HiRez Poll Collins, Judy - COLORS OF THE DAY [SACD]

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Rate the SACD of Judy Collins - COLORS OF THE DAY

  • 6:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Poor Fidelity, Poor Surround, Poor Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    38
I think it's the combination of the voice being spread across the front speakers and the instrumentation in the right channel that seems to be overloading the front right channel at various points in Goodge Street and Albatross. With the voice more centralised in the stereo mix the same overload doesn't seem to be occurring (or it's a lot less noticeable). Judy's voice tends to push the limits at various times on other songs but never to the actual point of distortion so maybe it's just the combination on these couple of songs that's causing the problem. I can't imagine that Audio Fidelity would have put this out unless this replicates the master tape but some word of warning would have been nice.
 
I joined the "5" movement on this one, now that I know I'm not hearing things. When the merit of an album like this is that that it sounds "nice," almost to a fault, it is jarring to suddenly hear sounds that cause you to jump up and check your speakers for damage.
So, I shaved 2 points from sonics, 1 from mix, 1 from content (I hate, hate, hate one of the songs) and 1 for good measure. ;)
 
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That's interesting (wrt mattB2's findings) as I was getting some distortion in Front Left on Goodge Street in MultiCh the other night
(via HDMI so channels correctly assigned from disc player to AVR.. and no, I don't have Front L&R speakers wired up wrong way around before anybody mentions it! I didn't get to Albatross.. in fact I skipped a load of stuff and then went back to the beginning and just selected the tracks I knew/like and haven't played it since.. I'm unsure how to vote on this, for all sorts of reasons I haven't got time to go into right now but I'll be back with more and hopefully a vote :eek: ).
 
I've waited a long time before voting. The disc has grown on me big style. Even Amazing Grace, which I hated when it was released way back when.

The surround mix is very much to my liking - it works well.

Had I voted after first listen it would have got a 7. Now it gets a 10.
 
Good music overall, some i like better than others. Mix is good on some songs to real good on others. Quite a mix of different styles. I vote 8 overall, some songs and mix are a 7 others are 9. Glad to have it.
 
I'm a metal-head. This is not metal. But it is... I hate to admit it... Magic. The fidelity of this disc is open and full, with Judy's voice clear and up front throughout... Really beautiful. While the quad mix is not flashy, and there's not always a lot happening in the rears... the music and sounds that do surround you are discrete and perfect for the songs (I find the whale sounds on "Farewell To Tarwathie" to be especially effective and haunting while the surrounding choir on "Amazing Grace" really puts you in the room). The real Magic for me, however, lies in the wonderful songs... While not consistently to my liking throughout, there's not a bad one on the disc, and the stand-outs are stellar (Suzanne, Farewell To Tarwathie, Who Knows Where The Time Goes, Since You Asked, In My Life). I bought this SACD purely to complete my AF collection... Now I realize no surround collection could be complete without it. I give this an 8 (3 for fidelity, 2 for mix, 2 for content, and 1 bonus point for surprising me!)
 
I'm a metal-head. This is not metal. But it is... I hate to admit it... Magic. The fidelity of this disc is open and full, with Judy's voice clear and up front throughout... Really beautiful. While the quad mix is not flashy, and there's not always a lot happening in the rears... the music and sounds that do surround you are discrete and perfect for the songs (I find the whale sounds on "Farewell To Tarwathie" to be especially effective and haunting while the surrounding choir on "Amazing Grace" really puts you in the room). The real Magic for me, however, lies in the wonderful songs... While not consistently to my liking throughout, there's not a bad one on the disc, and the stand-outs are stellar (Suzanne, Farewell To Tarwathie, Who Knows Where The Time Goes, Since You Asked, In My Life). I bought this SACD purely to complete my AF collection... Now I realize no surround collection could be complete without it. I give this an 8 (3 for fidelity, 2 for mix, 2 for content, and 1 bonus point for surprising me!)

Skherbeck, I like ALL genres of music including metal but I share your enthusiasm for the beauty that is AF's QUAD release of Judy Collins Greatest Hits......although the title is a misnomer as Ms Collins over the years has released many a sonic marvel.

Ironically, this title has been rendered a lot of negatives at QQ but having owned the Quad Open Reel and having seen Judy in concert (spectacular) in Central Park, NYC, I was one of the QQ posters who petitioned Marshall Blonstein to release this title.

Another favorite of mine which was released on Apple Records is Mary Hopkin's 'Post Card.' A Beatle discovery, Hopkin's album is stunning in every respect and although not in multichannel, I wish some reissue company would at least release it on higher def SACD. The remastered RBCD is fine but an UPGRADE would be in order. http://waxvinylrecords.co.uk/wp-con...ard-US-Press-LP-Vinyl-Record-281317408747.jpg
 
I'm a metal-head. This is not metal. But it is... I hate to admit it... Magic. The fidelity of this disc is open and full, with Judy's voice clear and up front throughout... Really beautiful. While the quad mix is not flashy, and there's not always a lot happening in the rears... the music and sounds that do surround you are discrete and perfect for the songs (I find the whale sounds on "Farewell To Tarwathie" to be especially effective and haunting while the surrounding choir on "Amazing Grace" really puts you in the room). The real Magic for me, however, lies in the wonderful songs... While not consistently to my liking throughout, there's not a bad one on the disc, and the stand-outs are stellar (Suzanne, Farewell To Tarwathie, Who Knows Where The Time Goes, Since You Asked, In My Life). I bought this SACD purely to complete my AF collection... Now I realize no surround collection could be complete without it. I give this an 8 (3 for fidelity, 2 for mix, 2 for content, and 1 bonus point for surprising me!)

I have to say as a member with a background in rock music...these type of releases have helped me expand my musical tastes...with each listen I gained more appreciation for Judy Collins...this is a finely crafted collection of songs with excellent fidelity...a true sleeper for me...as Ralphie mentioned in his post...I have a hard time understanding all the negative comments surrounding this title...perhaps it's just sour grapes that a more popular requested title wasn't chosen...but this one merits inclusion as one of the better discs in the AF catalog...as I'm as subjective as it gets because I had a blank slate for this release...I hadn't heard the songs...
 
This was the last holdout from my Audio Fidelity Quad SACD collection, but I finally got it in today, played it, and decided it still wasn't for me.

I voted a '7', breaking things down this way:

Music: 1/3 (There's a few redeeming tracks on this disc)
Surround Mix: 2.5/3 (A few minor mixing-related things that could be better)
Fidelity: 2.5/3 (A few minor fidelity issues I heard, mostly sounding like mild distortions on certain parts)
High-Res Disc: 1/1

So breaking things down this way, you can see that if you love the music, then you'll love this disc. If, like me, you don't like the music, stay away from this disc, as the surround mix and fidelity will probably not change your mind!

As always, ymmv… :)
 
This disc sounds fine but as someone who primarily plays the discs in 2 channel this one is (almost) totally redundant.
IMO the 24K DCC released a few years back sounds just as good, maybe better.
 
Judy has a fantastic voice. Beautiful and emotive. This is a great selection of songs that are well crafted. My Mom used to play this LP and I hated it lol. I was into metal and this is not that! I have always loved this version of Both Sides Now however. Judy really nails that one. The emotion it inspires on that last chorus is chilling. I'm voting a 9.
 
I first heard Judy Collins around 1964, near the crest of the folk music wave. This "best of" collection includes only the songs beginning from In My Life up through Whales & Nightingales (her fifth through eighth albums.) It's a great selection of tracks from that time, 1966 to 1970, but her first four studio LPs -- which are more in line with the "vocal and guitar" style of folk rather than her later "arthouse" explorations -- are also great. However, I'm thrilled to have what is offered here.

I really like the laid-back surround presentation on the AF issue. Considering the age of the tapes, this is a fine-sounding disc. For me, Collins was, and still is, the goddess of folk music singers; her lovely contralto voice was to die for. I simply have to give it a 10.
 
My father brought this album home to us when it was released. He recorded it onto a cassette tape and that’s how I heard this album until now. To my surprise, I see that my father edited the album by skipping the first and last songs. He detested country music so I‘m guessing that nixed the first track and perhaps dropping the last track allowed the rest of the album to fit onto one side of the tape....who knows but that was my first surprise.

Now listening to these songs again, and having them pull me back to the seventies is magical.

I have so many memories associated with this album, discretely nudging my best friend about the violent hash eaters, learning to play the the finger picked guitar lines to Suzanne, turning a college lover onto the Albatross...
I’m sure that I’m like a lot of people who went on to discover Leonard Cohen music (and I adore his last few albums!) because of Judy Collins, and in my case, this album.

So now I get to listen to this old friend in quad on SACD! I never would have guessed that she was released in surround....and she sounds lovely. The songs still hold up after all these years. Marvelous. Listening to Who Knows Where The Time Goes, I also noticed an acoustic guitar player in the left rear speaker, making a few nice runs that sounded like...Stephen Stills?!?! Hey, Stephen and Judy were together for a while in the 60s (Suite Judy Blue Eyes) so a quick search on Wikipedia verifies Stills played guitar and bass on that album! How about that, my dad was the first one to bring Stephen Stills into our house too!
I am disappointed that I hear some distortion in a few places on her voice, in particular, Albatros. This song deserves to be turned up, but the harsh vocals are distracting.

So, emotionally, this album is a 10 for me. This release has let me hear parts I’d hadn’t noticed before but it also has distorted Judy’s lovely voice... I’d love to rate it higher, but the distorted vocals really hurt so...an 8 from me.
 
This is not my kind of music. That said, the quad mix of "Amazing Grace" startles me. It's breathtaking. I'm likewise captivated by "Farewell to Tarwathie," with the marine life in the rears.

But Collins is primarily an interpreter of songs, in some cases very familiar songs, and I don't find her readings vastly compelling. This is nothing against interpreters. I don't share the rockist view that singers should write their own material. Some of my very favorite singers didn't write their own material, including a whole lotta country singers and a whole lotta pre-1960 pop vocalists. What she brings to this material mainly is prettiness. I wish she found stuff in these songs no one knew was there, like Joe Cocker singing "With a Little Help From My Friends." Special case, I know.

I'd rather hear Leonard Cohen do "Suzanne." I'd rather hear the Beatles do "In My Life," except maybe I never need to hear "In My Life" again. It's ... very familiar. This is not my kind of music. 5/10
 
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