Rolling Stones SACD Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

Friends,
After trekking to Tower in Atlanta late last night, I picked up Hot Rocks, Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet, and Aftermath UK. I thought it might be nice to start a thread for all the Stones reviews.
Let me say that I am blown away by Hot Rocks (more reviews of the other albums will be posted layer). Even Satisfaction sounded awesome in my car on the way home from the stereo store.
The Super Audio layer is even better: dynamic, clear, and the instruments seem to be elevated versus Mick's vocals for a better overall effect. Perhaps we are much closer to the master tape than we have previously been.
Some of my standout selections:
Time is on My Side
Satisfaction
Paint It Black
Under My Thumb
Jumpin; Jack Flash
Sympathy for the Devil
Brown Sugar
Overall, an excellent effort - for sure THE Stones version to have.
I will post updates as I listen to more of the albums.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Your choice of albums to buy is the same as what I want to start with. I have the original CD of Hot Rocks and it's the only early Stones I have. I want to dig deeper and figured the other three you listed was a good place.

Hopefully I'll have time tonight to check out Best Buy.

NP: Pat Metheny, Imaginary Day

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Mike,

I am listening again and I have to say Sympathy for the Devil is mind-blowing. The drums are fantastic!

This new series is it!

Let's hope more major artists get the hybrid bug...

 

[Dan Joy]

Ok, I am totally jazzed, go to BB, walk in go right to SACD section-NO SOUP FOR ME!
Go right to Rolling Stones CD section- NO SOUP FOR ME!
Find the manager d'jour and he is like' "Sorry I don't know what your talking about". Well Chris, this pretty upstanding teenager says let me take a look in the back. 2 minutes later he comes back with a cart full of Stones Digipacks
Well I look on package (HOT ROCKS)and no SACD print of any kind so Chris looks it up on their intranet and the price is 24.99, not 29.99 as on the digipack I now have discounted soup, cool!
I get home and have to concur with Lee, HOT ROCKS ROCKS will compare Cd layer possibly never!

 

[Rich Malloy]

Some really mixed reviews coming in (especially on HOT ROCKS it seems): http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/sh...?threadid=6284
I wonder if anyone can do a comparison against previous releases of "Beggar's Banquet", "Let It Bleed", and "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" (either CD/SACD or both vs. previous)? These three are my most anticipated!

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Rich,

I have read in detail Lukpac's comments on Steve Hoffman's site. I think either he has a crapfest stereo or he lacks critical listening skills. These releases are awesome.

Maybe in all the excitement, some hardcore collectors were expecting even better than what the master tapes may allow on certain tracks. Lukpac is a good guy but maybe he is being a bit hypercritical here based on my listening.

I have now listened to all the albums I purchased and definitely think they sound great.

A few notes:

1. Be careful about your purchases because there is a lot of overlapping music. Hot Rocks contains the big hits.

2. There is no mention of Super Audio which is strange to say the least. Abkco or Sony fumbled a big SACD awareness option here. What are they thinking?

3. My discs were made in Japan which seems to contradict that only Sonopress in Germany has hybrid production capacity. More later on this story if I can get some facts...

4. Digipaks are well done, but come on even I find cardboard inadequate for this big release. Clearly some cost and planned obsolescence (sic?) issues here.

5. The sonic quality does vary a bit in places. In spite of the excellent overall quality, some tracks are audiophile demo material and others are simply very, very good.

6. Robert Johnson finally gets his credit? Lawyers involved?

7. Overall, I give this two very big thumbs up!

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Sorry,
Forgot to mention that sales here at Tower Atlanta were very strong. Most titles already sold out. Only the Aftermath US version and Hot Rocks remains plentiful.
And they had a bunch last night at midnight.
We should see some good sales numbers if this is any indication.

 

[Mike Broadman]

4. Digipaks are well done, but come on even I find cardboard inadequate for this big release. Clearly some cost and planned obsolescence (sic?) issues here.

That's a big word, there, buddy.
As the sole defender of digipacks, I don't think they do because it's cheaper. I would think it's cheaper to print liner notes and use the jewel cases that they buy en masse cheaply.
The cardboard just looks better. At least that's what they think and what I think.
Oh man, I hope I have time to hit Best Buy... and they have them...
NP: Dr. Octagon, Dr. Octagonycologist

 

[Rich Malloy]

I have read in detail Lukpac's comments on Steve Hoffman's site. I think either he has a crapfest stereo or he lacks critical listening skills.

C'mon, Lee, if you're a frequenter of that site, you know that's untrue! Not only is Luke a very worthwhile contributor, his comments reflect a direct A/B'ing with previous releases of the same material... which he obviously knows quite well. I don't consider his word to be gospel, but he's not to be dismissed out-of-hand (and he's certainly not the only one complaining).

Lee, I know you haven't picked up "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" yet, but can you give me an idea of how "Beggar's Banquet" and "Let It Bleed" compare to previous incarnations?

And I appreciate your thoughts on "Hot Rocks", but with the exceptions of "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses", I believe all those tunes are available in the same mix on non-compilation remasters. And the two exceptions are available on "The Singles Collection", which includes a lot more stuff unavailable on the non-compilation albums, so that seems a better choice for the completists (though "Hot Rocks" definitely would be my recommendation for anyone who just wants a single really great sampling of early Stones).

 

[Jason_H]

Holy crap. I can't see how anybody is giving these releases a bad review. I got Hot Rocks and Beggar's Banquet in the mail from Amazon on Monday (expecting More Hot Rocks, Ya-Ya's, and Let it Bleed in my other shipment). Listening to the SACD layer on my 222ES...amazing. One word to describe the sound to my ears...sweet!

These are really the first rock SACDs that I've been interested in, and I just cannot wait for more. Of course, maybe I'm just so enthusiastic since the previous ABKCO Stones releases were some of the most poorly mastered CDs that I owned!

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I'm not sure if it is clear from Rich's post, but The Singles Collection has "mostly" mono mixes while Hot Rocks and the albums have "mostly" stereo mixes. That makes even some of the A-sides of the Singles Collection unique, let alone the non-album B-sides. There are exceptions and unique variants that the trainspotters among us will soon be pointing out, but that's the "gist" of it.
BTW, Luke Pacholski, "Lukpac" from the Steve Hoffman forum is also a member here. I believe his avatar picture from the Hoffman forum was taken during an extremely rare occasion when he was not wearing headphones.
Regards,

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Lee, I know you haven't picked up "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" yet, but can you give me an idea of how "Beggar's Banquet" and "Let It Bleed" compare to previous incarnations?

They are much, much better than my previous CDs which I think are from the 86 remasters. I could not find Get Yer Ya-Yas in Atlanta but I will visit some more stores.

 

[Phil A]

Just finished listening to Aftermath (UK) and Sympathy for the Devil from Beggars Banquet, not only are the drums great on it, I can actually hear the individual bass notes coming from just inside the left channel.

 

[KeithH]

A Best Buy in Wilmington, DE had a few copies of each of the following Stones SACDs today:
* Hot Rocks 1964-1971
* Beggars Banquet
* Aftermath UK
* Aftermath
* Between the Buttons
* Their Satanic Majesties Request
* Metamorphosis
* Let It Bleed
I grabbed Hot Rocks 1964-1971 for $29.99. It was not on sale for $24.99. :frowning: My first listen was to the CD layers through my computer speakers at work. Considering it was the CD layer and was through Altec Lansing computer speakers, the sound was phenomenal. I am now listening to the SACD layer on disc one through the 'C555ES in my second system and am blown away by the sound. Everything is so crisp. I can't wait to listen to the SACD layers in my main system. Kudos to ABCKO.
Now if ABCKO would only release the discs in jewel cases. I don't like digipaks, but I couldn't resist hearing the Stones on SACD. I already put the discs in jewel cases, but I don't have a booklet to go with them. Oh well. I'll live.

 

[Greg_Y]

Has anyone seen the Singles Collection? An independent store by me had most of the releases, if not all of them, but no sign of The Singles Collection. So I placed an order with Amazon -- not bad at $37.99 shipped.

And of course BestBuy.com is sitting on my order of single albums, so right now all I have is Their Satantic Majesties Request...

I am waiting ... I am waiting ...

 

[Scott David]

I picked up the UK versions of Aftermath and Between the Buttons at the BB in Athens, Ga. Took them home, put BTB in my four-year-old Toshiba DVD player...and it wouldn't play. Put Aftermath in...ditto. Then I tried playing them in my ten-year-old Pioneer laserdisc player--and they both played fine. Go figure. Anyone care to venture a guess as to why they wouldn't play in my Toshiba?

On the Pioneer LD player, they both sound fantastic. I was thrilled to get the UK BTB on CD, having sold off my vinyl import copy long ago. Has anyone seen More Hot Rocks in any stores?

 

[Matt Birchall]

Has anyone seen the Singles Collection? An independent store by me had most of the releases, if not all of them, but no sign of The Singles Collection. So I placed an order with Amazon -- not bad at $37.99 shipped.

The Singles Collection is the only one that I'm still waiting on. . . Hopefully I'll see it in a few days.

 

[Phil A]

Scott - a friend of mine has a Toshiba DVD player that is newer than that and he can't play Telarc hybrids either. From what he explained to me, I guess it somehow tries to read the SACD layer with the DVD laser and can't do it and does not recognize the CD layer.

 

[Scott David]

Scott - a friend of mine has a Toshiba DVD player that is newer than that and he can't play Telarc hybrids either. From what he explained to me, I guess it somehow tries to read the SACD layer with the DVD laser and can't do it and does not recognize the CD layer.

Thanks, Phil. I wonder if that's just a quirk of Toshiba DVD players, or if other people are having similar problems playing SADC's on other brands. Oh well...until I can afford to buy a new DVD player, it's just another good reason to hang onto my laserdisc player a little longer.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Hmmmm... ever since my HK CD player went kaput (damn carousel), I've been using my old Pioneer 414 DVD player for CD playback. It has a dual-focus lens for reading either DVDs or CDs (which is why it can read CD-Rs without a glitch), but I wonder if it'll have problems trying to read the correct layer. Anybody know?
I was ready to truck on over to Newbury Comics to pick up "Bleed" and "Banquet", and it'd be an awful shame to find they were unplayable on my setup! :frowning: