DVD/DTS Poll Be-Bop Deluxe - AXE VICTIM [DTS DVD]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on the debut album by Be-Bop Deluxe entitled "Axe Victim".
This album has now been reissued in a deluxe edition by Esoteric & Cherry Red Records featuring a new 5.1 mix of the album.

 

[The56Kid]

I guess I’ll go first. I’m a big and long time fan of early Be-Bop Deluxe, mostly due to the astronomical guitar prowess of main man, Bill Nelson. Axe Victim and Futurama were my favorites by a mile so I was really psyched to give a listen to the deluxe version of Futurama that came out last year.

I’ve made it pretty clear here that I was disappointed with the surround mix Stephen Tayler did for Futurama. It was simply too conservative and didn’t take advantage of the many opportunities the music offered for an adventurous surround mix. Tayler is a long standing and respected engineer which compounded my disappointment. I was willing to give Tayler another chance with Axe Victim and made the pre-order purchase even though I wasn’t holding my breath. I’m glad to report that I’m loving this new and improved Axe Victim!

The rears are frequently engaged for acoustic guitars, keys, background vocals, electric guitar accents, and some very nice front stage extensions that really add to the dimensional depth that I found lacking on Futurama. All instruments are well presented in the surround mix and I find the overall fidelity to also be a significant improvement over Futurama: Axe Victim in surround cranks nicely! Tayler could probably still be a bit more adventurous mix-wise, but that’s a minor and personal quibble.

I’m absolutely loving Axe Victim in surround. As far as extras go, I’ve only listened to CD 3 which includes early BBC sessions and a fantastic 4 song suite from Be-Bop’s Decca audition that sounds fantastic. The booklet includes an enjoyable and informative backstory essay by Bill. And I’m diggin’ the included mini poster - may have to get it framed someday!

Vote - a strong 9 from this Nelson aficionado and a hearty thank you to Stephen Tayler for making my day!

 

[SHB]

I just finished listening to axe victim and I am very impressed with the multi channel mix. Much more adventurous mix than the other releases. Well done!

 

[elmer]

I have to say, I was not expecting this to be as good as it is. Loved BBD back in the day but found their recordings to be subpar. I could listen to Bill Nelson guitar solos all day long - and this album is chock full of em. Excellent mix and remastering here and I have no issue with DTS 24/96 - it’s rock n roll! I would have given this a 10, but the packaging is so egregious, I had to deduct a point.

 

[4-earredwonder]

A solid 9. An unexpected treat. Besides the shoddy disc placement in the package [three out of four of the discs were dislodged from their respective slots], the DTS 5.1 mix was tastefully discrete and the 96/24 LOSSLESS Stereo remaster was sublime. Only wish the Surround treatment was LOSSLESS, as well.
They easily could've dispensed with the enclosed 'postcards' and sprung for a BD~A INSTEAD!

 

[PK]

"No Trains To Heaven" just kills it!...no wonder the disc wouldn't stay in place

 

[PK]

 

[The56Kid]

View attachment 54306

Totally agree! Nelson's guitar work throughout Axe Victim is superlative, but his solos on No Trains To Heaven are out-of-this world!

 

[JediJoker]

I would have given this a 10, but the packaging is so egregious, I had to deduct a point.

Personally, I love the packaging on these BBD deluxes. It's reasonably compact, with plenty of print content and a premium feel.

 

[beerking]

So many band's first album release's, are their finest ...imo
Roxy Music being a case in point.

Bill has let his guitar do the talking and he is a mean player too...
I have only heard the odd track off this album, way back when it was first released.
As BBC radio had John Peel playing all the new bands material, on his fantastic radio show.
Off which I still have cassettes, as I used to record the shows ...in glorious mono!!

This album gets better and better, each time I listen to it.
And Mr Tayler has nailed the mix. I wonder if he would go back over the earlier mixes and redo them?

Not quite a 10 but a good 9+

 

[The56Kid]

So many band's first album release's, are their finest ...imo
Roxy Music being a case in point.

Bill has let his guitar do the talking and he is a mean player too...
I have only heard the odd track off this album, way back when it was first released.
As BBC radio had John Peel playing all the new bands material, on his fantastic radio show.
Off which I still have cassettes, as I used to record the shows ...in glorious mono!!

This album gets better and better, each time I listen to it.
And Mr Tayler has nailed the mix. I wonder if he would go back over the earlier mixes and redo them?

Not quite a 10 but a good 9+

Did you make your vote official, Beerking?

 

[beerking]

Did you make your vote official, Beerking?

Nope....der....have put that oversight right now, ta

 

[elmer]

Personally, I love the packaging on these BBD deluxes. It's reasonably compact, with plenty of print content and a premium feel.

The outside slipcase does have a premium feel. However, FWIW, things that drive me crazy;
1. For $50 plus, the discs should not come flying out from the case because of poor design & a packing process that failed to secure them properly.
2. What am I supposed to do with the poster and 8x10 glossies?
3. Another randomly sized slip case that awkwardly sits on the shelf next to all the other randomly sized slip cases I now own.
4. The book is printed on nice, heavy stock - I’ll read it once.

In the end it’s all about the purchasers perceived value - I love the music & mix and might even listen to the bonus CDs a few times. I’ll continue to buy “deluxe” packages that contains the music I Iove, perhaps with a bit more discretion as my collection begins to overwhelm. Premium books and slipcases, with all of the inserts and hand assembly are expensive to manufacture and costly to ship. The end user then has to pay a premium price. I would have happily paid $30 for a single or double disc in a standard sized digipack.

 

[rusinurbe]

Love this set the surround mix is I believe the best one so far.
I am not a fan of the slots a in this set but prefer the discs to be recessesed more so the disc sits level with the back cardvboard, which could have been done with little extra cost.
That quibble aside great set and great value

 

[Clement]

i have to concur with my QQ comrades regarding Stephen Taylor's mix on this one; he gets better with each reissue, and for my ears, this is his best effort so far. A dear friend in high school turned me onto this band in 1977. We spent a LOT of time entranced by his favorite release, Futurama. The cover of Sunburst Finish sucked me in; the contents made it my favorite. Live in the Air Age was a treat for my guitar-solo-loving high school self. Modern Music and Drastic Plastic were basically new and received a fair amount of air play on Chicago's WXRT. Which is my typically long-winded way of saying that Be-Bop Deluxe's first release, Axe Victim, was the last one i discovered! It used to strike me as a Ziggy-light endeavor with superior guitar work and was my least-played release of theirs. This reissue is really turning me around, and it is in no small part to the 5.1 DTS mix i have been soaking in!

@The56Kid does a wonderful job in his assessment of the mix, nailing what makes it so wonderful for me. @elmer gushing over the guitar solos also resonates with me (especially the deliciously extended "Jets at Dawn"); not only could i listen to Nelson's solos all day long--i did! The multichannel mix brings a depth to the production that i did not recall from my high school headphone daze, and Nelson's guitar work really shines--it is, after all, this release's raison d'être!

As far as the complaints about the packaging go, my copy arrived with a disc dislodged--drag. But i will say that i am glad to have the original stereo mix, the new mix, and the revelatory Peel sessions on CD. And the book is a nice visual and intellectual accompaniment to my listening forays. Nelson's lengthy assessment of the release ends with his noting that Axe Victim "is one brief snapshot of a band in the process of becoming something else. . . . a modest beginning, flawed but not without charm." This listener is charmed enough to take this reissue to a 10 because of the way it presents what i recollected as a muddy sounding schizophrenic assemblage and polishes it to a scintillating surprise of a debut, adding some nice ephemera (though the poster may eventually end up framed on my wall!) and bonus tracks in 5.1 as well as those great Peel sessions.

 

[The56Kid]

i have to concur with my QQ comrades regarding Stephen Taylor's mix on this one; he gets better with each reissue, and for my ears, this is his best effort so far. A dear friend in high school turned me onto this band in 1977. We spent a LOT of time entranced by his favorite release, Futurama. The cover of Sunburst Finish sucked me in; the contents made it my favorite. Live in the Air Age was a treat for my guitar-solo-loving high school self. Modern Music and Drastic Plastic were basically new and received a fair amount of air play on Chicago's WXRT. Which is my typically long-winded way of saying that Be-Bop Deluxe's first release, Axe Victim, was the last one i discovered! It used to strike me as a Ziggy-light endeavor with superior guitar work and was my least-played release of theirs. This reissue is really turning me around, and it is in no small part to the 5.1 DTS mix i have been soaking in!

@The56Kid does a wonderful job in his assessment of the mix, nailing what makes it so wonderful for me. @elmer gushing over the guitar solos also resonates with me (especially the deliciously extended "Jets at Dawn"); not only could i listen to Nelson's solos all day long--i did! The multichannel mix brings a depth to the production that i did not recall from my high school headphone daze, and Nelson's guitar work really shines--it is, after all, this release's raison d'être!

As far as the complaints about the packaging go, my copy arrived with a disc dislodged--drag. But i will say that i am glad to have the original stereo mix, the new mix, and the revelatory Peel sessions on CD. And the book is a nice visual and intellectual accompaniment to my listening forays. Nelson's lengthy assessment of the release ends with his noting that Axe Victim "is one brief snapshot of a band in the process of becoming something else. . . . a modest beginning, flawed but not without charm." This listener is charmed enough to take this reissue to a 10 because of the way it presents what i recollected as a muddy sounding schizophrenic assemblage and polishes it to a scintillating surprise of a debut, adding some nice ephemera (though the poster may eventually end up framed on my wall!) and bonus tracks in 5.1 as well as those great Peel sessions.

Great review, Comrade! I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that this is my fav 2020 surround release thus far. I simply cannot get enough of it - as soon as I finish listening to it, I’m ready to start again. I totally agree that the extended Jets At Dawn is an amazingly immersive sonic marvel, but it seems like every song comes to new life in Tayler’s mix. Bill’s beautiful guitar solos just pop in this new mix - to such a degree, they’re almost tangible. I could go on and on. I may have to change my vote to a 10.

 

[Blockdog]

Mine is O.F.D.

 

[The56Kid]

Mine is O.F.D.

Hope you dig it!

 

[Blockdog]

I have listened to the 5.1 mix and I agree with the general consensus, well done on the mix. Mine arrived in perfect shape, no slipage. I look forward to the bonus materials.

 

[skherbeck]

I’m in the USA and preordered this, but still havn’t received it... have people in the States received theirs?