2018 Surround Releases- Your Top 5

[sjcorne]

I was gonna wait until next month to start this thread, but I think all the big releases for this year have come out already.

It’s been quite a year for us! A lot of classic albums I personally never thought would get the surround treatment, some good surprises, etc. So what’s your top 5? I’ll go first.

1. Dutton Vocalion Quad SACDs. I know this is a bit of a cheat, but I really couldn’t pick one specific release. As many know from my posts my favorite surround mixes ever are those uber-discrete Columbia quads, so for me DV really did the unthinkable this year and put out some of my all-time favorites. Never thought I’d see the day that Garfunkel, Derringer, Chase, Billy Paul, and especially Poco make it to SACD.

2. Guns ‘n’ Roses- Appetite For Destruction. Elliot’s back in the game! What’s not to like about that? I imagine this was a tricky one to mix into surround, as history shows that hard rock/metal 5.1 mixes have never been particularly great, but he owned it. It used to seem kinda cluttered and fatiguing in stereo, but this new super active mix really opens it up. Plus I love lead guitar in the rear channels!

3. Beatles- The Beatles (White Album).Giles really surprised me with this one, it’s a very good mix with plenty of discrete elements in the rears. I’m actually excited for his take on Abbey Road, if that’s in the works...

4. Fleetwood Mac- Fleetwood Mac. I know the lossy codec put a damper on this one for many, but I think it’s a really good release. I never thought this would make it out- the inclusion of “Monday Morning” on an Acura DVD-A sampler years ago was such a tease. So I’m glad I got to hear the whole thing, and it did not disappoint. It’s gotten a hell of a lot of plays since.

5. Miles Davis- Bitches Brew. One of the craziest quad mixes ever! Amazing fidelity and packaging too.

Honorable mentions:
1. Marillion- Brave. I really wanted to fit this one in the top 5, it’s an amazing dark concept album with an awesome SW mix. I play this a lot.
2. APP- Eye In The Sky. Kudos to AP for coming through with the standalone release! It’s a killer mix.

Your turn!

 

[GOS]

Before I make a big fuss only to find out my entries are not 2018 releases....where can we find dates for our favorite releases? We can't depend on the polls as sometimes a title could have been released at very end of December 2017 and the poll was generated in early January 2018.

 

[privateuniverse]

Before I make a big fuss only to find out my entries are not 2018 releases....where can we find dates for our favorite releases? We can't depend on the polls as sometimes a title could have been released at very end of December 2017 and the poll was generated in early January 2018.

Haikubass's great release list is here:

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/2018-surround-releases.24661/

 

[skherbeck]

Art Garfunkel - Breakaway SACD
Poco - Cantamos & Seven SACD
John Lennon - Imagine BD-A (the studio mixes, of course)
The Beatles (White Album) BD-A
Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle DD DVD

The mix that shouldn't have been released: Rush "Hemispheres"... the dream is over.

 

[fredblue]

i just can't do 5! its been too good a year!

1. Dutton Vocalion = far and away the best new surround things to come out in 2018 for me.. and there's been some competition! just some amazing surround releases by any measure, dream come true stuff personally!
(Poco : Cantamos & Seven, Billy Paul : 360 Degrees & War Of The Gods, Chase : S/T & Pure Music, Weather Report : Tale Spinnin', Hues Corporation : Rockin' Soul & Love Corporation, Art Garfunkel : Angel Clare & Breakaway, Johnnie Taylor : Eargasm & Rated Extraordinaire, Guess Who : Road Food & #10, Rick Derringer : All American Boy & Spring Fever) wow.. all that's old is new again! incredible.
2. Guns 'n Roses : Appetite For Destruction (the maestro's still got it!),
3. Alan Parsons Project : Eye In The Sky (fab! i only wish he would do more surround music mixing!),
4. Jethro Tull : This Was (to get this out of such limited multitracks = genius),
5. Miles Davis : Bitches Brew (7" Sony Japan SACD Quad gorgeousness),
6. John Lennon : Imagine (you get the Quad, a new 5.1 and a whole load pf goodies! especially the raw mixes on BD 2 are jaw-dropping and worth a QQ "10" in their own right!),
7. Jimi Hendrix : Electric Ladyland (an interesting take on the material and very surround-y!),
8. Robert Reed : Sanctuary III,
9. Jethro Tull : Heavy Horses,
10. Roxy Music : S/T,
11. Fleetwood Mac : S/T,
12. The Beatles : White Album
13. The Pineapple Thief : Dissolution

 

[privateuniverse]

1. Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky
- OK, I know most of you were enjoying this in 2017, but some of us held out for the stand-alone release. Wow! Alan did a great job with this. And I used to think this was one of the lesser APP albums, but I really love it now. I hope Alan mixes a few more. I Robot, Pyramid and Turn of a Friendly Card could all be amazing.

2. The Pineapple Thief - Dissolution
- Bought this one on a whim. I was totally unfamiliar with the band. Love the tunes and the mix. The acoustic version is fantastic. A week later I grabbed the Where We Stood blu-ray.

3. Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
- Warner Brothers finally liberates this one from the vaults. (Hey Universal, are you paying attention? Liberate the Elton John's, please!) Another nice mix of a classic Mac LP. The live CD is a nice bonus. That band had a great chemistry on stage back in the day. Too bad they decided to fire Lindsey right after this reissue came out. I would boycott the current tour on principle, but I love Neil Finn too much!

4. The Beatles - The Beatles (The White Album)
- A significant improvement over last year's Sgt. Pepper mix. "Helter Skelter" and "Savoy Truffle" are highlights. And I never thought I'd ever find myself enjoying "Revolution 9"!

5. (3-way tie) Chris Squire - Fish Out of Water, Jethro Tull - This Was & Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses
- No year in surround sound would be complete without some classic prog. Fish is one of Jakko's more enjoyable mixes and Steven does his usual nice job with the Tull sets. This Was is particularly impressive given that it was originally recorded on 4-track. I like the mix more than In Search of the Lost Chord which was recorded on 8-track or Electric Ladyland which was recorded on 12-track.

 

[GOS]

1. Art Garfunkel - Breakaway
2. The Beatles - The White Album
3. John Lennon - Imagine
4. G-N-R - Appetite For Destruction
5. Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac

 

[humprof]

Great thread, @sjcorne!

I'm only including albums where I admire the mix and truly dig the music, which means I'm passing over a lot of QQ popular faves. But I, too, will start with the D-V cheat:

1. Dutton-Vocalion Quad SACDs. My selections might vary (let's not forget Boulez Conducts Bartok!), but jeez, what an embarrassment of riches this year.
2. Miles Davis, Bitches Brew. We knew how good it would be from the Robin Reel, but with hi-res sound and immaculate packaging: Hoo Boy!
3. The Beatles, The Beatles. Not a revolution, but a significant evolution, over Pepper. Count me in, and bring on Abbey Road.
4. John Lennon, Imagine: The Ultimate Collection. Agreed: BD2 over BD1. But they're both good. And I thought I wasn't a post-Beatles Lennon fan, so discovering how good the songs are was a revelation.
5. Alain Mallet, Mutt Slang. An Elliot Scheiner sleeper. Technically released in 2017, but didn't get wide(r) distribution till early this year.

HMs to DG's Planets/Zarathustra and Decca's Tannhauser--and to SW's Heavy Horses and This Was, neither one of them among my favorite Tull albums, but still impressive. Oh--and Skylark Vocal Ensemble's Seven Words from the Cross (Sono Luminus).

 

[~dave~~wave~]

Best 2018 new release

• Meltdown in Mexico

Best Quad re-issue, favorite vintage packaging

• Bitches Brew

50th Anniversary Deluxe

• Electric Ladyland
• Music From Big Pink
• This Was

Honorable Mention ~ Most bonus 5.1 content, favorite book & liner notes package

• Imagine

 

[rtbluray]

I don't know if I can choose a top 5 yet as I'm still digesting several new releases ("Clutching at Straws", "Sunburst Finish", "Hemispheres", "This Was", "Electric Ladyland", etc.) but I do have what I think is my definitive top 3 releases for 2018:

1) The Beatles (White Album)
2) Roxy Music
3) Imagine (John Lennon)

 

[humprof]

Best 2018 new release

• Meltdown in Mexico

Meltdown! Totally forgot about that one--it's sitting on my "Waiting to Be Listened To" shelf...

 

[rtbluray]

Meltdown! Totally forgot about that one--it's sitting on my "Waiting to Be Listened To" shelf...

Rip it open and give it a spin!
It's King Crimson's best live release IMHO

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

What a great year it's been for surround,
1) The Beatles - White Album
2) Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
3) John Lennon - Imagine
4) Art Garfunkel - Breakaway
5) Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

 

[elmer]

1. The Beatles (White Album)
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
3. Steven Wilson - Home Invasion
4. King Crimson - Meltdown in Mexico
5. Birdsong At Morning - Signs And Wonders

 

[MrSmithers]

We've had some amazing titles released this year.

1. The Beatles - The Beatles
2. Dutton Vocallion releases (In particular Breakaway, Cantamos/Seven, Tale Spinning)
3. John Lennon - Imagine
4. Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
5. Alan Parsons Project - Eye In The Sky

Honorable mentions -

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
The Band - Music From Big Pink
Roxy Music - Roxy Music

Wow! And for me it's even better as they've been releases from other years that I've only heard this year! 2018 will indeed be a vintage plonk!

 

[d0zer]

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
Roxy Music
Chris Squire - Fish out of Water
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Michell Guzman - Redshift

 

[beerking]

This year has been totally unbelievable for me (and for so many others too)

Close on the heels of my all time favourite band 'The Electric Light Orchestra' comes Roxy Music.

It goes without saying then, that the following list is full of so many pleasures for me and for many others too, from what I'm reading!!

1 Roxy Music
2 Jimi Hendrix
3 Beatles
4 John Lennon
5 Dutton Vocallion

Of course this list doesn't really do justice to the other fine surround releases this year.
Can't wait for 2019

 

[marpow]

Great thread, a few are still coming in, This Was and Clutching, but for now.
White Album
Electric Ladyland
Appetite For Destruction.
Music At Big Pink
All Dutton Vocalion

 

[bktouchstone]

Top 5 releases (varies by the day and mood)

1. Beatles - White Album
2. Garfunkel - either of the Duttons could go here.
3. Lennon/Ono - Imagine (partial credit to Ono for putting this out there)
4. Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
5. XTC’s latest release could have been here, but it isn’t because it didn’t get released.

Interesting releases that I haven’t listened to completely yet and may not even be SACD...

1. Savory collection of Big Band radio programs on CD from the 30s and 40s. Lots of discs in this collection but have listened to just one of them. Sound quality ranges from “this sounds like there’s a world war, McCarthy-ism, civil rights, political upheaval, oil crisis, recession, stagflation, disco, punk, etc, laying directly between me and the original sound” to “wow, this is pretty darned good!”

2. The one with the Christmas Bells under the Living Stereo heading. Sometimes the bells are too prominent in the mix, but they are as clear as a...well...you know. CD, but very good sound. Overall I like the Xmas music, some tracks not as much as I had hoped. There are other instruments in the arrangements besides the bells, and they aren’t heard from enough. But your pigeons will love it!

 

[HDave]

Of what I purchased
White Album
Fleetwood Mac
APP Eye in the Sky