Hey there Felix,
I have an extra copy of this disc. Let me know if your interested.
Thanks, Gabe
Thanks to Gabe, I'm now enjoying this disc.
I was very pleasantly surprised that this modern, sleek production had very good dynamic range and a smooth high-end. I'm thinking of the Dire Straits Brothers In Arms SACD (or DualDisc), which is heavily brick-wall limited and extremely sibilant and harsh in the highs. That's not present here.
The mixes of some songs are excellent and as we say here at QQ, "discrete." "Breathless" is a standout - I've heard it numerous times on the radio, but in 5.1, lots of interesting things are happening. However, other songs are devoid of almost any discrete surround activity. A quick look at the production credits reveals those songs were produced by the band themselves. The inconsistency is so great, that I have a feeling that the multitrack elements for these tunes weren't readily available for the surround mix.
I want to listen again, more carefully, before voting. Right now, I would give it a 6 or 7.
Also, the disc (an early release for the DVD-A format) was authored so that the video features can only be seen by DVD-A players (someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I could not find the video of "Breathless" when I popped the disc into my DVD-V player in my bedroom). I might have to knock it back to 6.
But I'm still enjoying it