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Review by analogue December 7, 2013 (7 of 8 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics:  |
Way back in the beginning of sacd Sony released this album and I purchased it. While I don't think its perfect I really enjoy listening to this disc. What it does well is rather fantastic. My problem with the original sacd was the vocals which to my ears sounded somewhat unconnected to the instrumental part. Almost as if she recorded her voice elsewhere and then Kings voice was mixed onto the already recorded music. I never believed for a minute that she was actually singing with the band even though she was. The Sony sacd had little to no tape hiss and not a lot of air. Although it sounds like I'm trashing this sacd I am not. This sacd is an excellent sounding sacd.......still is. What it did have was superb bass presentation which virtually gave the listener each note beautifully heard with excellent sound. The bass was totally amazing. The low end and the sound stage were also awesome.
Fast forward some 13 years and we have Mobile Fidelity's version which takes care of the weaknesses of the earlier sacd and adds alot of other excellent qualities. King's vocals are presented so much better here, sound stage is the same and low end is respectable. The bass on the new sacd is respectable but not quite as good as the bass on the Sony Which may have been boosted in the mastering.
Mofi's transfer actually highlights Kings; rather limited vocal range and one can clearly hear her struggling with the chorus parts of her songs. Her voice can become a tad tuneless during parts when she needs to raise her voice. I am not criticizing her talents mind you.....just pointing out that from this Mofi sacd I can actually detect the problems inherent with her singing on this album.
The new sacd has slightly more air and hiss.which is a good thing. It is by far the more believable, natural, organic, textured and lifelike version to be sure. There is no doubt that Mofi's tape player with its heads really captured more information on the tape source. Both versions used the same master tapes.
So..in parting both sacd's are excellent. The Sony sounding extremely good even after all the intervening years but it sounds like Hifi.
Mofi's version is by far the more accurate and King;s vocals are rendered very centered as they should be and anchored and belong to the music recorded. Kings voice has more texture and presence.
Very good job Mr. Loverde. Great care was taken here.
Highly recommended. A truly classic album by a great song writer.
My actual rating is 4 and a quarter stars for sonics.
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Sonics: 
