My New Favorite Pop Super Audio CD is... (1 Viewer)

[JackJD]

David Bowie - "Heathen"... The multi-channel mix is phenomenal! I'm not even what you would call a David Bowie "fan", perhaps a casual follower of his hits and such...
BUT...
This album is extraordinary in every way; Sonically as well as from a compositional/lyrical/musical standpoint.
I'll make a confession... I originally bought this album for no other reason than to hear the quality of a recent "pop" multi-channel sacd. It had nothing to do with David Bowie or his music. But, I am now addicted to this album... Really.
I own Beck's "Sea Changes" on CD(as well as all of his previous albums) and sacd... Nice mix, great sonics, but the music seems rather redundant... Same twangy/sliding-guitars and instrumentation with the same ambient sounds/effects, mixed with the same drone-like melodies on practically the entire album... I don't believe this is Beck's best work. I'm not much of a country music person either, so maybe that's where I'm getting lost... Oh, well... I suppose that's why there are so many artist/musicians/albums in the world... Something for everyone...
I highly recommend Bowie's "Heathen" on sacd... Even if you're not a big fan, this album is imaginative, playful, fun, funny, beautiful and at times, touching...
Sounds good, Huh?
I'm also VERY pleased to finally have Fagen's "The Nightfly" on DVD-Audio. So much so, I may just listen to it again after Bowie finishes
Oh, I should mention briefly that the bonus songs offered on the "Heathen" sacd are not nearly as good as the actual album... I like to end the album on the last song of the original play-list... Then again, I'm weird...
Try it out... Then let us know what you think.
Enjoy the Music, JD

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Jack,
You owe me a royalty for lifting my latest subject heading...

 

[JackJD]

Lee,
I'd rather owe you than cheat you out of it...
But seriously, have you heard this sacd?
It seems to have slipped under the radar here at the forum, as I've read very little if anything about the album. I'd like to hear some other opinions...
Enjoy the Music... JD

 

[Mike Broadman]

Man, I didn't realise this was out already. Thanks for the head's up.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I have not heard this one yet Jack but it is on my to-buy list.
Thanks for the review!

 

[LanceJ]

Here's an album on Columbia that would--to me--help convince me that Sony is serious about rock on sacd:
Mike Watt's album "Ballhog or Tugboat?"
At cduniverse.com: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinf...32&style=music
those guys on the cover are two wrestlers; the unreadable words above them are "Sex with you is like watching scientific wrestling." (Scientific=college/Olympic style.) And Tugboat & Ball-Hog were old-time professional wrestlers.
A weird title for an awesome album. Can't really put this collaborative effort in any single musical category. And the sound quality is very good--it's like they went straight from the mics to the recording deck. Really open sounding and "crispy". And make sure you read who plays on this title--lots o' cooooool people.
Mike Watt's personal webpage:
http://www.hootpage.com/
Come on Sony, I dare ya........
LJ

 

[KeithH]

I haven't picked up Heathen even on CD yet, but I have been meaning to. Glad to hear that the SACD is a winner.

 

[Emil Stoica]

Jack,

Well I for one agree. This disc offers one of the best surround experiences yet and offers some of Bowie's best work since Scary Monsters. Track 10 just gets stuck in your head.

 

[Rich Malloy]

I've been thinking about this disc all week (never heard it), and much like Jack it's sorta the "contemporary pop multichannel" thing for me, too.

I picked up Beck's "SEA CHANGE" SACD last week, an album I know well and like very, very much, and was blown away by the sonics and the multichannel mix. I'd just added an Outlaw ICBM-1 bass manager to my system, and was luxuriating in all my multichannel discs (all of which have been greatly improved by the introduction of the ICBM).

I love Bowie's 1970s recordings, and some of his 80's stuff, but I haven't been following him much lately. I thought the band he put together a few years back (Tin Machine?) was fantastic, but I never picked up any of their releases. "HEATHEN" just might be the one I've been waiting for...

 

[JackJD]

Rich,
Do yourself a favor and pick it up... You will not be disappointed; Then let us know what you think.
We are so fortunate as music lovers/enthusiasts to have access to these new hi-res. formats... It probably sounds corny, but every time I listen to these new discs I feel so blessed...
I am so excited about music again!!!
Thanks for sharing all this excitement with me...
Enjoy the music... -JD

 

[JackJD]

Hey check it out...
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...athensacd.html
Great review Mr. Hunt... I couldn't agree more.
I still love this disk!
Anyone else pick this up yet? Comments?
Enjoy the music - JD

 

[Mike Broadman]

Anyone else pick this up yet? Comments?

NP: this

I'm only on the 3rd track and listening to the stereo track, but it sounds great so far.

 

[Al B. C]

Yeah - I picked up "Heathen" and "Sea Change".
The Beck disc blew me away and I felt that it could have been one of the best multi channel recordings to date
Until....................
I popped in "Heathen".
Holy smokes!
Listening to this disc in multi channel is like hearing it for the first time. The soundstage is incredible and I'm picking up little riffs and nuances that were completely lost in the original stereo CD mix.
This is a winner - Highly recommended.

 

[Rich Malloy]

I still think I like "Sea Change" a tad better, but I can't get enough of the "Heathen" disc! I can honestly say I love it as much as any David Bowie album I've ever loved - I really think it's that good.
And I found this nice review at the Digital Bits the other day, which included a surprising bit of info: http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...athensacd.html
The last four songs on the SACD are bonus songs not included on the "regular" CD release?!? Are you kidding me?!?
Two of those bonus tracks, namely "Conversation Piece" and "Safe", are my two favorite songs on the whole album (well, along with "Slip Away"). While I also love "I Would Be Your Slave", "Gemini Spaceship", "5:15 The Angels Have Gone", and "Everyone Says Hi", I don't think the album would be nearly as potent for me without the "Conversation Piece > Safe" conclusion. It's my favorite couplet!
I also think "Wood Jackson" is a decent tune (another of the bonus tracks), but I concede that "When The Boys Come Marching Home" (the fourth bonus track) is probably the least successful song on the record (I lose interest about halfway through). Still, three of four of the bonus tracks are really good, and two of them are in my Top 3!
I was shocked when I found this out, and if you only have the CD, you're missing out on some great music!

 

[JackJD]

Still, three of four of the bonus tracks are really good, and two of them are in my Top 3!

Rich,
As I stated in my original post, I disagree. I think the "bonus" tracks were wisely chosen as "bonus" tracks in that they are the weakest material on the album...

Also, I may be imagining things, but it seems to me that the mix and sound quality is lacking on these bonus tracks as well. Listen to them again, and see if you notice a difference in the spacious mix and sound quality of the last four tunes.

Again, as in my first post, I prefer to stop the album where it was originally intended to end. ...To each his own.

Enjoy the music... -JD

 

[Mike Broadman]

Mike,
Did you finish listening to the enitire album? Did you get a chance to check out the MC mix? Whadya think?

Yep, just finished it. Loved it. Gemini Spaceship, Everyone Says 'Hi', and Afraid sound especially inviting on the MC mix.

As for the bonus tracks, I'm somewhere in between Jack and Rich. I'm glad they're there, but they are not as good as the best tracks on the album.

Still, by far my least favorite song, including the bonus, is A Better Future.

Now, we need some classic Bowie to come out on SACD!

NP: Marillion, the making of Brave

 

[Rich Malloy]

Jack, I hadn't notice any drop-off in quality for the bonus tracks, and was pleasantly surprised. I'll listen again (probably two or three times before the end of the week!), but if it's inferior to the original CD tracks, it could only be slightly I would think. At any rate, the fidelity from beginning to end is very, very good... exceptionally good for a pop/rock recording.
Maybe I just have wholly different tastes, but "Conversation Piece" and "Safe" are definitely two of my favorites ("Safe" has that great 'spaceman doo-wop' thing going on!), and I noticed that no one else mentioned liking "Slip Away" very much, which is my other favorite song (twinkle, twinkle, Uncle Floyd!). If I had to pick a single, it'd probably be "Everyone Says Hi", and of course "A Better Future" would probably get the nod at the club. Bowie's cover of "Gemini Spaceship" is also really amazing.
Honestly, with the small exception of "When The Boys Come Marching Home", I like the whole damn thing!

 

[JackJD]

KeithH, Lee...
Pick up this sacd yet...?
If not, why not? ...Go get it...
Join the party... Tell us what you think. -JD

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

The last four songs on the SACD are bonus songs not included on the "regular" CD release?!? Are you kidding me?!?

Well, as a matter of fact, they were included on the limited edition 2-disc version of Heathen that was released first (and subesquently re-released), so they are (or were) available on CD (and great, too, Conversation Piece is a great improvement on the original version, it was supposed to be on the not-yet-and-perhaps-never-released Toys, new versions of his very old songs, the other three are Heathen outtakes, man, I swear he has outtakes other artists would kill for).