HiRez Poll John, Elton - DIAMONDS [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[RustyM]

10
An active Atmos environment. A terrific mix by Greg Penny. Plenty of Diamonds. Hats off to Paul Sinclair for SDE #31.

 

[Godman]

I never had any regular EJ releases but we all know so many of these tracks through AOR radio. I played it through last night, skipped only 3 or 4 tracks and its a great "guilty pleasure" type of record for me as a prog rock fan. Excellent sound! Value for money for sure!

 

[ar surround]

Positives:

- Really good value for the money.

- The songs Crocodile Rock, Daniel and The B***h Is Back are devoid of the excessive sizzle that is so evident and annoying on the stereo albums.

- Virtually all of the songs from the earlier classic albums have excellent mixes and sound very discrete. No complaints at all.

However...

Negatives:

- Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting is a horrid mix. Listen to the 5.1. Why even bother with such a lame Atmos mix?

- Regarding the songs from Elton John's later catalog, many of these mixes sound like Penny was just going through the motions. These mixes are inferior to his mixes of the earlier material.

- As I've said in the past, it seems that most of these commercial Atmos releases are mixed to the lowest common denominator, that being headphone listeners. Example: the song Sacrifice. Although the mix here is very good, I've heard a non-commercial Atmos mix that is superior and much more satisfying. But this non-commercial mix is meant for a true 7.1.4 system and not recommended for headphone listeners. How to make an Atmos mix that sounds good to all listeners has got to be a dilemma for commercial mixers.

So for me it is a mixed bag that I give an 8.

 

[GilWave]

This is an outstanding release in every way. I was initially disappointed that there wasn't a dedicated 5.1 mix, but this is by far the best-sounding fold-down Atmos mix in my collection. I would never know it's not a dedicated 5.1 mix. It easily rates a 10 for quantity and quality.

Not understanding several calls I've seen lamenting the exclusion of Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. This is a greatest-hits collection, and that track wasn't a single or a hit, nor was it included on the many previous releases of Diamonds. So why would it be included on this Blu-ray Audio version?

Because it is a Diamond in the collection of Elton John's pantheon, and a great music production of a great song from a great album that would benefit from (and lends itself to) an Atmos mix on this collection of Atmos diamonds.


Is each of the 52 tracks included on this BluRay a single or a 'hit'?

Here's the internet consensus:

"Love Lies Bleeding" by Elton John was never released as a standalone single; it is part of the longer piece "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" which appeared on his album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and was considered too long to be a typical single release, but received significant radio airplay due to its epic nature.

 

[Bob Finholm]

Mine arrived on Monday and I've been playing a few songs per night. It is sensational! The separation is amazing and the clarity is outstanding. The center channel sounds like Elton's sitting next to you.

 

[bFletch]

I have ripped this disk with MKV and DVD Audio Extractor. This always works well for 5.1 Blu Ray disks but I haven't been able to get my jRiver based music server to fold down (down mix) the Atmos to 5.1. Does anyone have advice for me on this?
In the meantime, I want to say that my Oppo 205 does down mix it beautifully (just be sure to go into settings and work your way to "speaker configuration" then click on "Down Mix" and choose 5.1).
I agree with others that it does make a spectacular 5.1 mix when played this way! We're very grateful to have these additional EJ songs in surround. Even at just 48/24 it is a great sounding mix and very worth having.

 

[privateuniverse]

- Regarding the songs from Elton John's later catalog, many of these mixes sound like Penny was just going through the motions. These mixes are inferior to his mixes of the earlier material.

I am so glad that you said this. Granted, I am listening to the Atmos downmixed to 5.1, but I was pretty underwhelmed by the post-1976 stuff. I didn't enjoy the mixes on these tracks as much as I did the earlier ones. And I'm not one of those folks who thinks Elton stopped making good music after the 70's. "Believe", "I Want Love", "This Train", "The One", "Sacrifice" and "Home Again" are all faves of mine. (And why no "Healing Hands"? It went to #1 in England!) I need to get over to a friend's place and hear it in full Atmos before making a judgement. Just glad to know that I'm not the only one who felt the mixes on the later tracks weren't as strong.

 

[EltonMSO]

Did anyone else notice that the Guitar solo fade out is different between the Stereo and the Atmos versions?
Or am I imagining things?