Audio Fidelity SACD "Blood, Sweat & Tears Greatest Hits" first time all-stereo coming! SH Mastered.

Excellent disc! Lots of room ambience on the drums, and very detailed bass sound. The horns and vocals really have some life in them.

Plus, the stereo imagining isn't skewed, as it was on the BS&T s/t stereo mixes on the SACD layer. Hearing "Spinning Wheel" in its 45 incarnation is fascinating, with the rudimentary guitar solo and the 'chop' at the end on the 'Looney Toons' flute section.

 

Steve pulled magical sound quality out of this mastering. I grew up on the single versions as my dad loved playing them around me as a tyke.

This is a fantastic SACD. One of the best Audio Fidelity has put out in a long, long time. I haven't heard You've Made Me So Very Happy like this in years and years. It's the type of sound why people invest tens of thousands into their audio systems and don't regret it.

 

Listened to mine for the first time last night.

Man, what sound! My wife came into the listening room just as "Hi De Ho" began. She actually stopped in her tracks when the trumpets sounded, followed by the organ. Said "...is that a remaster?" I don't think she has uttered the word 'remaster' in like ever. <grin>

This takes the place of my "show me what your systerm sounds like" CD which was actually the first BS&T SACD I purchased several months ago. That one was great, but this one...man, what a sound!

Oh, and BOC's "Secret Treaties" is fantastic, too. But that's another thread.

 

Well, got my copy. WOW!!! Sounds incredible! CD or SACD layer. Those single edits really take me back to my childhood! Great job Steve! Everyone on this forum should get a copy.

 

Just cracked open the shrink-wrapping and dear lord - Unfreaking believable. Stunning!
Thank you AF and @Steve Hoffman.


Hi-de-ho, hi-de-hi / Gonna find me a piece of the sky / Gonna find me some of that old sweet roll

 

I was looking at the wiki page of this last night, noticed that line, and wondered what music nerd put that on there.

 

I couldn’t agree more with your thoughts on Neil Young and Bob Dylan. I can’t put my finger on it, but both they along with Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin induce anger and depression in me to the point where I literally want to smash things when I hear their music being played! Now that I think of it, that would be a fun thread; “Artists That Make You Want To Smash Things!“ LOL!

 

Did we ever determine this?

 

So Steve, do you reckon that the mono single versions originally released back in the day were folddowns from these stereo mixes, or rather that these were separately mixed to match those? Any indication of one scenario over the other? I do remember you saying once that Columbia was a "union shop" and never did folds, but would that still hold true at the time of these recordings?

 

Did anyone else (other than @Tullman) hear these? And are they also on the SACD layer?

 

Nothing that I ever detected while listening to the SACD layer.

 

I've only heard the SACD layer and also can't hear any ticks .

 

What is terrible exactly? The mono mixes? The whole compilation? Or the CD? I ask because I seem to have bees seeing both the LP and CD at local stores lately for 1.00-3.00 just depending on who priced it. I have been thinking about either or the other. I have multiple copies of their first 4 on LP so I never thought I needed the greatest hits. If there are different mixes then maybe. I was wanting the CD to have something by them on CD, but maybe not now. How is the original LP?

 

We were talking about the Byrds album. The mastering was very poor. The mono mixes are generally fine.

 

The AF Blood, Sweat & Tears Greatest Hits SACD is on sale at Elusive Disc for $15.00.

Blood, Sweat & Tears Greatest Hits Numbered Limited Edition Hybrid Stereo SACD-Elusive Disc

 

That's an absolute steal!

 

Grrrr....too late! Sold out already!

 

Thank you... and damn you!

I have this, but was able to snag several Audio Fidelity disks...spent too much at these great prices.

 

The other day, I was looking at the "Bs" in my CD collection and realized the amount of "potential" duplication I have with this band … and wondering if I can let anything go.

I have their first 3 albums on vinyl, plus both the MoFi and the Audio Fidelity releases of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

I have owned 3 copies of Blood, Sweat & Tears Greatest Hits:
1) I gave my original Columbia CD away when the 1999 reissue came out. I "think" my copy was one of those that had the album versions of the early singles on it.
2) The 1999 "Legacy" re-release was produced by Al Quaglieri. The remastering was done by Chris Athens at Sony Music Studios in New York.
- My aging ears find this disc to sound brighter than I think these songs should sound - and a bit compressed.
- This reissue does include 2 extra tracks: "So Long Dixie" … and "More And More" (Single Version).
- The single versions of "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel", "More And More", "And When I Die", "Hi-De-Ho", and "Go Down Gamblin'" are used.
- Note! All songs are Stereo - including the aforementioned single versions.
- Since I also have Steve's version on Audio Fidelity, this CD is not needed (after I rip the stereo single version of "More And More" for posterity).

3) Steve's 2016 gorgeous remaster is my go-to copy of this comp. The dynamics on this CD just makes my ears go "ahhhhh".


I also have:
* The 2014 Real Gone release called The Complete Columbia Singles.
- It's a 2-disc set, featuring the A & B sides of each released single. Single versions are used where they exist.
- The first 8 tracks on Disc 1 are in Mono: "I Can't Quit Her" (the only single from Child is Father To The Man) ... and the 3 singles from Blood, Sweat & Tears.
- Everything else is Stereo, starting with "Hi-De-Ho".
- It was produced by Ed Osborne (who also wrote the liner notes) and remastered (actually, it says "mastered") by Vic Anesini.

* The 1994 "Legacy" release called What Goes Up: The Best Of Blood, Sweat & Tears.
- This is also a 2-disc set. It was produced by Bob Irwin and remastered ("mastered") by Vic Anesini. The liner notes were written by Al Quaglieri.
- All songs, except the first track - an instrumental, audition track - are Stereo.
- Original Album versions were used for all songs.
- The booklet is very hard to read - small font with pictures in the background. However, I kinda like the track selections a little more.