I thought I would report on a few recent SACD acquisitions. I’ve been somewhat disappointed with three classical discs I’ve recently added to my collection. First, the Reference Recordings Strauss tone poems disc (Honeck/Pittsburg Symphony) is a bit of a let-down, mainly because of the extraordinary claims for the sound and the performances in various reviews I’ve read. Both the recording and the music-making strike me as basically routine—nothing remarkable. Could be my system, but the Strauss leaves me cold. Perhaps the failure is in me. Lots of other folks love this disc; I can’t explain my relative lack of enthusiasm.
Likewise the Linn Mahler 2 with Zander. Praised to the skies by several critics, this album again leaves me unmoved. Zander’s conducting is too fussy; he reports on the music—conductors like Bernstein live the music. One review of Zander’s Mahler 6 likened Zander’s conducting to “proofreading a suicide note.” This Resurrection is very much along those lines. And the recording strikes me as uninvolving. Yet another disparity between critical opinion and personal experience.
Finally, let me mention Vanska’s Sibelius 1 and 4 on Bis. Here I cannot fault either the sound or the performances, except to say that I’m not a fan of the Bis “house sound.” (Or is it Vanska’s house sound? It’s hard to say.) I’m referring particularly to the exaggerated dynamic levels, especially at the quiet side of things. I’ve heard many people say that this is an accurate reflection of the dynamics of a live performance. I must disagree. I attend about 20 symphonic concerts a year, and I never hear in the hall what I hear on Bis recordings. The near-inaudible stretches of quiet music on the SACD are not true to what I hear live. Very much a matter of taste, to be sure, so I will not gainsay anyone who loves the Bis Sibelius recordings. YMMV.
There's happier news to report on the pop side of things. I recently acquired Donald Fagen’s Nightfly, even though it's been available on SACD for some time. It sounds terrific--very much an improvement over RBCD. Finally, I ordered the recent SACD release of Tom Waits’s Rain Dogs from CD Japan. Rain Dogs is one of my favorite non-classical albums of all time, and the new SACD sounds great. But then the regular CD sounded pretty good as well, as does the vinyl. This is and has always been a great-sounding recording. The JSACD is quite expensive, but the remastering is excellent and the packaging is super-elaborate. If you treasure this album, you should definitely consider getting the SACD.
(Disclaminer: all discs auditioned in 2-channel only.)
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Topic - Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - Doktor Brahms 11:21:30 06/20/14 (79)
- BIS Sound - Fitzcaraldo215 08:23:25 07/02/14 (0)
- Zander M2 on Linn - Tony Lauck 19:43:44 06/22/14 (0)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - oldmkvi 08:54:50 06/21/14 (4)
- The sound of Heinz Hall - Doktor Brahms 09:01:53 06/21/14 (3)
- Are you hearing.................... - Kal Rubinson 12:56:15 06/21/14 (2)
- Two-channel only. - Doktor Brahms 16:03:30 06/22/14 (1)
- RE: Two-channel only. - Kal Rubinson 18:32:54 06/22/14 (0)
- Listen to Zander's TED Talk and then try to tell me he's not a complete idiot - Chris from Lafayette 23:58:39 06/20/14 (2)
- I played a gig with him and the Ballet Orch at a Winery- - oldmkvi 08:40:29 06/21/14 (1)
- Yeah - I used to have that Mahler 9th too - Chris from Lafayette 11:39:15 06/21/14 (0)
- Agreed on the Honeck and Zander... - Russell 23:12:05 06/20/14 (7)
- "Too bad Vanska won't be completing the cycle with the Minnesotans" - Doktor Brahms 06:36:31 06/21/14 (6)
- I'm getting 'mixed signals' from Minnesota... - Ivan303 07:37:58 06/21/14 (5)
- RE: I'm getting 'mixed signals' from Minnesota... - oldmkvi 08:43:44 06/21/14 (4)
- I doubt Vanska would have agreed to return... - Ivan303 10:21:21 06/21/14 (3)
- Hey, he'll make a Ton of $! And there's always someone waiting to take any Open Job - oldmkvi 10:49:15 06/21/14 (1)
- Don't know the actual numbers or details on musicians returning and those who are not... - Ivan303 16:32:05 06/21/14 (0)
- RE: I doubt Vanska would have agreed to return... - oldmkvi 10:43:23 06/21/14 (0)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - Disbeliever 23:03:57 06/20/14 (56)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - jbcortes 01:19:50 06/21/14 (55)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - Disbeliever 01:49:54 06/21/14 (54)
- If you have a problem with BIS recordings as regards dynamic range, there is one possible solution... - Ivan303 17:28:48 06/21/14 (0)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - jbcortes 04:40:16 06/21/14 (52)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - jazz1 04:27:36 06/22/14 (0)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - Tony Lauck 11:00:22 06/21/14 (50)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - jbcortes 13:42:28 06/21/14 (49)
- I think you've been treined on multiple close mono miked recordings - Timbo in Oz 03:29:22 07/03/14 (0)
- RE: "But then I dislike Alia Vox too..." - Ivan303 16:43:36 06/21/14 (0)
- So now I'm confused - Chris from Lafayette 14:03:27 06/21/14 (46)
- RE: So now I'm confused - jbcortes 00:19:17 06/22/14 (11)
- RE: So now I'm confused - jazz1 04:30:24 06/22/14 (10)
- RE: So now I'm confused - jbcortes 05:11:09 06/22/14 (9)
- Which "Gilles Requiem by Herreweghe" - jazz1 01:57:04 06/23/14 (1)
- RE: Which "Gilles Requiem by Herreweghe" - jbcortes 04:48:59 06/23/14 (0)
- DG Orchestral sucks, Archiv OK? - Tony Lauck 19:53:32 06/22/14 (6)
- It's a polarity thing. - Dave Pogue 05:44:08 06/26/14 (1)
- RE: It's a polarity thing. - Tony Lauck 06:30:28 06/26/14 (0)
- RE: DG Orchestral sucks, Archiv OK? - Disbeliever 01:12:10 06/23/14 (2)
- RE: DG Orchestral sucks, Archiv OK? - Tony Lauck 13:59:10 06/23/14 (1)
- RE: DG Orchestral sucks, Archiv OK? - Disbeliever 23:17:34 06/23/14 (0)
- RE: DG Orchestral sucks, Archiv OK? - jazz1 23:06:39 06/22/14 (0)
- BIS dynamic range - Bill Way 19:37:25 06/21/14 (33)
- RE: BIS dynamic range - Tony Lauck 20:09:16 06/22/14 (0)
- RE: BIS dynamic range - Disbeliever 00:12:59 06/22/14 (31)
- RE: "I no longer buy BIS Disks" - Fitzcaraldo215 13:20:47 06/23/14 (30)
- Entitled to an opinion! - jazz1 23:20:36 06/25/14 (28)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Fitzcaraldo215 07:34:28 06/26/14 (27)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Disbeliever 08:07:32 06/26/14 (26)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - flyingdutchman 21:53:31 07/01/14 (0)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Fitzcaraldo215 15:44:13 06/26/14 (16)
- A very excellent post, Fitz... - krisjan 14:18:28 06/28/14 (8)
- RE: A very excellent post, Fitz... - Fitzcaraldo215 08:26:24 06/29/14 (7)
- RE: A very excellent post, Fitz... - Disbeliever 11:52:25 06/29/14 (6)
- RE: A very excellent post, Fitz... - Fitzcaraldo215 15:59:00 06/29/14 (5)
- RE: A very excellent post, Fitz... - Disbeliever 22:35:28 06/29/14 (4)
- I'm waiting for the 13th edit prior to commenting...(nt) - krisjan 08:43:20 07/01/14 (3)
- RE: I'm waiting for the 13th edit prior to commenting...(nt) - Disbeliever 09:24:13 07/01/14 (2)
- I guess I'm not surprised... - krisjan 14:52:08 07/01/14 (1)
- RE: I guess I'm not surprised... - Disbeliever 01:04:51 07/02/14 (0)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Disbeliever 00:05:20 06/27/14 (6)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Fitzcaraldo215 06:33:30 06/27/14 (5)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Disbeliever 07:28:32 06/27/14 (4)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Fitzcaraldo215 14:00:09 06/27/14 (3)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Disbeliever 01:07:15 06/28/14 (2)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Tony Lauck 17:44:16 06/28/14 (1)
- RE: Entitled to an opinion! - Disbeliever 00:20:30 06/29/14 (0)
- Monsieur Jourdain - Tony Lauck 10:56:02 06/26/14 (7)
- RE: Monsieur Jourdain - Disbeliever 11:59:37 06/26/14 (6)
- RE: Monsieur Jourdain - Fitzcaraldo215 06:59:40 06/30/14 (3)
- RE: Monsieur Jourdain - Disbeliever 08:41:55 06/30/14 (2)
- RE: Monsieur Jourdain - Fitzcaraldo215 16:27:37 06/30/14 (1)
- RE: Monsieur Jourdain - Disbeliever 23:13:37 06/30/14 (0)
- RE: Monsieur Jourdain - Tony Lauck 12:26:38 06/26/14 (1)
- RE: Monsieur Jourdain - Disbeliever 13:16:55 06/26/14 (0)
- RE: "I no longer buy BIS Disks" - Disbeliever 23:23:35 06/23/14 (0)
- "I recently acquired Donald Fagen's Nightfly. It sounds terrific" Totally agree - Jazz Inmate 19:14:54 06/20/14 (2)
- Love Nightfly, esp The Goodbye Look! nt - oldmkvi 09:32:33 06/21/14 (1)
- would be great to have SD's first five titles on SACD nt - Jazz Inmate 20:37:16 06/23/14 (0)
- RE: Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - pbarach 19:09:00 06/20/14 (0)