HiRez Poll Rolling Stones, The - HACKNEY DIAMONDS [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this brand new album from The Rolling Stones entitled "Hackney Diamonds."
The album has been mixed in Dolby Atmos and is available as part of a deluxe CD/Blu-Ray edition.

 

[depeche76]

No reviews yet?????

 

[alansanchez86]

any good?

 

[key_wiz]

any good?

I played the streaming version last night.

I'm not a fan of most later Stones albums, but this one is the best they've done in a long, long time. Dare I say it's their best since Tattoo You? There's an urgency and energy to the tracks missing from most of their later stuff. Andrew Watt was a great choice as producer. (He came on McCartney's recommendation, reportedly.) He seems to really have a knack for producing older artists. The song quality is solid. Mick sounds great for 80 -- his voice hasn't aged really at all. The Atmos mix is solid but nothing spectacular, IMO.

But since I presume these polls are to be limited to those who purchase/listen to the physical copies, I'll refrain from voting. But it would be an 8 or 9 from me.

 

[beerking]

any good?

Yes it is.
This has a very good 5.1 mix ( which I'm enjoying whilst listening to the Atmos mix!!) Yes a conundrum but
the Atmos mix is A typical of Giles Martin...in that it does use the heights but not to the level that I would like.

The music is surprisingly good considering how old these rockers are now.
Just shows that once you've got it you don't lose it.

Is it really 18 years since their last release?

This is the Stones doing what the Stones do best...write great tunes and record a memorable album.

My fingers are hovering between a score of 9 or a 10

Oh go on then, a well deserved 10

Notwithstanding Giles 'Atmos' mix.

 

[alansanchez86]

I just read that There are some special features in this record, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Elton John.

 

[Ephi82]

I went 8. The ATMOS mix is very good. Solid. Good bottom while providing lots of room for all the musical elements.

The songs are pretty good, amazing that after all these years they can still come up with interesting ideas while still being the Stones. I don’t imagine it’s easy. That being said, I don’t hear anything you would call classic, but that’s ok because they have a monumental body of work.

The performances are nothing short of amazing. These guys don’t HAVE TO do this, but they still do, and must love it because they are in top form. One caveat, I miss Charles swing. It’s so obviously missing.

The production is modern, very modern, which means this guy Watt did his job and lots of younguns will listen to this stuff and like it. I’d probably like it better if it sounded more like mid seventies Stones, but I’m old as dirt.

 

[key_wiz]

I went 8. The ATMOS mix is very good. Solid. Good bottom while providing lots of room for all the musical elements.

The songs are pretty good, amazing that after all these years they can still come up with interesting ideas while still being the Stones. I don’t imagine it’s easy. That being said, I don’t hear anything you would call classic, but that’s ok because they have a monumental body of work.

The performances are nothing short of amazing. These guys don’t HAVE TO do this, but they still do, and must love it because they are in top form. One caveat, I miss Charles swing. It’s so obviously missing.

The production is modern, very modern, which means this guy Watt did his job and lots of younguns will listen to this stuff and like it. I’d probably like it better if it sounded more like mid seventies Stones, but I’m old as dirt.

The mix is interesting because, at least IMO, it lends itself more to stereo than surround. It has a nice, almost dirty, sound to it and you don't want to mess with that by separating the elements too much.

Whoever did the surround did a pretty good job of finding the sweet spot, IMO. But this isn't going to win any award for Best Immersive Mix or anything.

Then again, the Grammys are so stupid, it just might.

 

[Ephi82]

The mix is interesting because, at least IMO, it lends itself more to stereo than surround. It has a nice, almost dirty, sound to it and you don't want to mess with that by separating the elements too much.

Whoever did the surround did a pretty good job of finding the sweet spot, IMO. But this isn't going to win any award for Best Immersive Mix or anything.

Then again, the Grammys are so stupid, it just might.

For me the best ATMOS mixes sound like super roomy stereo because that how I hear the world!

Super discrete can be interesting, and art unto itself, but I still love the experience of hearing a band in a room, big or small.

 

[jazzbo51]

All things considered, not a bad Stones album despite what a lot of haters and 'critics' are saying. The mix is solid and the packaging was much nicer than I was expecting!

 

[zimmy]

I had small hopes that the stones could make an album worth listening to many times anymore. That has been the case with their albums for so many years now. But suddenly it happened! I am really happy to be enjoying this very much after several listenings. I was also afraid that the Atmos mix wouldn´t be so good but i think this is excellent! As with other blurays this is unfortunately not available for so may people because of the price. I can just hope that people hear it through streaming in surround which hopefully makes more people buy the bluray in the end instead of going for the vinyl.

 

[leihan]

I agree with Zimmy, this is a surprisingly good album. Good old/new rock´n´roll! Nice riffs, hooks and melodies. Some very strong songs and they are having fun, you can tell! I don´t make any comparisons with any of their previous albums, I just take it all in with a smile . As for the Atmos-mix, it´s very good and highly enjoyable, I´ll give it a 9.

 

[halbroome]

I voted 8 (rather high for me). Lenticular cover was cool, and the package wasn't a total mess like the 5.1 GHS!

Seemed like they took a lot of my fave "b-side" deep tunes and reworked them a bit, but at least it sounded like a Stones album.
Maybe a coincidence that the GHS-ish tunes were my favorites on first listen?

Anyone else hear a glitch on "Mess it Up" between 23 and 24 minutes? Hope it was deliberate, because I hate replacment discs.

 

[Juggsnelson]

Where do I start? The album as a whole blew me away. I went in with No Expectations...yes I'm a huge Stones fan lol.....but i was not prepared for how great this album was. Even on first listen it surpassed every Stones album for me since maybe Some Girls....and I might like it better than that! A huge fan of every Stones record to some degree but this is an album with no filler and it is not padded out with 5 songs of mediocre quality. It sounds like a band....a killer band.

The Atmos mix sounds excellent although I am playing it through a 5.1 system. Its great to hear the bass on a Stones record. Some very tasty parts too. The keyboards and backing vocals spread out to the rear speakers sound great. Nice choice relegating Lady Gaga's powerhouse vocals in the rears.....great song too!

I voted a 10. Great music, great mix, And even a nice booklet with good info on the songs.

 

[jimfisheye]

Disclaimer: Not a huge Stones fan. Probably more into some of their early mono albums and singles. Like em well enough and respect em all the same!

I probably grabbed this because I wanted to check out a newer recording mixed for 12 channels and figured I'd at least relate to the music.

First and foremost I want to say - in this age of volume war hash - this has actual fidelity and dynamics and no one ruined it. Lots of points there!

The 12 channel mix, for a 12 channel mix, is pretty lacking IMHO. If I had just hung ceiling speakers and dialed in the expanded surround system just for this album, I would have felt cheated. This shouldn't be a talking point but it kind of is. Releasing a 12 channel mix sets an expectation. Or should anyway! So there's that. It's a stereo mix. Expanded a bit to the side channels of 7.1. Mostly just reflections and ambience in the rears and all the height channels.

It IS a good mix and sounds really good in general! Just not very surround-y. It sure doesn't demand a 12 channel system.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Voted 9. Very strong album, IMO.
Suitable mix.

Life in Surround Review

 

[Sal1950]

First and foremost I want to say - in this age of volume war hash - this has actual fidelity and dynamics and no one ruined it. Lots of points there!

True of the Atmos and multich mixes. Sadly the 2ch mix is one of the worst, most compressed rock
releases I've seen in recent history. Specially for one included in a high resolution BluRay release.
foobar2000 1.6.12 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2023-10-30 01:02:30

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Rolling Stones / Hackney Diamonds (2ch LPCM 96k)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR5 -10.10 dB -16.85 dB 3:49 01-Angry
DR5 -10.10 dB -16.47 dB 4:11 02-Get Close
DR5 -10.10 dB -16.88 dB 4:03 03-Depending On You
DR5 -10.10 dB -15.47 dB 3:32 04-Bite My Head Off
DR4 -10.10 dB -15.48 dB 3:58 05-Whole Wide World
DR6 -10.10 dB -18.51 dB 4:38 06-Dreamy Skies
DR5 -10.10 dB -16.63 dB 4:04 07-Mess It Up
DR5 -10.10 dB -16.35 dB 3:59 08-Live By The Sword
DR5 -10.10 dB -15.74 dB 3:16 09-Driving Me Too Hard
DR7 -10.10 dB -18.01 dB 2:57 10-Tell Me Straight
DR5 -10.10 dB -16.70 dB 7:23 11-Sweet Sounds Of Heaven
DR7 -10.40 dB -20.63 dB 2:44 12-Rolling Stone Blues
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 12
Official DR value: DR5

Samplerate: 96000 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 2418 kbps
Codec: FLAC

 

[jimfisheye]

Seriously?! Haha. I never listened to the stereo. Like I said, the 7.1.4 mix was the calling card. So someone still managed to screw up after all.

I'm curious how some of these screw ups happen. This can't be a case of someone making a best effort and their work just sucks. It has to be something out of sight to someone and missed. Some bureaucracy too big for the left hand to know where the right hand is all the time.

Maybe someone was vetting the Atmos binaural stereo fold down and the 'legacy' stereo mix master got missed? And then it turned out to be botched? It just never got caught?

Hopefully the fact that setting up a 12 channel system takes some effort and expense leads to just brutal critique and returns if an Atmos mix gets screwed up. A release like this is really ripe for getting the blow off treatment and just treated like commercial fodder. A messed up stereo release follows that. That the Atmos mix (pedestrian as it is) got through unmolested is a REALLY positive good sign!

 

[marpow]

I

Yes it is.
This has a very good 5.1 mix ( which I'm enjoying whilst listening to the Atmos mix!!) Yes a conundrum but
the Atmos mix is A typical of Giles Martin...in that it does use the heights but not to the level that I would like.

The music is surprisingly good considering how old these rockers are now.
Just shows that once you've got it you don't lose it.

Is it really 18 years since their last release?

This is the Stones doing what the Stones do best...write great tunes and record a memorable album.

My fingers are hovering between a score of 9 or a 10

Oh go on then, a well deserved 10

Notwithstanding Giles 'Atmos' mix.

I voted 8.
Very good music and Atmos pretty good.
Blue and Lonesome a Stones album was 2016.
But maybe they don’t count them cuz covers?

 

[Guy Robinson]

The music is surprising good for a bunch of geezers. The highlights are the last 2 tracks, especially "Sweet Sounds Of Heaven". I don't have Atmos so I listened to the 7.1. I find that I have to adjust almost every mix I get in Atmos now. However, Steven Wilson's efforts never need adjustment. He seems to really know what he is doing. I found Lady Gagas' vocals along with the keyboards and other things buried in the surrounds/back channels. When I took it into Audacity it became apparent that adjustments were required. So with an overall adjustment of +6DB on ALL the channels and a further +4db on the surrounds and back channels everything sprung to life. The keyboards and backing vocals were now present at the same levels as everything else. Gaga was the same level as Mick although I found hers a bit distorted. I'm not sure if this is just a 7.1/5.1 issue when extracting from the Atmos or whether the Atmos itself also has these issues. Anyway, I find this issue a lot on Atmos tracks. You would think that volume would be a simple thing to get correct. I had friends over to hear the results and they couldn't believe how much better the "adjusted" versions were when I did a comparison.