DAVID ELIAS: Crossing (Folk 5.1 Surround & Stereo SACD)

David Elias

Crossing (Folk 5.1 Surround & Stereo SACD)

© 2005 David Elias (783707086507)

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What Stereophile magazine described as "Extraordinary" -- Award-winning songwriting reoorded live in Slipperworld Studios by gifted musicians in an intimate acoustic setting. It doesn't get more real than this.

notes

The acoustic band you always wanted to be in...As a successor to the widely acclaimed SACD 'The Window', the new SACD 'CROSSING' was a 2005 Final Nominee for Surround Music Awards 'Best Title' -- It plays on any CD Player as well in 5.1 Surround Sound on compatible SA-CD Systems.

STEREOPHILE 2006 - "From the first note it is apparent that this is an extraordinary recording."

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"Crossing" is a recording for anyone looking to rediscover the folk tradition in a contemporary expressive format. It has the songs and the musicians performing that are capable of recreating what many consider to be a lost or at least an endangered art. Having blazed a new/old trail in 2003 of addressing the folk tradition idiom by working with some incredible musicians in a live studio recording session that resulted in my first SA-CD "The Window", this disc "Crossing" continues to explore the depth to which highly articulate lyrics and accompaniments can be captured and recreated for the listener in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound.

'Crossing' joined the top list of picks by High Fidelity Review writers for the 2005 Surround Music Awards:

** "Listener's Choice" award ** final nominee.

'Crossing' was also a final nominee in these categories for the SMA 2005 Awards:

** Best Made-For-Surround Title ** final nominee

** Best Non-Orchestral Mix ** final nominee

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Features these fine Musicians to whom I'm grateful:
- Sally Van Meter (dobro/weissenborn)
- Matt Flinner (mandolin)
- David Phillips (pedal steel)
- Eric Moon (accordion, keyboards)
- Eric Thorin (standup bass)
- Marc Dalio (percussion)
- Chris Kee (standup bass)
- Peter Tucker (percussion)
- John Havard (electric)
- Reid Dennis (percussion)

"Crossing" is my second SACD (Super Audio CD). Its predecessor was "The Window" which was released in 2003. Both SACD's will play on any CD player and sound sparkly and shiny.

The sonics of both the instruments, vocals and ambient room were captured on the world's highest resolution recording equipment (Sonoma DSD, 2.8MHz single bit recorder). The tracks were mixed separately for both stereo and 5.1 surround sound on the same workstation, losing none of the live characteristics or quality of the session. There are largely no edits and very few overdubs, mostly just EQ and panning. This recording is as real as it gets. You can be part of the session when you listen!

Many people have asked me how I get such good results recording live in the studio. Examples have been my most recent 3 released discs including this one ("Crossing), the Xing Webcast and "The Window". All 3 of these have the common magic sauce of the DSD recorder. That is a vital first step. The reason is that the only other approach to capturing ambient characteristics of a band performing live in a studio or stage are analog tape. Unfortunately, tape is very expensive and kind of extinct at this point. The good news is that DSD (Direct Stream Digital) was developed in the late 90's by Sony and Phillips as a way to accurately preserve the quality of their master recording archives (all on tape and slowly deteriorating). It uses an extremely high sample rate that has none of the ceiling and quantized limitations of typical PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) digital recording. DSD behaves like analog where the quality is preserved 100% over time. Listen to this recording or any of the other DSD works I have to see what I mean.

Here's what a few people have said about songs on "Crossing":

"As with Elias' prior SACD release, I can quite confidently predict this will be another "must have" disc for Super Audio CD fans." - Brian Moura, HighFidelityReview.com

"The debut SACD by David Elias, titled The Window, has become a surprise hit in the Acoustic Sounds catalog. Surprise, that is, because it was an independent release by an independent artist on an independent label. There was no major label promotion machine in effect here. But word spread quickly, grass-roots style, that this was a disc of serious sonic and musical merit. And now we've got Elias' follow-up to tout." - AcousticSounds.com

"A beautiful pastoral melody with David's soulful intimate vocal is a feast for any music lover. And he writes and sings lyrics that actually mean something. Poetry married to music! It that's what you are looking for then David Elias is your songman!" - Guy Michetti, Mixposure Review Crew

"A professional recording of the highest quality, everything in balance so perfectly. Easing us into a kind of comfort and beauty. Sheer heaven." - Maria Daines

"Amazing that there are no edits or other digital magic. It sounds wonderful." - Gill Whitehurst

"I just wanted you to know that i have been listening to these songs on a regular basis. And it is just absolutely beautiful and moving. The perfect instrumentation for every song just totally gets me. Your voice is lifted to amazing height with this music. And i'm glad because everything you say is what I need to hear. Anyone who hasn't heard this is really missing out. Thank you thank you thank you" - Will

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"Crossing" was recorded in La Honda, California at Slipperworld Studios by Charlie Natzke. Check out www.slipperworld.net -- Two tracks were recorded to DSD by Gus Skinas at Immersive Sound in Boulder.

"Crossing" was mixed for both stereo and 5.1 surround sound by Gus Skinas at Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colorado. Check out www.superaudiocenter.com -- Gus also mastered this disc. Thanks Gus!

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reviews

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  • As Good As The Window
    author: Darrel and Sally Odgers

    We purchased this album after stumbling on The Window by chance and enjoying it very much. This one is just as good. Since this is a simple recording with few instruments, we feel the stereo layer is the better. Both are entertaining, though. We will not hesitate to purchase any other SACDs by this artist. We have no real track preference. All are enjoyable. It's one of a very few discs where we have two copies just in case of loss or damage. On this note, we intend to get a back-up copy of The Window if and when it comes back into stock.

  • Essential Recording
    author: Reviewer AcousticSounds.com

    This 5.1/stereo hybrid SACD is an essential recording for anyone interested in contemporary folk music. The recording quality is excellent. The music and lyrics are quite beautiful. And as the big commercial record companies implode all around us, David Elias proves that much of the best contemporary music is coming from private labels today. He also proves that quality recordings can be made inexpensively and that the SACD format just may survive!

  • An icon among singer-songwriters of America
    author: Michael J. Downey

    With the release of "Crossing," David Elias has re-affirmed his place as an icon among singer-songwriters of America. For David, it seems truly a crossing of old and new technologies - warm, wooden, acoustic instruments recorded on state-of-the-art Sonoma DSD equipment. Also crossing exciting new tracks (the gritty, gunslinger Dobro of "Morning Light/Western Town," the vivid, honest imagery of"Crossing," and the signature David Elias way of making a yearning, existential paean sound hopeful, as in "One More Savior") while breathing new life into a few of David's classic tunes ("Mend My Mind," "Heaven's Destiny," and "Changing Down"). But the real irony of David Elias' "Crossing" is the friendly way it greets you ears on first listen, and then finds it's way into your heart thereafter. And once that happens, you're a fan for life. Lucky for us, David's prolific songwriting keeps us fed with gems like "Crossing."

  • Awesome
    author: Alpha

    This is the first time I have heard David Elias, but it certainly won't be the last.

  • More than Great!
    author: Serious-Music (MIX Review Crew)

    This track [Morning Light/Western Town] is more than great. Full of my taste. The instrumentation and the clear recording are wonderful. But the vocals also in this song so great like the other songs which I have listened. This song sounds full of instruments! My favourite-track.

  • Excellent Performance
    author: Mike Kissel

    David delivers again on a fantasic tune [Mend My Mind]. The spaciousness of the mix and the live recording is so perfect and gives you the feeling he's sitting on your porch and singing the late summer afternoon...Just an excellent performance and perfectly written, relaxing song. The mandolin is so smooth and fits so good.

  • Hear an Original
    author: GinNger SparklezZz - MIX Review Crew

    The Vocals are great. Fantastic recording quality and EQ! Nice! Nice! Nice! Very professional crisp sound! You have a great voice(and hey, you don't sound like anyone else but you!). :) Always nice to hear an original such as yourself.

  • Mind Mending
    author: Phillip E. Hardy

    David is a bona fide folk music talent in the tradition of popular 70’s artists like Gordon Lightfoot and Jim Croce. This track [Mend My Mind] is so damn pleasant to hear and I wish I heard more music like this at OMD’s. The vocals and guitar work are effortless and beautiful and the production is as clean as it gets. The mandolin work on this tune also adds tremendous color and fills in without being overbearing. This is great work by an artist who deserves your attention.

  • Top Notch Material
    author: Billy

    This stuff is reminiscent of Jim Croce. It immediately came to my mind as soon as I heard it. The production of this tune [Mend My Mind] is flawless. This is not a genre I would normally choose but it's good for kicking back and if there are more independent artists out there as good as David Elias then I will tune in to this stuff more often.

  • What I Need To Hear
    author: Will

    I just wanted you to know that i have been listening to these songs on a regular basis. And it is just absolutely beautiful and moving. The perfect instrumentation for every song just totally gets me. Your voice is lifted to amazing height with this music. And i'm glad because everything you say is what I need to hear. Anyone who hasn't heard this is really missing out. Thank you thank you thank you.

  • Something Special
    author: Breel

    His Greatness David Elias provides another masterpiece... as usual. But yet something is different. Is it the melody that hooked me up at the first listening? No, as usual. Is it the words that make me slip into David Elias' world and make me feel like it was mine? No, as usual. Could it be the perfect instrumentation all played with care and without any kind of showing off, doubled up with a charming voice that suggests an owner with loads of life-experience. No, just as usual. Maybe it's that every David Elias song makes you feel like it's kind of different because they're all something special.

  • Perfect all the way
    author: M. Frazier

    Everything about this song [Crossing] is simply musical. The epitome of true modern music. A great story, excellent songwriting, musical changes, musicianship, vocals, production. Smooth, heartfelt and stirs images in the minds of the listeners (speaking for myself - and I bet a lot more). This is one of the best tunes I've heard for a long time, anywhere. Super work all around. Very pleased I found this one.

  • Poetry and Storytelling
    author: Maria Daines

    'Loneliness must be where friendship and the road meet...' A knock me over piece of writing that says so much more inside, under and over the lines. A quiet place of light, like walking through autumn leaves with the sun laying her golden fingers across the land and as you stroll you hear a song in your head, the solitude of peace. You sing and play a journey here and take us along with you, from your shoulder we can share the experience of being in anothers shoes, a brief gimpse of an artists heart. A professional recording of the highest quality, everything in balance so perfectly. Easing us into a kind of comfort and beauty. Sheer heaven. Thank you.

  • From the first note, it's apparent this is an extraordinary recording
    author: Stereophile, March 2006 Issue

    From the first note, it's apparent that this is an extraordinary recording...This is intelligent and melodic pop folk-rock, and Elias's singing is honest and tuneful...Unlike Elias's 2003 SACD 'The Window', all but two tracks on 'Crossing' were recorded at Slipperworld by Charlie Natzke. The result is a warmer, more intimate 5.1 sound that retains all the kick and deep immersion of the earlier disc. Even the two-channel tracks sound great.

  • David Elias is Your Songman!
    author: Guy Michetti - Review Crew, Mixposure

    A beautiful pastoral melody with David's soulful intimate vocal is a feast for any music lover. And he writes and sings lyrics that actually mean something. Poetry married to music! It that's what you are looking for then David Elias is your songman!

  • Another "Must Have" disc for Super Audio CD fans
    author: HighFidelityReview.com

    In every case, the recording captures the acoustics of the live performance and the direct to DSD approach to the project offers amazing detail, clarity and sonics. If you want to hear an album that really shows what the Super Audio CD format is all about, Crossing is clearly in that category. As with Elias' prior SACD release, I can quite confidently predict this will be another "must have" disc for Super Audio CD fans.

  • Now we've got Elias' follow-up to tout.,.
    author: AcousticSounds.com

    The debut SACD by David Elias, titled The Window, has become a surprise hit in the Acoustic Sounds catalog. Surprise, that is, because it was an independent release by an independent artist on an independent label. There was no major label promotion machine in effect here. But word spread quickly, grass-roots style, that this was a disc of serious sonic and musical merit. And now we've got Elias' follow-up to tout...This is subtle acoustic music recorded with exceptional detail paid to high fidelity.

  • You MUST buy this
    author: Paul Twa

    I bought David's first DSD/SACD offering 'The Window' on a whim while shopping at a high end audio shop in Singapore. I was pleasantly surprised by the material and the mix. When I heard that he had come out with a new DSD/SACD I purchased it immediately. This CD places you right in the middle of the artists - incredible sound - always relaxing, very intimate. Good singer/songwriters are few and far between - gather a small group of like minded individuals to record some fantastic music and you have created something that is a pleasure to listen to again and again. As long as David Elias releases CD's such as this (and in this format) I will continue to buy them.

  • A GREAT CD!
    author: Dick Metcalf, aka Rotcod Zzaj

    A new recording format (DSD), which the liners say is "the highest resolution media available anywhere today", is featured on this great little CD in from David! I was first introduced to David's wonderful acoustic guitar & vocals over at MIXPOSURE (www.mixposure.com ), by Guy Michetti (who is a fantastic player in his own right). Elias' music takes me back nearly 30 years, to an era where the singers were able to reach right out & touch your soul with their lyrics (think James Taylor, maybe). David's voice is a natural for this kind of music, & his lyric-writing skills are top-o'-th'-line. There's a tinge of country & a flash of John Denver, but I'd say his singing & lyrical style reminds me (more) of one of my all-time favorite singers, Bruce Cockburn. Simple messages wrapped in intelligent & meaningful words. If you like this type of music, I'd suggest you keep your ear on Mr. Elias... he's got fame & glory coming soon. Be sure you're there to enjoy it with him... I will be, for sure! This CD gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED from my ears! Learn more about David & his music at www.davidelias.com or purchase the CD at http://cdbaby.com/elias6

  • You all should buy David Elias'cds!
    author: Sarah Micol

    I met David Elias by chance. His talent and his creativity amazed me. I had to have one of his recordings, then I got "Crossing": while I'm writing this review I'm playing this cd. Believe me: it's something everyone should have! 12 tracks that's a pleasure to play. My favourite track is "One more Saviour", so sweet, sounds like a lullaby for my baby boy. All these tracks are amazing. This album will never get you bored. it will lead you to a beautiful journey and you'll get lost by the perfect harmonies built by an amazing and talented artist, that's David Elias. Highly recommended!

  • Doesn't get any better than this. Euphoric!
    author: Tom Huffstutler

    David has hit on all cylinders with this one. May as well be as inviting him and his wonderful band into your living room. Every aspect from composition,personel and end results in the mastering process are as good as these 55 year old ears have heard. I can't wait til the next one.

  • A wonderful surprise...
    author: Tony Hartley, The English Lake District

    The songs build up from a gentle beginning to the electric Morning Light / Western Town, the driving rhythm of Heaven's Destiny and the sprightly The Riddle Song. The sound is superb throughout with a surround mix that makes full use of the rear speakers. I bought the disc "blind" not knowing what to expect - I cannot stop playing it! Very highly recommended.

  • Great sound just relax and enjoy the music
    author: Marcel Treier

    Perfect recording just sit down relax and enjoy

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