| Review by vonwegen November 11, 2003 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics:  |
Toys In The Attic roars out of the box in the surround sound mode--the title track can catch you by surprise if you don't turn down your system a bit--it slams into you full force.
All through the album, the distorted electric guitars sound fabulous, with lots of satisfying low-end muscle, with different, often overlapping guitar parts coming out of all 4 speakers.
The dry signal for Steven Tyler's vocals comes out of the center speaker, with the FX spread out over the back speakers. Drums & bass sound full and natural.
The music? Lots of things buried in the CD mix are out in the open here--"Uncle Salty" reveals all osrts of "Abbey Road" influences (!) and "Adam's Apple boasts a full saxophone section barely hinted at on vinyl and CD. "Big 10-Inch Record" actually sounds fabulous in surround, what with all the horns coming out of the back speakers. "Sweet Emotion" is really, really great sounding & I can actually hear the triangle loud and clear on the final verse for the 1st time ever (considering that I bought this on vinyl back in 1975, and on CD in 1997, that is saying something). The backwards taped handclaps bounce from left to right from the rear, the maraccas & tambourine are crystal clear and for the 1st time, I can actually hear the bass marimba during the intro! Also, the 5.1 mix extends the song a full measure and reveals for the 1st time that Jack Douglas edited out a measure where Joe Perry paused in his solo before continuing to play to the song's end.
Only "No More, No More" suffers a bit in surround, because the dual acoustic guitars (which sound lovely) were designed to accent the stereo mix and do not play except in certain intervals, creating a sonic hole when they stop and are replaced by a piano track, which unfortunately happens when the song gets louder towards the choruses.
Otherwise, the sonic placement of the individual instruments & vox are inspired, with no annoying panning effects to speak of.
I give this one 4 stars in performance because the last 2 numbers, "Round & Round" and "You See Me Crying" are throwaways, IMHO. The former is a circular Brad Whitford riff that wears out its welcome instantly; he later refined it to create the much more likeable "Last Child" on the following album. "YSMC" is Tyler's Beatles homage, a piano-driven power ballad with orchestra that tries much too hard but can't rise above being the mush that it is.
vonwegen
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| Review by jimmyjames8 December 15, 2003 (0 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
| One print media critic panned the MCH mix on this disc. All I can say is he must have only listened to the first track, TOYS. It sounds like poo in 2ch or MCH for some reason but the rest of this SACD rocks in 2 speakers or 6. The 2ch mix sounds crisper and more detailed than the MCH but the MCH mix has more balls and thump. This is a classic rock album for the ages and it's good to see it get the SACD treatment. Aerosmith when they were heavy. Thought I would have been tired of the toxic twins by now but based on what passes for rock-n-roll these days, especially on college radio, this disc is a breath of fresh air. If you bought this album new, you are now the VH-1 demographic and you are probably suffering from hearing loss from all those shows in the late 70's and early 80's. You can now afford an SACD player and this disc.
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| Review by YianniD May 12, 2008
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| Since Aerosmith's catalog has not received remasters since 1993, and those remasters are disappointing, I was happy to see one of their classic albums receive the SACD treatment. Although the opening title track seems a bit compressed, the rest of the disc shines with sparkling clarity. The instruments pulse from the speakers with new life as previously unheard of nuances are heard. Tyler's vocals also emerge in all his gritty glory. Tracks like "Walk This Way," "Sweet Emotion" and "You See Me Crying" sound fuller and richer. It makes one long for more SACD releases from the Aerosmith catalog, such as the often overlooked 'Get Your Wings' album. This one is well worth your money.
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| Review by ken_wilsonii July 12, 2008 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Hard to expand on the other reviews here. The best SACD multichannell I have has been Five for Fightings - America Town. Really did not know what to expect with this one and was definitely surprised at the quality with this one.
The reaction is similar to the one I had one Billy Joel's - The Stranger and suddenly found out what was missing from the music. Guitar riffs and melody lines standout that are not noticeable on the stereo version. Somes songs come off as sounding totally different. Aerosmith laid down some great music on this album, nice to actually be able to hear it.
You might think you know Toys in the Attic, I think everybody needs another listen.
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| Review by StyleAndEntertainmen February 21, 2009
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Short and sweet: If you're a rock and roll fan then get this classic Aerosmith disc. The sound is absolutely fantastic, especially considering when it was recorded. Most albums of this era are compressed to lifelessness - but thankfully not this one. Totally involving 30 years later, great MCH with support instruments in the rear channels, lead vocals, drums, and guitars front and center.
Highly Recommended
Styln
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| Review by analogue March 6, 2009 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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This is a well known classic rock album that includes some of Aerosmith's most legendary tracks. If you're familiar with this album I dont feel the need to dissect every single track. You already know them.
This is a very decent transfer to dsd of this album. The music has presence and weight and for the most part is rather engaging to listen to. Unfortunately the original master tapes are not in the best condition so the fidelity is not as great as one could have hoped for. Other rock sacd's sound much better then this one. It's no ones fault really. The type of tape used back in the 70's would gum up and become unlistenable years later. In order to make a transfer the tapes had to be baked in an oven to dry out. After this was done only one or two additional copies could be made before it was unusable. So while the transfer was done with quality in mind the tapes lacked some quality.
I guess the best way to explain this sacd is that it lacks smoothness and some depth while still sounding good overall. There are dynamics to be had for sure but not as full as they could be.
With this sacd I never experinced the "WOW" factor.
If you can get a deal on this sacd I would recommend it as it is a classic rock great with well known songs on it. The quality is still decent enough to purchase and far better than the regular cd.
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| Review by benvandyk November 22, 2012 (0 of 1 found this review helpful)
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| mch mix review. I like the song round and round. I wanted to hear if some of the song would go round and around. it did. I like the disc
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