HiRez Poll Morrison, Van - MOONDANCE [Blu-Ray Audio]

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Rate the BDA of Van Morrison - MOONDANCE

  • 6:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Poor Fidelity, Poor Performance, Poor Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    111
Van doesn't own the rights to his first three albums: Astral Weeks, Moondance, and Band & Street Choir, Warner does. From what I heard, they tried for a long time to make nice with Van so that he'd let them distribute the rest of his back catalog from Tupelo Honey onward, but that never happened. I guess they figured that whatever bridge was there had been burned, and decided to put out this deluxe version of Moondance. Morrison took to his website to issue a statement urging people not to buy it because he hadn't approved it and complaining that he was still being ripped off 45 years later.
 
He probably didn't even know or care what was on it! its his fault the 5.1 didn't happen for the longest time, although he did create the wonderful music itself (and to be fair we don't know exactly what's gone on with negotiations behind closed doors between VM & WB) so I can't be too hard on him! :D
 
If I were Van I'd be more pissed at my former management (who sold those rights in the first place) than Warner, who IMO handled this title well and with some reverence and respect. I'd argue that, for quality and care, it's on a par with many projects (Moodies, Bee Gees, Boss) that have had artist involvement and approval.

Of course this title was originally on a short list of 'to do' DVD-A titles for WEA a decade back, but for whatever reasons was never done, so I'm guessing it's gotten decent sales and fan approval regardless of the artist's opinion. Indeed, if this one's done well enough it's reasonable to think the other two could be done down the road. That's my hope, anyway.

ED :)
 
Many unpacked packages waiting for me to hear.

This is the first one and I started good by myself with this. Breathtaking Mix from Eliot Scheiner.

A straight 10.
 
Popmarket.com is running a special sale on this item for the next 24hrs.

$42.99

If you haven't picked up this set yet, for that price, I HIGHLY recommend it. :)
 
I've had this reissue of Moondance for over 3 months and keep coming back to it for listen after listen. It's a magical, ethereal album -- one of several musical wonders we were graced with from the mid-sixties to the early seventies. I still prefer Van Morrison's Astral Weeks to Moondance, but it's a close call. Even now, forty plus years after its release, Moondance is an irresistible pop masterpiece.

Scheiner's multichannel mix is exquisite, with a discrete yet enveloping, silky smooth sound that is easy to get lost in. I have to give it a '10' across the board.
 
I was't planning to buy an expensive box just for the surround disc, but someone gave it to me for my birthday. OK, I may have given a subtle hint :) The 3 CDs with sessions are actually more interesting than one would assume by reading the titles (take 21, 22, anyone?). It's something of an audio documentary, a making of. Very nice, although admittedly not daily listening material. The blu-ray on the other hand is superb. It has an old-fashioned quad feel. Just a small gripe: is it me or is there much more going on in the back right area (saxes and flutes) than back left (erm... not a lot)? Also, it's supposed to have 5.1 and stereo mixes, but I can't access any menu to select them. But no problem, it plays in 5.1 and I love it. A definite 9 for me, both music and surround-wise.
 
You are absolutely correct, fredblue. Don't think I ever used that button, I normally use the menus. Except on the Yes Album, you can use the color buttons, I thought that was pretty cool.
 
You are absolutely correct, fredblue. Don't think I ever used that button, I normally use the menus. Except on the Yes Album, you can use the color buttons, I thought that was pretty cool.

ah well, "a problem shared is a problem halved" as they say :)

the coloured buttons on the fly stream selectability bit is a "Pure Audio" spec thing. All the BDA's QQ Neil authors (afaik) have been done that way (the best way imho) and a few of the HFPA discs do too.. though too few don't use the coloured Pure Audio interface, too few HFPA's have Surround options, so the ability to switch between nigh-on identical flavours of codec of the same Stereo mix on the fly is kinda moot I reckon :eek:
 
I still love, love, love this disc. While I'm thankful for any multi-channel releases I am always especially excited when something not falling into the "progressive rock" category is released. Maybe we are seeing so much progressive rock released because Steven Wilson is obviously a fan of this genre. Progressive rock in not high on my list of favorite styles of music. That's why it is so exciting for me when an artist like Van Morrison is given the surround sound treatment. This is by far my favorite release in years. My only technical complaint about it is that on my Oppo there is an audible sound when the player is transitioning from one tune to the next. It really does not handle the visuals very well on this disc. There is something funky about them. I've had times where the background will load, but the actual still of Van doesn't. And there is always sort of an audible "clunk" as it changes. Almost hearkens back to the kur-chunk sound of an 8-track player changing tracks. But it happens on every single song. But a small annoyance factor to put up with for a great disc.
 
I still love, love, love this disc. While I'm thankful for any multi-channel releases I am always especially excited when something not falling into the "progressive rock" category is released. Maybe we are seeing so much progressive rock released because Steven Wilson is obviously a fan of this genre. Progressive rock in not high on my list of favorite styles of music. That's why it is so exciting for me when an artist like Van Morrison is given the surround sound treatment. This is by far my favorite release in years. My only technical complaint about it is that on my Oppo there is an audible sound when the player is transitioning from one tune to the next. It really does not handle the visuals very well on this disc. There is something funky about them. I've had times where the background will load, but the actual still of Van doesn't. And there is always sort of an audible "clunk" as it changes. Almost hearkens back to the kur-chunk sound of an 8-track player changing tracks. But it happens on every single song. But a small annoyance factor to put up with for a great disc.

Could this be a firmware issue on your Oppo?
 
Could this be a firmware issue on your Oppo?

Don't really know. I have the Oppo BDP-83 with the latest firmware upgrade, so if it is a firmware problem I'm not sure it's correctable. I guess the question would be if anyone else out there with this disc and an Oppo BDP-83 has this same issue of an audible sound when transitioning from track to track?
 
I agree this is an amazing mix, but the authoring is terrible - I thought there was something wrong with it at first, the way it just shows the same 2 or 3 pictures repeatedly. It looks like they got 25% of the way through the authoring and went 'meh, good enough...'
 
I agree this is an amazing mix, but the authoring is terrible - I thought there was something wrong with it at first, the way it just shows the same 2 or 3 pictures repeatedly. It looks like they got 25% of the way through the authoring and went 'meh, good enough...'

Yes, it is one of those discs where you really ask yourself, what have I gained from having visual content? Answer: Nothing!
 
I agree this is an amazing mix, but the authoring is terrible - I thought there was something wrong with it at first, the way it just shows the same 2 or 3 pictures repeatedly. It looks like they got 25% of the way through the authoring and went 'meh, good enough...'

the irony is, knowing how Warner authored their DVD-A's around the period this title was set to appear on the format, it would no doubt have had onscreen lyrics at the very least, possibly other extras.. certainly better menus than the BD-A, not that that'd be hard.
 
Yes, it is one of those discs where you really ask yourself, what have I gained from having visual content? Answer: Nothing!

I've never watched the video portion; in fact I don't think I've ever watched any of the video portions of the hi rez discs I own. I think it stems from being a blu ray snob, in fact the only DVD quality material I ever watch is the old Miami Vice series. I have THIS and it's my "flashback" machine, just loved that series. I bought that box set 4 years ago on amazon for $50(brand new) and I still watch it and love it, despite the poor video quality.
 
Revisiting this exceptional release this afternoon while reading through the many insightful takes in this thread. QQ is so very cool. Voted a while back but didn't have time then to post comments. Refreshing indeed, another true classic finds a whole new voice through the hands of a MC mixing master. I agree with Clint Eastwood when he describes a certain vinyl warmth. A kind of modern day "vintage" surround experience.

By all means, please do bring on Astral Weeks... The other of Van's two timeless masterpieces.

10
 
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