Emerson Lake And Palmer 'Brain Salad Surgery' SACD

Ditto!

Not sure I'm going to pick this up, but will buy BSS again in this version sounds great. The only cd version I have left is the Sanctuary from from '01.

 

The Shout! mix is the right one?? Is the mix used on the original Atlantic CD wrong then? I'd thought that one was the same as my original Manticore LP.

 

Got my deluxe edition of BSS from Amazon UK today. This is my first experience with this recording, so take it for what its worth. On my system the SACD sounds excellent, not bright or harsh to my ears. I'm no expert on sonics, but I hate a lot of modern mastering, and this is very crankable and doesnt fatigue my ears.. Again, this is the first time Ive heard this album, but I cant imagine it sounding much better. I should also mention I only listen thru 2 channels and sub atm.

I enjoy the material as well, Im surprised it has taken me this long to hear this album. Chock it up to poor taste in my youth. One good thing about getting older I suppose.

And as a side note, the SACD is a bonus disc and is jammed inside the back cover very tightly. Thankfully mine was unscratched when I pulled it out.

Hopefully others who've heard this album before will comment on the sound soon as well. I thought I'd give my 2 cents.

 

The SACD is packaged almost like an after thought!

I now store the SACD in place of the CD in the tray, and have put the CD inside the cover, since I'll never listen to it as the SACD is a hybrid disc anyway!

 

I looked for it at a Virgin MegaStore the other day hoping they would have it as an import, but I came up empty. Who has it online for the best price? Amazon-U.K.?

 

Isn't amazon USA cheaper than amazon UK?

 

Mine arrived today from Amazon UK, approximately $26 including shipping. Amazon US has it right now for $35.98.

 

I immediately put the SACD in a separate sleeve, but it would be better to put disc 1 in the sleeve and the SACD in the tray. Good idea, jl151080!

 

Regarding the sound quality of Brain Salad Surgery - Karn Evil 9 in particular - I came across this quote straight from the horses mouth so to speak in the ELP Definitive CD Guide thread.

ELP - Definitive CD Guide
"Way back when the Victory remasters were announced, one of the talking points Mr. Palmaccio made to ICE magazine was that, for the first time since the earliest LP pressings, the 'true' original master tapes for KE9 First Impression were used, resulting in a significant restoration of sound quality particularly for that track (in addition to the upgrade from using masters of the rest of the album)."


Hey Guys -

I can shed some light one what Joe was referring to in the ICE interview.
Back in the mid 90s I oversaw the Victory ELP remaster program for PolyGram and Victory, and I remember that when we researched best sources for the Brain Salad Surgery album, we came across a set of two reels titled (I believe) Experiment 1-3 and Experiment 1-3, version 2. These two mix reels proved to be the master mix reels for KE9, where one reel was what would utilized for the album, while the other reel was a similar mix with some vocal changes (I believe this alternate mix featured some odd vocal mutes.) The beauty of these master mix reels was that both of the KE9 mixes were the complete 30 minute mix, without the side breaks. The album version was prepared from these master mix reels - in essence, the album master version is (at least) a generation lower than the master mix reel. I believe only the Victory BSS CD used this complete master mix of KE9.

I have always been surprised that subsequent remasters of Brain Salad Surgery didn't utilize the KE9 (Experiment) master mix reel.

Regards,

Bill Levenson

 

What was the time between AUK receiving your order, and shipping it? I'm wondering for the obvious reason. Thanks.

 

So does that mean the Rhino uses it too?

 

I would guess yes, but you would have to ask Bill for sure - I was quoting him.

 

I guess I should have put the CD in a separate sleeve or jewel case, but I have so many CD's stored in jewel cases because of deficiencies of the original packaging, it's getting ridiculous!

 

I asked about Amazon-U.K. since I saw a lot of folks here getting the disc from there.

Thanks, Shawn.

 

So, how does the SACD sound in stereo?

 

Is the surround mix the same as the dvd-audio?

 

So far, there have been discussions about many things on this thread, but I am still waiting for enough clear answers to the two questions above.

BTW, PoeRaider, thanks for your input.

 

Thank you. I almost asked the same thing, but not nearly as politely.

 

We've had comments about packaging and other versions but so far next to nothing about the sound of this one. It's almost like people are afraid to comment without hearing what other people think first.

 

As soon as I get it, I will definitely comment as I have the DVD-A, and several other masterings of BSS.

Frank R.

 

I'm having a little trouble following this. "Master mix reel" is being used to describe more than one generation of tape here, it seems like. Anyway, what I'd like to know is whether a better tape was used for the Victory CD versus the original vinyl release.

 

I pre-ordered it back in August. A couple of weeks ago I got an email saying it would be delayed, but that must have been a mistake because a couple of days later they shipped it. Their shipping estimate said that it would arrive on 10/20, but it came on 10/22. Considering the price I didn't mind waiting a couple of days.

 

Any comparison to the DVD-audio version?

 

Obviously, we need Jamie here!

 

I think what Bill means is that the continuous tape was the master mix. There was another tape made from that with the fade out of Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 1 and the fade in to Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2 to accommodate the change of sides on vinyl. I haven't heard the original Atlantic CD, but I'm guessing that the fade out and fade in are present there, whereas the Victory and Rhino have the non faded original master mix. So according to Bill Levenson, yes, a better tape than the vinyl was used for the Victory and Rhino CDs.