HiRez Poll Wakeman, Rick - THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS... [DVD-A]

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Rate the DVD-A of Rick Wakeman - MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR....


  • Total voters
    24

JonUrban

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Please post your thoughts and comments on this February 2015 CD/DVD-A re-release of Rick Wakeman's "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" album from UMe. The original quadraphonic mix included in this package was sourced from a fan conversion of the A&M CD-4 Quadradisc originally created by "UnderMyWheels", and is presented here in High Resolution on the DVD-A audio disc included in the package with a CD.

Original discussion thread: https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?19892

Knights Front.jpg
Knights Back.jpg
View attachment 17336
 
[The following post was copied from the pre-release discussion thread to the poll thread since it clearly belongs here - jon]

Hello.

I've been told that the Rick Wakeman "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur..." CD4 to DVDA conversion I did a while back has been used by Universal Music as a part of this CD/DVD deluxe edition. I didn't know anything about this until I was told about a week ago.

If this is true, then reading through this thread (the pre-release discussion thread - jon) it seems that my conversion has not been processed any further. Or has it ?

Anyway If true, it's too bad that I was never given a chance to clean up the audio a little. I was never quite happy with that conversion. It was done quickly and mostly for my own personal use. It was obviously not something I ever expected would see an official release.

I don't know if there'a any mention of this in the liner notes, but it was pretty much a flat transfer (no EQ). Which means many of you will probably think it sounds a bit dull compared to modern remasters. If anyone wants to know, the cartridge used was an Audio Technica AT20SLa, the demodulator was a JVC 4DD-5, and the turntable was either a Technics SL-1410MK2 or a Music Hall MMF 5.1 (i can't remember).

I guess this means someone else was possibly credited for my work in the liner notes, but that's perfectly OK. I don't really care about that. I'm glad my work was useful to others, even if some of you are aren't entirely happy with the sound quality.

Oh well, back to lurking.
 
I've modified my original review slightly, but here it is from the Rick Wakeman thread:

You can definitely hear the vinyl noises at the top of the 5th song ("Merlin the Magician")

At around 0:23 seconds in there's a little bit of noise out of the right surround channel (and it happens again around 4:15 or so) but other than that, this transfer sounds pretty clean
Honestly the mix or musical content really doesn't blow me away that much. I greatly prefer the music on "Six Wives", so I'm guessing it will get a lot more plays on my system than "Arthur".
One of the reasons I don't care for this album as much is that I don't really care for the lead vocals at all. I'd much prefer the all instrumental arrangements of "Six Wives" (not to mention that most of the Yes guys played on "Six Wives".)
Also some of the synth panning (particularly in "Merlin") is a little too gimmicky for my tastes.
This one gets a '7' from me.
 
[The following post was copied from the pre-release discussion thread to the poll thread since it clearly belongs here - jon]

Hello.

I've been told that the Rick Wakeman "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur..." CD4 to DVDA conversion I did a while back has been used by Universal Music as a part of this CD/DVD deluxe edition. I didn't know anything about this until I was told about a week ago.

If this is true, then reading through this thread it seems that my conversion has not been processed any further. Or has it ?

Anyway If true, it's too bad that I was never given a chance to clean up the audio a little. I was never quite happy with that conversion. It was done quickly and mostly for my own personal use. It was obviously not something I ever expected would see an official release.

I don't know if there'a any mention of this in the liner notes, but it was pretty much a flat transfer (no EQ). Which means many of you will probably think it sounds a bit dull compared to modern remasters. If anyone wants to know, the cartridge used was an Audio Technica AT20SLa, the demodulator was a JVC 4DD-5, and the turntable was either a Technics SL-1410MK2 or a Music Hall MMF 5.1 (i can't remember).

I guess this means someone else was possibly credited for my work in the liner notes, but that's perfectly OK. I don't really care about that. I'm glad my work was useful to others, even if some of you are aren't entirely happy with the sound quality.

Oh well, back to lurking.

This sounds like a dumb question but did the record company do this without your knowledge or consent? They just downloaded it and put it in a package for sale? Please pardon me if i'm way off here...
 
Anyone hoping for a true DVD-A digital quad mix for King Arthur or Six Wives is in for some disappointment. While the DVDs are hybrid, including MLP lossless, Dolby Digital and DTS, the quad mixes included are clearly and audibly sourced from needle drops of old quad vinyl releases. As such, rumble, surface noise and repeating defects mar the listening experience, particularly in silent or quiet passages. King Arthur is the worst for this, especially on Guinevere. At about 40 seconds in we are treated to 12 seconds of nothing but turntable rumble and surface noise. Also Merlin has many audible repeating defects especially at the beginning. In contrast, the Six Wives vinyl seems to have been in much better shape and the background noise though frequently audible is not nearly as intrusive. I've also noticed that the sound level on the King Arthur DVD is much lower than on the Six Wives.

As to the quad mixes themselves, probably not surprisingly Six Wives is much better, allowing the listener to clearly hear the different types of keyboards and other instruments being played. In particular, the mellotron comes through much more prominently. Alas for King Arthur, in quad the vocals (which were already quite weak and annoying) are mixed horribly, sounding both muffled, compressed, and unfortunately more prominent. At least for me, King Arthur was a major step down in quality for Rick Wakeman and the quad mix does not help. If anything, it reveals how simplistic and cheesy most the music is. Only Merlin and parts of Guinevere and The Last Battle even approach the quality of any track on Six Wives. For anyone with a sound system offering a variety of surround processing modes, I got the best results by turning additional processing off and just going direct.

There are also MLP lossless stereo versions included on both DVDs. It's unclear if these are sourced from the new remasters or not, but they do sound very good with one exception. On King Arthur, the piano intro to Guinevere is marred by a warbling, echoey distortion which disappears at the 50 second mark.

For me, the Six Wives Deluxe is definitely worth recommending as a purchase. The stereo remaster offers an audible improvement, and the quad mix is interesting and revealing even if not essential. It's also easily Rick Wakeman's best solo record and this is likely the best we're ever going to hear it. However, after listening to the King Arthur I wouldn't recommend it to anyone except die hard fans or completists.
 
I wasn’t previously familiar with this LP. Although much of it sounds dated I remain amused at the sheer over-the-topness of it all. But I suspect my amusement may turn to annoyance after a few more spins :). Pretty entertaining quad mix. A shame about the master tapes being lost although this conversion doesn’t sound bad. A 7 for me.
 
It's interesting that Universal claim Six Wives is from the quad master, and yet multiple reviewers and the Quadcast say it is clearly vinyl (see above).
 
I love this album, and the quad mix is fantastic. I have to vote 10 for me, too bad they couldn't get the original reels, but I am super happy with how this turned out. Love it.
 
I wasn’t previously familiar with this LP. Although much of it sounds dated I remain amused at the sheer over-the-topness of it all. But I suspect my amusement may turn to annoyance after a few more spins :). Pretty entertaining quad mix. A shame about the master tapes being lost although this conversion doesn’t sound bad. A 7 for me.


Hello my friend. :D I'm surprised you are not more familiar with this album, for me its a classic.




OK, I voted a 9. But if I say this record is one of my top 5 all time records, some smart-alec like Colsky or iMachine will dig up my prior Top 5 lists and we will have "issues". :rolleyes:

Fact is, a certain skinny 9th grader sat in music class in 1977 and the teacher played this record on a great system(for the time and one which was about 100X better than my cheap home stereo.) I was already into YES and I fell in love with this instantly. IMHO it was a wonderful integration of classical & modern styles with Rick's blazing moog solos blended in. And I loved the two vocalists: one husky voiced and the other voice quite delicate. It is a personal treasure to me.

I'm quite disappointed about all the negative fuss about this & 6 Wives. OBVIOUSLY I too was heart-broken when I heard the quad was a needle drop, but fact is we are so damned spoiled, and the industry does listen here. I hope we didn't scare away more Wakeman reissues.

I LOVE the quad mix, it adds so much life to the music, and the disappointing needle drop simply reminds me how fortunate we are to have so many other beautiful clear 5.1 remixes.

I will cherish & play this needle drop until I drop.
 
WTF again
Whoever mixed this must have had tiny surround speakers in the console, since they sound *way* too loud compared to the fronts.
It feels like I'm listening to headphones, the fronts are completely overpowered.
Dynamics? what dynamics? They went the way of the LFE (it claims to be 5.1)
I'd give it a 6 since I'm feeling generous tonight. the bright side: at least it's not as bad as Bruford's.
..but you can hear the LP noises, so it suffers even as a DIY effort
A 5 is more appropriate

PS
If I am a bit harsh, it is because this is not something found lurking within the interwebs.
It is a commercial product, I paid good money for it, and would appreciate an upfront notice that the source is compromised etc. I would then make an informed decision whether to part with my money.
 
Last edited:
Remember, the master used for this is a fan's flat CD4 LP -to-digital needledrop. He talks about it earlier in this thread. He didn't expect it to be released 'warts and all'.

I'm not a fan of this album , really, so I never bothered with the 'deluxe' release.

(Not keen on the Six Wives 'deluxe' either-- where the 5.1 was also sourced from quad LP....iirc, one of OxfordDickie's transfers, though from SQ/QS, not CD4 , and also perhaps not his most recent transfer, also iirc. It's discussed on the thread for that release. All I can say is I never *really* heard Six Wives in quad properly until I got a copy of a transfer of the Q8. Which A&M really should have used it for the 'deluxe'. So much more discrete.)
 
hi:

I just got the "new" deluxe edition from amazon and it really looks like a used copy to me. I am surprised that the seal of "deluxe edition" is stuck directly on the cover. Can you confirm if your copy came like this?image.jpg

image.jpg
 
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