Last night, there was a one-time only playback of the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” 7.1 Dolby Atmos mix in select movie theaters (was it in the U.S. only?). Oddly, it was free with advance registration. I went to hear it in Washington, D.C. Here are some thoughts on the experience.
I had to work until 6:00. The event was at 7:00. Arriving at 6:50 meant I had to sit at the far left end of a row as all the center seats were filled. This kind of ruined any chance of experiencing the effect of surround sound.
In my theater, it was LOUD, and a bit harsh. I’ve always thought that Ringo’s hi-hat had an unpleasant mid-rangy quality to it on this album, and this theater’s sound system accentuated that.
There is always at least one person who has to sing at events like these. It happened when I went to “Eight Days A Week.” It happened last night. They think they can’t be heard, but they can and it utterly destroys the atmosphere.
The theater was dark with nothing on the screen. There should have been a rule against letting anyone in after the playback had started, as those people had to use their blindingly bright cell phones to look for an empty seat and to see where they were going. This happened as late as during "Within You Without You."
As best as I could tell, the Dolby Atmos mix positioned everything the same as the 5.1 mix. However, there was one notable difference between the two mixes. At the end of “Good Morning, Good Morning,” the band faded out much sooner than on any other mix, new or old. Then the sound of the animals faded out almost completely. *Then* the chicken clucking came in and it seemed longer than on the album. And then the real surprise. On the mono mix of “Pepper” there are 6 beats worth of drums before Paul says his “1..2..3..4..” On the 1967 stereo mix, the new stereo mix and the 5.1 mix, there are only 4 beats. But the Atmos mix had the extra two beats! However, it muted out the unintelligible words spoken by John during those two extra beats. Am I a total geek? You betcha!
So that's my non-review. Did anyone else go to this. What was your experience?
J. D.
I had to work until 6:00. The event was at 7:00. Arriving at 6:50 meant I had to sit at the far left end of a row as all the center seats were filled. This kind of ruined any chance of experiencing the effect of surround sound.
In my theater, it was LOUD, and a bit harsh. I’ve always thought that Ringo’s hi-hat had an unpleasant mid-rangy quality to it on this album, and this theater’s sound system accentuated that.
There is always at least one person who has to sing at events like these. It happened when I went to “Eight Days A Week.” It happened last night. They think they can’t be heard, but they can and it utterly destroys the atmosphere.
The theater was dark with nothing on the screen. There should have been a rule against letting anyone in after the playback had started, as those people had to use their blindingly bright cell phones to look for an empty seat and to see where they were going. This happened as late as during "Within You Without You."
As best as I could tell, the Dolby Atmos mix positioned everything the same as the 5.1 mix. However, there was one notable difference between the two mixes. At the end of “Good Morning, Good Morning,” the band faded out much sooner than on any other mix, new or old. Then the sound of the animals faded out almost completely. *Then* the chicken clucking came in and it seemed longer than on the album. And then the real surprise. On the mono mix of “Pepper” there are 6 beats worth of drums before Paul says his “1..2..3..4..” On the 1967 stereo mix, the new stereo mix and the 5.1 mix, there are only 4 beats. But the Atmos mix had the extra two beats! However, it muted out the unintelligible words spoken by John during those two extra beats. Am I a total geek? You betcha!
So that's my non-review. Did anyone else go to this. What was your experience?
J. D.