Steve Miller - Fly Like An Eagle (2006 Dolby Digital Mix)

[Felix E. Martinez]

Here's my quick comparison of "Fly Like An Eagle" on the upcoming 30th Anniversary version vs. this DTS-CD release...

[cupboy]

Here's my quick comparison of "Fly Like An Eagle" on the upcoming 30th Anniversary version vs. this DTS-CD release...

How about posting it here? That link refers to a forum which has been down for a couple of days. All I get is a white screen.

[daved64]

How about posting it here? That link refers to a forum which has been down for a couple of days. All I get is a white screen.

Yeah, and maybe a follow up regarding the rest of it, and the sound. Please.

[daved64]

Felix.....we need more info on the new 5.1 mix!

[Felix E. Martinez]

Will get to it asap - some deadlines looming...

[Felix E. Martinez]

How about posting it here? That link refers to a forum which has been down for a couple of days. All I get is a white screen.

Here it is...

Alrighty folks...a sneak peek...

I can only compare "Fly Like An Eagle" for now, as I have a few deadlines to meet, but here goes...

It is definitely a new, state-of-the-art mix - a lot of effort was put into it. Unfortunately I've been able to confirm that the Limited 30th Anniversary CD+DVD set that will be released June 27th will only have Dolby Digital as the 5.1 listening option. No plans for DVD-A or DualDisc "at the moment."

That being said...

I was pleasantly surprised by the DD 5.1 track. Here are some comparisons of the 30th Anniversary 5.1 mix to the DTS Entertainment DTS-CD 5.1 (repurposed from the original quad mix):

The DTS-CD had audible tape hiss; cleaner on the 30th

The 30th is brighter

DTS-CD cut off part of the space intro (same as the original quad mix); the 30th appears to have the entire intro

The DTS-CD was encoded/mastered at a low level; the 30th is mastered louder - about 10db difference (while this sounds severe, much of this I think is in the encoding, although some dynamic limiting has been applied - but I'm not sure)

The DTS and 30th mixes both make use of the synth swirling around the listening space

On the 30th, "Tick" is in the rear-left, "Tock" is in the rear-right, "Doo-Doo-Doo-DooDoo" is in the center (yes, it bounces around playfully)

Lead vocals are in the center and I think the double track of the lead vox is also mixed into the front L-R channels. Vocals are louder on the 30th

Guitar is mixed in the left-front on both versions. On the DTS-CD, the guitar would "pop out" with some notes - less conspicuous on the 30th

Drums are clearly in the rear on the DTS-CD, with hi-hat in the right-rear, and the ride cymbal on the chorus in the left-rear. On the 30th the drums have moved away from the rears a bit, but the hi-hat and especially the ride still in the same places

There's a new synth sound I don't believe I've heard before - although I may be mistaken - heard in the 30th, toward the end, b/f the last chorus (a kind of droning sound)

The 30th is clearly a more playful, energetic mix

I believe I can hear the limitations of the lossy codec in the highs - the brighter mix also reveals a high-end that isn't very stable or "clean" - although this may be a revealing of the elements.

30th Credits...surround mix by Ed Cherney, remastering by Eddie Schreyer at Oasis Mastering.

Just a few obs...

More to come as soon as I get a chance...

[Bob R]

What a refreshing breathe of air this recording is.

These guys did a good, make that a very good job of re-mixing this classic into 5.1 DD surround sound. My jaw dropped right at the beginning of “Fly Like an Eagle” with the L/R/L/r movement of “Tic, Toc, Tic, Toc”.

I’ll bet I haven’t pulled out the vinyl in two decades. It’s surprising how well this thirty years old release hold. up.

A big fat ten and well done, Steve Miller.

[daved64]

What a refreshing breathe of air this recording is.

These guys did a good, make that a very good job of re-mixing this classic into 5.1 DD surround sound. My jaw dropped right at the beginning of “Fly Like an Eagle” with the L/R/L/r movement of “Tic, Toc, Tic, Toc”.

I’ll bet I haven’t pulled out the vinyl in two decades. It’s surprising how well this thirty years old release hold. up.

A big fat ten and well done, Steve Miller.

Now I'm confused. This thread is for the DTS disc, but Bob's review is for the new 30th anniversary edition, right?

[Bob Romano]

Please post your comments, thoughts and observations....... :thumbsdow

[Guy Robinson]

In the world of Dolby 5.1, I am calling it a 10. The CD and concert are welcome "bonuses"

[elmer]

A very solid 9 - considering that this is a 30 year old recording, a fantastic job. I really could care less about the missing 22 seconds of the intro or the reason for the recall and postponement of the release date - a great live drum kit sound, solid bottom and adventurous mix, a very good 2 hour concert video in decent surround and a documentary on the making of to boot! Not too shabby.

My only criticism is that there should have been a track listing for the concert video in the booklet - the booklet does give a good overview of the concert and the guests but a significant detail missed (IMHO) - still worth getting without a doubt.

[bugdaddy]

In the world of Dolby 5.1, I am calling it a 10. The CD and concert are welcome "bonuses"

i'm in the same camp as guy. this is a great package. not only do you get a fine 'n fun mch mix, but you get a cd for the car and oh-by-the-way a pretty darn good two hour concert. this is a 30th anniversary release for which ole stevie-guitar can feel quite proud. if they were all done this well, i could certainly still find some happiness in a hi-rez-less world.

[ssully]

What a refreshing breathe of air this recording is.

These guys did a good, make that a very good job of re-mixing this classic into 5.1 DD surround sound. My jaw dropped right at the beginning of “Fly Like an Eagle” with the L/R/L/r movement of “Tic, Toc, Tic, Toc”.

So did mine..when I realized they'd left off the Space Intro AGAIN! All ~1:14 of it (which subjectively is rather more than 22 sec...and comparable to the 1:13 of 'Speak to Me' on that Pink Floyd album some of you may havve heard -- I presume no one would complain if they left that off, eh?)


:thumbsdow

[BananaSlug]

Long time Greatest Hits owner and two time Fly Like an Eagle owner, I give it a 10.

Yeah, DVD-A would have been better, and the Space Into should have been included in full. But, this is what is on offer and as it is it's a great disc. I bought the DTS version back when there was lots of discs to buy and never gave it much time, so this is still pretty new music to me (other than the numerous hits). I was surprised by how good the non-hits are and the sonic quality of the DD track. The mix is excellent. With no new surround releases on the radar for some time this will get lots of play around here, and that's a good thing

[Bidkat]

I'll limit my comments to the new 5.1 mix only.

I have these points to add to Felix's comparison with the DTS CD of the old quad mix:

1) MUCH improved sound quality. Night and day, black and white, cats and dogs, you get the idea. The drums in particular, will startle you. Transparent, lively, nearly in your face. Damn, are these the same tracks? Of course they are, but at times you'll have to remind yourself.

2) Not very faithful to the original stereo. The quad mix, while unlistenable due to poor sound quality, is actually quite faithful except for a few glitches. On the title track, the quad mix turns the memorable ending into a joke -- it's a little better here, but not by much. I realize that properly mixing a section like this with multiple synth parts and precise crossfading is tedious, requiring time for repeated attempts that the engineers may not have. But come on. You can do better than just leaving all the tracks open -- including ones never intended to be included. Is sitting down and listening to the original a couple of times really too much to ask?

Other tracks are changed so much that, combined with the upgraded sonics, sound nearly like rerecordings. Wild Mountain Honey is such a track.

Lowlight: Rock 'n' Me, featuring much more aggressive backing vocals. Dry and limp.
Highlight: Take the Money and Run, has drum kit spread out gloriously. "Woo-hoo's" attack starkly from the rear for the first two choruses, then inexplicably relocate to the front. Finally, they retake the rear for the fadeout, punctuating nicely with "Yeah! Yeah!".
As with both previous versions, the silly grammar still grates.

Overall, a tremendous improvement from the quad, and in some cases, even the stereo. But I have no patience for the mentioned sloppiness, and unneeded changes. I'm giving it an 8.

[Bob R]

Now I'm confused. This thread is for the DTS disc, but Bob's review is for the new 30th anniversary edition, right?

Oh, dear. Did I muck things up again?

The title said Dolby Digital so I thought this was the 30th anniversary disc thread.

but, the first post said DTS.

Yup, I'm confused.

[daved64]

Oh, dear. Did I muck things up again?

The title said Dolby Digital so I thought this was the 30th anniversary disc thread.

but, the first post said DTS.

Yup, I'm confused.

No biggie. I think we all know what we're talking about now. It all started on the old DTS thread, that's where it got confusing.

[aquadad]

Hello,

I'm curious, for all you nay sayers out there, what current release, surround titles are you listening to that are better than this one???

The only other new release (relatively speaking) I've heard is "Pulse", and it doesn't even come close to what was accomplished with this Steve Miller title. If there are a plethora of new releases out there I sure haven't come across them. In the meantime I'm not kicking FLAE out of bed anytime soon.

Inquiring minds also want to know...has anyone figured out yet, why this thing was ever recalled?

[Cai Campbell]

Oh, dear. Did I muck things up again?

The title said Dolby Digital so I thought this was the 30th anniversary disc thread.

but, the first post said DTS.

Yup, I'm confused.

It was confusing since it looks like messages were moved here from the DTS CD discussion thread and the old message titles came along with them. I've updated all the message titles in this thread to be consistent with the topic at hand.

20 lashes for whoever started talking about the new DD mix in the old DTS thread to begin with!

[Bob Romano]

I knew I forgot to do something!!!!

[MIDIQ]

I give it a 10, The surrond mix sounds better to me than to DTS CD one, i haven't listened to the old DTS one for a while though, I just can't quit listening to this one, must have listened to it about 5 times now. GREAT. And the concert is very good also. I would have gladly paid 19.99 for the surround DVD mix of the album, and another 19.99 for the concert seperately. But you get both for the price of one. SUPER!!!!!!!!!

[oxenholme]

I'd never heard of Steve Miller, but this is excellent. I'm very pleased with it indeed.

Unless my eyes are deceiving me he's playing a left handed guitar that has been restrung for right handed use.

[BananaSlug]

Unless my eyes are deceiving me he's playing a left handed guitar that has been restrung for right handed use.

Hendrix fan.

[Q-Eight]

I'd never heard of Steve Miller, but this is excellent. I'm very pleased with it indeed.

I nearly asked what rock you'd been living under if you've never heard of Steve Miller! But then I looked at your location. I have a friend from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England and she hasn't heard of a lot of the music I like either!

Glad you like it

[wavelength]

Has anyone else noticed that the tonal quality of "You Send Me" sounds different than all of the other tracks? To me it sounds distorted and sticks out (in a bad way) from the rest of the tracks. When I listen to the album I just can't understand the engineer approving this.