"Harry Belafonte At Carnegie Hall - The Complete Concert" - Classic and Analogue Productions CDs

Just received the new Analogue Productions SACD hybrid version of one of my favourite CDs. It was recorded on my 4th birthday and puts the lie to early recordings sounding terrible. My parents saw him live in Melbourne around this time and they said he was electrifying - had the audience in the palm of his hand. The concert was recorded by RCA in 1959 and sounds superb - indeed this has been a reference recording for many years - it was forever on Harry Pearson's (Absolute Sound) Reference recordings list and thoroughly deserved that position too.
Both versions are wonderful sounding, but it appears that Classic my have run Harry's vocal track a little higher when they remixed the album to stereo from the 3 track work part, whereas I suspect the Analogue Productions is direct from the original RCA stereo master tape. The AP version therefore brings up the orchestra and background vocals compared with the Classic CD and gives a more egalitarian balance. I like both, but the AP has some unreleased bonus tracks that add a little sugar ("Harry Belafonte - Spoken Intro", "Scarlet Ribbons", and "Overture Medley - Instrumental"). If you have an SACD player, then you have access to the original multitrack tape in all 3 channels, as the AP is a hybrid disc - I only have stereo CD access here.
In short, either is fantastic and way better than the truncated RCA single CD. The AP is complete-r than the Classic, but the Classic has been OOP for decades. The AP at $40 is a no-brainer, therefore, and shows what a real entertainer can do. IMHO, "Cotton Fields" and "Matilda" are the real highlights of a star studded album.
Thanks Mum and Dad for introducing me to HB.

 

The Analogue Productions is the only copy I have of this album so I can't comment on sound comparisons to other versions. What I can say is, is that this is an excellent concert and this is a great sounding SACD.

 

I just ordered the AP SACD from Elusive Disc. $40.40 including media mail shipping to MA. Looking forward to hearing the three channel version!

And I have bought more used copies of this on LP than I care to think about, always hoping the next will sound cleaner than the others. Hopefully this SACD will put an end to my quest.

 

One of my early favorite albums (by early, I mean early in my life - like kindergarten age or thereabouts). My parents had (and still have, I suppose) the original vinyl. Many fond memories of spinning that one on my little orange record player. My mother saw him in concert back in the '60s and said he was the best she'd ever seen - one of the few about whom she had anything positive to say, actually. Most of the other acts she saw in that era seem to have been drunk or stoned or both at the time.

 

Any more opinions on this one? I'm hesitant to buy because I was underwhelmed by Ryan Smith's Presley Stereo '57. I thought the redbook Bob Jones sounded much better. I've been underwhelmed by almost all of the Sterling Sound AP releases.

 

Fully agree with you JB with the performance quality as well as the sound quality of the Classic Records gold CDs, which I picked up almost
20 years ago when it was released due to the high raves Harry Pearson gave it, along with Returns To Carnegie Hall. And yes, I plan on buy-
ing the SACD edition too this weekend with all kinds of holiday sales happening right now here in the States. I'll be purchasing the Tony
Bennett live SACD as well...

Now if only a specialty label would do the same treatment with ELP's Welcome Back My Friends, from a fresh new stereo mix taken from the
2" multitracks.....

 

I got mine a few weeks ago and have been playing it about every other day. Yes indeed it sounds great!! I have this on mint vinyl , two copies on reel to reel and three versions of it on CD the gold version being the best. That said this is just suburb.

 

I got mine a few weeks ago and have been playing it about every other day. Yes indeed it sounds great!! I have this on mint vinyl , two copies on reel to reel and three versions of it on CD the gold version being the best. That said this is just suburb.

So you find the gold Classic Records CDs to sound better / best than this new SACD release? I think the Steve Hoffman mastered for
AP 3 track Nat King Cole SACD hybrids sound unbelievably great as well...

 

Still not showing up on Amazon CA

 

Oh no I don't. I find it very good indeed but the SACD is my go to, now. I find it just cleaner sounding on songs like Sylvie and Come Back Liza, and just electrifying on Man Smart Woman Smarter and the other more dynamic recordings.

I should mention though that with there being sooo much center channel information that imho you really need a good center channel speaker to play it back in three channel. Not that you have to play back in three channel. Most prepros will let you change it to stereo.

 

Thanks for your quick reply, appreciate it..

 

Harry Belafonte "Returns To Carnegie Hall" on Classic CD also resides at Casa Buchanan, and I too wish for a remixed WBMFTTSTNELAGELP! All CD versions have sounded either mediocre (Victory/Rhino) to poor (any version of the Japanese releases and the Shout Factory).

 

I ordered HB's At Carnegie Hall SACD along with Tony Bennett's At Carnegie Hall SACD and CCR's 2nd and newly released SACD box set minus 10%
last night via Acoustic Sound's holiday sale, and looking so damn forward to their arrivals, and will report back on how I think they compare to their
other editions...

 

Minor correction here - the first Japanese release on Atlantic was the same as the Victory Rhino.

 

Hello back to you there, John....

I'll have to check, but for some reason I think and feel the Japanese WBMFTTSTNE L&G - Emerson Lake & Palmer is the original vinyl mix
vs the Victory release that was supposedly a remaster from the original master. The Japanese, 1990-91 (??) release seems so natural and not
contaminated by another party's compressing / messing around with the original mix, which is a more analog sound vs an ADD type of mix
tampering in the digital domain with some / a lot of digital tamporing / noise reduction applied in the Victory and later re-releases.....

Bring on a genuine, authentic stereo and 5.1 release taken from the original King Biscuit 2 inch multitracks that are now owned by Wolfgang's
Vault on hybrid blu-ray / SACD surround - stereo please.......

My best to you and would like you to audition the JPS Labs Abyss AB-1266 vs your Stax 'phones, so I can hear yet another opinion, except
from someone in the same peer group as myself........

 

The Classic Gold CD stood the test of time for 20 years, it has now been bested by the Analogue Productions Hybrid SACD. It's not a huge night and day difference, but the lower end is smoother, the mid range is a bit nicer, the sound stage is a bit wider and higher, and a John mentioned the balance is improved. Again only better by a small margin, but it is better and it is easily obtainable unlike the now $350+ Classic Gold CD.

Those who are looking to protect their investment may not agree, human nature being what it is, but all those looking to obtain this all time great live album for the first time or those who think sound quality is more important than agenda's should get the AP Hybrid SACD before it too goes out of print.

For those that own the Classic and don't want to "take a loss" sell it now while you can still get decent coin. Between physical CD's dropping in price and the new AP set the longer you wait the lower the amount you can get for it. As for me I got mine at a fair price and due to memory minutia will hold on to it.


P.S. As for Return's to Carnegie, I prefer the low priced Living Stereo CD to the super expensive Classic CD and also over the MFSL Silver. I am concerned only with the sound and scarcity and high price have zero to do with Sound Quality

 

Just received this sacd and have only played the first few tracks, but wow. I have never heard a live performance sound this good, and I'm only listening to the redbook layer.
If you like his music don't wait until this is gone. It's fantastic.

 

Bumping this thread to inquire if this version is any different than the HDTracks? Anyone has any experience with both?

 

Bump...anyone?

 

I'm sooo tempted to pull the trigger on the AP edition simply because of the bonus tracks.

 

Pull the trigger--it's worth every penny, and I've got the Classic Records version as well. Hell, grab two or three and make some money reselling them after they go out of print...! It's a bit better than the Classic Records edition.. Smooth sounding indeed!!

 

Agree with SKean, this is great. Get it. You won't be disappointed.

 

Gotcha. The trouble is that I have already purchased the HDTracks version and I'm curios if this mastering sounds any better than that...?

But anyhow, I know I will get this one eventually simply because of the extra tracks.