The Who's Tommy - SACD 5.1 (!) reviews?
 

It's a hybrid SACD/Reg CD release of the album with a bonus disc of outtakes and standard stereo songs as well.

I was wondering if there are any online reviews of this SACD release and specifically how the 5.1 remixing of the songs is.

excerpted from "This is Pop! Shop"

The Who's Tommy remastered for SACD
Pete Townshend has remixed The Who's Tommy album for SACD and 5.1 Surround Sound. Details from the press release:

"Tommy can you hear me?" will be heard like never before with the hybrid SACD (Super Audio CD) release on October 28, 2003 of the double-disc TOMMY - DELUXE EDITION (MCA/UMe). One of the pre-eminent rock albums in history, TOMMY - DELUXE EDITION marks the most significant album to be first issued on a hybrid SACD, a disc which offers three formats: SACD 5.1 Surround Sound, SACD Stereo and CD Stereo. Only a hybrid SACD can be played in CD players as well as SACD-capable players.

Says The Who's Pete Townshend, who digitally remixed the album from the original master tapes: "To be able to listen to TOMMY in what is master quality audio, just as Roger, John, Keith and I did in the studio so many years ago, is a special experience -- and completely new for fans of The Who and the album. This is what TOMMY was meant to sound like and I couldn't be happier that the public will finally hear it the way it was intended."

Disc 1 features the complete original album in 5.1 Surround Sound, SACD Stereo and CD Stereo (all remastered by Jon Astley, Townshend's catalog reissue collaborator). Disc 2 brings together 12 rare or previously unreleased outtakes (such as "I Was" and "Miss Simpson") and alternate versions (such as for "Tommy Can You Hear Me?," "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "Christmas") in SACD 5.1, SACD and CD Stereo, plus four never-before-released demos ("It's A Boy," "Amazing Journey," "Christmas" and "Do You Think It's Alright?") in SACD and CD Stereo. The package also features liner notes and copies of some of Townshend's original handwritten and typed lyrics.

The first "rock opera," TOMMY tells of a "deaf, dumb, and blind kid" who witnessed traumatic events in his adolescence. Released in 1969, the album was hailed by both rock critics and the mainstream press. Life magazine wrote that "for sheer power, invention, and brilliance of performance, TOMMY outstrips anything that has ever come out of a recording studio."

TOMMY includes such classics as "I'm Free," "Sensation," "We're Not Gonna Take It," "Pinball Wizard," "The Acid Queen," "Eyesight To The Blind," "See Me Feel Me/Listening To You" and the 10-minute instrumental "Underture." Its success, bolstered by tours of Europe and the U.S. and the movie WOODSTOCK, turned The Who into superstars. TOMMY also introduced a new audience to rock music as the band played some of the world's most celebrated opera houses and luminaries such as Leonard Bernstein praised the work. TOMMY has since been performed as a play, a 1975 film starring Roger Daltrey and a 1993 Broadway musical which earned five Tony Awards (the West End version was nominated for eight prestigious Olivier Awards).

A DVD-Audio version of TOMMY is expected to be released at a later date

No on-line reviews that I can find. I bought this and the 5.1 mix is awesome. Having bought the original LP when it was released in 1969, the SACD brings forth the voices and instruments which were previously buried in the mix. The whole thing sounds bright and crisp and practically leaps from my speakers!

If they release Quadrophenia in SACD, I'm buying an SACD player.

I believe the deluxe edition plans for Quadrophenia are to place it on DVD-A so that it can have a second disc of extras and maintain hybrid abilities.

Re: The Who's Tommy - SACD 5.1 (!) reviews?
 

I'm listening to the DVD-A of Tommy and I'm blown away! It's hard to believe this was recorded in the late '60s. The 5.1 format allows you to hear each instrument with clarity and punch. The multi-channel mix envelops the listener with the music. There are a few instances where sound/voices are rear-surround specific but it's effect really enhances the songs rather than coming off as gimmicky.

Everything that the SACD has is ported to the DVD-A release. 2 discs, same tracks. As with other DVD-A's there's a photo gallery you can access while listening that contains photos not in the booklet. In addition there's a 33 min video interview with Pete recorded after he finished this new 5.1 remix. Great stuff when he talks about finding the original masters (rumored to have been destroyed). Also there is a .pdf file (accessed via PC) that contains more lyric manuscripts (not sure if the SACD has this, other than the ones that are already contained in the booklet & case). The booklet contains a lot of great pictures taken during the recording process.

My biggest beef with this set is that when you select to view the lyrics for a song, not only do you have to manually page through each screen of lyrics for each song, once that song is over the main playlist menu pops up again instead of the lyrics continuing to the next song. Sort of a pain but what can ya do.

A minor beef is that both discs are stacked ontop of each other on the same hub. Not that big a deal but if I want to load disc 2, I'd rather not have to pull off disc 1.

But those quibbles aside this is still a stellar DVD-A release. So far, one of the best that has come out. If you're into DVD-A (or SACD) and a Who-fan then I highly recommend this breathtaking release.

Has anyone heard both the SACD and DVD-A. Wondering if there's any audible difference.