| Review by raffells June 8, 2005 (5 of 5 found this review helpful)
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How do you review an item like this...?...As an sacd .. it certainly shows how this media can come to the rescue of a massive Live concert with Huge dynamic range and depth..Cd would only be a pale grainy understatement if it tried to capture this momentous occasion.However some sacd listeners will want to feel comfortable in their living rooms with their neighbours to worry about and this could be a problem........I had just returned from a Battle of the Bands performance at a major British Cathedral and was horrified at the performance of the sound engineering until the last band came on and they got it right...This would have been an ideal sacd to demonstrate how to DO it right with a worse scenario that they had in the Cathedral...
In view of the new sacd release interest in PF. I should add I am probably one of the few on the planet that thinks that DSOTM sacd is tonally flat,nowhere near as good as the vinyl..so I will move on.... ..The concert starts with a bang....For a Live concert..probably.. No chance of a retake or remix ...it great...atmosphere a plenty..balance of audience very Live and realistic,,,after 15 minutes or so I thought this was gonna be the best Double disc I had ever aquired...sadly it starts to drop off slightly after this..no names ....Its not just HIS voice which is going ( sounds gruff or a lot older than the other sacd version of these numbers) but the music gets weaker......the 3rd version of Brick In the Wall was not really needed ,,then returning to a very short Goodbye Cruel World started to get things back to that very high level..
Now the good news... Discs 2 raises the level almost back to the beginning and it Rocks on..Not everyone will be happy with all the tracks subject but. ..Eventaully it cleverly changes for the last two productions....The Trial...bit of a pop opera about this (Marianne Faithfull, Lempa etc)there is a clear change of accoustic on this section...Then the whole show closes with a memorable 7 minute last track Tide is Turning...(Band aide style)
THERE ARE a few criticisms but these are mainly about things that were tried out at the concert and either didnt come off (IMO) or outstayed there welcome..not the telephone ringing....but obviously had to stay in from a historical perspective...
Highlights ,,,Many... but I will not list them except to name Van Morrison Cyndi Lauper The Band Sin Oconnor Andy Fairw Lowe and the Berlin Orchestra (Made a difference) etc etc and The recording engineer who transcribed this onto sacd..((10 stars)
Proper dual 2 sacd case.. Notes were a bit on the below required side..Probably one of THE musical historic occasions of the last decade of the century.......So I have made a special effort..Giving this item marks as a humble listener seems pathetic as I wipe tears from my eyes...It probably has more meaning to Europeans who spent there lives in a divided Europe and travelled a lot that to people Stateside and Down under...Not perfect but Magic.......Dave
It says single layer..... My copy was dual layer????? ..
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| Review by cerebus June 3, 2006 (4 of 4 found this review helpful)
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Since this is a live concert, the recording quality isn't going to be as good as a studio release, and since it's unlikely that we'll ever get a SACD release of Pink Floyd's "The Wall," this is probably the best we're ever going to get.
That said, the performances are excellent, with the guest stars adding some interesting interpretations of the songs. How well you're going to tolerate this depends on what kind of relationship you have with the studio version, but all in all, it's great fun.
Sound quality isn't a huge improvement over the original 1990 release, with most of the activity in the front three channels. There is some subtle crowd noise in the rear, but this is a very front-centric mix. The mix does seem clearer, and the harmony vocals and acoustic instruments sound much more realistic on this release.
Packaging is pretty light, with a few pictures of the show and both discs crammed onto a single spindle. I suppose you're expected to pick up the DVD for more to look at. This is available for around $20 US list (and even less in some places) so it's still a pretty good value for a double-disc SACD set.
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Sonics: 
