The SACD 5.1 mix makes an excellent CD even better. Clarity, seperation and multi-channel defintion are all excellent. I noticed that some of the songs are extended versions of the original releases. Not having listened to this cd for many years in previous forms one other thing struck me. That being the only thing that keeps this from being a 5 star classic is the material on the 2nd side (at least what would be the 2nd side of the original LP) is noticeably weaker than side 1. Never hear anyone mention this, but if you think about it, its hard to argue that point. You could say its partly because of how incredible side 1 is and I would not dispute that point. Just makes me realize why back in the LP days I always found myself listening to side 1 more than side 2. None of this detracts from the overall excellence of this CD and even if it only contained side 1 it would still be a near classic. I'd say a solid 3 songs on this CD belong in the top 10 all time Elton John songs. That in itself is plenty good enough even if the lesser material seems a bit like filler in comparison.