Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 50th Anniversary Reissue (with 5.1 surround mix)

[ar surround]

Within You Without You is just insane with the levels adjusted (turn that center down, way down)

surround bliss

George's voice and sitar swirl from center to front to surround and back over and over in a psychedelic/hypnotic type of trance but it's like the voice and sitar are out of phase which separates the voice from sitar just enough to create a psychedelic delay

Ravers have a thing about BPM (beats per minutes) that induce a type of trance

This surround mix is the same type of thing, but it's not the BPM, it's the "swirl" that is hypnotic

I suppose engineers could call it a "non-linear circular out of phase delayed surround pan"

I never liked or appreciated this track...until we got this 5.1 mix. Complicated music really needs the multi-channel surround sound treatment to blossom.

 

[salsdali]

This entire release is a surround revelation.

The problem is it's like an Easter egg hidden in there.

It's there, you just need to work to find it but once you do, wow!

of course I'm disappointed that the default mix is not the pinnacle, but it's there so...

 

[milt]

The Indian drums and drone strings on WYWY are awesome.
In the past I think many skipped this track, not anymore.

I could clearly hear content from the back surrounds.
I may crank them by 3-5 db next time.
Rarely if ever tweak speaker settings as they are calibrated to 0db relative to each other with distance compensation which is minimal.

 

[salsdali]

The Indian drums and drone strings on WYWY are awesome.
In the past I think many skipped this track, not anymore.

I could clearly hear content from the back surrounds.
I may crank them by 3-5 db next time.
Rarely if ever tweak speaker settings as they are calibrated to 0db relative to each other with distance compensation which is minimal.

those drums (bongo?) and strings (like a violin), bliss

I'm literally in the studio with them

 

[Quadwreck]

I would bet Paul had nothing to do with what Capitol did for those Q8's, and as we can clearly tell by looking at our Deluxe Band on the Run McCartney Collection edition, there is no quad Band on the Run included, even though it was asked for before the release of the product. To add insult to injury, in the included book there is a picture of the quad 8 track noted - but in the picture is the stereo 8 track.

We don't really know what Sir Paul thought about those 2 quad mixes, other than the fact that in both Archive Collection releases of those albums, there was no quad mix included.

Paul was one of the first buyers of the Millenium 2-4-6 DTS decoder, and had it set up in his London home. Brad Miller said he was enthusiastic about hearing his two quad albums on it and authorized their release as DTS CDs. Tad can probably fill in some info on this (calling Quadtrade...).

 

[kap'n krunch]

Even as a young 'un, I never disliked WYWY, , but it came a time when I thought it was the best song on the LP (I still do!, George having been allowed ONE song basically slapped John and Paul with this one)...

I started to like Indian music because of George...I'm the kind of person who LOOOVES the Indian orchestra part of "Concert for George" ...and, of course, the beautiful and extremely talented Anoushka was a BIG help on this...

Yup, the 5.1 version IS really f*ckin' great and it's the only way to truly appreciate this song...

 

[quicksrt]

....and the perfect place for them to have released them as DVD-A, SACD, or BluRay (or even 24/48 DVD) was the McCartney Archive Collection Box Sets of both albums.....

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Even a download code included to get them would have been all that these sets needed. It's getting so late now in the game....

 

[quicksrt]

This entire release is a surround revelation.

The problem is it's like an Easter egg hidden in there.

It's there, you just need to work to find it but once you do, wow!

of course I'm disappointed that the default mix is not the pinnacle, but it's there so...

What are you referring to? What is it that is hard to find? And this hidden "wow" thing?

 

[oxenholme]

I listened to Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane on the DVD Anthology.

There are several similarities between the mixes on the DVD and those on the Sgt Pepper Blu-ray. The most apparent being that instrument that starts rear right and moves via front right to front left (glissando???).

But the thing that struck me most was that the Blu-ray is strident. The Anthology DVD is crankable and, for me, much easier to listen to.

 

[salsdali]

What are you referring to? What is it that is hard to find? And this hidden "wow" thing?

I listened to the Dolby Digital track (48 kHz) on the DVD in my car (4 speakers, front and rear) and was underwhelmed. It was good but just OK.

I listened to the Dolby Digital track (48 kHz) on the DVD in my home "studio" (7.1 speakers) and was underwhelmed. It was good but just OK.

I listened to the DTS-HD MA track (96 kHz) on the Blu-ray in my home "studio" (7.1 speakers) and was underwhelmed. Sounded a little thin and harsh, too clean and digital, very 2D wall of sound, a little too balanced, not spatial, still good but...

I then listened to the Dolby TrueHD track (96 kHz) on the Blu-ray in my home "studio" (7.1 speakers) and it was a noticeable improvement but was still underwhelmed. Sounded fuller and more analog (no doubt MLP being the reason) but a rather unexciting mix.

I then read this thread about adjusting the volume levels of each speaker and did so (on each song) and listened to the Dolby TrueHD track on the Blu-ray in my home "studio" (7.1 speakers) and was OVERwhelmed. Very 3D, spatial. It was like I had discovered a hidden gem.

Changing the volume of each speaker completely metamorphosizes this album into a different experience.

IOW, that superb surround mix is in there but you need to tweak the system to bring it out.

The beauty is, the fidelity of each speaker is so good that tweaking each speaker doesn't degrade the sound in any way, like it would on a lot of other surround albums.

It's like each speaker has 100% full fidelity potential (partly because of the 96 kHz, partly because MLP, partly because of the mono stem), but the default mix doesn't utilize a lot of that and the tweaking brings out the 100% in each speaker and comes together ( ) in a harmonious union.

After you get the mix "right" after adjustments, you can then crank the album to full sonic glory that if you cranked it to that same volume level without adjustments you'd probably go deaf from the "incorrect" default mix.

It's almost like Giles wanted to honor the mono mix with his surround mix, but didn't realize that by doing so actually unknowingly put the full mono fidelity into each speaker (instead of just one) and then we are able to uncover that out into real surround.

How ironic that the original mono stem (and the desire to preserve it) is the thing that makes this surround so good. lol

 

[fredblue]

What are you referring to? What is it that is hard to find? And this hidden "wow" thing?

think they are alluding to if you muck around with the channels enough for each song you get a half decent surround mix out of it?

 

[lennon fan]

....and the perfect place for them to have released them as DVD-A, SACD, or BluRay (or even 24/48 DVD) was the McCartney Archive Collection Box Sets of both albums.....

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I agree but then you had the McCartney 3 disc video collection with new surround mixes and they were very nice.

 

[lennon fan]

think they are alluding to if you muck around with the channels enough for each song you get a half decent surround mix out of it?

that's what I'm getting out of it...as I said, I cut off the center and sent to 2 fronts...upped the rears....better, but still lame and conservative mostly. the single is better. as stated in another thread, all Anthology mixes are superior imo.

WYWY is the star here, who'd a thunk it?

 

[ar surround]

The PBS Sgt. Pepper speciall was on last night at 8:30 PM and repeats at 10:30 PM tonight. (Check local listings.) Yes, I used to go out partying and whatever on Saturday nights, now I watch PBS documentaries. LOL. Anyway, it is a very worthwhile show as it delves deeply into several tracks on the album (Lucy, Mr. Kite, WYWY, SLH, SFF, Penny Lane, ADITL) including music theory and the origins of various genres that influenced these cuts. It makes me appreciate the album and the talent of The Beatles, George Martin and his staff even more.

The only disappointment was PBS's failure to mention the 5.1 mix while hawking the Super Deluxe Version for a $1200 pledge. They talked about the 4 CD's, the documentary on the DVD's and the book, but nothing at all on the surround sound.

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

How does the PBS Special differ from the documentary contained in the box set?

 

[~dave~~wave~]

How does the PBS Special differ from the documentary contained in the box set?

An entirely new and different production with only the subject matter being the same.

I enjoyed it as well, watched a recording this morning so I could skip the pledge breaks.
It's hosted by a music critic who gets into a bit of theory about modal playing, modulations, counterpoint, etc.

All of you guys who are making me green with envy about how great WYWY is in surround should check out the segment about how George composed and recorded it.
He fused some of his avant-garde Western sensibilities with the classical Indian music he'd been studying in a more unique way than I'd ever seen explained.

The only slight turn-off for me is the host's penchant for playing and singing examples himself.
I don't appreciate watching anybody other than Paul stand at an antique mellotron and play the intro to Strawberry Fields.:violin

 

[DuncanS]

It sounds like you were watching the same BBC production which was broadcast last night over here in the UK. Howard Goodall writes music for a lot of things shown on TV over here, he does come across as being a bit 'over enthusiastic'.

An entirely new and different production with only the subject matter being the same.

I enjoyed it as well, watched a recording this morning so I could skip the pledge breaks.
It's hosted by a music critic who gets into a bit of theory about modal playing, modulations, counterpoint, etc.

All of you guys who are making me green with envy about how great WYWY is in surround should check out the segment about how George composed and recorded it.
He fused some of his avant-garde Western sensibilities with the classical Indian music he'd been studying in a more unique way than I'd ever seen explained.

The only slight turn-off for me is the host's penchant for playing and singing examples himself.
I don't appreciate watching anybody other than Paul stand at an antique mellotron and play the intro to Strawberry Fields.:violin

 

[Failed Muso]

Howard Goodall, CBE is a hugely talented composer, arranger and musician and probably knows more about musical composition than the combined collective in this fair parish!

I find him thoroughly engaging and his ability to demonstrate his points himself makes him pretty unique.

Personally, I'd not want many other people to analyse and dissect Pepper from a compositional perspective.

But that's just me

 

[JerseyEd]

The PBS Sgt. Pepper speciall was on last night at 8:30 PM and repeats at 10:30 PM tonight. (Check local listings.) Yes, I used to go out partying and whatever on Saturday nights, now I watch PBS documentaries. LOL. Anyway, it is a very worthwhile show as it delves deeply into several tracks on the album (Lucy, Mr. Kite, WYWY, SLH, SFF, Penny Lane, ADITL) including music theory and the origins of various genres that influenced these cuts. It makes me appreciate the album and the talent of The Beatles, George Martin and his staff even more.

The only disappointment was PBS's failure to mention the 5.1 mix while hawking the Super Deluxe Version for a $1200 pledge. They talked about the 4 CD's, the documentary on the DVD's and the book, but nothing at all on the surround sound.

I watched this last night and thought it was VERY informative. One of my favorite parts was when Howard Goodall displayed the 4 piano parts in Penny Lane from the computer tracks. And for those that aren't familiar with him, he is a well respected composer in Britain and has won many awards. He also composed the theme music for 2 of my favorite BBC shows, Red Dwarf and Blackadder ("I have a cunning plan!" - Baldrick, lmao). @:

 

[Guy Robinson]

So I haven't read the entire thread so this is likely not new news but here goes.

So far I have listened to the album in DTS MA 5.1 from the BD. I was thinking to myself, "This sounds great". Then I decided to try the Dolby True HD. Wow. It definately sounded better to me. More immersive and actually "stunning". I couldn't figure it out because as far as I was concerned DTS and Dolby should be the same. Then I realized what it was. The Dolby is 6.1. and the DTS is 5.1. The track is marked 5.1 but it definately has a mono back channel. It doesn't appear to be 7.1 It sounds fantastic and is the only way I will be playing this from now on. When switching back to the DTS there is a real difference to me and it is just not the volume bump. For anyone into surround (like we are all here) try the Dolby True HD track if you have 7.1/6.1 capability.