HiRez Poll Mayfield, Curtis - ROOTS [Blu-Ray Audio]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this new Blu-Ray Audio release of the classic Curtis Mayfield album "Roots".
Released as part of Rhino's ongoing Quadio series, this new Blu-Ray Audio release features the first release of the original Quadraphonic mix in over 50 years!

 

[RustyM]

SURROUND MIX - 2
AUDIO FIDELITY - 2
CONTENT - 2
OVERALL PACKAGE - 1
Surround mix is bland. Audio fidelity seems muddy to me. The songs are good and Curtis is in good voice, but I'm not connecting with this very well. Packaging is consistent with previous QUADIO releases. Rated 7

 

[marpow]

I voted 9.
Reason, I just felt it was a little bright, which bugged me a bit.
Blu Ray rip-4.0 FLAC file-24bit/192Khz DTS HD MSTR-DR's are 13's, 14's, 15, 16's, 17.
I own now 3 Roots, 2 Superfly's, and 3 other Curtis discs. Roots is a strong piece, but the best of Curtis is Curtis, Curtis Live and Superfly.
Listening to the new 4.0 Quadio, was nice and Quad centered, no reverb rears, in fact would be ideal to put your chair in center and spin around a bit. One thing about Curtis is his very strong fuzz bass playing, very signature and engaging.
Don't overlook this title, it is a surround collectors must for their library.
Please Keep Poll Threads Pure To Your Listening Experience Only.

 

[elinter]

Curtis Mayfield writes great songs. It's a shame that this recording is really not that good. Mostly not much better than a good upmix vice a fully discrete quad recording. Only occasionally are the back channels used effectively. Sound mix quality is very flat. 7 for me.

 

[key_wiz]

I've never heard this album before, which is interesting as I'm a big fan of early 70's, socially conscious R&B. Not sure how I've missed this one. And this album fits right in with the Marvin Gaye/Temptations/Stevie Wonder etc albums of the era.

But while I very much enjoyed it and will go back to it, this isn't as good as the best albums of that era/genre, nor is there anything as good as what Mayfield gave us on his next album, "Superfly".

The mix is a bit lackluster overall, and the quad mix isn't stellar. Although cranking up the rears a couple of dB (more something to be done with newer 5.1 mixes, than classic quad mixes, in my experience) helps a lot.

"7" overall.

 

[GOS]

I've never heard this album, so this is a first. The music to me is fairly average. The fidelity is pretty decent, the Quad mix is above average, I think.
It is awfully bright, if not a bit crispy on the high end, so that brings my fidelity score down.

Content - 7
Fidelity - 7
Mix - 8

My vote averages to 7.3. I'll vote 7. This is a real nice release for our collections.

 

[Matt Wilson]

8
Great album with a slightly below average quad mix. I'd like some more Curtis in surround though.

 

[lovecraft]

Mine has yet to make it over the pond but it seems that, of his initial purple patch, this is maybe the lesser of the bunch.

 

[ogrequad]

I will be getting this, as I love this album (especially "Keep on Keeping On"), but it's disappointing to hear these early reports about a less than engaging quad mix. This is the album that I was most excited about from this Quadio set - still looking forward to hearing it, of course.

 

[key_wiz]

I will be getting this, as I love this album (especially "Keep on Keeping On"), but it's disappointing to hear these early reports about a less than engaging quad mix. This is the album that I was most excited about from this Quadio set - still looking forward to hearing it, of course.

If it’s an album you already love, I bet you’ll be pleased as punch with the quad mix.

 

[Quadkid]

8
Great album with a slightly below average quad mix. I'd like some more Curtis in surround though.

Listening to right now. I like it and agree with your 8 rating!

 

[gbaby183]

Listening to right now. I like it and agree with your 8 rating!

More like six or seven to me. Very minimal imaging and discreetness.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised with the quality of this quad mix from 71.

First song has a nice clockwise panning , great for trying out those 4 speakers.

And all throughout the tracks are little quad showoff surprises.

The music is a bit weak ,but I was never much of an R&B fan.

I'll be listening to this more than once . And I give this album a hard eight.

 

[ctoelle]

The fidelity and mix are fine enough, but the songwriting isn't that great. The albums before and after Roots (Curtis and Superfly) are far better. Voting 7

 

[par4ken]

This is a major sonic upgrade from the Q8. I would argue that it is perhaps his best work. I can't think of a better Curtis Mayfield track than "Now You're Gone". No better song title than "Keep On Keepin On"!

The bass and drums sound rather compressed, not to make the recording loud but to make the bass sound smooth. That is a caracteristic of most/all of his recordings. If it was up to me I would want the drums to sound a bit more dynamic and realistic sounding. Same with the bass. I love that fuzz sound but it needs to be more dynamic and cranked up.

So I'll dock a point for the muted bass and drums, still a solid nine.