HiRez Poll Genesis - DUKE [SACD]

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Rate the SACD of Genesis - DUKE


  • Total voters
    46

JonUrban

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Please post your thoughts and comments on this SACD release. If you feel so inclined, make a note as to where you found it, and what version you got! (NTSC/PAL). (y) :phones (n)

Excuse the large scans below. I thought you would like to have a good look at these discs! ;)
 

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Well I will be posting the same info. for each cd as I got the box 76-82(Sacd and NTSC) and as Trick and W & W were my favorite cd's/lp's from past they are still my favorite after these multi channels came out. I am not bothered by the compression used and am enjoying the extra details coming out in each sacd and after each listen. I think Nick Davis has done a good job on these mix's. I will give Duke a score of 8(8 for music and 8 m/c mix).
I also enjoy the extra disk which has songs I had never heard before.
I would rate extra cd as 8 music and a 8 for m/c mix.
 
Several outstanding hit songs of course. Nice use of surrounds. Still on the bright side but better than And Then There Were 3, IMO.

I'd rate Abacab #1, Duke #2, ATTWT 3rd. I give Duke a 7. It would rate higher if the extended highs were toned down a bit.
 
Bought this individual disc at a nice price and was pleasantly surprised by the whole package. It must just be me but I found the DTS mixes to be more of a surround experience than the SACD, Phil's voice is completely revealed in the center channel but the rears just seemed to be a lowered level repeat of Tony Banks keyboard with occasional cymbals. Maybe I received a faulty disc?? The 96/24 DTS is great though, along with the concert portion (only tour I saw them on, so I'm partial there) enough so to spur me to get Trick and W&W next....I'll pass on the rest until the Gabriel material is released.
 
Arguably the last good Genesis album and certainly the last one I will listen to all of the way through (okay, then - most of the way through!) But it's another one where I have to question the scores on QQ or if I'm listening to the same album ;) imho the mix is very good and although it's a little bright it isn't compressed to the point of being painful (at least not to my ears.) The rear channels are a tad low but that's easy enough to lift a db or two with trim and doing so reveals a surround field that really works well with the material; it's subtle but effective. I didn't like this album that much when I first bought it all those many years ago but it had enough appeal for me to play it enough to appreciate the good tracks; Behind the Lines, Duchess, Guide Vocal, Man of Our Times, Heathaze and Duke's travels/end are all superb. Even more so in this format and I can't help wondering if people are marking their reaction to the material and the way Genesis were headed at the time rather than the SACD as a stand-alone piece? Gets a (generous) 8 from me.
 
In hindsight, I wish I would have voted this disc a little higher than my '8' rating. It deserves at least a 9. The mix is fantastic, and although it's a little on the bright and compressed side, that's probably a result of the mastering itself.
There's definitely an improvement IMO between the SACD 5.1 and DTS 96/24. There's a clearer sense of separation from all 5 channels with a crisper sound to it.
Very pleased overall. :)
 
Just took this one out for a spin. I have always loved this album. It's my favorite of the post-Hackett era. Not a weak song on it. It's probably the last time that they could be labeled "progressive rock." Everyone knows the two hits, but the deep cuts are where this album really shines. The opening suite, "Heathaze", "Cul-de-Sac", "Duke's Travels/End" are all great. There's a real confidence in the playing and the songwriting here.

As for the mix, it's very pleasing but not outstanding. If I have a major complaint here, it's that for the most part whatever is in the rear speakers is usually also doubled in the fronts. The sound field is filled up nicely, but there's an overall lack of anything isolated in the rears. There are exceptions. The opening of "Duchess" for example is incredibly nice, with a very good spread of instruments. I did expect this mix to be similar to ...And Then There Were Three, however that album had a good bit more discrete information in the rear channels. On the other hand, I think the fidelity here is an improvement. Phil's voice sounds very warm and immediate. The drum machine at the beginning of "Duchess" sounds very warm as well, pretty impressive considering where drum machine technology was at in 1979. One other gripe that I have is that in several places guitar leads are too low in the mix. (It wasn't just Hackett who suffered, LOL.)

One thing we rarely discuss in polls is artwork, but I will bring it up here because this album is a favorite of mine where that is concerned. Genesis albums have run the gamut from the really beautiful (A Trick of the Tail) to the pretty dreadful (Invisible Touch.) I'm no artist or art historian so I can't comment in any sort of educated manner, but there's something about the artwork on this album that I really love. I wish I could articulate it.

Anyway, musically this album is as good as later day Genesis gets. The mix is nice and immersive, just don't expect lots of discrete activity behind you. I'm sure I will turn it on again. I'll go with a 9.
 
Personally, the DD version for me is best and slightly less bright. Anyone agree?
I ended up selling the sacd a few years ago because it wasn’t a pleasant listening experience sound wise, probably the cymbal crashes giving me a headache. Didn’t check out the DD version but just settled on an old CD pressing.
I still have the 70-75 and last set but may need to rebuy / repent with Duke...
 
Hard to rank this one really. I've always thought it better than the slamming it's given by detractors, and it is certainly superior to ...and then there were three... Yet it's not a return to form either. Rather somewhere in between. I enjoy the two hits, "Misunderstanding" and "Turn it On Again" (the Brits got "Duchess" as well - though I don't recall ever hearing that one on the radio here), and "Behind the Lines" starts off the proceedings with aplomb, while the Duke suite at the end is reminiscent of better days.

So, a middlebrow Genesis album to be sure. It's not like they'd ever make a better one after this. An 8.
 
I´ve never really connected with Duke but I have never dismissed it...it´s one of those LPs that I probably will "get" one day...Musically it´s quite different from ATTW3, which I like VERY MUCH...maybe because I remember them playing "Snowbound" on the radio back then..(yeah , I know...IN PUERTO RICO!!!)...
 
Mix: 3/5: I suspect it's a great mix, obscured by the sound - but maybe the actual mix is more blurred. When you get your ear in it is great, but it takes effort.
Sound: 2/5: Hard work to listen to. When there is a lot going on, as there often is, it's often fuzzy and nebulous. Thought it must be compressed but DR is ok (11). Vocals sound clear. SACD is no better than the DTS.
Music: 4/5: Some a bit dull, some I adore.

NB: After a bit of comparison, I decided the SACD was no better than the DTS so I have been listening to that, so I have not voted here. I couldn't find a poll for the DTS version. (I'd be happy to vote here if that won't upset too many people.)
Weighted score: 3*3 + 2*2 + 4*1 = 9+4+4 = 17/30 = 5.66 = 6/10.
 
Mix: 3/5: I suspect it's a great mix, obscured by the sound - but maybe the actual mix is more blurred. When you get your ear in it is great, but it takes effort.
Sound: 2/5: Hard work to listen to. When there is a lot going on, as there often is, it's often fuzzy and nebulous. Thought it must be compressed but DR is ok (11). Vocals sound clear. SACD is no better than the DTS.
Music: 4/5: Some a bit dull, some I adore.

NB: After a bit of comparison, I decided the SACD was no better than the DTS so I have been listening to that, so I have not voted here. I couldn't find a poll for the DTS version. (I'd be happy to vote here if that won't upset too many people.)
Weighted score: 3*3 + 2*2 + 4*1 = 9+4+4 = 17/30 = 5.66 = 6/10.


the DTS version ? Did not know that existed - unless you are speaking of the same boxset that came out in 2 versions -SACD or DVD sound. Is that the DTS you mention ?
 
the DTS version ? Did not know that existed - unless you are speaking of the same boxset that came out in 2 versions -SACD or DVD sound. Is that the DTS you mention ?
Yes, I've got the UK 1976-1982 boxset. The discs are CD/SACD + DVDV with DTS sound. I believe the US boxes are the same but do not have an SACD layer. But I think they have DTS, too. Looking on Discogs that seems to be the case.
 
the DTS version ? Did not know that existed - unless you are speaking of the same boxset that came out in 2 versions -SACD or DVD sound. Is that the DTS you mention ?

The discs were also released individually as double disc sets- SACD/DVD (UK, Europe, Japan) or CD/DVD (US) and regularly come up on eBay at varying prices. In all cases the DVD has DTS 5.1 as well as various extras.
 
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