HiRez Poll Reed, Robert - SANCTUARY [DVD-A]

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Rate the DVD-A of Robert Reed - SANCTUARY

  • 7 -

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  • 1 - Bad Fidelity, Bad Surround Bad Content

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  • Total voters
    35
Listening to DVD-A of Sanctuary now...first time. Excellent audio qualities, with the mix being very discreet, which is fun. Crystal clear instrumentation...very nice. I think it's a 10, both on mix/audio and content. OK, but I like Mike Oldfield...so this is right up that alley. Love it.
 
I forgot that I didn't vote on this.
Fidelity(10),Surround(10),Content(8) so over all a strong 9.
Rob R. is a great talent for sure and his ear for surround and mixing is stellar, wish he could do some other bands mixes as well, he knows what he is doing.
This sure does sound like it could have been a lost Mike Oldfield album. Well done.
 
Firstly, I want to be clear that what I am doing here is nit-picking. The music and mix are generally excellent, and in fact the mix is among those I most respect in hundreds of hours of listening. This release is mixed in the way I think all surround should be mixed. Very discrete, and very clear.

Is this like Mike Oldfield? Yes. Stylistically there is quite alot which harkens back to Part One of Tubular Bells. There seems to be some question about whether this is somehow bothersome. It is clearly offered as more of a tribute than a plagerism, and since I enjoy early Oldfield I say "why not." He is clearly conscious of the influence: the bottom of the back of the package says "Plus.....Tubular Bells." So if you like early Mike Oldfield, I am guessing this will please you.

One wonders if Oldfield has heard this and how he feels about it?

The one thing that I do not prefer is the way he uses human voices as part of the melodic flow. Whereas Oldfield employs a brief humming section that I think fits well, Reed uses a "wordless choir," providing "Synergy vocals." This manifests as harmonized parts comprised of sung sounds such as "la, lay, lo" and other voicings. This is more akin to a blend I should like to call Tubulaanisqatsi. The use of voices is my least favorite part of the recording - not because I do not like human voice used in this way, but because I do not love the way they are used here.

I am grateful that he did not attempt some variation of the master of ceremonies used in the Oldfield work. I have to wonder if he tried it.

Having said all that, there is enough here that I do really like, and may indeed grow to love, that I will not let it put me off of multiple listens.

So I am going to rate this as an 8, taking points off for the parts of the music I don't prefer and for the package, which as wavelength observes requires the user to slide the disc in and out in a way that could blemish the disc.
 
A good solid '9'.

This might not be an exact ripoff of "Tubular Bells", but no doubt it certainly is VERY heavily influenced by the classic Mike Oldfield album.

Starting with the recorders in the surrounds, this mix continues to build and build. Reed's solo electric guitars (which have a very similar tone to Oldfield's), timpani, and cymbal crashes also make for very effective surround sound moments within the first few minutes of the album.
The synthesized vocals and choirs are also a nice touch.
There's also some lovely Farfisa Organ on here!
This is an incredibly discrete album that it's so hard to list all of the instruments that make their way in and out of the surround channels, but no doubt it is extremely well balanced and effective.
This record proves that not only is Robert Reed an extremely talented composer, instrumentalist, and producer, but he knows how to do surround sound for sure!
There are some tone colors that members will recognize from Reed's Kompendium album, but I think this is a much better and more rounded effort on his part.

Highly recommended! :)
 
I'm utterly charmed by this one. I could not imagine a more delightful homage to the music of Mike Oldfield. Every moment is a cleverly crafted labor of love. Wonderfully executed with rich, warm sound and one of the best surround mixes you are ever likely to hear. An enthusiastic 10 for me.
 
I voted an 8. I thoroughly enjoy the album and sonically it is good. However I find the loud sounds not quite right and the same goes for soft sounds. There is good dynamic range on the album but the louds sounds never stress my system and the soft sounds are never hard to hear.
 
At first it sounded like a Tubular Bells ripoff (TB 4 if you like). So I postponed voting and listened much later again but now with the mindset of it being a TB homage.
So, it sounds good, the surround mix is OK and the contents are adequate. An 8 from me.
 
I wouldn't call this album a "Tubular Bells" rip off, per se. But upon listening to this album for the first time, I found myself laughing out loud at how close some of the music is to lots of Oldfield's music. Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations and Amarok all make appearances here. I don't mind an homage to Oldfield's style (which I freakin' love!), but there are moments on this album that probably had Mike's copyright lawyers perking up their ears. It's a bit like what The Rutles were to The Beatles. That said, there's also plenty of good original music in Oldfield's style, and Robert's recreation of Oldfield's guitar tone and playing style is scarily accurate.
 
All cleared with Mike's people, JD.
Rob had the decency to run the whole concept past them before he started as well as the finished mixes.
 
Mr R. just send me the DVD - Great album! Really like he moved on from where Oldfield stopped! And so good to hear Simon Phillips on drums on Sanctuary II - have missed hs nice drums!!!
Thx for your help in here!
 
One thing I appreciate about the Sanctuary albums is that I love MO's style, but he has been rather stingy with hi-res surround releases.
A lot of DTS and even DD.
So, with Sanctuary, I hear something I like just as much, with better production.
 
One thing I appreciate about the Sanctuary albums is that I love MO's style, but he has been rather stingy with hi-res surround releases.
A lot of DTS and even DD.
So, with Sanctuary, I hear something I like just as much, with better production.

I agree entirely and am looking forward to Sanctuary III very much!

btw - there was a hi res (uncompressed) flac download of Tubular Bells a few years ago. If you don't have it, it's well worth searching for. :)
 
I agree entirely and am looking forward to Sanctuary III very much!

btw - there was a hi res (uncompressed) flac download of Tubular Bells a few years ago. If you don't have it, it's well worth searching for. :)

Thanks for the tip! (y) Yeah, my copy of TB is just a DVD-V, but I have TB 2013 on DVD-A, which I like well enough.
 
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