Favorite Tracks from the new Elton John SACDs

[bmoura]

A suggestion on the Hi Rez poll. You might ask folks which of the Elton John SACD tracks from the 6 new Surround Sound SACDs are their favorites in Surround Sound.

Would make for an interesting poll.

 

[JonUrban]

OK Guys, this is a great idea. We can't do it as a poll per se, but how about posting what your favorite SURROUND tracks are from the latest batch of Elton John SACDs.

If you were going to play 3 or 4 to "impress" a non-believer, which ones would you use?

 

[Larry Geller]

Songs that seemed minor before, like Holiday Inn, have become spectacular production numbers! Other standouts are: Love Song; Madman Across The Water (Original version)-- a surround freak-out; My Father's Gun; Rock And Roll Madonna--which emerges as a precursor to Benny & The Jets; Philadelphia Freedom; (Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket; and many others!

 

[JonUrban]

HOLY CRAP! Wait 'till you guys hear ROCKET MAN!! :banana: @: :sun :banana:

I heard stuff I have NEVER HEARD blasting from the rears. What a trip. The only thing bad I can say about this one is that it is 30 years too late!

More later....................................I'm listening!

 

[bmoura]

HOLY CRAP! Wait 'till you guys hear ROCKET MAN!! :banana: @: :sun :banana:

I heard stuff I have NEVER HEARD blasting from the rears. What a trip. The only thing bad I can say about this one is that it is 30 years too late!

More later....................................I'm listening!

Well, it's never too late !

As for Rocket Man, yes that one is on my list of the favorites from the Elton John SACDs. Just great stuff in Surround.

 

[timw]

I just have to add my 2 cents.....I picked up "Captain", "Madman" and Peachtree yesterday and so far, listened to the entire Peachtree disc and just a few tracks from the others. Wow! Incredible suround mixes on all!!! I have to say, I really like the new album. There are no big 'rockers' on it but each song is really good, I think. The sound quality is very good too!(Bob Ludwig's mastering touch does it again!)
The sound on the older albums is super clean too and it's nice to have the bonus tracks(on Captain) in surround. I was never a big fan of the song Phil Freedom but on this sacd...it's amazing!!!

These releases are worth the effort it looks like alot of people are going to have to go thru to find them.....and let's just hope the stores will actually re-stock them after this initial run is sold out.
Best of luck to all....believe me, you won't be disappointed with these discs!
TimW

 

[jrahrah]

I agree that the Madman cuts are good. The original has a big wide feel to it and the way it goes right into Indian Sunset made me pay special attention to Indian Sunset which sounds great in surround. Some of my other initial favorites are Philadelphia Freedom, Writing, Hercules and the whole Tumbleweed album is superb.

Greg Penny really seems to get the surround mixes down. I get a real sense of how much there was to Elton's' work. The orchestrations encompasses you, and the simple songs seem so much more pure.

 

[JonUrban]

Greg Penny has done an EXCELLENT job. "Writing" from CaptFan is very good as well as a demo track. The guitars leap out at you, and are crystal clear. A great tune as well.

 

[EMB]

Well, "Honky Cat" for starters, "Tiny Dancer" also....great recordings, songs, and the mixes are very open and offer so much more detail and interesting things going on.

"Rocket Man" I liked a lot, but seems to me that ARP Synth isn't as loud near the end as it might be...felt the same way about the organ of "Layla," but that's another thread....

ED

 

[MIDIQ]

I got all 5 of the older EJ's, even though i am not a big EJ fan, but figured if they were half as good as GBYBR, they would be at least decent. Man i love them all !!! The surround mixes are all as good as GBYBR. I might become an EJ fan yet !! Now i must get Peachtree. Anyway my favorite mixes are Madman {the one on Tumbleweed} - Hercules - Rocket man - Writing - & Love song. Just to name a few, there are so many great mixes. I just hope they make more surround EJ. :sun

 

[Bob Romano]

My fave tracks so far...

DEFINITELY Love Song, Come Down In Time, Rocket Man, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Tiny Dancer, Madman Across The Water

I can't believe how great these tapes sound. Greg Penny has gotten every last nuance out of them. In my book, he's right next to Elliot Schiener. I can't wait for the next batch.

 

[JonUrban]

I started listening to Peachtree Road last night. Aside from the glaring difference in Eltons voice when you fast forward 35 years, it's actually pretty good. A few duds, but on the whole not bad at all. Worth going back to and listening again.

PS - Madman (the original version) is REALLY great in "quad"!

 

[Eggplant]

For once, Best Buy had all five on Tuesday.
Got Captain, Chateau, and Madman. Listened to the 1st two several times.

I only know the hits, haven't owned the albums previosly.

Honky Cat is perfect. PERFECT.
Every complaint I've had about surround mixes is addressed.
Nothing too loud or too buried. Extremely faithful to the original, yet jaw-droppingly dramatic instrument placement and clarithy. Sound quality is more 2004 than 1972. This is how it's done!

Rocket Man - Dramatic opening up at chorus is the money shot here. Very convincing and enveloping piano. Only complaint -- close, but still not enough reverb on Elton's voice during fadeout (" and I think it's gonna be a long long time . . . " seems to drift away in original, suggesting loneliness of space).

Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Starts out right on, beautifully spreading out drums by putting the signature ride cymbal in rear. Halfway through, balance falls apart -- background vocals not loud enough on fade out and one INEXCUSABLE gaffe -- the distinctive cymbal crescendo that precedes "Coming in the morning with a truck . . . " is missing. UCCCCGH -- don't these guys ever listen to the original? This could have been a great mix.

Brown Dirt Cowboy - Never heard this one in stereo, but I like it a lot. I feel sorry for those of you who fell in love with it in stereo, because I can't imagine it without rear channels.

And now for the big two (for me) --

Liner notes state how rather unusual it is for a disc to contain two #1 hits as bonus tracks. Um, yeah.

Lucy in the Sky -- Opening is botched, missing the original fade in. Here it sounds nice, but awkward because the instrumentation doesn't change, as it depended on the gradually increasing volume to build strength. Excellent recreation of big drum sound. The coda -- yet another case where the engineer's fear of reverb triumphs over the original sound. I'm sorry if you find the use of certain effects to be dated or over the top -- that's how the song sounded, and that's the version that went to #1, so LEAVE IT ALONE!
Still give this one a B+.


Unfortunately, Philadelphia Freedom is a mess.

Sound quality a notch or two below the other tracks, but the main problem is the balance is completely f*%&$'d up. Remember the 2nd verse, where suddenly the production gets sparse to contrast with the loud chorus? Well, there IS no contrast in this mix. The RE left in some ARP-like string thing ALL THE WAY THROUGH. The volume never drops down so you can hear "If you choose to you can live your life alone" -- it's all just one droning level. The ending round robin of vocals is buried, and for the crowning achievement -- the horn figure that provides counterpoint to the repeated line "you know I lo -- oo -- oove you . . . " is almost totally buried. A very disappointing mix overall.

I'll listen to Madman today.

 

[JonUrban]

Nice write up, 'kat!

 

[jrahrah]

and one INEXCUSABLE gaffe -- the distinctive cymbal crescendo that precedes "Coming in the morning with a truck . . . " is missing. UCCCCGH -- don't these guys ever listen to the original? This could have been a great mix.

.

Real good ear! Though I never really considered it, there is a crescendo there. After going back and forth on both mixes of that song from the four minute point, I detect that on the CD it is an exhale, while on the SACD it is more of an inhale.

You have piqued my interest that now I'll have to check out your other claims.

 

[bugdaddy]

Finally got my Eltons ($13.99 no tax / no shipping from Amazon). Honky Cat, never one of my favorites, tops my list. I can’t think of a single individual track I own which outshines the mix on this one for me. As eggplant posted earlier, it’s perfect. Tiny Dancer builds with so much drama and presence I felt like I was back on the dance floor at my junior prom - - and yes, my heart was broken later that night. Finally, Hercules, with its playful doo-wop background vocals on the rears, is a newly minted reminder of how this last cut on Honky Chateau foreshadowed the rockin’ sounds to come on Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (release news anyone?).

 

[bmoura]

Finally got my Eltons ($13.99 no tax / no shipping from Amazon). Honky Cat, never one of my favorites, tops my list. I can’t think of a single individual track I own which outshines the mix on this one for me. As eggplant posted earlier, it’s perfect. Tiny Dancer builds with so much drama and presence I felt like I was back on the dance floor at my junior prom - - and yes, my heart was broken later that night. Finally, Hercules, with its playful doo-wop background vocals on the rears, is a newly minted reminder of how this last cut on Honky Chateau foreshadowed the rockin’ sounds to come on Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (release news anyone?).

The 5.1 Surround Sound mix on Honky Cat is great. Greg Penny played that one first when he sneak previewed the 5.1 Elton mixes at Surround 2004 and wow'd everyone.