HiRez Poll John, Elton - PEACHTREE ROAD [SACD]

[JonUrban]

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

 

[Cai Campbell]

I really, really enjoyed this disc, and I seriously did not expect to! I stopped listening to Elton's new stuff after the supremely disappointing "A Single Man" back in 1978. The fact that "Peachtree Road" was released in surround-sound was enough to coax me back out of my shell and give Reg another chance. I'm glad I did! From a technical and musicianship standpoint, this disc is brilliant. The songwriting is rock-solid and held my interest, but didn't captivate me as strongly as EJ has been able to do in the past. However, I think I will warm up to this one even more after repeated listenings. A very strong 8 here.

 

[Guy Robinson]

Just picked it up today. Going to give it a 9. The songs are some of the best he has done in years. The production is above most discs coming out lately. There doesn't appear to be any compression or any other "didling" going on. A great bunch of songs that will require multiple listenings to get into because of course they are new to me. Give it a chance. The surround mix is as well done as his other SACD's.

 

[Foxman]

Well after reading these posts I feel compelled to give this disk another shot. Maybe I was in a hurry or wasnt in the mood I really can not say, but on the listen I gave it I found maybe one song that was good and the rest was very vanilla to my. I havent voted and to be fair I will give this one another spin or two.

Glad that somone liked it, I hope I do as well.

 

[JonUrban]

Well after reading these posts I feel compelled to give this disk another shot. Maybe I was in a hurry or wasnt in the mood I really can not say, but on the listen I gave it I found maybe one song that was good and the rest was very vanilla to my. I havent voted and to be fair I will give this one another spin or two.

Glad that somone liked it, I hope I do as well.

It's tough to put it up against the other EJ SACDs that came out the same day, there is no comparison. However, if you don't expect another "Benny and the Jets", "Rocket Man", or "Burn Down the Mission", you might find some nice tunes there. Then again, ya might not!

 

[SoonerCaniac]

Music - 8/10 (Very Good)
5.1 Fidelity - 9/10 (Excellent)
5.1 Mix - 10/10 (Perfection)

Positives:
+ Beautiful compositions and strong lyrics; nice fusion of pop/country/blues/rock; yet another strong effort by John and Taupin.
+ Greg Penny shines in a brilliant surround mix that effectively and consistently uses the rear channels for background vocals, strings, percussion, and sound effects. The result is the “in-the-studio realism” I am after.
+ Excellent production: Surround mix creates great separation; there is a lot of activity in these songs that I originally missed after being thoroughly familiar with the standard CD stereo mix.
+ There is not one criticism I can level against the surround mix; a must have!
+ Overall excellent dynamics and tonal balance.

Negatives:
- Slightly too bright for my tastes (but not at all distracting).
- Not quite as strong of an album as Songs From The West Coast.

OVERALL - 9/10 (Excellent)
(Submitted rating in poll)

 

[filper]

I hestitated on getting last weekend, but after reading this, I'm going back to get.

Thanks.

 

[dr. simple]

+ Greg Penny shines in a brilliant surround mix that effectively and consistently uses the rear channels for background vocals, strings, percussion, and sound effects. The result is the “in-the-studio realism” I am after.

I just got this disc, and I can't seem to find Greg Penny's name anywhere. Did he mix this?

 

[SoonerCaniac]

I just got this disc, and I can't seem to find Greg Penny's name anywhere. Did he mix this?

Looks like you are correct. On the Flower Records site, it says the mix for this album was actually done by Matt Still.

In any case, I stand by my original comments...just substitute "Greg Penny" for "Matt Still"

Josh

 

[proufo]

I want to like this album as much as I LOOOVE 'The Big Picture' but it hasn't clicked for me. Yet.

 

[Dixie4]

One of my favourite's. Excellent 5.1 mix. Great album, musically.

 

[callmez]

I found this one at a local used-cd shop a couple of years ago for very cheap, and will admit to almost dreading throwing it in the Oppo for a listen. I mean, some of the '70s Elton stuff is great, but how good could this be?

So tonight I finally gave it a listen. I'm not blown away by the musical content but it's certainly not bad, and would surely grow on one with repeated listenings. The sound and mix are completely first-rate as is the case with the rest of Elton's SACDs , and so this one earns a place next to them on the shelf. An 8.

Mark Z

 

[fredblue]

ahh.. I remember getting this the day it came out (when the store opened it was the solitary copy in the racks in HMV! guess they weren't expecting it to be a big seller.. but it's a chicken & egg situation = you carry one in stock, it sells day & date.. and that's it! I never saw it restocked until the day the store closed down for good! how can you test a formats' validity with just one copy?!? and people wonder why rock & pop SACD flopped!)... the fact that I wasn't able to hear it in surround for another nigh-on 4 years when I finally broke down and got an SACD player is a bit crazy but when you're an Elton fan who's got to have everything even if you don't know what to do with it, a fan's gotta do what a fan's gotta do.!! @:

i rated it an "8" when I first joined here a few years ago and I guess I stand by that. there's nothing wrong with it, it sounds nice, the mix has its surround high-spots and the albums a solid if unremarkable example of latter-day Elton albums.. it just pales into comparison in every way with the absolutely incredible classic years albums Greg Penny remixed into 5.1, which every self-respecting Quaddie/surroundophile should own!

 

[proufo]

... a solid if unremarkable example of latter-day Elton albums.

Check The Big Picture. If you have heard it and didn't click for you, give it another try. It's great!

 

[fredblue]

Check The Big Picture. If you have heard it and didn't click for you, give it another try. It's great!

I've bought every album of his the day it came out the last 20+ years with absolutely everything that came before it or before i was born/old enough, on every format, in every way! (we're talking hundreds if not thousands of Elton & related items.. CD's, LP's, singles, DVD's, tapes, 8-tracks, Laserdiscs, video's, books, demo's, promo's, unreleased stuff, bootlegs, memorabila, items of his clothing, fan club paraphernalia..) to say I'm a massive Elton fan would be an understatement!

FWIW, "The Big Picture" is Bernie's least favourite album of theirs (Elton's is "Leather Jackets") and while I don't have a least favourite, I could very happily live without those two and "Victim of Love". most of the rest have their merits ("The One", "Made In England" and "Songs From The West Coast" are my favourites of the albums he's put out post-rehab.) although for me that golden period from 1970's "Elton John" through to 1976's "Blue Moves" is untouchable and I would rather take an assemblage of the lesser cuts off those 70's albums than just about anything he's done the last 30 years, "The Big Picture" included.

 

[proufo]

FWIW, "The Big Picture" is Bernie's least favourite album of theirs

Quite surprising to me!

 

[fredblue]

Quite surprising to me!

Bernie cites The Big Picture's "cold production" as the killer. Elton hasn't hired Chris Thomas since!

for me it's the material.. things like "Long Way From Happiness" & "I Can't Steer My Heart Clear Of You" are such sludgy dirges that go absolutely nowhere! "If The River Can Bend" & "Wicked Dreams" are decent tracks ruined by their production/arrangement.. the best two things on it "Live Like Horses" and "Something About The Way.." transcend the production as they're solid enough songs.

the next few things Elton did just got better and better, he started doing things quite differently, the material was much stronger, new musicians & new producers.. the songs he wrote for "Aida" (Phil Ramone), then "The Road To ElDorado" (Pat Leonard) and then "Snogs From The Wet Coat" (Pat Leonard & Bill Bottrell) with fresh approach were real high watermarks in his latter day output. I was lucky enough to be invited to a playback previewing the whole SFTWC album that summer, along with a handful of other Rocket members, which was quite a thrill, I was relieved the general response to "..West Coast" from critics & public alike was so positive!

Here's to his new album, coming Sept 16th! What I've heard so far is rather nice

 

[edisonbaggins]

"8". Good songs (I have zero nostalgia for other EJ songs). Great mix. Nearly great sonics. Somehow the sound is just a little sterile for me. Maybe it's the brightness mentioned earlier. Or maybe the way it was recorded. Who knows. Just not quite as smooth as the classic SACDs, to these ears.

 

[Clement]

I have 5/6 of EJ's 70s surround mixes. Every time I'm in a used cd store, I peep his section in hopes of finding Honky Chateau. Well, I found this release for $10, so I picked it up because of what I have read on this site (I really do spend too much time perusing these pages! Well, at least I have surround sound mixes cranked up while doing so, but I might give the music my undivided attention). I really like the mix on this one. The record is the first that EJ produced on his own (Matt Still is credited with the mix) and it sounds crisp and clean. The songs are really growing on me; the mix had me from the first listen. Although it's not the Honky Chateau I'd hoped to find, I'm happy to have it, and I hope the songs continue to reveal more upon future listens. Good stuff!

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I finally got around to listening to this SACD, I had dismissed the album without listening. Really good songs, no hits I am aware of which should have been a clue I would like the album. I expected to listen once and purge it from my collection, no way I will do that now.