HiRez Poll Joel, Billy - 52ND STREET [SACD]

[JonUrban]

Please post your comments, thoughts and observations.......

 

[bobou2]

My only complaint is just like the Stranger SACD the vocals could be louder. Other wise this is one of my fav. surround disc. 8

 

[ChristopherLees]

this mix is so good it really makes you enjoy the release more than the lp did.
in short it's awesome.
10

 

[quadrofis]

Billy Joel once defended himself that he "never painted the same picture twice", as it is so obvious that this album is "the Stranger 2"... Anyways surround-mixing wise this really paints the same picture as "The Stranger" and that is a good thing!

 

[mrtanner]

My only complaint is just like the Stranger SACD the vocals could be louder. Other wise this is one of my fav. surround disc. 8

I agree. Since the center channel generally only carries the vocals, I increase the center level by about 3db.

 

[EMB]

An 8, nicely mixed and presented. Wish I dug the music more, and maybe the production is a little antiseptic, but again, well done on the remix front!

ED

 

[MIDIQ]

Good music and good surround mix. Very nice, i voted 8.

 

[Eggplant]

No BS, I actually dreamed once that this album was out in quad.

To have it actually out, and in hi-rez discrete, with Phil Ramone remixing -- was there real a chance this wouldn't be great?

I loved individual songs, but didn't overall consider it that great back in the day. Seriously, the material here needs multichannel to fully convey the excitement and drama of a horny teenager just opening the door on his future.

The remix is terrific, just what I'd dreamed of.

One of my favorite discs. 9.

 

[omega4]

After months of searching the UK shops and the internet, I finally bought this in the Virgin Megastore in Paris in September. I have always liked Billy Joel and it is great to have this in m/c. BTW, was this like The Stranger and released as a stereo only SACD, then m/c, distinguished only by a gold sticker on the cover?

I noticed that BJ's vocals are rock solid centre on the first track (just as in the mix for The Stranger) but in the second track widen out considerably by being placed left, right and centre. I wonder why the production method changes between songs. Has anyone else noticed this, or any other SACD or DVD-A mixes dramatically changing on the same album?

 

[Ozzie62]

I gave the re-mix an 8 for sound and surround mix. My only complaint is that the vocal is only in the center speaker, I prefer that the remix engineer use the left and right first and anchor the vocal in the center speaker to add some presence. When the vocal is only in the center it seems almost to isolated compared to the other elements of the mix. Just my observation

 

[aquadad]

Check this out. I walked into the kitchen the other night and the wife was cooking spaghetti. I thought to myself hmm, smells good. Didn't say a word to my wife, just passed through to the living room and cued up "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant". When I returned to the kitchen the wife was grinning from ear to ear with a bottle of wine in one hand and the wine opener in the other. She needed my help! What happened next was... That's all I can tell you.

Thanks Billy (for that you get a ten)

I just realized that I posted this in the wrong thread. The song that I referred to is on "The Stranger" disc. Oh well, this info might prove useful to someone else so I'll just leave it here too. Enjoy!

 

[EMB]

Billy Joel helped me get laid once, too...don't need him now, though, the wife hates him!

ED

 

[timw]

Here's one that I regret not getting when i had the chance and it was easily available!!! Quite tough to find now unfortunately. For some reason I thought it was one of those 2-ch only sacd's. Oh well, I have added it to my "Holy Grail" list of discs to get. Thx for the reviews....This was always one of my favorite
BJ albums...(Billy Joel that is )

 

[BananaSlug]

Sony music store, $14 - get it while you can

http://www.sonymusicstore.com/store/catalog/MerchandiseDetails.jsp?merchId=3998&skuId=23175

 

[timw]

Sony music store, $14 - get it while you can

http://www.sonymusicstore.com/store/catalog/MerchandiseDetails.jsp?merchId=3998&skuId=23175

Thx very much!!! Great price!

 

[El Guapo]

Hi there!

For some reason I thought it was one of those 2-ch only sacd's.

That's probably because there were two versions of this SACD released; the older issue was indeed only in stereo. The newer version also has the multichannel track.

I had been toying with the idea to get this on ebay, but the few times it popped up you couldn't really see which version this was, and sometimes, when asked, the sellers became a bit fishy with their answers... (I wonder why that is... ).

A big thank you to BananaSlug for posting the link to the Sony online store. I had the SACD ordered by a friend who lives in the US (they don't ship to Europe), and had him forward it to me.

It arrived yesterday, and at first I was a bit taken aback because my first impression that the first track (Big Shot) sounded very (too) aggressive (sonically). But the rest of the disc was pure joy for me, and the more jazzy songs like Zanzibar or Stiletto really kick ass! They sound just great and have a very engaging discrete mix.

And since I've always been a fan of Billy Joels music, I gave this disc a 9 overall.

Now I'm thinking about getting a ticket for the concert in Frankfurt in July (I was a bit surprised to find out that Billy is on tour again, even in Europe; I thought he only wanted to do "classical" music now; did I miss something? Maybe there's hope for a new pop album?)

Best regards,
Oliver

 

[Eggplant]

I was a bit surprised to find out that Billy is on tour again, even in Europe; I thought he only wanted to do "classical" music now; did I miss something?

BJ just played a big date in Las Vegas (MGM Grand, I think).

Having seen him live at the Hard Rock Joint in '98 fifth row, his first LV date, I didn't feel the need.

 

[timbre4]

Perhaps a tad better mixed as an SACD than The Stranger.

 

[Dixie4]

Like " The Stranger ", another great 5.1 mix.

 

[fredblue]

A 9!

I can't believe I never voted on this years ago!

I'm more an Elton fan than a Billy man but this is superb in every respect!
Love the songs, love the performances, love the sound quality and the surround mix is great!

Another of the very best Sony M/C SACD's, in my personal experience.