Week #36: "The Singles, 1969-1981" [SACD]

[Chris May]

Due to the fact that surround sound is not something that everyone is equipped with as of yet, that explains my reason for deciding to hold off all these weeks on this particular poll topic.

However, there are several of us here who have had a chance to listen to the album in one form or another, be it the entire 5.1 mix, the 2-channel stereo layer (which is mastered extremely well IMHO), etc.

Please vote for your favorite song from this album and tell us why you picked it. -Chris

 

[aaflyer98]

"I Believe You" gets my vote, hands down! The 5.1 mix, the alternate vocal and astounding arrangement of this song in general make this track completely shine and stand out like never before! I do like all of the new mixes on the SACD, but "I Believe You" really shines!

 

[Chris May]

I had to go with "Merry Christmas, Darling". I think this is a fantastic remix, very clean and you can really hear the drums on this. In previous mixes, all of the high-end gets washed out as with a lot of the original mixes where the drums are concerned. Karen sounds fantastic and right up front, and the backing vocals are very well placed!

I have to hand it to Richard for his outstanding remix of "Top of The World" as well. He finally put the "kick" drum back where it belongs, Karen is right in your face, all of the little nuances are there and the 2-channel fold-down mix is incredible. This one would be my second choice.

I also am fond of the "Superstar" remix, as he included most of the original instrumentation, with a dash of the additional recording from '85. Again, very well done. I could go on and on here about the work-leads and alternate takes throughout the album, but I'll save that for those who have yet to listen. I would give this album five stars! -Chris

 

[Tony]

Chris,

For those of us who don't know about all the work-leads and alternate takes throughout this album, I'd be grateful if you did "go on and on"! Which songs feature these?

Tony

 

[DVB]

My favorite are 3
Touch Me When We're Dancing, I love how this mix just wraps around you in the room, things are really kickin by the 2nd verse. Karen's lead and backgrounds in the center channel with drum and bass, Strong presence of the guitars and strings in the front and surround channels.

Hurting Each OtherKaren's vocals are so clear in the mix. Strong presence of The orchestra with strings and horns in the surrounds and the timpani Really shines.

We've Only Just BegunIf you solo out the center channel you can hear the presence of the bass really jamming on this song which almost gets lost in the original mix of the song. The surrounds expose the amazing arrangement even more with Richard's keys, and the horns with great clarity.

It was hard to choose between them all. I recommend you all listen to the SACD's separate channels 1 by 1 at least once. Karen just solo will have you speechless and you'll hear things you haven't before. Its hard to believe that these were recorded all those years ago, the fidelity is tops

 

[Jeff]

The freshness of the ONLY YESTERDAY chorus bahlowz my mind.

Jeff

 

[BB1958]

Howdy all. I am new to this site and these forums. I just learned about the SACD version of later Singles CD, but I don't have a SACD player. I have a DVD player that has 5.1, DTS, etc, and it says it will play SVCD, but noting about SACD. This has even kept me from getting the SACD version of the Streisand "Movie Album" on another label. I only have one DVD audio release of Linda Ronstadt's "What's New" album.

Would this SACD version be advantageous if I am able to play it in 5.1 via my DVD player? I would be curious about the mixes this way, even if they are the remixed versions. Any help can be posted here. If I absolutely have to have an SACD player for this disc, then I will pass.

Thanks for any info and advice.

 

[Harry]

You will be able to play the standard CD layer of the disc in any CD player, but to hear the surround or high resolution tracks, you HAVE to have an SACD player with this disc.

There are rumors of a DVD-Audio version of this title or something like it from Richard later this year - but until it shows up, don't bet the house.

Harry

 

[Rudy]

Harry's got it: the only part that will play back in a DVD player is the CD layer of it.

I'm not even sure if there will be a DVD-Audio release--the industry wants to push DualDisc, and the release of DVD-A has slowed to a trickle. We'll just have to wait and see what Universal does on this one. There are still a few titles coming out in DVD-A, however. I just wish they'd release these as 2-disc sets: a CD and a DVD-Audio disc. Same content as a DualDisc, but without the compatibility problems. (The CD side of a DualDisc has the data layer closer to the laser, which some players can't handle.)

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I can't really vote on this cause I don't have the SACD player but I do have the CD I've been really impressed with the quality of the CD layer. I have heard the center tracks only of some of these and they are very cool. What I'm so suprised about with this CD is how Richard is almost giving away all the secrets so to speak. Isn't this the first time that we have actually been able to hear how these recording originally took place & how they were put together especially with regard to the over-dubbing techniques. In a way I'm suprised that Richard's allowed us to extract just certain parts of the song to get a feel for "how" it was put together.

It's really cool indeed and am so glad this SACD was finally made by Richard. We can only hope for more of the same.

 

[Murray]

I only heard the surround mix once before my new universal DVD player malfunctioned and had to be returned. I was very impressed by all of the tracks, but one stood out more than the others - I BELIEVE YOU. I was never particularly fond of this song, but the alternate vocal and surround mix blew me away!

I'm still looking for a good deal on another universal player. If I knew for sure that it would be released on DVD-Audio, then I wouldn't need to bother with another player, since my computer is equipped to play DVD-A.