REM: Automatic for the People / quick thoughts

[John Kotches]

I have a small confession to make, I'm not a big fan of REM, so forgive me for not spending 12 lines discussing the album itself. I received this one on my doorstep today, and I popped this into the rig fairly quickly.


Technical Details:
Surround: 5.1, 24/48K sampling
Stereo: 24/48K sampling
DD and DTS tracks included
Has info grid with detailed information about playback options

5.1 Remix was done by Elliot Scheiner; the Stereo and Surround versions were mastered by Darcy Proper at Sony Studios.

This recording dates back to 1992, and is in all likelihood from an 18-20bit/48K master. I for one appreciate that they did not perform a sample rate conversion to make this a "96K" release.

As for the sonics of the disc, I only have had time to check out the surround tracks, and if you're familiar with Elliot's work you won't be too surprised by the results, with the possible exception of the placement of some reverberance of lead vocals to surround center. To get this effect you'll need solid imaging from your surrounds.

Since I'm not an expert on REM, I will tell you only that 5 of the tracks caught my musical attention (2 of which I was already familiar with). Those were <em>Drive</em>, <em>Everybody Hurts</em>, <em>Man on the Moon</em>, <em>Nightswimming</em> and <em>Find the River</em>.

I thought <em>Drive</em> could use a little less compression, but other than that overall it is a pleasing recording from a sonic perspective. It's missing that little bit of extra sparkle, noticable on things like cymbals and even a wandering tambourine from one track, but the vocals, guitar and bass are very clear.

If you're a fan of the band, and you own a DVD-A player, you will want this disc. If you like any of the songs on the album, you will want this disc.

I think this hits the shelves tomorrow, but I'm not certain of the street date.

Regards,

 

[timbre4]

I have to agree this is a wonderful disc. It wasn't in my Top Ten list, more like Top 100 perhaps. This DVD-A surround mix pushes it closer to the top!

People have strong opinions about Elliot Scheiner's mixing work, but I think several mixers have hits & misses. I find the mix to be absolutely logical and supportive to the music.

Elliot's surround mix of Toy Matinee (a definite Top Ten) made it into something else; a companion piece rather than a replacement. Toy Matinee's stereo mix was so fun and clever, perhaps the only place to go was to spread it way out in exagerated form. It works, but it's very different.

Back to R.E.M., this is a bonafide hit album with several of their major singles. Every track shines here in a totally new and properly enveloping way.

Here's hoping we can expect many more favorite catalog albums to be released in such a pleasing way.

Timbre4