Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

I don’t remember when I bought it, and only very recently sat down and listened to it. Mark Knopflers Shangrila is an incredible surround sound recording. Just stunning. Sorry, has it been reviewed here yet?

 

Shangri las and Sailing to Philadelphia are both excellent.
I'm not in a position to link it at the moment, but go to page 109, and there is a reference guide at the bottom

 

In case anyone is interested
It looks like a new Pineapple Thief album is coming out. Versions of the Truth.
This is the cd/bluray version 25 pounds ... I am assuming the bluray is a 5.1 mix Versions Of The Truth CD & Blu-ray Bundle

There is also a
Deluxe Edition with Clear vinyl and four discs ... I assume one is the bluray 53 pounds Versions Of The Truth Clear Vinyl & Deluxe Bundle

There really isn't much detail to go on, but they are on preorder, and apparently available 9/4/2020



There are other options also

 

Burning shed Pineapple Thief link. I ordered the bluray -£15.82 shipped.

 

Aqualung isn’t my favorite Tull album (or 5.1 mix) either, but I have to say, respectfully, that I don’t really agree with a lot of your analysis here. While it's true that there are some moments in this surround mix--particularly in the sparser tracks like "Wond'Ring Aloud" or "Slipstream"--where the rear channels are primarily used as an ambient reflection of the fronts, I'm hearing a lot more ‘discrete’ (isolated in the rears) elements than you’ve indicated in your review.

A lot of the instruments/effects you said sounded like they were in the sides are clearly coming from the rear channels only on my system - examples include the guitar solo midway through “Aqualung”, flute and distorted guitar in “Mother Goose”, and the choir vocals in “My God”.

In “Wind Up”, I hear the piano as totally isolated in the rears. There’s no trace of it on the fronts, not even a bit of reverb.

 

Automatic for the People


Studio album by
R.E.M.
Released October 5, 1992[1]
Recorded June 1991 – July 1992
Studio Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York; Criteria Recording Studios, Miami, Florida; John Keane Studio, Athens, Georgia; Kingsway Studio, New Orleans, Louisiana; Bosstown Recording Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Genre Alternative rock[2] baroque pop[3]
Length 48:52
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Scott Litt R.E.M.

Automatic for the People is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on October 5, 1992, by Warner Bros. Records. R.E.M. began production on the album while their previous album, Out of Time (1991), was still ascending top albums charts and achieving global success. Aided by string arrangements from John Paul Jones, Automatic for the People features ruminations on mortality, loss, mourning and nostalgia.

Upon release, it received widespread acclaim from critics, reached number two on the US albums chart, and yielded six singles. Rolling Stone reviewer Paul Evans concluded of the album, "This is the members of R.E.M. delving deeper than ever; grown sadder and wiser, the Athens subversives reveal a darker vision that shimmers with new, complex beauty."[4] Automatic for the People is generally regarded alongside Murmur (1983) as one of the band’s supreme achievements, and it has sold 18 million copies worldwide.

• Bill Berry – drums, percussion, keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals, melodica
• Peter Buck – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, bass guitar
• Mike Mills – bass guitar, piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals
• Michael Stipe – lead vocals

Additional musicians

• Scott Litt – harmonica, clavinet
• John Paul Jones – orchestral arrangements on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
• George Hanson – conductor on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
• Denise Berginson-Smith, Lonnie Ottzen, Patti Gouvas, Sandy Salzinger, Sou-Chun Su, Jody Taylor – violin on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
• Knox Chandler, Kathleen Kee, Daniel Laufer, Elizabeth Proctor Murphy – cello on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", "Sweetness Follows",[51] and "Nightswimming"
• Reid Harris, Paul Murphy, Heidi Nitchie – viola on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
• Deborah Workman – oboe on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"

Production

• Scott Litt – producer, mixing engineer
• Ed Brooks – second engineer (Seattle)
• George Cowan – second engineer (Bearsville)
• Adrian Hernandez -Second assistant engineer (Hollywood)
• John Keane – recording engineer (Athens)
• Mark Howard – second engineer (New Orleans)
• Tod Lemkuhl – second engineer (Seattle)
• Ted Malia – second engineer (Atlanta)
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering engineer (Precision Mastering)
• Clif Norrell – recording engineer, mixing engineer
• Andrew Roshberg – second engineer (Miami)

1. "Drive" – 4:31
2. "Try Not to Breathe" – 3:50
3. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" – 4:06
4. "Everybody Hurts" – 5:17
5. "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" – 2:13
6. "Sweetness Follows" – 4:19
7. "Monty Got a Raw Deal" – 3:17
8. "Ignoreland" – 4:24
9. "Star Me Kitten" – 3:15
10. "Man on the Moon" – 5:13
11. "Nightswimming" – 4:16
12. "Find the River" – 3:50

-----------------------------------------
So far we have covered Green, Monster and Around The Sun.

REM had a great run in the late eighties and early nineties.
US certifications
Document - 1 mil
Green - 2 mil
Out Of Time - 4 mil
Automatic For The People - 4 mil
Monster - 4 mil
New Adventures in Hifi - 1 mil
plus 6 other albums going gold.
We see a curve from Life's Rich Pageant to Out Of Time, that moves from the 500,000 to 4,ooo,ooo, and somewhat unusually the band plateaus at 4,000,000 for three albums in a row, and then the arc goes back down. That 5 or 6 album run etched the band's name in the books as one of the great bands of the period.
Automatic For The People is generally the album that folks consider the band's peak. It captured the imagination of the public with Drive being the big hit, but Everybody Hurts becoming a sort of international theme song for pain, everywhere. The song seemed to get more play than any other REM track, and I'm sure for some that it has been overplayed... personally I think it is probably the most poignant song the band recorded.
Interestingly, spurred on by the revival of rock music through the grunge movement, the band wanted to make a harder edged rock focused album .... but it didn't really work out that way. This is a fairly dour album.....
The band apparently influenced by turning thirty and the world around them changing a lot, brought a somewhat reflective edge to the album, and we also get some deeper, and more pained songs. Whereas Out Of Time had captured a lot of folks with its, generally, upbeat kind of music, even though lyrically it was still somewhat serious, Automatic For The People, never really got above moderate tempo, and sat inside its pain and projected it.

For fans of older rock bands it is interesting to note that the string arrangements on Drive, Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Everybody Hurts and Nightswimming were done by Led Zeppelin bassist and keyboard player John Paul Jones, who often seems to be the forgotten Led Zep member.

This came in a fold out cd/dvd-audio set, and is sadly out of print.
Amazon secondhand from about $44 https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-People-CD-DVD-Audio/dp/B0006ICF9K
Discogs has seven US pressing copies of the straight dvd audio available from $24 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
The straight dvd audio from UK and Europe from $14 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
the US dualdisc version from $30 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
the UK Europe cd/dvd set from $20 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
the US cd/dvd version from about $15 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
These were all released between 2003-2005

In 2017 there was a box set released which was a 3cd + bluray release. It had the album on disc 1, Live At The 40 Watt Club on Disc 3, demos on disc 3 ....
The bluray contained a 7.1 dolby Atmos mix on it, but I don't know if it is the same mix modified for the format, or if it was remixed for this set... So perhaps somebody can let us know.
The bluray also contained a hi-res stereo version of the album, and there was a bonus track on each called Photograph
It also contained 6 videos of songs from the album and Automatic Press Kit, a promotional video.



This particular set is available on discogs from about $74 R.E.M. - Automatic For The People
If you scroll down to 2017 here there are 4 pressings to look through R.E.M. - Automatic For The People

I have the cd/dvd-a digipak

5.1 mix Elliot Scheiner and Jamie Candiloro
Mastered by Darcy Proper

I really do like this album, but it has been a while since I listened to it. So lets see what we have here.

Drive
Acoustic guitar front left. Really nice sounding bass front.
Piano accordion rears.
Strings rears
Lead guitar rears
The sound here is beautiful.
The mix ends up being as dramatic as the song. Really nice sound. That starts out predominantly up front, but opens right up with the choruses.

Try Not To Breathe
Percussion left rear.
The bass on this album sounds really good.
Guitar front left. Elec gtr rear.
This song was dedicated to Stipe's grandmother after her death.
Mandolin rears.
Nice balanced mix, with good immersion.

The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight
Rythm guitar right rear.
Organ rears.
Acoustic gtr front left.
Strings in rears.
The clarity between the instruments on this is really very good, and the mix is really very good. It's strange too, because I remember being disappointed in this when I got it.
This track was never a favourite, but sounds very good.

Everybody Hurts
Percussion right rear.
Main arpeggio gtr seems to be through the middle.
Unusual percussion sound left side.
Second lead vocal with reverb, in the rears.
Strings rears.
Power chords rears.
Response vocals in coda rears.
Again a really nice immersive, balanced mix

New Orleans Instrumental no.1
Elec. Piano front left.
Volume swell guitar front with sends to rears, also seems like there is a little movement in it also.
Pretty decent.

Sweetness Follows
Cello? Front left. Acoustic gtr front.
Other strings rears, they could actually be synth sounds....
Lead gtr right rear.
Again nicely balanced and immersive.
The cello seems to move also.
The feedback gtr moves between the rears.

Monty Got A Raw Deal
Mandolin front left.
Solid bass up front.
Piano accordion rears.
Distorted guitar? Synthetic percussion? Right rear.
Bvox rears.
Again, solid, balanced.

Ignoreland
Violin right rear.
Guitars rears.
There is a lot going on in this one, and we get a bit of punch from the band here.
Really fully immersive, really nicely balanced.

Star Me Kitten
Vocal chord front left.
Gtr right rear. Like a chorus effect between rears actually.
Ride cymbal left side.
Organ rears.
Nice mix.

Man On The Moon
Acoustic gtr and bass up front.
Bvox ooo's rears.
Percussion left rear.
Slide gtr middle.
Elec gtr right rear.
Tom on right side.
Mandolin left side.
This song was big, and I enjoyed the movie. I knew nothing about Andy Kaufman before this song.
Bvox sides.
Later bvox rears "maaaan on the mooooon"
Another very good mix.

Nightswimming
I always like this song.
Snippet of orchestra tuning setting up.
Piano up front, spreading to the sides.
Strings in rears. Cello front.
Oboe between the middle of the room and right side.
Really nice.

Find The River
Acoustic guitars all round. Main acoustic left side.
Organ right side.
Piano accordion left rear and front.
Bvox right side towards the rears.
Piano right side.
Another nice mix.

This is a very sombre album in many ways, but it is an essential REM album.
The mix is very good, and works well at highlighting the instruments, whilst also having a balanced immersive effect.

 

Live!


Live album by Carlos Santana and Buddy Miles
Released June 7, 1972
Recorded January 1, 1972
Venue "Sunshine '72" Festival, inside Diamond Head, Honolulu, Hawaii
Genre Psychedelic rock, jam rock, jazz rock, blues rock, jazz funk, funk rock
Length 46:01
Label Columbia
Producer Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles

From December 1971 to April 1972, Carlos Santana and several other members of Santana toured with drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles, a former member of the Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. The resulting live album Live! contained both Santana hits ("Evil Ways") and Buddy Miles hits ("Changes"), plus a 25-minute, side-long jam titled "Free Form Funkafide Filth."

It was not, perhaps, the live album Santana fans had been waiting for, but at this point in its career, the band could do no wrong. The album went into the Top Ten and sold a million copies. [Hey, I bought one].

Personnel
Buddy Miles – vocals, drums, percussion, congas
Carlos Santana – guitar, vocals
Neal Schon – guitar
Bob Hogins – organ, electric piano
Ron Johnson – bass guitar
Greg Errico – drums
Richard Clark – drums, percussion, congas
Coke Escovedo – drums, percussion, timbales
Mike Carabello – percussion, congas
Mingo Lewis – percussion
Victor Pantoja – percussion, congas
Hadley Caliman – flute, saxophone
Luis Gasca – trumpet

Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Marbles" John McLaughlin 4:18
2. "Lava" Buddy Miles 2:10
3. "Evil Ways" Clarence "Sonny" Henry 6:36
4. "Faith Interlude" Miles, Carlos Santana 2:13
5. "Them Changes" Miles 5:50
6. "Free form Funkafide Filth" Greg Errico, Ron Johnson, Miles, Santana 24:54
_______

The Quad SQ LP was released in Japan in 1972 and the US in 1973. But for those of use in the digital age, the surround mix is on a Dutton Vocalion twofer that also includes Buddy Miles: Booger Bear.



While I am going to review them both today, I am going to do them separately. That is because while this one is basically a Santana album with Buddy Miles in the band (or at least that’s the way I have always thought of it), the other one is a Buddy Miles album that has nothing to do with Santana.

Quad mix by Glen Kolotkin

"Marbles"
Starts up with crowd noise in the back, so you might think we are heading for a standard live mix with the soundstage in the front. But no, we’ve got organ right rear, guitar left rear, and mostly reverb in front!!. Timbales start up left front, second guitar right front – We’ve got both Santana and Schon. Then timabales and congas left front and rear, respectively.

"Lava"
Organ right rear, guitar left rear, bass and drums in front. Then a "Marbles" reprise with second guitar right front.

"Evil Ways"
Organ right rear, horns and congas left rear, lead vocals in rear, bass, and drums in front. Backing vocals from Miles also in front. Timbales left front, guitar right front. Crowd noise in rear. Horns move over the right rear. The volume level in the rear is definitely greater than in the front.

"Faith Interlude"
Horns move back to the left again, guitar right front, Miles vocals left front, organ left rear, crowd noises in rear. No percussion at all.

"Them Changes"
Percussion starts up again on left, Miles vocals left front, bass in front, guitar solo left rear, organ solo left rear.

"Free form Funkafide Filth"
An extended jam with jazzy horns, two guitars, and lots of percussion. The bass anchors the front, and drums and timbales and a few Miles vocals are left front. but most of the action is in the back.
____

Not a shining star of the Santana discography. The music isn’t bad, but the live recording sounds a little muddy – I guess it was an outdoor concert. Over half the album is a long improvisational piece. I notice that wiki does not have it listed as one of the Santana live albums. It was recorded and released before Caravanserai, and the jazz influences found on this album carried over to that one, so it can be taken as an early example of the transitions that overtook Santana after the release of their third album. While the surround mix does have discrete mixing all the way around, that seems to accentuate the poor acoustics of the individual tracks. There’s nothing wrong with the mix per se, but I can’t say it sounds especially good (1/2).

 

After the pasting I took last week for not enjoying Aqualung I'm having another listen.

Sitting further forward today.

Yes, I missed the mark on it.
Much like the Roger Waters Amused To Death mix, if you aren't sitting forward it alters the soundfield considerably.

So yes it is a much better mix than I stated last week. I still don't find it as amazing as many here, but that is always going to be a subjective thing.

Apologies for failing to hit the nail on the head with this one.

 

Booger Bear

Studio album by The Buddy Miles Express
Recorded At – Record Plant, Sausalito
Released 1973
Genre Soul, blues, rock
Label Columbia

Booger Bear was an album released by The Buddy Miles Express in 1973. It was released in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. It made the Billboard charts in 1974.

Personnel
Buddy Miles Express
Donny Beck ARP Synthesizer, Clavinet, Organ, Piano (Electric), Vocals (Background)
Stephen Busfield Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Buddy Miles Bass, Drums, Guitar, Vocals

with
Bill Atwood Trumpet
Jo Baker Vocals (Background)
The Campbell-Kurban String Section Strings
Bob Ferrara Sax (Tenor)
Bob Hogans Organ
Mingo Lewis Congas, Percussion
Pat O'Hara Trombone
Ann Sampson Vocals (Background)
Peter Welker Trumpet

Track listing
1 Booger Bear 5:25
2 Thinking Of You 4:22
3 Why 3:50
4 You Really Got Me 4:53
5 Love 3:50
6 United Nations Stomp 4:40
7 Crazy Love 3:09
8 You Are Everything 4:07
9 Louie's Blues 7:27

Total 41:37
_______

The surround mix is on a Dutton Vocalion twofer that also includes Santana and Miles Live!.



I am reviewing these in separate posts. That is because while the first one is basically a Santana album with Buddy Miles in the band (or at least that’s the way I have always thought of it), this one is a Buddy Miles album that has nothing to do with Santana.

Quad mix by Michael Stone

“Booger Bear”
The bass in the right front seems to be the lead instrument. Then you’ve horns right rear, organ left rear, drums left, guitar in front. No vocals, and I can’t really call it anything other than a really nice instrumental rock song.

“Thinking of You”
This is much more of a pop song than the first. Actually sounds a bit like Rick Derringer. Drums right rear, horns left, rhythm guitar rear left front, lead vocals front, lead guitar front left, female backing vocals right front.

“Why”
Blues song. Starts out with a little percussion left rear, then guitar right rear, organ left front, lead vocals front, then horns all the way around.

“You Really Got Me”
Kinks cover. Bass left front, organ right front, lead vocals and drums in front, horns in the rear. Guitar solo right front.

“Love”
Back to the blues. Guitars both left and right rear, drums, bass, organ and lead vocals in front. Really nice guitar work on this one.

“United Nations Stomp”
Now this sounds like it might be a Band of Gypsys song. Guitar right rear, organ left rear, drums left front, bass right front, vocals and 2nd guitar in front.

“Crazy Love”
Nearly the same mix - guitar right rear, organ left rear, drums left front, guitar right front, vocals and bass in front. More tasty guitar work, but it’s all on the right side this time

“You Are Everything”
Cover of Stylistics R&B ballad. Left and right guitars in rear, bass right front, drums left front, vocals in front. Either Miles is singing high pitched, or someone else is lead.

“Louie's Blues”
Really basic blues jam starts out with bar noises in left rear speaker that gradually get louder over the first 30 seconds, then drums and bass start up in front, guitars left front and rear, organ right front, a little percussion right rear. Organ on right spills into back speaker.
____

It’s not the reason I bought it, but technically this is the headliner for the twofer. It seems that I have to admit that it is the better of the two. The bass line on the title track and the guitar work on “Love” are really the only things to get excited about, but it's all still pretty good nonetheless. The surround mix is discrete, keeps the rear busy, and it sounds good too (1/3).

 

Its probably cuz ur using smaller satellite speakers???

The first thing I did when setting up my system for multi channel music was get me another set of full range tower speakers...it makes a big difference having 4 full range speakers!

 

I don't know if it makes that much difference for the Aqualung mixes, but my new system has my old front speakers (Piega S4s) in the back. They aren't really full range, which is why I have left and right subwoofers up front too - but they are much better than anything I've ever had in the back before. It especially helps with old quad recordings that sometimes put bass in the back.

 

Legend


Greatest hits album by
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Released May 1984
Recorded 1972–1983
Genre Roots reggae
Length 51:01
Label Island, Tuff Gong (Reissue)

Legend is a compilation album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released in May 1984 by Island Records. It is a greatest hits collection of singles in its original vinyl format and is the best-selling reggae album of all-time, with over 15 million copies sold in the United States and an estimated 28 million copies sold globally.[1][2][3][failed verification] In 2003, the album was ranked number 46 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.[4]

As of January 2020, it has spent a total of 609 nonconsecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart—the second longest run in history.

(as nobody could be bothered to breakdown the band credits, due to this being a compilation taken from over several years, here is the band's line up historically. So those that want to know who played what can check the dates and line anything up that they want to)

• Bob Marley – rhythm guitar, lead vocals (1963–1981; died 1981)
• Peter Tosh – lead guitar, keyboard, vocals (1963–1974; died 1987)
• Bunny Wailer – percussion, vocals (1963–1974)
• Junior Braithwaite – vocals (1963–1964; died 1999)
• Cherry Smith – backing vocals (1963–1966; died 2008)
• Beverley Kelso – backing vocals (1963–1965)
• Constantine Walker – backing vocals (1966–1967)
• Aston Barrett – bass (1970–1981)
• Carlton Barrett – drums, percussion (1970–1981; died 1987)
• Earl Lindo – keyboards (1973, 1978–1981; died 2017)
• Tyrone Downie – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (1974–1981)
• Rita Marley – backing vocals (1974–1981)
• Marcia Griffiths – backing vocals (1974–1981)
• Judy Mowatt – backing vocals (1974–1981)
• Al Anderson – guitar (1974–1975, 1978–1981)
• Alvin Patterson – percussion (1975–1981)
• Earl "Chinna" Smith – guitar (1975–1976)
• Donald Kinsey – guitar (1975–1976)
• Junior Marvin – guitar, backing vocals (1977–1981)

1 Is This Love 3:50
2 No Woman No Cry 3:51
3 Could You Be Loved 3:57
4 Three Little Birds 3:00
5 Buffalo Soldier 4:18
6 Get Up Stand Up 3:17
7 Stir It Up 5:30
8 Easy Skanking 2:57
9 One Love / People Get Ready 2:52
10 I Shot The Sheriff 4:40
11 Waiting In Vain 4:16
12 Redemption Song 3:48
13 Satisfy My Soul 4:31
14 Exodus 7:40
15 Jamming 3:31
16 Punky Reggae Party 6:52
--------------------------------------------------
Whether one is onto 5.1 or not, to me this is an essential album, and unless you absolutely abhor reggae music you need to have this album in some form.
The cd layout is very different to the bluray, and also the marvelous live version of No Woman No Cry is not on the bluray, instead we have the studio version. I assume this would be because they weren't able to fin multitrack tapes for the superior live version.... but it is still very good.
The cd tracklist is
1. "Is This Love" Bob Marley Kaya (1978) 3:50
2. "No Woman, No Cry" (Live - 7" Edit) Marley, Vincent Ford Live! (1975) 4:02
3. "Could You Be Loved" Marley Uprising (1980) 3:57
4. "Three Little Birds" Marley Exodus (1977) 3:00
5. "Buffalo Soldier" (7" Edit) Marley, Noel Williams Confrontation (1983) 2:33
6. "Get Up, Stand Up" Marley, Peter Tosh Burnin' (1973) 3:17
7. "Stir It Up" (Edit) Marley Catch a Fire (1973) 3:38
8. "One Love / People Get Ready" Marley, Curtis Mayfield Exodus (1977) 2:52
9. "I Shot the Sheriff" (Edit) Marley Burnin' (1973) 3:46
10. "Waiting in Vain" Marley Exodus (1977) 4:16
11. "Redemption Song" Marley Uprising (1980) 3:48
12. "Satisfy My Soul" Marley Kaya (1978) 4:30
13. "Exodus" (7" Edit) Marley Exodus (1977) 4:16
14. "Jamming" (7" Edit) Marley Exodus (1977) 3:17
So you will also see that on the bluray we get the full length version of the songs and not just the single edits also.

The version of the bluray I bought was a cd/bluray, slim book style copy and the cd is the same tracklisting as the bluray, but it has the live version of No Woman No Cry.

I've had this set for just over four years now, and I really enjoy it, after I got over the disappointment of the live/studio swap, it still remains a favourite album, and I am looking forward to revisiting it.

cd/bluray version
discogs
US pressing - three from about $10 - two from China .... 1 from Ireland for about $40 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend (The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers) (CD, US, 2014) For Sale | Discogs
UK/Europe - three from $25 - all from China ..... Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend (The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers) (CD, UK & Europe, 2014) For Sale | Discogs
Japan pressing - four, all from Japan, only one that ships to US at about $64 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend (The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers) (CD, Japan, 2014) For Sale | Discogs

Bluray pure audio version
discogs
UK/Europe pressing - a few available from about $20 (none appear to be from China) Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend (The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers) (Blu-ray, UK & Europe, 2013) For Sale | Discogs
Japan Pressing - 3 from Japan, all new and sealed from $110 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend (The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers) (Blu-ray, Japan, 2013) For Sale | Discogs

That is terribly disappointing, this is one of the bigger selling albums of all time, and should be readily available..... I do hold on to some kind of hope that Marley's studio albums will get some kind of anniversary release with 5.1 mixes though... however misguided that may be ....

5.1 mix Bob Clearmountain

Is This Love
Percussion either side rears, sounds perfect.
Organ stabs in the rears.
Really nice sub assist on the bass.
This all sounds really beautiful and clear.
The ooo backing vocal is up front, but there are bvox in the rears also.
Horns come in, in the rears.
Clearmountain really excelled here great mix and sound.

No Woman No Cry
Beautiful sounding sub assisted bass up front.
Organ in the rears.
Tacet rhythm guitar from left.
Bob's iconic vocals are focused in the centre channel.
I have ground accustomed to this version and it is very good, but the live version is just superb.
Lead gtr right rear.
Really nice balanced mix.

Could You Be Loved
Again beautiful bass.
Tuned sticks with reverb left side, effect send right.
D6 front right. Gtr front left. Riff in the middle.
This hasn't got the super immersion of the first two tracks, but a really nice depth of ambience, and again the sound is great.

Three Little Birds
Hats left rear.
Piano right rear.
Bvox rears.
Gtr right side
Organ across the middle.
Another excellent sounding balanced mix.

Buffalo Soldier
Horns in the rears.
Percussion rears.
Piano right rear.
Bvox sides, closer to the back.
The bass yet again is beautiful.
This is a great sounding album and mix.
Guitar left side.

Get Up Stand Up
Guitar left rear, piano left side.
Organ right rear.
Percussion all round.
These are really excellent mixes, and pure audio here isn't just a tag, it really does sound beautiful.

Stir It Up
Tacet guitar front left.
Another guitar left side.
What I assume is a synth making the main way sounding bit, has some movement, and a bit of a zooming effect around the sound field.
Little percussive effects in various locations.
A lead gtr left side with feeds across.
Again that bass.
Some really nice side to side effects with the synth.
Lead gtr left side feeding to the right.
Clearmountain still has great ears.
Another marvelous mix.

Easy Skanking
Piano right rear. Doubled left front?
Cymbals rears.
Gtr left side
Bass excellent again.
Slightly unusual, but very immersive.

One Love / People Get Ready
Keys rear. Electric piano front.
Gtr right side.
Vocal reverb/delay rears.

I Shot The Sheriff
Piano right side/rear
Organ left side/rear.
Wah gtr just left of left front.
Lead gtr front.
Counter rhythm gtr just right of right front.
We end with that great bass and drums up front.

Waiting In Vain
Rhythm gtr and piano right side/rear.
Organ/synth? left side.
Melody instrument right rear.
Organ left rear.
Lead gtr right rear.
Hats left rear.
Another excellent sounding mix, again very immersive.

Redemption Song
I always loved this song.
The vocal has reverb sends feeding the rears.
The acoustic feeds into the sides.
Full sounding, but with much less instrumentation, obviously a different approach.

Satisfy My Soul
Horns on rears.
Percussion sides and rears.
Gtrs either side.
And again that bass.
Piano front/side left.
These mixes really show how good these arrangements are.
The arpeggio guitar kind of rolls across the middle in the less dense section.
Another great mix.

Exodus
Tacet guitar right front.
Another guitar left front.
Horns in the rears.
Percussion rears.
Beautiful bass again... this whole disc has great bass. No overpowering wood, and enough sub to give a really warm thick sound.
The way this track builds into the surround is really well done.
Organ ? Right side.
This is such a great groove. I always feel like it could just keep going.
A building, swelling, pulsing song, with a mix to match.
Vocoder right side.
There are some horns up front too.
This mix is excellent also.

Jamming
Percussion in rears really effective again.
Who knows what that oo oo sound is on a lot of these tracks, it's very effective, but I am no reggae expert.
Guitar left side.
Guitar right side also.
The jammin' jammin' jammin' alternates on the rears, and is very effective.
Piano covers right side.
Really great mix

Punky Reggae Party
Guitar left rear.
Piano right rear.
Organ right side.
Percussion all round.
That bass, so cool.
Organ across middle?
Another excellent mix.

This is fantastic, I highly recommend getting one of those cd/bluray sets from Europe at about $20 while they are still available. I really just don't know about the Chinese copies .....
Either way, if you like or love reggae, this is essential.

 

I don't see why the speakers would make a difference on that disc as opposed to others really, and in spite of them being smaller speakers they are good speakers. The other thing is they are all matched, so there should be good equilibrium.
The chances of the wife letting me put towers all around is pretty much nil. She still complains about the speaker wire. Also it is not an ideal room in terms of full sized speakers.... it is my living room.
Ideally I would have a purpose specific music room, but I am a working class schmo, and I have what I can afford in terms of house and equipment. I doubt I will ever have my studio set up again, with matched studio monitors all around.... such is life.

 

Well glad in allot of ways I'm alone...no waf factor as I'm a girl...shhs...don't tell no one...n I'm poor too...try living these days on one income...debt slave poor working class shmoo. N I'll make those 2 extra speakers fit...which I did...u need to get her a lil more involved w the music stuff maybe let her pick out ur next multi channel disc?

 

Although my tweeters match around, it really isn't about that, it is about each channel being as close to full range as possible. If a musical signal is designed for a certain channel, and through bass management you cut that signal in half and redirect that signal to the other side of the room, there is a compromise. It will make a difference in every good mix but why some mixes aren't affected as much is tough to put my finger on.

 

SOAF...the new politically correct term for 2020?

 

Soaf ???

 

Significant Other Acceptance Factor

 

I just listened to Amused to Death 5.1 this afternoon, and sat forward as you advised and it is better. Something about it is disappointing and I can't put my finger on it...it's like the effects and non musical sounds are panned well, and occasionally the panning of the vocals is very appealing, but I am left with a feeling that it could have been done better (for such an "immersive" idea for an album theme).

Also, I had immediately preceded it with Abbey Road in Dolby Atmos, which is a wonderful mix but very loud. I was 5 mins into the Waters album before I decided I had to whack up the overall volume a lot more to get the benefit.

Aqualung will be top of my list next Sunday, thanks for the reviews.

 

For the record, just in case it seemed that way, I wasn't complaining about my wife ... she has a ton of health issues, and struggles most days, so I have no issue with compromises on things like speakers and stuff....

 

I would certainly prefer a more full surround mix with Amused To Death, but initially I thought it had nothing going on. It is only really since doing this thread that I have realised that on many discs the forward and back positioning is terribly important ....
and it kind of makes sense, because we don't really know the positioning of the mixer when they are putting it together, so a foot forward and a foot back can/could/does make a big difference ... again back when I had my studio, I was in a rolling office chair, so positioning was much easier, and due to it being purpose built, more functional. I guess I just got used to being lazy and sitting back lol

 

I think most modern 5.1 mixes are intended for home theater systems that usually have small speakers in the rear - whether it's accentuated reverb or discrete mixing, it seems to be most higher frequency instruments in the back. Drums and bass usually anchor the soundstage in front. Also, since there's a channel specifically intended for bass, it's already been managed.

OTOH, the old quad recordings were mixed for systems with four full range speakers with no separate channel for bass, and they often put low frequencies in the back, and they often don't pay any attention to soundstaging.

 

She prefers to watch tv
She likes music, but can't really sit and listen to it ... I'm not really sure why ... I think it is an attention thing. If we have a friend over on a Saturday she likes that I put music on, but otherwise it is tv.... She sometimes likes when I put video concerts on.
I've worked the angles, I know the playing field, I buy her cd's for her car

 

I doubt that any of the good 5.1 mixes were consciously made with the intentions of small rears. Randomly chose a track from one of your favorite mixed songs, and put it in Audacity for a visual of the waveforms. I would bet the fronts and rears (sides) look balanced.

On another note, I wish someone would manually record the top channels in a 5.1.2 setup to see how full range the .2 are? The Kraftwerk 3D disc for example...

 

Another point to consider is that several of the major labels in the '70s were delivering their quad product on matrix-encoded LPs (the consumer would play their quad LP through a decoding box, allowing it to 'un-fold' back into an approximation of the original discrete 4-channel master). Certain concessions had to be made at the mixing stage to accommodate this process. For example, most quad mixes on the CBS family of labels (Columbia, Epic, Philadelphia International, etc) usually have mono elements hard-panned into the back corners - this was done because anything panned between the rear speakers would be 180 degrees out-of-phase when passed through the matrix encoder, so playing back the LP in mono would result in that information being completely canceled out. If you play the Art Garfunkel Angel Clare Quadraphonic LP in mono, the backing vocals in "I Shall Sing" will disappear.