HiRez Poll Wilson, Steven - 4 1/2 [BDA]

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Rate the BDA of Steven Wilson - 4 1/2

  • 5:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

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

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    61
Lived with 4 1/2 for about a week or 10 plays (a day on words :)). Since I like most of it, as has been mentioned length is of little concern. I'm sure I have recordings twice as long as this one with content I like less. Sonics are fantastic, with the bass being ever so slightly boomy in a couple of spots, one in particular on Lazaus. But that may very well be the way I have things set up. I'm being extremely picky here because there's so little to complain about! I've cozied up to all of the songs now except Vermillioncore. I like it okay, but it sounds like a jam session to me. Anyway, that's just what I hear. Another great piece from Mr. Wilson and I'll give it a 9.
 
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Got it from Burning Shed with the nice postcard but I did not know that Steven Wilson is signing postcards if u buy from Headphone Dust. This would be a must-buy. I care not about stupid autographs, but I would be honored to have a Steven Wilson one. He has done so much for me as a listener of hi fi 5.1 progressive music.

"Pound for Pound" he may be that biggest bad-ass musician/producer in town!

Thank You Steven. You are loved.



@colsky: I'm replying here, since I an loathe to spam in a review thread:

I'm just trying to catch up laddie! But I am worried that iMachine will bring another lawsuit aginst me for all the 10's
I am tossing out, although there are many 10's to be had these days. (y)

I am still waiting for Tales From Topographic Oceans, that's all I can say.
 
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Got it from Burning Shed with the nice postcard but I did not know that Steven Wilson is signing postcards if u buy from Headphone Dust.
This would be a must-buy. I care not about stupid autographs, but I would be honored to have a Steven Wilson one. He has done so much for me
as a listener of hi fi 5.1 progressive music.

"Pound for Pound" he may be that biggest bad-ass musician/producer in town!

Thank You Steven. You are loved.

Good Lord man, you're writing reviews faster than I can press like !!
 
I gave this BD-A a 10 for the music and the surround mix. I was very hesitant to purchase as I fully immersed myself in Steven Wilson's work and saw him live at The Warfield in SF all in 2015. So when I heard this disc came out I was a little burned out on SW. I started seeing great reviews so I decided to purchase and was quite pleased. Highly recommend for all audiophile needs. I will say it is a discrete, immersive sound with no gimmicks. I personally like to hear gimmicks in surround as I like when things move and swirl around.
 
I...saw him live at The Warfield in SF all in 2015

I was there too. Hey neighbor!

Here is where I'm at on 4 1/2: sonics and mix are great, of course. Musically, I don't like it as much as Raven or Hand. But that was expected. It is a great companion piece to those records. If you love Raven and Hand, get this. You'll have good times. It just isn't on the same level though, so it's not as though it completes a trilogy of great albums. All that said, it is remarkably coherent. Just doesn't have that Raven or Hand magic.
 
Hmm....3 or 4 plays in now....I guess I'm going to be the low mark here and give it an 8. As always with SW, the mix and sound quality are as close to a 10 as almost anyone will get. The content though...mixed...and that's the part that's really just personal preference of course and no reflection on anyone but me.

I really like Ninet's vocals on Don't Hate Me and unlike a lot of people over in the PT boards and pages, I think she and Steven did a great job trading off on lines/parts, made the song fresh and different.....unlike this new version of Lazarus (the bonus track) that's just basically a clone of the PT version but seriously lacking in the feel and mood of the original.

I'm one that was fairly critical of the direction taken on GfD and (most of) The Raven, but also thought that H.C.E. was the best solo album he's done....he really found all his elements again on that one I thought. Plague (from the Raven sessions) is for me better than some of the stuff chosen for that record....in fact, I think the first 4 tracks on this release are pretty dang fine. The week link in this whole disc for me is Vermillioncore - sounds like the parts of GfD and Raven that I didn't like, the 70's priggish jamming/noodling that doesn't seem to really go or end up anywhere. The did towards the end where there's a lot of synth filter sweeps and stuff going on is okay, but it's like SW saying "hey Adam, try do a Barbieri bit in here" but as good as Adam is technically he can't come close to Richard when it comes to inventive sonics.

Lastly, going back to "Don't Hate Me" - while I like most of it overall, and while I really love so much of what Theo Travis does, his sax on this one seems to encompass everything I don't like about sax solos. But again, that's a personal thing like all my thoughts are here.

Still, a nice add to the collection and really, nothing that'll stop me from having SW on the "auto-buy" list.
 
I gave this one an 8. The new songs are not grabbing me and the remakes only remind me of those seventies artists that remake their hits and peddle them on Itunes.

Perhaps it is me, but I found this to be the least aggressive of all SW's solo & PT 5.1 mixes.

So... nothing to write home about but also nothing to shake your faith in SW. If my $12.99 keeps him in the game for the year, money spent without too much regret.

--Greg
 
Voted 8.49, so had to round down. This is really good stuff. But, if Raven and Hand are 10's, which they are, this just isn't.
Happiness III loses me a little. I really dig everything else. More Ninet please.
 
I gave 4 1/2 a 7! Compared to Wilson's other works (take your pick), this just doesn't do it for me in terms of sheer impact or delivery. H.C.E. was a solid 10, IMHO, but with Wilson's frenetic touring schedule, remixing chores, et alia I just thought something was lost in translation with the release of 4 1/2.

Sonically and in terms of surrounds, 4 1/2 is a 10 (could we expect anything less from Steve).

A scant three years ago, I had NO idea who Steve Wilson was. But now that he's a bona fide "QQ Darling," and justifiably so, not everything Steve touches is golden.

The very fact that he's given us so much excellent material from which to choose should not automatically endure us to the fact that NOT everything he accomplishes is a "10."

And for those posters who voted a solid 10, are you seriously suggesting that 4 1/2 is remotely in the same league as the Beatles, The Stones, Dylan, Elton John, Bowie, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, ELVIS, Tiny Tim's Tiptoe Through the Tulips*, MJ's Thriller/Off The Wall, Beethoven's Ninth, Mahler's 8th, Jonathan Demme's Silence of the Lambs, Godfather I and II, or even Fellini's 8 1/2?

Even though I'm NOT particularly religious, one of my favorite quotes from the Bible: "That Shalt have NO false gods before thee!":flame

But the fact that I obtained 4 1/2 on BD~A for under $11, Delivered, automatically gets an 11 from me!:banana:

[*Gotcha: just wanted to make sure you're paying attention]
 
After five listens to the primary tracks, giving this one a 7. I love the lead track. For me it has sort of a Caravan/Canterbury prog ring to it that I sometimes get with SW and PT. Some of the other tracks I regard as relatively...slight.

For contrast, I think a good example of a 10+ EP would be Porcupine Tree Nil Recurring.
 
I like this better than Hand Cannot Erase. I'm not a fan of the female voice personally. The mellow songs here work better and the drum sound is incredible.
 
A solid '9' from me. I gave both 'Raven' and 'Hand' a 10, and this one doesn't quite get there. I agree with a previous poster that it is a companion piece and doesn't have the focus for me of a 'proper' album. The first two tracks ("Book of Regrets" and "Year of the Plague") are my highlights. I must also say that I'm not a fan of either of the PT re-recordings...I'm not sure if it's because I'm cynical of the reasons why SW re-recorded them, or that they're simply not as good as the originals? In the end, I'm glad he released these tunes in their fully-formed state.
 
A solid '9' from me. I gave both 'Raven' and 'Hand' a 10, and this one doesn't quite get there. I agree with a previous poster that it is a companion piece and doesn't have the focus for me of a 'proper' album. The first two tracks ("Book of Regrets" and "Year of the Plague") are my highlights. I must also say that I'm not a fan of either of the PT re-recordings...I'm not sure if it's because I'm cynical of the reasons why SW re-recorded them, or that they're simply not as good as the originals? In the end, I'm glad he released these tunes in their fully-formed state.

I find it interesting that, while most of the new tracks were written as part of the Hand sessions, on tour now these tracks are played in the second set, while the original album HCE tracks are played first as a coherent whole. At least according to internet setlist postings I've seen...
 
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Another winner from Mr. Wilson. I like the whole thing from start to finish but I also "get" all the comments so far. My only complaint is why did they put Lazarus on a group by itself? It's annoying that I have to select it from the main menu to play it. Why didn't they just make it track 7?
 
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A new report has not yet been run since the 4 1/2 poll was created or gained the required 10 votes. The poll charts are not auto created daily or weekly etc, it still takes manual initiation.

I'm sure Jon will update soon :)
 
My only complaint is why did they put Lazarus on a group by itself? It's annoying that I have to select it from the main menu to play it. Why didn't they just make it track 7?

It's a bonus track, and it's not meant to be listened to as part of the full mini-album sequence.
 
Well that's my point - why is it a bonus track? Call it whatever you want; I feel that the presentation would be better if it played automatically immediately following Track 6.

I disagree, and that's because if Steven really wanted "Lazarus" to be a part of the proper mini-album sequence, then he would have also included it on the "4 1/2" CD & Vinyl editions as well. He wanted the new version of "Don't Hate Me" to close off the mini-album, and I do think it's better off that way. That track has a greater sense of finality to it than "Lazarus" does IMHO.
I also feel that the new version of "Lazarus" is an afterthought, especially since it was not really created for "4 1/2" but for SW's vinyl-only compilation "Transience", but I can understand why some would just want it to immediately follow "Don't Hate Me" for easier access.
 
Well that's my point - why is it a bonus track? Call it whatever you want; I feel that the presentation would be better if it played automatically immediately following Track 6.

To quote Devo (Whip it!)

Shape it up, Get straight, Go forward, Move ahead, Try to detect it, It's not too late to rip it, Rip it good
 
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