HiRez Poll John, Elton - CAPTAIN FANTASTIC.... [SACD]

[FlavioRR]

Before listening to this cd, Elton John was not that artist that would put on my playlist, but after his songs mixed in this way, guaaoo.

Greg Penny did his job very well and thanks to him I appreciated how good Elton is.

Drums, voices, guitars, everything, is clearly heard.

Mix: 10/10
Fidelity: 10/10

 

[sbrom]

If you like Captain Fantastic, then all of EJ's multichannel SACD's are worth pursuing. Last I checked (been a while) all of these are available at somewhat reasonable prices :

Honky Chateau, Madman Across the Water, Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection, Captain Fantastic, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Peachtree Road

Before listening to this cd, Elton John was not that artist that would put on my playlist, but after his songs mixed in this way, guaaoo.

Greg Penny did his job very well and thanks to him I appreciated how good Elton is.

Drums, voices, guitars, everything, is clearly heard.

Mix: 10/10
Fidelity: 10/10

 

[FlavioRR]

If you like Captain Fantastic, then all of EJ's multichannel SACD's are worth pursuing. Last I checked (been a while) all of these are available at somewhat reasonable prices :

Honky Chateau, Madman Across the Water, Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection, Captain Fantastic, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Peachtree Road

Yes, I already got the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It's the Blu-Ray.

But ... what do you recommend? the SACD or the Blu-Ray?

 

[Snood]

Yes, I already got the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It's the Blu-Ray.

But ... what do you recommend? the SACD or the Blu-Ray?

Some good info here , especially on the later pages https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...oodbye-yellow-brick-road-sacd-dvd-a-bda.3646/

 

[sbrom]

Yes, I already got the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It's the Blu-Ray.

But ... what do you recommend? the SACD or the Blu-Ray?

 

[sbrom]

If I had to pick one GBYBR, it would be the SACD. To my ears the sound is a bit more mellow/clear, and more importantly it has a beautiful acoustic cut of Candle in the Wind.

(Sorry about the double post....not sure what happened)

 

[Matt Wilson]

Another 10 from me. These Greg Penny Elton SACDs are some of my favorite surround sound discs from the early two thousands. And with the addition of "Lucy in the Sky," "One Day at a Time" (Elton does this as well as Lennon), and "Philadelphia Freedom," this is a must-own.

 

[ngv99]

WOW.......is all I have to say. I now have all the EJ SACDs and I have to say, I think this might be my favorite one. Musically, this album is flat-out amazing, even though I don't think this is his strongest vocal performance (still excellent, though). The surround mix is beautiful, crystal clear, a lot of the guitar is in the rears - especially on Tower of Babel - and it blends flawlessly, IMO. An absolute 10, would give it a 12 if I could. ☺

 

[artwwweb]

I've just ripped my SACD to ISO and converted to FLAC. I was very surprised to see that it looks brickwalled. Philadelphia Freedom is the worst example I've found on the disc. I'm surprised at how much actual clipping there is. Anybody else noticed this? I thought I must have done something wrong at first, but I converted 10 discs in the same batch and they are all fine, as are previous conversions I've done. Looking at comments earlier in this post, it seems that Philadelphia Freedom is highlighted - sometimes for being better, sometimes worse.

Here's a pic of the whole track and a closeup of some peaks which have been levelled:

 

[Lensflair]

I read a lot of the reviews of this SACD, and I don't know where all of the negativity is coming from. "Captain Fantastic" was never one of my favorite Elton John albums. Not even in the top 5. I had a chance to purchase this at a very reasonable price, and seeing as though I really enjoyed the other Greg Penny 5.1 mixes, I thought I would give it a chance. I am really glad that I did. Granted, I probably haven't listened to this album in 20 years, so I had a fresh perspective, but I found this to be among the best of the Elton John surround releases. I found the mix to be wonderful! It was fun. Lots of action in the rear speakers. The harmony vocals are outstanding. I enjoyed the placement of Davey's guitar on several of the songs. As several people have mentioned, the song "Writing", which frankly never impressed me as a great song, is one of the best examples of the use of 5.1 surround that I have heard. It is truly wonderful. To me it is an example of the mix, making the music. The content is still only a nine (I would have rated it much lower 40 years ago), but the mix is a solid 10. One of the best. IMHO.