HiRez Poll Beach Boys - PET SOUNDS [DVD-A/BDA]

[Chris Gerhard]

I am listening to this now for the first time and I also just received the 40th anniversary issue with a DVD-V. I plan to spend some time with this great old album in the coming weeks and decide which version I like the best, mono, stereo or surround. So far all I have done is listen to part of the DVD-A surround version. I haven't yet detected any of the issues discussed here, it sounds fine without excessive rear channel use. This is another surround release that I had often seen but passed on before the Buy.com $20 off $50 Google Checkout promotion. I assume it is still easy to find anywhere.

Chris

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Although this is certainly not the greatest pop album ever, as some insist, I like The Beach Boys vocals better on this than any other Beach Boys album. Mike, Brian and Carl aren't really even good singers, much less great singers but they pull this one off really well. I can't quite give it a 9, I have given a number of 9s to albums I like better than this one, but it is a strong 8.

Chris

 

[Dylan Berichon]

Something clearly isn't right here.

What a wonky mix.

I love this album, but the sound stage is messed up.

I'm going to give it a 7. If you are a fan of the album, you should pick it up, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that isn't into the Beach Boys.

 

[daved64]

Something clearly isn't right here.

What a wonky mix.

I love this album, but the sound stage is messed up.

I'm going to give it a 7. If you are a fan of the album, you should pick it up, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that isn't into the Beach Boys.

Yep. It's like you need to turn your chair around and face the rears.

 

[sacd user]

I will add myself to the list of people who thinks this release is best in mono

 

[jsgamache]

If I were a record company exec reading this thread, I think I'd just say, "Why bother with this surround s#!+? The people with the equipment are unbelievably nit-picky. We spend all of this money remixing, and nobody even likes the results. Let's just scrape the last few bucks we can from the bottom of the CD barrel and sell everything else on line. You know who's not picky? Those teenagers walking around with the iPods stuck in their ears. Those are our customers!"

Why is PS better in mono just because Brian Wilson can't hear out of one ear? Mono mixes were made for AM car radios and little plastic record players. To me, the PS mono mix has always sounded distorted, compressed and sloppy. Even Brian himself said that the stereo mix sounded like someone had pulled a blanket off the speakers.

Having said that, I think mono sounds great on those '50s recordings that were basically done live in the studio. But when producers started taking multi-track recordings and reducing them to one, combining noise from every individual track, monaural started sounding flat and lifeless. No one seems to be able, in remastering, to elicit much definition and presence from them. (Unlike, for example, the most recent remasterings of the early Elvis RCA albums.)

Pet Sounds and the early Beatles albums are the worst examples of flat mono. I even prefer the crude stereo of the '62-'64 Beatles records.

I'm not saying that y'all need to accept crappy mixing, but I think some of you are overreacting a bit to the supposed flaws in PS. When I first listened to the new mono remaster of it, I was put off by the quite loud hiss at the beginning of "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Does anyone actually prefer that to the surround mix? @:

 

[daved64]

If I were a record company exec reading this thread, I think I'd just say, "Why bother with this surround s#!+? The people with the equipment are unbelievably nit-picky. We spend all of this money remixing, and nobody even likes the results. Let's just scrape the last few bucks we can from the bottom of the CD barrel and sell everything else on line. You know who's not picky? Those teenagers walking around with the iPods stuck in their ears. Those are our customers!"

Why is PS better in mono just because Brian Wilson can't hear out of one ear? Mono mixes were made for AM car radios and little plastic record players. To me, the PS mono mix has always sounded distorted, compressed and sloppy. Even Brian himself said that the stereo mix sounded like someone had pulled a blanket off the speakers.

Having said that, I think mono sounds great on those '50s recordings that were basically done live in the studio. But when producers started taking multi-track recordings and reducing them to one, combining noise from every individual track, monaural started sounding flat and lifeless. No one seems to be able, in remastering, to elicit much definition and presence from them. (Unlike, for example, the most recent remasterings of the early Elvis RCA albums.)

Pet Sounds and the early Beatles albums are the worst examples of flat mono. I even prefer the crude stereo of the '62-'64 Beatles records.

I'm not saying that y'all need to accept crappy mixing, but I think some of you are overreacting a bit to the supposed flaws in PS. When I first listened to the new mono remaster of it, I was put off by the quite loud hiss at the beginning of "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Does anyone actually prefer that to the surround mix? @:

You obviously don't know that the Beatles spent time making sure the mono mixes were done right. When it came time to do the stereo mixes, they went home and let George Martin and Geoff Emerick/Norman Smith to do it. The mono mixes of the Beatles stuff is sometimes far superior to the stereo mixes. You haven't heard Revolution till you hear the mono mix.

As far as over reacting, I have plenty of surround titles that require no mucking with settings. I sit down, and they sound right. When I sat down to play PS, my reaction was "they fucked it up!" It just sounds wrong. It could have been a masterpiece. It isn't.

And as far as tape hiss goes, I'll take it any day over "no-noised" suffocated crap.

 

[jsgamache]

No, I'm aware that the Beatles worked directly on the mono mixes, but that doesn't necessarily make them better. And I think George Martin knows a bit about mixing stereo.

Don't get me wrong -- I know the mono mixes of Sgt. Pepper's and the White Album definitely have their plusses. I know them very well, and I think they should be back on the market. But I can't say I prefer them.

But I'm amused by the venomous reaction to the 5.1 Pet Sounds. IMHO, it's significantly better than the harsh mono mix.

 

[DaneelOlivaw]

An 8. I liked the mix, dreamy and airy....like the music. Not very discrete but that doesn't bother me. I thought the sound itself was good but nothing special. Video extras are actually informative as far as content (most dvd-a titles I own have visual content that is barely worth viewing once, if even that). The addition of 96khz/24bit LPCM tracks playable on regular dvd players is a definite plus.

 

[jarofclay73]

I'm going to hold off voting for now because of the wonky surround mix. Although I have to say that "Pet Sounds" sounds better on a cheap home theater system rather than a 5.1 system with full range speakers all around, since the "hot" rears aren't as apparent with weak rear speakers.

With that said, I prefer the stereo version of the album. Sound quite a bit better than even the mono version, although it is nostalgic to hear.

 

[madship]

I must have really missed the boat on this one. After years of hearing what a great and ground breaking album it was, I was thrilled to hear that it was coming out in Hi-Rez and 5.1.

Other than the songs I already knew (2 or 3). i didn't like a thing. I actually preferred the Telarc Pap Do Run Run versions.

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

I have heard, from someone who must remain nameless but was actually present and heard the original surround mixes right off the DAW in the Studio, that there has been an almighty cockup in the manufacturing process, as in the studio everything sounds simply stunning.
When the engineers heard the disc, they were almost in tears.
There is allegedly stuff out of phase, on the wrong channels, all manner of problems.

I'll write my contact, and ask him to write out for us all exactly what was wrong.
But it would seem as if the Authoring loused everything up.

Did you ever find out what the technical issues were with this disc? I'd love to make a corrected version of this.

 

[oxenholme]

What on earth is Group Eight on this disc?

It appears to be Dolby Digital, begins with a snippet of Surfin' Safari, and continues with well spaced snippets of all sorts of things including a lovely bit of stereo Good Vibrations with some of the vocals present...

 

[Brett]

Never cared for this album before playing it in surround. One of my favorites to play when I'm at a loss of what to play. Good surround mix and good somics, for a mid 60's album.

 

[rusinurbe]

I have to admit I have this as a hidden pleasure album. The music is stunning and with the kitchen sink approach to recording it really benifits form the expanded 5.1 sound field (OK 4.1).
The Mono just lacks something even though it has parts not that are aparently missing from the master recording tapes.

 

[cupboy]

I picked up a new one at FYE today, and with a coupon got the price down to around $19. I figured it was my last chance to get one now that Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites have sold out, and I'd assume it's now out of print. There's not even any on a well known auction site (except for EU imports with the old case design).

Got one in a more current super jewel case design with the thicker hinges, so that's nice... since it's replaceable.

 

[jdmack]

What on earth is Group Eight on this disc?

It appears to be Dolby Digital, begins with a snippet of Surfin' Safari, and continues with well spaced snippets of all sorts of things including a lovely bit of stereo Good Vibrations with some of the vocals present...

Better late than never to answer this, I suppose.

It's the soundtrack of the discography section of the bonus materials. The stereo "Good Vibrations" is from the "In Concert" album.

J. D.

 

[Jazzer]

A gorgeous album with stunning music and an adventurous mix. I have this on vinyl and cd, in mono and stereo mixes but I have always loved the detailed DVDA surround mix the best.

 

[Quad Linda]

I'm with you, Jazzer. Would I have mixed this different? Sure. It's an unorthodox mix. Technical flaws aside, I love being able to hear the cohesive song and pick out individual things, rather than parts as on the Pet Sounds Box. What Quad/surround mixes are all about. Distinctly hearing the music.

Is mono the best? It's hard to fault the mono mix. Brian's creation as he intended it, mono. Duophonic was absolutely awful. The stereo finally came in the Pet Sounds Box in '98. I like it better than mono. Though, like the early Beatles stuff, the mono is more cohesive (1 piece, lol!!) and punchier. Stopped listening in mono when the stereo came out. I'd mix that a bit different, too. Five years after stereo, we got a DVD-A with 5.1, stereo and mono. Whatever mix you prefer, it's here.

Regarding the content, it takes a bit of getting used to. Not your typical Beach Boys. I've owned 5 CD's and DVD-A, never vinyl. I'm glad I didn't own this when it was released in '66. I wasn't quite ready for this. There are a few low spots, but it's a terriffic album. Wouldn't It Be Nice and Sloop John B are closer to classic Beach Boys. Or, is Sloop closer to classic Weavers? Pet Sounds is a great instrumental. Caroline, No is haunting and should have been a bigger single. It signifies moving beyond surf music, as My Back Pages signals Dylan's shift from protest songs. This album typifies that spirit, while having a few fun 'n' sun threads. God Only Knows, signalling a greater role for Carl. If you've not yet heard Pet Sounds, it's EVERYTHING you heard it is.

I still have long hair, though it's shoulder length now. Time to run some errands in my convertible with a pony tail and the top down. And I'm bringing this disc to pop into my car's DVD-A/V/CD deck. Sometimes, reality beats fantasy!

Linda
Leggo My Ego

A gorgeous album with stunning music and an adventurous mix. I have this on vinyl and cd, in mono and stereo mixes but I have always loved the detailed DVDA surround mix the best.

 

[Chiburb]

I recently heard Sloop John B in 5.1 and came here to read the reviews. Not being a "mono purist", or even a Beach Boys fan, I am REALLY enjoying my just arrived DVD-A.
I give it a 9.