HiRez Poll Various Artists - INSIDE THE MUSIC: WOMEN ON TOP [DVD-A]

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Rate the DVD-A of Various Artists - INSIDE THE MUSIC: WOMEN ON TOP


  • Total voters
    32

JonUrban

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Please post your thoughts and comments on this DVD-Audio disc of various artists. (y):phones(n)

TRACK LIST

1. Heart Of Glass - Blondie
2. Walking On Sunshine - Katrina And The Waves
3. We Belong - Pat Benatar
4. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
5. Hold On - Wilson Phillips
6. Cryin'- Vixen
7. Queen Of Hearts - Juice Newton
8. Only The Lonely - The Motels
9. Words - Missing Persons
10. Nutbush City Limits - Ike & Tina Turner
 
I gave this one a 9. All the mixes are true 5.1 and the all the tracks are really well mixed and fun to listen to. I only wish this disc was longer.

It would be really great to have all the Pat Benatar hits mixed in 5.1. Both "Heartbreatker" on the Classic Rock disc and "We Belong" here sound really incredible.
 
I went out of my way to get this disc because it featured a lot of songs I already know. I am generally happy with my purchase. But, I think the quality of each song varies, perhaps because some are older than others. "Hold On" has some interesting surround vocals. I thought "We Belong" had a weird mix. I liked the songs that didn't have so much reverb, like "Heart Of Glass" and "Bette Davis Eyes." I also thought the Ike and Tina Turner song really didn't fit thematically on this album.
 
Wouldn't Tina's "What's Love Got To Do With It" have made more sense? Not sure why "Nutbush" was chosen, you're right, it doesn't fit at all(though nice to hear).

I was disappointed in "Bette Davis Eyes," though, it seems to lack, in terms of surround, a mix worthy of the recording. At the time, this one was a breath of fresh air on the radio and TT, so it's unfortunate the potential for a really playful 5.1 mix wasn't realized. Overall, though, in terms of mix, this might be the best of the series...but it should be, given how recent(relatively speaking)the material is.

ED :)
 
My wife and I listened to this together tonight. Much of the music isn't really to my liking(though certainly to hers)...but I must say that my recollection is correct: track for track, the best of the bunch in terms of creative mixes and overall sonics.

"We Belong" might sound 'wonky' to some, but the mix is more like the old '70s Quad mixes that were a bit wild, what with things moving around speakers, a real ping-pong collage at times..which I enjoyed, because I miss that kind of insolent abandon in mixes, and it worked for me here(probably wouldn't work on her more conventional hits, like "Heartbreaker," which I find sterile and very tight and limited in separation in 5.1).

Listening again, I think the problem with "Bette Davis Eyes" is that the percussion is too diffuse--the power of the stereo mix is missing, even while the distinction between voices and instruments is improved. Or maybe Kim's vocal more isolated(she's everywhere here). Still, a great recording, justifiably #1 in its time.

ED :)
 
I'm not sure why "We Belong" sounds strange to me. In another thread, someone says that most of the surround mixes on these "Inside The Music" discs are "fake surround." So, that could mean that they weren't mixed discretely and that would explain a lot.

Still, hearing most of these songs in hi-res was worth the price.
 
Some clarification is needed, I guess.

Because the series flies all around the map--from vintage(let's call it 'pre-Beatles')pop and surf-oriented material to '60's & '70s C&W to '80s mainstream AM--you're going to get a wide degree of mix quality, from very limited 3-track sources, to 8, 16, 32-track for more modern tracks, depending on the source.

ASSUMING the multis WERE used, then, one can't expect much from 3 or even 4-track sources. Even the best remix engineers and producers can only do so much; therefore, you get a lot of ambience, delay, and reverb in the rears, and the rears often are simply duplicating what's up front(which is why a decision was made--right or wrong--to put THE DOORS in L/C/R only for the recent 5.1's. Better a balanced front mix than a wonky 5.1, I guess).

There is also a suspicion that *some* of these tracks did NOT have multis available for remixing, which might explain why some mixes sound very discrete, while others come off as contrived, almost faux 5.1. Either that, or attempts to mix some of this stuff were rejected for diluting the impact of the original stereo mixes(which should always be used as a reference for any 5.1 remixing, obviously).

As for "We Belong," it's one of the more obvious 5.1 remixes in the series, if only because it was mixed almost as if with the more adventurous(some would say absurd)ideas about mixing '70s quad in mind, what with bouncing things around, making it seem wonky and strange, when one expects to hear something more conventional.

ED :)
 
One of the best Silverline discs.

All are true 5.1, but that doesn't mean they're all great mixes.
Many are more conservative than I'd like, but that could be said about the majority the MC catalog.

Hold On is terrific, though you may get diabetes from repeated listenings. :)

The one track that irks me is Queen of Hearts. This #2, Juice's biggest hit, sounded great in stereo. Though certainly discrete, this unbalanced mix is too different from the original. The original was a trick mix -- relying on muting of certain tracks like the rhythm accoustic guitar. It was sparse, dry, and nimble -- preserving the nice country groove. Here, the track drags.

Heartbreaker isn't quite, but not the discrete rock blast we could have hoped for. Great sonics -- the mix layout reminds me of Foreinger / Feels Like the First Time.
Careful listening to the ending will reveal the final quitar solo is actually several takes punched together. In the stereo, they appear seamless -- here, slight gaps are apparent.
 
So nice to have a little Blondie, Motels, and Missing Persons in surround. They aren't the best mixed tracks here, but they put this one in the player more than any other disc in the series (OK, I don't have the country or new age discs, but aren't chasing them either.) A solid 8.

I too am a fan of the mix on the Pat Benatar track -- but then again, I probably haven't ever met a wild n' crazy mix I didn't like...

Mark Z
 
Let's talk about "Walking on Sunshine" by Kat and the Waves (track 2)...Anybody else notice how between the introduction and the main part of the song, it seems like the beat is lost but only on the version on this disc?

It took some detective work, but it turns out that the scream by Katrina right at the end of the introduction is an edit piece. When our friends at Silverline remixed (at least it was a true remix) the song, they didn't do it quite right. They left too much of a gap before and after the edit piece. So, that one beat is extended well beyond what is on the original single.

It is only one beat but it sure makes it feel (at least to me) that we've hit a brick wall at that point in the song. Luckily the correction is very easy once you "explore" the disc. It is amazing the difference in listenability with this disc once that one small error is corrected.

Another case of Silverline just didn't care...


Andy
 
The weakest mix is the one I was really looking forward to; Heart of Glass, with only a little percussion in the rears :=P
The rest is great. Most 5.1 mixes are very active , especially We Belong which is almost "destructured" and empty and has most stuff in the rear (drums!)
Bette Davis Eyes was always a guilty pleasure, and I can't find anything wrong with the mix.
And ALL of the mixes are from multis.
A solid 9 instead of a 10 because of the Blondie faux pas...
 
If all of the mixes were from true multitrack sources, then one wonders why something as elaborate as "Bette Davis Eyes" wasn't more adventurous and playful than the result. Nice listen, great song and hit for its time, but it was as if someone was afraid to tinker too much with the original stereo mix, and simply expanded upon it a little--rather than a lot, which is what I was hoping for when I purchased the disc. Which is probably why "We Belong" works for me, because it retains the basics of the original stereo, but has that sense of adventure--that someone wanted to make it into a little bit more (as we know, this kind of revisionism has its good and bad aspects). But since--as history so far has shown--5.1 mixes haven't replaced the original stereo, revisionism remains a non-issue. The lack of multichannel among such enthusiasts, however, is an issue, and it's unfortunate this series didn't continue, warts and all.


ED :)
 
Gave this one an 8. The selection of tunes is a bit eccentric, but overall it's enjoyable. The bulk of it is mixed rather well; similar, if not slightly better, to the other VA releases that are out there. Oddly enough, the standout track on this one is the Ike & Tina Turner song. Choose that track, crank it up to 11, and jam. It sounds great in surround (for its age) and it's a great song to boot.

I also like the fact that you can choose to watch the photo slideshow if you want to.
 
6, which is generous. Blondie, Katrina & Tina are the reasons to buy this, IMHO. To me, the rest is crap and I HATE BETTY DAVIS EYES!!
Nutbush is a cooker!

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I HATE BETTY DAVIS EYES!!

If 1981 was one of my least favorite years, a prime reason was that repetitive piece of crap playing day and night, teasing me and uneasing me. Nine weeks -- almost two whole months -- we endured this sonic torture atop the charts.

Mono, stereo, 5.1, 160-channel Dolby Atmos -- no matter.
Crap at any speed.
 
:howl 1981. I don't listen to radio in my personal life. Yet, I had to listen to it several times a day at work. :mad: Oh, yeah, and I began twenty years of torture by getting married.

If 1981 was one of my least favorite years, a prime reason was that repetitive piece of crap playing day and night, teasing me and uneasing me. Nine weeks -- almost two whole months -- we endured this sonic torture atop the charts.

Mono, stereo, 5.1, 160-channel Dolby Atmos -- no matter.
Crap at any speed.
 
Let's talk about "Walking on Sunshine" by Kat and the Waves (track 2)...Anybody else notice how between the introduction and the main part of the song, it seems like the beat is lost but only on the version on this disc?

It took some detective work, but it turns out that the scream by Katrina right at the end of the introduction is an edit piece. When our friends at Silverline remixed (at least it was a true remix) the song, they didn't do it quite right. They left too much of a gap before and after the edit piece. So, that one beat is extended well beyond what is on the original single.

It is only one beat but it sure makes it feel (at least to me) that we've hit a brick wall at that point in the song. Luckily the correction is very easy once you "explore" the disc. It is amazing the difference in listenability with this disc once that one small error is corrected.

Another case of Silverline just didn't care...


Andy

I just bought this disc. How do you "fix" this issue you describe.
 
Hey guys, I've been staying away from Silverline given its generally horrible reputation. But I must say, I am getting curious about the stuff they put out - it seems like not all of it was crap, judging from the reviews of this title.

I'm wondering if we have a thread that collects the Silverline releases worth checking out? I mean, this one for instance can still be had for around 15 bucks, so it sounds like a worthwhile investment indeed.

EDIT: Never... Mind... o_O
 
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