I just picked up Allan Holdsworth's "All Night Wrong" on line on SACD, imported from Japan for about $40.00. If you are a Holdsworth fan, it is definitely worth the cash. If you are an audiophile, love jazz fusion or great sounding live music in high resolution, than this is something you definitely want and you will be in for a huge treat.
The SACD is 8 songs from a 2002 concert which takes place in a small Japanese jazz club, and the 5.1 mix provides incredible depth, clarity and a huge soundstage (it also has 2 channel version as well). The instruments are separated beautifully and sound quite real and practically right in my living room. There is an element of airiness to the music that is quite amazing. The surrounds are primarily more for ambience, however, they do add quite a bit to the overall sound of the instruments. The audience noise is low in the mix, as the music is the primary focus. It is a somewhat mellower performance in style of music, however, the trio is in fine form.
Frankly, I like the sound of "All Night Wrong" as good as Chesky's "4 Generations of Miles" SACD and think that this is better sounding than Chesky's "Swing Live" SACD. It is that good. I was told that when Holdsworth himself heard the SACD version of this performance, he was blown away and immediately rushed out and bought a SACD player.
For those of you who don't know who Holdsworth is, he is considered one of the greatest electric guitar players of all time, though remaining practically unknown by the masses. He is a jazz fusion jedi-master, whose skill is only outdone by his speed and accuracy. His speed is on par with Dimeola and Metheny, perhaps faster. This album is a nice reflection of his talent.
out of 5