HiRez Poll Young, Paul - NO PARLEZ [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[sjcorne]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2024 reissue of Paul Young's 1983 album "No Parlez."
The Blu-Ray Audio edition sold exclusively through SuperDeluxeEdition.com contains new 5.1 surround sound & Dolby Atmos mixes from David Kosten.





Pre-release thread for all shipping/ordering queries and non-poll related posts:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...lby-atmos-mixes-coming-march-15-sde-17.35238/

 

[beerking]

Where to start.

I'm completely gobsmacked on how good this album and Atmos Mix is.

My very first listen to it and what a way to be captivated by the sheer brilliance of the music and David Kostens mix.

This has to be the ultimate in how an engineer should approach and execute a truly professional Atmos mix.

This is 'par excellence'

Thankyou to all involved in producing a timeless masterpiece.

Dix

 

[Monkish]

My Blu-ray just arrived in Oklahoma, and yep, the 5.1 mix is a definite treat! All sorts of fun discrete stuff happening in the rears.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was a bit concerned because of David Kosten's lack of track record -- yes, he did the mix for Tubular Bells, but that's a much different beast than a big-production 80s album.

Well, there was no reason for worry -- this is top-notch, creative, delightful surround work, and I want David and Steven Wilson to gather up the multis for every 80s album on my wishlist and divvy them up however they see fit.

The main difference between David and Steven is in their use of the center channel -- whereas one of Steven's trademarks is to put a dry lead vocal in the center, David almost exclusively reserves the center for bass.

Anyway, I want to sit with the content of the album a bit longer before deciding on a 9 or a 10, but if you're a fan of the music, this is a no-brainer buy.

 

[RustyM]

It’s great but somehow the Atmos instrumental mix got my attention.

 

[Goona]

we need some Gerry Rafferty.

 

[Niek]

I was a huge fan of this album at the time. More or less in the same period, the CD was introduced as a new sound carrier. The extra long mixes (with all kinds of ingenious sounds and stereo effects) of some songs gave me a lot of pleasure at the time. There was always something to discover in the resulting busy mess of sound.
Other music followed. Tastes just change. The CD was banished to a box in the attic. The music was in my memory forever. I no longer really thought that actually listening was a requirement. As the years passed and that memory wore away, only the strong vocals and some catchy melodies remained. “Come back and stay…..” I could 'listen' to parts of the song without actually putting it on.
I didn't have to think long about purchasing this special edition from SDE. A piece of youth sentiment in a modern mix. I didn't want to miss that. I haven't regretted it. At first it was a bit of a shock. Not exactly as it stuck in my memory. All those drum sounds that were so trendy at the time now suddenly sound very dated. Yet it is to the credit of the makers of this mix that they have maintained it. They are simply part of it.
It wasn't until the third song (“Wherever I Lay My Hat”) that I started to feel better. The sound is nice and open and moves around playfully. The mix for the song “Iron Out the Rough Spots “ also fascinated me right away. With the more playing of this Blu-ray, in addition to the recognition in general, the appreciation for the mix has also grown enormously. The previously experienced 'busy mess of sound' now sound much nicer. Many of the sounds and effects have been given their own place outside the previously familiar stereo image.
Nice that in addition to the instrumental version, the original mixes of both CD and vinyl are included. For comparison, I can actually go back in time. I don't have to go into the attic for it.
I rate this product a 9.

 

[perzon57]

I was a huge fan of this album at the time. More or less in the same period, the CD was introduced as a new sound carrier. The extra long mixes (with all kinds of ingenious sounds and stereo effects) of some songs gave me a lot of pleasure at the time. There was always something to discover in the resulting busy mess of sound.
Other music followed. Tastes just change. The CD was banished to a box in the attic. The music was in my memory forever. I no longer really thought that actually listening was a requirement. As the years passed and that memory wore away, only the strong vocals and some catchy melodies remained. “Come back and stay…..” I could 'listen' to parts of the song without actually putting it on.
I didn't have to think long about purchasing this special edition from SDE. A piece of youth sentiment in a modern mix. I didn't want to miss that. I haven't regretted it. At first it was a bit of a shock. Not exactly as it stuck in my memory. All those drum sounds that were so trendy at the time now suddenly sound very dated. Yet it is to the credit of the makers of this mix that they have maintained it. They are simply part of it.
It wasn't until the third song (“Wherever I Lay My Hat”) that I started to feel better. The sound is nice and open and moves around playfully. The mix for the song “Iron Out the Rough Spots “ also fascinated me right away. With the more playing of this Blu-ray, in addition to the recognition in general, the appreciation for the mix has also grown enormously. The previously experienced 'busy mess of sound' now sound much nicer. Many of the sounds and effects have been given their own place outside the previously familiar stereo image.
Nice that in addition to the instrumental version, the original mixes of both CD and vinyl are included. For comparison, I can actually go back in time. I don't have to go into the attic for it.
I rate this product a 9.

Did you listen in 5.1 or Atmos? Nice to know what you were reviewing.

 

[Niek]

Did you listen in 5.1 or Atmos? Nice to know what you were reviewing.

Oops sorry! I wrote a lot, but forgot the most important thing. It was on 5.1.

 

[texeast]

I listened to this yesterday in Atmos and all the speakers are active and very robust. It really sounds good on my 7.4.1 system!

 

[splinter7]

This Atmos Mix hits my ears like a stellar 5.1 mix. On my system, the heights seem to be predominantly washed out with mostly the same content as the rears. Once I stood up and under the ceiling heights, I could make out an occasional discrete effect or vocal but when I sat back down it was kind of washed out again.

After listening all the way through, I popped in the Atmos for TFF’s The Tipping Point just to make sure and yeah, I had the same impression. Yeah - this one sounded like i

It is a phenomenal sounding 5.1 experience but lackluster as Atmos experience.

Secondly: I guess whatever album or CD I had this on back in the day had the single version of “Come Back & Stay”. Not loving the frantic opening section and 12” inch extended interlude moment near the end of the track with the backing female vocals being subjected to a dance mix edit.
I wish the single cut was on this disc.

I appreciate that the instrumental mix is presented in surround but would have liked the backing vocals to be removed along with the main vocals.

So - While I like the release (wanted to love it but just can’t), I really hope they follow this up with The Secret Association which I prefer far more anyway.

 

[Matt Wilson]

10

The 5.1 really couldn't sound that much better for an early '80 Brit synth pop album. Though I wish some of these songs were more clever/better, I can't fault his voice, and "Come Back and Stay" still sounds like a lost classic - though the 45 version hit harder.

 

[Oldschoolsoundengineer]

A lovely trip down memory lane! In the early 80s I played this album to death. I loved it for Paul Young's great vocal combined with Pino Palladino's excellent playing and very cool bass sound. Laurie Latham's production was great, detailed and fun to listen to. Not least thanks to the arrangement of the backing vocals. Soulful quality pop music. I can't think of a lot of others doing that 40 years ago with success, maybe except Hall & Outes, that I also liked a lot. (Hope we get H2O in Atmos one day!). So, what about these 5.1 and atmos versions? I think David Kosten has done a great job. The multichannel versions suit the album very well. The album hasn't lost it's original expression when being spread across all the channels. It's well mixed and the vocals are especially well taken care of when doing improvements. The reverbs and effects are recreated without being tempted to do a dryer and more modern approach. I like that. It's true to the original. The synths and synth drums are of course products of their time and set limitations to the improvements being possible. Kosten does no attempts to brighten them too much which would have made the mix exhausting to listen to. Palladino's bass still makes me tolerate the synth drums unlike a lot of other stuff made 40 years ago. If anything, I wish the bass guitar would have been extended a bit more into the lower bass/sub area. Back in the 80s I also used to prefer the single edits over the extended versions. Would have loved to have them as well, but this is nitpicking. Guessing there was some differences between the LP and CD versions? I don't think 'Sex' was present on the LP either. Based on the above I give this issue a 9. (I've listened to both 5.1 and atmos versions). Thanks to all involved in giving us another great immersive experience from an old classic!

 

[ClarkNovak]

I remember pulling this album from the Columbia mailer back in '83 at the radio station I worked at, and how much I dug it; I played it over and over again in the programming office, each time with the volume on our vintage Rotel / JBL 4301 combo set just a bit higher. It blew me away, and we played the hell out of "Wherever I Lay My Hat" and "Come Back And Stay". It was just...so...GOOD! (I still have that Lp.)

Fast forward to 2024; I ordered this the moment I heard about it and it arrive on my doorstep in a Royal Mail envelope this morning. And once again I'm playing it at too-loud volume in my office, this time with the music swirling around me in a shifting sand of pouring sound. Oh yes - content 10, performance 10, engineering 10... no better I've heard recently. This FULLY makes up for the Trevor Horn fiasco: SDE, all is forgiven!

 

[Mistee]

Who'd have thought this album would ever get a surround treatment? And it's lovely. Quite spacious. And the female backing singers are given a lot of speaker room, popping up quite unexpectedly close at times, right next to you, and in a charming way. The whole album has a charm to it, in fact, and this mix nicely brings that out. And the photo shots on the screen fit well, illustrating what fun they were all having, making this album. Yes, a 10 from me as well.

 

[RustyM]

It’s great but somehow the Atmos instrumental mix got my attention.

SURROUND MIX - 3
AUDIO FIDELITY - 3
CONTENT - 3
OVERALL PACKAGE - 1

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I was never a knowledgeable fan of this artist, but welcome this SDE title into my humble abode.

I'm focusing on the 5.1 mix here.

So far enjoying the mix, with vocals, synths and reverb washing over you sometimes from front to back seemingly. I especially love giving the Bass guitar some star treatment into the Center channel. As an example, I isolated the Center channel in Audacity and listened to it for the song #2 "Love Will Tear Us Apart", and at some spots I believe I can hear the actual Bass speaker cabinet's resonating reverb (whether that was added later or an actual mic capture, it sounds really cool.) If you open the files in a DAW (or put your ear up to the Center speaker) and isolate the Center you can hear what I mean. Only see very minimal levels in the LFE channel on this one, but there are some as accents.

From listening and looking at the Spectrograms of some songs, it does at times seem a little harshly bright in the upper range.

More listening ahead; with a nice 9 vote from me.

 

[key_wiz]

Wow!

As a lover of both 80s synth-pop and blue-eyed soul, I can’t believe I’ve never heard this album outside the hit singles. (Or any other Paul Young albums). This is GREAT! Fantastic album. Fantastic fidelity. Great surround mix. (5.1. I don’t have Atmos)

I’ve never heard any surround mixes by David Kosten that I’m aware of, but this is killer!

I’m trying to be much more judicious with handing out the 9s and 10s lately, but this one is a 10.

thank you Paul! (Young and Sinclair). I hope we get other Young albums in the future!