John, Elton CAPTAIN FANTASTIC.... [SACD]

[JonUrban]

Please post your comments, thoughts and observations....... :thumbsdow

[Ed Bishop]

An '8'....for the most part, nice, playful, active mix. But, for some reason, I felt something missing on the title track, though can't quite put my finger on it...might be something mixed down or up in the mix that throws it a tad out of balance? Was surprised to play all of the new Elton's and find that this one is a bit less enjoyable than the others...even so, still a wonderful listen!

ED

[daved64]

An '8'....for the most part, nice, playful, active mix. But, for some reason, I felt something missing on the title track, though can't quite put my finger on it...might be something mixed down or up in the mix that throws it a tad out of balance? Was surprised to play all of the new Elton's and find that this one is a bit less enjoyable than the others...even so, still a wonderful listen!

ED

Ed, on LP the title track was DYNAMIC. Does it have that feel in 5.1? When the gtrs came in it would explode!

[MIDIQ]

SUPER !!! I gave the surround mix a definate 10 and the music a 8, over all i gotta go with 9, GREAT.

[Ed Bishop]

Ed, on LP the title track was DYNAMIC. Does it have that feel in 5.1? When the gtrs came in it would explode!

Not quite, Dave, and that may be where something is not missing so much as the guitar is isolated, but everything else is also loud, so it doesn't have the same 'punch' the stereo mix has(well, my old DJM redbook has!).....

Should be interesting what others think of that....not complaining, mind, but it really jumped out at me that the guitar doesn't quite jump....though it's certainly heard well enough, there's just so much else going on that's been opened up now...

ED

[Ed Bishop]

Let me add one thing: a truly pleasant surprise here is the great 5.1 mix of "Philadelphia Freedom" which, if anything, adds punch and power to an already impressive stereo mix! Very, very potent, perfectly balanced.... Shine the light!


ED

[Bidkat]

Let me add one thing: a truly pleasant surprise here is the great 5.1 mix of "Philadelphia Freedom" which, if anything, adds punch and power to an already impressive stereo mix! Very, very potent, perfectly balanced.... Shine the light! ED

Really?

I invite you to A-B it with _either_ stereo mix, 1975 or 1985.

Enjoyed most of CF, but Philadelphia Freedom is a mess, detailed in my previous post.

No one is happier than I to see a great track like this is released in 5.1, but a bad mix is arguably worse than none since there likely won't be another (at least for the next 3 decades).

[timbre4]

Okay, okay, okay. My turn.

After 8 tracks, vinyl, cassettes with Dolby off (that's bright), DJM import CD, MCA CD, Rocket remaster CD, this is simply the greatest thing. It jumps, it rocks, it soothes, it's terrific.

This disc is excellent on all counts; it is a personal favorite made better than I ever thought possible. Strong memories associated with the album are 15, material is 9 and mix is 11 so that makes it 12.5 for me. I used to hate Philadelphia Freedom, now I like it. Don't expect anyone to agree....

Also homophobic tested, forum approved!

[Ed Bishop]

What baffles me is what is wrong with the mix of "Philadelphia Freedom"...I was delighted, still am. A few aspects of the mixes one could quibble over, but I'm just not hearing anything terribly amiss. But, there's always tomorrow, give that one another spin....I love how much extra detail we get on some of these!

ED

[timbre4]

The extra detail is fabulous; those guitars are jumping crisply out of the rears. There is so much to marvel at; the spaciousness and correct resolve of reverbs and such. Each track is a treat.

[Foxman]

I too never cared that much for Philidelphia Freedom and yet enjoyed this version more than any other.

I hadnt intended on buying CF, but when I saw that it had Ludy in the Sky with Diamonds it was a shoe in. EJ's version is my favorite of this great song and I was thrilled with the multi sound.

Overall this isnt my favorite of the new EJ's though as so far I enjoyed his self titled Hybrid the best. I ranked CF a 8 but would rank EJ a 10 and have it listed just below DSOTM as far as quality.

[bayards]

grrrrrrrrr - wish Amazon.co.uk would get their finger out and send me my discs - reading this has made me jealous.....

Cpt Fantastic was always a fave back when it came out - can't wait for Caribou some day.

H

[Cai Campbell]

Philadelphia Freedom never sounded so good and is the best track on the disc, IMO. The whole album is utterly fantastic. The surround mix creates a wonderful, lush space that lends itself readily to the music. The sound is incredibly detailed and warm; not at all bright like GBYBR. This disc is a must have!

[bobou2]

I love this disc
The surround mix is perfect
The bonus tracks are great
A 10 from me

[solaris]

I really like this mix, a good use of all speakers.
Strange to hear something I have not played since the 70's

[Guy Robinson]

Okay, this is a hard one to rate. It is my favourite Elton John album so I picked this one up to see if the sonics were less grating than GYBR. My idea was that if it sounded goos I would pick up a few more. So some songs on CF sound great and others sound very similar to GYBR from a sonics perspective. The first 3 tracks are good and then everything goes into the crapper with "Tell Me When The Whistle Blows." Things get better with "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and then get worse again. By worse I mean a grating top end and an inconsistent bass end. Then from Track 8 to the end (of the original album)we are once again generally into great sonics. The mix (placing of the instruments and vocals) overall is very good to excellent. Perhaps the most overall satisfying track is "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." So after experimenting a bit I found that on a much lower volume than normal. In fact one where you would have no problem conversing with someone 6 feet away in a normal tone, the sonics overall sound great. This is because the boosted top end makes things sound better at a lower volume. When the volume is boosted to the normal level that I listen to things then this is when the problems noted above come into play. Anyway, I have to give it a 5 for music as it is my favourite and the bonus tracks are much appreciated. The sonics and mix is where I am having trouble rating this disc. The mix is cancelled somewhat by the sonics so I am going to have to rate it as 2. So in total a 7. I don't think I will be getting anymore of these. There are very few discs that I have that have an exaggerated annoying top end like this.

[wavest]

Okay, this is a hard one to rate. It is my favourite Elton John album so I picked this one up to see if the sonics were less grating than GYBR. My idea was that if it sounded goos I would pick up a few more. So some songs on CF sound great and others sound very similar to GYBR from a sonics perspective. The first 3 tracks are good and then everything goes into the crapper with "Tell Me When The Whistle Blows." Things get better with "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and then get worse again. By worse I mean a grating top end and an inconsistent bass end. Then from Track 8 to the end (of the original album)we are once again generally into great sonics. The mix (placing of the instruments and vocals) overall is very good to excellent. Perhaps the most overall satisfying track is "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." So after experimenting a bit I found that on a much lower volume than normal. In fact one where you would have no problem conversing with someone 6 feet away in a normal tone, the sonics overall sound great. This is because the boosted top end makes things sound better at a lower volume. When the volume is boosted to the normal level that I listen to things then this is when the problems noted above come into play. Anyway, I have to give it a 5 for music as it is my favourite and the bonus tracks are much appreciated. The sonics and mix is where I am having trouble rating this disc. The mix is cancelled somewhat by the sonics so I am going to have to rate it as 2. So in total a 7. I don't think I will be getting anymore of these. There are very few discs that I have that have an exaggerated annoying top end like this.

I agree with your assessment of this sacd, I just wish all of the tracks would have been done like "Writing", which has solid consistent bass and clean treble. Funny that you mention the volume setting...I don't normally like to adjust the settings on my equipment, but the other day my wife came into the room for a listen and said that it was too loud. I turned it down to a lower volume and noticed the same thing you did... it sounded better! My advice would be to not give up on the EJ's just yet. I also have Elton John and Tumbleweed and there are several cuts on both that have excellent music and sonics. For a fuller sound, try Tumbleweed...I think you will find that more pleasing as the treble isn't as prominent as it is on Captain.

[JonUrban]

These Elton SACDs have a wide range of acceptance, from people wanting to "send them back" to those that love them. I wonder if it is actually a function of how loud one listens to them, as you guys are stating.

Very strange!

[daved64]

These Elton SACDs have a wide range of acceptance, from people wanting to "send them back" to those that love them. I wonder if it is actually a function of how loud one listens to them, as you guys are stating.

Very strange!

Could be. I had CF at "wife is home" setting. Not too quiet, but not overbearing. Sounded good.

[Guy Robinson]

Funny that you mention the volume setting...I don't normally like to adjust the settings on my equipment, but the other day my wife came into the room for a listen and said that it was too loud.

I think that is it. That's the way that I see it anyway. At a low volume it sounds pretty...well.....fantastic. However, once cranked, it jangles the nerves. Since I find that the major benefit of hi-rez (other than the surround aspect) is the ability to listen to them at a lot higher volemes than CD's, then these titles are a bit of a lost cause. Anyway, I may try some more of them, who knows.

I agree on your assessment of "Writing". It is the best sounding track on the disc and crankable. "Lucy" is another one that sounds pretty good cranked.

[Cai Campbell]

...others sound very similar to GYBR from a sonics perspective.

Hmm, I did not find this at all. For me, GYBR and Captain Fantastic are like night and day. I found Captain Fantastic to sound incredibly lush and warm compared to GYBR, which is exceptionally bright and harsh (but still an excellent surround-sound title).

I listened to parts of Captain Fantastic loud and parts of it not-so-loud. I did not find this to affect my perception of the level of "brightness".

[Guy Robinson]

Hmm, I did not find this at all. For me, GYBR and Captain Fantastic are like night and day. I found Captain Fantastic to sound incredibly lush and warm compared to GYBR, which is exceptionally bright and harsh (but still an excellent surround-sound title).

I listened to parts of Captain Fantastic loud and parts of it not-so-loud. I did not find this to affect my perception of the level of "brightness".

Well I guess the point is that to my ears there is a wide range of quality across the disc. Some songs sound great and others are grating. I guess you could say it is sonically a bit more consistent than GYBR. I wouldn't really classify it as warm either. Now "Slow Train Coming" is warm. Try them both back to back.

[solaris]

I really think GYBR sounds like it should, yea it's a little hot. That is the sound Gus was after I think. Unless you tell me the record has all this warmth to it the SACD is missing, I'm loving it the way it is. Captain Fantasic is more laid back and never harsh from what I hear. The only thing I find harsh and grating is Bob Dylans voice from 70-97, he's better now. Really I would love to love Dylan but that voice stops me cold.

[Guy Robinson]

So after reading this:
http://www.musictap.net/Reviews/John...SACD.html#MATW

and listening to CF at a much lower level than usual. I am in agreement that the SACD surround is fantastic when played at a lower volume level. As is stated in the MusicTap article for Madman and Honky, the recordings are loud. This is the same with CF and was my main issue. This issue largely disappears at a lower volume.

[Cai Campbell]

So after reading this:
http://www.musictap.net/Reviews/John...SACD.html#MATW

and listening to CF at a much lower level than usual. I am in agreement that the SACD surround is fantastic when played at a lower volume level. As is stated in the MusicTap article for Madman and Honky, the recordings are loud. This is the same with CF and was my main issue. This issue largely disappears at a lower volume.

So, they don't seem as loud when played at a lower volume? Whoa! Stop the presses! That's the strangest thing I've ever heard!

(sorry, couldn't resist)