Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Jun 15, 2019.

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  1. opiumden

    opiumden Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Says it's temporarily out of stock to me. Guess I'll have to wait, or buy it from other retailers.
     
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  2. Åke Bergvall

    Åke Bergvall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mariestad, Sweden
    It's not, but Amazon has for some time used this method to restrict the access for customers not living in the designated country. In most cases it becomes available for everyone nearer the release date, but sometimes it never does open up. Another example is that Amazon.uk right now has the upcoming Van Morrison album signed by Van the Man himself (click here), but it's out of stock for me in Sweden and will most likely remain so.
     
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  3. Beaneydave

    Beaneydave Forum Resident

    Judging by the song titles and reviews you are lucky!
    ;)

    peace and love✌Dave
     
  4. Jimbino

    Jimbino Goad Kicker, Music Lover

    Location:
    Northern CA, USA
    Here’s a link to pre-order for US:
    CD - The Grid/Fripp - Leviathan
     
  5. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Just to follow up on my Janowski Ring Cycle . . . I was under the impression that all PentaTone recordings were quad recordings from the 1970s. These recordings were recorded "live" in 2012, so I would think there is no reason for them not to be 5.1. The CDs and display only indicate that they are "multi-channel". With respect to other PentaTone quad recordings, I read that the missing channel is the center channel, which makes me wonder if the center channel should be removed (e.g., by reducing the volume to zero) or - and this makes more sense - if the recording itself eliminates the center channel. I can test this on my other PentaTone recordings that I know are quad 50 year-old recordings. In any event, I reduced the center channel to zero and the effect on the vocals was to unnaturally separate them FL and FR. It needs the center channel to give them a better (though not entirely) center focus. After all, that's where the stage is.

    I don't have enough experience with surround-sound to opine on SQ, though it sounds fine to me. There's a decent amount of "ambiance" from the SL and SR, though I have the volume raised on those speakers.

    As far as my setting go, I just use "straight", which seems to cover just about everything (unless I want faux surround from another source).
     
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  6. Åke Bergvall

    Åke Bergvall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mariestad, Sweden
    Yes PentaTone has a number of their own recordings in surround, in addition to their reissue of 1970's quads, and they are 5.1 or perhaps 5.0. It's quite common for classical recordings to lack the .1 sub (that's true, for example, for all of BIS surround recordings). Like you say, it's not clear from their booklet what exactly they are doing. With their quad reissues (as does Dutton with theirs) there is no center channel since the original quads did not have one. Others, however, like DG, remix the original quad recordings into modern 5.1, or even Atmos, something I personally deplore since there is no reason to mess with the original recordings. What seems to happen in practice is that the recordings become even less discreet and thus more mushy-sounding.

    As for reducing the volume I don't think that's necessary since there is no signal at all in the missing channel.
     
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  7. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I don't have a subwoofer, so the .1 is not an issue for me. I just put on recording pictured below and indeed there is no center channel.

    I've considered getting more PentaTone quad SACDs - I have one other - but often the reviews are mixed (like with their Masur Beethoven recordings*). Though I just started on it, their Ring Cycle sounds very good. Some criticize the performance, but I have no problems at all with it.

    [​IMG]

    * Not all reviews I see are from professionals (or even necessarily informed commentators), but on one hand you'll see comments like: "The sound of these recordings is very good for their vintage. They are somewhat thick and distant compared to modern recordings." On the other hand, there are comments like: "On these SACDs you will hear some of the finest, most natural orchestral sound currently available in multi-channel." Then, of course, there are the typical varied comments about the performances, which I have no problem with (having listened to the Philips versions on Spotify).
     
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  8. Åke Bergvall

    Åke Bergvall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mariestad, Sweden
    That Edo de Waart recording is great! I have some two dozen PentaTone quads, and most of them not only sound great but are very good as performances. Of course there will always be some less good or even duds, but many of the great conductors did quads in the '70s. I've made some great deals at German jpc, who have sales on different brands at different times: for most of my PentaTones I did not pay more than €6 or so + postage. Since you are already into opera I can recommend the surround version of Abbado's Carmen, which DG released on Blu-ray a year ago for a reasonable price. Admittedly it's one of those remixed into Atmos, but it still sounds good.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2021
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  9. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Finding it hard to believe that "A" is still in customs..... Starting to think they have lost it .....
     
  10. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    I had a package from Europe that took three weeks to be delivered after it got to the United States. It took a week to go from NJ to Richmond, then several days later it was in Pittsburgh. Another week later it was back in Richmond again and a few days later I finally got it.
     
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  11. J_Surround

    J_Surround Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washingon, D.C.
    Elliot Scheiner actually did the 5.1 mix of this one, according to the back cover of my DVD-A copy (He even did an interview about how he approached the mix way back in 1999). Also, the 'hidden' track at the end of the album is called "The End Of The Game".
     
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  12. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    Stupid Things That Mean the World

    [​IMG]

    Studio album by Tim Bowness
    Released 17 July 2015
    Recorded 2014-2015
    Genre Art rock, progressive rock
    Length 59.59
    Label InsideOut Music


    A follow-up to Abandoned Dancehall Dreams, Stupid Things That Mean The World - Tim Bowness's third solo album - was released on 17 July 2015 on Inside Out Music. Produced by Bowness and mixed by Bruce Soord, collaborators included Peter Hammill, Colin Edwin, Phil Manzanera and David Rhodes.

    The album reached No. 10 in both the official UK Rock and UK Vinyl charts, and No. 1 in Prog magazine's July 2015 and August 2015 charts. In September 2015, Stupid Things That Mean The World was No. 9 in the first ever official UK Progressive chart.


    Personnel
    Tim Bowness – vocals, keyboards, guitar, programming

    With:
    Stephen James Bennett – keyboards, programming
    Michael Bearpark - guitars
    Andrew Keeling - string arrangements, acoustic guitars ('At The End Of The Holiday')
    Colin Edwin – fretless bass, double bass
    Andrew Booker – drums
    Pat Mastelotto – drums
    Charlotte Dowling - violin ensemble
    Anna Phoebe – violin
    Bruce Soord - guitar, bass, programming
    Peter Hammill - slide guitar, vocals
    Phil Manzanera - guitar, vocals, keyboards
    David Rhodes - guitar, backing vocals
    Rhys Marsh - pedal steel guitar

    Track listing
    1. The Great Electric Teenage Dream (3.58) (Stephen James Bennett/Tim Bowness)
    2. Sing To Me (5.46) (Tim Bowness/Steven Wilson)
    3. Where You've Always Been (4.07) (Tim Bowness/Phil Manzanera)
    4. Stupid Things That Mean The World (3.05)
    5. Know That You Were Loved (6.44)
    6. Press Reset (3.54)
    7. All These Escapes (3.06) (Tim Bowness/Brian Hulse)
    8. Everything You're Not (3.40)
    9. Everything But You (1.12)
    10. Soft William (1.40)
    11. At The End Of The Holiday (4.58) (Tim Bowness/Andrew Keeling)
    _______

    The surround mix is on a CD+DVD 2 disc set that also has Lost In the Ghost Light. It is still available new. Amazon. I ordered this without realizing it was a twofer – you wouldn’t know it by looking at the cover.

    5.1 mix by Bruce Soord
    The wiki credits have a pretty impressive list of guest musicians on this album, but I can’t find any documentation for who appears on what songs. There is very little documentation for this album in the set that the surround mix comes in. A discussion of this album on TB’s blog indicates that Hamill was involved with the “Everything” songs, but it doesn’t say anything about Mastoletto, Manzanera, or Rhodes.

    “The Great Electric Teenage Dream”
    Starts out with synth in surround and drums in front, but drums pick and move into surround. Bowness vocals in center, a few backing vocals in the rear, guitar comes in front in second half

    “Sing To Me”
    Bowness starts it with vocals in center, then a rear heavy soundscape in surround. Backing vocals in rear, horns in surround, then some violin in the rear starts in third minute. Drops back to just vocals and piano in the fourth minute then drums start up in front. Guitar solo in rear in the fifth minute, then a surroundscape before finally ending with vocals and piano.

    “Where You've Always Been”
    Acoustic guitar in surround, piano rear right, vocals in center. Violin on left, then percussion in surround. Violin plucking in rear in third minute. Drums in front and guitar in rear start in third minute.

    “Stupid Things That Mean The World “
    Drums in surround, guitar in front, vocals center. Mellotron in front, backing vocals rear. Guitar in rear comes in second minute. Then more violin in rear, along with some acoustic guitar in front.

    “Know That You Were Loved”
    Starts with acoustic guitar in surround and Bowness vocals in center. The either synth or slide guitar builds up in surround, backing vocals in rear. Electric guitar in front in second minute, light percussion in front in third, then electric guitar in rear. Drops back down to just acoustic guitar and vocals again in fourth minute then builds back up again with electric guitar in front more backing vocals in rear. Restarts entirely in fifth minute with all instrumental passage with acoustic guitar or maybe two in surround, slide guitar in rear.

    “Press Reset”
    Front and back keys, vocals in center, bass and then percussion in front. Soundscape in surround. Turns into a rock song in third minute with bass and drums, electric guitar lead vocals all in front, backing vocals and synth in rear.

    “All These Escape”
    Bass in front, lead vocals in center, keys in rear, percussion is surround. Mellotron in surround in second minute. Backing vocals in rear in third minute. Ends with just percussion and keys

    “Everything You're Not”
    Acoustic guitar in surround, violin in rear, bass in front, lead vocals in center, rear backing vocals (with Peter Hamill I believe). Keys in front in second minute. Violin moves to front in third minute.

    “Everything But You”
    Front and back violin, sounds like flute in rear, lead vocals in center.

    “Soft William”
    Keys front and rear, lead vocals in center, then acoustic bass in front, backing vocals in rear.

    “At The End Of The Holiday”
    Strings in surround, plus what sounds like a woodwind in rear. The strings give way to acoustic guitar and percussion in surround, Bowness vocal in center. Then backing vocals in rear. Keyboard solo in front in third minute. Violins come back in rear in fourth minute.
    ________

    Even though Stupid Things seems to be added to the set as an afterthought, it seems to be a better regarded album than Lost In the Ghost Light. In any case, I like it much better. Really nice violin passages throughout. The surround mix is quite decent; the rears are kept pretty busy with keyboards, violins, and backing vocals. (2/3).
     
  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Olias of Sunhillow

    [​IMG]
    Studio album by
    Jon Anderson
    Released
    24 July 1976[1]
    Recorded 1975–1976
    Studio Seer Green, Buckinghamshire, England
    Genre Progressive rock, psychedelic folk, world music
    Length 44:10
    Label Atlantic
    Producer Jon Anderson

    Olias of Sunhillow is the first studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician Jon Anderson, released in July 1976 on Atlantic Records. It is a concept album entirely written and performed by Anderson, telling the story of an alien race and their journey to a new world following a volcanic catastrophe on their home planet. The album merges the progressive rock music which Anderson was known for at the time with psychedelic folk, experimental electronics and an early version of world music.

    Production
    • Mike Dunne – engineer
    • Brian "It's Going Now" Gaylor – electronics
    • John Martin – co-ordination, equipment, goodies
    • Brian East – mastering at RCA
    • Dave Roe – illustrator, designer
    • Hipgnosis – art direction
    • Jeff Cummings – portrait
    • Richard Manning - portrait colouring
    [​IMG]

    CD
    OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW

    REMASTERED EDITION

    1 OCEAN SONG
    2 MEETING (GARDEN OF GEDA)
    SOUND OUT THE GALLEON
    3 DANCE OF RANYART
    OLIAS (TO BUILD THE MOORGLADE)
    4 QOQUAQ EN TRANSIC
    NAON
    TRANSIC TO
    5 FLIGHT OF THE MOORGLADE
    6 SOLID SPACE
    7 MOON RA
    CHORDS
    SONG OF SEARCH
    8 TO THE RUNNER

    DVD
    OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW

    HIGH RESOLUTION 96 KHZ / 24-BIT 5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX & STEREO REMASTER

    1 OCEAN SONG (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    2 MEETING (GARDEN OF GEDA)
    SOUND OUT THE GALLEON (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    3 DANCE OF RANYART
    OLIAS (TO BUILD THE MOORGLADE) (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    4 QOQUAQ EN TRANSIC
    NAON
    TRANSIC TO (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    5 FLIGHT OF THE MOORGLADE (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    6 SOLID SPACE (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    7 MOON RA
    CHORDS
    SONG OF SEARCH (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    8 TO THE RUNNER (5.1 SURROUND SOUND UPMIX)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I haven't listened to this album as much as I probably should have. I had a friend in my late teens who was a forty year old hippy chick, and she told me "if you ever see Olias Of Sunhillow, you need to buy it, because it is rare".... She obviously loved Jon Anderson, and I was familiar with The Yes Album and 90125 ... So I saw it one day in really good condition (the record) and I bought it. I certainly didn't dislike it, but it was a pretty weird album to my ears.
    I got rid of my records in 1999, as I needed money for a new guitar for an album I was recording, so when I saw this release, I bought it.

    To be honest, its disappointing that they didn't or couldn't remix it properly, but like I say, I bought the album, to replace the old long lost album, so I am easy with that, and who knows the upmix may be effective.... I'm really not sure.

    I haven't had a chance to look through it, but it really is beautifully packaged, as the picture shows up there. We have two booklets, that I haven't had a chance to look through yet, and that quite remarkable album artwork.
    Ok - so the wording on the fold out flaps is pretty damn small, and it takes an awful lot of concentration to read it... I think a few bits are beyond reading.
    The booklets are pretty cool though. One is lots of clippings and the story of the album and how it came about and how it was made and all that kind of thing, and the other booklet is a lyric booklet.

    It's available on
    Amazon for $19.79 https://www.amazon.com/Olias-Sunhillow-JON-ANDERSON/dp/B08TZ2RW4N

    Cherry Red and Burning Shed are already saying it's sold out, or out of stock.

    I am not sure if this was one of those limited releases or not. I can only assume it is. Amazon says it has 18 copies (more on the way) but it is odd the official distributors are out of stock ... hopefully for folks interested in this it isn't another of these obnoxious super limited releases.

    In many ways this is quite a remarkable album. Even with the idea of multi-tracking, this is a quite remarkable feat for one person to achieve, disregarding the idea of whether someone likes it or not. This is one man's singleminded need to produce an album that lines up with his ideas, and having a quick look through the booklet, he certainly had some challenges in getting this project the way he wanted it.

    Apparently the idea was inspired by the cover of the Fragile album, and I believe if I quickly read correctly, that he started piecing together the ideas from about that point.
    After the Relayer tour was done with and the band were taking a break, with Squire and Howe, I believe, working on solo albums. Anderson decided he would work on a solo album, and by solo, he felt he had to do it on his own....
    So he locked himself away in a studio with all these instruments and couple of engineers or whatever, and he put this album together......

    It is somewhat prog, somewhat folk, somewhat psychedelic, and really very original in its musical composition. The story as laid out above is typical Anderson out there stuff, with this race of beings having to escape their exploding planet and the journey they go on.... On many levels it is a really interesting idea that actually does come together very well, but it is unusual.... and up to that point in time, I am not sure anything around the place sounded like it ... perhaps still nothing sounds like it ....

    Anyway, I am looking forward to having a listen and seeing what this sounds like.

    One gets the impression that Anderson had/has a wildly overactive imagination, or was on some mind blowing hallucinogens .... or both :)

    Ben Wiseman was the engineer that did the upmix via 24 bit, using the master tapes ... so we'll see what it sounds like.

    Dts 96/24 (and ac3)

    Ocean Song
    The rumble of the volcano and synth pad up front.
    Really atmospheric sound, some swells come in in the rears and a slow melody line kind of plays on the middle of the room.
    It actually sounds pretty good.
    It is a believable surround.
    We get a sort of Monk chant type vocal in the back.
    Then Anderson does his thing up front.
    The tv screen has the gold leaf frame with a slowly moving visual of the album art.

    Then we burst in the the folkish element.
    With strumming strings and vocals up front.
    Bell tones and synth sounds come into the rears.


    Meeting (Garden Of Geda) Sound Of The Galleon

    Dance Of Ranyart ( To Build The Moorglade)
    A fluttering keys dound on the rears.
    A strung instrument up front.
    A harp or something similar in the rears.
    Then we get digital noise modulations jiggering around.
    A song comes out of that, with a bass sound driving us along up front.
    Anderson has a double tracked vocal upfront.
    Again we get effective stuff in the rears.

    Qoquaq En Transic - Naon - Transic to
    A pad up front. A bit of a swirling effect with some twinkly glissando effect, to the rears.
    A synth melody, sort of comes from the front, but has some right rear assistance, and on occasion seems to come from the right rear.
    Percussion comes in up front, and we have a sort of tribal dance emerge.
    It kind of spreads, some bell-like percussion comes in the rears.
    I guess being such a dense recording that the natural digitized spread works pretty well.
    That section fades into an ambient synth type wash, and we get a melodic synth type sound around us.

    Flight Of The Moorglade
    Cymbals crash and a strum comes into effect we get some sounds that are high pitched zipping sounds and they slide to the rears.
    Again elements come into the rears, and some glissando effects and high pitched sounds come into effect in the rears.

    Solid Space
    Twinkles and tinkles in the rears.
    Sfx and a keyboard up front.
    Lots of atmosphere and effects and layers

    Moon Ra - Chords - Song Of Search
    A sound like a thunder crash leads into layered low mixed chants, as a pulse moves us along. Keys and percussion ...
    Again layers of sound, layers of vocals and instruments.
    We come out of the chant section into synth chords with a melody on top.
    Some of this has a room feel and some has a distinct feeling of being front or rears.
    Then we break into a song.
    Layered effected vocals in front but feeding into the rears
    A couple of acoustic guitars come in up front, mellowing the density for a moment ... a rotary, and a fade.
    Then we get the swell of air sounds and a melodic synth sound.

    To The Runner
    A low pulsing, somewhat Indian feel kicks off, and we get Anderson come in fairly quickly with the vocal.
    Twinkles and tinkles in various spots

    This is a really interesting album. It takes you on a musical journey and it has a lot of elements in it. I'm not sure if the story has a beginning, middle and end, and I guess unless I followed the lyric sheet I wouldn't be able to answer that. Obviously in this instance, following the lyric sheet would be impossible in the context of what we're doing here.
    I would assume that folks that enjoy Jon Anderson's style would probably love this. It has all those Anderson traits that you expect, sort of sifted through a semi-world music lens. It manages to be a pretty good blending of prog, world, folk and synth type music and it does come together musically very well.
    The sound is that of a proper mix, on many occasions, but there are times where it seemed a more controlled approach to the mix would have paid dividends. If nobody had told me this was an upmix, I may well have just thought that on occasion it got slightly lost as a mix, or wasn't quite defined enough... but by the same token, I did enjoy the mix ... We do get immersed in Anderson's imagination, and at the end of the day, that is what a 5.1 mix should do.
    At times really very effective, surprisingly so, and at times it felt like a proper remix would do this album wonders.

    Really though, I would think that this set would be a pretty essential set for any Anderson fan that likes surround. I think it works, even if a remix would/could have cleaned up the mix and been more ... controlled, for want of a better word. Certainly worth twenty bucks.
     
  14. elee532

    elee532 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI, USA
    It only works on certain devices. It’s hard to find the Atmos tracks on my Nvidia Shield. Sound level was a little quiet, but gotten better, I think. A few good Atmos playlists. It’s definitely nice to have. I was able to check out that Yello album, which was super fun mix but not something I would likely want to pay to own.

    Just came across this on AVSFORUM yesterday:
    https://www.avsforum.com/threads/all-dolby-atmos-music-available-on-tidal.3195540/

    Also, some occasional discussion about it in this thread:
    *Official* Tidal music streaming thread
     
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  15. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Jonatha Brooke ‎– Steady Pull
    Label: Bad Dog Records (2) ‎– BDR-60801-2
    Format: CD, Album
    Country: US
    Released: 2001
    Genre: Rock, Pop
    Style: Pop Rock

    [​IMG]

    1 Linger 4:20
    2 How Deep Is Your Love? - Producer – Ryan Freeland 4:02
    3 Walking 4:46
    4 Red Dress 3:32
    5 Room In My Heart 4:25
    6 Steady Pull - Vocals – Michael Franti 4:27
    7 Your House 4:01
    8 New Dress - Vocals – Neil Finn 3:49
    9 Digging 3:46
    10 Out Of Your Mind 4:02
    11 I'll Take It From Here 2:45
    12 Lullaby 2:42
    --------------------------------------------------
    I have no idea what to expect from this release, @Dillydipper asked if I could have a look at it, and it was only about $12, so I figured it couldn't hurt to have a go and give it a listen.

    I was really pleased to see Michael Franti guests on the album, as his work with Disposible Heroes of Hiphoprisy and particularly Spearhead is excellent. So it will be interesting to see what he does here. Also we have Neil Finn who is obviously a class act with both Split Enz, Crowded House and also his solo work.

    Available on discogs from about $9 https://www.discogs.com/Jonatha-Brooke-Steady-Pull-Special-Edition/release/3156047
    Amazon has it new from about $19 and secondhand from about $9 https://www.amazon.com/Jonatha-Brooke-Steady-Pull/dp/B00005NX20
    Also on ebay from about $10 jonatha brooke steady pull dvd audio | eBay

    I assume Bob Clearmountain did the 5.1 mix, but I don't clearly see anywhere it actually says that.
    Mastering Bob Ludwig

    Jonatha Brooke has been releasing albums since 1991, and released another last year. I can see about 15 albums in her catalog, and for anyone wanting to look further into her work here is a wiki link Jonatha Brooke - Wikipedia
    and here is her website Jonatha Brooke Official Website : Jonatha Brooke

    So I have no idea what we will have here, so lets just dive in ...

    A double sided disc, dvd-video one side, dvd audio the other.
    88.2khz/24 bit surround or
    176.4khz/24 bit stereo

    Linger
    A good sound and a good voice.... this is not the Cranberries track.
    A sort of alt-rock sound.
    Vocals across the front.
    Drums and bass upfront.
    Cymbals in the sides.
    Guitars in the rears.
    A solid opener, with a nice sound and feel.

    How Deep Is Your Love
    Not the Bee Gees track.
    The mix opens up a little more here.
    Acoustic and vocal front, rim shot left side.
    Then we burst into a kind of funky alt rock sound.
    B-vox in rears.
    We get a breakdown, some really effective surround work here.
    Guitar harmonics, and vocal sections in the rears, and effectively used to get attention.
    Organ right rear.
    Some nice effected vocal swirls and zigzagging.
    This is a very effective mix, it is immersive and also effective in its breakdown section.

    Walking
    We have an acoustic opening, and a big sell of sub that just draws attention.
    Gtr left side.
    Effected guitar in the middle of the room.
    Another swell of sub.
    Gtr also right rear.
    Organ swells in rears
    Good track. Nice mix

    Red Dress
    Snare opens us up in the front.
    Acoustic left rear. Electric right side.
    Keys left front.
    A nice semi-explosive lead break section, adds some nice dynamics.
    Organ? right rear.
    I like these songs, and another effective mix.

    Room In My Heart
    We flow straight in here.
    A mellow melancholy opening.
    Keys left side.
    Percussive swell right rear.
    Swell of strings, or orchestral synth in rears.
    We get nice use of dynamics on this album.
    Bvox layers in various spots, giving an effective immersion.
    Really nice use of melody and key modulation in this track.
    Good song, and effective mix. Slightly left sided on occasion, but fills out nicely and makes sense.

    Steady Pull
    Michael Franti counts is in on the left.
    Vocal drums and bass up front.
    Guitar either side rears.
    A nice groove, and the vocal delivery rides smoothly over it.
    Franti adds some minimal vocals here and there, but not a lot.
    Cool track, nice mix.

    Your House
    Acoustic guitar left side towards rear.
    Acoustic guitar front.
    A quite beautiful vocal.
    A sort of floating keyboard/synth front right, into the right side.
    This is a really cool song, in an acoustic folkish kind of style, that is really quite engaging.
    Very good song, the mix a little left sided.

    New Dress
    Elbow guitar? Left side.
    Piano across front.
    Strings either side.
    The mix fills out nicely as we roll along.
    Very good track, nice mix

    Digging
    Acoustic guitar front left side.
    Guitar right rear.
    Good song, immersive mix

    Out Of Your Mind
    We have guitars left and right side.
    Some interesting use of the guitars here, and they work really well creating a good soundfield.
    This is a more rock type track, and just as within the songs we have nice dynamics, the album flow has nice dynamics.
    Good song, nice immersion.

    I'll Take It From Here
    Drums, bass and vocals up front.
    Guitar layers around us.

    Lullaby
    Acoustic across the front, feeding the sides
    With vocals up front.
    Nice use of chords and melody

    This is a very good album. I get the feeling that folks that enjoyed the Liz Phair, Alanis Morissette type of stuff would probably really enjoy this. It isn't exactly the same or anything like that, it just sort of has that sound and feel. I get the impression that Jonatha is probably a little more complex in her arrangements and chord choices and such, but a general feel of the burst of female rock style artists from the nineties onwards comes from this. Having said that though there is a nice diversity in the album. We get nice dynamic shifts in the songs, and also in the flow of the album, and I find it kept me engaged very well.
    The mix isn't earth shattering, but it is solid and presents the album well in this format. A couple of songs were a little left sided on occasion but did fill out during sections of the songs where they upped the dynamics. A couple of songs also had pretty damn good mixes too.
    Certainly at the prices this is going for it is worth checking out. I think the album is certainly worth giving a listen, I found it to be a very good album.

    If you want to give the album a listen, it is on youtube, and it is worth a listen https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jonatha+brooke+steady+pull
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2021
  16. Åke Bergvall

    Åke Bergvall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mariestad, Sweden
    A great download deal today (and today only): Kroumata Encores as a surround dowload from eClassic for $6 (click here). I have had it for a while: unlike most classical surround recordings this album from a great percussion group is discreet, placing the instruments around the listener.
    [​IMG]
     
  17. jamesc

    jamesc Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Thanks Åke, I've been meaning to check out eclassical downloads. :)
     
  18. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I recently ordered the following. (I already had disc one and liked the performance and sound.) More later after I (hopefully) receive it.

    [​IMG]

    Reviews are quite enthusiastic. Here's one - LISZT: Organ Works (complete) – Martin Haselbock, organ – NCA (5 SACDs + DVD) – Audiophile Audition - which states: "Long-time [Liszt] advocate Martin Haselbock has given us a set for the ages, complete with a 155-page glossy book in three languages that has enormous and well-researched information on each piece in the set . . . The surround sound on these discs is stunning . . ."
     
  19. Åke Bergvall

    Åke Bergvall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mariestad, Sweden
    For those who like surround organ I can also recommend the SACDs with Hansjörg Albrecht. On some of the albums he plays two different yet mechanically connected organs, one in each end of the church, which makes for a massive surround sound. Some of his recordings are transcriptions of orchestral music by people like Wagner or Holst (I can strongly recommend his version of The Planets). The best and cheapest vendor for these is jpc (click here).
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2021
  20. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Yippee, A (a la mode) finally arrived this afternoon ... so hopefully Sunday :)

    Hey @riskylogic , do you want to do the live disc?
     
    Audiowannabee and Åke Bergvall like this.
  21. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Just received this, and I think the surround-sound is excellent. I feel like I'm sitting in the middle of the church with Liszt bouncing off all four walls. Gets me right in the gut, which organ music should do IMO.
     
  22. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Rather than buy the 4-SACD box (for about $50), I decided to start with just one of the discs - Nielsen's 2nd and 3rd symphonies - which aren't very expensive at all (combined, probably less or at least no more than than the box). The set received an enthusiastic review from Hurwitz at Classics Today - Dacapo's Thrilling New Nielsen Cycle - ClassicsToday It's hard to tell from the packaging if it's multi-channel, but my research indicates the recordings are in that format. We'll see how it sounds, and if it indeed rates a 10/10 SQ.

    [​IMG]
     
  23. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    I'll do a follow up post commenting on the whole thing. Part of the LA concert is also in the Slipstream video that I reviewed a few weeks ago,
     
  24. Åke Bergvall

    Åke Bergvall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mariestad, Sweden
    I just received a batch of Dutton SACDs mastered from RCA and Columbia quads, and I can especially recommend a great surround experience in the form of a 1974 recording by Stokowsky (then in his 90s) of Mahler's 2nd Symphony, an 80 min progression from death to resurrection that is stupendous, especially its climactic end with soloists and a huge choir. Stoky had a long Mahler pedigree, having conducted the American premieres of the 8th Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde back in 1915-16.

    [​IMG]
     
  25. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    Anderson, Jon - Olias of Sunhillow. In 1975, all five of the members of Yes went off off to to do solo albums. I bought all of them as LPs. However, I only replaced Chris Squire Fish Out of Water (the best of the bunch by far) and Steve Howe Beginnings with a CD. The White and Moraz albums I can do without, but I've always wanted Olias of Sunhillow too. It sounds very much like a 70's Yes album (especially Tales from Topographic Oceans), but since Jon is playing all the instruments himself, the musicianship isn't nearly as impressive. The 5.1 is an upmix, so the best we can expect is a nice ambient mix - and that's what it is. However, to earn that extra point it's going to have to beat out my Yamaha receiver. It's a fairly new model (an RX-A3080) and the remote has an "AI" button that turns the up-mixing on and off. I usually keep it off. I performed this experiment with the Steve Hackett Voyage of the Acolyte upmix and decided the receiver was just as good. But I had a different set of speakers then - I have the same receiver in an Atmos system now. In this case, it's not even a tie - the Yamaha wins. You might argue that it's an unfair comparison because the receiver has advantage of using the ceiling speakers. But I don't care, no surround point from me. However, I am happy that the receiver has a 96/24 stereo file to work with. So still worth the 20 bucks. (2/1)

    Liquid Tension Experiment - 3. I really like the album. It's basically Dream Theater with Tony Levin instead of James Myung, and no James LaBrie or vocals at all for that matter. "Hypersonic" and "A Passage of Time" are my favorites tracks, and the prog metal rendition of "A Rhapsody in Blue" is pretty cool. So, a better than average Dream Theater album. But it's basically an ambient surround mix with keyboards in surround and occasional guitar reverb as well. "Chris & Kevin's Amazing Odyssey" is the best surround track, but they could have done so much more with it. "Key to the Imagination" has a short keyboard solo and some guitar flashes in the rear too. But the 5.1 wasn't really worth ponying up the extra bucks for. (2/2)
     
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