andrew markworthy
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 1999
- Messages
- 4,762
I finally relented and bought the SACD of TB. It's very good, and to address Chuck's original post, it is very well recorded. With the greatest of respect Chuck, have you got your system set up properly? I found a *tiny* amount of distortion on some transients, but that is not untypical of 70s recordings.
Incidentally, the recording is not precisely the same as the original stereo release (other than of course being over more channels!). It's worth relating the background to this.
The SACD recording is from the master tapes of the quad mix done in the mid-70s. What is not well-known is that this was the second attempt at a quad mix. The first attempt wasn't v. satisfactory, and so a further attempt was made (which is the one used here). However, during the first attempt at the quad mix, some instruments were erased, including the tubular bells at the end of side/track 1. The bells you hear on the quad/SACD recording sound radically different (and to my ears, worse, because they sound deeper rather than penetrating). Some other, minor instrumental parts were re-recorded, but you would be *very* hard-pressed to detect these.
Having said that, the recording overall is a delight, and I can't wait for future MO releases. I especially want to hear Ommadawn, which was the only album primarily intended for quad right from the start.
Incidentally, the recording is not precisely the same as the original stereo release (other than of course being over more channels!). It's worth relating the background to this.
The SACD recording is from the master tapes of the quad mix done in the mid-70s. What is not well-known is that this was the second attempt at a quad mix. The first attempt wasn't v. satisfactory, and so a further attempt was made (which is the one used here). However, during the first attempt at the quad mix, some instruments were erased, including the tubular bells at the end of side/track 1. The bells you hear on the quad/SACD recording sound radically different (and to my ears, worse, because they sound deeper rather than penetrating). Some other, minor instrumental parts were re-recorded, but you would be *very* hard-pressed to detect these.
Having said that, the recording overall is a delight, and I can't wait for future MO releases. I especially want to hear Ommadawn, which was the only album primarily intended for quad right from the start.
