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Review by vonwegen November 11, 2003 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
Toys In The Attic roars out of the box in the surround sound mode--the title track can catch you by surprise if you don't turn down your system a bit--it slams into you full force.
All through the album, the distorted electric guitars sound fabulous, with lots of satisfying low-end muscle, with different, often overlapping guitar parts coming out of all 4 speakers.
The dry signal for Steven Tyler's vocals comes out of the center speaker, with the FX spread out over the back speakers. Drums & bass sound full and natural.
The music? Lots of things buried in the CD mix are out in the open here--"Uncle Salty" reveals all osrts of "Abbey Road" influences (!) and "Adam's Apple boasts a full saxophone section barely hinted at on vinyl and CD. "Big 10-Inch Record" actually sounds fabulous in surround, what with all the horns coming out of the back speakers. "Sweet Emotion" is really, really great sounding & I can actually hear the triangle loud and clear on the final verse for the 1st time ever (considering that I bought this on vinyl back in 1975, and on CD in 1997, that is saying something). The backwards taped handclaps bounce from left to right from the rear, the maraccas & tambourine are crystal clear and for the 1st time, I can actually hear the bass marimba during the intro! Also, the 5.1 mix extends the song a full measure and reveals for the 1st time that Jack Douglas edited out a measure where Joe Perry paused in his solo before continuing to play to the song's end.
Only "No More, No More" suffers a bit in surround, because the dual acoustic guitars (which sound lovely) were designed to accent the stereo mix and do not play except in certain intervals, creating a sonic hole when they stop and are replaced by a piano track, which unfortunately happens when the song gets louder towards the choruses.
Otherwise, the sonic placement of the individual instruments & vox are inspired, with no annoying panning effects to speak of.
I give this one 4 stars in performance because the last 2 numbers, "Round & Round" and "You See Me Crying" are throwaways, IMHO. The former is a circular Brad Whitford riff that wears out its welcome instantly; he later refined it to create the much more likeable "Last Child" on the following album. "YSMC" is Tyler's Beatles homage, a piano-driven power ballad with orchestra that tries much too hard but can't rise above being the mush that it is.
vonwegen
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Review by YianniD May 12, 2008
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
| Since Aerosmith's catalog has not received remasters since 1993, and those remasters are disappointing, I was happy to see one of their classic albums receive the SACD treatment. Although the opening title track seems a bit compressed, the rest of the disc shines with sparkling clarity. The instruments pulse from the speakers with new life as previously unheard of nuances are heard. Tyler's vocals also emerge in all his gritty glory. Tracks like "Walk This Way," "Sweet Emotion" and "You See Me Crying" sound fuller and richer. It makes one long for more SACD releases from the Aerosmith catalog, such as the often overlooked 'Get Your Wings' album. This one is well worth your money.
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