HiRez Poll Brooke, Jonatha - STEADY PULL [DVD-A]

[steelydave]

Please post your comments, thoughts and observations on this 2001 DVD-A release from Bad Dog Records featuring a Bob Clearmountain 5.1 mix.



Discogs page for the album: Steady Pull
Wiki page for the artist: Jonatha Brooke
Old QQ discussion thread with information and links: Jonatha Brooke

 

[humprof]

Jonatha Brooke was new to me till I saw this album come up on the "Listening Now" thread a couple of times. I like this album a lot: I think Brooke's songwriting is more interesting than other, more popular 90s/00s indie singer-songwriters I could name, and I like the arrangements and the overall sound of this album (for which Bob Clearmountain probably plays a big part).

As for the mix: I'm just guessing that this was one of Clearmountain's early outings? Anyway, it's pretty uneven and not very adventurous. On most tracks, the action is across the fronts and center, and there's mainly reverb--and/or snare, cymbal, and electric guitar, doubled from the fronts at lower levels. Sometimes there's a harmony vocal line or a guitar fill so quick you barely notice it. A few songs--"How Deep Is Your Love" (not a Bee Gees cover), "Room In My Heart," and "New Dress"--have more aggressive mixes, though. And in some ways the most effective surround mix (even though it's immersive, not discrete) is on the closing waltz, "Lullaby"--just acoustic guitar and vocals, and the most beautiful song on the album.

Nice package, though: DVD-V (with low-budget videos for every song) on one side and DVD-A on the other, plus full credits and a "making of" video. 8 for content, 9 for sound, 6 for mix. I'm gonna weight that last rating and go with a 7 overall. Still an album well worth having. Maybe Clearmountain could revisit this with a 20th-anniversary Atmos mix for Apple Music?

 

[JonUrban]

I remember one of the guys over at the SHF said he produced this DVD-A, so I got one all those years ago to check it out. I can't even remember what it sounded like. I probably still have it somewhere. It's probably hard to find these days.

EDIT: I found the SHF thread. The member is Lee Farber and he directed the videos on this disc. There's more about it in the thread (from 2004)!!!

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/jonatha-brooke.30570/

 

[humprof]

Jonatha Brooke was the guest on last week's episode of PRX's Art of the Song, an hour-long interview program:
https://beta.prx.org/stories/390890

This week on Art of the Song our guest is Jonatha Brooke. Jonatha has been writing songs, making records, and touring since the early 90's. After four major label releases, she started her own independent label in 1999 and has since released eight more albums.

Jonatha has co-written songs with Katy Perry and the late Joe Sample among others. In 2014, she debuted her one woman musical and companion album My Mother Has Four Noses at the Duke Theater in New York City. We spoke with Jonatha about her EP, Imposter.

 

[leefarber]

I remember one of the guys over at the SHF said he produced this DVD-A, so I got one all those years ago to check it out. I can't even remember what it sounded like. I probably still have it somewhere. It's probably hard to find these days.

EDIT: I found the SHF thread. The member is Lee Farber and he directed the videos on this disc. There's more about it in the thread (from 2004)!!!

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/jonatha-brooke.30570/

Hey! That's me! Jonatha just posted one of the videos to her YouTube channel. What a blast from the past. Too bad we didn't have HD cams in 2000 like we do now. Those videos could've looked spectacular for the same budget.

I'll have to dig the disc out and give the 5.1 mix a spin again. Need to rip it to my server as well. So good!

 

[humprof]

This album is now available as a FLAC 5.1 download at ImmersiveAudioAlbum.com, along with another of Brooke's albums, Live in New York, with a hitherto unreleased Bob Clearmountain mix.
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/product/jonatha-brooke-steady-pull-5-1-flac/https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/product/jonatha-brooke-live-in-new-york-5-1-flac/

 

[sjcorne]

This album is now available as a FLAC 5.1 download at ImmersiveAudioAlbum.com, along with another of Brooke's albums, Live in New York, with a hitherto unreleased Bob Clearmountain mix.

Live In NY actually was previously released on a DVD (with DTS or DD audio), but this download is sourced from the original 88.2/24 lossless master.

That being said, I’m told there are unreleased 5.1 versions of at least two more of Jonatha’s albums (including 2007’s Careful What You Wish For). Hopefully those will be part of the next batch of releases…

 

[humprof]

Live In NY actually was previously released on a DVD (with DTS or DD audio), but this download is sourced from the original 88.2/24 lossless master.

That being said, I’m told there are unreleased 5.1 versions of at least two more of Jonatha’s albums (including 2007’s Careful What You Wish For). Hopefully those will be part of the next batch of releases…

Ah--didn't realize that the DVD half of the CD/DVD release included a 5.1 DTS/DD soundtrack. (That's not mentioned on the Discogs entry.) This will be a sonic upgrade anyway, as you say.

I will certainly wish for Careful What You Wish For!

 

[mandrix]

Wow. I have the DVDA. But I had forgotten about it, totally. Not sure if that's because I did not like it or just forgot.
I'll give it a spin soon and vote.

Was this a dual disc? Looks like I have both a DVD and a DVDA else it was a dual disc.
This apparently among the casualties and I copied out the contents digitally before I had an accident with one of the racks years ago.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I've heard it once. Found it musically "meh".
It now sits on the for sale pile.

 

[mandrix]

The lady appears very talented, playing a variety of instruments. The mixing seems a bit uneven but not real bad.
The music does not do much for me however. I voted a 7 (after all these years).

 

[srbjab]

This was a blind buy for me when I was frantically snapping up any 5.1 discs I could find in my initial enthusiasm for surround. The edition I have is a 2 sided DVD-A / DVD-V flipper disc (possibly a collector's curio now?). Sadly, I did not care much for the music or the mix and have not listened to it for many years. It was part of my rapid education that not all surround releases are equal, and surround sound alone cannot always redeem music I don't like.

 

[mandrix]

This was a blind buy for me when I was frantically snapping up any 5.1 discs I could find in my initial enthusiasm for surround. The edition I have is a 2 sided DVD-A / DVD-V flipper disc (possibly a collector's curio now?). Sadly, I did not care much for the music or the mix and have not listened to it for many years. It was part of my rapid education that not all surround releases are equal, and surround sound alone cannot always redeem music I don't like.

Thanks for confirming it was a dual disc. Explains why I had a rip for both DVD and DVDA. But the disc is history (cracked in an accident I believe).

 

[jefe1]

I also picked this up long ago because it had a DVD audio stream. Dont remember if its a flipper disc, I will have to look for it. Dont recall hating the music just that I guess it didnt grab me much hence its lain in obscurity for a long time.