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Reviews: Genesis: Abacab

Reviews: 2

Review by Tom April 20, 2007 (0 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
I like Phil Collins, but I've never heard this album before. I am familar with a couple of the cuts however.

It uses the real approach to surround in that the vocals and instuments are mainly from the front speakers.

Overall, I like the album and am glad I bought it. It has an OK sound quality. I think I'll buy another one of the Genesis albums.

To me, the album has acceptable definition and clarity, but suffers from a slight veil over its sound. The trebble is generally slightly rolled off, but improves at times.

The drums lack the impact that I expect. Clearly the drums do not sound like a live performance.

I would not use it as an example of what SACD can produce.

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Review by Epsilon July 5, 2010 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
I heard the ABACAB album for the first time when I bought this SACD release so I have no base for comparison with RBCD or vinyl. I can only compare it with other Genesis SACD releases. Actually I was expecting something worse sonic wise. Yes, it belongs to the loud group of Genesis SACDs but it does not bother me as much as e.g. in the case of Invisible touch. And I disagree with the previous reviewer about the impact of the drums. I like the drumming here, I feel the impact. However, I would not use this disc to demonstrate the potentials of SACD. For that, I have better candidates. (For one, there's 'We can't dance' - especially the opening and closing tracks - wonderful!)

I know there are harsh critics of this album regarding the musical content. I am not one of them. I must add that I am still to explore the more artistic early years of Genesis - the earliest album I have is 'And then there were three'. So no comparison again. I can only judge by the album itself (and my likes of course). I was introduced to the music of Genesis in the Invisible Touch era and followed them onward, slowly exploring their catalogue backwards too. So in this context, I quite like ABACAB.

The multichannel mix is fitting. The rear channels are used a lot for organ/keyboard, guitar tracks and drum machine sounds but not overwhelmingly. As I mentioned above, I am satisfied with the drum sounds, and the same goes for the bass. Also, the synth solos have the bite I like. However, Phil's lead vocals on some tracks do not have the presence I find on the next album (titled Genesis) - whether it is the recording or the mix, I'm not sure. As compensation, we get e.g. 'Man on the corner' - a beautifully built song, which again makes me wish they would think of releasing the Collins solo albums on multichannel SACD.

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