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

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

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
Looking back through this thread, I realized that I never actually posted a review for this disc, and in light of recent discussion as well as recent plays on my system, I felt it was time I put a few of my thoughts down on this disc (which I did in the "Listening to…" thread and are repeated here)

I gave this disc a '9'. My reasons mostly have to do with the music. The mix and fidelity are absolutely excellent, but my interest in the music peters off a little bit once Side 2 begins, and some of the songs begin to sound alike after a while.
I am so glad though that this mix finally saw the light of day as not only is Elliot Scheiner an amazing surround mixing engineer, but he was definitely the perfect choice to mix this one as he was the original recording/mixing engineer and knows this record inside out.

If there's a really special moment on this disc, it's "Crazy Love" with the drums in the surround channels. Normally, I loathe drums in the surround channels, but for this particular song, it works perfectly as the light touch of the brushes does not interfere with the other sounds and where they are place in the surround field.

This disc is definitely recommended, especially if you can get it new for a great, bargain price! :)
 
I went with a 9 on this. Docked a point for packaging. My front inside cover ripped because there was a dob of glue between the white onion paper and the hard cover.
And I'm not sure I can read the booklet without destroying the whole thing.
As for the BDA... Yummy. So spacious. So airy and ethereal. Heavenly.
The fog horn sounds BAD-ASS.
Yes, you got to CRANK this one.
 
The opposite is true for me. After the hits are out of the way, the record gets more interesting and funky to me.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that so many of the songs (particularly on Side 2) are in the same key, and when I hear a similar tonality like that over and over again, it makes me think that it all starts to sound the same, but I still think I prefer the songs on Side 1 anyways. :)
 
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that so many of the songs (particularly on Side 2) are in the same key, and when I hear a similar tonality like that over and over again, it makes me think that it all starts to sound the same, but I still think I prefer the songs on Side 1 anyways. :)

You touch on a point of interest/criticism of VM (in my mind): comparison of many of his songs will show he tops out his melodies on this one note, mainly. If I had a piano here I could pin-point exactly what it is.
Moondance has rather varied melodies compared to some of his later albums, especially. Again, on later albums, he uses this kind of wailing shout or holler that tends to be the same note, so I'd imagine many songs are in the same key.
This isn't a major indictment, given the sheer number of his albums (last time I counted I had 37 or 38) and I'm glad I've been able to enjoy his creative output.
I guess the point I was driving toward re: Moondance side B is that the songs are less memorable (in a good way, for me), so still fresh.
 
You touch on a point of interest/criticism of VM (in my mind): comparison of many of his songs will show he tops out his melodies on this one note, mainly. If I had a piano here I could pin-point exactly what it is.
Moondance has rather varied melodies compared to some of his later albums, especially. Again, on later albums, he uses this kind of wailing shout or holler that tends to be the same note, so I'd imagine many songs are in the same key.
This isn't a major indictment, given the sheer number of his albums (last time I counted I had 37 or 38) and I'm glad I've been able to enjoy his creative output.
I guess the point I was driving toward re: Moondance side B is that the songs are less memorable (in a good way, for me), so still fresh.

I'm with you. Side B sounds fresh to me too as Side A always grabbed the most play. The songs can grow on me now.
 
Short take: If you already love the album, it is a definite buy. If you are neutral on his music, it is a steep price for a single surround mix.

Most of you reading this will have already made the purchase, as it was a verified but long unreleased Elliot Scheiner mix. As such the announced release was highly anticipated, and for most people here, it was worth the wait. For me, it was less so. I have hesitated to post my comments because I removed the disc from the crappy packaging and promptly misplaced the disc for two years! My bad.

The Mix: I gave it a single first listen just after the release date, and I was not as strongly enamored as many here. Certain songs are perfect, but the title track (for me one of the two most important songs in the collection) sounds oddly disjointed. Normally I am a huge champion of discrete 70s quad goodness, which this does emulate. But for me the surround mix on this track does not blend well into a unified whole. In particular, I thought the piano sounded "small" (rather like the effect of putting Keith Moon drums in one channel on the Tommy BDA mix). I felt that this made the track sound less involving than the stereo mix. Many other songs (such as my 2nd fav - Into The Mystic) sound great in this mix. But for me I am sorry to say I don't prefer the surround mix of the title track to the stereo version.

Sound Quality: The transfer is excellent and clean, with no clipping or distortion. Well recorded, well preserved. No complaints here.

Content: The surround mix and a high res stereo mix would have been enough for me. I do not need all the alternate takes. Great for a hardcore fan, and I honor industry for offering studio outtakes to fans, but a tiered set of releases would have been appropriate. I bought it, I supported it, but it was alot to spend on a single mix.

Free points: I have read with interest some of the other issues many have experienced. I can report I have been free of some of those, mostly because I handled the package approximately once in order to extract the disc I actually wanted. I can't understand why they would deliver product which can be scratched and scuffed in a package that would tend to scratch and scuff it! My Oppo 95 has had no playback issues. The menu/authoring issues are sloppy, especially for a high ticket item.

Summary: The presentation (packaging) is week and sub-standard. The sound quality is amazing. Much of the music is classic. Some of the mix is not everything I had hoped for, but to be fair when the mixer is working from only 8 tracks the mix we received is an accomplishment. I doubt anyone with these multis could have done better. I vote an 8.
 
Great song choices on this album. They take me to a great maybe spiritual place. The fidelity of the surround mix is startling. So happy this makes me happy. A 10.
 
For those who like looking at them, here is a screen shot of the 5.1 mix in Sound Forge. What's really strange is that in the 5th track, there's a lyric like "When the foghorn whistle blows", and you can see in the wave file that the fog horn is in the LFE!!

What's up with that? If I pull that LFE wav file and listen to it in a normal speaker, you can clearly hear sax's and horns doing the "foghorn whistle", but in the mix, it never makes it out of the sub woofer.

Most bizarre! Almost like someone messed up! (?)

Was this--if it was a mistake--ever corrected?

ED :)
 
Just received, and so far I'm liking what I hear. (y)

Dumb question: the original packaging, held together by the shrink wrap, includes a paper insert with disc track listings. The insert seems too physically large to store inside of the "box", due to the wide binding.

What do you guys do with this insert once the original shrink wrap is gone? :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Just received, and so far I'm liking what I hear. (y)

Dumb question: the original packaging, held together by the shrink wrap, includes a paper insert with disc track listings. The insert seems too physically large to store inside of the "box", due to the wide binding.

What do you guys do with this insert once the original shrink wrap is gone? :confused: :confused: :confused:

I tossed it away. :)
 
Van Morrison has much better albums than this one in his "canon" of superb titles.

I am a fan of his early works, late 60's and all of the 70's for instance.

That being said, this album is now far better than stereo only ,thanks to Elliot Scheiner's surround mix.

My favourite tunes have to be the opener "And It Stoned Me" but mostly "Into The Mystic" wows me. I love the way the camberlain comes up slowly in the right rear channel in Mystic. Absolutely gorgeous sounding tune.

I can't understand the artist trying to stop it's release. No doubt he has not heard the overall improvements.
It would be such a treat to have more Van Morrison in surround via the very capable E.S..


I voted a nine for the 5.1 mix and improvement in sound quality.
 
Thanks all, that was my conclusion too. It's not a big deal, but when I buy a new box set I hate to throw anything with information into the trash. Never know if I might need to sell it someday...

Exactly what I did. (y)

That insert only adds to the overall collectivity of the release.
 
Back
Top