Rosemary Clooney: Girl
Singer (SACD)
Music: B- PCM
CD sound: B DSD Stereo: B+ DSD Multi-Channel: A-
Who would have thought that one of the most impressive
Super Audio CD’s out on the market would be from Rosemary Clooney? Certainly not I as I practically snickered
upon first glancing at the packaging and I thought to myself, “they will put
anything on SACD these days.” Well,
just a few moments into my listening experience I was beside myself. Concord has issued this 1992 original
release onto the SACD format as a hybrid disc containing CD audio, DSD Stereo
and DSD Multi-Channel mixes, which does not fail to impress at all!
Clooney of course has that special knack for pulling
together traditional pop music with vocal, jazz, showtunes, and ballad for a
sweet performance even for the most timid music listener. Now granted most people probably would not
blast this one until the early hours of the morning until your neighbor calls
the cops on you, but this is a very defined music experience that is sure to
please, even if its for a romantic evening or just some laid back
listening.
Musically speaking this album is different from her
previous Concord Records releases due to some different arrangements with
musicians. Interestingly enough this
particular album is a tribute piece to the girl singers of the swing era,
despite some of the tracks not even existing at that point in time, but
nonetheless it’s a fun listen.
Track Listing:
Nice ‘N’
Easy
Sweet
Kentucky Ham
Autumn
in New York
Miss Otis
Regrets
Let
There Be Love
Lovers
After All
From
This Moment On
More
Than You Know
Wave
We Fell
in Love Anyway
Ellington Medley: It
Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)
Of
Course It’s Crazy
Straighten
Up & Fly Right
The Best
is Yet to Come
What will impress the most is the clarity in the vocals
and the warmth that this SACD presents.
Smooth vocals with a sweet midrange making Clooney sound more passionate
than ever. The band also sounds tight
and the mix becomes quite impressive during 5.1 playback as we notice certain
little arrangements that in stereo become lost or compressed into the mix. Here they are freely dancing around in a
more graceful way, making the presentation seem more natural and live-like. Some of the Jazz swells really test out the
front speakers as well and break them in well, especially if you have tower
speakers. The low end is hardly
noticeable, but certainly present as it mixes in very well and fitting. Sometimes 5.1 discs will have too much
sub-channel activity that it overwhelms the entire mix. Not the case here.
There is very little to complain about here, the CD and
DSD stereo have nothing on the multi-channel mix, but the DSD does have a nice
solid 2.0 mix for those that are not doing 5.1 playback just yet. Clarity, definition, and fidelity are all
top notch for sure. I just love the
smoothness and texture that this SACD offers and is a high caliber disc to even
show off to friends if you need something a bit more obscure.
While this might not be the first choice for most people
when it comes to a Jazz SACD, this is certainly one of the better mixes and
arrangements that we have received from this site and welcome much more
material from Concord and other companies that are dedicated to higher quality
formats and material. This disc is
terrific and will make you want to go back and watch White Christmas
again and again, or hunger for more Jazz in 5.1!
- Nate Goss
