Genesis - Abacab - SUPER-AUDIO CD [Super Audio CD (SACD)]

Dire Straits' arresting self-titled debut arrived in the midst of punk's reign but couldn't have been further removed from the era's slash-and-burn style. Recorded in West London in February 1978, the band's tasteful, jazz-inflected set embraces folk, blues, and pub rock while also tracing a direct line back to the beat-oriented sound of early rock n' roll. Country and roots accents further distinguish the British quartet's stripped-down music from any 1970s peers, as does the transparent production, which has remained revered among audiophiles the world over - and which has never been better in digital than on this meticulous hybrid SACD.Even if you've heard this album hundreds of times before, you've never experienced it with such lifelike sonics and premium richness. This collector's set immerses you within the smoky, laidback atmospherics of every song. This is how all discs should sound.Crucial to every arrangement, Mark Knopfler's winding guitar lines emerge with supreme transparency and multi-hued textural detail. His intricate playing comes across as if it's being transmitted via his 60s-era Fender Vibrolux amplifier placed right before you. The cleanliness, dimensions, and live feel are that good. Rhythms skate and swirl; percussive effects resonate with crispness and attack; the leading edges of notes naturally decay.Dire Straits' strong, well-edited batch of original material further enhances the overall enjoyment and makes the record one whose pleasures go far beyond the organic sonics. Just as Knopfler's narratives pour forth with poetic and surrealist texts, the musical settings - an intoxicating combination of easygoing shuffles, back-hall boogies, and pop-honed ballads - mirror the old-fashioned soulfulness inherent in the classic recordings of the late 50s and early 60s. The lyrics are equally captivating.Drawing from his time as a youth in Newcastle,

The Best-Selling Album of All Time Celebrates It's 40th Anniversary Michael Jackson's Thriller Receives Definitive Treatment on Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACDMastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes for Superior Sound Experience the Transformative Songs, Soulful Vocals, Sleek Rhythms, and Vibrant Production as If Hearing It All for the First Time34-Times-Platinum Blockbuster Changed Music, Culture, Entertainment, and Society Includes 'Beat It, Billie Jean, Thriller, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin',' and 'The Girl Is Mine' (with Paul McCartney)Putting into perspective the incalculable impact and pioneering significance of the best-selling album of all time has never been easy. Though Michael Jackson's Thriller lays claim to mindboggling statistics - for starters, it netted a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards and sold upwards of 70 million copies globally - that serve as reminders of how pervasive and indispensable it remains to music snobs and casual listeners alike, it's essence always traces back to the greatness, power, and scope of the songs. Now, as it celebrates it's 40th anniversary, the blockbuster that reconceptualized music via a genre- and color-blind blend of fleet pop, funk, disco, soul, and rock sent up with cinematic panache and dynamic energy; united audiences; made strides towards achieving racial equality; and taught the world how to dance sounds even more invigorating than it did during the advent of the Walkman.Mastered from the original analog master tapes and housed in mini-gatefold sleeve packaging, Mobile Fidelity's numberededition hybrid SACD does for Thriller what Jackson's unforgettable appearance on the 'Motown 25' TV special in 1983 did for his career It makes the music personal, human, desirable, relatable, imaginative - the definition of cool. This reissue does so by presenting the songs in lifelike fashion, zeroin