Peter Gabriel sacds

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GaryW

Well-known Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2002
Messages
170
Being a pretty big Peter Gabriel fan I ordered a couple of discs from CircuitCity including UP which won't be released now til June. Anyway, I picked up "Shaking the Tree" today as it was on sale and wanted to compare it to the remastered cd which I own. If you are a fan of P.G. and don't have the remastered versions I would suggest buying them. However if you already own the remastered versions I would advise NOT getting the SACD versions. I did an A-B test of the two and at least on "Shaking the Tree", I prefered the cd version over the sacd on every song. The sacd sounds very good, but at least on my system the cd sound better. The sacd sounded a bit muffled in comparison. The highs were brighter with the remastered cd and the subwoofer kicked better as well. The difference is similar to taking the grills off your speakers. Also the advantage to the cds is that the sacds are not hybrids. So in summary I would not invest in the sacd remasters if you already own the cd remasters. "Up" is of course an entirely different matter as it will be multichannel.
 
Well, I had a chance to sit down with a couple of Peter Gabriel SACD's last night: 'Security' and 'So'. Both of these are 80's era digital recordings so I was keen on listening to any improvements that SACD might offer them.

First I listened to 'So'. As good as this album sounds, I must say that I was disappointed to find little improvement over the original CD. For the most part, it sounds pretty thin and most certainly digital. On the plus side, the background is dead quiet with a lower noise floor than the CD, making the SACD ultimately more revealing. I also sensed better separation and a wider soundstage from the SACD. There was certainly improvement over the CD, but it wasn't the revelation that I was hoping for.

With that said, I wasn't expecting too much from 'Security'. Boy, was I in for a surprise. 'Security' completely blew me away. This SACD offers a deep, rich velvety smooth presentation of this exceptional music. It had all the improvements over the CD that I mentioned for 'So' with the additional bonus of not sounding at all like a digital recording. This one is a keeper!

I'm not sure why there is such a disparity between these two titles, seeing as they are both digital recordings. I'm sure it has a more to do with the production and engineering of the individual titles more than anything else. They do have entirely different characters. Beyond that, I can only wonder if the conversion to DSD was handled any differently for these two titles.

 
Cai,
Thanks for the review on the 2 discs. I found them very informative. Security is one of my fav PG titles. I'm not sure whether you have convinced me to buy it (as it is still just stereo) but thank goodness that there are some stereo SACD titles coming out that are improvements over the CD versions. Just think how great Security would have been in surround! I think it would have suited it well.
 
Security SCREAMS for multichannel! All those whispered lines...the strange "tube blowing" sounds.....the PERCUSSION!!!
But we'll have to wait till everyone buys this version...then the 4.1 will come out, minus the center channel.....then the center channel ONLY version will come out, and you'll have to buy another SACD player (but it will have to be the new Sony Center Channel Only player, or SCCO). You will then have to synch up your SACD and SCCO players via the new SACD/SCCO syncro-gadget.
I have a word for the record weasels...but I will refrain from swearing on this forum. I wish they would give us what we NEED, not what THEY think we want. To pay $22US to hear Tom Fogerty's rhythm guitar a tad better in stereo on Proud Mary is insane. But I would pay $15 US to hear Gabriel 3 in Surround anytime!
 
Dave,
I would take it a step further and suggest that we should only be posting reviews on multi-channel discs as this is a quad/multi-channel forum. Granted, most of the posts here are regarding surround discs and someone asked for feedback on these discs by creating the thread and Cai graciously provided feedback. Also maybe the number of titles released should also only reference surround titles.
 
I agree that this is not really the place to be discussing stereo releases and normally I wouldn't bother. However, another respected forum member had specifically requested that I share my thoughts on these discs, and I decided to oblige. This was certainly the exception and not the rule.

I totally agree that 'Security' demands to be heard in multi-channel! That would be so great! Actually, most of PG's work is well suited for surround-sound. 'Passion' is another title that would be exquisite as a surround release.

If these titles are released later in surround-sound, then I guess you can count me as one of the fools that rushed out to buy them... twice! Because you know I will if they release them again in surround-sound. But dammit, I'm an impatient man and I'm not willing to wait around to see 'if' they will be released again in surround-sound. For the time being I'm content to be enjoying them in stereo. If 'Security' is any indication of what the remaining titles are like, I think I'm in for a real treat!


 
I am not a patient person either. The thing is that I can't keep up to the surround titles that are being released so when it comes time to buy a disc there are always lots of surround titles to choose from without even considering stereo ones. This sounds really dumb but it is probably good that these discs are not coming out in surround as I would be divorced by now and living in the streets with my surround system and discs after selling everything I have to feed my habit.
 
Wait till they re-release EVERYTHING.......
IN 6.1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:rollin:
 
you can sort of hear passion in 5.1 if you buy the Criterion DVD of LTOC... cheating, but close.

I just picked up the stereo Rabbit Proof Fence OST, and boy would that kick in hi rez MC. Can't wait for UP - if it sells well (it won't, but we can hope...) let's pray it means that more MC mixes are on the way.

Now, I -know- this is a quad/MC forum, but I think we're all music fans, and the hirez formats are new enough that particular titles (Police, PG, Dylan, etc.) are worth discussing amongst each other. Who better than MC geeks to talk about the spaciousness of a stereo mix? :)

I mentioned several times elsewhere what a disapointment the Synchronicity SACD was (sounds identical to my 10 year old Message In A Box cd...... meh)... I think that SACD stereo discs that -do- shine should be talked about, as long as we always keep in mind the tone of the board. Just my 2 cents (which, thanks to the plunging US economy, are worth more today here up north... heheh)
 
Well based on Cai's glowing recommendation I broke my resolution to never buy another stereo only disc and I picked up Security. After listening to it I must agree that it is pretty good. The soundstage is so wide that at times I could have sworn that there were things coming out of the surrounds. It's anything but thin. The drums in "Lay Your Hands On Me" are incredible. In fact the drums in pretty much the whole disc are well done. The noise floor is so low (or non-existent) that you can really crank this baby up. However, be careful because you might blow out some speakers. There is a wide dynamic range in some of the tracks. The bass is also nicely done. Tight and very much there. Thanks again Cai. I would like to hear about any of the other PG discs that you would recommend from a sonic perspective. The music speaks for itself.
 
Glad you liked it! I must say it was a treat to "rediscover" this recording. I played the hell out of it when it first came out.

 
Me too, Cai
It was one of those albums where you first heard it and said...."uh, oh...this one was a mistake".....but after the 3rd play, it never came off the turntable!
I used the cd to test out speakers when I bought my Paradigm 11SE Deluxe's almost 20 friggin years ago!
 
I used to listen to it on my Walkman II and try and turn my friends onto it. Usually I'd get a "What the hell is that?" reaction. I'd do the same with John Cale's "Honi Soit". Both of those albums really take me back...

 
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