A few years ago, BMG began releasing RCA’s Living Stereo classical albums from the 50s and 60s on hybrid SACDs. One had to wonder if the SACDs, or any digital equivalent, could live up to the magic of the original “shaded dog” LP pressings during these recordings’ original release. Digital transfers can be such a “literal” translation of what’s on the master tapes, it can be a little too exact; the magic of the Westrex cutting head is part of the whole “Living Stereo” mystique. How do these SACDs live up to the Living Stereo name?

We’ll touch on the sound quality issues in a moment. First, let me point out that these discs are a fantastic value. You may very well pay full list price for these discs, and you know what? At $11.98 each, who’s to complain? You may often find these on sale below $10 US, which makes them an incredible bargain…especially since each SACD holds two complete albums! Yes, they are all two-fers, something that all but a few jaded purists won’t object to. The packaging includes a decent booklet with original album notes and recording data. The cover itself is a collector’s dream: the album cover and Living Stereo banner are set against a backdrop of a photograph of the spines of dozens of these classic LPs. (An astute collector may notice one Columbia LP slipped among the RCAs.) All in all, a very nice package for what amounts to a midline release.

The discs themselves have rather plain graphics–they’re OK, but a nice added touch would have been to recreate the Red Seal shaded dog label. But it’s understandable, and I don’t even know if BMG still has the rights to use the familiar Nipper logo. The disc is a hybrid, so it is playable in all CD players, but those of us who are SACD-equipped get the real treat here. Aside from some high-dollar audiophile LP pressings, these SACD versions are the closest that any of us at home will ever get to hearing the original tapes.

The SACD has both a 2-channel and a “surround” program. However, I need to explain. In the earlier Living Stereo era, RCA recorded onto two-track tape machines. As time went on, they found they had better control over the balance of the recording by using three microphones in a left/center/right configuration, and began recording onto three tracks. With these SACDs, you are getting the original recordings, whether it was the older two-channel version, or the later three-channel. If your system is set up for surround, and your center channel speaker is the same as your left/right speakers, the three-channel presentation is pretty much what the recording engineers heard as they recorded and played back the tape. The SACD preserves the exact track arrangement, which means you have only left/center/right channels on the disc; your surround and rear channels will not produce any sound at all.

While I currently have only four of these titles, I must say that I was a bit wary of the infatuation over these recordings. But once I played them, I was amazed at how good these sounded! You consider that these recordings are somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 years old, and they hold up very well indeed. You would think many of these were recorded just a few years ago! Yes, they do have some tape hiss, but it is at such a subdued level that you don’t even notice it once the music takes you away. One impressive moment was hearing the opening movement of Also Sprach Zarathustra–the low organ notes come through nice and strong, more felt than heard here. The overall sense of space is every bit as good as I’ve heard about over the years: at times you feel like you’re taken from your listening room into the recording hall, the ambiance extending beyond the limits of where your speakers are placed.

Performance-wise, I’m no expert at classical music, but for the most part, I’m happy with the interpretations. The only thing that really bothers me the most about some classical recordings is the tempo or pace. Fritz Reiner’s take on Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain is a bit frenetic or rushed for my taste in some sections, but otherwise, it’s still enjoyable. On the other hand, his Pictures At An Exhibition is very well conducted. The aforementioned Also Sprach Zarathustra is also one of Reiner’s discs I have in this series. I wasn’t sure what to expect, musically, of Arthur Fiedler’s Hi-Fi Fiedler, but I enjoyed everything on the disc, including the William Tell Overture, Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s La Coq d-or–Suite.

I’m looking forward to getting more in this series. There are a lot of classic performances here, and with the sound quality being as good as it is, I can give these no less than a glowing recommendation. The fantastic value for the musical dollar is the icing on the cake!