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Reviews: Dire Straits: Love Over Gold

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Reviews: 8

Review by sonnysin168 July 26, 2011 (3 of 5 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
This album has a darker and/or more melancholy theme as compared to other DS albums. Starting slow and quiet and gradually getting louder much like a story told in a hush and building to an explosive climax. I like the guitar sounds as they are natural sounding. The highs are clear and smooth. But I felt that the vocals are a bit laid back for my taste. I must say that they're not that bad, but I prefer it a little more forward than this version. Other than this, I feel this is still a very good sacd.

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Review by analogue August 25, 2011 (6 of 9 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
The first Shm-Sacd of Dire Straits self titled album was a masterpiece. It ranks up there in the highest tiers of sonic bliss. And great music as well.
This one does'nt quite reach the same lofty levels either musically or sonically.

Perhaps Dire Straits tried to be overly ambitious. Higher production values does not a great album make. In my opinoon there is a certain sameness to the overall tone of the music (TRACK AFTER TRACK) that leaves me a tad bored.

Sonically, although Dsd to tape was done I found the sound somewhat flat.....it never really achieves the very best qualities that we love from the very best Shm-Sacd's. Perhaps its the recording process that tries to fill in to much insrumentation or perhaps its the tape source. In either case I expected more.

That said this is a rather good transfer that fans of this album will enjoy. The volume has to be turned up rather loud. There is good seperation of instruments and vocals are pushed back in the mix a little. I guess what I am trying to say is that in my opinion there is nothing really outstanding on this disc. It is solid sounding but not much better than that.

It doesnt get my attention as do other disc in this line. And the original album was so much better than this.

Recommended only if you are a hige die-hard of Love over Gold.

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Review by pjg12345 August 30, 2011 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
Telegraph Road, Private Investigations and Love Over Gold are great cuts from this album (However, I prefer the live version of Telegrpah Road).

I have to agree with sonnysin, the vocals are bit laid back. But since this was transferred from the analog masters it is probably the way the original was meant to sound? Over all the sound is good but it lacks sparkle and life.

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Review by Eyolf September 22, 2011 (1 of 9 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
These sacd shm from Japan costs a fortune, and they are generally NOT worth the price. Love over gold is a record I just love. The Bob Ludwig remaster is far better than this sacd. The sacd is dark, muddy and has lost the details and dynamics. There is some drum fills on this cd that is just bang, but on the sacd it sounds hollow. What a letdown. I am getting really tired of the commersials-"Fantastic dynamics, every detail will pop up, etc." It is I am sad to say very very misleading most times. This goes for most sacd shm, MOFI remasters, and last, but not least- The horrendous sounding Audio Fidelity reissus.

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Review by congajoe October 2, 2011 (16 of 17 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
First of all, there is no more "sameness" to this album than any other Dire Straits offering. Obviously, a group of songs written, played, and sung by any single group will share a degree of uniformity; however, does the upbeat rocker "Industrial Disease" sound at all like the epic "Telegraph Road" with its beautifully ornamented passacaglia passages? How about the erotic, acoustic guitar laced arrpegios and slow burn of the spoken "Private Investigations" as compared to the hard-driven guitar rhythms and prolonged, intense crescendo of "Love Over Gold?"

Dire Straits never produced a weak album, but this one is magnificent, their most ambitious and possibly their finest studio recording.

I agree with one reviewer that the Japanese SHM SACDs are ridiculously overpriced, but his assertion that this SACD is inferior to the Bob Ludwig mastered CD could not be more wrong. That CD is plagued by considerable brickwall compression (The Dynamic Range tool reports 0.00 overhead for both the left and right channels) and is painful to listen to at even moderately high volume. Run a couple of wavs through an audio editor and you will find brutal clipping on all but the softer passages.

I bought the LP when it came out and have listened to it many times, and I can say with certainty that this SACD is remarkably similar to the vinyl. Knopfler's vocals have not been artificially boosted, but remain laid-back as they were intended; the music displays great dynamic range, from pianissimo to fortissimo -- which probably accounts for some listeners perceiving it to be a "quiet" recording. I can play the SACD at very high levels with no listener-fatigue at all. It is clean and highly detailed, with a sense of space around the instruments that brings out their distinctive timbres and makes them sound more real and present in the room.

I've heard a couple of SHM SACDs that were not so impressive, but in those cases I think it was due to the poor recording of the original masters. "Love Over Gold" simply shimmers, and I can't recommend it more highly. It is a beautiful-sounding SACD of a truly classic album.

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Review by Sergey November 21, 2011 (2 of 4 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
The sound quality of this album is not correct to evaluate in terms of absolute sound quality, as compared with notes familiar to us early. When this album was released on remastered CD it simply could not hear distinctly digital plaque, buzzing bass in the beginning .... it was awful. All the time I wanted to add the prefix-synthetic sound, the record is totally different .... because this sound is alive and natural. Bravo Uniwersal! Recommend that owners of high-quality systems!

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Review by Steveoboogie June 11, 2012 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
I have had every version of this album on CD since the first one came out from Phillips in the 1980's. First of all I agree there is no "sameness" (every song sounds the same) on this CD. Your telling me Industrial Disease sounds like Telegraph Road ? This is an excellent album and comes third after Brothers In Arms and Their self titled first record.
The sound on the SACD is not bad. Better then the last remaster that's for sure. I do wish it was a little sharper but I feel it's a minor problem. I am so glad to see this out but I agree once again with another review. That being these are insanely expensive. I would love to know the actual cost of this SACD is to say Amazon. Sometimes I feel that if it says Made In Japan on it record retailers give it a 300% mark up. If these were $20 to $30 cheaper I could see buying lots and that would still make the SACD go for between $40 and $50 each. But at $70 to sometimes as high as $95 is too much to ask of us working class people. Hence I have bought five in the last 18 months and even that hurt the wallet.

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Review by Croc July 26, 2012 (2 of 4 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
i think this is the best sounding Dire Straits album.
Finally it doesn't have that over emphasized mid bass which works good with small speakers or in the car - but with a full range system it excites the room too much and hurts overal sound quality.

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