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HiRez Poll The Thrills - SO MUCH FOR THE CITY [DVD-A]
- Thread starter JonUrban
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Kazaam
701 Club - QQ All-Star
Too much singing in the center channel. Not enough guitars everywhere else; they're just buried too deep within the mix that they're too quiet compared to the vocals and I can't really enjoy them. That said, there is a fair amount of activitiy going on in the surrounds without going overboard. But, man, the vocal placement is a disappointment.
I really like this disc. I listened to it last night for the first time. My measure of a truly great disc (musically) is if I am inclined to listen to it all the way through without thinking about it. Such was the case here. The Thrills’ music is very rhythmic, melodic, loose and relaxed, but with an obvious air of dedication and enjoyment by the individual players. It just plain feels good to listen to.
I was surprised to find the lead vocal styling more than a bit similar to The Flaming Lips. However, where the Lips are lysergic, The Thrills are more barbiturate; the Thrills are less intense, more relaxed and totally content in their environment. This is music to relax to, but not in a new-agey sort of way. Indeed, The Thrills play bona-fide rock music with plenty of excitement and guitar mastery. They're hard to peg... Flaming Lips meet Creedence Clearwater Revival? Yeah, that gets you part of the way there, but you really deserve to hear these guys for yourself.
The sound quality is quite good but certainly not your audiophile standard, as I'm sure it was not meant to be. This is pure, honest rock and roll. The surround mix is quite satisfying. Yeah, it could have been more adventurous, but at what point would the mix start overpowering the music? It's hard to say, but I think a delicate balance has been achieved here, intentional or not.
All in all, a truly fine hi-rez surround release worthy of your attention. 8 points.
I was surprised to find the lead vocal styling more than a bit similar to The Flaming Lips. However, where the Lips are lysergic, The Thrills are more barbiturate; the Thrills are less intense, more relaxed and totally content in their environment. This is music to relax to, but not in a new-agey sort of way. Indeed, The Thrills play bona-fide rock music with plenty of excitement and guitar mastery. They're hard to peg... Flaming Lips meet Creedence Clearwater Revival? Yeah, that gets you part of the way there, but you really deserve to hear these guys for yourself.
The sound quality is quite good but certainly not your audiophile standard, as I'm sure it was not meant to be. This is pure, honest rock and roll. The surround mix is quite satisfying. Yeah, it could have been more adventurous, but at what point would the mix start overpowering the music? It's hard to say, but I think a delicate balance has been achieved here, intentional or not.
All in all, a truly fine hi-rez surround release worthy of your attention. 8 points.
had to agree with Cai on this nice music not the most inspiring mix, I guess released as part of teh DTS EMI deal which fell to bits not much later. Oh what could have been !!!
he certainly did! he hit the nail squarely on the head with his assessment!
this is fairly laid back stuff and nothing to set the world on fire.. but the mix is certainly discrete. I had to turn my rears up and centre down a bit to get the mix just right but this is miles better than I thought it was going to be!
I didn't check the Poll here first before picking it up but I had read a tiny thread on the SH Forums where a couple of people were rubbishing it and really I just don't know what they're on about!? Yes, it's no audiophile recording and on "Say it ain't so" the drums distort and totally fall apart (sadly, i quite enjoyed the song) but I've heard many, far worse, more compressed disasters of modern pop/rock albums in the last 10 years than this.. and thinking about it perhaps all that distortion was intentional on the part of the producers or the band themselves, as lots of other elements in the mix are nice and cleanly reproduced. Who knows!?
As a whole, anyway, I rather like it!
On the basis of one listen through (without skipping, just like Cai!) I'd like to give this an "8" but I think it may grow on me more over time, so I'm going to reserve judgement for a bit.
Found this disc used at a CD shop in Birmingham, AL a few months ago, so I decided to buy it on a whim.
Now I normally NEVER buy a disc with at least hearing a sample of the music, but that's exactly what I did with this disc. Bought it without ever hearing a single sample of what the music sounded like.
The best way I can sum up my review of this disc is that it is OK but rather forgettable, and while there are some cool surround moments on the disc, it's not really that engaging. So only try to search this disc out if you really like the group.
I went ahead and gave it a '7'. Over time it may move up to an '8' for me, but I doubt it will ever go much higher than that...
Now I normally NEVER buy a disc with at least hearing a sample of the music, but that's exactly what I did with this disc. Bought it without ever hearing a single sample of what the music sounded like.
The best way I can sum up my review of this disc is that it is OK but rather forgettable, and while there are some cool surround moments on the disc, it's not really that engaging. So only try to search this disc out if you really like the group.
I went ahead and gave it a '7'. Over time it may move up to an '8' for me, but I doubt it will ever go much higher than that...
der_angsthase
Active Member
I just recently stumbled upon this disc because I knew the song "Big Sur" from a mid 2000s tv-show. Was stoked to find out this was available as a DVD-A so I bought a new and still sealed (!) copy for 12 Euros. Can't say I am overly ecstatic about this release. The stereo layer is way too compressed, loud and lacks anything I'd call definition. It's all a blurry and very loud mess. Meh.
But biggest of all – especially since it's a DTS Release – is the surround master. This mix is just as bad as Santanas Supernatural, which I actually thought about throwing out of the window after listening. It's got activity in the rears, sure, but the mix is so densely crowded and badly separated that I actually, for the very first time in my life, I just can't stand listening to it. Total waste of money.
But biggest of all – especially since it's a DTS Release – is the surround master. This mix is just as bad as Santanas Supernatural, which I actually thought about throwing out of the window after listening. It's got activity in the rears, sure, but the mix is so densely crowded and badly separated that I actually, for the very first time in my life, I just can't stand listening to it. Total waste of money.
I still happen to like it after all those years... Also, won't mix them up with The Thorns anymore
Edit: Then again, I've had almost no problem with Supernatural or Shaman. Actually, haven't heard those in a while - thanks for mentioning them!
Edit: Then again, I've had almost no problem with Supernatural or Shaman. Actually, haven't heard those in a while - thanks for mentioning them!
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der_angsthase
Active Member
I still happen to like it after all those years... Also, won't mix them up with The Thorns anymore
Edit: Then again, I've had almost no problem with Supernatural or Shaman. Actually, haven't heard those in a while - thanks for mentioning them!
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It's funny: With pretty much every release that I own I am happy to relate to the majority of votes on this forum. Only on this one my hearing tells me otherwise
