HiRez Poll Gilmour, David - RATTLE THAT LOCK [BluRay Audio]

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Rate the BDA of David Gilmour - RATTLE THAT LOCK

  • 5:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2:

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Poor Surround, Poor Fidelity, Poor Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    73
First long form review I have done in some time.
The album starts out with a beautiful orchestral instrumental called "Five A.M." Besides the strings decorating the surrounds, once the acoustic guitar comes in from rear right, you know you're in for an immersive experience that only a fantastic mixing engineer like Andy Jackson can provide! Gilmour's guitar is perfectly placed in the front with its exquisite tone that we have all come to know and love.
Then instead of continuing on in a mellow manner like "On An Island" did, we jump into the jaunty title track. Andy's surround mix of this track reminds me of some of Elliot Scheiner's surround mixes with clear, defined, and discrete positioning for all the instruments in the arrangement.
After that song though, the album returns to a mellower vibe with the song "Faces of Stone". This song reminds me of music out of "The Godfather", and once I figure out why that is, I'll let you all know! This is also one of two songs on the album that David wrote the lyrics for himself, and it's a touching tribute to the decline of his mother in the latter years of her life.
Next up is another poignant song, this time about his deceased Pink Floyd bandmate Richard Wright. "A Boat Lies Waiting" features a piece of piano music originally recorded as a demo by Gilmour almost 20 years ago, and it's this exact recording that is used as the bed for this song, which features fantastic vocal harmonies by David Crosby and Graham Nash. This is another great surround mix with the harmonies placed all around the listener. It's quite a treat!
Then we get to my favorite songs on the album "Dancing Right in Front of Me" and "In Any Tongue". The former has a great musical motif that complements Gilmour's wistful melody and lyrics. The latter is probably the darkest song on the album and features Gilmour's most impassioned singing and guitar playing that will just send chills down your spine. This song also features Gilmour's son on piano, which further adds to the poignancy of this song.
Following those two is another great instrumental entitled "Beauty". This one features more discrete surround placements to start with piano on one side and guitar on the other. It's probably my favorite of the three instrumentals on the album.
Next we are onto what is probably the most eclectic song on the album "The Girl in the Yellow Dress". This song probably belongs more on a Diana Krall album with its slow and sultry jazz club feel to it, but Gilmour delivers it in a wonderful style, and the song features great piano playing from Jools Holland. Many will also love the saxophone emanating from rear right.
The last song with vocals and lyrics on the album is "Today". It starts off somewhat mellow, but it's not long before it kicks into full force with another fun and discrete surround mix that suits the action of the song. This song not only features more great guitar playing from Gilmour, but the orchestral and backing vocal arrangements on this song really help to even further lift the music along.
The album then finishes off with the final instrumental "And Then…" which takes musical themes from the opening track "Five A.M." and expands on them with drums and more. It's a great way to close off a very satisfying album.

This entire experience for me (music and surround mix) is more in line with the same satisfactory feeling I got listening to something like "The Division Bell", which also had very strong music complemented by a strong mix. If you were disappointed with albums in surround like "The Endless River" (with most of it lacking vocal melodies and lyrics) or "Amused to Death" (with its timid surround presentation at times) jump on this one and enjoy it for what it is, for thanks to Andy Jackson and David Gilmour, we have another fantastic album with a lovely & discrete surround mix to boot!
I would further say this is the best surround mix of a 2015 album behind Steven Wilson's "Hand Cannot Erase" so it gets a full '10' and a very high recommendation from me! :)
 
Had a very nice uninterrupted listen to the album last night. I used the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel option for the listening.

A wonderful reference-level mix! The music is certainly Pink Floyd influenced as you might expect but also with rich instrumentation. The use of the surround channels is breathtaking at times. What is really impressive are the little things such as how well the bass drum is recorded and mixed. The bass drum is a thump - not a tone, just like it should be.

The favorite track from the first listen was "The Girl In The Yellow Dress". I suspect this has as much to do with how unexpected a choice that was for the rest of the album as well as the full instrumentation and excellent vocals.

If you want to know if your audio system is "tuned" properly try out this disc. There are a couple of places where the vocals are balanced between all 5 main speakers giving an effects of the single vocal coming from a point in the middle of the room. Bass/LFE levels were spot-on and the surrounds were balanced properly. Equalization was perfect in that the instruments sounded much as I suspect they sounded in the studio when played live. Very impressive indeed. If there was a Grammy for Best Engineered Surround Mix, this would be the hands-down winner.

Music-wise, this is not Dark Side of the Moon but it is as good as some of the later Pink Floyd work. It's up-beat and mellow all at the same time. Typical David Gilmore / Pink Floyd guitar licks throughout.

Obviously I gave this a 10. I look forward to listening to this many times and using it as a reference disc to show-off the audio system.

Andy
 
Gave it an 8
The sonics & mix are fantastic. The recording is crystalline and the mix discrete. The deluxe Bluray package is also very nice.
My disappointment is with the songs themselves. Most of the songs are too cabaret jazzy for my taste & the lyrics did nothing for me.

On the plus side:
I love the instrumental opener & closer along with the Barn Jams. Not a total loss.

--Greg
 
I listened to this one time today, and my first thought was "Way to go Andy". The surround mix is perfection. Wow, it's really done well. No doubt about it that it's surround. I have to hear it multiple times but I am liking what I am hearing. The Audio and 5.1 are top notch. This mix really shows what a great talent Andy is with new 5.1 material. (Sorry for the apparent suck-up, but it's not intentional, it's just a damn fine mix. You guys can think what you want)

More later
 
I like this better than his last solo all those years ago, the mix is extremely good from Monsieur Jackson, the music.....more varied than I would have expected. Though the Yellow Dress is "jazzy" I wouldn't call the album jazzy by any stretch of the imagination. From comments above...one loves that, one hates that, split the difference. Lots of homage to the PF sound without trying to be a poor imitation. The title track....as catchy as that SNCF train jingle. I'd unequivocally recommend it, sound and mix a tener, content an 8+ on my scale, and Yes, I have craved a new copy of Milton's "Paradise Lost".
 
I've heard the vinyl and the CD version of this title several times now. When the surround version gets here, I'll listen again and vote. Maybe it will grow on me a little. But for now, as far as the content goes, I think this release is easier to like than "On an Island" or "Endless River", but not by much. In fact, it fits into that style very well and if you enjoyed OAI you will like this very much. With respect to DG's non-Roger Waters works, I enjoy Division Bell and Momentary Lapse much more. Even the first two DG solo efforts are much better performances. The ideas here, both musically and lyrically just seem incomplete and under developed. It's a collection of slower dirges intermixed with a few more lively cuts, but it never seems to elicit the kind of power and emotion the man is (or was) certainly capable of. Think of "Murder" from About Face, "No Way Out of Here" and "Cry From the Street" from the 1st solo album, or "Sorrow" from AMLOR, or "Poles Apart" and "High Hopes" from Division Bell. There is no material on this disc that comes close to those cuts. It is all overlaid with that unmistakable sound of DG guitar work, which alone makes it listenable, but I really wanted to like this disc more. From the comments so far it sounds like its going to be an excellent surround experience. Like I said, I hope it grows on me.
 
As you know that I only vote relating to the surround-mix, I have to give it a solid 10!
This is a Kind of perfect surround mix, whether you like that Album or not!

So you're not voting on the accompanying John Milton book!

I agree, a perfect surround mix, and another winner from the excellent Andy Jackson. So a 10 from me. This seems to be one of those polls where you can't see who voted what, for whatever reason that is. Some polls must be set up differently.
 
So you're not voting on the accompanying John Milton book!


No. :)
I always try to feel like a newbie in the surround world.

And when I would enter this beautiful forum for the first time I would look at the HiRez-Poll to get good recommendations about discrete 5.1 mixes.
That is the reason I always vote for the mix.
I would never give less points, because I don't like the music or the package.
This is a multichannel forum and so my votes refer to the quality of multichannel mixes only!

A good package you also get if you buy vinyl ;)
And the book is a bonus which doesn't say anything about the mix. :)
 
So you're not voting on the accompanying John Milton book!

I agree, a perfect surround mix, and another winner from the excellent Andy Jackson. So a 10 from me. This seems to be one of those polls where you can't see who voted what, for whatever reason that is. Some polls must be set up differently.

Having set up a poll recently for "Sparkle in the Rain" (with Jon's permission and encouragement), I know that there is an option when creating the poll to show or hide who voted for their specific choice, and I guess sometimes it's clicked and sometimes it isn't. I certainly wish that all polls would be 'public' by default as sometimes it's not enough for me to see how many people voted for a specific choice. Seeing which way certain trusted members voted can ultimately sway my mind sometimes on purchasing a particular release.

That's also why it's extremely important to me to write a good review for a release, and I definitely felt compelled to do that for "Rattle That Lock" as it's definitely one of the most extraordinary surround releases of this year for me! :)
 
Based on some of these comments it appears that the poll listings should be restructured, clarified or renamed.
Some are voting on just the mix while some (like myself) are voting on the content + mix. I suspect there are those that vote on the whole presentation -content + mix + package.

For this release, I would give the mix and fidelity a 10. The songs I would give a 6 (without the instrumentals & DG's signature sounding guitar, I would give the songs an even lower grade.) I averaged it out to an 8 and tried to explain that in my comments.

I guess the forum software does not have the ability to create a more sophisticated poll with three variables averaged?

Something like -
Rate the following 3 categories on a 1 to 10 scale
Music:
Mix/Fidelity:
Content:

Then average out the responses for a total or don't even bother with a total average.

--Greg
 
I've listened to the blu ray 3 times now (gave it a 9), enough to know I like it better the third time than the first, so it's a grower. Albums like that always have a lot more longevity for me. The deluxe set I thought was quite nice for the $29 CDN I paid. Don't know if anyone noticed, but the box is the same size as The Endless River box set, except deeper, makes it nice if one wants to display them together. The blu ray has SO many goodies on it, barn jams, interviews, videos. I've listened to the album in DTS-HD Master 5.1, switching back and forth from the stereo codec during my last listen for comparison. I just really like the surround mix, but it's subtle. The centre channel use is a little light, a la Andy Jackson's MO. I find the surround mix sneaks up on you...I found myself enjoying the music without realizing how wide the sound stage was, until I switched to stereo mode. What a difference! Perhaps that's the way a good surround mix should sound, being ever so unobtrusive. At first, I thought the album didn't flow and felt disjointed. The songs are so different, but I like them all. And so I thought, where is it written in stone that there has a to be a flow and theme to a good album? One thing I've always found about David Gilmour and his solo work or Pink Floyd albums, is that I can't just listen to "a cut or two". Whether I'm playing this album or DSOTM I make sure I have the time to play them in their entirety. One last thought, as DG approaches 70 years of age, I think it's just remarkable that he remains so productive and still plays guitar so sweetly into 6 decades now, almost unheard of in music today. Anyway, that's my 2 cents and as always, YMMV :)
 
The fidelity of this disc is so good, it makes my Polks sound like Focal Grande Utopia BEs. This recording has amazing dynamics, detail, and separation, and you really feel like you're in the studio with David. The mix is perfect, discrete "quad" style... Andy Jackson distinguished himself as a top surround mixer with The Division Bell, and continues to uphold that high standard here. With regards to content, this album is a good example of the whole being much greater than the parts. Taken individually, I don't hear a single "classic" song... however, there IS a single great voice and guitar found throughout all the tracks, and as such this is a great listening experience peppered with many standout solos or vocal performances. Lyrically, I find the songs penned by David to be the best. This ranks as my second favorite of David's solo discs behind his self-titled. An 8.
 
Oh dear! I've listened to it three of times now. Each time I like it less than the previous.

Value for money - 10
Presentation - 10
Fidelity - 8 - doesn't sound anything special to me
Mix - 8 - doesn't sound anything special to me
The material - 4 - far from leaving me disinterested, it actually irritates.
 
i like the mix and fidelity but don't like contents.
too pop-ish.
 
Oh dear! I've listened to it three of times now. Each time I like it less than the previous.

Value for money - 10
Presentation - 10
Fidelity - 8 - doesn't sound anything special to me
Mix - 8 - doesn't sound anything special to me
The material - 4 - far from leaving me disinterested, it actually irritates.

Stop listening to it...your ratings will go in the sewer....lol!
 
I´ve heard the BD for a couple of times and I don´t find the music very appealing. It just flows along without being spectacular and it all sounds familiar. Musicwise speaking if you know David Gilmour´s solo albums you know this one too.

I find the production sort of mellow and I´m not impressed by the sonic merits. Therefore an average 7 for me.
 
I´ve heard the BD for a couple of times and I don´t find the music very appealing. It just flows along without being spectacular and it all sounds familiar. Musicwise speaking if you know David Gilmour´s solo albums you know this one too.

I find the production sort of mellow and I´m not impressed by the sonic merits. Therefore an average 7 for me.

Kind of my thoughts indivuidually and out of context I find most of the songs pretty non-discript. But as a whole teh albums stands up well even rattle that lock which I have tried to love as a single fits well in the album context.

maybe its 'all filler no killer' but it is a great filler
 
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