HiRez Poll John, Elton - HONKY CHATEAU [SACD]

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Rate the SACD of Elton John - HONKY CHATEAU


  • Total voters
    132
The video was very informative. I remember sitting a friend down and playing Rocket Man in multi-channel. He remarked instantly how he never knew it was so musically complex. I sure appreciate that it contains great build up and release throughout, but what no one can explain is how it was still a huge hit given the limitations of AM radio!

Thanks for posting the video!
 
Just noticed that this is the only one of the 70's Elton titles I hadn't voted on.

There is lots to love here. Greg Penny certainly has a proven track record here with these Elton John mixes. It's a crime against humanity that his mixes of four other Elton albums have been languishing in a vault for more than a decade. The horns blaring out of the rears on the opening track are one of the things that make you fall in love with surround in the first place. Davey's mandolins in stereo behind you on "Mona Lisas" is a nice touch. And there are plenty of other sublime moments on this disc that are in keeping with all the other 70's EJ surround mixes. However, I do have to say that when compared to all the others, this one falls maybe just a little short. A couple of songs feel a little more conservative in the mix. Perhaps that is because the arrangements on this album are sparser in comparison to the albums that preceded it. (Paul Buckmaster's string arrangements are absent this time around.) Also there are one or two tracks here that I don't feel are up to the standard that Elton and Bernie had around this time. Having said that, there are some exceptional deep cuts here like "Salvation" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters." Maybe I'm just feeling guilty about the 10's that I gave all the other titles, but I think I am going to give this one a 9. I found that I enjoyed it just a little bit less than the others. However, I wish that other bands' "worst" surround mixes were this good! (I'm talking to you, Rush!)

After many years of being readily available, it looks like the supply of these Elton SACDs is starting to dry up. Unless you really can't stand Elton, they are essential additions to any surround sound collection. Import CDs still has Tumbleweed and Madman for less than $14 each. Grab them while you can.
 
New Yorker music writer Amanda Petrusich relates that John Bolton's book revives--and expands upon--the bizarre story of the White House occupant's determination to slip North Korea's Supreme Leader an autographed copy of "Rocket Man." I don't want to flout forum rules here by inviting a political discussion, and I also don't want to encourage thread drift. But on a purely musical level: I love Kate Bush as much as anyone, but come on, Amanda: if we want to re-acquaint ourselves with "Rocket Man," you want us to seek out Bush's cover rather than Sir Elton's original? (Might I instead ambivalently recommend Greg Penny's Atmos remix, currently streaming on Tidal?)
 
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Just noticed that this is the only one of the 70's Elton titles I hadn't voted on.

There is lots to love here. Greg Penny certainly has a proven track record here with these Elton John mixes. It's a crime against humanity that his mixes of four other Elton albums have been languishing in a vault for more than a decade. The horns blaring out of the rears on the opening track are one of the things that make you fall in love with surround in the first place. Davey's mandolins in stereo behind you on "Mona Lisas" is a nice touch. And there are plenty of other sublime moments on this disc that are in keeping with all the other 70's EJ surround mixes. However, I do have to say that when compared to all the others, this one falls maybe just a little short. A couple of songs feel a little more conservative in the mix. Perhaps that is because the arrangements on this album are sparser in comparison to the albums that preceded it. (Paul Buckmaster's string arrangements are absent this time around.) Also there are one or two tracks here that I don't feel are up to the standard that Elton and Bernie had around this time. Having said that, there are some exceptional deep cuts here like "Salvation" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters." Maybe I'm just feeling guilty about the 10's that I gave all the other titles, but I think I am going to give this one a 9. I found that I enjoyed it just a little bit less than the others. However, I wish that other bands' "worst" surround mixes were this good! (I'm talking to you, Rush!)

After many years of being readily available, it looks like the supply of these Elton SACDs is starting to dry up. Unless you really can't stand Elton, they are essential additions to any surround sound collection. Import CDs still has Tumbleweed and Madman for less than $14 each. Grab them while you can.
Agreed. I was lucky to grab these when I first really got into surround 4-5 years ago for around $5 each. $14 is a bargain these days.
 
I wanna get this album in surround, but now I am thinking I should wait until they do whatever they're gonna do with releasing stuff in Atmos.
 
I grew yup listening to my brother's very beat up vinyl copy of this album. I liked about half of the material. It has grown on me a lot over the years. I think its one of Elton's best albums from a time when he was less, ahem, outrageous, and more about the music and songs. The sound on this SACD is exactly how the format was advertised, that is, super warm, and very good dynamics for such an old recording. Its really superb. I'v never heard a rebook CD so I don't know how that compares. And as others have noted, the mix is consistently discrete and engaging. I really like it. It gets a solid 9!
 
The surround sound of his album is definitely a 10--and the material itself and 8-9. This is probably my overall favorite overall Elton John album.

I have all the SACDs from 2004 initial buys, but just got a car that can play true MLP DVD Audio and some genius painstakingly transfered *all* the SACDs over to that format. They are still available online if you know where to look, and they sound just as good as the SACD versions.

I also found the antique Sonic DVDA Creator with a search and I'd love to do this with several of my SACDs & BDAs...but I have no clue how to do it and there's very little tutorials anywhere.

The car really makes me lament again how sad it is that this format didn't take off. It was (originally) priced right at pretty much the same cost as a regular CD but not enough of people had the equipment to take advantage of its sonic benefits.
 
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