Joe Bonamassa - Tales of Time LIVE (CD/BluRay)

[J. PUPSTER]

I know Pups
I reckon I could raise the fronts more and still lower the rears and get a better result.

The thing is, there is plenty going on in the Rears but it, bizarrely, overshadows Joe's performance.

Not often I complain about too much going on in the Rears!!

And Kevin Shirley is Joe's go to man, when it comes to mixing his music.

Also the fact that you have to figure Joe heard the final mix and approved it; it's also on his label- J&R Adventures, LLC.?

 

[DuncanS]

My copy arrived today.

Bought here
Tales Of Time Amazon.co.uk

First listen

Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Mixed by Kevin Shirley at The Cave.

Intermission

Watching Manchester United away at Nottingham Forest.

Back laters.

My BD is on order direct from Mascot (cheaper than amazon!) along with the live Black Stone Cherry BD

 

[sjcorne]

Interesting that they have the budget for this sort of thing, but a CD/Blu-Ray edition of Time Clocks is too much to ask for

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Interesting that they have the budget for this sort of thing, but a CD/Blu-Ray edition of Time Clocks is too much to ask for

That would be great for sure!

Joe definitely loves his live shows, as he's got a ton of 'em out there. Thinking I might try this one with Beth Hart next.

Personally I'd love some Funk Party Rock Candy in surround, even Quad, it would be a crazy good listen IMO!

He really works the merch. also, might be where the funds come from. I bought one of his Royal Tea hoodies and some mugs; and one time I even saw a Groove Is King RCFP mug but was too slow to pick it up, now I don't see it available .

Time Clocks mug anyone?

 

[DennisMabry]

I just finished listening to Joe Bonamassa "Tales of Time". Forgive me if my listening experience was a little different. I did hear a couple spots where the crowd noise was very prevalent durring the applause in the rears but isn't that pretty common in live performance videos? I switched to the stereo track on the fly, and IMO it is recorded a bit louder than the 5.1, but again IMO, the 5.1 sounds much better. Perhaps our takes are different due to our set ups. I too have an Oppo 205 that processes the 5.1 DTS-MA and sends the signal analog to my now 20 year old Sunfire pre-pro (still hanging strong) but no HDMI inputs and no room correction. I have resisted upgrading due to all of my legacy analog equipment that I still use and the lack of 7.1 analog inputs on new pre-pro units. I think Marantz still makes one but they are phasing it out. McIntosh makes two but I'm afraid they are out of the price range for this retiree. But I digress. Getting back to Joe, I thought it sounded great on my system. If Joe's voice is a bit back in the mix I believe they intend for you to turn it up! BTW, I listened at various volume levels as well with no discernable difference. So I'm not sure if room correction changes speaker levels or not. I'm just wondering if that would make a difference? I use a decible level meter to set the the speaker levels from the sweet spot. Now all of that being said, in summation I think this thing sounds great.

 

[elmer]

That would be great for sure!

Joe definitely loves his live shows, as he's got a ton of 'em out there. Thinking I might try this one with Beth Hart next.
T
Personally I'd love some Funk Party Rock Candy in surround, even Quad, it would be a crazy good listen IMO!

He really works the merch. also, might be where the funds come from. I bought one of his Royal Tea hoodies and some mugs; and one time I even saw a Groove Is King RCFP mug but was too slow to pick it up, now I don't see it available .

Time Clocks mug anyone

MUSIC ONLY! What's Your Latest Blu-Ray or Blu-Ray-A, Concert or Music-Related?

The Blu Ray has DTS 5.1 MA - great recording and performance.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

MUSIC ONLY! What's Your Latest Blu-Ray or Blu-Ray-A, Concert or Music-Related?

The Blu Ray has DTS 5.1 MA - great recording and performance.

Yep, I've got that one also, fine and nasty (mostly instrumental IIRC!)

I just finished listening to Joe Bonamassa "Tales of Time". Forgive me if my listening experience was a little different. I did hear a couple spots where the crowd noise was very prevalent durring the applause in the rears but isn't that pretty common in live performance videos? I switched to the stereo track on the fly, and IMO it is recorded a bit louder than the 5.1, but again IMO, the 5.1 sounds much better. Perhaps our takes are different due to our set ups. I too have an Oppo 205 that processes the 5.1 DTS-MA and sends the signal analog to my now 20 year old Sunfire pre-pro (still hanging strong) but no HDMI inputs and no room correction. I have resisted upgrading due to all of my legacy analog equipment that I still use and the lack of 7.1 analog inputs on new pre-pro units. I think Marantz still makes one but they are phasing it out. McIntosh makes two but I'm afraid they are out of the price range for this retiree. But I digress. Getting back to Joe, I thought it sounded great on my system. If Joe's voice is a bit back in the mix I believe they intend for you to turn it up! BTW, I listened at various volume levels as well with no discernable difference. So I'm not sure if room correction changes speaker levels or not. I'm just wondering if that would make a difference? I use a decible level meter to set the the speaker levels from the sweet spot. Now all of that being said, in summation I think this thing sounds great.

Glad it's working out for somebody.

I think I'll compare Joe's vocals and guitar on the Royal Tea set against this Tales Of Time and see if there's a substantial difference. yes it's a different show, but I don't remember being so let down by the audio on that one.

 

[beerking]

I just finished listening to Joe Bonamassa "Tales of Time". Forgive me if my listening experience was a little different. I did hear a couple spots where the crowd noise was very prevalent durring the applause in the rears but isn't that pretty common in live performance videos? I switched to the stereo track on the fly, and IMO it is recorded a bit louder than the 5.1, but again IMO, the 5.1 sounds much better. Perhaps our takes are different due to our set ups. I too have an Oppo 205 that processes the 5.1 DTS-MA and sends the signal analog to my now 20 year old Sunfire pre-pro (still hanging strong) but no HDMI inputs and no room correction. I have resisted upgrading due to all of my legacy analog equipment that I still use and the lack of 7.1 analog inputs on new pre-pro units. I think Marantz still makes one but they are phasing it out. McIntosh makes two but I'm afraid they are out of the price range for this retiree. But I digress. Getting back to Joe, I thought it sounded great on my system. If Joe's voice is a bit back in the mix I believe they intend for you to turn it up! BTW, I listened at various volume levels as well with no discernable difference. So I'm not sure if room correction changes speaker levels or not. I'm just wondering if that would make a difference? I use a decible level meter to set the the speaker levels from the sweet spot. Now all of that being said, in summation I think this thing sounds great.

Isn't it amazing the varying sounds we all hear!! From the same source.
Great that it works for you.

I did take quite awhile in assessing this surround release, as the show itself is really good.
In fact, initially I thought its OK.
But as I finished listening all the way through, more than once, it just didn't sit right to these old ears.

I'm sure there will be more QQr's who would like to give their appraisal, over time.

Alway fascinating, if occasionally frustrating, this niche hobby of ours.

 

[AYanguas]

Good Live Surround mix. But...

I have to increase the two Fronts level by +12dB to have something balanced, and hear Bonamassa vocals and guitar as in the stereo track. This way, the surround mix works much better than Stereo with Auro-3D. Then it becomes a little front dominant, and tweeking the fronts level increase you get a really good surround discrete.

With normal AVR levels, sometimes you hear the echo of the vocals in the rears too much delayed, as if you were there and the voice were reflected by a huge rear red rocks wall. But all the fronts sound is too much muted.

As said, I cannot understand how this mixing error, or mastering transfer, or whatever, can go unnoticed through any minimum QA. I can't believe it was intentional.

 

[mandrix]

Listening for the 4th/5th time.
I love Joe Bonamassa,
I think he is one of the greats. I guess the first few listens I must have been out of my freaking mind and ready to accept anything Joe.
So much do I love his songs and guitar work.

But who the f^k decided on all this reverb on Joe's mic?
This is the most screwed up mess, I don't even know where to go from here.
Compared to any other live recording of him, this is at the very bottom. Any of his live shows in the UK, previous show at Red Rocks, Ryman Hall!
What happened Joe?

Joe, I love ya. But I mean seriously, who the hell approved this? Maybe it's the best that could made from an obvious (to me) cluster f*k of a sound problem.
We deserve better. YOU deserve better. Whoever the hell you have running the sound, fire their deaf, sorry asses.

 

[kvsawilson]

Are you listening to the Blu-ray or dvd? Anyone tried the dvd?

K

 

[petrimyllyla]

I own all Joe’s concert videos and saw his April 2023 gig in Helsinki. This bd is under the very high quality of his. Both performance and sound.

And why the hell partial of the show are split to extras? And why songs in bd are not in same running order than in actuall gig. I love 100% document of one gig and rarely I got it.

 

[beerking]

Listening for the 4th/5th time.
I love Joe Bonamassa,
I think he is one of the greats. I guess the first few listens I must have been out of my freaking mind and ready to accept anything Joe.
So much do I love his songs and guitar work.

But who the f^k decided on all this reverb on Joe's mic?
This is the most screwed up mess, I don't even know where to go from here.
Compared to any other live recording of him, this is at the very bottom. Any of his live shows in the UK, previous show at Red Rocks, Ryman Hall!
What happened Joe?

Joe, I love ya. But I mean seriously, who the hell approved this? Maybe it's the best that could made from an obvious (to me) cluster f*k of a sound problem.
We deserve better. YOU deserve better. Whoever the hell you have running the sound, fire their deaf, sorry asses.

I did think about contacting Joe but felt he would think that I'm some sort of obsessed surround crank...
Which may not be a million miles off the truth!!
Even so, who play tested this? Who gave the green light, quite frankly, to release this huge pile of shite.
There I said it.
Coz it is.

 

[soesbeout]

I did think about contacting Joe but felt he would think that I'm some sort of obsessed surround crank...
Which may not be a million miles off the truth!!
Even so, who play tested this? Who gave the green light, quite frankly, to release this huge pile of shite.
There I said it.
Coz it is.

Kevin Shirley is his producer and mixes his releases it's all on him and Joe.

 

[beerking]

Kevin Shirley is his producer and mixes his releases it's all on him and Joe.

I'm still sorely tempted to contact either Kevin or Joe, or both.
Not to winge but to point out the mix is nowhere near good enough.
Perhaps I should, I might get a reply...

 

[mandrix]

Are you listening to the Blu-ray or dvd? Anyone tried the dvd?

K

BD.

 

[mandrix]

As Tales of Time gets further along, the sound improves some. The first half hour or so just ruin it for me, the vocal reverb, the overpowering back up vocals.
I very seldom pan a performance this much, and it pains me because Joe Bonamassa is truly one of the greats in my book.
The musicians that play with him are always very good, and his guitar work is always, almost flawless.
But I'll leave it alone now. I will look forward to his next release.

 

[DuncanS]

I haven't watched mine yet, may be I should just stick to the stereo track on the BD or is the mix as bad?

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I haven't watched mine yet, may be I should just stick to the stereo track on the BD or is the mix as bad?

I felt the stereo was OK, the surround sound can be improved with some massaging, however linking it back to the video, is more work than I'm willing to do.

 

[DennisMabry]

My wife was sitting in the sweet spot working a crossword puzzle, enjoying Mother's Day. So I asked her to listen to a couple songs from "Tales Of Time" and see if she could hear anything wonky with the recording. I asked if she could hear any extra reverb with the vocals? She doesn't care for it too loud, so we listened at a normal level. After a bit she offered that there was some but she thought that could be attributed to the natural acoustics at the Red Rocks venue. She also added that if you have to listen that hard to hear it, is it really a problem? She obviously is not aware of the immense scrutiny that this wonderful group provides.

I agree this recording is mixed differently from most JB concerts I own, as there is almost no or very little center channel. As a big Joe Bonamassa fan I think I own almost every concert he has on disc. I have seen him perform live 7 times. My favorite live performance on Blu-ray would be one from the Tour de Force series. Specifically the Hammersmith Apollo show.

I should add that my system does not have matched speakers. The fronts are Definitive Technology BP-2000 with 15" low end drivers and built in 300 watt amp with a low end that goes down to 20 Hz. I have them bi-amped with a 225 watt X 5 Sunfire amp. My rears are Martin Logan conventional type speakers with 8" drivers, also driven with the same amp, they go down to 37 Hz. All speakers are set to large and dialed in with a hand held SPL meter. Needless to say my system is a little bass heavy (but I like it that way). I rarely boost the rears from the recommended settings but occasionally I will if the mix is lacking. My set up could be the difference in my take as opposed to others. I tend to listen fairly loud as well. Usually at around 85 decibels, especially when listening to Joe! If you have ever been to one of his shows, you know what I'm talking about.

So is it his best concert video? No! Is it a great performance at an awesome venue? Yes!

Dennis