirling up and around the room = Fantastic!
then his vocals have this neat reverb effect thrown over them with various bits delayed and popping up in the Heights, the Fronts everywhere, which makes the room feel huge!!
yummy crunching guitars and ooh's and aah's in the extra channels throughout Whipping Boy, just how
and where you'd want 'em = perfect!
more of the ultra cool delayed vocal effect on "Saint", including full from the Heights, very impressive and all those BVs from the classic combo of Davey, Dee & Nigel.. and the album closer "One More Arrow" (one of the last times Elton sang nice and high like the old days!) was a great track but always kinda grungey sounding on my old LP back in '83 and still even so on CD, i think it was maybe mixed that way back in the day? anyway now its clear as.. Crystal!
oh hang on, that was the other track! haha.. "you know what i mean!" 
❣
of the extra tracks "Earn While You Learn" may be musically more of a jam than anything and in that regard possibly the weakest of the 3 (although always a guilty pleasure of mine and my Sister, we used to love it as kids we would boogie round the room to my old 45!) but now it is a real Surround highlight with all the little synth stabs, organ swells and hand claps in the Rears and Heights!! such a lotta funky fun, its almost Quad-like!! the laid back laconic "Dreamboat" has all the lovely (mostly if not all female) backing vocals in the Rears and the Bass slinks along in suitably steamboat-y-McSteamboat fashion (like the other 2 bonuses its culled from earlier sessions than the album itself, so the musicians and arrangements and styles are different on the extra tracks than the 2Lo40 tracks, so there's quite some variety to the bonus material)
overall, the Atmos does something neat in that it feels kinda faithful in a way to the originals (no mean feat, this is 80's Elton we are listening to, not Gus' 70s productions!) but its been spruced upto date and is now all bigger shoulderpads and better hairdo's, even more 80's than i fondly remembered it and yet is clean not clinical, engaging and detailed and not fatiguing.. if you can't tell already i'm in heaven folks, "this is how we do it baby"!!
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/too-low-for-zero-bonus-track-version/1440912988
opener "Cold As Christmas" has backing vocals and some of the harp from the outro in the Rears and Heights.. lovely and loaded with Atmos-phere!
☀wow..
check out bits of the 'rhythm ace' drum machine that plays throughout the title track - its up in the Heights too! so cool! the track "Crystal" starts off with a sound-effect intro of wind and wuthering and aspects of all that stuffs swirling up and around the room = Fantastic!
then his vocals have this neat reverb effect thrown over them with various bits delayed and popping up in the Heights, the Fronts everywhere, which makes the room feel huge!!yummy crunching guitars and ooh's and aah's in the extra channels throughout Whipping Boy, just how
and where you'd want 'em = perfect!
more of the ultra cool delayed vocal effect on "Saint", including full from the Heights, very impressive and all those BVs from the classic combo of Davey, Dee & Nigel.. and the album closer "One More Arrow" (one of the last times Elton sang nice and high like the old days!) was a great track but always kinda grungey sounding on my old LP back in '83 and still even so on CD, i think it was maybe mixed that way back in the day? anyway now its clear as.. Crystal!
oh hang on, that was the other track! haha.. "you know what i mean!" ❣of the extra tracks "Earn While You Learn" may be musically more of a jam than anything and in that regard possibly the weakest of the 3 (although always a guilty pleasure of mine and my Sister, we used to love it as kids we would boogie round the room to my old 45!) but now it is a real Surround highlight with all the little synth stabs, organ swells and hand claps in the Rears and Heights!! such a lotta funky fun, its almost Quad-like!!
the laid back laconic "Dreamboat" has all the lovely (mostly if not all female) backing vocals in the Rears and the Bass slinks along in suitably steamboat-y-McSteamboat fashion (like the other 2 bonuses its culled from earlier sessions than the album itself, so the musicians and arrangements and styles are different on the extra tracks than the 2Lo40 tracks, so there's quite some variety to the bonus material)overall, the Atmos does something neat in that it feels kinda faithful in a way to the originals (no mean feat, this is 80's Elton we are listening to, not Gus' 70s productions!) but its been spruced upto date and is now all bigger shoulderpads and better hairdo's, even more 80's than i fondly remembered it and yet is clean not clinical, engaging and detailed and not fatiguing.. if you can't tell already i'm in heaven folks, "this is how we do it baby"!!
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Never heard this release in full, before today.well you don't have to check if your Rears and Heights are plugged in with this Atmos album, there's oodles of backing vocals back and up there on the big tracks like I'm Still Standing and I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues but even the less well-known numbers have been lavished with care and attention in the Surround mixing process
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/too-low-for-zero-bonus-track-version/1440912988
opener "Cold As Christmas" has backing vocals, some orchestra parts and some of the harp from the outro in the Rears and Heights.. lovely and loaded with Atmos-phere!
wow..
the track "Crystal" starts off with a sound-effect intro of wind and wuthering and aspects of all that stuffs swirling up and around the room = Fantastic!
yummy crunching guitars and ooh's and aah's in the extra channels throughout Whipping Boy, just how
and where you'd want 'em = perfect!
more of the ultra cool delayed vocal effect on "Saint", including full from the Heights, very impressive and all those BVs from the classic combo of Davey, Dee & Nigel.. and the album closer "One More Arrow" (one of the last times Elton sang nice and high like the old days!) was a great track but always kinda grungey sounding on my old LP back in '83 and still even so on CD, i think it was maybe mixed that way back in the day? anyway now its clear as.. Crystal!
of the extra tracks "Earn While You Learn" may be musically more of a jam than anything and in that regard possibly the weakest of the 3 (although always a guilty pleasure of mine and my Sister, we used to love it as kids we would boogie round the room to my old 45!) but now it is a real Surround highlight with all the little synth stabs, organ swells and hand claps in the Rears and Heights!! such a lotta funky fun, its almost Quad-like!!
overall, the Atmos does something neat in that it feels kinda faithful in a way to the originals (no mean feat, this is 80's Elton we are listening to, not Gus' 70s productions!) but its been spruced upto date and is now all bigger shoulderpads and better hairdo's, even more 80's than i fondly remembered it and yet is clean not clinical, engaging and detailed and not fatiguing.. if you can't tell already i'm in heaven folks, "this is how we do it baby"!!
The Atmos treatment is first class.
As is the album.
I compared Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters one after the other, 5.1.4 rendered Atmos vs the 5.1. The backing vocals and mandolins (i think) are mostly in the rears in the 5.1. With the Atmos, they are in a rear side bubble that arcs over your head. The effect was so noticeable I had to check my trims to be sure I didn't have the heights turned up. I didn't isolate height channels. There just didnt seem to be a need. There were periods of what seemed like no height activity, but then it would just all bust through when it needed to. I'm going to have another listen to this today or tomorrow to verify what I'm hearing. I'm suspicious because several of you whose ears i trust do not seem to hear what I am hearing.tbh i wasn't expecting a great deal of Height action from the Honky Chateau album, its a fairly go-ahead rocky record after all, less complex than the Elton albums just before and directly after it and even though the old 5.1's got a fair bit of cool stuff going in the Rears its a fairly Front-Centric mix and perhaps the least active of the Surround SACDs that saw release (aside from Legs Larry Smith tap-dancing round the room in Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself!
now i've only got Front Heights in a 5.1.2 arrangement so i'm possibly not gonna be the best Atmos judge round here but i had a good old listen or eight for what might be in them there channels and came back with mostly a bit of drum/reverb, occasional (well, fairly frequent near-silence and quite a bit of those mp3-like watery compression artifacts) and then sometimes the Heights would burst into life with what felt like copies of other channels, mostly seemingly reinforcing ooh's and aah's from the Rears.
cool stuff i noticed most in the Heights were; horns in Honky Cat, the spacey sweeping guitar and backing vocals in Rocket Man, double-tracked/harmony vocals in Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, some "doo-wop-sha-wop-sha-wop-ahh-ahh-ahh's" in Hercules and i think that was about it.
i can't say for sure because i didn't do any proper comparison yet but it feels like the new Atmos is more bass-y and less treble-y than the old SACD?
I had it on LP and CD. A very underrated EJ album.
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/elton-john-deluxe-edition/1440754854
tracks 1-10 here comprise the original album in Atmos (including "The King Must Die", which for some reason is not in Atmos on the standalone album offering on Apple Music in the UK of this record but is present and correct on the Deluxe Edition). tracks 15-17 are only 3 of the many Bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition but these 3 are the ones also newly mixed in Atmos.
a few fairly minor instances of potential audible source limitations aside (sounded like a bit of tape damage maybe on "No Shoe Strings On Louise"? could have been some cymbal break-up/saturation i heard on "The Cage"?) in many ways this is still a beautiful sounding Atmos rendering of an album that my older Brother dazzled me with as a young pup ("you think you know Elton, dressed as Donald Duck with the Muppets.." he scoffed.. and proceeded to drop the needle on his LP to educate me in the ways of 'early Elton' and in particular "Sixty Years On" - my jaw hit the floor! this was still my Elton, i could tell from the voice but wow he was so mysterious and deep and moody on this record! i instantly loved it and here we are fast forwarding.. '40 years on' from my Elton education/history lesson and its over 50 years since this landmark album first saw release now.. and the layers of detail in the new mixes and mastering are at times mesmerising to me, with sumptuous orchestral layers and vocal elements panned up in the Heights and back in the Rears (and did i mention there's an absolute ton of Bass going on in a few songs!?! The Greatest Discovery -- boomf, outta nowhere!!
The Cage!! ooooshh!!! the room's a-rumblin'!! 
bass, bass, bass!!! bring it on!! 
)
i'm wondering if there might be new QQ Polls for these EJ Atmos versions? i realise they're a lot of work for the Mods but i really hope so, i've polished up the 11 knob for this one in anticipation! 🎛
tracks 1-10 here comprise the original album in Atmos (including "The King Must Die", which for some reason is not in Atmos on the standalone album offering on Apple Music in the UK of this record but is present and correct on the Deluxe Edition). tracks 15-17 are only 3 of the many Bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition but these 3 are the ones also newly mixed in Atmos.
a few fairly minor instances of potential audible source limitations aside (sounded like a bit of tape damage maybe on "No Shoe Strings On Louise"? could have been some cymbal break-up/saturation i heard on "The Cage"?) in many ways this is still a beautiful sounding Atmos rendering of an album that my older Brother dazzled me with as a young pup ("you think you know Elton, dressed as Donald Duck with the Muppets.." he scoffed.. and proceeded to drop the needle on his LP to educate me in the ways of 'early Elton' and in particular "Sixty Years On" - my jaw hit the floor! this was still my Elton, i could tell from the voice but wow he was so mysterious and deep and moody on this record! i instantly loved it and here we are fast forwarding.. '40 years on' from my Elton education/history lesson and its over 50 years since this landmark album first saw release now.. and the layers of detail in the new mixes and mastering are at times mesmerising to me, with sumptuous orchestral layers and vocal elements panned up in the Heights and back in the Rears (and did i mention there's an absolute ton of Bass going on in a few songs!?! The Greatest Discovery -- boomf, outta nowhere!!
The Cage!! ooooshh!!! the room's a-rumblin'!! bass, bass, bass!!! bring it on!! ) i'm wondering if there might be new QQ Polls for these EJ Atmos versions? i realise they're a lot of work for the Mods but i really hope so, i've polished up the 11 knob for this one in anticipation! 🎛
Yes it is.
Surprised this one passed me by.
I blame the RAF, too many drinking sessions...the early 80's are all a bit of a blur!!
Hence being stuck in the music of the 70's until surround came along...
This was on my first to play, this morning Adam.https://music.apple.com/gb/album/elton-john-deluxe-edition/1440754854
tracks 1-10 here comprise the original album in Atmos (including "The King Must Die", which for some reason is not in Atmos on the standalone album offering on Apple Music in the UK of this record but is present and correct on the Deluxe Edition). tracks 15-17 are only 3 of the many Bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition but these 3 are the ones also newly mixed in Atmos.
a few fairly minor instances of potential audible source limitations aside (sounded like a bit of tape damage maybe on "No Shoe Strings On Louise"? could have been some cymbal break-up/saturation i heard on "The Cage"?) in many ways this is still a beautiful sounding Atmos rendering of an album that my older Brother dazzled me with as a young pup ("you think you know Elton, dressed as Donald Duck with the Muppets.." he scoffed.. and proceeded to drop the needle on his LP to educate me in the ways of 'early Elton' and in particular "Sixty Years On" - my jaw hit the floor! this was still my Elton, i could tell from the voice but wow he was so mysterious and deep and moody on this record! i instantly loved it and here we are fast forwarding.. '40 years on' from my Elton education/history lesson and its over 50 years since this landmark album first saw release now.. and the layers of detail in the new mixes and mastering are at times mesmerising to me, with sumptuous orchestral layers and vocal elements panned up in the Heights and back in the Rears (and did i mention there's an absolute ton of Bass going on in a few songs!?! The Greatest Discovery -- boomf, outta nowhere!!
i'm wondering if there might be new QQ Polls for these EJ Atmos versions? i realise they're a lot of work for the Mods but i really hope so, i've polished up the 11 knob for this one in anticipation! 🎛
It's as if the album is re-energised from its previous surround release.
Atmos brings out so many goodies.
So much to listen to...
Anyone else having problems keeping up with all that Apple is releasing in Atmos?
What a fantastic position to be in.
ahh...
glad you're enjoying it! 
i first heard these 'beasts and beauties' on my very own copy of the LP i saved up all my pocket money and bought in Woolworths in 1983 aged 6 & 3/4 (it was about £6 & 3/4 pounds as well!) i remember it was a lot of money to a nipper but it was well worth it! i played that record to death!
so much so i later got a 2nd copy (another UK original pressing of course) and that was my preferred copy for a while, the CDs of the album have never been that great but they were so convenient i enjoyed them all these years anyway.. but did i ever think i'd hear this music in this kind of Surround sound? noo wayyy José Felicianooo!!!! ❣ oh i could cry if i wasn't so happy!! oh sod it! time to express tears of joy!! 
Greg baby, you pulled it off in the end (ahem) 
just for fun here's a snap of my old 2Lo40 LPs (the 'yellower' one's the copy i got in Woolies the day it came out.. a few years before i came out!
This was on my first to play, this morning Adam.
It's as if the album is re-energised from its previous surround release.
Atmos brings out so many goodies.
So much to listen to...
Anyone else having problems keeping up with all that Apple is releasing in Atmos?
What a fantastic position to be in.
its the most wonderful time of the year!!
oh.. hang on... better put that Christmas tree away and Yuletide Log-Off!!
it really is a great time to be in the game!! more more more!!! ohhh i wanna kiss the bride!! YEAH!!!
i hope they do "Breaking Hearts" in Atmos next!!
its basically more of the same of this album maybe even a bit more fun!! yeay!! 
i'm absolutely loving all the Atmos but i feel like i'm missing out by not having enough channels going on!!
its a big IF but "if" they do all the EJ albums in Atmos i will upgrade from 5.1.2 to at least 5.1.4, maybe more channels!! if i can squeeze the speakers in, i will!!
You are missing a trick there Adam.i'm absolutely loving all the Atmos but i feel like i'm missing out by not having enough channels going on!!
its a big IF but "if" they do all the EJ albums in Atmos i will upgrade from 5.1.2 to at least 5.1.4, maybe more channels!! if i can squeeze the speakers in, i will!!
Realise that space is tight but the difference is like night and day.
Can pick these up for a good price at AV.com
https://www.av.com/Speakers/Wharfedale-D300-3D-Surround-Speakers-Pair-Black/4GLL
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