The Entertainers: Billy Joel, America, Labelle, Earth Wind and Fire Get Surround-Sound Treatment From Audio Fidelity

March 24, 2015 By Joe Marchese — 1 Comment

America - Homecoming SACDAudio Fidelity is continuing its well-received series of surround-sound releases on hybrid SACD with a trio of quadraphonic (4.0) titles from 1974 and one classic rock favorite from 1972 in 5.1.  All of these titles feature the surround mix on the high resolution SACD layer with a newly-remastered version of the original stereo mix on both the SACD and standard CD layers.

The ’72 classic is America’s Homecoming.  The second album by the trio of Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek, Homecoming introduced the Top 10 Pop/Top 5 AC hit single “Ventura Highway” as well as “Don’t Cross the River” (No. 35 Pop/No. 23 AC) and “Only in Your Heart” (No. 62 Pop).  A Top 10 album, Homecoming also featured instrumental contributions from Wrecking Crew legends Hal Blaine and Joe Osborn as well as the Modern Folk Quartet member/renowned photographer Henry Diltz.  Audio Fidelity’s reissue features the 5.1 surround mix of Homecoming that originally premiered on DVD-Audio from Rhino/Warner Bros. in 2001 plus a new stereo remastering by Steve Hoffman.  It’s due on April 21.  (Audio Fidelity previously released America’s debut on 2.0 stereo SACD.)

EWF - Open Our EyesEarth Wind and Fire’s Open Our Eyes (1974) gets the quad treatment from AF.  Open Our Eyes was the fifth studio album from Maurice White’s soulful collective, and went to No. 1 R&B as well as No. 15 Pop.  It charted three hit singles: “Mighty Mighty” (R&B No. 4/Pop No. 29), “Devotion” (R&B No.23/ Pop No. 33) and “Kalimba Story” (R&B No. 6/Pop No. 55) and the platinum-selling LP remains one of the group’s true tours de force.  AF’s reissue features the original quad mix from engineer Bruce Botnick (of The Doors fame) and a new stereo remaster from Hoffman.  Like Homecoming, it’s due on April 21.

Streetlife Serenade SACDAt a later date to be determined, two more quadraphonic titles from 1974 will arrive on hybrid SACDs.  Both will contain remastered stereo mixes, too.  Billy Joel’s Streetlife Serenade was the piano man’s third release.  Produced by Michael Stewart, it introduced Joel’s enduring, acerbic concert favorite “The Entertainer” which cracked the Pop Top 40 at No. 35, and also contained “Root Beer Rag,” “Souvenir,” “Streetlife Serenader” and “Los Angelenos,” the latter two of which were reprised on his live album Songs from the Attic.  Streetlife remains a compelling snapshot of the “angry young man” in the days before he was flush with international stardom.

Labelle - Nightbirds SACDStreetlife is joined by Nightbirds from the trio Labelle.  With production from New Orleans’ own piano man, Allen Toussaint, the No. 7 Pop/No. 4 R&B Nightbirds was the most successful LP ever by Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash.  It was bolstered by the success of Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan’s “Lady Marmalade,” which topped the Pop, R&B and Dance charts.  Crewe’s “It Took a Long Time (For the First Time in My Life”) is also featured on the album – you can hear Bob’s own version on Bob Crewe: The Complete Elektra Recordings from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music – as well as a couple of Toussaint compositions and a number of Nona Hendryx originals.

You can pre-order Homecoming and Open Our Eyes below; we will update soon with pre-order information for Streetlife Serenade and Nightbirds!

America, Homecoming (Warner Bros. BS 2655, 1972 – reissued Audio Fidelity AFZ5 204, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

  1. Ventura Highway
  2. To Each His Own
  3. Don’t Cross the River
  4. Moon Song
  5. Only in Your Heart
  6. Till the Sun Comes Up Again
  7. Cornwall Blank
  8. Head and Heart
  9. California Revisited
  10. Saturn Nights

Earth Wind and Fire, Open Our Eyes (Columbia KC/CAQ 32712, 1974 – reissued Audio Fidelity AFZ5 202, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

  1. Mighty Mighty
  2. Devotion
  3. Fair But So Uncool
  4. Feelin’ Blue
  5. Kalimba Story
  6. Drum Song
  7. Tee Nine Chee Bit
  8. Spasmodic Movements
  9. Caribou
  10. Open Our Eyes

Billy Joel, Streetlife Serenade (Columbia PC/PCQ 33146, 1974 – reissued Audio Fidelity AFZ5 207, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

  1. Streetlife Serenader
  2. Los Angelenos
  3. The Great Suburban Showdown
  4. Root Beer Rag
  5. Roberta
  6. The Entertainer
  7. Last of the Big-Time Spenders
  8. Weekend Song
  9. Souvenir
  10. The Mexican Connection

Labelle, Nightbirds (Epic KE/EQ 33075, 1974 – reissued Audio Fidelity AFZ5 196, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. )

  1. Lady Marmalade
  2. Somebody Somewhere
  3. Are You Lonely
  4. It Took a Long Time
  5. Don’t Bring Me Down
  6. What Can I Do for You
  7. Nightbird
  8. Space Children
  9. All Girl Band
  10. You Turn Me On
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Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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1 thought on “The Entertainers: Billy Joel, America, Labelle, Earth Wind and Fire Get Surround-Sound Treatment From Audio Fidelity”

  1. Philip Cohen

    Love those Audio Fidelity surround SACD’s, but the problem of getting them pressed persists. Only one pressing plant is still equipped to manufacture hybrid SACD’s. The other pressing plants that once pressed the discs are unmoved by the format’s recent resurgence. Who knows when those “America” & Billy Joel titles will be available, or if there will be adequate quantities to satisfy demand?

    Reply

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