At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
SACD Surround Sound/SACD Stereo/CD Stereo
(Mercury B0000400-36)

The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East is a live recording made by the band in 1971 and is one of the best known Rock albums of all time. The SACD Surround Sound edition of the album had appeared on and off the Universal Music SACD release list several times, adding to the anticipation of this week’s release. The new SACD is a two disc set that sells for a list price of $24.98. It was produced by legendary producer and recording engineer Tom Dowd whose life is highlighted in a new DVD that was also released this week entitled Tom Dowd & the Language of Music.

While the album has appeared in Surround Sound before (as a DTS 5.1 Music Disc), the Surround Sound SACD features a new 5.1 Surround Sound mix. The new 5.1 Surround Sound mix was done by Jeff Glixman with Carl Cadden-Jones at Angel Mountain Productions and Sound in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was 5.1 SACD mastering by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine. The SACD Stereo and CD Audio tracks were mastered by Suga Gur at Universal Mastering Studios East and the SACD was made by Sony DADC in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The 5.1 SACD Surround Sound mix does a nice job of giving you the sense that you are at the rock concert with the Allman Brothers Band. The band and music is primarily up front and “on stage” (so to speak) with the rear channels being used for audience applause, reactions and sing alongs for the most part. Even so, I found it to be a pretty effective sounding live surround mix.

Album Musicians
Duane Allman – Lead & Slide Guitars
Gregg Allman – Organ, Piano & Vocals
Dickey Betts – Lead Guitar
Berry Oakley – Bass Guitar
Jai Johnny Johanson – Drums, Congas & Timbales
Butch Trucks – Drums & Tympani

Album Selections
Disc 1
1. Statesboro Blues
2. Done Somebody Wrong
3. Stormy Monday
4. You Don’t Love Me

Disc 2
1. Hot ‘Lanta
2. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed
3. Whipping Post

Final Straw
Snow Patrol
SACD Surround Sound/SACD Stereo/CD Stereo
(A&M Records B0002376-36)

Final Straw is the fifth and latest album by Irish alternative rock group Snow Patrol. The album features three songs that were hit singles in the U.K. – Spitting Games, Chocolate and Run. It was released earlier this year in Europe in both CD and SACD formats and is now appearing in SACD Surround Sound in the U.S. this week.

The 5.1 SACD Surround Sound mix was done by Mike Nelson at Strongroom Studios and the mastering was done by Louis Terran at Marcussen Mastering. The SACD was made by Sony DADC in Terre Haute, Indiana. For the most part, this Surround Sound mix is focused in the front channels with the Surround Channels being used for sound effects and occasional instruments on some tracks, but not others.

Album Selections
1. How To Be Dead
2. Wow
3. Gleaming Auction
4. Whatever’s Left
5. Spitting Games
6. Chocolate
7. Run
8. Grazed Knees
9. Ways & Means
10. Tiny Little Fractures
11. Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking
12. Same

Availability
The new Surround Sound SACDs by the Allman Brothers Band and Snow Patrol are now available at music stores such as Borders, Best Buy and Tower Records. They are also in stock at web sites that carry SACDs including Acoustic Sounds, CD Universe, Elusive Disc and Music Direct.

Upcoming Universal Music SACD Release List
This week’s news from Universal Music was the upcoming European release of the 10 Mercury Living Presence SACDs in early September and the addition of the balance of the first 10 Mercury Living Presence SACD remasters to the list of upcoming SACD releases in the U.S. market in November. Here’s the complete list of upcoming SACDs from Universal Music with these additions included:

August 31, 2004 SACD Releases