Customer Reviews

Empire

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Five stars are NOT NEARLY enough for this CD. I compared the "regular" version and the "gold" version of this CD one track at the time and came to the conclusion the other albums should be released on this label RIGHT NOW! I own several other Gold discs, and this one is a classic example of a true improvement in sound quality. See it as the difference between an old vinil album found in the attic from the "pre CD" era and the first time you heard the same album on CD. Well... The same shock is about to happen here...

(The review title is a bit cheesy, but it sounds good, right?)

This is the first 24 karat gold disc that has become a part of my collection. It was also the only one I really wanted. However, I delayed for a long time. After all, Empire is one of the best recorded rock albums ever (and one of my favorite albums). Could the gold disc be that much better? It professes to "reproduce the ultimate sound of a classic recorded performance without the digital harshness and irregular plated surface of standard aluminum discs." This is supposed to have a great effect on the recording. (Until recently I foolishly thought these discs were just funky items for ostentatious collectors.)

I received this CD as a gift, and now I can assuredly say I was stupid for the hesitation. As good as Empire was recorded before, this is way better. Every last instrumental ingredient is remarkably strong and identifiable. The hard rocking songs, like "Empire" and "Jet City Woman," have so much more punch. The clarity of the rumbling bass, coruscating guitar lines, and shivery hissing cymbals call even more attention to the band's superb instrumental ability. (I've gained much more appreciation for Scott Rockenfield as a drummer because of this). The "human instrument," Geoff Tate, has never sounded better. On "Silent Lucidity" it sounds like he's in the same room with you. On the same song, the orchestra's cadence glimmers with ten times the intoxicating power. Beautiful!

The greatest effect of the gold disc is heard on one of my favorite 'Ryche songs, "Anybody Listening?" It is definitely the best song ever written about being in the spotlight. I like Queen's "The Show Must Go On," Rush's "Limelight," and the pertinent songs on Marillion's Afraid of Sunlight album, but this is way better. The heavy, textured arrangement sounds more visceral and penetrative, increasing its emotional resonance.

More casual fans may not be willing to buy the gold disc, but anyone who loves Empire should definitely invest in this indispensable release.

I thought the original album sounded great until I popped this 24K Gold Ed. in & listened to it. The sound is fantastic. My favs. "Jet City Woman" & "Empire" blew me away. Definitely worth the money.

Every Queensryche fan, everyone who appreciates the brilliance of 'Empire' and every audiophile should discover this treasure -24 Karat Gold disc.You will HEAR the difference (with a good sound system).

Here's a note from DCC Compact classics for those wondering whether 24 Karat Gold discs are more than just collectors' items:

"You've never heard your favourite music sound this good! The clarity is exceptional, the separation ... amazing. You will hear deeper lows and crisper highs. ...

Our 24 Karat Gold discs reproduce the ultimate sound of a classic recorded performance without the digital harshness and irregular plated surfaces of standard aluminium discs.

Only the original two-track master is used for the digital transfer, and is played back on a specially reconstructed tube reproducer. Without any further sonic manipulation, the master is shipped directly to the manufacturing plant for etching onto the glass surface by laser.

The end result of this unique mastering process is a compact disc with the warm sound of the original master tape combined with a 24 karat gold surface free of any type of defect."

Every track appears to have been remastered with the greatest of care. My digital reference. Every CD should been accomplished like this. If you are a 'ryche fan, this is an uncomprising must-have.

The sound is incredible. Listening to Geoff Tate's voice on this type of cd is LONG OVERDUE and will send chills down the spine. This is a must have! Definitely worth the money.

Okay I'll admit it upfront that when I first got this album years ago it was because of "Silent Lucidity" and as I was going through my acoustic guitar learning phase, I wanted to play the entire song note-for-note and the other tracks were just filler as far as I was concerned. I finally did learn the entire piece by heart and promptly decided to put the cd away so well that I lost it and also I've forgotten how to play the tune I'd learned almost 2 decades ago.

Now that I'm older and hopefully a lot wiser I decided to return to this album and I've discovered that "Silent Lucidity" although a great track is also among the weaker ones here! This is a classic album and the band reminds me of Rush with a much harder edge and a much better vocalist and although DeGarmo's a great guitarist, Alex Lifeson has the edge though but again few guitarists will ever be as good as Lifeson anyway. This album though is so good that you'll have to listen to the whole thing at one sitting to do justice to it and in that sense it is a bit like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall", The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's ..." etc. What astounds me about "Empire" though is that despite it's age, it sounds so fresh and would top the charts even today and that is the sign of a great classic album that stays relevant and fresh sounding even over the decades. This may also be vastly helped by the brilliant remastering job in 24 bit that was done giving this a much, much better sound quality than the first cd that I got all those years ago.

This mlps (mini-lp replica sleeve) version though is a mixed bag. First the great news: this album has been very well remastered for an excellent sound and has an insert with all the lyrics in both English and Japanese and rather bizarrely has two inner jacket sleeves that faithfully replicate the original lp. The only beef I have with this and is why I only gave it 4 stars is the actual assembly of the mlps itself which is so disappointingly poor given the quality of the rest of the package. The cardboard is of thin poor quality and looks as if it will fall apart once the glue gets old and in fact mine's already starting to come apart. For examples of very well assembled mlps designs go see the ones done for the entire Hall & Oates reissue as well as those done for Queen and The Band which are simply works of art which showed those concerned had great pride in their work. The bonus tracks by the way are: "Last Time In Paris" (an excellent track that should have been included in the original album to begin with), "Scarborough Fair" the cover of the folk standard made popular by Simon and Garfunkel and so interesting given the harder edge interpretation although not an improvement over the original and so is best described as an oddity and "Dirty Lil Secret" which is a decent track.

In conclusion, this mlps version of an excellent album is a mixed bag because it costs a great deal and yet the cardboard sleeve is poorly designed and assembled but the excellent sound quality somewhat makes up for this. You decide if this is still a value proposition enough for you to part with the serious mullah this retails at.

I wonder why some people categorize Queensrÿche under progressive rock. To me, this is just rock. But great rock, rock of a high caliber! And this album »Empire« is the best Queensrÿche ever came up with!

On vinyl, this is a double album even though there are only 11 tracks. But they're all pretty long, and the filmic sound effects introducing and extroducing every song must've provided inspiration for bands like Therapy? and Zyrk.

The highlights are »Jet City Woman« and the ballads »Anybody Listening?« and »Silent Lucidity«. And, oh, by the way, this album title was taken as a title for a German prog rock magazine too... because of the greatness of the album... which is not prog rock but pure ROCK.

This was nowhere near 'Mindcrime' but who could follow up that album? In its own right, 'Empire' is a solid album indeed! "Best I Can" and of course "Jet City Woman" are awesome! "Another Rainy Night" is also extremely catchy and radio friendly while keeping metal integrity. "Silent Lucidity" was hugely popular and probably the closest Queensryche ever got to breaking into the mainstream. A must for your collection!

CRANK THIS BABY UP!!! Unbelievable digital sound quality..."EMPIRE" is the ultimate "play at maximum volume" CD...(the ending of "One And Only"---YAOW!!!!!)...Gold makes this QR CD too quiet! Same volume as the first Empire CD...best digital disc I've ever heard in my life, just needs to be louder!!! Go with the digital remaster---more music, more volume! I spent too much American greens on this piece...20 STARS FOR THE EMPIRE, 3 stars for the golden waste of my time! What a silent lucidity! Close your eyes........