Cole, B J - TROUBLE IN PARADISE [DVD-A DualDisc]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this title! :thumbsdow

[neil wilkes]

This one gets a definite 9 from me.

When I first loaded this one up, I was not at all sure what to expect given it is both a Silverline title and a collaborative effort as well (often a fatal combination) but can honestly say I have never been so pleased to be so wrong - this disc is a real pleasure to listen to, and has a few surprises up it's sleeve as well with channel assignments/placements!
(On some tracks, the rhythm section is actually in the rears and the details are in the fronts! Sounds strange when you read it here - but believe me it works!)

Each track has a guest artist on it, ranging from Neil Conti to Alabama 3, with the result being a wide variety of styles on the disc. The more you play it, the better it gets too. Chances are also very high you might not immediately recognise thhe name, but you will almost certainly have other titles in your collection that have BJ playing his trademark Pedal Steel on them - David Gray (New day at Midnight), Sting (Brand New Day) etc and BJ's website reads like a "who's Who" of the business. See http://www.bjcole.co.uk and prepare to be surprised!

Anyway - with the DVD-A side in 24/48 MLP plus a couple of video tracks & an interview as well, this is a fine release and well worth buying ASAP.
If the rest of the Silverline/Cooking Vinyl releases are done as well as this one, we will be just fine with this series.
Highly recommended.

[rusinurbe]

what Neil says great disc

[bugdaddy]

A wonderful disc I’d describe as “exotica-tronica”, with dashes of jazz, bluegrass, eastern, the kitchen sink, and even the occasional tom waits-like film noir lyrics thrown in. All the while Cole offers up really creative uses of the pedal steel, making it sound at various times like a sax, organ or bordering on a theremin. Wild stuff, well-suited for surround, and well-executed as well. To echo earlier posts, don’t get scared off by the S-word (Silverline). This one’s a keeper. Thanks Neil Wilkes, for starting a thread on this a few weeks back. Probably never would have snagged it otherwise.

[Cai Campbell]

Thank you Neil for turning me onto this tasty nugget of "Exotitronica" (good term Bugdaddy; I bastardized it for you ).

I can't really think of anything more to add to what I've already raved about here. However, I will say that this thing isn't exactly a sonic masterpiece and it certainly won't be everyones' cup o' tea... but the creativity and musicality, for me, is like a mainline straight to surround-sound musical nirvana. It just completely and utterly does it for me. 11 points!

[Ge Someone]

I tracked down a copy of this dualdisc.
Adventurous use of all channels, decent sonic and lots of beats

Acid Jazz is not exactly my favorite, the computer drum beats get on my nerves after a while. Still there are some good moment on this one. I gave it a 7.

Would never have known about it's existence without this forum.

[Chris Gerhard]

I grabbed this silly thing and love it. I like it better than the similarly well recorded "Surrounded" from Silverline. I don't want to own many discs like this one, but it is a welcomed edition and lots of fun. It will get a lot more play than "Surrounded" gets. I think it will hold up well for me, but I am going to wait a little while before voting. It was one of the final two or three DVD-A's from Silverline, which means it will be essentially worthless going forward but I didn't pay much for it and I don't see it available often any longer so thought I better grab it while I could.

Chris

[callmez]

I bought this one based on the reviews here, and it is indeed a weird and wacky disc with adventurous use of the surrounds as advertised. Normally that's enough to hook me, but I really tried to get into this disc and just could not do it -- too club/dance/something for me (maybe it's those damned drums Ge Someone mentioned!) If you like that sort of thing, this can be found cheaply and is well worth checking out. For me though, a 6.

Mark Z