Your worst DVD-A nightmare... as told by Eric Johnson

Eric posted this to his fan mailing list. I cannot even begin to imagine how angry he must have been.

 

Capitol...why did I know?

 

Ain't that the truth! I can see artists refusing to either not allow aqnyone else remix tapes or not allow it at all. And, if it's not in the contract I can see some litigation happening.

 

Sorry about the digression; this may venture off topic, but please bear with me:

Interestingly, this very scenario is one of the qualms I have about new audio formats. New music, no problem; it can be recorded with the new formats in mind! Or, if the source tapes are remastered in surround with the approval and input of the artists, engineers and producers with an eye on the integrity of the original album. The problem comes with older material (esp. mono and single mic source recordings) which probably can't be remastered in surround without being "synthesized" in some manner and whose artists, engineers and producers may no longer be around or capable of creative input. Note: It sort of reminds me of when Ted Turner announced he was going to colorize B&W movies from the MGM vaults he'd purchased and the immediate backlash about greed defiling art made him reconsider.

Even though I'm all for the 'sound improvement' of all audio formats and wish to see the digital medium reach every 'bit' of it's potential I have reservations about the 'orchestration' of popular and historically relevent stereo/mono music into 5.1 formats; puns aside, let's just say that I'm having difficulty 'mastering' the 'mixed' feelings.

I'm rapidly reaching the conclusion that not everything which CAN BE SHOULD BE reissued in "gosh-WOW!" surround whether there's a viable commercial market for it or not. First of all, on the gear side of the equation, it means consumers feel pressured into spending much more for speakers that may or may not perform synergistically with what's already owned, not to mention the additional amps, preamps, processors (i.e., a tube connoiseurs worst nightmare; talk about HIGH-end, whew!) and a suitable DVD-A and/or SACD player. Secondly, with rare exception the listening experience isn't going to replicate anything resembling a live accoustical environment (i.e., only a few artists perform using surround systems), much less a studio environment. If that isn't enough, it lessens (waters down) the available sampling rate to squeeze additional channels on a disc so that the listener can experience a "gee-whiz" effect rather than hearing the beauty and inner workings of the music.

Perhaps, I'm wrong here and others can set me straight or at least allay my concerns, but I wonder if anyone else is troubled by the gung-ho attitude in marketing 5.1 as a panacea for all music lovers? I'm not a Luddite by any means, but the potential injury to the appreciation of art seems quite real, especially when record companies profit handily from rushing out ever changing albeit never ideal versions/formats of albums. If this is done just to placate the insatiable appetite of music consumers who pays the final price (i.e., as exemplified by the Eric Johnson misfire), the music lover or the artist?

I have similar concerns about television. As a proud owner of a 16:9 direct view HDTV I'm still a fan and collector of 4:3 formated movies from Hollywood's heyday and Germany & France's golden eras. I've found that old TV shows and acadamy format movies seem pinched on a widescreen set because of the annoying side bars [even Court TV ]. The verticle bars seem more distracting than the horizontal letterboxing which we've grown accustomed to on 4:3 displays over the years.

My point is that as the technology changes to accomodate enhanced viewing and listening, we seem to be losing the "art" represented by those older technologies to fascilitate the acceptance of the new technologies.

My hope is that these concerns make sense to someone besides myself; I look forward to reading the opinions of those who've considered this aspect of techno-growth, especially those with a first hand working knowledge of the potential and the problems.

Robert Cat Conrad

 

Robert,

You hit the nail right on the head with that posting.

Why fix it if it ain't broke!

 

And it's no secret that I also have a problem with the "let's remiux everything" additude. Good post!

 

I have the MFSL gold cd and the DVD-A versions of Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed. Guess what I listen to??

The Dutch "Deramic Sound System" vinyl STEREO 6412 327, pressed back
in the early 80's. Each of the remixes has the most screwed up,
arbitrary use of echo. Both of the later mixes have holes big enough
to drive a truck thru.

The only persons who should have ever attempted cleaning up this lp
are Derek Varnala or Tony Clarke (and I do not know if either
of these gentlement are still alive as I say this).

 

At the risk of crashing the anti-multichannel party, I'd like to gently remind everyone that most advanced resolution discs do come with an advanced resolution stereo mix.

Although I'm not familiar with Johnson's music, I do own this DVD-A disc and have listened to the AR 2 channel mix, and I liked it.

thomoz: DVD-A of Days of Future Passed? Did I miss something here or did you mean the MB Hall of Fame DVD (which is quite good)?

 

I would like to hear the new guitar tracks.

 

The next step is to give us a DVD with all the 24 or so tracks and the mixing tools and let us go to town with our own stereo, mono and 5.1 mixes. Didn't Zappa or someone take a stab at that with one track already? (Just for fun mind you).

 

I think it was Beck that let fans remix a song and the winner of the contest got a b side.

 

>>>>>Dont laugh, guys, I can see this happening. Remember the golden rule......The Record Companies will do ANYTHING they can get away with to make money.

Imagine if they gave us the multitracks to "Sgt Pepper"??

Whew-Doggie!!

 

I'm guessing he's referring to the DTS CD.

Ryan