B
BiggerzBetter
Guest
These two new SACDs -- Girl Singer and White Christmas -- are a pleasant surprise. It sure is nice to have Ms. Clooney's voice on SACD, and the Concord Jazz label certainly took the time and effort to make these releases shine.
I should say right upfront that these albums were recorded in the 90s (Girl Singer in late 1991 and White Christmas in early 1996). I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Clooney was near the end of her career and her voice had lost a good deal of its vibrancy by the times she recorded these. That's particularly evident on White Christmas, and I felt a little sad hearing this great singer waiver on or stretch for certain notes on that recording.
But hey, it is Rosemary Clooney and these two SACDs sound just great. The liner notes from Concord Jazz indicate that they transferred the analog masters into the DSD medium first and then proceeded to mix the m/c versions entirely in DSD to produce the best possible results. I think they achieved it. These are both smooth-sounding titles in the extreme. There's not a harsh note or shrill sound to be found anywhere. The music is incredibly warm and intimate and there's a real spaciousness to the music. The back cover for Girl Singer says that it's almost like having Rosemary Clooney right in the room with you, and they ain't far off.
Both titles are hybrids and also offer 2-channel and 5.1-channel DSD mixes. I'm very impressed with the m/c channel mix. The majority of instruments are left to the front sound fields, and Clooney's voice is not locked into the center channel (a good thing, IMHO). The rear channels are used to fully support the front channels, but not so that they call attention to themselves. That doesn't mean they simply provide reverb for the front channels; the rears are used discretely but in a way that simply adds a fullness to the sound. When the big band orchestra really kicks in, it's a delight to hear. I did think that the rear channel support wasn't used as much as it could have been on White Christmas, however. On that disc, Ms. Clooney is supported by a vocal group (in the style of The Manhattan Transfer) that really could have been worked through each and every speaker in a splashy fashion. Even so, I think both titles sound just great in SACD m/c.
Both discs run 50+ minutes each and have full liner notes on both the original productions and the SACD credits.
I should say right upfront that these albums were recorded in the 90s (Girl Singer in late 1991 and White Christmas in early 1996). I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Clooney was near the end of her career and her voice had lost a good deal of its vibrancy by the times she recorded these. That's particularly evident on White Christmas, and I felt a little sad hearing this great singer waiver on or stretch for certain notes on that recording.
But hey, it is Rosemary Clooney and these two SACDs sound just great. The liner notes from Concord Jazz indicate that they transferred the analog masters into the DSD medium first and then proceeded to mix the m/c versions entirely in DSD to produce the best possible results. I think they achieved it. These are both smooth-sounding titles in the extreme. There's not a harsh note or shrill sound to be found anywhere. The music is incredibly warm and intimate and there's a real spaciousness to the music. The back cover for Girl Singer says that it's almost like having Rosemary Clooney right in the room with you, and they ain't far off.
Both titles are hybrids and also offer 2-channel and 5.1-channel DSD mixes. I'm very impressed with the m/c channel mix. The majority of instruments are left to the front sound fields, and Clooney's voice is not locked into the center channel (a good thing, IMHO). The rear channels are used to fully support the front channels, but not so that they call attention to themselves. That doesn't mean they simply provide reverb for the front channels; the rears are used discretely but in a way that simply adds a fullness to the sound. When the big band orchestra really kicks in, it's a delight to hear. I did think that the rear channel support wasn't used as much as it could have been on White Christmas, however. On that disc, Ms. Clooney is supported by a vocal group (in the style of The Manhattan Transfer) that really could have been worked through each and every speaker in a splashy fashion. Even so, I think both titles sound just great in SACD m/c.
Both discs run 50+ minutes each and have full liner notes on both the original productions and the SACD credits.
