Search - Dead Can Dance :: Serpent's Egg

SACD version = AMAZING

Shawn | Millsboro, DE United States | 08/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this SACD reissue (along with the other 8 DCD SACDS recently released) with trepidation, wondering if it would be worth the money. How much better can a cd sound? The music on this cd is great on its own. It's deep, spiritual, complex, well-crafted music that often transcends expectations. To put it simply, the music is heavenly. It manages to be dark and spiritual, yet uplifting at the same time, without ever seeming corny or overwrought. The band exercises its creativity without restraint, but it's never self-indulgent. The voices complement one another. Brendan is deep, masculine, and earthy, whereas Lisa is otherworldly, wordless, and pure sounding.



Regardless of whether or not you like this type of sound, the SACD version of this disc is amazing. It surpassed any hopes or expectations I may have had. Listening to this program is like listening to it for the first time. Every nuance is brought out, clear, crisp, full-bodied, yet there isn't that sense of the sound having been cranked up as you may notice on other "remasters." Some companies who remaster old albums seem to believe that "loud" is better. I've bought remasters before and thought they were worse than the originals as they just sound "blaring." These SACD reissues were left in capable hands as all of them sound astounding.



The band's two earliest releases ("Dead Can Dance" and "The Garden of the Arcane Delights") were maybe my least favorites. They certainly sound better, clearer, more detailed, but the SACD versions tend to underscore the limitations present when they were originally recorded. They tend to be a little more shrill, but that's simply how they have always been in my humble opinion. Don't get me wrong, they're still great cds, but simply not my favorites.



The other 7 sound rich and much warmer, particularly "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun," which to me, always had a cold, stark feeling to it. It sounds amazing. ("Dawn of the Iconoclast" is frightening.) All of this music has been given new life. The live cd in particular, "Toward the Within," literally takes your breath away (The track "Cantara" is thrilling.) If you are a dedicated fan of this band you have to consider getting an SACD player and these discs. You won't regret it. For those who don't know, you cannot hear the SACD program on these discs without an SACD player. If you play them on a regular cd player, you won't hear the high resolution version."

This Is A Remastered Version Of The CD

Intergalatic Purveyor | California | 08/01/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Seems strange that it isn't mentioned in the information for this title but, the versions of the Dead Can Dance that came out in 2008, are all remastered by Mobile Fidelity and they sound fantastic (using this one as an example, I don't have the others yet) compared to what was before. I had the original 4ad versions from the late 80s and there really is no comparison. The dynamics, stereo image and detail are like night and day between the two. This version is beautiful, like color compared to black and white.



If you do not have a SACD player there is no reason to get those versions at all. You will not be able to use that layer of the hybrid CD, you will able to only listen to the regular remastered CD version which is what this is.







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