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Review by vonwegen September 15, 2005 (5 of 5 found this review helpful)
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I've listened to this on all three layers now, & it's been an interesting experience. First the music: SFA are like a lost 1960s West Coast band transported to the 21st century by time machine - layered harmony vocals like Moby Grape, Spirit or American Beauty-era Grateful Dead (no jams!), lots of orchestral overdubs & neat bleeping synths at the edges, guitars going in & out of the mix(es) like the Beatles' "Got To Get You Into My Life." Oh and the first two songs are very reminiscent of Pink Floyd: opener "Zoom!" is very DSOTM, while "Atomic Lust" is very "Saucerful Of Secrets". Great melodies, coupled with loopy Sci-Fi lyrics and long, intricate segues between songs with lots, lots of interesting sound effects, including field recordings of strange Brazillian insects and God knows what else...
Oh, and the rhythm section is really ace.
The actual recording comes mainly from sessions in the band's native Wales & later in Rio for overdubs and mixing--and it shows in the sound quality. The MC mix is where this really shows up: the basic instrumental tracks must have been done in 44.1 PCM quality, while the vocals and orchestral overdubs must have been done in higher resolution, resulting in a strange mix of rather tinny-sounding guitars, bass & drums, whilst everything else on top sounds beautiful & rich, especially the vox & orchestral arrangements. I have to dock the MC mix 1-1/2 stars because of this strange juxtoposition of sound quality. IT's a pity, because the MC mix is very imaginative, with lots of interesting uses of the surrounds for soudn FX and imaginative instrument placement. A perfect example, the album opens with an ocean wave that 'splashes' over the listener and envelops him or her.
This mix of low & hi-res source tracks is not as irritating in the SACD stereo mix & here it does not distract me nearly as much, hence the higher rating. On the CD layer, I didn't notice any difference in source quality at all.
Overall, I can recommend this, albeit with the aforementioned caveats.
Oh, and this is only the 2nd SACD release by Sony-BMG this year--it seems they are only issuing pop/rock SACDs in the same way as limited collecter edtion vinyl Lps. A new marketing strategy, perhaps?
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Review by jasonfist September 26, 2005 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
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I can't say I've anything else by Super Furry Animals in my collection, and there's next to no chance that I would have bought the album had it not been in 5.1, but I'm glad I did.
The music is rich and varied (Zoom!, the first track is like Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds eating the rhyming dictionary with the London Philharmonic)and the surround mix is both subtle and daring, carefully keeping vocals towards the front whilst dealing out special details and sounds to the surrounds.
Definitely a mix to be listened to loud.
As my first rock SACD, I have to say I'm impressed. And if this is only Sony's 2nd rock SACD of the year, what are they waiting for? More please!
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