The Rolling Stones - Black and Blue, reviews of the SHM-SACD

A great summer record.
And sorry but...."Memory Motel" is something more than a "decent ballad".

 

+1

 

Yeah, the Exile release is really going to be interesting.

 

Another winner in my opinion.

Fool to Cry is so rich and thick, you could swim in it. I've never been a huge fan of the track either. On here, it's peerless.

This was never one of my favourite Stones albums until the Virgin remasters. This release is of the same quality as the rest of the Stones SHM's, top notch.

 

Much better than the compressed Virgin IMO

 

The best digital pressing... Compared to CBS and Virgin CDs.

 

Don't get me wrong. I like it. But it's basically just an old standard ballad chord progression and some on-the-road lyrics. They don't much push the envelope with this one.

 

I got my Black and Blue today, with an assortment of other SHM-SACD delicacies. This is a meandering of my first impression only:

When "Hot Stuff," the first track, came on I sensed the improved solidity of the presentation. Everything is more solid and three-dimensional. The guitars, and I won't venture who is playing what, but the guitars have better tone and are presented with greater articulation, if that's possible. This has always been a clean recording and mix. The bass drum has a better "thunk" and the snare sounds righteous. I have always enjoyed the way the drums were recorded and mixed and all that on this album. The snare drum sounds more metallic.

The vocals at the end, when Mick is kind of rambling on and addressing the "people on the dance floor" with seemingly extemporaneous remarks -- well, I can comprehend a lot more of what he is saying. Some of these little phrases which were incomprehensible to me before are clear. So that's an acid test of sorts for me; otherwise I question whether I am hearing things because I want to hear them. But when I can make out lyrics for the first time, I take that to the bank as a real improvement.

"Hand of Fate" is great. Much the same observations as the opening track. Keith's guitars are just snarling. Same for Ron Wood's. Oh, I see Wayne Perkins also contributes guitar on this one. You get that magical effect where they electrify the air. This holds true across all the Stones SHM-SACDs I have enjoyed. Also, because the vocals are cleaner the intent of the song, the message of the song, is better conveyed and with more meaningful conviction.

"Cherry Oh Baby" sounds great too. Love the wafting organ from Nicky Hopkins in the left channel. All the same observations as the others. Those little guitar picking notes are sounding fantastic.

"Memory Hotel" is a tune I like. I read others find it nothing special. I would submit that Charlie plays the drum set with mallets rather than sticks on this one. But uses the wood butt end for those little cymbal flourishes. Nice groove. (Who cares about the chord progression?). These tunes, which are more layered than my hair was in 1976, really benefit from the higher resolution because the sound stage gels so well. Really nice.

When "Hey Negrita" comes on up goes the volume a notch. Here's another one where lyrics that were incomprehensible to me are coming into focus. So that acid test for me justifies what I will call a tangible improvement. No, I'm not hearing things. Because I never got that before. Thinking on the whole of this album and indeed the whole of the Stones SHM-SACD releases, the guitars are really benefiting from the higher resolution. That distortion really gets electrified and we go to another realm.

"Melody" -- I have only this moment formulated a hypothesis on the piano that is playing as the tune is counted off. I had previously thought it might be some bleed-through or some such affect, which would belie the quality of the recording in toto. Listening to this SHM-SACD literally for the first time, I would now hypothesize that the piano is one and the same as that which digs in after the count-off. However, it comes to us as captured by an overhead mic during the count-off and is not placed or prominent in the mix, as it has not been mixed during this little snippet of sorts. I say snippet, but my hypothesis is there is continuity from the moment the tune is counted off until the band comes in. It's just that that piano is being played softly and not mixed into basically the left channel. I'll listen some more and see if I still think that.

Well, "Melody" is a gorgeous tune made more so on this release. But the lyrics are humorous to me. Billy Preston sounds great.

"Fool to Cry" is for me the greatest drum track Charlie has ever done. I honestly have a hard time listening to anything else on this tune. Consistent with his approach on the rest of the album and indeed most all of his work, this one totally nails it with the fewest strokes as possible. It's like a house of cards -- is that what the game is called where he just pulls one card out from the construct and you can't believe it doesn't fall in on itself?

This is beautiful in the way those japanese prints of say horses done with with black ink and brush on heavy white paper are. You know that type of art. Maybe a little red block stamp in the bottom corner. Well, this drum track is analogous to that art form to me. Moreover, he breaks every cliche being done in this period on the drums. Minimalist. Anyhow, that's my impression of listening to this one.

We got several inches of fresh snow last night here in northern New Mexico and I'm listening with a fresh cup of black coffee in a white porcelain cup. Am I painting a picture for you? Just loving this one.

"Crazy Mama" completes our listening review. The volume is coming back down. More swagger about guns and crazy women. Okay ...

Oh, I had told a friend on this forum I would send a photo for our mutual amusement of my Rolling Stones SHM-SACD collection with the disk UNION original replica (is that an oxymoron?) bonus obis installed, to include Black and Blue. I am not interested in discussing the merits of the obi here; but to me personally, it just completes the way these albums should be experienced. From the moment one leafs through them and makes his selection, the presentation of the album cover art makes an impression.

Here is a little snapshot of my collection thus far for your amusement as well as my own:

 

Good stuff Mister B. Very nice review.

 

Thanks for the review. It would be helpful if you'd let us know what you've compared it to, though. Original vinyl, CBS CD, Virgin remaster...?

 

I compared it to the original Japan Mini LP, the one released prior to the SHM Japan Mini LP. The original Japan Mini LP sounds great to me, by the way. I never heard the SHM version. But categorically these SHM-SACDs have a much better, more solid, more tangible presentation than redbook CDs. Such has been my experience.

 

Does the original Japan mini-LP use the Bob Ludwig mastering or the Vlado Meller mastering? Or is there another?

 

"(Copyright) 1976 Virgin Benelux BV. (Copyright) Promotone BV. The Copyright in this recording is owned by Virgin Benelux BV. Digitally remastered by Bob Ludwig for Gateway Mastering Studios. Remastered using UV22 Super CD Encoding by Apogee Electronics, Santa Monica, CA. Apogee UV22 is a unique new process capturing all the fine detail of the original analogue master on standard audio equipment. (Trademark) Musidor BV."

 

Thanks. Good to know. I prefer the eighties Vlado Meller mastering to this one (the US DADC disc is great).

 

While I don't share you guys' enthusiasm for the format, I do think this is a fine album. Well-recorded with some under-appreciated playing.

 

Crazy Mama sounds more like a Faces tune than anything else--especially Keef's very Woody-esque lead fills before the verses.

I actually think the album could've done with a couple more tunes--"Slave", had it been finished at the time, would have slotted in nicely, and there's a gorgeous acoustic guitar/piano outtake called "Separately" that would've also been good.

 

I received my SHM-SACD a couple of days ago. Gave it a spin and compared it to my old Japan for Europe CD pressing. I also have the 1994 remastering (US Mini LP), but I have compared my two CD versions before, and I did prefer the older CBS mastering over the 1994 remaster, so this time, I only used my preferred redbook version for comparison.

I have to say that I always thought that the original CBS CD sounded already very good for this album. Really a nice sounding CD.

In direct comparison with the SHM-SACD, I found the following differences:

The SHM-SACD is a tiny bit more "neutral" sounding, a little less bright and tiny bit less boomy in the bass region. With the added resolution of the SACD format, it sounds very nice and smooth, analog to me. I prefer the SHM-SACD and it is now my preferred digital version. I think they did a good job with this one. But it is not a night and day difference in my opinion, since the original CD sounds already very good. But I think the new SHM-SACD reveals some minor weaknesses in the old CD version. For example, I never thought of the old CD to be a little bit on the bright side, but in direct comparison, the SHM-SACD has a bit less treble and the overall sound is a little more balanced in my opinion.

I like it and can recommend it if you have a similar taste in mastering as I do. Some people might prefer the old CD (or even the remaster).

 

Anyone who criticizes the Mobile should be forced to listen to Melody until their opinion has changed for the better. It's the best-sounding track on the album (and, arguably, of their entire carreer), along with Hot Stuff which has an absolutely fantastic drum sound. Of course, the entire album sounds great, although Fool To Cry and (to a lesser degree) Memory Motel are a bit hissy. I can definitely recommend this disc to anyone who cares about the music.

 

Just listening to Melody from the SHM SACD and yeah I agree, sounds pretty awesome. In general a clean sounding mastering with nice dynamics

 

I've given the CBS '86 (Austrian) CD, the Virgin and the SHM-SACD a shoot out.

The original and the SHM-SACD are close but I prefer the original CD.

There is better bass and treble extension on the original CD that my system, and ears prefer. Its a fantastic disc and much cheaper!

 

Funny how tastes differ. I prefer the SACD because it is less bright than the original CD.

 

+1

 

"Separately" is a Goats Head Soup era track with Mick Taylor soloing over it, if I recall correctly. I'm not sure that B&B uses any Taylor era guitar.

 

It does not. B&B features no holdovers from earlier sessions.

I've only heard "Separately" without the Mick Taylor leads. It's a really nice piece that deserves finishing.

 

Has anyone compared the SHM-SACD with the SHM-Pt? Appears to be same mastering, so difference is Platinum redbook vs SACD format.