HiRez Poll Waters, Roger - AMUSED TO DEATH [BluRay/SACD]

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Rate the BDA/SACD of Roger Waters - AMUSED TO DEATH


  • Total voters
    93
Well fancy that.

I tried to get into this album during the (lengthy) run-up to the release, and while I did enjoy it somewhat, I got turned off by the Waters-brand cynicism/nihilism being on full display, and his vocals, which he amped up to 110% defeatist (in my mind) for this album. It feels like "The Final Cut" with extra gravy, plus some more final gravy.

So when the remaster finally came out, I kinda skipped over it. Only now did I go back for a closer look, and read through this thread. The occasion was that I had the chance to listen to Jim's revision of the 5.1 mix.

And what a revelation it is! I listened to it twice in a row yesterday and was completely enthralled. This is a prime example of sublime mixing and sound quality turning an album that first left me lukewarm-cold into a fully absorbing, crazy mind-trip. Now, I haven't heard the actual released 5.1 (or "quad") mix yet, though I did order the Blu-Ray yesterday. With that in mind, I'm very excited about what's going on here.

I find that the rears (which, as I understand, Jim didn't touch) are very active, delivering both sound effects and music very well. What got me most is the sound quality, which is insane. Some of the most dramatic effects (planes flying, bombs crashing, explosions) are so powerful, they shake the room and all your insides. Everything here is balanced perfectly as far as I'm concerned, with amazing detail and impact.

Note that I'm only vaguely familiar with the original album, so long-time fans might notice and dislike whatever creative liberties were taken with volume levels etc. when transitioning from stereo to 5.1.

I can't really leave a vote here, since I'm still judging the release based on Jim's revamp, but that would get a 10 from me, and so does the sound quality. I'd take 1 off for the fact that underneath it all, it's still Waters piling on too much of his trademark darkness for my tastes. You gotta hand it to him for staying true to his shtick, though. He's treading ground that, while typical for him, sets this work apart, makes it very memorable and quite quotable. I keep wanting to throw the line, "The species has amused itself to death" at much of what I see in the world.

So, a 9 until I get to listen to the actual released 5.1 mix, which I expect I will do once and then shelve it again in favour of Jim's. ;-)
 
I had a similar reaction to ATD originally as you.
Now it seems to me like the concept they had mix-wise was apparently too far ahead of the times (16 bit CD and waning vinyl quality). This album is a wild ride now!

Not sure what to say. JG's mix is monumental and I'm not sure if I could create something like that myself. Mastering is simply delivering a mix to a format and minding fidelity. That such a mix as this either basically got mastered to 4.1 as released (or it wasn't mastered at all but SHOULD have been - or something else went wrong) is kind of shocking! I don't know who I think I am to just come along and say "Let me just fix this major surround sound bluray disc release." but here it is.
 
I agree with Zabble! :music I get excited listening to this album again now that it is a 5.1 mix. The center channel is a bit of a non-event but the stereo image is so good that it sounds like there is a lot coming out of the center.
I got the bluray a couple weeks ago, went through the system setup to make sure Left was Left. Then went out and got an spl meter as they suggest in the setup. SO glad I did that, needed to tweak every speaker! Wow, insanely awesome now!
It seems a majority of the people here and other sites, really like it and are actually hearing it as intended, so the rest of this rant is not for those people.
I'm sorry, but if you have to flip the left, reverse polarity, remove low and high frequencies, drive around the block counter-clockwise, piss while doing a hand stand just to hear it properly, something is wrong with you or your system, shockingly bizarre!:howl
Lastly, I just got the new Roger Waters The Wall Live. This is the worst sounding album ever! It was mixed by the Radiohead enigeer Nigel Godrich. So the "anybody but Guthrie" argument, there you go, have fun unlistening to that piece of poop! What if he ends up doing the 5.1 of The Wall... Hands and knees crawling.
If you want to hear bits, go to Amazon.com, search for "poop".
 
I wasn't going to buy this disc, based on some of the negative reviews. I'm glad I changed my mind. I find the mix to be truly immersive, which is the whole point of surround, IMO. This disc sounds great on my system (Klipsch RF-7's with matching center and surrounds). I gave it a 9.

Some random thoughts:

- The lack of much center channel info doesn't bother me.
- I like the blank screen during the songs.
- I think expectations can make a mix seem disappointing. I had a bit of that with WGW part 1. It took a couple of spins before I could put my expectations aside.
 
I was listening to this BluRay over the weekend, so thought I would add a review. :) This is my favourite Roger Waters solo album, just behind Radio Kaos and I actually rate it higher than a lot of Floyd albums. The songs are powerful, infused with that angst that so suits Waters' angry vocals, though I do find his anti-capitalist sentiment somewhat hypocritical, given his concert ticket prices!

This release certainly seems to have divided opinions but I must say I really, really like it. It's the best sounding version I have; the audio is crystal clear and very dynamic. As others have pointed out the mix, although discrete, isn't aggressive in it's use of the surround field, but the use is strongly in context with the songs and imho works really well, though I have found I prefer it with a 1db boost to the rears.

Solid 9 from me.
 
Forgetting about whether or not the mix deserves a Grammy award, I really hope this pushes forward other mixes by JG from the rest of Waters' back catalogue or PF's...

Having said that, why didn't the Division Bell won it in the past edition of the awards???!!
 
I had a similar reaction to ATD originally as you.
Now it seems to me like the concept they had mix-wise was apparently too far ahead of the times (16 bit CD and waning vinyl quality). This album is a wild ride now!

Not sure what to say. JG's mix is monumental and I'm not sure if I could create something like that myself. Mastering is simply delivering a mix to a format and minding fidelity. That such a mix as this either basically got mastered to 4.1 as released (or it wasn't mastered at all but SHOULD have been - or something else went wrong) is kind of shocking! I don't know who I think I am to just come along and say "Let me just fix this major surround sound bluray disc release." but here it is.


Wow jimfisheye, you are so proud of yourself!
You have to STOP! Honestly, I am embarrassed for you! You sound like an idiot "I am not sure if I could create something like that myself... or it wasn't mastered at all... or something went wrong".
Really, do you think Legacy would have released the disc after doing compatibility tests on hundreds of players?
Instead of thinking the mix is broken, look at your system! Your system can not play uncompressed 24/96k so you have to do this stupid run around to make it sound correct.
Most people are hearing the 5.1 correctly and have a positive response, does that not tell you anything?!?!
I am sorry to be mean, but you have to STOP, PLEASE!!!
 
Wow jimfisheye, you are so proud of yourself!
You have to STOP! Honestly, I am embarrassed for you! You sound like an idiot "I am not sure if I could create something like that myself... or it wasn't mastered at all... or something went wrong".
Really, do you think Legacy would have released the disc after doing compatibility tests on hundreds of players?
Instead of thinking the mix is broken, look at your system! Your system can not play uncompressed 24/96k so you have to do this stupid run around to make it sound correct.
Most people are hearing the 5.1 correctly and have a positive response, does that not tell you anything?!?!
I am sorry to be mean, but you have to STOP, PLEASE!!!

It really doesn't sound like you're sorry at all. Your post is insulting, condescending, and full of assumptions. How do you know what his system can play? Not a great way for a new member of this community to presents themselves to a respected member around here. Jim made some excellent points and I love what he did with the surround mix. I agree with his points. I trust his ears and experience in this area. It has nothing to do with compatibility or a broken mix but rather the questionable choices that Guthrie made. And there are a lot more people who have had an unfavorable opinion about this release than positive ones. You need to work on your people skills, dude.
 
It really doesn't sound like you're sorry at all. Your post is insulting, condescending, and full of assumptions. How do you know what his system can play? Not a great way for a new member of this community to presents themselves to a respected member around here. Jim made some excellent points and I love what he did with the surround mix. I agree with his points. I trust his ears and experience in this area. It has nothing to do with compatibility or a broken mix but rather the questionable choices that Guthrie made. And there are a lot more people who have had an unfavorable opinion about this release than positive ones. You need to work on your people skills, dude.

So you can be insulting, condecending, and full of assumptions about James Guthrie's mix, his system and mastering, that is OK! But saying something about someone that doesn't have his name on the album is not OK, got it! How do we know if those questionable choices were made by Guthrie or Waters? I guess that's an assumption. But questionable choices, Jim is saying that Guthrie made a mistake in mastering, that is was released in 4.1!
It's great that you trust Jim, but I think I trust the guy that has been working with the band members for a very long time!
 
It really doesn't sound like you're sorry at all. Your post is insulting, condescending, and full of assumptions. How do you know what his system can play? Not a great way for a new member of this community to presents themselves to a respected member around here. Jim made some excellent points and I love what he did with the surround mix. I agree with his points. I trust his ears and experience in this area. It has nothing to do with compatibility or a broken mix but rather the questionable choices that Guthrie made. And there are a lot more people who have had an unfavorable opinion about this release than positive ones. You need to work on your people skills, dude.

So you can be insulting, condecending, and full of assumptions about James Guthrie's mix, his system and mastering, that is OK! But saying something about someone that doesn't have his name on the album is not OK, got it! How do we know if those questionable choices were made by Guthrie or Waters? I guess that's an assumption. But questionable choices, Jim is saying that Guthrie made a mistake in mastering, that is was released in 4.1!
I am not even writing to you dude, so where are your people skills?
 
It really doesn't sound like you're sorry at all. Your post is insulting, condescending, and full of assumptions. How do you know what his system can play? Not a great way for a new member of this community to presents themselves to a respected member around here. Jim made some excellent points and I love what he did with the surround mix. I agree with his points. I trust his ears and experience in this area. It has nothing to do with compatibility or a broken mix but rather the questionable choices that Guthrie made. And there are a lot more people who have had an unfavorable opinion about this release than positive ones. You need to work on your people skills, dude.

So you can be insulting, condecending, and full of assumptions about James Guthrie's mix, his system and mastering, that is OK! But saying something about someone that doesn't have his name on the album is not OK, got it! How do we know if those questionable choices were made by Guthrie or Waters? I guess that's an assumption. But questionable choices, Jim is saying that Guthrie made a mistake in mastering, that is was released in 4.1!
It's great that you trust Jim, but I think I trust the guy that has been working with the band members for a very long time!
 
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