Alison Krauss New Favorite in SACD Surround Sound

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daved64

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I need some opinions from our little group here about New Favorite by Alison Krauss. I'm not a big fan of country...although Johnny Cash's last 3 albums are awesome...is she twangy or more folky? I've heard raves about the dobro work on it, and I LOVE the sound of good dobro playing. If it's not too hillbilly-ish, I might give it a shot.

BTW....Shania is SATAN!
 
New Favorite in Multichannel SACD is very good. It's more immersive in terms of its surround mix than the new "Alison Krauss Live" which is front focused in its surround approach.

The title track, in particular, is a real Multichannel SACD demo favorite. When we played it through the Meitner DSD DAC at Crest National, it was a real magic moment. Stunned silence from the folks in attendance. (See www.highfidelityreview.co...est_02.asp for my write up. Note the Halcro guy's comment that the disc is "to die for"!)


 
Jerry Douglas is the Dobro player on New Favorite. If you haven't heard of him then the short summary is he's been described as possibly the best dobro player in the world. He's certainly very very good.

As for Allison Krauss, I sometimes describe her as country music the way it should be. She's not very twangy at all and the tunes are for the most part very catchy and accessable. She's managed to pull off the rare feat of pleasing Bluegrass fans, country music fans and even more main stream fans all at the same time.

The musicianship on her albums is increadable and the sound quality is generally very good as well.
 
Interestingly Krauss' "Forget About It" Stereo SACD is not as popular as the others because they feel it's more "easy listening" and less "bluegrass" oriented.

Obviously Krauss and bluegrass music in general is taking off these days.


 
Well, the use of a drum set does detract a bit from some of the tunes and I only really like a bit more then half of that album as the songs/themes do get a bit repatitive. Its not here best overall effort but it does have a number of very good performances.
 
Just picked up AKUS - Live SACD M/C

WOW!!! This disc was recorded using a multitrack DSD system. The clarity and presence in this disc is just breathtaking. You really feel like you are in the audience listening to a truly superb performance. The playing is exceptional and the audio quality is on par with the best discs I have heard whether SACD or DVD-A. This is every bit as good as Beck's "Sea Change" or Fleetwood Mac "Rumours". If you even remotely like AKUS get this disc now!!! You definitely won't be disappointed.
 
Yes, it's a good one. But then again, all of the Krauss SACDs are winners.

As for Direct to DSD recordings, the good news is that more are coming to SACD. The recent 2 SACD set by Chick Corea is another live, direct to DSD SACD.


 
I just received this today from Judie, aka vexsmom, from Cai Campbell's collection. Having heard the redbook CD and the SACDs of Nickel Creek produced by Alison Krauss, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, so it was just a matter of finding an opportunity to purchase.

I must say my heart stopped when I saw the "STEREO" SACD logo on both the disc and the jewel box insert, but I was relieved to hear all 5 speakers jumping with bluegrass bliss. Has this misprint been discussed here at all?
 
I just received this today from Judie, aka vexsmom, from Cai Campbell's collection. Having heard the redbook CD and the SACDs of Nickel Creek produced by Alison Krauss, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, so it was just a matter of finding an opportunity to purchase.

I must say my heart stopped when I saw the "STEREO" SACD logo on both the disc and the jewel box insert, but I was relieved to hear all 5 speakers jumping with bluegrass bliss. Has this misprint been discussed here at all?

Yes, there have been some SACD labeling errors like that where the wrong Sticker was applied to the front of the disc. Your next stop is usually to look at the back of the disc to see if the Multi-Ch logo appears there.

New Favorite is definitely a Surround SACD - the title track is a classic in Surround !
 
This sure is a tough disc to come by, ebay prices are criminal - as much as $250! If anyone has one for near retail let me know. I have some potential DVD-Audio trades too.
Regards,
Mike
 
Yes, there have been some SACD labeling errors like that where the wrong Sticker was applied to the front of the disc. Your next stop is usually to look at the back of the disc to see if the Multi-Ch logo appears there.

Well, that's precisely why my heart stopped - the STICKER said multichannel, but the back insert AND the disc said stereo. So this is the opposite of what we've found to happen in other cases.
 
This sure is a tough disc to come by, ebay prices are criminal - as much as $250! If anyone has one for near retail let me know. I have some potential DVD-Audio trades too.
Regards,
Mike

And even harder now I guess. Cannot find a copy at a price I feel right in paying to save my life, LOL! I love her voice!
 
And even harder now I guess. Cannot find a copy at a price I feel right in paying to save my life, LOL! I love her voice!

Hopefully one of the DSD Download web sites will sign up Rounder so that this album can become available once again in Stereo and Multichannel. That should bring down the price to a reasonable level.
 
Hopefully one of the DSD Download web sites will sign up Rounder so that this album can become available once again in Stereo and Multichannel. That should bring down the price to a reasonable level.
I"m hoping, I've got the Live DVD and enjoy it. Can only imagine how good they must sound on this SACD!
 
And even harder now I guess. Cannot find a copy at a price I feel right in paying to save my life, LOL! I love her voice!

don't despair, it does come up every now and again for sensible money, I bided my time and eventually found one on Amazon France (in the last year) for under $50, like new.
 
I"m hoping, I've got the Live DVD and enjoy it. Can only imagine how good they must sound on this SACD!

Best bet is to write Rounder and encourage them to make the album available in SACD and DSD Download form. We'll see what happens.
 
This is a lovely sounding disc with a very effective surround mix. The material overall is strong although there are a couple skippable tracks IMO. As mentioned earlier the title song in 5.1 is stunning. It's one of my all-time favorite surround tracks. I saw this lineup live and the sound was perhaps the best I've ever heard in a concert - crystal clear and warm. The vocal interplay between Krauss and Dan Tyminski was gorgeous.

9
 
Am I Blue?

Well, when it comes to this album, yes. And the same goes for the Bela Fleck and Nickel Creek multichannel efforts. Not because of the mixes or the musicianship, but because they leave me wanting more. To me bluegrass is about putting it all out there, come what may. These efforts, though polished productions, lose something in their effort to be perfect. There seems to be an element of restraint present in these works that is juxtaposed to the genre.

For those of you new to Bluegrass check out: Old & In the Way (w/Jerry Garcia), the Jerry Garcia / David Grisman collaborations (Grateful Dawg), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Dream" or "Will the Circle Be Unbroken II", Leon Russell "Hank Wilson's Back Vol. I", John Hartford "Annual Waltz" or even "Blue Ridge Rangers" the solo effort by John Fogerty. Then go back and listen to Alison again and I think you'll hear what I mean.

And oh by the way, if you like the songwriting of Nickel Creek's "Out in the Woods" check it out by the person that wrote it, Sinead Lohan, her album "No Mermaid" is a gem. Also, if you like Alison's voice but are more into rock, ala Linda Ronstadt, try to find some old Karla Bonoff albums. My favorite is "Restless Nights".

Anyway for "New Favorite", which I've already had in stereo for the past year before getting the SACD, I give it a 10 for the multichannel mix and an 8 for it's representation of Bluegrass.

For those of you not so new to Bluegrass, don'tcha just miss Bill Monroe....;) Aquadad


Old post, I know.... but I have to second the comments on Sinead Lohan. What a beautiful voice and talent. Hadn't heard of her so I pulled up her work online. I am smitten!
 
Im looking for to buy this album, but there are criminal prices on Ebay for this.
Anyone where can buy?

Thanks!
 
Im looking for to buy this album, but there are criminal prices on Ebay for this.
Anyone where can buy?

Thanks!

Well, there was some new ones on Amazon for less than $100. I know, crazy price but man does this sound good.
 
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