Sia: 1000 Forms of Fear

Any reports on alternative releases of 1000 Forms ...?

Vinyl?

 

Well, there it is on vinyl, on amazon.co.uk.

A waste of money?

Someone;

convince me otherwise.

 

You have to understand;

this is a real singer - no fecking autotune.

 

I agree...most of the songs here have vocal and melodic strength and nuance...must sound good live without the production dreck.

 

Ordered the vinyl (over-priced as it is).

Will report in due course.

 

If the LP turns out to be from the same crushed master as the CD (digital release), I will ceremonially snap it in two and drop it in the bin.

 

Sorry I appeared to be ignoring you;

yes, this is a performance from a singer/composer of real talent and depth.

But it's astounding that someone decided to release it in this adulterated form.

Is the intention to completely destroy music?

 

A couple of years back I commented, on a yootoob vid of Sia singing "Pageant of the Bizarre", that it sounded "Gallic" (IOW, "French").

I would say that Sia really does match Edith Piaf, in many ways.

 

I love Sia's singing with Zero 7, and somewhat lost track of her solo career. Then I recently heard Chandelier and wondered what had happened. It's not a bad song, but she really needed a decent producer who would get rid of the awful voice-altering gadget (vocoder?). Live she certainly is good, or at least was with Zero 7. I may be missing out, but Chandelier has somewhat put me off listening to any of her recent material.

 

Reasonably encouraging - the album is only 43 1/2 minutes long, and I doubt that the hard-limited ("finalized", as Kim Deal calls it) CD master would result in DR values like this.

ETA>> although comparing it with other vinyl releases; it's louder than anything, for e.g., by Black Sabbath on vinyl

 

She's an amazing singer. I didn't know much about her until today when I started listening to more of her songs and come to find she is responsible for some of the best pop songs in the last couple of years either through her own singing or writing songs for other artists. The Howard Stern interview he did with her is a must-hear if you want to know more about Sia and how she came to be as a person and artist. Youtube it.

 

The vinyl is from EXACTLY the same master as the CD - it was pretty much apprarent from the moment I cued it up.

I recorded Chandelier and Electric Heart at 24 bit, normalised to 0dB, then opened the CD equivalents alongside them in the editor.

By simply de-amplifying the CD tracks by 7dB (which matches RMS values) I was able to make them sound almost identical - same bass and HF (perhaps slightly harsher on the CD), the same perceived dyamics. Frequency/amplitude curves match to within a fraction of a dB across the spectrum.

Don't bother with this LP.

(Whether I'll perform the ceremonial snapping the disc in half or not ..... it's actually quite a good pressing)

 

BTW, large differences in DR (and replay gain) values between CD's and LP's known to have been transcribed from identical masters is discussed here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-AE9dL5FG8

Whatever, as far as 1000 Forms ... is concerned, there is zero improvement in perceived punch, clarity or separation on the LP version.

 

Nice to know. To be honest though, this album hasn't grabbed me AT ALL. Maybe that's the production putting me off (it certainly doesn't help) but I just don't think the songs are there.

 

I'd say it's manifestly an all-out attempt at commercial success, which could be seen as having compromised her innate style, or even of her simply 'selling out'. But I don't agree that it can be dismissed as having no song-writing of any worth - I believe the production/mastering is a major part of what prevents it being a 'grower'.

Whatever, it's never going to be on regular rotation with me, whereas Some People ... already is.

 

May I ask how many listens you've given the album? And on what format?

Straight for the knife isn't a good song? Fair Game?

"Not there"?

Hmmm.

 

I'd love to see Hannah Reid chatting with Sia!

 

She's very talented, but I can't connect with this new record - the songs just aren't there for me.

Nothing as great as The Girl You Lost to Cocaine.

 

So far all I've heard is Chandelier. Great song, I was disappointed to learn she didn't write that one, but I understand she's written a lot of hits for other people from an interview she did on the NYC top 40 station.

 

I'd love to hear both Sia Furler and Hannah Reid sing Leonard Cohen's Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye.

And Joni Mitchell's Both Sides, Now

And ......

 

She's just ..... out there ...

 

But what an INCOMPARABLE VOICE!!!

 

Great stuff!

Notice the the way, when the music starts, the ditzy Sia is suddenly replaced by the singer with absolutely KILLER timing and phrasing?

 

I would suggest that y'all search yootoob for Sia.

 

Anyway, 1000 Forms of Fear isn't worth paying for, assuming you're an adult.

If you're a 14 year-old girl, maybe.

The LP cost me £18, which is how I know.

Sia Furler is 38 years old, and I'd have thought she would know better than to produce this dross..