Vicarious Video by Tool Released 18 Dec 2007 Genre Progressive Metal Label Tool Dissectional "Vicarious" is a song by American rock band Tool. The song is the first single released from their fourth full-length studio album 10,000 Days. Debuting on Maynard's 42nd birthday, April 17, 2006 on commercial radio, the seven-minute song debuted on the Billboard Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts both at number two. It received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. The DVD released on December 18, 2007 contains an extended version of the much-delayed video counterpart for the song.[9] The video is completely made through use of CGI, making it Tool's second full CGI video, as opposed to stop-motion animation, which the band has used in their past videos. The video was co-directed by guitarist Adam Jones and artist Alex Grey and also features creative input from Chet Zar. Also included on the DVD are short documentaries on the making of the video and on Jones's previous work in film and television, and commentaries on the video from comedian David Cross. The music video begins with a humanoid whose internal organs and bones are visible through a transparent skin. The humanoid is standing in the middle of a dry desert devoid of any vegetation and water. The humanoid observes a ball like object with tentacles scraping the desert floor at a distance. The Sun appears to be under going a solar eclipse in the music video with the Sun's outer corona visible. As the video progresses, two glass like walls appears right in front of the humanoid which show multiple reflections of the humanoid. An insect eventually comes and walks on the humanoid and the glass like walls. Eventually, two other humanoid appearing to look like a comets emerge from the main humanoids eyes. One of them enters into the eclipses Sun while the other enters into an eye appearing on the hand of one of the humanoids. The insect which was previously seen also releases a ball like object with tentacles similar to the one seen in the desert earlier from an eye on its back. The main humanoid then collapses and what appears to be a newly formed fetus in shown being formed in the head. The video's setting the changes to a dimension showing what appears to be an infinite amount god heads interconnected with burning spheres underneath. Eventually, one of the humanoids enters into one of the energy spheres and it releases of ray of energy which goes into an eye of one of the godhead and then emerges from the main humanoids hand's eye in the desert. The glass walls then shatter, the insect appears to get incinerated, and the sphere figure with tentacles collapses onto the desert floor. The main humanoid then appears to "transcend" with flashes of light around his body. The music video ends with an single eye appearing in the midst of two hurricanes on an unidentified Earth like planet. Personnel Tool Maynard James Keenan — vocals Adam Jones — guitar Justin Chancellor — bass Danny Carey — drums Video Production Film Director – Adam Jones, Alex Grey Film Producer – Kevin Willis (2), Robyn Breen Track Listing 1 Vicarious 8:47 There is some commentary and a documentary too, but so what. Version Control A DVD with the video was released in 2007. I got it new for cheap. The Video The wiki description pretty much covered it already, plus here it is: _______ The song and audio are both great, the video quality is great for a DVD, and the video is both impressive and very toolish. But while they were at it, couldn’t they have done the whole album? Music – 3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 1 (-2 for being too short) Video quality – 2 Surround – 1 I’ve got at least two examples of albums which have great videos for all the songs. I’ll do one of those next.
Distance Over Time Video Collection by Dream Theater @mark winstanley has already reviewed this as a surround disc, and my comments on the surround mix are over on the other thread too. So that that just leaves the video to comment on: The Videos "Untethered Angel" A girl with a teddy bear, some statues, a back hole, and lots of broken glass. "Paralyzed" This video seems to take place in the same world as Blade Runner, and it’s awesome: "Fall into the Light" In addition to lots of computer animation, an aerial passage through icy and rocky shoreline is repeated featured that almost looks real, but I’m pretty sure it’s CGI. Similarly there are scenes of cloudscapes that look real, but are at least photoshopped a bit. "Barstool Warrior" In addition to computer animation shots of a shoreline, with a lighthouse, boats, and a town. Which has a bar with stools apparently, on one of which sits a man with a drink in his hand. Seems like a broken relationship may be involved. "Room 137" Am old apartment in disrepair, with a skeleton on one of the beds. Also, a bunch of inkblots that resemble human figures, or maybe it’s human figures that resemble inkblots. "S2N" Signal to noise: Lots of satellite receivers and other stuff. "At Wit's End" A clock and lots of animated black and white landscape. The landscape scenery gets some color at the end, and there’s a girl with a suitcase heading in the other direction. "Out of Reach" A girl on the beach, shoreline views, presumably same girl on a highwire, and she’s heading off into the sunset. "Pale Blue Dot" A trip through the galaxy, and we wind up in the general vicinity of earth. "Viper King" It’s a Dodge Viper. I guess LaBrie likes cars. _______ The common thing about all the videos is that they deliver a steady stream of images that are synchronized with the music – new images are often ushered in with guitar chords. I also assume the images all have something to do with the lyrics, but the relationship isn’t always clear to me. The bottom line is that they are all good enough to make me usually prefer to have them on while I am listening to the music. The video for “Paralyzed” is much better than the others Music – 2 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 3 Surround – 3
Elvis Presley - That's The Way It Is Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (20.95 Mbps) Resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 2.40:1 Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1 Audio English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Note: DD 2.0 192 kbps The whole reason to get this is the 2001 special edition, though it is nice that the original is on the 2nd disc, which is a dvd-video, not a bluray. Elvis cops a lot of flack from people for many many reasons, but none of them are particularly justifiable. He had some serious issues, and did not understand how to control them, or fix them. He spent too many years being led into the wilderness by Parker (i refuse to call him Colonel because that suggests some kind of authority and respect, and I have none for that bloke) At the end of the day though Elvis was an incredible singer, and a great performer, and this revised, and cleaned up version of this show, reveals exactly this. I am not a fan of concert movies that are interrupted by documentary footage and all of that, it actually irritates me and takes me out of the moment. With this revised edition we get Some outside the concert footage, predominantly rehearsals of songs, which is actually quite entertaining, and then we get the show.... unfortunately for whatever reason some songs are left out, but there are more songs brought in than left out and it is a more complete experience. I love the 68 NBC Special, particularly the sit down shows, but I think this is the best document of Elvis in concert, and it shows why it was that so many people for so many years continued to go to his concerts, in spite of his failing physical and mental health. Here is how it runs Mystery train/Tiger Man (opening credits) Rehearsals You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (excerpt) That's All Right (excerpt) The Wonder Of You (excerpt) Little Sister/Get Back Words (excerpt) My Baby Left Me (excerpt) Love Me (excerpt) Twenty Days and Twenty Nights Bridge Over Troubled Water (excerpt) It's Christmas Time Words Mary In The Morning (excerpt) Showtime That's All Right I Got a Woman Hound Dog Heartbreak Hotel Love Me Tender I Can't Stop Loving You Just Pretend The Wonder Of You In The Ghetto Patch It Up You've Lost That Loving Feeling Polk Salad Annie One Night Don't Be Cruel Blue Suede Shoes All Shook Up You Don't Have To Say You Love Me Suspicious Minds Can't Help Falling In Love The opening titles come in over footage of the crowd, live footage of Elvis and various shots on and off stage. The picture is great and has cleaned up really well. We take a car to the rehearsals, and say hi to the band and such. Listen back to a couple of tracks (snippets) We get some jamming that essentially relive the sit down show, but plugged in, and Elvis is having fun and being a bit goofy, as he tended to be. Although some folks make fun of the way Elvis did his thing on stage in the seventies, that was how he directed the band, and you see him direct the band here. This is the small band, and he is playing his guitar. We also get some Elvis at the piano. This section is good fun and we get to see relaxed Elvis in a very colorful shirt and black pants rather than the jump suit.. We move on to the back up singers, and they get their rehearsal, then there is some crossing over with the band and backing singers rehearsing. It is serious, but lighthearted. Then we take the crosstown traffic to Las Vegas, and we see Elvis having a chat with his back up singers. There are some more rehearsals, and we get Elvis doing some last minute arranging, tightening things up. We get more goofiness. It seems like Elvis would have been good fun to hang out with in the early seventies. We get a fun on stage rehearsal with I assume the Memphis mafia and Elvis making fun of each other. We get to 31 minutes in and we get the preshow set up that shows bits of the crowd forming and the back stage fun with Elvis reading telegrams and it all starts coming together. The crowd is full of stars and 36 minutes the concert starts. We kick off with That's all right Vegas style, and the women are already in daze or going bananas. Elvis plays around a bit and then we get I Got Woman. Sure the guitar here is a prop, I think he actually just wanted something to hide behind while he got his confidence up to be honest. Hound Dog gets disposed of, and at the end of it so does the guitar. Elvis has a bit of a talk, and then we get a pretty traditional version of Heartbreak hotel. We move into Love Me Tender, and as was traditional, kisses dozens of ladies, no social distancing here, some of those ladies were getting some real kisses .... Elvis walks through the crowd, kisses galore. He heads back to the stage to finish the song off. I can't stop loving you has a bit of kick to it. The surround mix is not really anything to write home about, fairly typical crowd in the back band up the front. We do have Elvis's vocals coming from the centre speaker and the band is spread just wide of the left and right speakers. It is very effective, but certainly could have been wider. The strings come in at the sides... it is a pretty decent mix. The sound quality is very good. The band is mixed under Elvis, there is no mistaking how Elvis is singing, he is right up front. Just pretend. You can tell with these songs, that are less known are more interesting for him. He isn't going into any comic relief, he is just delivering the goods. The Wonder of You gets a good rendition. In The Ghetto it seems like the mix gets more surround as we go. This is a good surround mix with horns and strings in the sides. Patch it up brings back some rock, and the crowd loves this. Now it is like full surround. The bvox months right side and the horns on the left side. You've lost that loving feeling is a really good version and Elvis is right into it. We get a great version of Polk Salad Annie complete with the spoken intro story. Special mention of Ronnie Tutt, heck of a drummer. We get some more kisses, one young lady is overwrought and latched on, and then grandma up next sucks Elvis's face off. Next up is a dirty groove with Elvis giving it a really good vocal. Don't be cruel has a pretty close arrangement to the original, just a bigger band. Lots more kisses here to. Blues suede shoes again pretty close to the original arrangement but with a big band a nice lead break from the great James Burton. All shook up is pretty close to original but a little quicker. Elvis is still enjoying this stuff at the moment. You don't have to say you love me is a solid version. Suspicious Minds, and Elvis was still enjoying this here. Consider this. Elvis did 57 shows in four weeks, and folks wonder why he started to have problems... really? Lol Parker was an idiot. We enter the standard closer Can't help falling in love, the hair is messy, two chain are hanging of his shirt after literally giving himself to the audience and them taking full advantage of the offer, and we fad to closing titles and some backstage chatting. Lots of famous folk, Sammy Davis, Natalie Wood and a cast of stars Look the sit down show may be a better set of songs and a loose jam that's great fun and captures one aspect of Elvis singing his songs live, but this is the whole hog. The spectacle of the whole experience of what a seventies Elvis show was all about. I would love to have some quality live concert from the fifties, and the Alabama Dairy Show is cool, but it is not the same watching some super 8 video with poor sound as it is watching this thoroughly professional performance, with all the fun and genuine weirdness that was a seventies Elvis show. I reckon it's great and if you like Elvis at all, this is well worth getting, just make sure it is the Special Edition bluray, so you get the right version About all I can find that is actually from the movie is the opening credits, and it gives you an idea, but isn't really a highlight
Performing This Week... Live At Ronnie Scott's Live Performance by Jeff Beck Produced by Geoff Kempin, Terry Shand Recorded 10 November 2008 at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London Release date 2009 Label Eagle Vision HD Running time 191 minutes (including bonus material) Jeff Beck released this live album, also available on DVD and Blu-ray, recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, on 10 November 2008. The version of "A Day in the Life" featured on this album was awarded a Grammy for Best Instrumental Rock performance Personnel Guitar – Jeff Beck Bass – Tal Wilkenfeld Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta Keyboards – Jason Rebello Guest Musicians Joss Stone Imogen Heap Eric Clapton Track Listing 1 Beck's Bolero Written-By – Jimmy Page 2 Eternity's Breath Written-By – John McLaughlin 3 Stratus Written-By – Billy Cobham 4 Cause We've Ended As Lovers Written-By – Stevie Wonder 5 Behind The Veil Written-By – Tony Hymas 6 You Never Know Written-By – Jan Hammer 7 Nadia Written-By – Nitin Sawhney 8 Blast From The East Written-By – Tony Hymas 9 Led Boots Written-By – Maxwell Middleton* 10 Angel (Footsteps) Written-By – Tony Hymas 11 People Get Ready Written-By – Curtis Mayfield 12 Scatterbrain Written-By – Jeff Beck, Maxwell Middleton* 13 Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues Written-By – Charles Mingus, Jeff Beck, Tony Hymas 14 Space Boogie Written-By – Simon Phillips, Tony Hymas 15 Blanket Written-By – Imogen Heap, Peter Akinrinlola 16 Big Block Written-By – Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas 17 A Day In The Life Written By – Paul McCartney, John Lennon 18 Little Brown Bird Written-By – Muddy Waters 19 You Need Love Written-By – Willie Dixon 20 Rollin' And Tumblin' Written-By – McKinley Morganfield 21 Where Were You Written-By – Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Tony Hymas Version Control There are CD, DVD, and bluray versions of this. I have the bluray. As near as I can tell they are all out of print, and used copies of the bluray are a little pricey. Amazon bluray. Discogs bluray. However, used DVDs are not expensive: Discogs. The Videos The reason I still give DVDs that have unobjectionable video quality a rating of “2” is that I know it can be much better. This the first concert disc I got on bluray that just made me say “wow” – the clarity is amazing. Since I have had this for a while, I already know it’s a great concert video. The only thing I’m not sure about is the surround. “Beck's Bolero” This is off of his first solo album Truth. After the announcer announces and they walk on stage, Colaiuta is centered in the back, and Wilkenfeld is next to on the right, and Rebello is in front far right. That leaves the rest of the stage for Jeff, but he mostly hangs out on the left side. This is an instrumental, so no one has to try and sing like Rod Stewart. I am inclined to say the surround mix is stereo with rather heavy reverb – lots of cymbal crashing in the back, but that’s most of it.. The center channel isn’t used for much, but there are no vocals yet. “Eternity's Breath” Another short instrumental, a John McLaughlin cover - I don’t think this was ever on a studio album. “Stratus” A Billy Cobham cover, but otherwise ditto. Colaiuta is a good jazz drummer (he has played with Zappa, Sting, and many others), and Wilkenfeld is a cutie. “Cause We've Ended As Lovers” This one is from Blow by Blow. There is a microphone set up in the middle of the stage, but no one is using it. Besides being a cutie, Wilkenfeld can also play bass – she gets a solo. Jeff gets the reverb going and it shows up in the back. “Behind The Veil” A reggae-tinged song from Guitar Shop, and guess what – no vocals. “You Never Know” From There and Back. As jazzy as anything off of Blow by Blow or Wired. Wilkenfeld leads off. “Nadia” From You Had It Coming. Starts off with lots of guitar reverb from Jeff, and it resonates in the back. Rebello is on mellotron instead of plain old keyboards. “Blast From The East” From Who Else! More guitar virtuosity from Jeff. “Led Boots” From Wired. Jeff Beck plays fast with both hands, Rebello just uses one. “Angel (Footsteps)” From Who Else! Rebello back on mellotron, Beck back with reverb. That’s what I would call the end of the first half of the concert – no vocals, almost all jazz. “People Get Ready” Guess what, people? We’ve got a vocalist, and her name is Josh Stone. It’s a Rod Stewart song, so she will be filling in for him. And you know what else? The center channel works – just needed someone to come sing into that microphone no one was using. Jeff is playing the blues again. “Scatterbrain” From Blow by Blow. The microphone spot is empty again, and it’s back to some really fast jazz. Rebello has a long solo. “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues” The first song is a Charlie Mingus cover found on Wired, the second is from Who Else! Both are bluesy pieces. More guitar reverb that shows up in the back. “Space Boogie” From There and Back. Back to fast jazz. Another solo for Rebello. “Blanket” This is an Urban Species song featuring Imogen Heap as a guest vocalist. Here she is to do it with Jeff. Rebello takes a break. This starts off a run of great songs. “Big Block” From Guitar Shop. Heap leaves, and Wilkenfeld plays down low on center stage. Rebello comes back to play a few chords at the end. “A Day In The Life” Beatles cover. The sounds Beck can get out of his guitar is amazing – lots of reverb here, and it sounds excellent in surround. Easy to see why this performance won an award. End of main set. “Little Brown Bird” Muddy Waters cover. For the encore, we’ve got Eric Clapton on guitar and lead vocals. Really nice blues piece with two great guitarists. Clapton’s guitar and vocals are in center channel. “You Need Love” That was pretty good, let’s do it again only with a Willie Dixon tune. Rollin' And Tumblin' Clapton leaves and Heap comes back for another blues standard. This was covered on You Had It Coming, also with Heap. “Where Were You” From Guitar Shop. Every leaves but Beck and Rebello. Beck plays guitar with lots of reverb and Rebello play mellotron. ________ This is one of my favorite live discs. The whole concert is fantastic, but I watch the last seven songs the most. My wife likes “Blanket”, and she is usually willing to watch the rest of it after that. As for the surround mix, the fact that the center channel got a workout on the five tracks that had guest vocalists plus the excellent guitar reverb in the back on several songs is enough to squeak by for a point. Music – 3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 3 Surround – 2 One of the extras on the bluray is a seven song rockabilly set. I didn’t cover that, but I will get to Rock N’Roll Party one of these days, which is is also rockabilly.
Live at Ronnie Scott's and rock and roll party are both great discs. On Live at Ronnie Scott's Jeff plays virtually a greatest hits set, and it is phenomenal... I was also blown away by the young lady playing bass, at first I thought it must have been his daughter, or dare I say granddaughter. Fantastic disc.
Baraka Movie by Various Artists Directed by Ron Fricke Produced by Mark Magidson Written by Constantine Nicholas, Genevieve Nicholas Music by Michael Stearns Cinematography Ron Fricke Edited by Ron Fricke, Mark Magidson, David Aubrey Production company Magidson Films Distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company Release date September 24, 1992 Running time 97 minutes Country United States Language None Budget $2 million Box office $1.3 million Baraka is a 1992 non-narrative documentary film directed by Ron Fricke. The film is often compared to Koyaanisqatsi, the first of the Qatsi films by Godfrey Reggio for which Fricke served as the cinematographer. It is also the most recent film to be photographed in the 70mm Todd-AO format, and the first film ever to be restored and scanned at 8K resolution. Baraka is a documentary film with no narrative or voice-over. It explores themes via a compilation of natural events, life, human activities and technological phenomena shot in 24 countries on six continents over a 14-month period. The film is Ron Fricke's follow-up to Godfrey Reggio's similar non-verbal documentary film Koyaanisqatsi. Fricke was cinematographer and collaborator on Reggio's film, and for Baraka he struck out on his own to polish and expand the photographic techniques used on Koyaanisqatsi. Shot in 70mm, it includes a mixture of photographic styles including slow motion and time-lapse. Two camera systems were used to achieve this. A Todd-AO system was used to shoot conventional frame rates, but to execute the film's time-lapse sequences Fricke had a special camera built that combined time-lapse photography with perfectly controlled movements. Locations featured include the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Ryoan temple in Kyoto, Lake Natron in Tanzania, burning oil fields in Kuwait, the smouldering precipice of an active volcano, a busy subway terminal, tribal celebrations of the Maasai in Kenya, and chanting monks in the Dip Tse Chok Ling monastery. The film features a number of long tracking shots through various settings, including Auschwitz and Tuol Sleng, over photos of the people involved, past skulls stacked in a room, to a spread of bones. It suggests a universal cultural perspective: a shot of an elaborate tattoo on a bathing Japanese yakuza precedes a view of tribal paint. The score is by Michael Stearns and features music by, among others, Dead Can Dance, L. Subramaniam, Ciro Hurtado, Inkuyo, Brother, Anugama & Sebastiano, and David Hykes. Songs There is a soundtrack album that lists the music credits as follows: 1. "Bonus Track: Opening / Nepal Morning" - Kōhachiro Miyata - 6:01 2. "Organics" - Somei Satoh - 4:45 3. "Wipala" - Inkuyo - 5:06 4. "The Host of Seraphim" - Dead Can Dance - 6:20 5. "Village Dance" - Michael Stearns - 2:58 6. "Varanasi Sunrise" - L. Subramaniam - 6:43 7. "African Journey" - Anugama & Sebastiano - 3:37 8. "Rainbow Voice" - David Hykes - 3:00 9. "Monk with Bell" - Michael Stearns - 2:37 10. "Broken Vow" - Monks of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery, Dharamsala - 4:42 11. "Finale" - Michael Stearns - 4:34 12. "End Credits" - Michael Stearns - 3:25 The times are from the soundtrack; I’m pretty sure they don’t correspond to the length in the movie for at least some cases. _________ Version Control Following previous DVD releases, in 2007 the original 65 mm negative was rescanned at 8K resolution with equipment designed specifically for Baraka at FotoKem Laboratories. The automated 8K film scanner, operating continuously, took more than three weeks to finish scanning more than 150,000 frames (taking approximately twelve to thirteen seconds to scan each frame), producing over thirty terabytes of image data in total. After a 16-month digital intermediate process, including a 96 kHz/24 bit audio remaster by Stearns for the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack of the film, the result was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in October 2008. At the time, project supervisor Andrew Oran described the reissue of Baraka as "arguably the highest quality DVD that's ever been made". Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert described the Blu-ray release as "the finest video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined." The new version is still in print. Amazon. Used copies of older versions are very inexpensive. The Movie Here is a very cool map that has all of the filming locations. However, there doesn’t seem to be a matchup of all the scenes with chapters or songs. I’ll fill in some of the dots, but I’m not going to figure out where all 150 something scenes are from. Another little problem is that the audio tracks don’t match up with the video chapters. I will figure out what’s up with that. Although the film technically has 5.1 audio, it’s just stereo with a little reverb – not what I would call a surround mix. " Opening / Nepal Morning" Kōhachirō Miyata is a shakuhachi flautist and composer. He performs both traditional and contemporary music. I believe his piece accompanies the first three video chapters and the beginning of chapter 4. The flute on this track is accompanied chimes and strings of some sort too, I’d guess. The movie starts out in the Himalayas, then Baboons in a spring near Kyoto, and I believe all of the scenes in the first two chapters are from somewhere in Asia. Then we move to the middle east; there are some whirling dervishes, a Greek orthodox church, before getting to a Bhuddist ceremony. Eventually on Chapter 4 we get to some scenes that are in Bali. The Miyata piece stops with one of the longer scenes, in Bali, that has recorded chanting from the scene itself. "Organics" Still in Indonesia, Chapter 5 starts in Mount Bromo valley without music; the audio still seems to have been recorded with the video, but a short percussion piece starts up that may not be part of the soundtrack. Then we get time lapse photography of clouds and mountains. Eventually we get to Canyonlands National Park in the U.S, and the piece by Somei Satoh begins. He is a Japanese composer of contemporary traditional music (gendai hōgaku). His compositions mix Japanese court music with European romanticism and electronic music. For a while the video here is reminiscent of the track by the same name in Koyaniqatsi, even though much of it isn’t in the U.S. – there is a shot Ayers Rock in Australia, for instance. “Viilage Dance” Eventually we move to a village on the Amazon, and then to an African village where on chapter 7 the music is apparently supplanted by live chanting, by Michael Stearns, who is an American musician and composer of ambient music, and is also the one who curated the soundtrack. We can now conclude that the order of the songs on the soundtrack do not conform to the order in the movie. "Wipala" There no music again until chapter 10, which starts in Sao Paolo and shows extreme poverty in Brazil. Inkuyo is a multicultural musical ensemble that performs Andean music arranged by Gonzalo Vargas. The music stops before the chapter ends. “Monk With Bell” Chapter 11, which takes place mostly in Japan has music that sounds like Miyata that continues into Chapter 12. It’s another piece from Michael Stearns "African Journey" Chapter 12 has a percussion piece that accompanies time lapse photography of automobile and foot traffic (i.e. like the Grid in Koyaniqatsi). The Grid redux continues onto chapter 13. The chapter divisions in this movie make no sense at all. Anyway, Anugama (a German musician whose real name is Werner Hagen) is a multi-instrumentalist who has been producing music since the 1980s. His music covers a wide spectrum of expression: from tribal, rhythmic dance music to shamanistic and spiritual music of power and peace via classical guitar, flamenco guitar, recorder flute, native American flute, shakuhaji flute, native American drums, keyboards and the human voice. "The Host of Seraphim” Dead can Dance starts up in the Calcutta dump on Chapter 13, and the songs continues on through a number of scenes exhibiting extreme poverty; it concludes at the end of chapter 15. This song is from the same album as my avatar. So, I’m not going to let the fact that some of it is depressing keep me from adding it to my Dead Can Dance video collection: "Broken Vow" Chapter 16 features Kuwaiti oil fires. The soundtrack is from the Monks of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery, which was originally situated in Tibet. Destroyed in 1959 during the Chinese invasion, it was rebuilt in Dharamsala, India in 1992. “Rainbow Voice” Chapter 17 has more Miyata-like passages, and then someone who sounds a lot like Lisa Gerrard (I don’t think it’s her) be heard chanting on the tour through Auschwitz, and then she leads us on into Chapter 18 where we get a tour of great ruins of the world; the Terracotta army in China, then on to the ruins of Babylon, the Egyptian pyramids, and Cambodia. David Hykes is a composer, singer, musician, author, and meditation teacher. After early research and trips studying Mongolian, Tibetan, and Middle Eastern singing forms, Hykes began a long series of collaborations with traditions and teachers of wisdom and sacred art, including the Dalai Lama and the Gyuto and Gyume monks. "Varanasi Sunrise" Chapter 19 starts out in Varanasi, and the Hindu pilgrims are out in force. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music, and renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion. He is also Gingger’s dad. For once, the musical piece corresponds to a chapter, since it concludes at the end. "Monk with Bell" It’s chapter 20, and going to ring a bell, then we’re in East Africa, then back to whirling dervishes who are actually whirling, and some other reprises from near the beginning. Also from Michael Stearns "Finale" Chapter 21 starts with continuation of a world tour of religious facilities (the chapter divisions make no sense, accompanied by the next to last piece from Michael Stearns – there another one for the credits. _______ The obvious comparison to make for Baraka is to Koyanisqatsi. It mixes landscape videography with cultural vignettes, it has the same cameraman, the same film editing style, and music with no dialog. But the differences are numerous. Baraka was shot all over the world instead of just in the US. Like the movie, the music is a cultural exploration of the world. It’s not quite as outstanding or groundbreaking as Koyanisqatsi, but it is still very good. The video quality is much better; Baraka is as good as, and quite reminiscent of, the BBC Planet Earth videos. Unlike Koyanisqatsi, the surround is no more than just a little reverb. I was hoping I’d get a nice surround mix of a Dead Can Dance song out if this, but I can’t get excited about it. I’d have a hell of a time ripping it because it’s stretched out over several chapters. Music -2 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 3 Surround – 1
I remember seeing this a long time ago. It was much more interesting than it sounded like it would be, as a movie without narrative. Another unusual one from back then was One Giant Leap ... I think that was what it was called. Where they got musicians from all over the world to add parts to tracks ...I remember that being very good also... but it was a long time ago.
It has slowly dawned on me over the last month or so that my video quality rating scale is screwed up; even though they may be vastly different, I have been giving VHS and DVD quality video the same rating of “2”. In order to fix that, I need a 4 point scale. I already have a 4 point scale for surround. Music Quality and Video Presentation could also theoretically get ratings of 0 , but then again I probably just wouldn’t review of it if I thought it was that bad. So, forthwith, the video rating scale is as follows: 0: Archival footage; not even up to VHS quality. These are hard to watch, but if your interest level is high enough it may still be worth it. 1: VHS quality. 160p resolution, and usually in 4:3 format. These are videos that were produced for old tube TVs. These are still quite watchable, and if your interest is high very enjoyable too. 2: DVD quality. 480p resolution; digital age video made for wide screen TVs. For the most part, these are 21st century releases. The resolution isn’t up to that of a bluray, but it still looks pretty good even on large screens. I will also use this rating for computer graphics that don’t need higher resolution. 3: Bluray quality. 1080p resolution, and it uses every pixel. Even though bluray was introduced a few years earlier, video meeting this standard wasn’t common before 2008. Now for the hard part: I need to go back and revise some ratings. Most of the videos previously rated as a “1” will become “0”. In addition, a bunch of “2”s need to become “1”s. While I’m at it, I will also change a “3” to a“2” because it's a bluray that could just as well be a DVD. So here goes: Goes from “1” to “0” Hendrix, Jimi – Band of Gypsys Pink Floyd – Devi/ation 1970 Yes – Yessongs Keeping Blue Öyster Cult – Live 1976 as a “1” – it’s bad VHS, but still VHS. Goes from “2” to “1” Clapton, Eric – The Cream of Clapton Dire Straits - Alchemy Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams - The Video Album Gabriel, Peter – Play Genesis – Pop Shop Live TV 1972 Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire 8 Marillion – Fish Tales Marillion - Recital of the Script Roxy Music – The High Road Tangerine Dream – The Video Dream Mixes Various Artists – Woodstock Goes from “3” to “2” Dream Theater – Distance Over Time
U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky. What a great concert. Early U2 is the best U2. I think I started out with October and played the hell out of both it and Boy. War was actually a little bit of a disappointment, but only a little. I still like some of the rest of their catalog, but I think it was all down hill from there. Bono is live wire throughout, and the band sounds great. Bono has the center channel and the Edge has most of the reverb in the back. It might be natural reverb too since they were playing in a canyon. The one time I saw them was on this tour, but it was in a football stadium; the acoustics were terrible. This sounds much better than what I remember. The video quality is a bit of an enigma. Even though it is a 4:3 screen, it looks like it has higher resolution than normal for VHS which means it is probably a new film transfer. On the other hand it has streaks going across the screen which suggests the original film may have degraded somewhat. It's not at all hard to watch though. Music -3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 1 (Using the new rating scale for the first time) Surround – 2
The Power and the Suite Video Collection by Gentle Giant @mark winstanley has already reviewed The Power and the Glory, and Three Piece Suite on the surround thread, and I have also registered my opinion that they are both outstanding audio products in every respect. However, they also have some pretty cool videos to go with the songs, so let’s go over that: The Power and the Glory I couldn’t find credits for the video production anywhere. I think I read somewhere that Derek Shulman did them, but I can’t verify that. Most of these videos have lyrics, and it seems that I have misunderstood some of them all these years. "Proclamation" This starts with I takes to be a populace represented as playing cards faced with a some alternative political choice represented by alternative images. There’s a king, a communist with Russian labeling, and some others. Yes, there’s a ballot box. Lot’s of cards with a ballot on one side. "So Sincere" The song is an exercise in word play, and in addition to the lyrics there are lots of words on the screen, plus two hands locked in a hand shake, with money being exchanged at the end. "Aspirations" The first two animations had lots of movong parts, but this doesn’t. It just a family of four standing in front of a small house. However, their facial expressions and coloration slowly develop over time. A beautiful video for a beautiful song. "Playing the Game" Starts out with pulsating playing card suits (heart, spades, clubs, and diamonds) synchronized with the music. Then floating chess pieces, then back to a playing card/ballot theme. The streams of ballot cards intersect with streams of dollar bills (I guess the pound notes all got replaced with coins). Then an array of more twirling computer animated heart, spades, clubs, and diamonds. "Cogs in Cogs" As you might expect, this one has a bunch of interlocking gears. As it turns out, people get caught up in all those gears, and it’s also a great surround track. "No God's a Man" Kingship is the main theme here. No God’s a Man, but people keep thinking otherwise. The animation here is also often highly synchronized with the music. "The Face" A figure without a face, lots of them. More synchronized video and words (in addition to the lyrics), plus a video screen. "Valedictory" Synchronized graphics previously used in 3D, no goggles required – POV rotates, and an awesome surround track. "The Power and the Glory" This title track was left off from the original album, probably for good reason; the attempted big hit that was never going to happen. The graphics are mostly just the album cover. Three Piece Suite While of the songs have videos of some sort, I think only five of them are worth mentioning. Credits are given for some of them. “Giant” This has actual video of skyscrapers, some of which are under construction, and lots of double imaging. The Giant from the front cover of the first album (also on the U.S. version of Three Friends) makes a brief appearance. Credits say it was filmed in NYC by Yael Shulman. This isn’t as good as any of the videos on The Power and the Glory, but it is on Youtube: “The House, the Street, and the Room” Houses on a street, with a room and a stick-person. Simple hand drawn images given a spin by a computer, synchronized with the music, of course. Credits say it was animated by Dan Melius. “Schooldays” Kaleidoscopic views of class photos. Very simple, but very cool nonetheless. “Peel the Paint” More computer animation - might be the guy from the Room. He’s getting the run around from a bunch of painted images. There’s a boat, trees, the Giant makes another appearance, a few gravestones, and lots of psychedelia. All synchronized with the music. Credits say animated by Noah Shulman and Ronald Rabideau with illustrations by Matthew Lanci. “Mister Class and Quality” Computer animation with an umbrella, a bowler, briefcases, very important papers, paper clips, pens, desk chairs, ties. They all swirl. This is my favorite video on the Suite. No credits given. _______ All the videos in The Power and the Glory are excellent, and as a result, Even though I usually play music off a hard drive, I think it is totally worth sliding in the disc to watch as well as listen. Since only about half the songs have interesting videos, the case for Three Piece Suite is a little less compelling. So, let's just rate The Power and the Glory: I just have the DVD version, but I don’t suppose I’d give the bluray full marks either – the graphics are all fairly simple with a solid background – so pixel resolution isn’t really an issue. Too bad I couldn’t find a video sample; I guess you’ll just have to buy it. Music – 3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 2 (OK, they're just pretty simple computer graphics) Video quality – 2 Surround – 3
Déjà Vrooom Live Performance by King Crimson Produced by Geoff Kempin, Terry Shand Recorded 5-6 October 1995 at Nakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo, Japan, Release date 1999 Label Discipline Global Mobile Running time 191 minutes (including bonus material) Déjà Vrooom is a live album recorded in Japan, as part of the tour conducted after the release of the studio album Thrak; it also features the same lineup. Personnel Robert Fripp – guitar, Mellotron Adrian Belew – guitar, vocals Tony Levin – bass guitar, Ned Steinberger upright bass, Chapman Stick, vocals Trey Gunn – Warr guitar, Chapman Stick, vocals Bill Bruford – drums, percussion Pat Mastelotto – drums, percussion Track Listing 1. "Circular Improv" 2. "VROOOM VROOOM" 3. "Frame by Frame" 4. "Dinosaur" 5. "One Time" 6. "Red" 7. "B'Boom" 8. "THRAK" 9. "Matte Kudasai" 10. "Three of a Perfect Pair" 11. "VROOOM" 12. "Coda: Marine 475" 13. "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" 14. "Elephant Talk" 15. "Indiscipline" 16. "The Talking Drum" 17. "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)" 18. "People" 19. "Walking on Air" Version Control Video recordings from these performances were first released as the Japanese LaserDisc Live in Japan. Déjà Vrooom was released in 1999 as a double-sided disc and reissued in 2007 again entitled Live in Japan as a double-layer disc. The audio soundtrack was released on CD in 1996 as The Collectible King Crimson Volume 5. I have the 1999 version, and there are used copies to be had: Discogs. The 2007 version is cheaper: Discogs. The Concert This is a Thrak era concert that features the double threesome iteration of King Crimson. The back row consists of Mastoletto, Fripp, and Bruford. The front row is Gunn, Belew, and Levin; they all have microphones. This appears to beaThe video is VHS quality. The surround mix is a simple stage envelopment scheme. All the vocals come from the center speaker. Mastoletto and Gun are both mixed front left, e Levin and Bruford are front right. The guitars, with Belew on the left and Fripp on the right are mixed partially to the rear, so those are what dominate the rear speakers. I’ll note the exceptions This seems to be a straight VHS/laserdisc transfer - there is no opening menu, but you can switch from DD to DTS on the fly. "Circular Improv" They walk out onto the stage in black and white with a Fripp soundscape going. They get tuned up and get some color. "VROOOM VROOOM" This is an instrumental piece from Thrak. Everyone but Fripp is in a spotlight; Fripp is playing in the dark behind Belew. The liner notes say that this track comes “With the option to choose between seven camera angles”. It also so happens that the remote for the relatively old bluray player I’m using has a button labeled “Angle”. So, I tried pressing it and Mon Dieux!! Here’s the story: Camera Angle 1: Regular edit of the entire band, nothing in center channel. Camera Angle 2: Focus is on Belew, Belew guitar is in center channel Camera Angle 3: Gunn; stick in centerchannel Camera Angle 4: Mastoletto; left drums switch to centerchannel Camera Angle 5: Fripp; his guitar is in center channel Camera Angle 6: Bruford; right drums switch to centerchannel Camera Angle 7: Levin; bass in center channel "Frame by Frame" From Discipline. Belew with vocals. There is a second camera angle, which is Fripp – however there is no effect on the audio. "Dinosaur" From Thrak. The backing vocals from Levin are in the center channel with Belew – I don’t like that. Levin switches to string bass and plays with a bow. "One Time" The prettiest song from Thrak. "Red" From Red. This is a from an album where KC had three members (two of whom are here). But now they’ve got twice as many of everything. It doesn’t sound that much different; I don’t think Bruford has to work as hard. Belew guitar is in center channel. "B'Boom" From Thrak. Frippersonics. Actually, there is one keyboard player in the band – Fripp also has a mellotron and programmed keyboards. Don’t need a second camera angle for this one, because it’s all Fripp. I think it’s keyboards on the left and in front, live guitar on the right. After several minutes, the drummers come in and it finishes with a drum duet. The drum spotlights are directly in front of the drums – they light up the drum sets more than the drummers themselves. "THRAK" From Thrak. The whole band is back, Levin still with string bass and bow. Belew is somehow making his guitar sound like a piano. "Matte Kudasai" From Discipline. Now that we’re done Thrakking, another pretty song, with Belew vocals. End of the first set and since I have the double sided DVD, I have to turn it over. "Three of a Perfect Pair" From Three of a Perfect Pair. This track has two camera angles – picking the second one seems to put more focus on Levin, but not much. Gunn and Levin both with backing vocals in center channel, Levin with electric bass. "VROOOM" / "Coda: Marine 475" Two instrumental tracks from Thrak that are always paired together. Levin back with string bass and bow. "Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" From Thrak. Belew vocals and guitar in center channel Fripp’s guitar is most in front too. – not much going in rear as a result. Levin electric bass. "Elephant Talk" From Discipline. Levin and Gunn open both with sticks; that’s mainly what Gunn has been playing all along. I always thought it was guitar at the start, but it’s bass. Mastoletto percussion in left rear. Belew with spoken vocals. Best video available: "Indiscipline" From Discipline. Starts out with Gunn on left and Bruford on right, both mixed partially to the back. Camera angle 2 shows Bruford. Reverts to standard mix when whole band kicks in. Belew with more spoken vocals. Awesome performance. I chose this track on Meltdown because it was the only one available, I’d so again to show how it’s supposed to be, but I can’t. "The Talking Drum" / "Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II)" These are both instrumental pieces from Larks' Tongues in Aspic, which means Belew once again doesn’t have to sing like Wetton. On the first piece, he does make his guitar sound like a violin however, and so does Fripp. The parts that sound like guitar are actually from Gunn. On the second piece, the guitars are guitars. "People" From Thrak. I think this is what Steven Wilson would call a pop song – a catchy little tune. Gunn and Levin both with background vocals. There are two camera angles – the second one seems to show more close-ups of all the band members. "Walking on Air" From Thrak. A final pretty song. Gunn bass gets some of the center channel. Ends with a Fripp soundscape, and fades back into black and white. _______ The song selection here is almost entirely different from Meltdown. Since this is a Thrak era tour, it has most of the songs off of that album. It also has four from Discipline and is dominated by Belew era songs. There are three from the Wetton era and none from the first four albums. It’s those last three and Indiscipline that are also on Meltdown. The surround is better than average, but there just isn’t enough activity in the rears for me to give it full marks. There is supposed to be a feature where you can select different versions of "21st Century Schizoid Man", by selecting different vocalists, drummers, and the rest of the band. However, I could not figure out how to navigate the menu. After popping the disc in to rip it, it seems there are 8 different 3 minutes segments (the actual song is longer) on there, so I guess it’s two choices for each of the three. The 2007 version may not have the extra camera angles or the alternative 21st century takes. In the end, the audio is better than the video. If you want a live album from the Thrak era, this is a good candidate for ripping, however all those alternative angles make it a little difficult. Or you could just get the CD. Music – 2 (Thrak is a good but not classic KC album, and that's where most of the songs are from) Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 2 Surround – 2
The Torture Never Stops Live Performance by Frank Zappa Released May 29, 2008 Recorded The Palladium, October 31, 1981 Genre Rock, progressive rock, comedy rock Length 2 hours The Torture Never Stops is a live DVD by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in 2008. It's made up of footage from one of Zappa's annual Halloween concerts at The Palladium in New York City, on October 31, 1981. Two shows were played that night, and this contains footage from both shows edited together. The concert was originally shown on MTV. Personnel Frank Zappa: guitar, vocals Ray White: guitar, vocals Steve Vai: guitar, vocals Scott Thunes: bass, vocals Tommy Mars: keyboards, vocals Bobby Martin: keyboards, saxophone, vocals Ed Mann: percussion, vocals Chad Wackerman: drums Track Listing 1. Black Napkins 2. Montana 3. Easy Meat 4. Beauty Knows No Pain 5. Charlie’s Enormous Mouth 6. Fine Girl 7. Teen-age Wind 8. Harder Than Your Husband 9. Bamboozled By Love 10. We’re Turning Again 11. Alien Orifice 12. Flakes 13. Broken Hearts Are for Assholes 14. You Are What You Is 15. Mudd Club 16. The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing 17. Dumb All Over 18. Heavenly Bank Account 19. Suicide Chump 20. Jumbo Go Away 21. Stevie’s Spanking 22. The Torture Never Stops 23. Strictly Genteel 24. The Illinois Enema Bandit Version Control This DVD is still in print and available new from Amazon for $10. However, on a per disc basis, it’s even cheaper if you buy it as part of a three disc set, which is what I did (it seems to be on back order now). Audio releases from the same concert are titled You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1. The Concert This one starts out playing – there is no opening menu. It’s stereo only, and very good VHS quality. This is a new acquisition and it’s from a Zappa period I am not very familiar with. I think Montana is the only song I’ve heard before. I don’t know if I’ll like it, but I’m about to find out. “Black Napkins” Song from Zoot Allures. The band starts up – Vai, Zappa, and White are in front, everyone else in back. Zappa plays guitar, and he sounds pretty good. The screen often starts oscillating between Zappa and the drummer Wackerman, which is really annoying. “Montana” Song from Overnight Sensation. This is a song I’m quite familiar with, and it’s a nice live performance. Zappa just sings. “Easy Meat” From Tinsel Town Rebellion. Zappa grabs a conductor’s wand. White is lead vocalist, beside conducting, Zappa just does backing vocals until he eventually picks up his guitar, which is the best part, but it does come with oscillating imaging. “Beauty Knows No Pain / Charlie’s Enormous Mouth” From You Are What You Is. Zappa lead vocals. This is kinda what I was worried about – bad lyrics with good music, and it’s most lyrics. “Fine Girl” From Tinsel Town Rebellion. FZ lead. Bobby Martin with high pitched backing vocals. Also unfortunately dominated by bad lyrics. “Teen-age Wind” From You Are What You Is. OK, I like these lyrics. I’m not sure FZ does though. More annoying oscillating imaging. “Harder Than Your Husband” From You Are What You Is. Fake country song, with prerequisite dumb lyrics. FZ lead. “Bamboozled By Love” From Tinsel Town Rebellion. Doors bass line (Been Down So Damn Long) with different lyrics, Martin lead vocals. Zappa smokes a cigarette, and then plays guitar. Best song in a while. “We’re Turning Again” From Sheik Yerbouti. Ok, I kinda like the lyrics here, but Frank still acts like it’s all a joke. Can’t we be both cynical and at least a little serious? Seems like it could be a good song anyway. “Alien Orifice” New song. An instrumental jam piece with Martin on sax. Zappa plays guitar, and then conducts at the end. Really good. “Flakes” From Sheik Yerbouti, I have this album. Back to no-so-bad lyrics. Reminds me of the Belew song “Indifference”. Ed Mann with a Dylan impersonation. I like this song. “Broken Hearts Are for Assholes” From Sheik Yerbouti. Zappa with the monologue, sorry can’t get in to this one. “You Are What You Is” This is from You Are What You Is, as are the next six are as well in the same order. OK, this sounds like a song, White backing vocals, Martin on keyboards carries the tune. “Mudd Club” Sounds like an uninspired remake of Mudshark. Meh. “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing” FZ monologue with folk-rock of some sort, can’t call it a song. “Dumb All Over” FZ monologue backed with southern rock. Yeah, I like this one. Zappa guitar work at the end. Oscillating images again, why? “Heavenly Bank Account” Like the last song, FZ is taking on TV evangelists. Not much of a tune here though. “Suicide Chump” FZ monologue with the blues. “Jumbo Go Away” Martin with lead vocals, and the music finally gets serious again. FZ monologue again at end. “Stevie’s Spanking” From Them or Us. Martin with lead vocals. Music good, lyrics bad. More FZ guitar. Vai gets in his best solo of the night and they are both cooking at the end with Vai left and Zappa right. Best song on here: “The Torture Never Stops” Song from Zoot Allures. This is a traditional Halloween number, but I’m not sure why. Well, it is pretty good when they shut and start playing. “Strictly Genteel” From 200 Motels. I have this album too; it’s one of his semi-classical albums, and sure enough Frank has his baton out again, and the band does a pretty good job of imitating an orchestra. With a little vocoder help, there‘s a choir too. Too bad there isn't more like this on here. “The Illinois Enema Bandit” From Zappa in New York. Heard it through the Grapevine with different lyrics, I’d say..White with lead vocals, and Zappa with his final guitar licks, before embarking on his final monologue. _______ After Zappa got out of his contract with Warner in 1978, he started putting out albums at a prolific rate. Among them were the Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar series. I think I would like this concert if most of it were taken from those albums. But on here, Zappa doesn't shut up very often, and he therefore plays his guitar very little. I hate it when he does that. So while there are some really good tracks on here, most of it I don't care for at all. If I ever listen to this again, I think I will start with the first three tracks, and then skip forward to Stevie's Spanking at track 21 and watch the rest from there. I want to be extra special double sure to never watch "Broken Hearts are for Assholes" ever again. Music – 1 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 2 Surround – 1
It is also part of the big THRAK BOX on one of the Blu-ray discs, and in Hi-res (DTS-HD Master Audio and LPCM Surround). According to the included book, they used the 1997 mix "remastered from the original tapes so that it is available for the first time in full high resolution, without Dolby or DTS encoding."
I actually reckon I would love this. Shame it isn't in surround. Beauty Knows No Pain and Charlie's Enormous Mouth are great lyrics, attacking the beauty myth and the drug problem in the eighties. Sounds like I may need to get it. Especially for the Vai with Zappa thing
So I gave poor Frank a "1" for music quality. I think that is the first one I've doled out on this thread, which is a little weird because I give them on the surround thread with some regularity. I don't think of a "1" as the kiss of death - it just means I think there are lots of better choices. There are some good reasons for why my rankings tend to be higher on this thread. One is that I have been more selective in my video purchases. I have bought surround versions of "1" albums that am already familiar with just because of the surround mix. I've also tended to take more chances on my surround purchases. However, that equation is changing because I'm starting to take a lot of flyers on cheap DVDs; that's how I ended up with Torture. Another factor is that live performances tend to be compilations, so you get a greater concentration of really good songs than you often do on original releases. But still, I think I've been a little cavalier in bestowing my music honors on this thread. I''''''m almost gave Deja Vroom a "3", but Thrak is a "2", and there is no reason for the concert video to be ranked higher. Poor Frank clearly deserves some company. Since I'm tinkering with ratings this weekend anyway, let's revisit a few of the "2"s: Pink Floyd – Devi/ation 1970 I don't know what I was thinking. I already gave the surround mix for Atom Heart Mother a "1", and this is certainly no better. Maybe it was a pity ranking: it's still the review with the lowest score. Well, it's going to get worse: Music – 1 Sound quality – 1 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 0 (using the new video quality rating) Surround – 0 Tangerine Dream – The Video Dream Mixes This is another no brainer. I have more TD albums than anything else, and most of them are "1"s, and the albums from which these videos are taken are among them: Music – 1 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 1 (using the new video quality rating) Surround – 1 Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams - The Video Album This one is not as clear cut. There is one great song and several other very good ones, but on the average I think it should get a "1" Music – 1 Sound quality – 2 Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 1 (This was already a 1 and it should be) Surround - 1
This was my first exposure to KC. I got the DVD through Netflix. I had heard of the band, but never listened to any of their music. At the time, I was using Netflix to try concerts of bands I wasn’t really familiar with. Dream Theater was a band I got hooked on through Netflix when I rented their Score concert. Simply put, I was blown away with KC. My musical taste was fairly narrow at the time but I was totally captivated by this. I had never seen/heard a band like this before. I ended up buying the DVD and then going down the KC rabbit hole. Thrak still remains my favorite album since, as mentioned, many of the songs on this DVD were from that album. And while I own all the albums (and the anniversary box sets) the Belew era remains my favorite.
I did the exact same thing with netflix back in the day, and Vroom was one of the more memorable ones.
No, on the surround thread I gave the Atom Heart Mother quad a "3" for surround - it's great. What I am reviewing on this thread is the Devi/ation video bonus material, those get a "0" as they are all mono.
Time for in index update. Since I have made a some changes in my rating system since the opening post, here’s how it now stands: 1) Music Quality. This is loosely tied to my collection of about 4000 stereo titles. A 3 means top 10%, a 2 is in the next 40%, a 1 is bottom half. 2) Visual performance. This is also completely subjective, and since I don’t have a frame a reference, I am basically just winging it. 3) Sound Quality. I am giving everything that is DTS or better a 3. Dolby Digital gets a 2, even though usually that is pretty good too. A 1 means there are obvious problems with the audio. 4) Video quality. 3 is bluray quality, 2 is DVD, 1 is VHS, 0 is Archival Footage. Longer explanation here. 5) Surround Quality. 3’s are rare on this thread, but I give them for either discrete mixing in the back or for center channel use plus ambience (more than just reverb) in the back. Use of the center channel or use of the rears for more than just reverb is good enough for a 2. Stereo is 1, Mono is 0. Ranges indicate either that the rating is version dependent, or that the content varies. The reviews are mine unless other attribution is given. The highlighted link for the reviews and ratings are different if the initial review is from Mark or someone else, or if I have changed the ratings for some reason. AC/DC – Let There Be Rock / Live Performance and Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) Anathema – A Moment in Time / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Ayreon - Electric Castle Live and Other Tales / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Band, The – The Last Waltz / Live Performance and Concert Documentary / Rating: 12-14 Beatles – Help! / Movie / Rating: 9-12 Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night / Movie / Rating: 11 Beck, Jeff – Performing This Week... Live At Ronnie Scott's / Live Performance / Rating: 14 Blackfield – NYC: Live in New York City / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Blue Öyster Cult – Live 1976 / Live Performance / Rating: 7 Cave, Nick – Once More With Feeling / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) Church, The – Future Past Perfect / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Clapton, Eric – The Cream of Eric Clapton / Video Collection / Rating: 10* Dead Can Dance – Yulunga and Other Stories / Video Collection / Rating: 9-12 Dire Straits – Alchemy / Live Performance / Rating: 13* Dream Theater – Distance Over Time / Video Collection /Rating: 12* Dylan, Bob – No Direction Home / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams - The Video Album / Video Collection / Rating: 8 Gabriel, Peter – Secret World Live / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Gabriel, Peter – Play / Video Collection / Rating: 11-13* Genesis – Pop Shop Live TV 1972 / Studio Performance / Rating: 8* Gentle Giant – The Power and the Suite / Video Collection / Rating: 13 Gilmour, David – Live in Gdańsk / Live Performance / Rating: 11 Gilmour, David – Live at Pompeii / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Glass, Philip – Koyaanisqatsi / Movie / Rating: 13 Hendrix, Jimi – Band of Gypsys: Live at The Fillmore East / Concert Documentary / Rating: 8* Iron Maiden – Flight 666 / Concert Documentary (@mark winstanley) King Crimson – Déjà Vrooom / Live Performance / Rating: 11 King Crimson – Meltdown: Live in Mexico City / Live Performance / Rating: 14 Kraftwerk – 3D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / Video Collection / Rating: 13 Mannheim Steamroller – Fresh Aire 8 / Video Collection / Rating: 9* Marillion – Fish Tales / Video Collection / Rating: 9-10* Marillion – Recital of the Script / Live Performance / Rating: 11* Pink Floyd – Devi/ation 1970 / Video Collection / Rating: 4 Pink Floyd – The Wall / Movie / Rating: 10 Porcupine Tree – Arriving Somewhere... / Live Performance / Rating: 13 - 14 Presley, Elvis – That's The Way It Is (@mark winstanley) Roxy Music – The High Road / Live Performance / Rating: 12 Rush – Exit ..... Stage Left / Live Peformance (@mark winstanley) Santana – Santana IV Live At The House Of Blues Las Vegas / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Springsteen, Bruce - The River Tour / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense / Live Performance / Rating: 11-13 Tangerine Dream – The Video Dream Mixes / Video Collection: Rating: 7 Tool – Vicarious / Video / Rating: 10 Townsend, Devin – Ocean Machine – Live / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 10-12 U2 – Under a Blood Red Sky / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 12 U2 – Live in Paris / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) Ultravox – Rage in Eden / Live Performance (@mark winstanley) / Rating: 13 Various Artists – Woodstock / Live Performance and Concert Documentary / Rating: 12* Various Artists – Baraka / Movie / Rating: 12 Wilson, Steven – Home Invasion / Live Performance / Rating: 15 Wishbone Ash – Live Dates 3 / Live Performance / Rating: 13 Yes – Yessongs / Live Performance / Rating: 6* Zappa, Frank – The Torture Never Stops / Live Performance / Rating: 8 Zimmer, Hans – Live in Prague / Live Performance (@thetman) / Rating: 15 * One point deducted from original rating as a result of video rating scale adjustment. Comments on any of the above are always welcome.
If I may, I would personally prefer to hear your opinion on sound quality and video quality, as I am able to read the format by myself. I don't need a review to tell me that blu-ray is better that DVD quality, generally speaking. But then, that's not always the case, and the same applies to sound quality. I have lossy DVDs that sound better than blu-rays, because the mix is better, the mastering is better. In my view, both criteria 3 and 4 are not that useful as they don't refer to disc quality but format quality.
The problem with audio quality is that I am not always listening on the same system. The difference between Dolby and DTS isn't nearly as recognizable on my midfi cabin system (where I'm spending most of my time these days) as it is on the new townhouse system. I've been reviewing DVDs mostly on the former and blurays mostly on the latter. So, I've just automatically been giving Dolby a 2 and DTS a 3. However, I suspect that it's Dolby surround that is the main offender - Dolby stereo usually sounds pretty good to me on either system. A 1 for audio means there is something obviously wrong with it, and it has nothing to do with the format. As for video, I do rate on how the picture actually appears - in fact, that is a main difference between the old scale and the new one. The "1"s and "2"s are all on DVD, but the old VHS productions still have 4:3 screen format and lower resolution - it's usually a stark difference. I also don't automatically give blurays a "3"; the Woodstock bluray got demoted to a "1". I'm also not giving computer graphics a 3 just because they are on bluray when they look (or would look) just as good on a DVD.
Live At The Royal Albert Hall Live Performance by Camel Released 2019 Recorded September 17, 2018 Venue The Royal Albert Hall, London Genre Progressive Rock Length Approximately 150 minutes Label Camel Productions Live At The Royal Albert Hall is a video from Camel's performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 17 September 2018. Personnel Andrew Latimer – guitar, flute, recorder, vocals Colin Bass – bass, vocals Denis Clement – drums, percussion Peter Jones – keyboards, synthesizers, saxophones, vocals Track Listing 1. Aristillus 2. Song Within A Song 3. Chord Change 4. Spirit Of The Water 5. Another Night 6. Air Born 7. Lunar Sea 8. Unevensong 9. Hymn To Her 10. End Of The Line 11. Coming Of Age 12. Rajaz 13. Ice 14. Mother Road 15. Hopeless Anger 16. Long Goodbyes 17. Lady Fantasy Version Control Released in 2019, there are both DVD and Bluray versions. I have the bluray. The Camel Productions store has this and several other DVDs available, but it is cheaper on Amazon. The Concert The picture quality is excellent; besides the fact that it’s clearly 1080p, the lighting is perfect. The Royal Albert Hall is just as impressive as it was back in March 2018 when Steven Wilson played there. I spent a few minutes trying switch it to surround before figuring out that there isn’t any – I didn’t think that was possible in this day and age. Oh well, an excellent stereo sound stage is nothing to sneeze at; it’ll give my best amp a workout. Camel hasn’t produced an album since 2002, which is a few years before I first discovered them. I started with a compilation, but I had most of their albums within a few years. My main concern with this concert is whether they can still play. Latimer is the only original band member, but Bass has been with the band since 1979. Clement joined the band in 2000 and was a member of the band on their last album. Having joined in 2016, Jones is a relatively new band member. He needed help getting onto the stage; it took me a while to figure out that is because he is blind. I can’t find youtube video for any of the tracks, but there is a preview: “Aristillus” The first seven songs recapitulate Moonmadness in its entirety. The first is a short prerecorded instrumental is played while the band take the stage. “Song Within A Song” Clement is in the back, Jones, Bass, and Latimer are in front. Jones- Keyboards, Bass - bass and co-lead, Latimer – flute, co-lead, guitar. “Chord Change“ Jones- Keyboards, lead vocals, Bass - bass, Latimer – guitar. “Spirit of The Water” Jones - Keyboards. Bass – lead vocals, Latimer – recorder. Beautiful. “Another Night” A rock song after one that wasn’t. Jones- Keyboards, co-lead vocals, Bass - bass, co-lead vocals, Latimer – guitar, co-lead vocals. Bass and Latimer sing together, Jones a different part. Latimer with flaming guitar solo. “Air Born” Jones- Keyboards, lead vocals, Bass - bass, Latimer – flute and guitar. Another pretty song. “Lunar Sea” Jones- Synthesizer, Bass - bass, Latimer – guitar. This instrumental piece starts out ethereal, heats up, the goes smooth, and finally back to ethereal with some actual moon landing audio samples thrown in at the end. End of Moonmadness. That was all perfectly gorgeous. End of the first set. “Unevensong” From Rain Dances. Jones- Keyboards, co-lead vocals; Bass - bass, co-lead vocals; Latimer –guitar. “Hymn To Her” From I Can See Your House from Here. More Latimer guitar. “End of The Line” From Dust and Dreams. Jones- Keyboards, lead vocals; Bass - bass; Latimer –guitar. Another ethereal piece. Jones sounds a bit country-rockish; Doobie Brothers maybe. “Coming Of Age” From Harbour of Tears. This is instrumental prog rock for sure. Jones- Keyboards; Bass - bass; Latimer – guitar. Latimer’s guitar work sounds like Hackett; just in case you didn’t know. “Rajaz” From Rajaz. An ethereal piece from an ethereal album, which happens to be my favorite. This is the high point of the concert for me. Jones- Keyboards, saxophone; Bass – bass, backing vocals; Latimer –guitar, lead vocals. Bass and Latimer turn their backs on the audience to jam with Clement; Jones finishes with a fantastic saxophone solo. He gets a standing ovation. This is where I would plug in a video in if I had one. “Ice” From I Can See Your House from Here. After catching his breath from the long sax solo, Jones give the song intro – it’s the one he auditioned with. Jones - Keyboards; Bass - bass; Latimer –guitar. Another ethereal instrumental piece with lots of Latimer guitar. “Mother Road” From Dust and Dreams. Jones – Keyboards, backing vocals; Bass – bass, backing vocals; Latimer – guitar, lead vocals. Bass introduces the song, and starts it out. This sounds a little arena-rocky; they’ve turned into latter-day Journey. Hopefully it won’t last. “Hopeless Anger” From Dust and Dreams. Jones – Keyboards; Bass – bass; Latimer – guitar. Ahh, this is more like it – a proggy instrumental. “Long Goodbyes” 410-796-6181 From Stationary Traveller. Jones – Keyboards and lead vocals; Bass – bass, backing vocals; Latimer – flute and guitar. A pretty song that is the end of the second set; Latimer finishes with guitar solo. “Lady Fantasy” Encore from Mirage. Jones – Keyboards and saxaphone; Bass – bass; Latimer – guitar and lead vocals. Looking over the set list of their other DVDs, it seems that they always finish with this; from their second album, it’s a little simple compared to most of their later stuff. But it’s easy to see why it serves as a Camel standard. _______ A fantastic concert. To answer the main question, they can still play very very well. Having never seen them perform at all before, that was a real treat. However, they don’t do anything but play – there is nothing like the show that Wilson put on, and since it’s in the same place it’s hard to not make that comparison. Music – 3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 2 Video quality – 3 Surround – 1 I liked this enough to order two DVDs from the Camel store. In From The Cold is a 2013 concert similar to this one; they play Snow Goose in it’s entirety. Moondances has footage from two 70’s concerts featuring the original band.
Yellow Submarine Movie By The Beatles Directed by George Dunning Animation: Robert Balser, George Dunning, Jack Stokes Live-action: Dennis Abey, Al Brodax Produced by Al Brodax Screenplay by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelsohn, Erich Segal, Roger McGough Story by Lee Minoff Based on "Yellow Submarine" by Lennon–McCartney Narrated by Paul Angelis Music by Lennon–McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr Musical Director: George Martin Edited by Brian J. Bishop Production companies Apple Films, King Features Syndicate, TVC London Distributed by United Artists Release date 17 July 1968 (United Kingdom) 13 November 1968 (United States) Running time 87 minutes Country United Kingdom, United States Language English Budget £250,000 Yellow Submarine (also known as The Beatles: Yellow Submarine) is a 1968 British animated film inspired by the music of the Beatles, directed by animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United Artists and King Features Syndicate. Initial press reports stated that the Beatles themselves would provide their own character voices. However, aside from composing and performing the songs, the real Beatles participated only in the closing scene of the film, while their cartoon counterparts were voiced by other actors. The film received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, in contrast to the Beatles' previous film venture Magical Mystery Tour. Pixar co-founder and former chief creative officer John Lasseter has credited the film with bringing more interest in animation as a serious art form. Time commented that it "turned into a smash hit, delighting adolescents and aesthetes alike". Half a century after its release, it is still regarded as a landmark of animation. Plot Pepperland is a cheerful, music-loving paradise under the sea, home to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The titular Yellow Submarine rests on an Aztec-like pyramid on a hill. At the edge of the land is a range of high blue mountains. The land falls under a surprise attack from the music-hating Blue Meanies, who live beyond the mountains. The attack starts with a music-proof glass globe that imprisons the band. The Blue Meanies fire projectiles and drop apples (a reference to the Beatles' then-new company Apple Corps) that render Pepperland's residents immobile as statues, and drain the entire countryside of colour. In the last minutes before his capture, Pepperland's elderly Lord Mayor sends Old Fred, an aging sailor, to get help. Fred takes off in the Yellow Submarine ("Yellow Submarine"). He travels to Liverpool ("Eleanor Rigby"), where he follows a depressed Ringo to "The Pier", a house-like building on the top of a hill, and persuades him to return to Pepperland with him. Ringo collects his "mates" John, George, and Paul, and the five journey back to Pepperland in the submarine. As they operate the submarine, they sing "All Together Now", after which they pass through several regions on their way to Pepperland, including the Sea of Time, where time flows both forwards and backwards ("When I'm Sixty-Four"); the Sea of Science ("Only a Northern Song"); and the Sea of Monsters, where Ringo is rescued from monsters after being ejected from the submarine. In the Sea of Nothing, the protagonists meet Jeremy Hillary Boob Ph.D., a short and studious creature ("Nowhere Man"). As they prepare to leave, Ringo feels sorry for the lonely Boob, and invites him to join them aboard the submarine. They arrive at the Foothills of the Headlands, where they are separated from the submarine and Old Fred ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). They then find themselves in the Sea of Holes, an expanse of flat surfaces with many holes. Jeremy is kidnapped by a Blue Meanie, and the group finds their way to Pepperland. Reuniting with Old Fred and reviving the Lord Mayor, they look upon the now-miserable, grey landscape. The Beatles dress up as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and steal some instruments. The four rally the land to rebellion ("Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"). The Chief Blue Meanie retaliates by sending out the Dreadful Flying Glove, but John defeats by singing ("All You Need is Love"). Pepperland is restored to colour as its flowers re-bloom and its residents revive. The original Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band are released, and join the Beatles in combating the Meanies' multi-headed dog ("Hey Bulldog"). Jeremy performs some "transformation magic" on the Chief Blue Meanie, causing the Meanie to bloom roses and sadly concede defeat. John extends an offer of friendship, and the Chief Blue Meanie has a change of heart and accepts. An enormous party ensues ("It's All Too Much"). The real Beatles then appear in live-action, and playfully show off souvenirs from the events of the film. George has the submarine's motor, Paul has "a little 'love'", and Ringo has "half a hole" in his pocket (having supposedly given the other half to Jeremy). Ringo points out John looking through a telescope, which prompts Paul to ask what he sees. John replies that "newer and bluer Meanies have been sighted within the vicinity of this theatre" and claims there is only one way to go out: "Singing!" The four oblige with a short reprise of "All Together Now", which ends with translations of the song's title in various languages appearing in sequence on the screen. Voice cast John Clive as John Geoffrey Hughes as Paul Peter Batten as George (uncredited) Paul Angelis as Opening Narrator / Chief Blue Meanie / Ringo / George (additional dialogue) Dick Emery as Max / Lord Mayor / Jeremy Hillary Boob Lance Percival as "Young/Old" Fred Music In addition to the 1966 title song "Yellow Submarine", several complete or excerpted songs, four previously unreleased, were used in the film. The songs included "All Together Now", "It's All Too Much" (written by Harrison), "Baby, You're a Rich Man" (which had first appeared as the B-side to "All You Need Is Love" in June 1967), "Only a Northern Song" (a Harrison composition originally recorded during sessions for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) and "Hey Bulldog". Written by Lennon, this last track was cut from the film before it opened in the US. "Hey Bulldog" was restored for the US theatrical and home video reissue in 1999. The four new songs used on the soundtrack album were not considered of high enough quality for appearance on a "regular" Beatles album. The film's instrumental music was an orchestral score composed and arranged by George Martin. One of the film's cues, heard after the main title credits, was originally recorded during sessions for "Good Night" (a track on The Beatles, also known as the "White Album") and would have been used as the introduction to Ringo Starr's White Album composition "Don't Pass Me By". The same cue was later released as "A Beginning" on the 1996 Beatles compilation Anthology 3. Musical numbers All tracks written by Lennon–McCartney except where noted. Track start and end time is indicated in hrs:mins:secs. These are approximated because the songs are embedded in the film plot and cannot be strictly separated. 0:00:21–0:02:15: "Introduction Story" music by George Martin 0:07:55–0:10:40: "Yellow Submarine" 0:10:40–0:13:30: "Eleanor Rigby" 0:19:00–0:19:55: "Love You To" (George Harrison) (excerpt) 0:22:30–0:23:05: "A Day in the Life" (excerpt, orchestral swell) 0:23:25–0:25:55: "All Together Now" 0:28:20–0:31:15: "When I'm Sixty-Four" 0:31:30–0:34:30: "Only a Northern Song" (Harrison) 0:43:15–0:46:15: "Nowhere Man" 0:48:00–0:51:30: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" 0:54:30–0:54:50: "Yellow Submarine" (a short vocal excerpt) 0:56:15–0:56:25: "Think for Yourself" (Harrison) (short excerpt) 1:06:35–1:08:50: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" 1:08:50–1:09:05: "With a Little Help from My Friends" (short excerpt) 1:11:45–1:15:05: "All You Need Is Love" 1:16:30–1:16:40: "Baby, You're a Rich Man" (excerpt, the recording of the song is expanded for the American-released version, replaces the anti-climactic "Hey Bulldog".) – not on 2012 resoration 1:17:25–1:21:00: "Hey Bulldog" (originally shown only in Europe before the film's 1999 restoration); also on 2012 restoration. 1:24:15–1:27:15: "It's All Too Much" (Harrison) 1:27:15–1:29:00: "All Together Now" ______ Version Control There are many different versions of this, but the 2012 version is far superior to earlier versions: On 20 March 2012, Apple Corps announced that the film had been restored by hand for DVD and Blu-ray release on 28 May 2012 (29 May in North America), later delayed one week to 4 June 2012 (5 June in North America). The company stated: "The film's soundtrack album will be reissued on CD on the same date. The film has been restored in 4K digital resolution for the first time – all done by hand, frame by frame." I have the bluray. The Movie As I have been doing with the Beatles movies, I will mainly run through the scenes with whole songs. However, there are also many scenes that have an orchestral soundtrack – the whole movie is an auditory treat. The picture is great, the audio is DTS HD, and it’s got a new surround mix. “Yellow Submarine” After the introduction to Pepperland, the credits roll with the title track on Track 4. It starts out with Starr vocals in the center channel, guitar in front, and waves rolling in surround. Then background vocals sound effects (chatter) in the rear. A terrific surround mix. There’s a few seconds of extraneous movie at the beginning that I may edit out, but it’s a fairly clean song as it is. “Eleanor Rigby” Chapter 5 is a semi-animated tour of London by the Yellow Submarine. There’s an orchestral intro that isn’t strictly part of the song, but it’s a great intro and it has great surround: I won’t edit it out. Lennon vocals in center, strings in surround, backing vocals in rear. This video takes the crown: “All Together Now” On Chapter 11, all the Beatles are aboard the Yellow Submarine, and a song breaks out. There is some movie at the beginning of the that will need to be edited, and might have to keep just a bit in. Background vocal in back, everything else in front. “When I’m 64” In the Sea of Time, time speeds up and on chapter 13 the Beatles become old, which leads to a song that starts before the dialogue stops. McCartney vocals in center, guitar, bass and percussion in front, woodwind in surround, chimes and bv in rear. The video counts a minute off and the Beatles get young again. More dialog at the end to edit out. "Only a Northern Song" In the Sea of Science, a little dialog at the beginning of chapter 14 before the song begins along with a completely abstract video. Harrison vocals in center, horns and sound effects in rear, everything else in front. Clean but abrupt ending. “Nowhere Man” The Beatles meet Jeremy in the Sea of Nothing. On chapter 17, the song about Jeremy breaks out after 5 seconds of dialog. Jeremy and the Beatles run forwards, Backwards , and in circles. Relatively little surround on this one – guitar in center, lead and background vocals mixed partly to the back. Dialog at the end; Jeremy is coming along for a submarine ride too. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" The song starts up in the Headlands, on chapter 19, after a little dialog. McCartney organ in surround. Vocals in both center channel and back, then background vocals fading from front to back; lead in right rear. A fantastic surround track with a great psychedelic video. I can only embed one, but here’s the link. Also dialog at the end to edit out. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" After finally arriving at Pepperland, the Beatles put some color back in on chapter 26 with a song that start after a few seconds of dialog. Guitar, bass, and drums lead vocals in front, and then lead guitar in right rear; sound effects in center channel and rear. There’s a little bit of movie narration (by the fake Lennon, I believe) of the lyrics in the center channel and then right rear that sounds like it’s part of the song. Well, it is now; can’t edit it out I guess that’s OK – it’s a great surround track. Another abrupt ending “All You Need is Love” On chapter 29, the Beatles engage in an epic battle against the Glove. Quite a bit of dialog at the beginning. The glove is entrapped on screen by the written lyrics. Horns and background vocals in rear, strings in surround, lead vocal in center. This is first song to have an annoying amount of movie sound and dialog in the last third of the song – which is really too bad because it’s a great surround track. "Hey Bulldog" On chapter 31, the Beatles encounter the four headed dog. The song starts off again after dialog, and this time there are movie sound effects all the way through, but they aren’t as intrusive as on the last track – the dog barking sounds like it could be part of the song, but the explosions are annoying. Not much in the way of surround on this, I may leave it out. “It’s All Too Much” On track 34, after the head Meany turns flower child (dialog) Harrison’s guitar reverbing guitar pans from back to front. Harrison vocals center, bass and drums front, horns in rear. Abrupt ending. _____ Given the fact that it is all animated, I’d guess a DVD could deliver about the same picture. But I’m not going to ruin a perfect rating for that. The movie is a lot of fun, the music and sound effects through are great, and the surround is fantastic – for both the songs themselves and throughout the movie. The songs aren’t as rippable as they were in Help!; I did have to do a lot of editing to get a great set of Beatles 5.1 tracks. I had to learn how to do fadeouts (especially on “Only a Northern Song” and “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”, but once I did that the only two main annoyances are the 15 seconds of dialog in the middle of “All You Need Is Love” and the brief explosion at about 1:21 on “Hey Bulldog”. The rest of the movie noise additions I am quite able to think of as additional effects added to enhance the surround mix. Music – 3 Sound quality – 3 Video presentation – 3 Video quality – 3 Surround – 3 Top notch all the way around for the third time. I not going to evaluate my old 1999 DVD, but I figure it would probably get 2's for Sound quality, Video Quality, and surround.
