Dead Can Dance SACDs

[Teazle]

Has anyone heard any of these new releases? If you had to pick one or two as the best one(s) which would they be (SQ- and content-wise)? (A bunch of them have showed up in a local record shop and I'm trying to decide where to start. I know nothing about the band.)

TIA.

[Psychonaut]

I have the entire set on pre-order as I am a HUGE DCD fan. I haven't heard any of them yet but the male vocalist from the band has stated that all show significant improvement with the re-mastering. Toward the Within, Into The Labyrinth, Aion, and The Serpents Egg are my favorites but all of their releases have great stuff on them.

If I had to pick one, Toward The Within would be my choice as it is a live recording from 1994 and gives some insight into the majority of their catalogue. I'm not a major fan of live stuff but DCD is magical live. These will be an excellent choice to audition speakers with.

Edit: Dead Can Dance

[dobyblue]

I do like some DCD, but I was disappointed to see that they didn't do surround mixes of the first album and EP, the only recordings of which multi-track masters existed.

I still may consider picking up Into The Labyrinth as I love the song "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"

[Psychonaut]

I didn't check but did they do them on the remasters? They have that and the SACDs coming out at around the same time.

[dobyblue]

Unfortunately not. A spokesperson from 4AD stated "Unfortunately, due to the way DCD recorded, multi-tracks only exist of the first album and EP. […] We did want to do surround mixes but without multis there's nothing that can be done. Many of the albums were actually created in the final mastering where triggered samples (not on the multitrack) were mixed in live. This means that, apart from the stereo masters, there is no other recording containing all the musical elements."

Source - www.ps3sacd.com

[CptGreedle]

I would buy any DCD SACD I find! I love DCD! i got to see them live 2 years ago, an experience I hope to share with my wife sometime in the future. But an SACD would be awesome!

[Clark Kent]

AcousticSounds is selling all 9 Dead Can Dance hybrid SACDs in a pre-order price of $159.99:

http://store.acousticsounds.com/brow...Title_ID=49244

[Psychonaut]

I got them on ElusiveDisc for that price as well. BrendanPerry has made mention of a box to house these in. They can't get to work fast enough.

And Greedle, I am BEYOND jealous. I could have seen them once in Seattle but no one wanted to go so instead of going alone, I went to sulk at the bar. Halfway through my binge, I met a girl who was moping because she wanted to be at the show and had no one to go with.

I missed the 2005 tour completely as I was distracted by BS but I have vowed that is they ever play again anywhere in the country, I am going. I mean, they owe us a proper high def DVD now don't they?

[Brandon B]

Who would you compare them to, as far as getting an idea of what their music is like?

BB

[dobyblue]

That's an incredibly hard comparison to make - they are truly unique-sounding.

They're like a cross between a medieval group, fields of the nephilim, rachel goswell (slowdive) and the mission

But that probably doesn't do them justice - just try and sample something.

[Psychonaut]

Fields of the Nephilim? Another awesome band!!

[Teazle]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I just picked up Into the Labyrinth. Sounds like Pink Floyd playing in a curry house. Very interesting stuff. Beautiful, elegiac vocals. The next one I try will be Toward the Within.


BTW, for Pixies fans, the new (jacket says 2008) SACD release of Doolittle is excellent. Stereo only, sorry. The rhythm section sounds amazing.

[Teazle]

The second track of this record, featuring a single unaccompanied voice, ought to be mandatory listening for those "audiophiles" still trying to convince everyone that 16/44.1 or 20/44.1 PCM is comparable to (virtually indistinguishable from) high-res audio.

This track is a brilliant demonstration of the dynamic range of SACD. The lone vocalist slides quickly and dramatically from a bare whisper to a full-throated, erm, warble or holler. No CD I've ever heard comes close to capturing dynamics that well. With the solo voice the difference is much easier to hear than with (say) a rock band chugging away at a uniform level.

I have to say it. There's simply no way somebody is going to engineer a magic future DAC which will make 16- or 20/44.1 PCM sound as good as this SACD sounds right now. I don't know what reason certain people on other forums have for appearing to suggest otherwise.

[Gremal]

For a dramatic listening experience on SACD, I recommend the Yo Yo Ma--Silk Road Journeys. One track features a traditional Mongolian female vocalist who will stretch the midrange/treble capabilities of your system.

[gvortex7]

Into the Labyrinth is by far their best album IMO, but every one of their albums contain music that is essential to their catalog and is a staple of their live sets.

For single song samples, check these three out:

1. The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove (off of Into the Labyrinth, my personal favorite song by them)
2. Nierika (off of their last studio album, Spiritchaser)
3. Saltarello (off of Aion)

If you're new to Dead Can Dance, then check out their last best of compilation album Memento, released in 2005. It touches upon many of their great songs.