STELLAR RECORDINGS
- Thread starter Zing
- Start date
D
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I acquired the Blu-ray version of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road last week and listened to it in its entirety today.
I was about to post about the experience when I first did a search to see if anyone else had posted about it and came across this old post of Zing's.
I gotta say that Zing nailed it!
I did not even need to pull out my SACD copy to run a comparison. There's no way that the two are the same. I really liked the Blu-ray's surround mixes. My thought after Funeral/Love Lies Bleeding: there's probably no better 5.1 surround track to demonstrate the benefits (nay, absolute necessity!) of having identical full-range speakers all 'round. Yes, yes. I know it's totally impractical / impossible / not-do-able for 95%+ of the folks out there, but that does not negate the fact that anything less is a compromise. I started with the volume control set 10dB higher than usual (by mistake) and was acoustically-pummeled into my seat from all sides - in a good way. The surround channels were just as "energetic" as the others - which I knew even before I turned to my gear racks and the amp power level meters. Loved the instrument spacing and positioning. Highly entertaining and enjoyable!
Jeff
D
Deleted member 133
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I felt strongly enough about the following suggestion that I almost created a thread of its own for it.
The Los Angeles Percussion Quartet's Rupa-Khandha won the 2012 Grammy Award for best surround sound album. If you are looking for an exceptional demo disc, this is it!
The Blu-ray Audio version is one of the very few such discs (in fact the only one I know of) that includes a 7.1 DTS HD MA 24/96kHz version (as well as 5.1 and 2.0 LPCM). All channels are put to great use - including the rear surrounds. (This is also one of the few discs where I wish I had the space to include stacks of full range matching Koss CM/1030s in the rear surround positions, instead of the crossed-over Paradigm Titans, that I am using in my main HT.) In some passages there's nothing coming from the front speakers (I actually got up and listened up close.)
But be forewarned. Unless you get all orgasmic about percussionists and the sounds they make (and I do mean percussionists and not drummers) you are not likely going to find this at all musical. I don't even consider it music. It is incredibly creative and enveloping sound, sometimes soft, sometimes crashing, that highlights what an amazing sound sound engineers can achieve. (I'm sure the percussionists themselves are incredibly talented; but I'm no expert to judge.)
Is it worth the $18.99 off Amazon? If you've never truly put your 7.1 system through its paces then yes, it is.
Jeff
The Los Angeles Percussion Quartet's Rupa-Khandha won the 2012 Grammy Award for best surround sound album. If you are looking for an exceptional demo disc, this is it!
The Blu-ray Audio version is one of the very few such discs (in fact the only one I know of) that includes a 7.1 DTS HD MA 24/96kHz version (as well as 5.1 and 2.0 LPCM). All channels are put to great use - including the rear surrounds. (This is also one of the few discs where I wish I had the space to include stacks of full range matching Koss CM/1030s in the rear surround positions, instead of the crossed-over Paradigm Titans, that I am using in my main HT.) In some passages there's nothing coming from the front speakers (I actually got up and listened up close.)
But be forewarned. Unless you get all orgasmic about percussionists and the sounds they make (and I do mean percussionists and not drummers) you are not likely going to find this at all musical. I don't even consider it music. It is incredibly creative and enveloping sound, sometimes soft, sometimes crashing, that highlights what an amazing sound sound engineers can achieve. (I'm sure the percussionists themselves are incredibly talented; but I'm no expert to judge.)
Is it worth the $18.99 off Amazon? If you've never truly put your 7.1 system through its paces then yes, it is.
Jeff
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I'm only half way through listening to this SACD for the first yet I can confidently post it in this thread. Yes, this MoFi edition is that good.
D
Deleted member 133
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I'm only half way through listening to this SACD for the first yet I can confidently post it in this thread. Yes, this MoFi edition is that good.
I've never heard of a SACD release for that one. What year was it released? Is it 2.0 and / or 5.1?
While I don't have it, I know it came out on DVD-Audio. I also know that there was a DSD64 release in 2.0 in 2012.
Getting my hands on a 5.1 version of this has been on my to-do list for some time - which explains my inquisitiveness.
Jeff
D
Deleted member 133
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Ok. Because I'm still down to one typing finger, my message above was surpassed by a couple of others by the time I finished typing and posted it.
I also now notice the link in Zing's post - and have checked it out.
I also did some additional digging and think I now have all of the answers to my questions. (Bonus: while doing so I came across and downloaded the 2003 24/192 HDAD DVD-Audio version.)
Summary of findings: there is still no 5.1 release, however both the DVD-A and SCAD have incredibly immersive 2.0 mixes. Additionally, the SACD improves on the DVD-A by eliminating the tape hiss that could be discerned by some people on the latter (but which I cannot hear while there is music playing.)
Jeff
I also now notice the link in Zing's post - and have checked it out.
I also did some additional digging and think I now have all of the answers to my questions. (Bonus: while doing so I came across and downloaded the 2003 24/192 HDAD DVD-Audio version.)
Summary of findings: there is still no 5.1 release, however both the DVD-A and SCAD have incredibly immersive 2.0 mixes. Additionally, the SACD improves on the DVD-A by eliminating the tape hiss that could be discerned by some people on the latter (but which I cannot hear while there is music playing.)
Jeff
I'm including this here, rather than the classical thread, because I think it deserves a listen by ANYONE interested in guitar playing. Obviously it's classical, but I think there's a lot to be learned here musically. I've had this recording for decades (it was produced in 1995), but it came up in my listening session tonight in a roundabout way - because I was listening to a piano rendition of one of these works (by Bach) and I realized, "wow I know this piece" and couldn't figure out why until I dug this one up again. Gave it a listen, probably for the first time in my current HT, and WOW, I was blown away. Here's why:
- Recording quality. These guitars are amazingly resonant. I'm not a great expert in acoustic guitar music, but I was really impressed at the sound of these instruments, as captured in this recording.
- Musicianship #1. Probably won't mean much to most people here, but these guys play Bach in a much more romantic style than most classical pianists would. But I love it. The music of Bach is unique in that it seems to be open to reinterpretation in so many styles in the nearly 300 years since it was written. I've got Bach music for piano duet, jazz trio, ... Bach borrowed his own works to use in different contexts, and I somehow imagine he would really love the way some people have "reinvented" his music in more contemporary contexts, something that's not really accessible to most other classical composers.
- Musicianship #2. These two guys did AMAZING work in arranging these pieces for guitar duet, when they were originally written for keyboard (harpsichord). Obviously I'm more familiar in general with piano renditions of this style of music, which are themselves a sort of reinterpretation. But in this particular case, especially with the Bach suite, I am completely blown away by the guitar arrangement; it adds something (to me) that a harpsichord/piano version can't quite attain.
Anyway, if you're even remotely interested in acoustic guitar music, I highly, highly recommend this.
^^^ Ordered! Thanks Pauly.
I had some Bach in college to play in my dorm to drown out the Styx, Skynyrd & Loverboy from other rooms while I studied, but I could not study to Bach; that music, the counterpoint, would just drag me in and I'd end up reading the first half-paragraph over and over for 45 minutes, and STILL not know what it said! I've got time now to just close my eyes and let it carry me, especially with this triple-digit heat outside for over a week now.
I had some Bach in college to play in my dorm to drown out the Styx, Skynyrd & Loverboy from other rooms while I studied, but I could not study to Bach; that music, the counterpoint, would just drag me in and I'd end up reading the first half-paragraph over and over for 45 minutes, and STILL not know what it said! I've got time now to just close my eyes and let it carry me, especially with this triple-digit heat outside for over a week now.
D
Deleted member 133
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^--- I have that one too, also very very good. I even have a print of that album cover signed by all three of them, hanging in my den - a special deal I got for doing an early pre-order of the album.
I'm a big fan of all three of those gentlemen and their various intersecting bodies of work.
I'm a big fan of all three of those gentlemen and their various intersecting bodies of work.
Three years?!?!?! There hasn't been a post in this thread for THREE YEARS?!?!?! You guys are slackers! Allow me to lead by example.
Are you ready to get your audiophile geek on?
To be fair, this album - as a whole - does not qualify for this thread. It is not a stellar recording by any stretch of the imagination. The music isn't even that good. However, one particular track from this album stands head and shoulders above the rest.
You want "it sounds real"? You want "it sounds like it's being played live in my room"?? You want "this is what it was like in the studio when this was recorded"??? Then I give you 'Piano Joint' by Kiwanuka. The reverb is real and convincing. The piano is real and convincing. Even the piano pedal noise is real and convincing. And the vocals are in-your-face real and convincing. So real, it's haunting. Haunting!
Link to CD on Amazon
Are you ready to get your audiophile geek on?
To be fair, this album - as a whole - does not qualify for this thread. It is not a stellar recording by any stretch of the imagination. The music isn't even that good. However, one particular track from this album stands head and shoulders above the rest.
You want "it sounds real"? You want "it sounds like it's being played live in my room"?? You want "this is what it was like in the studio when this was recorded"??? Then I give you 'Piano Joint' by Kiwanuka. The reverb is real and convincing. The piano is real and convincing. Even the piano pedal noise is real and convincing. And the vocals are in-your-face real and convincing. So real, it's haunting. Haunting!
Link to CD on Amazon
Three MORE years. I had about six different places to post this video, I put it here to call attention to one of the best "stellar recordings" I own, Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms". I'm lucky enough to have the 5.1 remix, I just need to find it and listen again.
EweTube's Algorithm (all hail!) has been feeding me videos of music instructors/composers/classical musicians who listen to a classic rock song, and claim to have never heard it before, and then give their opinions in real time. Here, a classical harpist listens to the Title Cut of BiA, for the first time (how can you claim to be a pro musician and never have heard this??? but I digress).
She immediately identifies Mark's subtle vocal, and how the guitar playing is a bit more lyrical (it appears she's watching the video, but doesn't quite add it up that both are the same guy). Then catches the beauty of the buildup, and figures out its not a "battle scene" type song (as the title suggests) but rather a reflection of an individual (dying, I believe) after the fact.
The clip she was played left out the extended intro, and more sadly left out the back-n-forth between Mark's guitar and the Hammond. I had a Nord Stage II synth that nicely replicated the Hammond B3 organ, and damn I loved that instrument (still have it), played it live for at least six years (and even impressed my old college buds at ISU a couple summers ago). I have a lot of Hammond music in my CD collection (Billie Preston, Joey, Jimmy Smith, etc) but NO organ part makes me weep like that ending of BiA; it just cries!! I wish I could've heard her thoughts on hearing that part, but the video doesn't cover it.
Anyhoo, just something interesting I saw tonight. I need to get a new TV...
EDIT:
The "official" MTV video of this tune truncates both the intro, and the outro with the fantastic organ-izing. Here's the full-length version, I'm hopefully posting it at the right place but I'm not good at this stuff.
EDIT II: Woohoo, nailed it!
EweTube's Algorithm (all hail!) has been feeding me videos of music instructors/composers/classical musicians who listen to a classic rock song, and claim to have never heard it before, and then give their opinions in real time. Here, a classical harpist listens to the Title Cut of BiA, for the first time (how can you claim to be a pro musician and never have heard this??? but I digress).
She immediately identifies Mark's subtle vocal, and how the guitar playing is a bit more lyrical (it appears she's watching the video, but doesn't quite add it up that both are the same guy). Then catches the beauty of the buildup, and figures out its not a "battle scene" type song (as the title suggests) but rather a reflection of an individual (dying, I believe) after the fact.
The clip she was played left out the extended intro, and more sadly left out the back-n-forth between Mark's guitar and the Hammond. I had a Nord Stage II synth that nicely replicated the Hammond B3 organ, and damn I loved that instrument (still have it), played it live for at least six years (and even impressed my old college buds at ISU a couple summers ago). I have a lot of Hammond music in my CD collection (Billie Preston, Joey, Jimmy Smith, etc) but NO organ part makes me weep like that ending of BiA; it just cries!! I wish I could've heard her thoughts on hearing that part, but the video doesn't cover it.
Anyhoo, just something interesting I saw tonight. I need to get a new TV...
EDIT:
The "official" MTV video of this tune truncates both the intro, and the outro with the fantastic organ-izing. Here's the full-length version, I'm hopefully posting it at the right place but I'm not good at this stuff.
EDIT II: Woohoo, nailed it!
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mcad64
Well-Known Member
Call me anal retentive, but why would they show the album cover "Gaucho" for a song off "Aja"? Things like this drive me nuts!!!
