Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

As I said, I was evaluating the audio-only tracks entirely on their own. (I imagine that I'll write something about the concert at some point for the Saturday thread.) There's no question that Where We Stood is a fantastic bargain and I know that both Mark and @riskylogic have given it props for that. But then ... the XTC remixes have also been fantastic bargains yet I don't think that there's one of them that's really much to my taste. I think that we are all often carried away with having so much material to immerse ourselves in but - while for sure this disc earns its place in my collection - I don't think it's in the first tier of surround discs musically or technically. When there are already two blu-rays from this band that I prefer and neither of them would probably make it to my top twenty surround purchases I think it sort of makes sense for me to give this a “good not great” label. If I were making a list of value-for-money discs it might well make top ten.

 

The concert might have the best surround mix of all them. I wouldn't put any of them in my top twenty either though - Versions of the Truth gets that honor. One of these days I'm going to start a top twenty surround discs thread.

 

Yes, I played the bonus album from Versions again the other day and I really like it ... in a “not just good for surround” way. I've been playing more The Pineapple Thief this evening as well, which is unusual if I've listened to something closely earlier in the day. It helps that it's the sort of music I can stick on and my wife is happy to listen to it (which, God knows, is not true of much of the music I like!).

 

Bit behind with the recommendations but got round to this one last night and WOW. I thought I knew Tubular Bells having grown up with it for so long but this mix is fantastic, bringing out so much detail. I never realised how many cross references there were between the sections, in detailed instrumentation that is finally revealed. And I must have had a bias over the years for playing side 1, which is clearly much better known than side 2, but in fact I found the second half even more revelatory, such beautiful floaty, pastoral harmonies before it rocks out again.

Mike himself has done a fabulous job with this mix. I have had this one for a while (along with Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn, I think Incantations is not in 5.1 so I gave up collecting the reissues around then...?) but for some reason hadn't sat down to really listen to the surround mix for a few years. Highly recommended.

 

I was quite impressed by Björk's Volta when it came out but I never listen to it and I realise why as soon as I start peeling that sticker off the packaging: the darned thing's too difficult to open! So, anyway, it must be a decade since I've heard this one so it's very much going to be like hearing it for the first time.

1. “Earth Intruders”. Frenetic and not entirely likeable. Lots of homemade percussion but also “phat” synth tones. All channels firing but no coherent soundstage or natural acoustic. Stressful.
2. “Wonderlust”. This one is great in surround. The brass arrangement (featuring, one assumes, additional ship horns in addition to an all-female brass section) is a real sonic treat. When the additional Björk's come in left and right they have real impact not always felt on recordings such as The Pineapple Thief where vocals are constantly being channeled like that. The repeated trumpet figure near the end is telling.
3. “The Dull Flame Of Desire”. I like Anohni's voice (the album credits inadvertently dead-name her!) and it blends well with Björk's on a song again made sonically enticing by an (all-male) brass section. This is a good example of Björk's unusual attitude to vocal melody, with the voices seeming hardly to relate to the ostensible chord structure until quite late in the song when they lock in and the drums double-time.
4. “Innocence”. Boldly experimental with a Hip-Hop immediacy to the samples. Doesn't really land for me until we get the multi-tracked Björks. Port ambience at the end.
5. “I See Who You Are”. Pípá and tuned percussion: I like it when she uses these sort of timbres, especially on this sort of brittle lovesong.
6. “Vertibrae By Vertibrae”. Echoes of Bond. Highly dramatic. The samples are (deliberately I assume) unpleasantly saturated between verses, which is an interesting effect. As the song progresses the samples become more obviously manipulated and artifacted. Rain ambience.
7. “Pneumonia”. A third brass section plays a gentle, respiratory figure through the verse and then something more harmonically adventurous over the second section. Some of Björk's most intimate and focused vocals.
8. “Hope”. Kora and manual percussion coupled with electronic percussion for a more upbeat and cheerful feel. Bass synth very active in the subwoofer. Port ambience.
9. “Declare Independence”. Probably the most recognisable track from the album due to its scrambled, glitchy invocation of the spirit of Wendy James. A goose-stepping march for hyperactive toddlers, maybe?
10. “My Juvenile”. Clavichord and Anohni. One of the better tracks for channeling effects.

I admire Björk more than I enjoy her and this is certainly an admirable album but, despite the impressive sonics, the surround mix is not entirely convincing for the most part because there's very little sense of a real acoustic ... or even a heightened, unreal acoustic. It's rather like being immersed in an uncomfortably hot bath at times with sound sloshing around in an encompassing, undefined way. (Sure there are the usual channeling effects but they generally occur as passages a few seconds long in a soundworld that is full-on and not always enjoyable.) By contrast, musically the album is quite strong with some excellent work on the ballads.

I have mixed feelings about this one because I quite often feel that Björk surpasses my limitations as a listener ... but there are albums by her that I prefer and she is only a comparatively marginal taste for me. If I were a professional reviewer I'd just give it 10/10 and shout that everyone else should listen to this album!

 

Yea I forgot to mention that. The packaging is very artsy, but really not very user friendly lol

 

I've been thinking that might be fun but - having heard The Future Bites and knowing that SW has more Atmos remixes in the works - I've got a feeling that a lot of places in my top twenty would be “TBA”.

 

It would be a list that needs to be revised periodically.

 

I'll say!

Let me know if you do it and I'll have a go myself ... I'll be interested to see how much the lists of various users have in common. Off the top of my head I think we're going to see at least one album by King Crimson, Jethro Tull and Steven Wilson in every list.

 

Yea, for me, probably every second time I put a disc on lol

 

Early Americans

This is a studio album by Jane Ira Bloom that won the Grammy for Best Surround Album (now called the Grammy for Best Immersive Audio Album) in 2017. I added this to a shopping list on Amazon when it won but it hung on there until I noticed that the Blu-Ray is going for less than £12 on Amazon.co.uk, at which point I pulled the trigger and this is my first audition of it.



Recorded at Avatar Studios, July 16 & 17 2015.
5.1 Surround Mix by Jim Anderson at Skywalker Studios
5.1 Surround Mastering by Darcy Proper at Wisseloord Studios, Netherlands. Andersen & Proper also shared the Surround Grammy in 201s for the album Modern Cool by Patricia Barber. [Note, Darcy Proper was also Nominated for the Surround Grammy along with Steven Wilson for Porcupine Tree’s The Incident.]

Personnel are: Jane Ira Bloom (Soprano Saxophone)

Mark Helias (Double Bass)
Bobby Previte (Drums)​

Of those three I only own an album (more or less accidentally) by Previte. In any case, if you haven't guessed from the instrumentation, this is an acoustic Jazz album through & through and all but one piece is a Bloom original. The Blu-Ray menu is the sort of lazy, utilitarian sort of thing you get on classical blu-rays and the packaging is a cheap, two fold digipack.

1. “Song Patrol”. The sides (it makes no sense to term them rears for this sort of recording) and subwoofer channel fire all the time on this album. The piece is cheerful and song-like with a massive saxophone sound; none of the three instruments seems to be “located” particularly in space, and the acoustic has little short reverberation so it's like hearing them on a large, empty stage.
2. “Dangerous Time”. Modal ... troubled but by no means aggressive or avant garde. You don't hear clatter from her keys, which I would expect if this was close mic’d. The bass has lovely, erm, bass extension but is unwilling or unable to steal focus from the saxophone. Previte is mainly using brushes so the drums are also unobtrusive.
3. “Nearly (for Kenny Wheeler)”. Solo saxophone: a rather mournful soliloquy with the reverberation suggesting something like a church space.
4. “Hips & Sticks”. More upbeat with the busy drums channeled left & right while the bass keeps up a repetitive ostinato. Drum break!
5. “Singing The Triangle”. Bass feature into drum break! (The bass sounds great when it gets the spotlight.)
6. “Other Eyes”. Just bass and saxophone on this ballad; some air around both instruments, making this the most “audiophile” track so far. Yearning, wistful. Best track so far I'd say.
7. “Rhyme or Rhythm”. Huh ... almost a Blaxploitation feel to this one. The sax lines have almost an alto sound to them and then there seems to be some sort of octave pedal or harmoniser being used as well(?) Fun.
8. “Mind Gray River”. Lovely playing & tone from Bloom on this slow, bluesy ballad.
9. “Cornets Of Paradise”. As the title suggests, there is something rather “trumpety” about this one, at the start at least though it sounds more like high clarinet towards the end.
10. “Say More”. Mournful & formless with bass & drums giving only delicate responses to the saxophone and no sense of a backbeat. It sounds as though maybe Helias is bowing below the bridge or something in a couple of moments here.
11. “Gateway To Paradise”. Busy, eager drumming.
12. “Big Bill”. Songlike mid-tempo number.
13. “Somewhere”. Yes, that “Somewhere”. She plays it unaccompanied trying to wring everything she can out of every note but I think that it could have used some accompaniment. Towards the end she puts in three little spread chords to suggest the harmony. Lots of reverb.

Overall, this is about as mainstream as a saxophone Jazz trio album gets. It shares the ECM aesthetic: music somehow emerging from an instrument with little sense of the physicality of the instrument itself or the room in which the music was played. I would have appreciated more sense of the breath of the performer and her interaction with the instrument but that's just me. I was fully prepared for this to be a listen-once disc filed away in the library against the day someone mentions it and I have to winkle it out again but I think it's a little bit better than that musically and I could see this getting occasional auditions when that sort of meditative album is needed. In terms of Surround it's what you would expect from an award-winner in this genre.

For the price, keen followers of this thread (and surround music in general) should probably pick it up but I think that many participants in this thread like more sonic fireworks than you're going to get here.

 

So in terms of surround, it sounds like the Hiromi album to some degree, where it is mainly very well mic'd and recorded, and the surround mix is a really nice sound space/ full live feel, rather than placed separate multitrack style mixing?

I like that too, it generally works well, when it's well done.
It may have to give it a try.
Cheers mate

 

I haven't heard the Hiromi but it certainly isn't multitracked except in the sense that they use multiple microphones on the drums so that they can channel them left/right. They're going for a natural ambience and, yes, the saxophone has a very spacious sound. I don't want to sell it too hard but, as the old salesman line goes, why would I need to when these things sell themselves?

 

Okay, Devin Townsend’s Empath. I've often been intrigued in Townsend but the only album I owned by him was Z2 which I didn't really give much of a chance. This isn't my first time listening to Empath ... in fact I've owned it for a while. I've given it maybe one and a half auditions but it's a full-on experience so I've given it a rest and am coming back fresh.

1. “Castaway”. Calm before the storm. It sounds like a demo for a Strymon Timeline or something at the start, lapping water, various string instruments then the gentle chorale, more breaking waves. Hey, fool me once Mr. Townsend ... I know what's coming.
2. “Genesis”. Everything and the kitchen sink, samples, guitars, orchestral keys, blast beats, manic marching, fairground music, disco. It's all pretty fatiguing but I'd have been all in at sixteen.
3. “Spirits Will Collide”. This one's a lot easier ... a great big hug in the form of an anthemic march with choir and orchestra. Tongue-in cheek presumably but to be honest does it matter? The bass extension is enormous, as is the soundstage.
4. “Evermore”. After a very heavy start there is an acoustic guitar interlude with voice through a high-pass filter and then we're in Rock Opera territory. The Wall Of Sound production is relentless. After the chicken(!) there's quite a Zappaesque section but to be honest trying to catch these sections as they go by is a thankless task.
5. “Sprite”. A children's story in verse leads us to a rather Proggy song with shifting time signatures and a big waltz chorus. Spacey synths lead to a powerful bass riff and marimba tones. Then we're in horror territory for
6. “Hear Me”. This is the heaviest song on the album and the one I remember liking most. The video is great and really quite powerful: I love the “Breathe” cue card. The soundstage is also about a mile wide.
7. “Why?”. Musical theatre pastiche with a choir and orchestra. This song's a grower: I'm enjoying it a lot more this time.
8. “Borderlands”. This is the long centrepiece of the album. Starts as some sort of Pacific Reggae but roams all over the place again including marches, snatches of post-bop saxophone, steel drums, quasi-Ambient calm. After the refrain we get some more relative tranquility and a miasma of synth pads.
   
9. “Requiem”. This is labelled as instrumental but the choir is clearly singing a text. All very lush and heavenly either way.
10. “Singularity - Adrift”. A reprise of the “Castaway” opening resets the album and prepares us for the big suite. An intimate, rather distant acoustic guitar in the centre channel and some gentle singing backed by choir and orchestra. I'm appreciating the restraint here in such an excessive album and it makes the rise to the climax more effective.
11. “Singularity - I Am I”. Back to overwhelming mass again, more aggressive, march-like, industrial-orchestral. Big percussion.
12. “Singularity - There Be Monsters”. After a bombastic orchestral prelude this becomes the most Metal track on the album, with a lot of Thrash elements, death growls, blast beats and a bona fide guitar solo.
13. “Singularity - Curious Gods”. A track bathed in unexpected light and optimism suddenly gives way to a brief Jazz Fusion episode into a fairly spacious (and spacey) section backed by a news interview about killer robots.
14. “Singularity - Silicon Scientists”. Although this is mainly a spoken word, narrative section there's plenty in the music to back that up, including an electronica feel and the obligatory orchestral elements.
15. “Singularity - Here Comes The Sun”. The big joyful finale with a strong Progressive Metal feel.

Townsend's Gesamtkunstwerk is overpowering as an audio experience, as a video experience, even as a book. Although it's “only” 74 minutes it feels like twice that, especially since the second half recapitulates the structure of the first half. I definitely tried to critique the audio too early and my notes reflect that by being almost entirely about the music, but I'm not sure how much that would change with time. The audio is everything channelled everywhere all the time. While I love a lot of music that is not a million miles from this (notably Foetus) I find the saturated production style and comparative absence of acoustic instruments pretty hard on the ears. A little would go a long way. [But - big proviso - I'm listening to surround in headphones and that may make a world of difference to how I perceive this particular album. The equivalent sound pressures are pretty high.]

If you like the album I can't see why you wouldn't want the advantages that surround brings which include three (maybe four) additional channels of the same thing that you get in the first two. “More is more better.”

 

HOLST:
THE PLANETS / STRAUSS:
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA 1971

DigiPack / Blu-ray Audio / Blu-ray + CDDeutsche Grammophon | 1971 | 76 min | Not rated | Apr 06, 2018



Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Audio
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0 (192 kHz, 24-bit)
Music: LPCM 2.0 (192kHz, 24-bit)

Subtitles
None

Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD-25, 1 CD)

Packaging
DigiPack

William Steinberg's famous readings of Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra and Holst's The Planets newly remastered at 24-bit/192kHz from the original 4-track tapes and presented on Blu-ray Audio in 4.0 Surround + CD in DigiPack format. These recordings remain mementos of Steinberg's brief tenure as the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Music Director. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first performance of "The Planets". Includes notes on Steinberg & the BSO and an essay

The Planets Op. 32
BR-1 Mars, The Bringer Of War. 6:37
BR-2 Venus, The Bringer Of Peace 7:25
BR-3 Mercury, The Winged Messenger 3:59
BR-4 Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jollity. 7:59
BR-5 Saturn, The Bringer Of Old Age. 7:45
BR-6 Uranus, The Magician. 5:24
BR-7 Neptune, The Mystic. 6:54
Also Sprach Zarathustra Op. 30
BR-8 Einleitung 1:59
BR-9 Von Den Hinterwelden 3:15
BR-10 Von Der Grossen Schnsucht 1:42
BR-11 Von Den Freuden Und Leidenschaften 1:56
BR-12 Das Grablied 1:57
BR-13 Von Der Wissenschaft 4:12
BR-14 Der Genesende 4:40
BR-15 Das TanzliedViolin [Violin Solo] – Joseph Silverstein 6:33
BR-16 Nachtwandlerlied 3:42
The Planets Op. 32
1 Mars, The Bringer Of War. 6:37
2 Venus, The Bringer Of Peace 7:25
3 Mercury, The Winged Messenger 3:59
4 Jupiter, The Bringer Of Jollity. 7:59
5 Saturn, The Bringer Of Old Age. 7:45
6 Uranus, The Magician. 5:24
7 Neptune, The Mystic. 6:54
Also Sprach Zarathustra Op. 30
8 Einleitung 1:59
9 Von Den Hinterwelden 3:15
10 Von Der Grossen Schnsucht 1:42
11 Von Den Freuden Und Leidenschaften 1:56
12 Das Grablied 1:57
13 Von Der Wissenschaft 4:12
14 Der Genesende 4:40
15 Das TanzliedViolin [Violin Solo] – Joseph Silverstein 6:33
16 Nachtwandlerlied 3:42

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love some classical music, I am no expert, and when it comes to 5.1 it gets very difficult for those of us who like surround, because of the weird mentality in classical music that one dimensional stereo is essentially the only way t should be heard.
Firstly, it is nice to hear a well recorded orchestra, with ambient rear speakers, it gives the music a little bit of air and space.
The thing is though, the music should be recorded from the conductors perspective, at the very least, with a 180 degree spread of instruments, just like in real life. Personally I feel that even that is limiting, but if we need to stand on ceremony to appease the traditionalists, then 180 degree, in all reality, should be praised as the true natural way for an orchestra to be presented. the way an orchestra is laid out around the conductor, is essentially the way an orchestra should be set out around the listener, and it seems preposterous to a musical heathen like me, to accept anything less.
Some how the majority of classical surround recordings are almost dogmatically recorded in two mic's and set up as stereo recordings with ambient rears.

I believe that @Sordel is going to be reviewing some classical recordings for us in the coming weeks and I look forward to hearing what is available that is in real surround, and not the hobbled stereo with an ambient track surround that apparently the majority of classical listeners believe is the only acceptable way for classical music to be presented.

I essentially have been stabbing wildly in the dark trying to find some decent classical surround and really I have been failing. Being spurred on by a thread about "surround gimmick or not" recently I read hundreds of reviews of classical recordings, trying to find some real surround, and hopefully I have found two. This one, and Mozart Violin concertos, which will hopefully be arriving tomorrow.

Anyway, I am most certainly no expert on classical music, like most other music, it is just something that I enjoy listening to, so I am very much looking forward to Sordel's coming reviews, and hopefully this somewhat neglected side of my music collection can get some bolstering..... well when I recover from having spent way too much on music in the first two months of this year ..... smh ... anyway

Here we have
Conductor: William Steinberg
Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
Choir: (On Jupiter I believe) New England Conservatory Chorus - Conducted by Lorna Cooke deVaron
Producer Karl Faust, Thomas Mowrey
Recording Supervisor: Rainer Brock
Engineer: Gunter Hermanns

From everything that I read this is a quad recording. I assume that it isn't so much mixed in surround, but recorded for surround (quad) by Rainer Brock and Gunter Hermanns ... so that's all I have for you really.

This bluray is available around the place, and apparently, to the best of my knowledge the quad soundtrack is in 192/24, so I assume that audiophile types will likely really like it.

Amazon has it for around $25 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079B3587V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Discogs has it for around $25 Gustav Holst • Richard Strauss, William Steinberg • Boston Symphony Orchestra – The Planets • Also Sprach Zarathustra (2018, Blu-ray)
Deep Discount has it for about $25 (10% discount offer when you go there also) Planets / Strauss,R: Also Sprach Zarathustra on DeepDiscount
Import Cd has it for about $21 HOLST / BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / STEINBERG Planets / Strauss,R: Also Sprach Zarathustra With Blu-ray Audio, Digipack Packaging on ImportCDs

Classical website sales seem to be somewhat more expensive being around the $35-$55 mark .. I am not really sure why.

Anyhow, I don't have much to really add, because as I say, I am not expert in this field and I would just be waffling. I am looking forward to hearing this though, so lets get at it.

The disc is somewhat minimalist in presentation, with the cd cover background- a start button- track selectuon- and audio selection... so I'm pretty sure that they are focused on the music content .

We open with the classical version of heavy metal with a clucking staccato rhythm and then layers of melody weaving through each other.

This is Mars - the bringer of war
We certainly have all speakers delivering different sound spaces of the orchestra, and is definitely immersive.
The tympani, and snare appear to be up front, with different sections of the winds either side rears.
But essentially it is difficult to break it down this way. With four mics covering the orchestra to create the quad mix, we obviously have audio bleed from one channel to the next, but there is distinct separation.
We have distinct sections of the orchestra coming from different spots, but the orchestra and the speakers are balanced, and to my untrained ear, this sounds really very good.

Venus - the bringer of peace.
We have a gentle introduction here, and we can distinguish individual instruments. I am not going to embarrass myself, and try and stayed what each is....
Some winds up front, a violin towards the left rear.
A wall of strings come in the rear.
Another violin towards the right rear.

This is much more the way an orchestra should be heard to me.
If I am in a concert hall, sure, sound up front with reflection is natural, but I am on my sofa at home, and something different is in order, and that something, is something like this.

We have sort of call and response bits and pieces, where one section plays a melody up front, and another replies with a counter melody in the rears, or towards one of the rears.

This is a piece of music, I am not particularly familiar with, but it it extremely good, and the sound and mix is superb.

Mercury - the winged messenger
We have a violin line left rear.
There is a high pitched tone right rear.
A violin and a flute play a melody up front...
This track is a kind of playful joyous type thing that, of course, builds in its dynamics, and then mellows again.
I wish I had my twenty year old ears... this is really some excellent work, all round.
I think celeste dances around the front right.
A flurry of winds seems to dance across the rears.

Jupiter - the bringer of jollity
This has a grand sound. Almost a monarchical kind of tribute or something.
Although I can't really describe what is where very well, we have sections of the orchestra coming in, and going out all around us, building the sound foundation of the track, and everything sounds to have it's own place.
The sound really does seem to dance around us, and particularly for something I am not familiar with, this is a very appealing series of tracks.
The undeniable melody and dynamics, are very much enhanced by the soundfield they have to work in. It is hard to believe anyone would go back to a one dimensional mentality after hearing this.

There are also a lot of sections where individual instruments, or small sections play little runs, and due to the placement of the orchestral pieces and the mics, they have a very similar type of effect to a well mixed multitrack recording.

Saturn - the bringer of old age
Here we open with a more tentative piece of music. Up front we have a two note/chord theme that is akin to a clock ticking away. This has layers of melodic embellishment coming in to play.
Then we move into a slightly different feel as the clock goes away, and the theme becomes slightly more reflective.
The musical and audio dynamics are excellent for those into that kind of thing.
We move into a sort of more ominous section, and a surge in front then a surge behind, for a short stretch. Then we move into a sort of melancholy.
Then this break into a gentle acceptance, or so it sounds.
A tolling bell front left, as a gentle crescendo comes into play with a slowly ascending melody, that then relaxes into a calm acceptance.

Uranus - the magician
We open with some strong horns, then it lightens up, and a playful dancing feel bounces around us. Although not part of it, I don't believe, this has some slight similarities in feel to fantasia in its playful styling, the sorcerer's apprentice kind of feel... very different music, it's a feel reference.
We move into a reflective section, that then pulls the fat horns back into play to bring us back up again. To float gently out again.

Neptune - the mystic
A gentle wandering opening. With melodies up front, drawing counter melodies from the rears.
Then we get a held sort of tension chord from the rears, as the fronts move melodically along.
It almost sounds musically like the equivalent of sneaking up to some facility or building or something, that we aren't supposed to be looking in to.
It sounds to me, that this is the track with the chorus.
The chorus isn't an operatic thing, for those that don't like that kind if thing.
It has a sort of mystical, gospel choir type thing going on, gentle not forceful, and if you weren't completely aware of it, you may think on occasion it was some kind of synth effect.
It trails away beautifully. Mr Holst can be very proud of that, and can the folks that recorded it.

Also Sprach Zarathustra
Richard Strauss
Many will be familiar with this from 2001, and perhaps also Elvis concerts from the seventies.
Tympani up front.
Horns kind of rears, with a good dose of sound all around.
A short track that gets its message across in a distinct manner.

Section 2 (I don't speak german, and am not going to attempt to type it while I listen)
This is a gentle reflective track. It has a dreamlike quality, that rises in its dynamics as it moves along. Almost like someone opening their eyes after a long sleep, to a renewed beautiful world before them.
This piece of music(the whole thing) has been recorded in the same way, and has similarly pleasing aural results.
A certain melodic tension comes into play.
The gentle morning has produced some kind of tension.
We are up to section 4, this is a smooth transitional piece of music.
Another smooth transition onto section 5.
Section 6 is an incredibly delicate track.
To be honest I have only ever heard the intro to this... the whole thing is actually very well done. We certainly go on a journey with the music.
Section 7 is much more dramatic. One gets the feeling not all is well in wonderland here.
We have winds and strings fluttering nervously, and horns crying out boldly.
Then a unity arises.
Section 8 moves in smoothly
It takes the form of a waltz of sorts. I guess a sort of prog waltz, where the tempo and feel goes through sequences.
This is the longest section of the piece, and features a violin solo by Joseph Silverstein. I would say a short feature, rather than a solo.
Section 9, the final section comes in without pause, and again, we are moving through a series of melodic feels.
This track has a return to the gentle reflective feel. It is a kind of dream wonderland.

That would be the best surround experience I have had with a classical recording so far aside from the Michael Tilson Thomas album. They are probably both on par in terms of immersion and true surround environments. Listening to this now, shows the shortcomings of some of the other recordings that I have looked at. Whereas many others have an allusion to surround, this and the Tilson Thomas albums are very definitely surround, and having now had a chance to balance them off against each other, these two recordings are, so far, the recordings of most merit I have found at this stage. Certainly I have enjoyed the others, because they are pieces of music I am familiar with and love, but these two are pieces of music I wasn't overly familiar with, and the surround mixes really helped to draw me into them.....

Planets by Holst may well be a good introductory piece of classical music for someone wanting to try it out. The sections are somewhat shorter than most symphony or concerto works, and so lend themselves to an easier digestion.
I can't really imagine why any prog fan wouldn't love some classical music, as it is the real technical writing in music form. You know I love me some prog, but I always chuckle a little when people start talking about musical technicalities in rock music of various forms, when compared with most classical music they a fairly low on the spectrum of technicalities, from a writing perspective. Certainly you have to take into consideration the completely different timbres of classical as compared to rock, but if pure technical excellence is a major part of the equation for you, then it really only seems logical to try out some classical music and give the form a chance to resonate with you.
Like any genre of music, there are certainly pieces of music, or songs that lean towards being slightly generic, or by numbers, in some ways, but I think it would be an act of self denial to assume all classical music sounds the same or something like that.

Anyway, if classical interests you, and you want a true surround experience I think this release, or the Michael Tilson Thomas album are a very good place to start (please note, this is a correct link to Tilson Thomas review. I just noticed somehow that I messed the other up, but I will fix it today)
For me, the Planets is more engaging than Also Sprach, but that is the joy of music, there is a bit of something for everyone... both mind you sound wonderful.

 

Great write up man. I’m also not knowledgeable on classical but do enjoy it and as described haven’t found a true surround mix of anything. I’m going to have to buy this today! And drink some of the Bells series of beers they did a few years ago to commemorate this album.

 

I recommend taking a look at this thread on quadraphonicquad if you don’t frequent the website. I’m anxious to correct the LFE on Sea Change and some of the others I have......

At Least a Dozen 2002/2003 Elliot Scheiner 5.1 Mixes Have a LFE Issue (info/list/fixes inside)

 

Reference to the albums

Adams, Bryan - Reckless (disc would not play, template)

Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic

Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies - Welcome To My Nightmare

Alan Parsons Project - Tales Of Mystery and Imagination - Eye In The Sky - Ammonia Avenue

Alison Krauss and Union Station - New Favourite

Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South - Live At Fillmore East - Eat a Peach

Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here - Weather Systems - Distant Satellites - The Optimist

Anderson, Ian - Homo Erraticus - TAAB 2

Anonymous - Wolcum Yule

Argent - In Deep

Ayreon - The Source - Transitus


Bachman Turner Overdrive - I and II

Band - Music From Big Pink ... I did this twice

Banks, Tony - A Curious Feeling

Barclay James Harvest - GoneTo Earth

Bass Communion - Loss - Temporal

Beach Boys - Sunflower - Surf's Up

The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album) - Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Abbey Road - Love

Be Bop Deluxe - Futurama - Sunburst Finish

Beck, Jeff (group) - Rough and Ready - Orange - Blow By Blow - Wired

Beethoven - 3rd Symphony Eroica - 5th Concerto (Emporer) Barenboim/Rubenstein

Birdsong At Morning - A Slight Departure - Signs And Wonders

Bjork - Vespertine - Medulla - Volta

Blackfield - IV - V

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Blood Sweat and Tears - Blood Sweat And Tears - Mirror Image/New City

Bloom, Jane Ira - Early Americans

Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties - Agents Of Fortune

Boston Symphony Orchestra/Steinberg - Holst/Planets and Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra

Bowie, David - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - Young Americans - Station To Station - Stage - Heathen

Jackson Browne - Running On Empty

Bruce, Jack - Shadows In The Air

Bruford - Feels Good To Me - One Of A Kind

Buddy Miles Express - Booger Bear


Capella Romana - Lost Voices Of Hagia Sophia

Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink

Charles, Ray - Ray Sings, Basie Swings

Chicago - III - VI

Church - Forget Yourself

Clapton, Eric - Give Me Strength The 74/75 Recordings - Slowhand - Reptile - Back Home

Cobham, Billy - Spectrum - Spectrum (Quad) thanks @-dave--wave-

Coltrane, Alice/Santana, Carlos - Illuminations

Crosby, David - If Only I Could Remember My Name

Crowded House - Crowded House


Davis, Miles - Sketches Of Spain - In A Silent Way - Bitches Brew - Live Evil - Tutu

Deep Purple - Concerto for Group And Orchestra - Machine Head - Stormbringer

Dekker, Desmond - Anthology

Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward - Black Celebration - Violator - Delta Machine

Derek and the Dominos - Layla and other assorted love songs

Derringer, Rick - All American Boy and Spring Fever

Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms

Djabe - The Magic Stag

Donovan - Fairytale

Doobie Brothers - Toulouse Street - The Captain And Me - 5.1 to Quad compare - What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

Doors - Strange Days - Waiting For The Sun - The Soft Parade - Morrison Hotel - LA Woman - Best Of

Drake, Nick - A Treasury

Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos - Distance Over Time

Dubliners - Definitive Transatlantic Collection

Dukes Of Stratosphear - Psurroundabout Ride

Dylan, Bob - Another Side Of - Blonde On Blonde - Slow Train Coming


Eagles - Hotel California

Earth Wind And Fire - Way Of The World/Spirit

ELO - debut album

Emerson Lake And Palmer - Tarkus - Brain Salad Surgery


Fagen, Donald - The Nightfly

Fahl, Mary - From The Dark Side Of The Moon

Ferry, Bryan - Boys and Girls

Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (1975) - Rumours - Tusk - Mirage - Say You Will

Foreigner - Foreigner

Foundations - Very Best Of

Franklin, Aretha - best of


Gabriel, Peter - Up

Gallagher, Rory - Big Guns (Best Of)

Garfunkel, Art - Breakaway

Gaye, Marvin - Lets Get It On

Genesis - Overview of all - Nursery Cryme - Foxtrot - Selling England By The Pound - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - And Then There Were Three - Duke - Abacab

Gentle Giant - Three Piece Suite - Octopus - The Power and The Glory - Free Hand - Interview

Gilmour, Dave - On An Island

Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead

Guns And Roses - Appetite For Destruction


Hackett, Steve - Voyage Of The Acolyte - Broken Skies, Outspread Wings - At The Edge Of Light

Herbie Hancock - Headhunters - Sextant

Hendrix, Jimi - Electric Ladyland

Hiromi (Uehara) - Spiral

Holiday, Billie - Lady In Satin


Inxs - Kick

Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death


Jakszyk, Jakko - Secrets and Lies

Jarre, Jean Michel - Oxygene

Jethro Tull - Benefit - Aqualung - Thick As A Brick - A Passion Play/ Chateau d'Herouville - War Child - Minstrel In The Gallery - Too Old To Rock and Roll ... - Heavy Horses - Stormwatch - TAAB 2

Joel, Billy - Streetlife Serenade - The Stranger - 52nd Street

John, Elton - Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection - Madman Across The Water - Honky Chateau - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Johnson, Eric - Ah Via Musicom


Kansas - The Absence Of Presence

Katatonia - Dethroned and Uncrowned

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - The Traveller

King, Carole - Tapestry

King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King 40th and 50th - Islands - Lark's Tongues In Aspic - Red - Beat - Thrak - (re)Construkction Of Light - The Power To Believe

Knopfler, Mark - Sailing To Philadelphia - Shangri La

Kooper, Al (with Bloomfield and Stills) - Super Sessions

Kraftwork - 3d catalog - Autobahn - Man Machine


Led Zeppelin - Song Remains The Same

Lennon, John - Imagine, Ultimate Edition

Living Colour - Collideoscope

Love And Rockets - Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Southern Surroundings


Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire

Manheim Steamroller - Fresh Aire 8 - Christmas Celebration

Marillion - Script For A Jester's Tear - Misplaced Childhood - Brave - Afraid Of Sunlight

Marley, Bob - Legend

McCartney, Paul - The McCartney Years

Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell

Mike Keneally and Beer For Dolphins - Sluggo!

Monk, Thelonius - Supreme Jazz

Moody Blues - Days Of Future Passed - In Search Of The Lost Chord - A Question Of Balance - Seventh Sojourn

Morrison, Van - Moondance

Mussorgsky, Modeste - Carlo Ponti - Pictures At An Exhibition+

Motorhead - Overkill - Ace Of Spades

Mott The Hoople - Mott The Hoople

Mozart - 40th Symphony - Rene Jacobs Le Nozze Di Figaro (The Marriage Of Figaro)

 

Nektar - Journey To The Centre of The Eye

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - From Her to Eternity - The First Born Is Dead - The Good Son - Henry's Dream - No More Shall We Part - Abattoir Blues/Lyre Of Orpheus - Dig Lazarus Dig

Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

No Man - Schoolyard Ghosts - Together We're Stranger

Numan, Gary - Anthology


Oldfield, Mike - Tubular Bells - Ommadawn - Five Miles Out - Crises - overview - Return To Ommadawn

Opeth - Ghost Reveries - Deliverance / Damnation - Pale Communion - Sorcerous - In Cauda Venenum


Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day

Pineapple Thief - Dissolution - Your Wilderness and 8 Years Later - Versions Of The Truth

Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother - Meddle - Dark Side Of The Moon - Wish You Were Here - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason - The Division Bell - Endless River

Pixies - Doolittle

Poco - Seven/Cantamos

The Police - Every Breath You Take the dvd

Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream - Lightbulb Sun - In Absentia (deluxe version 1) - Update on fixed copy - Deadwing - Fear Of A Blank Planet

Presley, Elvis - 30 #1 hits

Pure Prairie League - Two Lane Highway/If The Shoe Fits


Queen - A Night At The Opera - The Game

Queensryche - Tribe


REM - Document - Green - Out Of Time - Automatic For The People - Monster - Around The Sun

Renaissance - Turn Of The Cards

Return to Forever - Musicmagic

Rich, Charlie - Behind Closed Doors

Riverside - Love, Fear And The Time Machine - Wasteland

Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup

Roxy Music - Roxy Music - Avalon

Rundgren, Todd - Liars

Rush - Fly By Night - 2112 - A Farewell To Kings (Wilson version) - Hemispheres - Moving Pictures - Signals - Snakes And Arrows

Sakamoto, Ryuichi - Async

Santana - Santana - Abraxas dts - Abraxas cdjapan - Live with Buddy Miles - Lotus

Shankar & Gingger - One In A Million

Simple Minds - Sparkle In The Rain

Sly And The Family Stone - Greatest Hits

Soord, Bruce - All This Will Be Yours

Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger - Superunknown

Squackett - A Life In A Day

Squire, Chris - Fish Out Of Water

Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle

Sting - Nothing Like The Sun

Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (Wilson and Åkerfeldt)
Sylvian , David - Manafon


Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food - Fear Of Music - Remain In Light - Speaking in Tongues - Little Creatures -True Stories - Naked

Tangerine Dream - Phaedra - Ricochet

Taylor, James - JT

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Neeme Jarvi

Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair - Seeds Of Love

Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog

Tesseract - Polaris

Thomas, Michael Tilson - Orff, Beethoven, Gershwin - Carmina Burana, An American In Paris, Rhapsody In Blue + more

Thompson, Richard - Rumour And Sigh

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Damn The Torpedoes

Tomita - Firebird

Toto - IV

Townsend, Devin - Empath

Townshend, Pete/Lane, Ronnie - Rough Mix

Transatlantic - The Absolute Universe

Travis And Fripp - Follow

T Rex - Electric Warrior


Uk - Night After Night

Ultravox - Vienna

Uriah Heep - Gold From The Byron Era - Best Of vol II


Velvet Underground - Re-Loaded


Wakeman, Rick - Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth

Waters, Roger - Amused to Death

Wayne, Jeff - War Of The Worlds

Weather Report - Tale Spinnin'

Who - Tommy - Quadrophenia

Wilson, Steven - Insurgentes - Grace For Drowning - The Raven That Refused To Sing - Hand. Cannot. Erase. - 4 1/2 - To The Bone - The Future Bites

Wings - Band On The Run - Venus And Mars

Wishbone Ash - Bare Bones


XTC - Drums And Wires - The Black Sea - Oranges and Lemons - Nonsuch


Yes - The Yes Album - Fragile - Close To The Edge - Tale Of Topographic Oceans - Relayer

Young, Neil - Harvest - Greendale


Zappa - Quaudiophiliac - Halloween

 

The second list has a corrected link to the Tilson Thomas disc.

If you notice any other links I crewed up, please let me know and I will fix them.

Cheers
Guys

 

Cheers mate.

Hopefully Sordel can lead us to some more over the coming weeks. It's a shame there is such a dogmatic mentality towards the two mic's thing.... it only ends up restricting the music to a completely unnatural sound.... much like the two ears, two speakers crowd with rock music.

 

There are only some of those that I have that seem to be effected much.... It's all a bit hi tech for me lol
I sort of expect the experts to get it right, so I can just sit back and enjoy the music .... I guess I must just be lazy

 

So when I was looking at the Grammy category for the Best Immersive Album a name leapt out at me that I didn't recognise: Morten Lindberg. After a little bit of Googling I found that he produces for a Nordic boutique label called 2L and I'm putting this in as a headnote so that I can refer back it downthread. There have been about four threads attempted about them here at SHF, all of which are now closed, and they aren't even much discussed over in the Classical Corner thread. Anyway, Mark has kindly agreed to host some classical recording reviews in the current thread.

So, here are Lindberg's Grammy nominations in the Surround/Immersive category:-

2007 Ensemble 96: Immortal Nydquist
2008 [not nominated]
2009 Divertimenti
2010 Flute Mystery
2011 Tronheimsolistene: In Folk Style
2012 Kind
2013 Hoff Ensemble: Quiet Winter Night
2014 [not nominated]
2015 Beppe: Remote Fantasy
2016 Amdahl: Astrognosia & Aesop + Magnificat + Spes [three out of the five nominations]
2017 Maja Ratke: And Sing + Reflections
2018 Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man + So Is My Love
2019 Folketoner + Sommero: Ujamaa & the Iceberg
2020 Lux [Winner]​

That's seventeen nominations including one win in the sixteen years that the category has existed! He's also racked up some other awards along the line. (Of course, he may just have reached the point with the Grammy nomination process that they automatically fill out their list with whatever he's recorded that year, but still ...)

2L recordings have moved towards a standard where they include a Blu-Ray and SACD in the same release, and they're also recording in Dolby Atmos, so I've put in some orders that will hopefully be drifting in over the next couple of weeks.

 

I sort of get why - they are trying to reproduce what an orchestra sounds like in a concert hall. I have a Kronos Quartet 5.1 where maybe that isn't an issue - I'll review it one of these days.

 

FACE



Studio album by Pat Mastelotto & Markus Reuter
Released March 24, 2017 (stereo), January 29, 2021 (multichannel)
Recorded 2007-2011
Genre Jazz/Prog Fusion
Length 35:10
Producer Markus Reuter and Pat Mastelotto with Fabio Trentini

FACE is the latest release from drummer and percussionist Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Stick Men, Mr. Mister) and touch guitarist Markus Reuter (Stick Men, Crimson ProjeKct, Tuner). With a surreal cover featuring artwork by Tool’s Adam Jones, FACE consists of just one 35 minute-long track FACE presents a musical travelogue rich in detail and panoramic in scope and scale, filled with contrasting scenes, dramatic landscapes and inspiring vistas. The title reflects the palindromic harmonic structure; the notes F, A, C, and E are used as a theme throughout the piece. Germany-based touch guitarist and composer of FACE, Markus Reuter says:

“It’s like a journey where you’re mapping out where you’re going but then as it gets underway you have no idea which people you’re going to meet along the way, or what’s going to happen.”​

Boasting sixteen guest contributors, including Steven Wilson, David Lynch collaborator Chrysta Bell and The Rembrandts’ Danny Wilde, Reuter and Texas-based Pat Mastelotto, FACE was nine years in the making.

Personnel
Markus Reuter: Touch Guitars, Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitars, Melodica, Grand Piano, Banjo, Bulbul Tarang, Omnichord, Synthesizer
Pat Mastelotto: Acoustic and Electronic Drums and Percussives
Fabio Trentini: Electric Guitars, Guitar Synth, Fretless Bass
Tim Motzer: Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Ukulele
Mark Williams: Mandocello, Fretless Bass, Cello, Voice
Monica Champion: Clarinet, Saxophone, Voice
Steven Wilson: Vocal Chords
Annette Franzen: Violin
Adrian Benavides: Electric Guitar
Michael Mordecai: Trombone
Marcus Graf: Trumpet
Chrysta Bell: Voice
Brad Houser: Bass Clarinet
Luca Calabrese: Flügelhorn
Michael Bernier: Bowed Stick
Danny Wilde: Voice
Yoshi Hampl: Voice
Renée Stieger: Voice

Track listing
Written by Markus Reuter

1. FACE 35:10
_______

The multichannel mixes are available for download or as a BD-R from Surround Music One. I went for the download. There are several different surround mixes, including a quad, a 5.1, and a 7.1. However, there is no stereo mix included - you have to buy that separately. I can’t play the 7.1, so I will just stick to the 5.1.

Multichannel mixes by Jan Printz

There’s only one track with lots of passages. Starts out with guitar, bass and drums in front and a little discrete percussion in the rear, then keyboards in surround. Goes uptempo at 1:05 with electric guitar flaring in the back. Then goes jazzy at about 1:35 with front and back vocals (no lyrics). Vocals give way to electric guitar in rear in the third minute.

Major changeup right at the 3 minute mark, with drums dying back leaving bass in front, electric guitar in surround, acoustic guitar in front. Then some bass in the rear, synth in front, acoustic guitar in rear as bass moves to front.

Another major changeup at 4:40 with drums, some treated vocals and electric guitar in front, acoustic guitar still in rear with a little percussion. Goes jazzy again in the sixth minute with piano and a little sax in front, guitar in rear.

Major changeup at 7:20 as pace slows. Still jazzy with some sax, bass and drums in front, guitar in rear. Guitar goes in front, keys in rear. Pace picks up at 9:40 with more bass in front. Crimsonesque guitar front and back. But it lightens up at 10:20, and then turns into something completely different at 10:40 witgh bass lead in front, synth in the rear, drums in front, but still some percussion in the rear. Vocals come in again a minute later. Pace slows again in the thirteenth minute, with synth in front, guitar in rear, bass and drums still anchoring the front.

Pace picks up again at 13:30. Two guitar parts in the rear, one in front. Pace change just after the 14 minute mark. More vocals in front harmonizing with the guitar in rear. Drums mostly in rear at this point. In the 17th minute guitar moves to front and there is some synth action right rear. Sax comes in surround right at the 17 minute mark.

Drums pick up the pace again at 17:45 with left and right guitar. Bass comes in at 19:25, guitars move to the back. Next changeup in pace comes at 21:45, but it’s still bass dominating in front, guitars in the back with some synth in surround. Pace accelerates at the 23 minute mark with more front and back vocals coming in soon thereafter.

At 24:30 guitar solo in front, and that finishes a little over a minute later to be replaced by acoustic guitar and keys in the rear, just bass and percussion in front. Second guitar comes in front, taking over in the 27th minute.

Restart at about 2710, heavy bass again in front along with keys in the rear and what sounds like an accordion in surround. Metallic guitar in rear comes in rear at 28:25 and things get peppy with lots of synth. Slows back down right at the 30 minute mark, the accordion-like instrument is in back, we’ve got front and back strings, some banjo in front.

Guitar attack in the rear just before the 32 minute mark, frenetic bass and drums in front along with some synth. Another restart right at the 33 minute mark with lone guitar in rear, soon to be joined by second guitar, bass and drums in front. The accordion returns to the rear and then a fade out first in front and then the rear.
______

Well, it’s not what you would call a catchy little tune. It rambles on and on, but it’s always interesting. I’d characterize this work as a Crimson side project. I think it was mostly recorded while they were both working with King Crimson. It is also comparable to Steven Wilson Grace For Drowning – they both appeared on that album and Steven Wilson makes a small contribution here. The surround mix is like the music itself – interesting, but there’s nothing remarkable about it. (1/3)