HiRez Poll Beck - GUERO [DVD-A]

[Cai Campbell]

I listened to this last night and I totally love it! Dprokopy hit the nail on the head. The music here is a return to the classic Beck we know and love. Sea Change was a diversion that lead to something intensely beautiful and gratifying. Kudos to Beck for realizing that he probably would't be able to hold onto the magic if he continued in that direction.

Whatever the style, Guero is just as good as anything Beck has produced to date. The songwriting is top-notch, with brilliant songs and performances. The surround mix is very satisfying, with a moderately aggressive approach that suits the material.

My only complaint is that the surround mix does not always generate an entirely cohesive soundfield. That is, I often perceived a disjoin between the fronts and rears, as if I were listening to two different stereo systems. The effect is subtle and this is only a minor complaint.

I gave this one 9 points. With some minor tweaking of the surround mix, this could easily have been a 10.

 

[Kazaam]

I went with an 8. Now that I see that almost everyone else said 9 or 10, I feel like a bit of an outsider. I do like this disc. Really, I do! In fact, just today I was listening to "Guero" and thinking how the aggressive/discrete surrounds complimented Beck's quirky style---at least on this album.

 

[Frantic]

Not only is this a great DVD-A,
My local BB had it mis-marked and I grabbed the package for $18.99 :banana:
(They had it sitting with the regular CD's)

The music and the videos and the multi angles are just what we need for fun demos

 

[eelkiller]

I love the disc but up here in Canada it was tough to find and expensive. I give it a 9 for sound quality

 

[quadrofis]

This is the most interesting and entertaining surround mix I have heard so far. It fills your room with blasts of electronic beeps, shouting mexicans and a dozen of other rooms. Very, very good, much more involving than "sea Change" and much better songs too. Sea Change had 2 songs over and over again and I found it beautiful, but so boring after 3 tracks. This album, "Guero" is a real celebration. Even the DD-Encoding works well.

 

[analogdemon]

I really like this album. The mix is killer. Sonically, I love the random video game noises and other odd sound effects thrown in here and there. This is a great package for the money considering you get a DVD-A disc plus a CD with seven bonus tracks. Great value and great discs. A 10!

 

[qtheking]

Good Mix, not as full as some of my 96k albums.
5.1 mix makes album way better

 

[dthomas850]

I rate this a 10. Great sound quality, excellent surround mix, love the video also. There are a couple songs i'm not real crazy about, but this is still an outstanding disc.

 

[DennisMabry]

I've had this disc and enjoyed it for well over a year so this endorsement is a little late, but I'm just getting around to it. That being said, I really like this one. The songs are catchy and fun. The surround mix is aggressive and very well done. The packaging is original and worth a little extra expense. Menu navigation is unique, complete with hidden treasures. CD and DVD-A, this thing is value packed. My only quibble is that I don't really care for all the songs on the disc. But the ones I do like more than make up for the ones I don't. "Girl" is exceptionally great. This is one of those titles that's not for everyone. I consider myself a little old school, but this ones OK by me!

 

[DaneelOlivaw]

Eight.

Great mixes and very good/fun music (though not my favorite Beck album). Sound itself is what partly lowered the score from a 10. I do realize this was intentional because of all the sampling used but from a strictly *technical* standpoint its not as good as I had hoped. Otherwise musically speaking, this does not bother me i.e. sound is not harsh, grainy, etc.

The other part of that (almost) 10 score is the beautiful and very complete packaging and the cool abstract videos created by the DFUSE people that are included. Except for "Missing" all the videos use various moving colored abstractions, very different for each video. FYI: the videos are only viewable using the 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital tracks. They can also be "customized" by the user using the subtitle and angle buttons. Watching these in a dark room with the 5.1 music can be a keeeeewl experience. Unfortunately - this also helped lower the score - these sophisticated videos are very data-intensive and certain dvd players with insufficient amounts of video RAM can't handle them & they can start stuttering (my own Pioneer dvd-audio and Panasonic dvd-video players have no problems with them).

All in all, a great 5.1 title.

 

[grimace]

Hey guys... first post.

Was thinking about getting this bad boy, but the version I want is from Australia on Ebay (cheaper than the $35 they want in stores here).

Question I have is: Are the US/UK/AUS versions the exact same thing? Do they both have the lossless MLP 5.1, or is the MLP only included on the US version?
My guess would be only difference is the video format (PAL vs NTSC).

Can someone please confirm this for me? (I'm looking at you, rusinurbe)

Other than that, how do the sonics and mix compare to Sea Change directly? AFAIK Sea Change was 24/96 and it's one of my fav hi-rez albums.. extremely discrete and crystal clear, sends shivers down my spine every time I listen to it. Can I expect the same from Guero?

 

[JonUrban]

I think you may still find some in Best Buy stores for around $22. Look in with the music video DVD-Vs. Last time I checked, there were still a few at the BB around here, although I have not looked for them in a while.

 

[grimace]

Should've mentioned I'm from Canada, BB/Futureshop up here they want $35.
Could get it from Ebay for $25 shipped.

Will pull the trigger if someone can confirm UK/AUS version still has the MLP.

 

[daved64]

Should've mentioned I'm from Canada, BB/Futureshop up here they want $35.
Could get it from Ebay for $25 shipped.

Will pull the trigger if someone can confirm UK/AUS version still has the MLP.

PM me. I never play mine.

 

[grimace]

Well just got done with my first listen (shout-out to daved64 for selling me his copy).

Aside from the opening song "E-Pro" the rest of the album/sonics/mix is fantastic. This is definitely one of those discs that just BEGS to be played extremely loud, as it sounds better and better the louder you go.

As some have said... the sonics aren't up there with the very best of hi-rez mch releases, but certainly not bad by ANY MEANS, just alot of samples... sound is still crystal clear and free of grain/harshness.

It's no Sea Change (scored that one a 10) but hell... Sea Change is one of, if not the best I've ever heard.

Gave the sonics an 8, gave the mix a 10. Voted a very solid 9.

 

[quadanasaziland]

if anyone still has not got this one (like me), ebay is the way to go, got one used for $6.66 including shipping, others for various prices.

 

[The Rang]

if anyone still has not got this one (like me), ebay is the way to go, got one used for $6.66 including shipping, others for various prices.

The copy I bought on e-bay a few months back was (is) still sealed. But I paid triple the price.

You got a great deal.

 

[Dylan Berichon]

Does anyone else have a problem with each track pausing for a few seconds between tracks before it continues?

I'm pretty sure this disk should be "Gapless", shouldn't it?

 

[DennisMabry]

Does anyone else have a problem with each track pausing for a few seconds between tracks before it continues?

I'm pretty sure this disk should be "Gapless", shouldn't it?

I gave Guero a spin this morning. Plays gapless for me. Fun disc!

 

[Dylan Berichon]

I gave Guero a spin this morning. Plays gapless for me. Fun disc!

Oddly enough, I ejected the disk and put it back in, and it played problem free!

Very odd.