Customer Reviews

A Treasury

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

 

 

It's already been discussed on what should of been include / removed from this collection, so I will just talk about the improved sound and 5.1 mix. The stereo SACD lived up to my expectations to the format, the songs had the a warm quality that I expected. The improved sound was noticeable even on the "new" version of Magic (as listed on the cd), I noticed some distortion and background noise on the cd version of the track but not on the SACD. The 5.1 mix I thought were well done, even with the acoustic tracks such as Black Eyed Dog. The vocals are mixed in the center channel and the rear channels and the guitar is in front and rear channels. Other SCAD with just acoustic/vocal tracks just had a three channel mix, which didn't add much over the original stereo mix. Anyway I give the sound 5 stars and the song selection 4 stars.

Everything on this SACD has been previously released with the exception of the bonus track (which is essentially a 48-second instrumental version of "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You") The stereo layer is no great improvement over the previous issue, but the new surround mix is horrific. The vocal is overbearing for some strange reason, rendering the surround mix virtually unlistenable. Disappointed!

This is probably the finest-sounding CD in my collection. The guitars glisten with warmth and Drake's voice never sounded so good. Instruments and voices have wonderful soundstage. Every sound on this CD has dimension and palpability. If you like MSFL or DCC discs, you'll love this CD. (I mostly play the CD layer because my CD player is far superior to my SACD player.)

Like Tim Hardin, Drake is much more a jazz musician than a folkie. The songs here are not always obvious. They sometimes take time to sink in. But the groove is what takes you along. Even during the most quiet acoustic numbers. I recently played this for a Jack Johnson fan and she loved it.

Compact discs, as those of us who still use them know, hold up to 80 minutes of music. Nick Drake's three proper studio albums are each, on average, just over 35 minutes long. Putting together a fairly comprehensive 'Best Of' for an artist with such a relatively small discography should be a no-brainer (even allowing room for a few non-album highlights previously compiled on 'Time of No Reply')... Hell, an 80-minute iPod shuffle of his songs, provided they included his half dozen or so universally-regarded classic tracks (the ones that keep appearing in commercials or on movie soundtracks), would produce a tracklist of at least 20 songs equal, if not superior to this one. So, like the last two single-disc collections, this is a merely adequate introduction to the man's work, but it's an unneccessarily short and (to longtime fans) frustratingly incomplete one.

It doesn't provide many "special features," but A TREASURY is an excellent introduction to Nick Drake's work, including various songs from his three albums FIVE LEAVES LEFT, BRYTER LAYTER and PINK MOON, as well as a couple of rarities (the re-arranged "Made to Love Magic" and "Black-Eyed Dog"). The Introduction is a brief, beautiful musical arrangement without vocal, followed by the jazzy "Hazey Jane II" and mysterious, rather dark "River Man."

If you already own Drake's three albums, the next step to go is TIME OF NO REPLY, which includes various outtakes of Drake's work, but if you are unfamiliar with his work and eager to know why he's received so much praise, go right ahead and buy A TREASURY; I can tell as much as that none of my friends have been disappointed when I've introduced them to Drake through this album. Although it may be required to examine his three albums in their entirety to truly understand the whole picture, the songs play splendidly also as a mix, combining the minimalistic sound from PINK MOON with the more arranged highlights of FIVE LEAVES LEFT and BRYTER LAYTER.

This was the first Nick Drake album I really liked and I attributed it to the improved sound. I always thought he was good but I got a bit bored with him over a whole album of songs.

Subsequently with a new better stereo I am in love with all of his stuff (at least the three studio albums, so far).

I think the sound is pretty good for early seventies / late sixties recordings.

I liked this better than "Way To Blue: An Introduction" though now that that has been remastered maybe this disc is only to test out your surround sound.

Be careful when buying this cos Plaisir d'amour is not on the US release (apparently) - its supposed to be a bonus track following From the morning!

Also, the albums too short. Could've fitted At the Chime of a city clock, certainly

Anyone who has heard the 45 second new track (Christ!) contact me at JoeChrisMorris@hotmail.com IMMEDIATELY

I purchased this SACD version of Nick Drake - A Treasury and looked forward to hearing his material in this format. Popped it in my SACD player and it would not load. So I went through the proper steps to return this and get a replacement copy. All of this was expedited quickly. I received the replacement only to have the same problem. I thought I'd save Amazon and myself the trouble of going through the return steps again and included both CD's in the same package. I assumed they would understand what the deal was, but that's what I get for assuming. I was credited $2.87 cents for the shipping charges and still have no disc or credit. Thanks