I really like the SACDs mastered by Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray and Ryan Smith for AP. Some examples would be: Jeff Beck: Blow by Blow, Wired Herbie Hancock: Headhunters Art Pepper SACDs Counting Crows: August and Everything After Blue Note SACD Series Prestige SACD Series CCR SACDs Not a fan of the George Marino mastered titles like: The Verve SACD series Miles Davis - Someday My Prince will Come, Seven Steps to Heaven (Worth getting for the 3 channel mixes though) The Doug Sax mastered titles are good if he gets the right tapes and don't have added reverb.
In my opinion the AP SACDs (of which I only listen to the redbook layer) have by far the best sound of any of the "high end" sacd companies. They just sound more open and natural. I haven't been disappointed by any that I've purchased.
The Christmas comp is awesome, Sarah Mclachlan Afterglow is a favorite of mine and sounds fantastic. Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell. CCR and Norah Jones are great. NKC Love is the Thing is magical.
"Best Analogue Production SA-CD's": [closed SHMF thread] Best Analogue Productions SACDs still worth checking out!
Thanks for the recommendation. Listening to this one now (redbook layer.) WOW! Another superb Kevin Gray mastering!
A few of my favorite APO SACDs. Hard to make a definitive list as there's so many great ones! Art Pepper - New York Album, So In Love and The Intimate Art Pepper (APO Revival series) these are amazing! Cannonball Adderley - Know What I Mean? Chet Baker - Chet Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out Grant Green - Idle Moments Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow and Wired John Lee Hooker - It Serve You Right To Suffer Junior Wells - Hoodoo Man Blues Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue Miles Davis - Seven Steps To Heaven and Someday My Prince Will Come Muddy Waters - Folk Singer Nat King Cole - All of them with Where Did Everyone Go? being my favorite! Norah Jones - The Collection Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Sam Cooke - Night Beat Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Hurricane Box Set The Ray Brown Trio - Soular Energy All of the APO Blue Note SACDs are excellent and well worth seeking out!
My pleasure George! Thanks to this thread I'm going to spend some time on this cold morning listening to some APO SACDs. Starting with Oliver Nelson's The Blues and the Abstract Truth SACD .
DCC issued Nat King Cole's Greatest Hits, not The Nat King Cole Story. The DCC Love Is The Thing and Greatest Hits were gold CD's only, not SACD's.
Added to wishlist, thanks! I only have Truth by Beck. Are the two titles above accessible? Agreed. I like Second Helping even more than the AF. Me too! Anyone hear if they will do Electric Ladyland as well?
When you ask if the Blow By Blow and Wired APO SACDs are "accessible" do mean available to buy? If so both SACDs are available from Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc and Music Direct. They're probably available from other sellers as well. I normally shop for the lowest price and which seller could possibly be offering discounts.
Whether you prefer the DCC or the newer AP would depend on what you think of the original stereo mix--the AP is a remix from the three-track tapes, I believe. The original mix has more vocal reverb and a definite period charm--you can very much tell it's from the '50s. The remix sounds objectively "better," as if Nat is right there in your room, in the present. If I recall correctly, the orchestra is more forward and vivid in the remix as well. They are actually different enough that it might be worth having both, though if forced to choose one I would probably go for the AP. Also, the AP contains the original mono mix for the whole album as well.
All good points, thanks. I use my I was checking the AP Nat King Cole Story tracklist to see how many songs appear on my DCC GH. I also have the DCC Love Is The Thing and the DCC The Very Thought Of You. I plan to work out which of the AP releases have the least amount of DCC overlap. Unless someone has already done that.
I believe the ones you mention are the only ones with DCC overlap, no? St. Louis Blues and Just One of Those Things are just fantastic in every way. (I think I may be somewhat unusual in that I prefer Nat in swinging mode, and Sinatra in ballad mode). And of course After Midnight is one of the best sounding mono recordings I've ever heard (recorded by Fred Plaut of Kind of Blue fame). Where Did Everyone Go is more similar to Love Is the Thing and The Very Thought of You, with the same string-heavy arrangements but darker lyrical themes--to me it's less essential, but I understand the original mix of this is supposed to be bad enough that the AP remix is considered by many to be the most dramatic improvement from the original.
Route 66 from After Midnight is on the DCC GH, but the rest of that album is not on DCC. And neither have songs from the DCC GH? Or only one or two songs? Good to know! That sounds like it would be up my alley. Unfortunately, I don't see it listed anywhere.
Yeah, I forgot to mention that the SACD of Where Did Everyone Go sold out--which I find sort of surprising. I think the others are available, though. And yes, I believe "Route 66" is the only track from those three albums to make it to the GH comp (and the album it comes from is extra-long, so that one song probably won't feel like much overlap if you should get it).
