Godsmack is a hard-rocking band whose music is highly influenced in the style of the Seattle-based grunge gods Alice In Chains. Fans of the band Alice In Chains already know how extremely well that style of music adapts to an acoustic setting---as is evidenced by Alice's wonderful MTV Unplugged performance back in 1996---therefore it doesn't shock me to hear that Godsmack's newest album "The Other Side" is an acoustic album.
"The Other Side" is basically an all-acoustic studio album that both reworks some classic Godsmack songs, such as "Keep Away", as well as provides some brand new material. There are seven songs total on this disc and I find all of them to be quite enjoyable.
As for the technical stuff...
The disc is a hybrid which contains both a high-resolution Super Audio CD layer as well as a regular CD layer. (Don't be fooled by the sticker that says, "plays on SACD players only." They used the wrong sticker at the factory. It is indeed a hybrid.) Use the regular CD layer for use in your car or portable player. Use the Super Audio CD layer at home on your SACD player. The SACD layer provides both a stereo tracklisting and a 5.1 Surround Sound tracklist.
I prefer the 5.1 multi-channel tracks, of course. The uncredited mix is fairly tame. Think of it like really good stereo with added ambience in the surrounds. That mix seems to work just fine, but I do feel that the last two tracks---"Spiral" and "Asleep"---are mixed a little bit more playfully. (Playfully, not annoyingly.) I think this would be an even stronger disc had more of the tracks been mixed like these. Nonetheless, Godsmack's "The Other Side" is a very solid disc on SACD.
I bought my copy at a Best Buy. I also found an SACD copy at a Sam Goody. So it's out there and fans of this music should buy it. And don't worry about the fact that the disc is from Universal. It appears that this disc was pressed at a Sony plant (It says IFPI L332. Is that Sony?) and NOT Crest National. I've always liked the quality of discs pressed with the IFPI numbers.
Edit 08/24/04: As I continue to listen to the SACD of Godsmack's "The Other Side", I am realizing one thing that I hadn't mentioned before; and what is that? Well... I've always felt their should be a little more "top end" to the songs. I am suspecting this is due to some level of compression that isn't necessary. Sure, it results in a tight little recording; but I'd prefer a little more openness up top. To me it would sound more natural. Anyway... This is still a good recording and this doesn't affect the rating I earlier gave it. I just thought I should share.
