DVD/DTS Poll McCartney, Paul & Wings - BAND ON THE RUN [DTS]

[Franklin]

I've not heard either of those, so I can't give a comparison. I think it sounds surprisingly good, personally. Very clear. I may be less troubled by a sizzled top end than you, though. I assume you are aware there are two editions, the most common of which has the first few notes missing...

 

[blue.monk]

The clipped intro on the title track sure surprised me. I initially wrote it off as another quirk of the quad era until reading this thread. Wow, hard to fathom that no one involved noticed the omission. After all, it’s only one of the most iconic intros in all of pop music.

That notwithstanding, the sound is strong and the mix, while quirky, can be a lot of fun. It is front-centric (at times too much so) with individual instruments popping up prominently in the rears. So the elements are not always as balanced or integrated as with the best modern mixes but it does make for an entertaining alternative. For instance, it’s pretty cool hearing Tony Visconti’s orchestrations isolated so forcefully in the surrounds. The final chord of “Jet” has no fade so we get a couple extra seconds. And there’s a few obligatory quad 360-degree pans.

Quirks and all I may prefer it to the Venus & Mars mix although the soundstage inconsistencies can be a little frustrating. Still, I love the music and after several listens can fully enjoy the disc as a fun 'n' quirky nugget of the quad era. An 8.

 

[fredblue]

Since this disc is a semi-hot topic right now, can anyone tell me if the sound quality of this disc is comparative to other DTS-CDs? Specifically, I was very disappointed with the sound quality of both Seventh Sojourn and Abraxas. These were the only DTS-CDs that I owned and both had high frequency content so sizzly as to render them unlistenable. They had this problem whether decoded via my receiver or my player. Thanks.

The Band On The Run DTS does not suffer the same degree of sizzle of the Abraxas DTS (its a bit "laid-back" and "grungey" almost imho.. but I imagine is pretty faithful to the Quad source).

 

[alk3997]

This was the first DTS-CD I purchased along with Venus and Mars. This is better than Venus and Mars from a mix standpoint - not as many panning instruments and vocals. The instruments are discretely placed in all of the corner channels.

I remember 15+ years ago being very disappointed in the bass. But, I just put the disc in and it actually sounds very well balanced and equalized. The difference between then and now was I have full range front speakers and now know how to properly "tune" an audio system. This brings up a good point - despite this being advertised as a 5.1-channel disc, the LFE channel is not used. The center is barely used. So, this really is the quad recording with a little center thrown-in to show off the 5 channels.

It's actually quite good except for one giant error in the original pressing. The first three notes in the title track are cutoff - they aren't anywhere on the disc. I believe this was fixed when the disc was pressed again but I never could find a way to confirm that without buying another copy and finding out.

The sonics aren't as good as The McCartney Years but playing it again makes me realize that the Band On The Run DTS disc was much closer to The McCartney Years than I had remembered. The fidelity is as good or better than some of the recent Audio Fidelity releases, such as Loggins and Messina.

For those wondering, Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios oversaw the disc mastering. Mr. Mew has a long track record of excellent work on Beatles releases. The Analog-to-Digital converters for the multitrack master conversion was done with PRISM AD-1s. The AD-1 is a 20-bit, 48-kHz converter which was state-of-the-art in 1996 when the DTS-CD was mastered from the quad tapes.

My fresh listen to the disc scores this DTS-CD as a 9. Please ignore (and forgive) my original scoring - it turns out to have been user error in the early days of surround sound.

Andy

 

[4-earredwonder]

I have the later, corrected version of DTS Entertainment's Band On The Run (yellow insert/DVD~A style case) and consider it a GOOD but NOT GREAT (in terms of fidelity) 5.1 remaster but after reading the Wikipedia article on the making of BOTR, it's easy to see why from track to track there is a qualitative variance.. BOTR was recorded in Nigeria in less than optimum conditions on a Studer 8 track machine and if you read the article it's a wonder this album was as great as it is musically.

Of course, we'd ALL love to see a full blown MLP DVD~A 96/24 5.1 remaster or AF 5.1 SACD remaster (full hi res) but the likelihood of that happening is probably nil. But NEVER say NEVER!

Those who are unfamiliar with the background associated with the recording of BOTR read on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_on_the_Run

Would've made a great HBO* Documentary movie...........which might've been on par with Let It Be!

*[Had HBO existed in 1973]

 

[marpow]

I just received this DTS disc today, also the yellow corrected version as Ralph says above me. I am really glad to have this as it sounds wonderful and of course the music is great. I voted 8 as in the world of surround discs it is not up to par as many others. It is discrete in the mix as instruments, vocals are spread out in the manner I would have mixed it, but the fidelity is a bit muted. I would like to have a stronger mid range and treble, just a touch. I am sure if this went to Blu Ray or DVD-A this would all be corrected. All that said, in the end it is a great disc to own if you like Wings, even if they don't call themselves that yet.

 

[Mcallister]

Just ordered this disc for a decent price on amazon. Finishing up a dedicated room build and am really excited to give this a listen. My favorite PMC album

 

[Monkish]

I’ll give this an 8. “Jet” and “Helen Wheels” are annoyingly front-heavy (which amplifies their fidelity issues), there are a few other sound concerns throughout (what’s up with that distorted/strident synth on the title track?), and the background vocals are shoved up front way too often for my tastes. But, I’m a fan of the mixes on “Bluebird”, “Let Me Roll It”, and especially “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five” (on that track, when those gorgeous background vocals appear in the rears, I get chills).

 

[ar surround]

I’ll give this an 8. “Jet” and “Helen Wheels” are annoyingly front-heavy (which amplifies their fidelity issues), there are a few other sound concerns throughout (what’s up with that distorted/strident synth on the title track?), and the background vocals are shoved up front way too often for my tastes. But, I’m a fan of the mixes on “Bluebird”, “Let Me Roll It”, and especially “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five” (on that track, when those gorgeous background vocals appear in the rears, I get chills).

Regarding “Jet” and “Helen Wheels,” yes, it appears to be another instance where “true to the original” takes precedence over exploiting an opportunity to improve upon something that sounds like shit.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Is this Voo-Doo Records version legit or a bootleg?

Paul McCartney - Band On The Run DTS-CD [1-CD] True 5.1 Surround Mix Beatles Jet | eBay

If you love this album, be prepared to experience it in a whole new way! Perfect for that Beatles fan in your life (or even yourself!). Band On The Run. Helen Wheels.

rover.ebay.com

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Is this Voo-Doo Records version legit or a bootleg?

Paul McCartney - Band On The Run DTS-CD [1-CD] True 5.1 Surround Mix Beatles Jet | eBay

If you love this album, be prepared to experience it in a whole new way! Perfect for that Beatles fan in your life (or even yourself!). Band On The Run. Helen Wheels.

rover.ebay.com

It says its a CD-R. Its burned. Its pirated.

 

[edisonbaggins]

It says its a CD-R. Its burned. Its pirated.

Good eye. My phone app didn't readily show me the whole description. At least they clearly state "fan-made" and CD-R in the description. No thanks!

 

[privateuniverse]

Decided to put this on after listening to Venus and Mars. First thing I noticed is that the fidelity issues that plague Venus & Mars are thankfully not present here. It doesn't necessarily shine in terms of fidelity, but after listening to the other Wings DTS disc, this is a breath of fresh air. The next thing I noticed is that the mix philosophy for this album is drastically different from that of Venus & Mars which had an extremely radical approach to the mix. The mix here is a bit more conservative, by 70's quad standards anyway. A couple of songs ("Jet", "Helen Wheels") are letdowns, with not a lot of activity in the rears. However there are many other moments that are real standouts. The sax solo in "Bluebird" sounds wonderful coming over your right shoulder while at the same time the backing vocals appear from rear left. The buildup at the end of "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" is pretty intense with the orchestra creeping up behind you. Throughout much of the album the rears are employed for things like subtle acoustic guitar strumming or percussion. At times it almost feels more like a modern Scheiner mix.

As for the music, this is where McCartney shut up all the naysayers who had criticized his early solo output. Not a weak cut here. A killer collection of songs. The deep cuts are as strong as the classics. Certainly a case can be made for this being the pinnacle of his post-Beatles output. Forty-six years later, these songs still hold up. There's a real confidence here that had been lacking a bit on Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway.

I am going to knock off a couple of points because of the two tracks where the mix was a let down and because, although not nearly as bad as Venus & Mars, the fidelity here could still be improved upon. Still, I give it a very enthusiastic 8.

 

[sjcorne]

The next thing I noticed is that the mix philosophy for this album is drastically different from that of Venus & Mars which had an extremely radical approach to the mix.

Great observation! I haven't heard them all, but the quad mixes from the Capitol label (which were only released on Q8 back in the day) are all over the place in terms of mixing style - some of them are absolute balls-to-the-wall surround chaos (Venus & Mars, Mandingo III), others are still discrete but a bit more tame (Band On The Run, Walls & Bridges, Goodnight Vienna, Fly Like An Eagle), and there are quite a few that are so narrow they almost sound fake (We're An American Band, Imagine). Steve Miller's The Joker is an especially odd one - on the title track, the entire drum kit is through the right rear and the left rear is silent until an acoustic guitar pops up during the chorus.

 

[Owen Smith]

I still found the DTS CD of this less clear than a DVD-A/V rip of Q8. It sounded no better than Venus and Mars to me.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I like the music on this one slightly better than Venus and Mars; but with the purple disc label intro cock up... back to a 5er for this one also, sound quality sucks! And these sell for $80-100 on eBay- give me a break

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Also, if you want some decent Paul McCartney in surround, you're better off with this set IMO...

Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2007 DVD release of The McCartney Years on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[Philip Spinner]

Also, if you want some decent Paul McCartney in surround, you're better off with this set IMO...

Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2007 DVD release of The McCartney Years on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Yes a must have.

 

[jefe1]

Also, if you want some decent Paul McCartney in surround, you're better off with this set IMO...

Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2007 DVD release of The McCartney Years on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

Is it sill in print? I listened to it over and over when I first got it.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Is it sill in print? I listened to it over and over when I first got it.

I don't believe so, but if you scroll down to the bottom of the discogs site I showed, there's a couple other listings that have some for sale.