HiRez Poll Beatles, The - THE BEATLES (The White Album) [Blu-Ray Audio]

[rusinurbe]

Finally arrived today and was duly wrapped for Christmas by my wife not even had a chance to glimpse the package as the box it wad in was undamaged my wife would not let me. Roll on December 25

 

[lennon fan]

The plaudits this 5.1 are getting are so well deserved, we now start throwing forum awards at Giles
Steven Wilson, is a great remixer as well, as are a few others. It's getting discussed and not in a small way IMO, I'm seeing so many
just thrilled at this surround mix. For me some of it comes so alive it's great, there's always been that irritating streak in the EQ but I expect that as purposeful in the mix. I've explained why in other threads. Abbey Road will get done, no doubt in my mind, and I think people will be stunned at how much more audiophile an experience it is. It was made with state of the art sound in mind, where the White was made with the state of the world in mind instead.

 

[bktouchstone]

Until now, this album was something of a disappointment to me. The Beatles were gods, and they could have titled this “Impersonating Mortals.” It was very good in places, terrible in some and too, too long.

The blu-ray of this has changed my opinion of this album thanks to the fantastic surround remix. The tracks now seem to flow better from one to the other, and instead of seeming like a loose aggregation of mediocre weird songs, it seems thematically more like a trip through the attic of a house that has been occupied by several generations. The record of long ago trips (USSR), stuffed animals (see animal titles), love letters, old sheet music, a birthday card, all covered with a dust of a slight distortion or graininess in the upper mid-range and maybe higher. And there is the slight disconcertion that you too are temporary, as almost every song is either thematically unsettling or contains music that accomplishes the same with unexpected breaks, or musical segments that suddenly interrupt the familiar pattern, Glass Onion being a good example of this, but Long, Long, Long as well. But there are so many other examples.

Despite my new esteem, I still don’t like Revolution 9 and Goodnight. But I can accept them as an art piece, and a parody, respectively. Faint praise for both.

And it is somehow still too long, but now I look forward to those rare opportunities when I have the time to listen beginning to end. Someday, I will give this a 10. But first I must be treated for bed sores. Did I mention this was long?

 

[dr. simple]

Until now, this album was something of a disappointment to me. The Beatles were gods, and they could have titled this “Impersonating Mortals.” It was very good in places, terrible in some and too, too long.

The blu-ray of this has changed my opinion of this album thanks to the fantastic surround remix. The tracks now seem to flow better from one to the other, and instead of seeming like a loose aggregation of mediocre weird songs, it seems thematically more like a trip through the attic of a house that has been occupied by several generations. The record of long ago trips (USSR), stuffed animals (see animal titles), love letters, old sheet music, a birthday card, all covered with a dust of a slight distortion or graininess in the upper mid-range and maybe higher. And there is the slight disconcertion that you too are temporary, as almost every song is either thematically unsettling or contains music that accomplishes the same with unexpected breaks, or musical segments that suddenly interrupt the familiar pattern, Glass Onion being a good example of this, but Long, Long, Long as well. But there are so many other examples.

Despite my new esteem, I still don’t like Revolution 9 and Goodnight. But I can accept them as an art piece, and a parody, respectively. Faint praise for both.

And it is somehow still too long, but now I look forward to those rare opportunities when I have the time to listen beginning to end. Someday, I will give this a 10. But first I must be treated for bed sores. Did I mention this was long?

Great review! I’m glad you’re enjoying it. One of the cool things about surround is how it brings albums to life that might not have affected us otherwise. I have to add that - for ME - “Revolution 9” makes a lot more sense in surround than it ever did in stereo. I feel the same way about “Within You Without You”.

 

[kap'n krunch]

OK brothas and sistahs..
I REALLY don't understand the STINK for the SPLHCB mix cause this is basically the same...really it is.. somebody give me a play by play runthrough but , it's the MUSIC that is different and lends itself to a MCH mix .. but GM's(Giles Martin) approach is the same to my ears!!!
(let the ripe tomatoes rain begin)..

 

[4-earredwonder]

OK brothas and sistahs..
I REALLY don't understand the STINK for the SPLHCB mix cause this is basically the same...really it is.. somebody give me a play by play runthrough but , it's the MUSIC that is different and lends itself to a MCH mix .. but GM's(Giles Martin) approach is the same to my ears!!!
(let the ripe tomatoes rain begin)..

IMO, Kap, I think since Giles had more multitracks to work with, it's a more adventuresome mix than Pepper. And I believe he also achieved a better balance between front and rears, unlike Pepper, in which a lot of posters lowered the fronts and boosted the rears which I didn't find at all necessary with TWA.

I did downgrade it a point for the TIZZINESS of the mastering. Still too hot for my ears but the content/packaging and extras are ALL 10's.

 

[skherbeck]

OK brothas and sistahs..
I REALLY don't understand the STINK for the SPLHCB mix cause this is basically the same...really it is.. somebody give me a play by play runthrough but , it's the MUSIC that is different and lends itself to a MCH mix .. but GM's(Giles Martin) approach is the same to my ears!!!
(let the ripe tomatoes rain begin)..

I think you're right that's it's basically the same approach, but there are 2 things to note:
-the results are better on TWA
-You don't have to adjust the rear channels on TWA

 

[key_wiz]

I think you're right that's it's basically the same approach, but there are 2 things to note:
-the results are better on TWA
-You don't have to adjust the rear channels on TWA

Yep. I don’t diss the Peppers mix nearly as much as some others here. But I have to crank the rears up about 6 dB to really enjoy it!

 

[ChristopherLees]

This is Giles Martins' best effort ..for once I actually like what he's done(most of the time)....that is on alot of the tracks...but there is one dud track that he has ruined and that's "wild honey pie"...the wow /flutter is all wrong and it is really hard too listen to at all now...he should have kept his father's mix and for the 5.1 mix done some fakery for the rears,or doubled up something discrete in the rears from the multitrack....well I can skip that on bluray and cd but on vinyl it's a pain in the arse to put up with....and yes he does at times put too much in the fronts at the expense of the surround image...but there's more extra overdubs to throw in the rears on this release so he gets away with it....The Esher demos on vinyl are awesome...."Circles" is stunning.....Obladi Oblada now has 5 handclaps in the intro instead of the usual 6 in stereo(although on the mono mix there has always been none)...

 

[admsh]

OK brothas and sistahs..
I REALLY don't understand the STINK for the SPLHCB mix cause this is basically the same...really it is.. somebody give me a play by play runthrough but , it's the MUSIC that is different and lends itself to a MCH mix .. but GM's(Giles Martin) approach is the same to my ears!!!
(let the ripe tomatoes rain begin)..

It's the same approach in the sense that they wanted to maintain the essence of the sound and feel of the original mix. But the surround treatment here is much more adventurous and exciting. I happen to love pepper, but I won't lie, would have enjoyed a more exciting mix. I've been going to the stereo mix of Pepper as much as I have the surround one. Not in this case
I don't agree it's Gile's best effort though, I still think Love is the best Beatles release, both in terms of fidelity and the surround treatment. Maybe while dad was around he felt more freedom to "change" the sound? I very much look forward to Abbey Road, and I think (hope?) we'll FINALLY get the best of all worlds with that one.

 

[The56Kid]

Question for my fellow forum member who have received the 6CD, Blu-Ray version of this masterpiece. I just received it yesterday, but since it’s a Christmas gift, I won’t be able to unpack for another 40 days or so. Should I unpack it now to make sure nothing is damaged in case I have to return it to Amazon US if necessary?

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Question for my fellow forum member who have received the 6CD, Blu-Ray version of this masterpiece. I just received it yesterday, but since it’s a Christmas gift, I won’t be able to unpack for another 40 days or so. Should I unpack it now to make sure nothing is damaged in case I have to return it to Amazon US if necessary?

Well...if it came packaged like mine(from amazon US)it was a box inside a box...I WOULD open it and check it...technically you won't be opening it as it will still be in the shrink wrap

 

[dr. simple]

Question for my fellow forum member who have received the 6CD, Blu-Ray version of this masterpiece. I just received it yesterday, but since it’s a Christmas gift, I won’t be able to unpack for another 40 days or so. Should I unpack it now to make sure nothing is damaged in case I have to return it to Amazon US if necessary?

If you're concerned about discs falling around inside, I don't think it's necessary to open it. I think on both this and Electric Ladyland that they finally got it right so that discs don't slip around.

 

[key_wiz]

It's the same approach in the sense that they wanted to maintain the essence of the sound and feel of the original mix. But the surround treatment here is much more adventurous and exciting. I happen to love pepper, but I won't lie, would have enjoyed a more exciting mix. I've been going to the stereo mix of Pepper as much as I have the surround one. Not in this case
I don't agree it's Gile's best effort though, I still think Love is the best Beatles release, both in terms of fidelity and the surround treatment. Maybe while dad was around he felt more freedom to "change" the sound? I very much look forward to Abbey Road, and I think (hope?) we'll FINALLY get the best of all worlds with that one.

I don’t think it had anything to do with his dad being around. It was simply the nature of the piece. He was creating a soundtrack for a circus to be played in a round theater.

 

[svengaleekie]

If you're concerned about discs falling around inside, I don't think it's necessary to open it. I think on both this and Electric Ladyland that they finally got it right so that discs don't slip around.

CD1 was out of its sleeve and floating around when I received mine, no apparent damage though.

 

[dr. simple]

CD1 was out of its sleeve and floating around when I received mine, no apparent damage though.

I believe you, but that surprises me. I thought the recessed pockets would prevent that. Maybe it reduces but doesn't eliminate the chances. It's sure is much better than that Layla catastrophe!

 

[bangsezmax]

Big fat 10. One of my buddies who is a real Beatles freak came by last night to check it out. He was saying, "Now I can die happy." Ecstatic.

Love the sounds they were getting on the acoustic guitars on this record. The tones were there in the original mix, but they come leaping out of the speakers now.

"Revolution 9" is so so so so much better this way. It actually works!

 

[JonUrban]

OK, I voted a 10. But I didn't want to. I mean, everything new that comes out - a lot of us say "TEN" just because we're happy to get it. (Well, ISOTLC excepted )

So I lived with it. I ripped it. I listened. I listened in the car. I listened to all of the out takes and demos. I listened so much that I am returning to getting sick of the songs again!!! Face it, this material is 50 years old and if you loved it like me, you've heard it thousands of times in your life.

But, I have to give it a 10, remembering that the VOTE is NOT a COMPARISON vote to any other title. It's not saying this album is better than Dark Side of the Moon, Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Paul, or whatever else might be higher in the polls. It's saying that as a single release that I am able to purchase, it's a freaking 10. Hell, it's a fucking 10.

The songs I never played a lot in the past sound amazing. I was never a huge "Savoy Truffle" fan, but I keep going back to that track and am so amazed at how good it is, especially in 5.1, and how clear and exposed the lyrics are - some I never really understood before.

And yes, Rev9 may not be everyone's cup of tea, I was never really taken by the track, but for some wacko reason I love cranking it in the car. So cool, then Yoko ends up in my back seat saying "You become Naked" - WTF? How can this NOT be a 10?

And again, I think of all of the surround fans of the past 50 years that are no longer with us. People like Cai Campbell. I bet he would have loved this release. I am truly grateful that I somehow managed to stay alive to hear it.

TEN

 

[holland123]

I gave this one a 9. it was on the precipice of a 10 but for my ear I had to boost the rears about 1 db for a nice even front to rear surround mix , otherwise it is awesome indeed, sonics are outstanding. never even listened to the other stuff and probably will one time. very cool song by song history in the book , excellent package all together, a tad pricey. but my vote is completely based on the blu ray disc hi rez surround stream.

 

[ChristopherLees]

My vote for best 5.1 mix on this set goes to "Martha My dear"...Giles finally uses the rears for something interesting...sure there are a few tracks that remind me of his previous pathetic attempts at surround,(making me wish that he'd sought help from Steve Wilson) but there's so much good stuff here I can overlook it....as I say it's his best effort....and as I said earlier his worst mix is "wild honey pie " which is simply terrible..his worst mix ever...worse than the slightly out of tune hey bulldog solo in lady madonna on the love release....makes me wonder if he's slightly tone deaf