Gave the newly issued Japanese sacd a 9. Really it’s a 10 if you like those two songs before “Africa,” which I do not. Mix and sonics are terrific. The vocals in particular are crystal clear. Good purchase!
HiRez Poll Toto - IV [SACD]
- Thread starter JonUrban
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SONY JAPAN has once again 'nailed it' with this extraordinary Elliot Scheiner TOTO IV 5.1 SACD remaster in exquisite 7" packaging. Without even comparing it to the original SONY remaster, on its own, the sonics are crisp and clear no doubt due to 256 DSD remastering!
Now those who missed out on the original can obtain a copy for roughly half the price [or less] of the now long OOP original SACD!
I voted 10!
Now those who missed out on the original can obtain a copy for roughly half the price [or less] of the now long OOP original SACD!
I voted 10!
This review is based on the newer release.
I'm not a huge fan of these guys, or at least this particular album, but am familiar with the three big hits on this one since they got a lot of radio play in my youth. I'm obviously familiar with Toto's backstory and reputation and can appreciate the music on here for what it is, which is occasionally very good, but always well performed even if a particular song doesn't do much for me (contrast this to Alan Parsons' "Eye In The Sky" where I found the music so lackluster after the first two songs that I couldn't even provide a rating-- thinking that my bias against the songs would affect my rating).
This is a good mix, albeit pretty static as you'd expect from a rock album. I found the rears to be a little low compared to my other mixes. Dynamics are on full display in the opener Rosanna, and I honestly found that tune to be the best surround mix on the album for that reason. When those horns kick in before the chorus, it's a BOOM moment. You're hit with the music and you want to sing along to a song that I never felt the desire to sing along to when I was 10 years old. There's a bit of nostalgia involved there too, for sure. The extended outro guitar solo, which was not on the single version that got radio play but I assume was always on the album version, is great. The guitar playing is, as expected, just fantastic there and really transforms it into something less corny than my memory recalls.
The rest of the songs are mixed largely the same, and Africa is of course another highlight, but Rosanna is the best one for me, and it's good that it is the first thing you hear because that first impression is, after all, a lasting one.
There are a few moments where I found some of the tracks in the rear to be a bit thin sounding and plinky. I suspect that these were just straight transfers without much regard given to EQ and the stems were EQed to fit within a stereo mix, which sometimes means you have tracks that would sound bad when taken out of a stereo mix and put into their own channel. Another example of this to me is Think About You on GnR's "Appetite For Destruction" with the arpeggiated guitar in the chorus. It's so integral and great in the stereo cut, but sounds like trash in the surround mix. None of the "plinkiness" in Toto IV is anything I'd consider integral, but it's distracting nonetheless. Thankfully, it's limited.
I'm giving this an 8.5, which gets rounded up to 9.
I'm not a huge fan of these guys, or at least this particular album, but am familiar with the three big hits on this one since they got a lot of radio play in my youth. I'm obviously familiar with Toto's backstory and reputation and can appreciate the music on here for what it is, which is occasionally very good, but always well performed even if a particular song doesn't do much for me (contrast this to Alan Parsons' "Eye In The Sky" where I found the music so lackluster after the first two songs that I couldn't even provide a rating-- thinking that my bias against the songs would affect my rating).
This is a good mix, albeit pretty static as you'd expect from a rock album. I found the rears to be a little low compared to my other mixes. Dynamics are on full display in the opener Rosanna, and I honestly found that tune to be the best surround mix on the album for that reason. When those horns kick in before the chorus, it's a BOOM moment. You're hit with the music and you want to sing along to a song that I never felt the desire to sing along to when I was 10 years old. There's a bit of nostalgia involved there too, for sure. The extended outro guitar solo, which was not on the single version that got radio play but I assume was always on the album version, is great. The guitar playing is, as expected, just fantastic there and really transforms it into something less corny than my memory recalls.
The rest of the songs are mixed largely the same, and Africa is of course another highlight, but Rosanna is the best one for me, and it's good that it is the first thing you hear because that first impression is, after all, a lasting one.
There are a few moments where I found some of the tracks in the rear to be a bit thin sounding and plinky. I suspect that these were just straight transfers without much regard given to EQ and the stems were EQed to fit within a stereo mix, which sometimes means you have tracks that would sound bad when taken out of a stereo mix and put into their own channel. Another example of this to me is Think About You on GnR's "Appetite For Destruction" with the arpeggiated guitar in the chorus. It's so integral and great in the stereo cut, but sounds like trash in the surround mix. None of the "plinkiness" in Toto IV is anything I'd consider integral, but it's distracting nonetheless. Thankfully, it's limited.
I'm giving this an 8.5, which gets rounded up to 9.
I have the newer release. The rears, imho, are too low but with an amp dedicated to the rears it is easy for me to bring them up to balance with the front 3. Now the mix sounds great. I'd call it more immersive than discrete but still well done. Content-wise I am finding that I like all the songs - not just the big two. With duty this disc cost me $83cdn ($63us) but no regrets. A great listen.
I have the newer release, also. I find it to be pretty fantastic. I forgot just how good Toto was. Sure, Africa was overplayed and is still being overplayed on every rock, soft rock, classic hits and oldies radio station and stream, but there are so many other fantastic songs on this album. I found the mix to be really excellent, very spacial at times. This is one of those discs that I can't play on my vintage quad system without that center channel. The center is used quite a bit and I found it really added to the overall spacial sound. I had to give this a 10.
Oh, and Sony really did a nice job with the packaging and extras, but could they make it any harder to actually take the disc out and play it?
Oh, and Sony really did a nice job with the packaging and extras, but could they make it any harder to actually take the disc out and play it?
In the company of my music snob friends, I would rather be caught with hard-core pornography on my coffee table than a Toto album. Yet here we are again with another album I would under normal circumstances never own...but it's in surround so off we go.
Listening to IV was nostalgic and surprising. Surprising in the sense of how many of these songs I recognized from my elementary school years of aimlessly wandering through my town mall. Toto is the soundtrack for prowling through a Bon Marche' while sucking down an Orange Julius with the sticky sweet smell of Mrs. Field's Cinnamon Rolls in the air. Do these businesses still exist? Malls still exist but they now have more tumbleweeds blowing through them than people. They're relics of the Reagan age.
Speaking of Ronnie, the production on IV is slicker than that president's hair. I wouldn't say it's artificial, but it screams 80's. Patrick Bateman would love this album. IV may be the most 80s-sounding album I've ever heard. To be the champion of this era is not necessarily a bad thing though. One wonders how much money was poured into the making of IV. Was it more than Raiders of the Lost Ark which the video "Africa" was clearly influenced by?
But, man, this album is well produced. It's not necessarily the type of sound I like but well produced albums definitely increase the spatial sweet spot. This is also a very active and well thought out mix. Too bad all that critical thinking and money went into an album that stays in my SACD player long enough for me to catch a whiff of nostalgia and then out it goes like parachute pants.
Album: 6
Sonics: 9
Mix: 9
Listening to IV was nostalgic and surprising. Surprising in the sense of how many of these songs I recognized from my elementary school years of aimlessly wandering through my town mall. Toto is the soundtrack for prowling through a Bon Marche' while sucking down an Orange Julius with the sticky sweet smell of Mrs. Field's Cinnamon Rolls in the air. Do these businesses still exist? Malls still exist but they now have more tumbleweeds blowing through them than people. They're relics of the Reagan age.
Speaking of Ronnie, the production on IV is slicker than that president's hair. I wouldn't say it's artificial, but it screams 80's. Patrick Bateman would love this album. IV may be the most 80s-sounding album I've ever heard. To be the champion of this era is not necessarily a bad thing though. One wonders how much money was poured into the making of IV. Was it more than Raiders of the Lost Ark which the video "Africa" was clearly influenced by?
But, man, this album is well produced. It's not necessarily the type of sound I like but well produced albums definitely increase the spatial sweet spot. This is also a very active and well thought out mix. Too bad all that critical thinking and money went into an album that stays in my SACD player long enough for me to catch a whiff of nostalgia and then out it goes like parachute pants.
Album: 6
Sonics: 9
Mix: 9
Last edited:
Simon A
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Well written Sir!
Your prose is even more enjoyable when read back in one's mind using A Christmas Story's Ralphie's voice...
Thanks for the kind words, Simon A. Big fan of A Christmas Story and the writings of Jean Shepherd.Well written Sir!
Your prose is even more enjoyable when read back in one's mind using A Christmas Story's Ralphie's voice...
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And then the Jethro Tull Broadsword deluxe package says "hold my beer"!Oh, and Sony really did a nice job with the packaging and extras, but could they make it any harder to actually take the disc out and play it?
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