Rolling Stones- It's Only Rock N Roll SHM-SACD Reviews

Bollocks There are no such flaws on the ABCKO albums I mentioned and that are available via hdtracks.
The real amazing album is AFTERMATH. From a sonical HiFi pov this is the gem in the Stones cataloque. No other album sounds so good and offers that much variety in instruments, arrangement, songwriting and studio ambience.
It is Brian Jones crowning achievement and unless you hear the HiRes version you would never know for sure...okay you got a clue before...

The records that have flaws sound wise are the dirty Heroin infected albums AFTER Brian Jones left recorded for Rolling Stones Records - not on professional recording equipment, but mainly on the Stones Mobile in various locations over time, not on schedule in a serious 1960ies recording studio - Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street, IORRR and to a lesser degree Goats Head Soup. Since they left Kingston and went to Munich and Paris for Black And blue and some Girls they hit the audiophile buttons right !
The main problem with IORR is in the production stage/the final downmix - Mick & Keith had never before produced an album or were the persons with the last word on which mix to use for the final album / master and that might have lead to countless hours of mixing-remixing / overdubs, so that like on RUMORS the top end loses it's brilliance when finished.
Those were analogue reel to reels, that suffer from re-recording.... I am pretty sure that this is what causes the absense of the usual sparkle on top of most songs !

 

To be fair, they did produce SATANIC MAJESTIES which IMO does sound very, very good (listen to the London CD to hear what I feel is the best sonic representation of this album).

 

Have you heard the new SACD?

 

I'd recommend it over any digital version, and over any vinyl version that I've heard. The SACD is the best it has ever sounded.

 

Ditto for the Aftermath London CD. This one is much better than the SACD IMO.

 

I'm on my first listen of the SHM-SACD now and I like it, like it, yes I do.

Has the feedback always been on the guitar track of 'Ain't too Proud to Beg?" I can't believe I ever missed that before.

 

'If you Really Want to be my Friend' sounds like it could be Dolby"d. Certainly sounds a bit flat compared to the earlier tracks on the album.

 

Yep, mixing issues. imo ! Doubt any recording studio EVER used Dolby. Dolby appeared pretty late on the scene mid 70ies or later if i remember correctly.
Their satanic was recorded in a professional recording studio with schedules and all that - a far cry from the 24/7 everywhere when we're ready sessions recorded via Mobile stones that the Junk album were recorded at. A final down mix/master can help getting a flat sounding (IORR) mix into something sparkling; but I can look as hard as possible I don't see any mastering credits on most Stones albums.
Okay mastered for LP etc. but not a final mastering of the studio master tapes are concerned ( DO NOT USE written on those usually) and these tapes are what gets used for the DSD to get closer to the sound of the original master as ever before !
No I have NOT heard that SACD, but I heard the LP and various copies on CD and a couple trax from IORR used on MADE IN THE SHADE LP and they all share the same muddy mix.
The HD tracks AFTERMATH brings out nuances and a brilliance that I have never before heard on any LP or CD. Same goes for Let it Bleed and Beggars Banquet; just not to the same dramatic change = much better sound.
So I doubt the SACD of IORR sounds worse than the former versions..
If that should be the case than it is the mix, that I see as the main problem here..
But again, the muddy mix doesn't take anything away from me enjoying IORR as one of the 10 best rolling stones albums.

 

Personally I think this SACD is more of an improvement over the previous versions of the album, than any of the Stones Post ABKCO SACDs that have come out so far. It actually doesn't sound all that muddy to me. The guy who claims it sounds like a bucket of mud must have gotten a bum copy as far as I am concerned.

I'm waiting to hear Goats Head Soup, which I also believe could really benefit from this treatment. Hoping they use the uncut Star******.

 

Or the only song he played was Dance Little Sister. You should hear that on Made In The Shade. It's way worse than the SHM-SACD.

 

I agree.

 

Give it a spin, and you'll see it actually can sound worse

 

I've got mine from CDJapan, and I rate 'em as trusted seller (so far).

 

I disagree strongly, this release has been a revelation for me as it's never been one of my favourite Stones albums previously and I've listened to it four times over the weekend.

There are a couple of tracks, to my ears, a little flat sounding, but, to name two, 'Fingerprint File' and 'Time Waits for No-one' are stunning, as good as anything on Who's Next or Sticky Fingers to me ears.

These flat transfers do need a lot of volume, in my opinion, to get them going. I was very disappointed with the APO SACD of Smokin', my first flat transfer SACD, but once cranked up, they're amazing.

 

I need two versions then - SACD for the weekend noons and CBS CD for all other time (as I really crank it up not too often).

 

O.k., I am here in the U.S. for vacation and have 6 SHM-SACD's here with me, but I won't be able to play them on my main system until I am back home in Germany. Anyhow, I really just wanted to hear them somehow, so I hooked up the Sony Blu-ray player BDP-S370 to an old stereo my father-in-law has here, with an integrated Pioneer amp (nothing to write home about) and some old KHL speakers. Not the greatest system, but at least I can listen to them a little bit.

Just put this Stones SACD on (after some others I have played), and this one sounds neat to me, very analogue like. Looking forward to hearing this one on my own stereo and to compare it to my other versions (original JPN for Europe CBS CD and 1994 remaster - I liked the original better between those two last time I compared).

 

A very weird recording and mix job, to be sure. It's always been thus.

The SHM-SACD is certainly the best-sounding version available, but it's really for big-time Stones fans only. The rank and file will be just fine with the CD or LP.

Still, I love this album.

 

More likely a hardware issue.

Just a couple more weeks!

 

I received this disc today, along with Sticky Fingers and Love You Live. I agree with most people here that much of the disc doesn't really sound great (but I don't think there's much that could've been done about it, or does this disc have the same kind of tonality issues as Sticky Fingers?), but the complete version of Time Waits For No One and Fingerprint File running at its actual speed (as an aside, it nows matches the version on Love You Live, which is neat) make this disc a must-have in my opinion.

Speaking of Fingerprint File, if you turn the volume all the way up right after the music ends (it's the last track on the album, so you can do this safely, unless your player is on repeat or something like that), you can hear what sounds like a bit of print-through of Mick's final scream. I thought that was kind of fitting, as if he's being carried away already...

 

Really, It's out of print?

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=UIGY-9069

I guess I missed the boat on this one.

 

There are still copes on ebay. Get it while you can.

 

I remember when the Who's next SHM SACD went out of print for a little while, but then it re-appeared.

 

Huh! I did not realize that was the case with Who's Next. I got It's Only Rock And Roll off Ebay last ngiht on PageLesPaul's rec. I feel like a real sucker paying 50-60 bucks a pop for these but really enjoy the ones I have already: Who's Next, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street, and Some Girls. I wish these things were hybrids to at least attempt to justify the price. I bought the titles I did out of an obsession for music but can't really justify paying what I did. Yikes.

 

I listened to the hybrid SACD last night, amazing....

 

Tattoo You is listed as "out of print" as well and Goats Head Soup is on SALE. My guess is if demand is high, they will print more as they seemed to have done with Who's Next..