Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

Gong You
The quad version released as a part of the new Love from the Planet Gong box
Love it

 

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker
Neeme Jarvi and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra





The Nutcracker credits

• A&R – Sue Shortridge
• Booklet Editor – Finn S. Gundersen
• Composed By – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• Conductor – Neeme Järvi
• Design, Typography – Cap & Anchor Design
• Edited By – Jonathan Cooper
• Engineer – Ralph Couzens
• Engineer [Assistant] – Gunnar Herleif Nilsen
• Liner Notes – David Nice
• Liner Notes [Translated By] – Bettina Reinke-Welsh, Marie-Françoise de Meeûs
• Orchestra – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra*
• Photography By [Back Cover] – Simon van Boxtel
• Photography By [Cover] – Louis-Paul St-Onge
• Producer – Brian Pidgeon

https://www.discogs.com/Tchaikovsky-Neeme-Järvi-Bergen-Philharmonic-Orchestra-The-Nutcracker-Complete/release/11161873

Swan Lake
https://www.discogs.com/James-Ehnes-Bergen-Filharmoniske-Orkester-Neeme-Järvi-Tchaikovsky-Swan-Lake/release/8116906

The Sleeping Beauty

https://www.discogs.com/Pyotr-Ilyich-Tchaikovsky-Neeme-Järvi-Bergen-Filharmoniske-Orkester-The-Sleeping-Beauty-complete/release/13438596
-------------------------------------
This is an interesting one. It is essentially a compilation of the three ballets, as listed above, into one 5 sacd collection.
Today I am going to go through the Nutcracker, because for some reason The Nutcracker is associated with Christmas, and it is Christmas day. I am about to read up as to why it is associated with Christmas, because although I have always liked the music, I know nothing about it, except that it contains some more excellent Tchaikovsky pieces of music that have become so well know over the years, that it would be hard not to know them.

Ok. So the ballet is set on Christmas eve, and everyone is gathered around the parlour to decorate the Christmas tree, and the story unfolds from there.
For anyone wanting a more detailed breakdown of the history of this ballet/piece of music, here is the wikipedia info. If you are familiar with it and find that the information is incorrect, please let us know, or better still, if you know how to, please adjust the info in wikipedia - The Nutcracker - Wikipedia

So as I say this is an sacd set, with five discs. 2 for The Sleeping Beauty, 2 for Swan Lake, and 1 fro The Nutcracker.

It is available from Naxos direct for $53.99 Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker & Swan Lake - NaxosDirect
Available from Amazon from about $40 https://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Sleeping-Beauty-Nutcracker-Swan/dp/B0719JBXWW
and I assume that it is available from other classical music retailers. It may seem like a lot of money, but for 5 sacd's, if you like the music, it would seem to be a pretty decent price. Up the top there are links to the individual works, because they were available separately before being compiled into this collection. So if there was a particular one you wanted, you could very well just grab that, although buying them together would work out more economical, if they are something that would appeal to you.

The recording producer is Brian Pidgeon
and the sound engineer is Ralph Couzens

As with most classical music there is a booklet for each ballet, with very detailed information including things like the types of microphones they used and a full breakdown of the ballet and what is happening. The classical music world generally seems to relish the details, and that works to our benefit, especially if, like me, you like the music, but know nothing about it.

I'm not going to list the individual sections, because much like Pictures At An Exhibition, this is made up of small pieces of music, that go on to create a whole.
I am probably used to hearing the twenty minute edited version, so it will be interesting to hear the whole thing.

The overture instantly puts images in your head of the dance possibilities present by the music. There is a bouncing joy to the music, and always, it seems at least with these classical albums, the sound quality and surround field are excellent, as are the dynamics.
We again, as I seem to find with the classical surround albums have a 5.1 sound that really gives the orchestra some dimension. I find it hard to believe a classical music fan would listen to anything in stereo after having the whole orchestra being revealed so beautifully.
So far they all fulfill what one would want from a 5.1 mix. We get for example a solo instrument or two coming very clearly from the front, that is then filled out by strings in the sides. Or again on occasion a flute section up front, with strings at the sides and other wind instruments coming from the rears.
There is a really nice sectional breakdown that gives it some real body.
No.2 marche, is one of the very famous pieces of music here, and sounds great.
Track 4 has distinct percussion. Sounding a little like tambourine coming through the rears.
I know classical isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the 5.1 soundfield really helps to breakdown the melodies, counter melodies, and orchestra sections in such a way as to enhance the listening. I, personally, am getting a whole new appreciation of these tracks via this medium.
In track seven about halfway through we get the flute section whistling across the centre of the field really nicely ... and man the dynamics here are great, a couple of big crescendos, between the 4:30 - the finish, are really quite gripping, and again the 5.1 makes it quite breathtaking.
The pieces of music segue beautifully, leaving the listener in a position of enjoying the whole thing, somewhat like a good concept album.
The two acts are just over forty minutes, aside from the overture. Giving us just under eighty five minutes of quite gripping movement and melody.
The final section of act 1 has some really excellent 5.1 distinctions, and we are also graced by a melodic, and easy to listen to series of short choir interjections that fit thematically and really accent the unity of the music and players, with everyone sitting back awaiting there turn to add there little piece of music to create the whole.
Another dynamic series of crescendos take us out of act 1.
Act two starts gently, and then moves us into a series of sweeping sections.
Again we move smoothly into the next section, as if it all just one piece of music.
A lot of the pieces of music here are scenes, and really do convey a sense of movement well.
Le chocolat has castanets cracking in the sides
Le cafe has the pulsating rhythm up front while the beautiful melodic string come through the sides. This is also a very well known piece of music to m . And it really comes over well in the surround field.
Le the, also really works really well.
Trepak is again a very famous piece, and we get a very powerful rendering here.
Le le mirlitons, is another of the famous pieces from the shortened suite.
Then we get a vigorous dance punctuated by percussion.
I think reading the booklet along with this would be helpful for those wanting to do more than just enjoy the music.
Valse de fleurs. Waltz of the flowers?
I'm sure again everyone would be familiar with this. Such nice variation in dynamics, it really accents how well written, and also conducted this is.
Celeste brings on the left side.
So hard to describe the way the surround field comes alive on here.
Strings call left side, flutes respond right side. The whole orchestra bursts wide open and the chimes of the celeste keep popping into that left rear.
Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy is also another extremely famous piece of music here, and like the rest of it it sounds great.

I know it isn't probably cool to like waltzes and all that, and ballet is for rich folks, and pompous folks and all that other guff, but at the end of the day, this is some really well written, arranged, conducted and recorded music, in a surround environment that sounds great.
If you don't really listen to classical music much, or at all, something like this is a pretty decent entry point, because I would be amazed if you aren't familiar with a lot of the pieces of music that go to make up the whole, and it is so well recorded, and sits in the surround field beautifully, that it could just lean you to try some more.
I am certainly no classical music expert. I love some certain pieces of music and enjoy listening to them, and these surround sacd's are really enhancing that enjoyment a lot.
It can be a little irritating that the names of the pieces of music are in foreign languages. It can feel a little elitist and all that kind of stuff, but I just enjoy the pieces of music, no differently than I would enjoy Zappa's Watermelon In Easter Hay, Or Miles Davis Blues in Green.
Highly recommend this, whether you get the fairly cheep Nutcracker on its own up there in the opening section ... i think about ten bucks from discogs, or whether you dove in head first and got all five in this set. Really very good.

 

I have the original separate releases and, yes, the recording is excellent. OTOH, Jarvi's conducting is competent and serviceable but not up to the best out there, even in multichannel.

 

Is this the AF BS&T disk which has the audio issues, or was it the debut album?

 

This is the AF I guess.
What are the audio issues supposed to be?

 

On the stereo layer the vocals aren't centered where they should be.

The 5.1 does not suffer from that.

 

Cool, I thought I was going mad...
I will never listen to the stereo lol

 

Stormbringer


Studio album by
Deep Purple
Released November 1974
Recorded August-September 1974
Studio Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany
The Record Plant, Los Angeles
Genre Hard rock blues rock funk rock
Length 36:31
Label Purple (Europe, Oceania, South America)
Warner Bros. (USA, Canada & Japan)
Producer Martin Birch & Deep Purple

The cover image of Stormbringer is based on a photo. On 8 July 1927 a tornado near the town of Jasper, Minnesota was photographed by Lucille Handberg.[2] Her photograph has become a classic image,[3] and was used and edited for the album's cover. The same photograph was used for Miles Davis' album Bitches Brew in 1970 and Siouxsie and the Banshees' album Tinderbox in 1986.

Stormbringer is the name of the second Elric of Melniboné novel by Michael Moorcock. It is the name of a magical sword described in many novels and comics by Moorcock and others which enjoyed enormous success in the 1960s and 70s. David Coverdale has denied knowledge of this until shortly after recording the album. In an interview with Charles Shaar Murray in the New Musical Express he claimed that the name was from mythology.[4] A few years later, Moorcock collaborated with Blue Öyster Cult to write "Black Blade," a song that actually was about the sword Stormbringer.[5]

According to Glenn Hughes, the slurred gibberish that is spoken by Coverdale at the beginning of the title track just prior to the first verse is the same backwards dialogue that Linda Blair's character utters in the film The Exorcist, when she is questioned by the priest.[6]

Deep Purple

• David Coverdale – lead vocals (all but "Holy Man"), backing vocals
• Ritchie Blackmore – lead guitars
• Jon Lord – organ, keyboards, electric piano, backing vocals
• Glenn Hughes – bass guitar, lead vocals (all but "Soldier of Fortune"), backing vocals
• Ian Paice – drums, percussion

Production

• Produced by Deep Purple and Martin Birch
• Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich in August 1974
• Engineered by Martin Birch, assisted by Reinhold Mack and Hans Menzel
• Additional recording and mixing by Martin Birch and Ian Paice, assisted by Gary Webb and Garry Ladinsky at The Record Plant, Los Angeles during September 1974
• Mastered at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, California
• 35th Anniversary Edition digital mastering and remastering by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, London
• Remixes for the "35th Anniversary Edition" mixed by Glenn Hughes with Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, London, 3 November 2006
• "High Ball Shooter" (instrumental) mixed by Gary Massey at Abbey Road Studios, London, April 2002
• Original Quad mix by Gary Ladinsky at The Record Plant, October 1974
• Reformatted for 5.1 surround sound by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios, London, February 2008[4]

1. "Stormbringer" Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale 4:03
2. "Love Don't Mean a Thing" Blackmore, Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord, Ian Paice 4:23
3. "Holy Man" Coverdale, Hughes, Lord 4:28
4. "Hold On" Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice 5:05
5. "Lady Double Dealer" Blackmore, Coverdale 3:19
6. "You Can't Do It Right (With the One You Love)" Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes 3:24
7. "High Ball Shooter" Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice 4:26
8. "The Gypsy" Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice 4:05
9. "Soldier of Fortune" Blackmore, Coverdale 3:14
------------------------------------------------------------------
I was into Deep Purple pretty early on in my musical life. I had Machine Head and Live In Japan on vinyl as a nipper, and then in 1988 when the Deep Purple Collection came out on cd, covering MkII-Mk IV eras of the band I got that. A Little Later I got a similar set that covered the first three albums.
To some degree, and I know this will probably annoy hard core Purple fans, I tended to find their albums a little inconsistent. I would generally listen to In Rock, Machine Head and Burn, When Live In Japan, and Live In Europe weren't getting a spin. In Mk III and IV I tended to find Glenn Hughes to be a little annoying, I have grown accustomed to his singing with Purple, but to be honest I wanted him to be quiet and let Coverdale sing. I probably just made a lot of enemies, but I can only say what I feel ... it is cool to disagree

The original idea that got the band together was actually a plan by former searchers drummer Chris Curtis. He had wanted to put together a sort of supergroup that rotated players in and out. He sought and received financial backing from London businessman and manager Tony Edwards. The project was going to be called Roundabout.
It started off with John Lord being recruited, and as things moved along Nick Simper joined, and encouraged them to recruit Ritchie Blackmore who was making a name for himself as a session guitarist in Germany.
Essentially Chris Curtis was using a lot of LSD, and due to his distractions lost interest in the project but Hire-Edwards-Coletta Enterprises (HEC), who were essentially the management company, liked the idea of something happening with Lord and Blackmore. HEC fired Curtis and moved on with the idea of a band with Lord and Blackmore.
There was some jiggering around with the line up, which there often seems to be in the music biz, as formulas are put into place to find a winning partnership and in 1968

• Rod Evans – lead vocals
• Ritchie Blackmore – guitars
• Jon Lord – organ, backing vocals
• Nick Simper – bass, backing vocals
• Ian Paice – drums

released the first Deep Purple album Shade Of Deep Purple, which is worth checking out.
That formation of the band released 3 good albums and then at the end of the 69 tour Blackmore and Lord met with Paice about taking the band in a heavier direction. They all felt that Evans and Simper weren't going to git in that style, and they were booted and In came Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. The band recorded the Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which was actually initially a Jon Lord solo project, that was released as a Purple Live album. Gillan and Blackmore weren't really happy with the band being seen as a band that played with orchestras, and the band moved into a hectic touring and recording schedule that saw the release of the classic In Rock album.
This version of the band recorded another three albums together, and was very successful, particularly with the Machine Head album that we looked at earlier in this thread.
In 73 the band was pushed to release the Who Do We Think We Are album, and really they just needed to take a breather a gather themselves. What ended up happening was Ian Gillan quit and Roget Glover was dismissed.
So we move into 74 and onboard come David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. Initially Hughes, who had come from the band Trapeze, had tried to get the band to recruit Paul Rodgers, but Rodgers was putting together the band Bad Company and after some auditions Coverdale got the nod.
In 1974 the band released the album Burn, and later in the year they brought out the album we will look at today Stormbringer.

Purple have had a crazy ride through the musical world with many line up changes reformations and it has certainly been interesting to watch from the outside.

Stormbringer was to be the last Deep Purple album of the seventies for Blackmore, who went on to form the marvelous Rainbow.

I am not altogether sure how I feel about Stormbringer except that I know I really like a few tracks. In my youth, as I say, In Rock, Machine Head and Live In Japan got most of the attention.

This disc is essentially a DTS disc. It comes as a cd/dvd-video with a DTS surround track and a 48/24 stereo track. The 5.1 was manipulated from the Quad mix of the album, and I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I love 5.1, but I often just don't really see the reason to manipulate a quad track into 5.1, I would just release the quad track, and get the multis and remix a 5.1 personally.

This 25th anniversary edition is available from
discogs europe pressing from about $8 Deep Purple - Stormbringer
Brazil pressing from about $27 Deep Purple - Stormbringer
Argentina pressing from about $24 Deep Purple - Stormbringer
Amazon Uk from about 16 pounds https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stormbringer-35th-Anniversary-Deluxe-Purple/dp/B001M2IXEA

Original Quad mix by Gary Ladinsky
Reformatted for 5.1 surround sound by Peter Mew

Stormbringer
The start is a little rough, possibly ever so slightly clipped
Tambourine in right rear.
Organ just left of front left.
D6 sounding keys on right side.
Lead gtr right side, and then moves across to the front.
Some sub assist to the bass.

Love Don't Mean a Thing
Guitars either side.
The first track sounded pretty good, but this track sounds better.
Purple getting a little funky here.

Holy Man
Here we get a kind of ballad that breaks into a rock section.
Gtrs either side.
Cymbals in the rears.
This is a nice mix

Hold On
Organ up front. Nice sounding kick.
Cymbals in the rears.
Gtr just left of left front.
Bvox in the sides.

Lady Double Dealer
Gtr on the right side.
Bvox on right side.
Cymbals in the sides.

You Can't Do It Right
Gtr on the right side.
D6 keys right side.
Organ left side.
Bvox right side.
Another funky kind of track.

High Ball Shooter
Gtrs either side.
Organ right side.
Some of the vocals are sort of on the right side also.

The Gypsy
Organ right side.
Gtr left side.
Harmony gtr front and either side.

Soldier Of Fortune
Acoustic gtr right side.
Organ just left of left front.
Hats or tambourine either side.
Lead gtr front left and right harmonies.
Mellotron across the field.

The mix on this is pretty reasonable. On occasion I am not quite happy with the sound, and I am not sure whether it is the recording, the mix, or the quad to 5.1 manipulation.
My main problem is, I am just not really a big fan of this album. There are some pretty good songs spread through here, and I do like several of them, but it just doesn't work as a Purple album for me.
I should have re-listened to my cd before buying this one, because it just doesn't really appeal to me. I suppose to some degree I thought that a good 5.1 may have pulled the album up into my like zone, but it just doesn't manage to get my love.
I think that someone that likes this version of Purple would probably enjoy this. It isn't demo quality 5.1, but it is pretty good, but for me, I should have just stuck with Machine Head.

 

Strangely enough, this is the song that sold me on surround.

When a friend gave me his old surround system some years back, I had some CDs like this in my library, but couldn't previously enjoy them because of my plain, stereo system. In fact, I mainly just listened to ripped CDs on my two-speaker computer. With the new system, I went looking for all the surround CDs I already owned that had come in deluxe or anniversary editions that I had bought.

Deep Purple is one of my top bands, so I knew the record pretty well. But Hold On in particular shocked me. Hearing Ritchie just chugging away so clearly on the A string in the left channel was a revelation. In a way, it's kind of silly that something so simple would be my "angels singing from the heaven" moment with surround. But I do noodle around a bit on guitar, so maybe it isn't so surprising that a guitar part would be what grabbed me.

As for the album itself, I'm a Glenn Hughes fan and this is more his style than Ritchie's. As such, I enjoy it more for Glenn's influence than Ritchie's.

It's well-known Ritchie didn't like the funky style and wasn't totally engaged on this album before bolting. But I agree with what someone on a forum years ago wrote: "He may not like that style of music, but he can sure as hell play it."

 

I love STORMBRINGER.

 

That may well be my problem with the album. I have just never really clicked with Hughes. I know he is good at what he does, but he never really seems to reach me.
I think the surround is pretty good. It doesn't do anything too fancy, but the mix is pretty solid. I just couldn't get into the album. I think with Purple I lean more towards Machine Head, In Rock and the MkI stuff.

 

Don't forget to vote for this weekend's stuff happy campers Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

 

Thanks for the review of Deep Purple Strombringer Mark!

Personally I LOVE the title track but the rest of the album is just ok to me. I enjoy it but when I put this album on its because I have a hankering to hear the title track. That said this is a bit of a weird one in that they took an existing Quad mix and tweaked it to be 5.1.

Very interestingly over at Quadraphonic Quad Moderator @steelydave did some in depth analysis and found that (at least based on my interpretation) that one can simply dump the center and LFE channels and end up with the original Quad.

 

Wilson, Steven - The Raven That Refused To Sing. I've had this since it was released, but I haven't listened to it more than a few times. Perhaps that's because it took me until Hand.Cannot.Erase. to forgive Wilson for not being Porcupine Tree anymore. On closer inspection, it's a pretty good album. The musicianship and recording quality are excellent, and so is the surround mix. The guitar solos on Luminol and Watchmaker are really nice, and the consistent inclusion of Theo Travis makes this a distinctive album in Wilson's solo catalog. But, it's still not Porcupine Tree (2/3).

Deep Purple - Machine Head. One of the titles I gave myself for Christmas. Otherwise it would have just been lumps of coal. Way back when, I had a Made in Japan LP. I don't think I had anything else Purple. After trading in all my vinyl, I picked up a Deep Purple compilation. What those two have in common is that they both have the the three essential DP songs (Highway Star/Smoke/Space Truckin'), all of which are from Machine Head. So, I think this SACD will complete my multichannel Deep Purple collection. The recording quality and the surround mix are just OK - a pretty big step down after listening to Wilson first (1/2).

 

I LOVE machine head so much so that i just had to have the Quad version...dropped $45 n ordered it from germany...a MUST OWN for rock surround enthusiasts!

Sure u got the right version??? Mine is the emi uk sacd quad version...fabulous!

 

It is excellent.
I think it is easy to listen to any of the very old albums, after listening to a very well done newer album, and be left slightly underwhelmed

 

Well ive not got no Wilson or porcupine tree music...i do have some wilson remixes ex: Tull, Yes...but i will say that i do tend to prefer the older QUAD 4 corner mixes...im drawn to them....but then again im old...n i like old music...but really Love quad
Sly, Aretha yeah there s some great 5.1 elton john but imho Quad is fantastic

 

I have the 2011 Japanese Warner-Rhino SACD - same mix as the 2001 DVDA

 

I wouldn't say any of them. It depends on the recording quality to begin with and how well they were preserved. For example, the sound quality of In the Court of the Crimson King (either 40th or the 50th anniversary versions) is way better than Machine Head even though it was recorded 2 years earlier.

 

That's fine. I'm old too lol
I love Quad too.... I wasn't knocking quad. I was merely saying that some of the newer mixes, are cleaner and more hi-tech. so when listening to really new hi tech mixes, as opposed to older lower tech mixes, there is a big sonic difference, and you (meaning the individual listening) need to recalibrate your head somewhat.

 

Yea but that's a chalk and cheese comparison. Machine Head was recorded in the Grand Hotel, on the Rolling Stone Mobile Unit, after the fire spoiled their plans. Also I don't think anyone has revisited it properly and spent time cleaning up tapes etc.
Yes, In The Court is a great sounding album, but they have literally spent years getting it to sound the way the new release does, and it was recorded in Wessex Sound Studios, a very controlled environment. To the best of my knowledge they found all the original overdub one inch tapes, and basically redid the whole album. That makes a huge difference as to just transferring an old Quad tape to digital.

 

Right, that's what I'm saying. Some old recordings were never that good to begin with. Others got degraded or lost completely. But, there's still some gems left.

 

To me Purple doesn't hurt it to have a bit of dirt in the mix. Crimson, it would hurt, but it is always going to be subjective

 

Well i researched this one quite a bit before pulling the trigger n parting with $$$
N the Quad mix 4.0 from 1972 released 2003 on sacd is far superior to the 5.1 on that japan 2011 according to reviews at QQ
Don't feel bad as it can get confusing when there are several mixes out for the same album
Ive made mistakes parting with cash before researching n ended up with the wrong mix / disc myself....but from what ive read the Quad definitely trumps the 5.1 on this one...glad i spent the extra $15-20 for it

 

Ill go recalibrate my head right now...just got done eating n ready to fire it up...both the audio system n the pipe