Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello Painted From Memory SACD Oct 6

I've been getting more and more tempted to get this SACD.

 

There is certainly some difference. Is that difference worth the extra money? I don't know... I have the SACD and I'll play it over the HDCD. I don't regret having bought the SACD but I'd do without the vinyl.

 

Is the SACD in 5.1?



Peace and love✌

 

Stereo only.

 

I think the SACD is well done with a fluid mastering. It's voiced right and reveals a layer of sonic detail I didn't hear on the original CD.

 

Listening to this sacd tonight. It’s refreshing to get titles like this from MOFI after so many of similar cloth the last few years (The Band, Dylan, Miles and all the other mid 60s to mid 70s rock titles)

 

It probably didn't help the format's growth that the premier audiophile labels picked from a very narrow range of singers and groups. I love Bob Dylan, but issuing most of his catalog in both stereo and mono editions was a little much. Licensing clearly played a part.

 

Yeah it makes titles from Billy Joel, Hall & Oates and the hopeful Dire Straits something unique. I hope they license some other 80s-00s soon.

Would love for them to tackle something like Blind Melon debut, Wilco, John Mayer, 80s Genesis, Lionel Ritchie’s classic 3, and other big 80s albums. It’s a real shame they didn’t do Elvis Costello’s catalog on digital. That could have been fun to collect.

 

I got a hold of MFSL's reissue so I gave this album another try. I haven't heard it in a very long time and couldn't get into it, but in the years since I've grown to appreciate Bacharach's records with Dionne Warwick a whole lot more. First off, this is much better than the old CD. I didn't have HDCD de-coding back in the day, but the CD sounded congested thanks to the compression you'd expect for a late '90s release. I'm guessing the master tape is much more dynamic because the MFSL mastering is a significant improvement. It's a whole lot more pleasing to the ear, so Rob LoVerde deserves another thanks for bringing an audiophile touch to a modern-era recording (albeit one with very retro music).

I know Elvis got knocked by some people for his singing, but I think those negative reviews are pretty misguided and off the mark. For the most part, he does a pretty good job, and on the quieter moments, he puts across some of his best singing ever. The few times he does falter is when the music gets a little bombastic and his singing takes an overwrought turn, but that doesn't happen often on this album.

The music and the lyrics are generally good too, but it seems like the occasional misfire comes when rock elements (of all things) are introduced into the music. EC still does his best work in rock (and King of America is rock in my book, even with the country element turned up). But on this album, it works best when it stays firmly in the '60s pop realm, and that's where it is close to 99% of the time. But on one track, there's an electric guitar solo that plays like a bad idea because it's too incongruous - had he arranged that same solo for strings, it would've been beautiful. On another, drums don't come in until the middle of the song, and when it does, it's almost laughable the way it kicks in. It's just so out of place and when it continues on, it's kind of overbearing. It's a rare misstep coming from Jim Keltner (although it may not have been his call), but it probably would have worked had he played with brushes, not with sticks.

Not one of his great albums, but it's not bad at all. I generally hate his genre poses - not a fan of Almost Blue, North, or the ones aspiring towards classical music - but this is a surprisingly good and listenable album.

 

Any other comparisons between the vinyl and the SACD? I’d love to hear them.

 

I'm confused what in simple terms means the CD does not have peak extend. Another member said his HDCD light came on his new player and since his player could decode HDCD that it sounded so much better.

 

When you mentioned Sessions at West 54th isn't more widely distributed the only commercial release I know of is on VHS which I own. Is there some other release I missed?

 

I don't think so, but it certainly deserves at least a DVD release. PLEASE!

 

Yes, VHS for me too...

 

It makes an enormous difference not to have that massively congested/compressed sound that plagued the original CD mastering. It was far from my favorite EC album, but I got it anyway and it's made it a much more pleasant listening experience.

 

It's too bad Dusty Springfield never had the chance to sing this music, I'm sure her covers would have been amazing. I love EC, but if she had taken the lead vocals on this, it could've been a stone-cold masterpiece to rival Dusty in Memphis. A lot of EC's phrasing sounds like something I'd expect from Dusty.