Ben Folds Concerto for Piano and Orchestra DTS-CD??

[ogrequad]

So, at my local Bull Moose store, I stumbled across a disc that I have never seen/heard of before, and a quick QQ search brought up nothing. It's Ben Folds "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra" and it is labeled on the front artwork as a "Limited Edition". It also says that it contains a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix of the Concerto, which was originally released on his "So There" album: Ben Folds So There

It comes in a card sleeve with credits on the back, which list none other than Elliot Scheiner (with Mathew Scheiner) as being in charge of production, recording, and the surround mix. It also was mastered for 5.1 by Bob Ludwig.

The strange thing is that, when I popped it into my player, it registered as a CD, so it must be a DTS-CD. However, can a DTS-CD also be encoded in DTS-HD Master Audio?? I thought that only Blu-Ray discs had a capacity for Master Audio, so I'm confused about this.

Anyway, it's a really great mix, with some nice discrete elements, especially for an orchestral recording. Fidelity is excellent, as you can imagine, with Scheiner and Ludwig working on it.

Is anyone else familiar with this disc? I couldn't even find a listing on Discogs!

 

[ogrequad]

Some photos:

 

[ogrequad]

And the best part? I spent a whopping $3.97 on it - and it was sealed!

 

[J. PUPSTER]

And the best part? I spent a whopping $3.97 on it - and it was sealed!

Yes odd for sure - what player are you using?
Looks like a spin off of a Acura ELS disc-
https://store.newwestrecords.com/products/ben-folds-concerto-for-piano-cd

 

[jefe1]

I think this dvd came packaged with an LP set.
Not originally sold separate.
You got real lucky finding it.

Edit
It now seems from above the store sells it as a stand alone now
But how can a CD have dts master audio 5.1?

 

[ogrequad]

Yes odd for sure - what player are you using?
Looks like a spin off of a Acura ELS disc-
https://store.newwestrecords.com/products/ben-folds-concerto-for-piano-cd

I tried both in my Sony Blu-Ray player and my Denon DVD player (which plays DVD-A and SACD), and they both read it as a CD but still put out full 5.1 sound.

The liner notes say "Thanks to Acura and ELS". Thanks for the link!

 

[ogrequad]

I think this dvd came packaged with an LP set.
Not originally sold separate.
You got real lucky finding it.

Yeah, check out J.Pupster's post above - looks like it's now available as a separate disc through the label, so not as rare as I originally thought. Still, a nice snag for $4!

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Could it be some kind of authoring thing, that it reads like a CD, but is in fact dts-HD Master Audio Blu-ray files?

*also here's an au Amazon listing that says Blu-ray compatible? also US listing I believe:
https://www.amazon.com.au/So-There-Concerto-Amazon-Exclusive/dp/B0162FQ0NM

 

[jefe1]

Another mystery for QQ.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Someone needs to see what the disc shows up as in MakeMKV and rip those suckers!

 

[sjcorne]

Great find! Personally, I would guess that this is a DTS-CD (like Scheiner's recent 5.1 mix of Alain Mallet's Mutt Slang) and that the master audio labeling is just a marketing mistake--unless you're in-the-know, it's pretty easy to mix up the various flavors of DTS.

 

[privateuniverse]

Ooooh....I'm a big fan of Ben's and somehow I missed this. Need to get a copy!

 

[humprof]

You can preview it on YouTube:


(The other two movements are here and here.)



Also: if you Google "Ben Folds Concerto review," you'll get lots of . . . well, reviews, as well as interviews and feature stories, including one on NPR and another in Gramophone.

 

[4-earredwonder]

I tried both in my Sony Blu-Ray player and my Denon DVD player (which plays DVD-A and SACD), and they both read it as a CD but still put out full 5.1 sound.

The liner notes say "Thanks to Acura and ELS". Thanks for the link!

Love the music. Are the rears ambient only or are there some discrete elements? Oops, JUST noticed it was mixed into 5.1 by Elliot Scheiner and mastered at Gateway Studios by the great Bob Ludwig so QUALITY ASSURED!

edit: just ordered a copy ....... $12.00 + $6.60 s/h and NO sales tax.......

 

[humprof]

Ordered. And since it's New West, I added a copy of Steve Earle's tribute album to his son, J.T. Thanks, @ogrequad!

 

[RustyStatic]

Beauty! Great find and thanks for the heads up @ogrequad. Ordered as well! At New West right now they’re like “what the hell is going on with this weird Ben Folds disc flying off the shelves?”

 

[timbre4]

Okay quick research shows Ben Folds working with Elliot Scheiner working together with Acura involvement. 2014 press release
Discogs does show limited edition version of So There (2 LP + "HD DVD" = full album in 24/96 stereo) and there is no mention of this DTS CD anywhere.

This leads me to believe this was never commercially available and more of a rare PROMO item that would be great ELS demo material benefiting Acura and it's forthcoming 2015 TLX. Maybe came with the car?

 

[ogrequad]

I'm glad that some others have been able to snag a copy of this release!

 

[humprof]

Okay quick research shows Ben Folds working with Elliot Scheiner working together with Acura involvement. 2014 press release
Discogs does show limited edition version of So There (2 LP + "HD DVD" = full album in 24/96 stereo) and there is no mention of this DTS CD anywhere.

This leads me to believe this was never commercially available and more of a rare PROMO item that would be great ELS demo material benefiting Acura and it's forthcoming 2015 TLX. Maybe came with the car?

It's actually listed at Amazon as "Currently Unavailable"--but also as an "Amazon Exclusive." Was it actually sold there briefly in 2015?

 

[timbre4]

It's actually listed at Amazon as "Unavailable"--but also as an "Amazon Exclusive." Was it actually sold there briefly in 2015?

I have to think a 3rd dealer or private seller listed it through Amazon; the UPC is dead for results and I don't believe that Amazon itself would stock an item with such low or uncertain inventory. The plot thickens!