Hey guys! To dampen the blow of the Pink Floyd 5.1 mixes we're missing out on, here's an exquisite piece of modern prog in 5.1 that, unless I missed it, we have overlooked here at QQ.
Ayreon has been performing his magnum opus, "The Human Equation", live last year, and earlier this year, he released the whole gig on DVD and Blu-Ray. Unfortunately, technically, it's lacking: image quality is sub-par for Blu-Ray, and the sound is Dolby Digital 5.1, even on the Blu (!).
On the plus side, this is as close as we'll ever get to having the album in surround. The sound quality is truly outstanding for Dolby Digital 5.1, and the mix is nice and active, with sound effects, instruments, backing vocals and more in the rears. It could definitely be wilder and more discrete, but it's very tastefully done for a live gig, and an immersive experience.
As for the performance: Ayreon assembled a small orchestra, a choir and almost all of the original cast members from the 2004 album for this live performance: including James LaBrie of Dream Theater (Me), Marcela Bovio of Stream of Passion (Wife), former Mostly Autumn member Heather Findlay (Love), Eric Clayton (Reason), and Irene Jansen (Passion). They're all at the top of their game, especially James LaBrie really kills it. Mikael Åkerfeldt didn't reprise his role as Fear, but Anneke van Giersbergen does a tremendous job replacing him. The performances are tight and true to the album, with a number of very welcome surprises thrown in, like additional dialogue to flesh out the story, or parts where the choir gets to shine (very effective in surround).
Grab it: amazon.com. You could also just get the DVD, though, it really doesn't look like you'd be missing much in terms of audio/video quality.
Ayreon has been performing his magnum opus, "The Human Equation", live last year, and earlier this year, he released the whole gig on DVD and Blu-Ray. Unfortunately, technically, it's lacking: image quality is sub-par for Blu-Ray, and the sound is Dolby Digital 5.1, even on the Blu (!).
On the plus side, this is as close as we'll ever get to having the album in surround. The sound quality is truly outstanding for Dolby Digital 5.1, and the mix is nice and active, with sound effects, instruments, backing vocals and more in the rears. It could definitely be wilder and more discrete, but it's very tastefully done for a live gig, and an immersive experience.
As for the performance: Ayreon assembled a small orchestra, a choir and almost all of the original cast members from the 2004 album for this live performance: including James LaBrie of Dream Theater (Me), Marcela Bovio of Stream of Passion (Wife), former Mostly Autumn member Heather Findlay (Love), Eric Clayton (Reason), and Irene Jansen (Passion). They're all at the top of their game, especially James LaBrie really kills it. Mikael Åkerfeldt didn't reprise his role as Fear, but Anneke van Giersbergen does a tremendous job replacing him. The performances are tight and true to the album, with a number of very welcome surprises thrown in, like additional dialogue to flesh out the story, or parts where the choir gets to shine (very effective in surround).
Grab it: amazon.com. You could also just get the DVD, though, it really doesn't look like you'd be missing much in terms of audio/video quality.
