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

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

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

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
This 37 minute "EP" contains more solid content than many contemporary releases that clock in at almost twice the length. Very pleased with this. Great mix, great content a 10! Quality over Quantity - although at 37 minutes it's as long as many full length SACDs that I have purchased at twice the price.
 
It's very,very good and sounds fantastic,but it's to short for a 10.A 9 from me.

Too bad you would choose to deduct a point for the length......doesn't seem that should be part of the voting process. If value were a part of the polls (which it's not), I'd think you'd have to say it's a great value. I mean, at least on US Amazon, price is $12.99. And for that you get 7 songs in 5.1 (39.19 minutes) and an additional 5 songs in hi-rez 2 channel (another 36.08 minutes) Granted, it's really the 5.1 I assume folks are purchasing this for and again, a great value for $12.99 @39.19 minutes.

Anyway....
 
Too bad you would choose to deduct a point for the length......doesn't seem that should be part of the voting process. If value were a part of the polls (which it's not), I'd think you'd have to say it's a great value. I mean, at least on US Amazon, price is And for that you get 7 songs in 5.1 (39.19 minutes) and an additional 5 songs in hi-rez 2 channel (another 36.08 minutes) Granted, it's really the 5.1 I assume folks are purchasing this for and again, a great value for @39.19 minutes.

Anyway....

I paid $22 here in Norway:(
 
This is the way that extra content should be handled. Steven's previous albums are just perfect as they are. So these tracks that didn't make it onto the albums really work well in this format. I hardly need to mention that the songs and the mixing are excellent too. 9/10
 
I see no reason to deduct a Point for the length.
Just think about voting for the Rolling Stones EP "Sympathy for the devil". :)
It would be a 5 or so.....

I'd much rather have quality than quantity anyday...and some of these other deductions for price..packaging..format. bonus extras....are just penalizing the artist for something out of their control...and that example you gave about the Stones is spot on...not to mention that it's one song played numerous times..I do like the disc...but it's a whole disc with one song..
 
I'd much rather have quality than quantity anyday...and some of these other deductions for price..packaging..format. bonus extras....are just penalizing the artist for something out of their control...and that example you gave about the Stones is spot on...not to mention that it's one song played numerous times..I do like the disc...but it's a whole disc with one song..

I completely agree (y). A 10 from me, based on the sound and surround quality, which are both superb.

On the subject of length, 2 of my favourite surround releases are Donald Fagen's Nightfly which is 38 mins 46 secs long, and Steely Dan's Gaucho which is 37 mins 58 secs long :confused:!
 
I thought for sure that I was going to give this one a '9' when I first heard it (in stereo) just because on my first listen-through, I didn't think that the content was as strong as "Hand. Cannot. Erase." but after several listens over several days, I have warmed up to the content more and more, even to the point that I went with a full '10' vote on this one.
The stand-out highlights for me definitely include the two new tracks with vocals, "My Book of Regrets" and "Happiness III". The former is a '10' alone thanks to a stellar guitar solo by Dave Kilminster. The first time I heard it, I could not believe it was him as it sounded so much like Guthrie Govan. It really blew me away and continues to amaze me with every subsequent listen. The song itself is one that grows on you quite a lot if you let it. It's definitely just as good as any of the longer songs on HCE.
The next track is a instrumental "Year of the Plague". It's a pleasant piece of music that was leftover from "The Raven That Refused to Sing" writing and recording sessions, but it won't blow you away by any means.
Then we're on to "Happiness III", otherwise known as 'pop tart' to Steven's musicians recording this one since it is very commercial-sounding. I like the song a lot, and it features a very nice guitar solo in the middle from Steven himself, which is good as lately he's been passing off solos to his other musicians, but while he may not be as technically gifted as the others, he has a nice style which works quite well in this song.
After that we have two more instrumentals, "Sunday Rain Sets In" and "Vermillioncore". On this mini-album, it seems like each subsequent instrumental is better than the one that preceded it. "Vermillioncore" in particular is really cool and sounds like a throwback to the more metal-oriented albums of his like "Insurgentes", "Fear of a Blank Planet", and "The Incident".
Finally, we're left with "Don't Hate Me", a re-recording of this Porcupine Tree song from the album "Stupid Dream", now reenvisioned as a duet between him and Ninet Tayeb, who also sang the female vocals on the "Hand. Cannot. Erase." album. Overall it's a successful re-recording except for Adam Holzman's keyboard solo right in the middle. Sometimes his solos are a bit too showy, and it doesn't fit the overall mood of the song. I much prefer Richard Barbieri's original solo, which was a lot more simple but fit better IMO. Other than that, it's hard to find fault with this re-recording of one of Steven's best songs.

There is also the "Lazarus" re-recording as a bonus, but this version is nothing new when compared to the original Porcupine Tree recording, and I prefer the original anyway.
This mini-album is definitely worth picking up on Blu-Ray disc ASAP, so get on it! :)
 
I completely agree (y). A 10 from me, based on the sound and surround quality, which are both superb.

On the subject of length, 2 of my favourite surround releases are Donald Fagen's Nightfly which is 38 mins 46 secs long, and Steely Dan's Gaucho which is 37 mins 58 secs long :confused:!

I did not vote 10 for those 2 either.:phones

Regards
 
I'd much rather have quality than quantity anyday...and some of these other deductions for price..packaging..format. bonus extras....are just penalizing the artist for something out of their control...and that example you gave about the Stones is spot on...not to mention that it's one song played numerous times..I do like the disc...but it's a whole disc with one song..

Totally agree, Clint. And the fact that I paid $10.91 for 4 1/2 on BD~A [delivered price] was, IMHO, a REAL coup.

Actually, one of the recent Vocalion two~fer mch SACDs clocked in at 53 minutes (roughly 26 1/2 minutes per FULL album). But since a lot of these remixes are from the vinyl era...NOT surprising when album sides WERE on the 'stingy' side due to the eccentricities of stylus tracking.

The Audio Fidelity SACD release of Elvis' King Creole soundtrack was a little over 18 minutes!
 
This is a fantastic release from Steven Wilson... the sonics & fidelity are rich, detailed, and dynamic. The surround mix is discrete, tasteful, and involving. The musical content follows very closely in the footsteps of "Hand.Cannot.Erase." in terms of style and musicianship, but unfortunately it lacks the lyrical depth, scope, & coherence of that album... this is understandable given that these are "leftover" songs from various eras of Wilson's career, but it prevents me from being able to rate this one quite as high in terms of content. "Hand.Cannot.Erase." is a perfect 10 for me, and every time I listen to it I'm taken on an emotional journey through the evolution and decline of the main character which may bring a smile to my face or a tear to my eye. This one doesn't quite take me to that level, but it's definitely pure surround music bliss... I give it a 9.4, which rounds down to a 9. (Too bad Steven didn't add a red-head to our blonde/brunette screen-saver duo... it just may have gotten him that extra .1:)) Steven Wilson continues to be the most significant discovery I've made since stumbling upon the world of surround music and I look forward to many more hours spent with this album, his past releases, and (hopefully) many more releases in the future.
 
I listened to this 3 times over the past few days, and this being an album of leftovers, tried to find reasons why I shouldn't rate this a 10. I couldn't.
Composition wise, this release is very strong and exceeded my modest expectations. The versions of Don't Hate Me and Lazarus are superb, and I prefer these versions, slightly over the originals. The surround mix and fidelity is up to the usual standards, and highly enjoyable.
Length is of no concern, especially considering I purchased this for $12.99 in Canada, with our severely depressed dollar.
Keep it coming Mr. Wilson. A 10 for me.
 
Back
Top