George Harrison Wonderwall on SACD?

I have but 2 questions:
1. Is it for real?
and
2. IS IT MULTI-CHANNEL!!?

Tower Records - George Harrison - Wonderwall Music (UK) [SACD]
Address:http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=2805777&cc=USD

 

Holy Crap! I wonder what the story is on this one?????

 

I'm just wonderin' if this was someone's mistake over at Tower.

Somehow I just can't picture EMI & Apple choosing this for an SACD title (multi-channel or not) when there are so many obvious choices awaiting.

Weird.

 

Two words:
1)Boot
2)Leg

 

Well, the movie was recently issued on DVD. It contains a DD 5.1 soundtrack. I haven't picked it up yet but plan on doing so. I would love to see this issued on SACD as well. "Wonderwall Music" is an incredible album and would be perfectly suited to surround-sound. We can hope...

 

I watched the Wonderwall DVD last night. The film transfer is outstanding. It is one of the best film transfers from the era that I've ever seen.

The soundtrack was recently remastered at Abbey Road studios and sounds superb. Except for the opening theme, the surround mix is not very aggressive, and is strictly of the stereo-to-surround processed variety.

This leads me to believe that they did not go back to the original multi-track masters, which probably means when (and if) Wonderwall Music is released in hi-rez, we won't be treated to a surround mix. Given that, it would make more sense to see this on SACD instead of DVD-A. However, this is all pure speculation on my part.

In any event, the stereo cuts sound fantastic. I've never seen the film before and there is a lot of music that never found its way to the album, and it is every bit as good as the music that was used for the record. I really hope we see plenty of bonus materiel when the (supposed) SACD is released!

The film is quite enjoyable to watch, and has held up well over all this time, unlike a lot of the hippie tripe from the era. It is also fun to finally put the music in its context. The music suits the film quite well.

The only negative I can say about the film is that the quality of the dialogue track is well below the quality of the music. It was certainly wise of them to go back to the original audio tapes for the music portion of the film, but the dialogue track associated with the film is certainly lo-fi. It is interesting to note that there are separate credits for music mastering and dialogue restoration.

So, if you're a fan of the music, I think it is well worth picking up the DVD for a preview of things (hopefully) to come. As a bonus, it’s a pretty keen film!

 

Tower has sold boots before--though I don't think they were aware of it. Last year I snagged a 2-CD set by the Dovells, ALL THE HITS, and of course that was a boot--all the C/P stuff is. I was surprised when, doing a search for "Bristol Stomp," came up with that! Even more surprised when it arrived in the mail a week later! .

Hitting the link, I didn't see anything suggesting multi-channel; just that it was an SACD, meaning stereo-only, I would guess. Funny thing is, if this is legit, wouldn't Red Trumpet, Acoustic Sounds and others have it in their listings? Hmmmm....

ED

 

Ed, you glossed over the fact that the soundtrack has already been remastered, so its slate for legitimate SACD release does not seem that far-fetched at all. You are right to question why other outlets haven't picked up on it, but who knows. Regardless, if and when this is released I don't doubt that it will be a legitimate release.

 

Would this be the first SACD boot ?

All the best - Andrew

 

Not far-fetched, I agree, but since this is an Apple album, that brings in Apple Corps. Not that George's estate would need approval regarding his solo material, but I would think more publicity would surround this sort of release--kind of unusual a start for a GH SACD catalog, when you think about it. If it is legit, I'll buy one, and hope it doesn't sound like the remastered redbook ATMP

The stereo-to-surround mastering for DVD is something I'm always listening for. Springsteen's ANTHOLOGY is just such an example: nobody went back to multitracks for anything, then try to claim it's 5.1. We should have designations: 5.1 modified(or something like that), and 5.1 discreet, the latter what we really want(and should get more often than we do). I recently picked up the LIVE RUST DVD, and it sounds like Dolby Surround pushed to 5.1. Not a bad sound, and some tinkering was done to offer some ambiant effects, but not really honest, either. Naturally, I think most of us would prefer the 2.0 option. Does WONDERWALL have one, or are you stuck with the 5.1 as is?

ED

 

I totally agree with the appropriate surround-sound designations (truth in advertising!) Thankfully, the Wonderwall DVD has a stereo track that you may select in lieu of the fake surround.

 

Thanx, Vex. I might pick that one up, now that I know there's a true stereo track on it. I don't mind the faux-5.1 most of the time, but I detest it as the only option(as is all too often the case).

ED