Randy's most commercial album got the 5.1 treatment, with guests like Paul Simon and the Eagles on board for the ride.
HiRez Poll Newman, Randy - LITTLE CRIMINALS [DVD-A]
- Thread starter JonUrban
- Start date
Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:
There are some considerable differences in mix here relative to the original stereo...but there are several underrated little masterpieces, and overall, I enjoy this one quite a lot, though couldn't really rate it higher than '7'......but I'd recommend it, all the same.
ED
ED
I just bought this disc last week and this morning I gave it a really focused listen. I give it a 10.
First of all, I love late '70s Top 40. In my opinion, it was a wonderful time to listen to the radio. In the many years since then I've collected a lot of it (especially from 1978), but I managed to miss this album. Anyway, I didn't know what I was missing. There's a lot more here than just "Short People". So my first point is this: If you like late '70s top 40 and you've never heard this, it's a "must have".
Secondly, sometimes a surround mix wraps around you like a warm blanket. This is one of those. It's not very agressive, but it's discrete and definitely more than just ambience.
I guess I do have one complaint - on a couple songs, especially "In Germany Before The War", the vocal sounds compressed. The "s" sounds are really loud - almost like through a transistor radio. You techie types may describe this better than me. Anyway, it doesn't take away from the disc, but I wish it weren't that way.
Take a chance with this one if you haven't yet.
First of all, I love late '70s Top 40. In my opinion, it was a wonderful time to listen to the radio. In the many years since then I've collected a lot of it (especially from 1978), but I managed to miss this album. Anyway, I didn't know what I was missing. There's a lot more here than just "Short People". So my first point is this: If you like late '70s top 40 and you've never heard this, it's a "must have".
Secondly, sometimes a surround mix wraps around you like a warm blanket. This is one of those. It's not very agressive, but it's discrete and definitely more than just ambience.
I guess I do have one complaint - on a couple songs, especially "In Germany Before The War", the vocal sounds compressed. The "s" sounds are really loud - almost like through a transistor radio. You techie types may describe this better than me. Anyway, it doesn't take away from the disc, but I wish it weren't that way.
Take a chance with this one if you haven't yet.
Maybe there is something wrong with mine, but the lead vocals are very muffled, both with what I remember from the vinyl but also just compared to the Stereo layer, which sounds fine. I have to give it a 4 for music and a 1 for surround mix.
I gave this an eight, I like the music and like the mix. Didnt know much about Randy Newman outside of Toy Story.
Solid disc.
Solid disc.
My vote on this disc in 2007 was based on playing it in my 2004 Acura TL. I played it the other day in my 2009 TL and was pleasantly surprised to hear the vocals much clearer, with a very nice surround mix. I've always liked the album and would now change my vote from a 3 to a 9 (5 music, 4 mix) if I could figure out how...?
Listening to this again for the first time in a LONG time. I originally voted a 10, and I would again today. This disc is one of my prized possessions.
...and makes you wish that quad mix of SAIL AWAY would turn up somewhere, huh?
ED
ED
The 5.1 mix and sound quality are nothing exceptional but it's a pretty interesting listen.
It's a "7" from me.
It's a "7" from me.
I just pulled this one out and ripped it to my hard drive for use on my Oppo, and wow I was surprised. First off, this is a mixed bag of mixes!
Songs like "Rider in the Rain" are PERFECT SURROUND!! No kidding. Randy is solo in the center, the music is all around you, and the backing vocals by the Eagles (or some of them) are squarely in the rears. This is my dream 5.1 layout. Then, you go to "Baltimore" and the background vocals are sorta mixed in with Randy. Listening to each channel individually, you can't quite find them on their own.
The big hit and title song "Short People", his anti-racism ditty, also has a wonderful surround mix, with the Eagles again in the rear with the harmonies and the "Short People are just the same as you and I" bit. A fine and worth surround mix.
A quiet tune like "In Germany Before the War" (which I never knew was about child abuse) has the vocals in the center and a symphony orchestra all around him. Levels are very low but that fits the tune. "Texas Girl..." has Randy in the center, his Piano in the fronts, and the symphony in the rears and a bit in the front.
To me, this is a great surround mix. I can't really find fault with it. If you like Randy Newman and understand his music and skew on the world, this is clearly a 10. I originally voted it a '7', but today I give it a '10'. Check it out if you like this sort of thing.
Songs like "Rider in the Rain" are PERFECT SURROUND!! No kidding. Randy is solo in the center, the music is all around you, and the backing vocals by the Eagles (or some of them) are squarely in the rears. This is my dream 5.1 layout. Then, you go to "Baltimore" and the background vocals are sorta mixed in with Randy. Listening to each channel individually, you can't quite find them on their own.
The big hit and title song "Short People", his anti-racism ditty, also has a wonderful surround mix, with the Eagles again in the rear with the harmonies and the "Short People are just the same as you and I" bit. A fine and worth surround mix.
A quiet tune like "In Germany Before the War" (which I never knew was about child abuse) has the vocals in the center and a symphony orchestra all around him. Levels are very low but that fits the tune. "Texas Girl..." has Randy in the center, his Piano in the fronts, and the symphony in the rears and a bit in the front.
To me, this is a great surround mix. I can't really find fault with it. If you like Randy Newman and understand his music and skew on the world, this is clearly a 10. I originally voted it a '7', but today I give it a '10'. Check it out if you like this sort of thing.
It's a nice surround mix. I don't know the album well enough to spot significant level differences between the stereo and 5.1 mix at present. It does expose the weakness of my system though, as the lead vocals are anchored very much in the centre channel, and apart from this the 5.1 retains a lovely analogue warmth despite being delivered in digital. (24/96 lossless.)
Last edited:
This disc appears to have mix issues with the sub channel. I'm into track 5 and I've heard stuff way above 80 hz on at least three tracks. There's full range bass on a couple of tracks so far, and Short People has bass drum, some toms, and some other leakage too, again above 80 hz. That said, my player is indicating LFE rather than sub, but the above is coming out of the sub's analogue out, no bass management on the player.
ji eff
300 Club - QQ All-Star
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2015
- Messages
- 356
just so you know..
Steven Wilson's "The Raven That Refused To Sing" and "4 1/2", and Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" also feature full frequency range content in the LFE channel.
I noticed this recently while looking at foobar's spectrogram. So I listened to the LFE channel by itself playing back through my front speakers and it really is full range (though the content was relevant to the LFE: bass drum, electric bass, etc...)
*I'll show myself out now..
just so you know..
Steven Wilson's "The Raven That Refused To Sing" and "4 1/2", and Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" also feature full frequency range content in the LFE channel.
I noticed this recently while looking at foobar's spectrogram. So I listened to the LFE channel by itself playing back through my front speakers and it really is full range (though the content was relevant to the LFE: bass drum, electric bass, etc...)
*I'll show myself out now..
Blimey! :yikes
In the words of Marvin Gaye (don't show yourself out, I mean!
) ; "Please stay.. Don't go away, baby" Seriously, you need to stick around, ji eff! Please
I'm clearly missing a trick here - what's the point of putting full range stuff in the LFE channel if the sub can't resolve anything but low bass..?
The tech specs of my "trusty" old REL (though far from the best for movies, seems its ample for music in my shoebox.. and since fixed just will not die! I want a new BK Gemini, dognammit! Die REL, Die..!
Err.. where were we? ) oh yeah so REL said/say its' frequency response is 25-120hz.. so I guess that's all it can pump out, right?If so, whats the frequency, Kenneth? ..and why put full range content in the LFE channel if nobody ever gets to hear it either, Ken?
The Pet Sounds DVD-Audio does this too, fwiw, with all sorts of stuff in the .1 channel (and the Centre, too!) its v.spooky.. anyway, sorry for carrying on the OT tangent, maybe all this useful chat could go into a dedicated thread please, Jon? Tim? Feels like it warrants it doesnt it? Unless its all been covered before in another thread maybe? Lets have a sticky debate! :banana:
ji eff
300 Club - QQ All-Star
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2015
- Messages
- 356
Blimey! :yikes
In the words of Marvin Gaye (don't show yourself out, I mean!
Seriously, you need to stick around, ji eff! Please
I'm clearly missing a trick here - what's the point of putting full range stuff in the LFE channel if the sub can't resolve anything but low bass..?
The tech specs of my "trusty" old REL (though far from the best for movies, seems its ample for music in my shoebox.. and since fixed just will not die! I want a new BK Gemini, dognammit! Die REL, Die..!
If so, whats the frequency, Kenneth? ..and why put full range content in the LFE channel if nobody ever gets to hear it either, Ken?
The Pet Sounds DVD-Audio does this too, fwiw, with all sorts of stuff in the .1 channel (and the Centre, too!) its v.spooky.. anyway, sorry for carrying on the OT tangent, maybe all this useful chat could go into a dedicated thread please, Jon? Tim? Feels like it warrants it doesnt it? Unless its all been covered before in another thread maybe? Lets have a sticky debate! :banana:
I think it's either oversight or... some kind of "purist-audiophile-here-don't-mess-with-the-signal" kind of thing.
In any case, I was kinda glad to see this because a few minutes later I realized Cubase wasn't filtering the frequencies over 200hz as I thought it was... so if Alan Parsons and Steven Wilson are doing it, then I won't go to jail ! :banana:
*Here's where the "I'll show myself out" quote comes from... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWiT4jT1NWU
First of all, a spec that lists a frequency response of 25-120Hz is not a brick walled kind of affair. That probably refers to the +/- 3dB roll off points or something similar. There may still be audible output up beyond a few 1000Hz. It depends on the slope of the roll off. Also back in the day, signals subjected to analog frequency manipulation always had some amount of phase shift as a side effect. Maybe this is no longer the case with digital frequency manipulation. So it could be the purist idea, why mess with it if it has a possible downside (especially if the filter for the LFE is accomplished in the analog domain).
Are you all sure that what you are hearing simply isn't signal that is part of the crossover slope? is it much reduced in volume compared to the signal in the FL and FR?
I gotta admit, I never listen to any isolated channels on my system. A lot of you seem to do that. Isolated sub, isolated center, isolated rears.
Are you all sure that what you are hearing simply isn't signal that is part of the crossover slope? is it much reduced in volume compared to the signal in the FL and FR?
I gotta admit, I never listen to any isolated channels on my system. A lot of you seem to do that. Isolated sub, isolated center, isolated rears.
ji eff
300 Club - QQ All-Star
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2015
- Messages
- 356
There didn't seem to be a roll-off slope at all... but I believe you might be right on point with the phase issue. :upthumb
That sounds like a very shallow filter - that's just over four octaves from 120 to 1000Hz, isn't it?
Regardless of that, it's nothing like the kind of bass signal that is normally in the .1 channel. Also, why would keys be in there too?
Similar threads
