A hard one to find now a days. What do you think of this one?
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HiRez Poll Joel, Billy - THE STRANGER [SACD]
- Thread starter JonUrban
- Start date
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I never listen to the 2 ch, so I am judging on the M/C track. The only problem I have with this mix is the lead vocal is not as strong as it could be. I find myself rasing the level of my center channel for a louder vocal. Otherwise this sounds really good.
I got this one also in my desperation for anything surround, and not being a billy Joel fan didn't expect too much from it. But another WOW. Loved the songs, and the mix was great also. I gave it a 9. Due to the slow trickle of releases in surround on DVD-A and SACD i have found quite a few really cool titles i would have normally just ignored, like this one. Glad to have it in my collection.
Another great Sony single layer disc. 52nd street is also worth picking up. I would give this one an 8. Seems I am giving out a lot of 8's.
dprokopy
Well-known Member
This was the first SACD I ever bought - in fact, the first one I ever heard (on a demo unit at Best Buy), and the one that convinced me that I NEEDED to buy an SACD player. From the opening bars of "Movin' Out," I was blown away by the format's potential. Phil Ramone creates an entirely satisfying surround experience on this disc. Agressive surround use, but still maintaining the feel and balance of the original stereo version - a tricky balance that a lot of surround mixers should pay more attention to. It probably doesn't hurt that Ramone recorded the album so beautifully in the first place. Hands down, this is how "vintage" surround mixes should be done.
One of my first SACD purchases.
Has some of the typical problems of long-after-the-fact MC mixes, including a few alternate vocal tracks (e.g., She's Always a Woman). Strangely, most disappointing track is "Just the Way You Are" -- the backing vocals are too low and actually _less_ immersive than in the stereo mix (why do so many big-production tracks like Funeral For A Friend fall flat in surround?) Good job of matching original reverb and effects.
Overall, very well done. A good listen all the way through.
52nd Street is even better.
Has some of the typical problems of long-after-the-fact MC mixes, including a few alternate vocal tracks (e.g., She's Always a Woman). Strangely, most disappointing track is "Just the Way You Are" -- the backing vocals are too low and actually _less_ immersive than in the stereo mix (why do so many big-production tracks like Funeral For A Friend fall flat in surround?) Good job of matching original reverb and effects.
Overall, very well done. A good listen all the way through.
52nd Street is even better.
dprokopy said:
$#%@#!!!!
This is a SUCH a sore subject for me, I want to scream out something unprintable. Somewhere near the 5th circle of hell is a justice court where engineers will have to defend their awful surround mixes (we can start with the diphead who did "Midnight Train to Georgia"). Instead I'll just say --
Word, bro!
quadrofis said:
Lotsa fun. Also good for zeroing in on vocal technique.
Have you tried this with the Marvin Gaye collection or Gaucho?
Better not make too much of this -- the DTS mix of G pissed off the artist (there was a HiFi article somewhere online). Apparently, they don't like having their naked vocals put under a microscope.
An '8'.....don't love the music--not the world's biggest Joel fan!--but this is a very well balanced and considered mix that makes it all the more enjoyable than hearing it in stereo.
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blackbirdr
Member
OK this disc is the reason i have kill switches for all my speakers. The center channel give you an amazing listen in to Billy much underratted voice.
Try it you'll like it!
(That's a spicy meataball)
Try it you'll like it!
(That's a spicy meataball)
aquadad
400 Club - QQ All-Star
Hello,
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)
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)
Felix E. Martinez
300 Club - QQ All-Star
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2006
- Messages
- 336
Looks like another supply of The Stranger arrived at CDuniverse recently. Just ordered a copy. Very late to the party, I suppose, but can't wait to hear it!
buc18 said:
I'm sure it's just a different packaging. Paper...........or Plastic!
Will it matter in the future whether paper or plastic slipcases came first? Probably not, though I thought, visually, the plastic was kinda cool...
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Another popular album that was too late for Q8 and nice to have in SACD 5.1mix. Didn't own it then thanks to radio so some of it was actually new to me. Good job on mix but not demo quality...
filper
1K Club - QQ Shooting Star
I try and listen to this once a month late at night.
It's a great presentation of the classic album in a tasteful surround mix.
It's a great presentation of the classic album in a tasteful surround mix.
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