HiRez Poll Ferry, Bryan - FRANTIC [SACD/DVD-A]

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Rate the SACD/DVD-A of Bryan Ferry - FRANTIC


  • Total voters
    42
It's not the fault of SonoPress - they replicate the discs & print art from supplied files that have been proof checked, supposedly.
 
I've always respected Bryan Ferry's taste in music, songwriting and his dedication to releasing great sounding discs.
Plus he's one handsome, well-dressed guy.
Totally underrated in general.
 
Could only give this a 7. The content compared to Boys & Girls seems lacking and without as much passion. Was enjoyable, but not Boys enjoyable.

The cover songs seem meh and even the best originals on here compared to Boys & Girls were lacking.

The Surround was about an 8 the Content was about a 6 so gave it a 7. The surround could have been rated better if there was more inspired performances or songs to work with.

Just not even close to Boys & Girls
 
The mixes on this one range from very active and discrete ("San Simeon") to ambient ("Don't Think Twice"), but the latter is a vocal and piano only, so what else can you do... generally the mixes are great throughout. "San Simeon" is really cool... footsteps walking around the room, haunting laughter echoing from various corners... great! The fidelity is good, although at times I feel like the vocals are a bit hot... not annoying, though. The songs reflect a range of diverse music styles; some work for me, some not as much... "Fool For Love" is amazing; worth the price of the disc alone. I also really like "It's All Over Now Baby Blue", "One Way Love", and "San Simeon". 8.
 
Going with an “8”. I think this is a really underrated disc! In some ways, I actually prefer this album to Boys & Girls - the songs are simpler and sound more 'timeless' in comparison to the heavy ‘80s atmospheric production of Boys. My favorite tracks are “Cruel”, “Goddess Of Love”, “Nobody Loves Me”, and “A Fool For Love”.

I think it’s widely accepted that Bob Clearmountain is responsible for the 5.1 mix, but I didn’t notice any clear confirmation of that in the liner notes - all I see is the vague statement "Mixed by Bob Clearmountain”, with no mention of 5.1 or DVD-A at all (they probably just re-used the stereo CD booklet). Whereas Avalon and Boys & Girls clearly sound like they were mixed by the same person, this is a bit different in approach. Not nearly as active as those prior two, but there’s usually enough happening in the rears to keep it interesting.

“One Way Love” kicks off with the main guitar part nicely pinned to the right rear speaker. During the chorus of “Goddess Of Love”, there’s all kinds of interesting electronic bits/samples popping up back there. The guitar solo midway through “Nobody Loves Me” comes blasting through the center channel to great effect, as does the female response vocal in “Hiroshima”. As pointed out upthread, "San Simeon" is probably the most interesting track surround-wise with the footsteps and vocal effects popping up all over the place.

"Nobody Loves Me":
Nobody Loves Me .jpg
 
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8 from me
Nice surround mix, decent audio quality.
Don't fancy this cover of Baby Blue, not dramatic enough for my tastes

Really like the lyrics displayed while you play, wish more DVD-As would bother.
 
This is a 9 for me. Only reason its not a 10 is you have to always leave room for the holy grail, I guess. I can't recall ever giving a 10. But then I am old. But then I digress. This is some of the best material from Bryan's solo career. I loved his work and Roxy in general for 40 years or so. I recall getting this when it came out. I enjoy every song and the mix is appropriate to the material. Conservative on the songs without much happening and discrete and involving as others have pointed not on tracks like San Simeon. And the necessary Dylan cuts. He really is obsessed with Dylan. I have Dylanesque on vinyl and its quite good, albeit perhaps too much of a good thing. Some people don't like when Bryan covers old folk songs but I like Goodnite Irene on this set. The overlong version of You are my sunshine on one of his earlier solo albums, somewhat less! This is pretty close to the perfect Ferry recording for me. I note many people prefer Boys and Girls, which soimnewhat surprised me. I have that disc on vinyl so maybe I am missing out on something on the 5.1 but I have never been taken by that material as I am with Frantic. I guess its just each person's taste.
 
Why make comparisons to BOYS AND GIRLS? It's a covers album in superb MLP DVD~A 5.1 and as such, IMO, is a total success.

I voted a 9! As poster Marcsten explained above: 10's are for the HOLY GRAIL of recordings!
 
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what's a cover album Ralphie?

To cover MY ass, Adam, it's a cover of other artist's material....and I was referring to Frantic and NOT Boys and Girls. Ta Ta, for now!

Ah, I see now that I posted COVER in my original post ....yes, it should be COVERS. My Bad! Corrected!
 
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To cover MY ass, Adam, it's a cover of other artist's material....and I was referring to Frantic and NOT Boys and Girls. Ta Ta, for now!

Ah, I see now that I posted COVER in my original post ....yes, it should be COVERS. My Bad!

Frantic's not a covers album, there are 2 Bob Dylan covers among a bunch of originals, the majority written/co-written by Ferry.
 
Oh, dear, sweet Master Blue, I should listen more intently and not prematurely jump to conclusions. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue!

ah well, no biggy 🙂
i really think this one's quite underrated from a surround pov.. if it were released in 5.1 today it would probably be 9's and 10's all-round.. as it is its been a trickle of votes of everything from 5 to 10 over the years for a MultiCh title way longer out of print than it was ever in it! timing is everything! 💪⌚
 
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