Dual Disc Bill Withers - 5.1 DD Dual Disc After All

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timbre4

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According the quarter page ad in the latest Goldmine (Alan Parsons cover), the Bill Withers - Just As I Am DualDisc will have a Dolby Digital surround track. The label falls under the Columbia Legacy umbrella.....
 
SUPERB news!!! :banana:
 
I think this came out today. Anybody get a copy. Sure would like to know if the surround mix is worth buying, I already bought the regular CD a few months ago. But would love to buy it again if the surround mix is any good. Here's hoping!:)
 
I don't think it was actually released. It is not listed at DualDiscs page and I couldn't find it in three different stores. I really wanted this one too.
 
Bob Romano said:
I don't think it was actually released. It is not listed at DualDiscs page and I couldn't find it in three different stores. I really wanted this one too.

Bob, I got mine at Rolling Stones Records in Norridge. There are a few left as of yesterday.

I used a coupon in the Illinois Entertainer for $3.00 off any cd priced at $12.99 (which was what they had it priced at).

Final price $9.99
 
Bob Romano said:
So... how is the mix???


I'll have to listen again more critically to make a real assessment. But my initial impression was that the mix was a bit conservative. It seems that every rear element (such as strings and percussion) is already present in the fronts. That is not to say that it's fake surround--it's definitely remixed from the multi-tracks. I would just characterize it as a discrete three channel mix with select elements of the front channels brought into the rears.

It doesn't jump out at you like the best discrete mixes, but it's still quite enjoyable.
 
Last edited:
Ok... I am not complaining here because it's a 5.1 mix but....

This has to be the oddest choice imaginable for a 2005 release of a title that never had a surround version originally. I finally found a copy at the FRY Electronics and I am really glad I did. I vaguely remember this album from 1971 (I was only 10) but Ain't No Sunshine is one of my all time faves. The mix is just as Zabble says. Not really a lot going on in the rears but what is there is really effective. Listening between the cd side, which also sounds excellent, and the DVD side you can really hear how the mix benfits from the use of the rears. Everything is much more open and full. Plus... Bill Withers' voice is just so incredible and warm. I don't know how this would sound if it were SACD or DVD-A but even as a DD 5.1 track this is one disc I will be playing over and over. The interview with BW is really great. I really got a sense of someone who just sings to sing without being "all-knowing" or a philosopher. Today's R&B "stars" could certainly take a lesson from BW.

I would say this is an excellent choice to search out and purchase.
 
Thanks for the helpful info guys, looks like one i will get eventually, but not right away. I wish it would have been a more discrete mix.
Right now i am trying to come up with the money for the Talking Heads Brick, so i guess this title will have to wait.:)
 
Got around to playing this one last night, and what a mixed bag!
The videos 8
The CD side 7.5
The DVD side 2 ch PCM 8
The 5.1 DD 4
The 5.1 DD is such a dissapointment! NOTHING in the rears but ambiance from the fronts. Very little in the center too. On the first song "Harlem", I kept hearing something like sandblocks. Upon check the PCM version, they turned out to be CYMBOLS. Damn compressed formats!!
I played the PCM through DDPL 2...MUCH BETTER!!
 
Got around to playing this one last night, and what a mixed bag!
The videos 8
The CD side 7.5
The DVD side 2 ch PCM 8
The 5.1 DD 4
The 5.1 DD is such a dissapointment! NOTHING in the rears but ambiance from the fronts. Very little in the center too. On the first song "Harlem", I kept hearing something like sandblocks. Upon check the PCM version, they turned out to be CYMBOLS. Damn compressed formats!!
I played the PCM through DDPL 2...MUCH BETTER!!


Oh, I forgot.the music/performance 10
 
I got this for Christmas. I think the rears are used effectively to thicken the sound. I think it would be odd to have too aggessive of a mix; after all, its not like it is psychadellic or anything.

Great Music!!!
 
I have been looking for dualdiscs lately because they can be picked up at pretty cheap prices. I decided to buy a used copy of this one after reading the postings here. I'm really enjoying it. I love Bill Withers voice and am enjoying even the more obscure cuts on the album. The surround is pretty much what I'd expect for what is often not much more than his voice and an instrument or two. Very enjoyable listen and one I'll listen to again and again. I'd give it a 9.
 
There should be a poll topic on this disc. Don't remember rating it highly, because it's not discrete in any sensible way, though it sounds good enough and the material is excellent throughout. But yes, dualdiscs can be cheaply had these days, for some reason.

ED :)
 
dualdiscs can be cheaply had these days, for some reason.

Because everyone realizes they were a kluge - and there were very few of them in actual discrete 5.1. (Except for the Grateful Dead DualDiscs - you can't pick those up cheaply.)
 
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