I just posted this at that
other forum people grouse about. Note that my observations are not as refined as most regulars here; I am but a humble caveman grasshopper. What follows is not strictly about the 5.1.
The new CD:
I've gone back and forth listening to ALAC rips of the old CD and new CD remaster in iTunes.
- The CD remaster does sound louder than the previous edition(s) but to my ear there's more detail in the instrumentation all around. I'll leave it to the experts to figure out if it's brickwalled. For the moment I prefer the remaster, which is only delicately different. That maybe the "shiny new thing" effect, so YMMV.
- The bass is definitely beefier.
- The backing vocals are clearer and I'm able to notice touches I've missed in the past.
- The only weirdness I detect is that after KRS-One's little opening narration I can hear a sort of "pre-echo" of the piano softly in the background (this is audible on the Blu-ray as well).
Blu-ray:
- I've only sampled a few songs but I'm simply not astute enough to compare these mixes to the DVD-A since there's a lot of lag time switching in/out the discs. That said:
- This 5.1 matches my memory of the DVD-A, which has gotten a lot of play this year.
- I've only listened to the stereo of "Belong" and "Half a World Away" and they sound great. The stereo mix is akin to the CD remaster.
- You can switch between stereo and 5.1 on-the-fly (a nice little improvement over the DVD-A) and even if it turns out the CD is brickwalled I can assure you that the hi-res stereo is noticeably quieter than the 5.1, for whatever that may be worth.
- "Belong" has to be my favorite 'subwoofer' song on any disc I own and it sound glorious.
[Edit to add: This sounds the same to me as the DVD-A. I'm no basshead, but I absolutely love Mike Mills' melodic thumping on this disc and how it anchors simply wonderful harmonies that just glide over the tracks.]
A few visuals to note:
- Thankfully, the new menus don't have music playing behind them (that gets annoying).
- There are Play All buttons for those who want them.
- Its menus are more user-friendly than Beatles 1+ and Pet Sounds.
- Unlike the old DVD-A you can see all the album tracks (handwritten like in the old album) so you can switch songs more easily. That said, if you hit "Main Menu" while a song is playing it stops.
- As tends to be, the audio defaults to 2.0 LPCM but there's also a DTS MA 5.1 option.
- The videos are in 2.0 and 5.1 but, as one would expect, the visuals are not remastered so there are still artefacts. Nice to be able to watch them with lossless audio finally. Sounds great (to me) -- only listened in 5.1 so far.
- There is no gallery or stills on the disc itself.
The Demos &
Mountain Stage:
I won't have time to listen to them until next week but I'm looking forward to it. As posted above, I wouldn't expect many revelations in the demos. The ones I've heard are slightly different than the boots I've occasionally listened to in the past so I wouldn't delete those files just yet if you have them. And, yes, the few I've sampled that are on previous boots do sound much, much (, much) better. A quick A/B of "Texarkana Demo 1" and the album remaster put them at similar volume. The demo obviously lacks sheen but is clear as a bell. I won't miss the tape hiss at all.
The packaging:
I really like it. The whole thing feels really nicely made and thoughtfully laid out.
- The album cover's logo is part of the hype sticker. After removing the cellophane it's just the background. I've always felt the logo was too big so it's nice. I took the sticker (which I accidentally ripped) and applied it to the inside.
- The back cover is a large affixed leaflet with all the details. I tucked it inside.
- The front and back cover are both textless with the only print being on the spine.
- The package itself is a hardbound book. Smaller and thicker than Pet Sounds, with each CD sliding into its own page.
- I haven't read the essay yet but it's several pages.
- The album credits are all nicely laid out behind each disc.
- The pages include what photos I expected as well as the cartoon panels from the original release.
My unsolicited opinion? If you're on the fence but have the money I'd vote to get it. Especially if you don't have the DVD-A but do have a 5.1 system. That, the live shows, the demos and essay justify the $50 in my mind. To each their own but I find nothing here to slag off and this doesn't feel like a cash grab.
I'm that much more primed for
Automatic for the People if this is how Concord Bicycle has upped R.E.M.'s anniversary series game.
