Carole King TAPESTRY Multi-Channel SACD (1 Viewer)

[Harrison Shinn]

Just picked it up tonight and I must say that it's pretty good. Of course there are limitations to the recording because of it's age, and there are times when the bass seems a bit overdone. The guitar and piano solos on I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE are in the surround channels, and occasionally, there are vocals spread throughout the mix on other tracks as well. For the most part, the music sounds better than the vocals; they sound like they're heavily compressed, like there's a curtain covering the vocals. I haven't listened to the STEREO version yet, but I'm sure it'll be good. Also, the two bonus tracks from the recently remastered regular CD are on here and sound quite good.
Cheers!
Harry

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Harry,
Interesting new SACD...please let us know how the stereo version sounds. I'm interested in this one...

Lee

 

[KeithH]

Lee, I have the stereo SACD, and it is a marked improvement over the Sony remastered CD or the MasterSound gold CD. True, it is not the greatest recording by any means, but the stereo SACD is better than the CDs. If you like Carole King, definitely pick up the SACD. I read on Audio Asylum that different people did the authoring for the stereo tracks on the stereo-only and multi-channel SACDs. If true, then I would guess that the stereo tracks on these discs sound different. I was planning on getting the multi-channel SACD for the multi-channel track, but now I am doubly intrigued.

 

[Micahel C]

I have the original quad recording of Tapestry, so I'm going to go looking for the mc SACD this weekend. I'll be interested to see if they used the original quad mix or have remixed it for this release.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Would anyone know if this is going to be available on DVD-A?

 

[KeithH]

Mike asked:

Would anyone know if this is going to be available on DVD-A?

I highly doubt it. Carole King is a Sony Music artist, and Sony co-developed SACD with Philips. As such, Sony is not supporting DVD-Audio, so don't expect to see any DVD-Audio releases from Sony Music. The major record label behind DVD-Audio is Warner, so I am hopeful that we will see the likes of Van Halen, Dire Straits, and Madonna on DVD-Audio someday.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Keith answered:

I highly doubt it.

Darn! Just a great album. And me without an SACD player! Hmmmmmm. Maybe I need to do something about that.
Thanks for the info Keith!

 

[KeithH]

Mike said:

And me without an SACD player! Hmmmmmm. Maybe I need to do something about that.

Action Point for Mike: Buy an SACD player this weekend and report results on Monday.
If you were to buy an SACD player, what would your budget be? You can get the Sony SCD-CE775 multi-channel SACD changer for $250 through Crutchfield. OneCall, J&R Music World, and Oade Bros. may even be cheaper. I've read that buy.com has it for $219 delivered.

 

[JimChan]

I have the stereo SACD

So, there are actually two versions for this title - stereo and mc versions?

Can someone advise if Jeff Beck Blow By Blow also has 2 versions, or only the mc versions?

How can one determine which version is sold at on-line store?

 

[Michael_T]

So, there are actually two versions for this title - stereo and mc versions?
Can someone advise if Jeff Beck Blow By Blow also has 2 versions, or only the mc versions?
How can one determine which version is sold at on-line store?

Actually, what Sony has been doing is once they release the MCH version they delete the original stereo only version. Also, any of the MCH SACDs that have been released by Sony that had original stereo only versions, have the exact same catalog number and UPC code.
Therefore, there may not really be a good way to tell which version is being sold on-line unless they specifically indicate, like www.elusivedisc.com does. Other than that I would assume that what the web-site might tell you is correct. So if they say MCH version - then you have to believe it is the MCH version. But you have to take what you read on the web in these cases with a grain of salt.
As far as the Jeff Beck title is concered, this was an original stereo only SACD, later re-released in a MCH/stereo version (with the same catalog number). So, again, unless someone tells you they are specifically selling you the stereo version, you might have to assume that you are getting the most current version out there.
The biggest problem is that stores, brick and mortar or on-line, will probably want to sell their oldest stock first, and if they haven't yet sold out of the stereo only version - and they only give you one option of ordering this title (not telling you if it is MCH or stereo) then it could be a toss-up to what you receive.
Sony would have made things much easier if they would have assigned new catalog numbers and UPC codes to the MCH re-issues.

 

[Harrison Shinn]

Interesting new SACD...please let us know how the stereo version sounds. I'm interested in this one...

Lee: I gave a few of the stereo tracks a spin and they sound very smooth; all of the instruments are (naturally) closer in the mix, but as good as it sounds, I still find myself going back to the MC mixes. They sound more open (immediately noticeable in the piano intro on I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE) and the vocals are spread throughout all of the channels (even surrounds). The piano on I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE dominates the left side of room and the guitar dominates the right. The rhythm section is firmly anchored in what feels like the center of my listening space (the rhythm section is actually distributed throughout all channels but the imaging is so precise that it feels like you're right in the middle of it all, while Carole and her piano, the lead guitar and backup singers are surrounding you). Sections where I felt the bass was a little overcooked are a bit smoother on the stereo mix, but after hearing the bass on the MC mix, I found myself missing it on the stereo mixes.

The back of the jewel case states that the 5.1 mixes were done by Paul Kingberg and the stereo mix by Bob Irwin.

Cheers,

Harry