HiRez Poll Flaming Lips - AT WAR WITH THE MYSTICS [DVD-A]

[mattB2]

Yep, some artists and albums are like that. I remember when a friend first got me to listen to Zappa’s “We’re Only In It for the Money” back in the mid-70’s. I thought it was a disjointed piece of junk. Now, I count it among my all-time favorites. (Now there’s an album could sound great in surround!). Similarly, I found NIN’s “Downward Spiral” absolutely unlistenable when it was first released. But then sometime around the late-90’s it finally hit me as a challenging but rewarding listen.- - and the recent surround version is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

I remember buying the Mother's album when it first came out - I'd never heard of Frank Zappa at that point but I had to hear something that was in that kind of cover. Between that album and Dr John's "Gris Gris" my parents were wondering where my musical tastes were heading. Both albums would make great surround projects but I guess we can only dream.

 

[neil wilkes]

Giving this one an 8, although I was tempted to go a 10 just for the seriously irreverant version of Bo Rhap.
Marks lost here for the obvious ProTools mix & overcompression sucking out the low end too much for my liking, but that is the only problem - I can even access the Dobly stream, complete with Bleeps & Bloops, apparently.

Class packaging - the mix map is a great idea they introduced with Yoshimi, and this should be done more often IMHO.

Great Stuff.

 

[rusinurbe]

Ill give this a 9 , finally got round to getting this a week or so ago, it was on sale in my local borders for £10:99 less than a lot of other discs with no DVDA's.

This to me is much better than the Soft Bulliten DVDA, and typical of the flaming lips to squeeze everyting on to one disc whole album in off the wall surround, a great collection of songs. then add video's radio shows and out takes, and an outragous cover of Bohemian Rhapsody in wild and wacky surround.

How come the Flaming Lips can take the time to produce a product that is right on so many levels and a bargain content wise and yet bigger bands just sit on their buttocks ripping the fans off at every oppertunity.

Definite Keeper wish i jhad purchased it sooner.

 

[timbre4]

Don't forget that cover of Led Zeppelin's No Quarter stashed behind another song in the bonus section. Heck, I even enjoyed the 2006 Commencement!

 

[neil wilkes]

Don't forget that cover of Led Zeppelin's No Quarter stashed behind another song in the bonus section. Heck, I even enjoyed the 2006 Commencement!

Not found that one yet!
Must go & look for it.

 

[DennisMabry]

Don't forget that cover of Led Zeppelin's No Quarter stashed behind another song in the bonus section. Heck, I even enjoyed the 2006 Commencement!

How did I miss this one?? No Quarter is killer in PLII. Thanks for pointing that out! Now if we could just get Zep's version on 5.1 DVD-A.

 

[ssully]

Finally got around to listening to this yesterday (having owned if for a couple of months). Fantastic! A 10. (Though I do wish Wayne would leave more to the imagination and not explain what every song means. And sorry, I ain't putting moving my subwoofer to front center!)

I almost did a doubletake when my AVR showed '88.2 kHz' ;>

 

[wapfu]

Liked it so much going for there other one.

 

[Spencer1812]

I forget how I voted on this, But this gets better with every listen. A "10"

 

[Felix E. Martinez]

I'd really love to own this, but I've tried buying this 4 times at two different stores and each copy was damaged (broken spindle and/or hinge). I give up...

 

[jarofclay73]

A 10. Cool retro sounds and their penchant for humor really gives this album a boost. Great surround mix as usual. I held off on the CD as well so I could buy the DVD-A/CD.

I know everyone here is ripping Wayne vocals, and I won't say it's not bad. But, I have heard an improvement from "The Soft Bulletin" to "At War With The Mystics." And the difference from the Lips' 90s stuff is even more stark.

 

[Felix E. Martinez]

The fifth copy was the charm; so glad I gave it one last shot. Agree with everything Neil and Jarofclay said. Very, very strong album. Steven has really outdone himself in his orchestrations here. This 5.1 mix is my fave of the three releases so far.

 

[jarofclay73]

The fifth copy was the charm; so glad I gave it one last shot. Agree with everything Neil and Jarofclay said. Very, very strong album. Steven has really outdone himself in his orchestrations here. This 5.1 mix is my fave of the three releases so far.

Awesome! I'm glad you stuck with it! Worth it all! :banana:

 

[jdmack]

I have a question for you all. I just bought this album. On "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song," when the first falsetto "Ahh ahh ahh ahh...." vocal comes in, in the stereo mix it sounds fine, but on the 5.1 mix it's very distorted. Is that they way it is for you all, or is my system doing something weird at that point in the music?

J. D.

 

[wavelength]

I can hear some distortion when the first falsetto "Ahh ahh ahh ahh...." vocal comes in but it only last for a couple of seconds. It's not that pronounced.

 

[Cai Campbell]

I avoided the original stereo release even though it came out months before. Didn't want to be "tired" of the songs when I heard this.

I love the Lips and it has been PAINFUL not to listen to this title at all for the last 1.5 years for pretty much the same reason you mention. Not only did I not want to be tired of it by the time I was able to listen to it in surround sound, but I wanted my very first impression to be of the surround mix. In a nutshell, it was well worth the wait!

As is typical of the Flaming Lips this is a "funhouse mix" which may not work with everyone's music but is a perfect fit for them.

I couldn't agree more. Few bands can pull this off at all, let alone as consistently as the Lips have. I'd have to say that the surround mix of "At War With The Mystics" manages to find a welcome balance between a "funhouse mix" and a more conventional one. I'd even go so far as to say that this is my favorite surround mix by the Lips thus far, because it is both wild and cohesive.

Just like their surround presentation, I continue to be amazed at how the Lips can come up with music that remains true to their experimental roots yet is also incredibly accessible. It's like they've found that elusive sweet spot that so many bands strive for, and it comes across so naturally.

I guess what I'm saying is that "At War With The Mystics" continues the Lips' trend of spectacularly wacky popular music mixed to perfection. In my mind, they set the bar so incredibly high with "Yoshimi" that I didn't think they'd be able to clear it with "Mystics". That's another reason I was hesitant to listen to this disc. I didn't want it to detract from the magic of "Yoshimi". I am utterly thrilled to report that my angst was in vain. "At War With The Mystics" continues the Lips' upward trajectory. Another 10-point victory!

 

[Bill Houston]

Mix/Sonics: 10
Music: 7

 

[Bill Houston]

The Flaming Lips series of DVD-A releases are presented with more love and attention than any other I can think of. Meaningful bonus content, videos, and attractive package. I'm only a moderate fan, but their experimentation and passion seem to always win me over. I'm even a bigger fan of their newer releases: Embryonic and The Terror. Heartbreaking there is no 5.1 in pipe for those two releases. The FL releases should be a must own for anyone who likes 5.1. Check out their doc. The Fearless Freaksas well.

Mix/Sonics: 10
Music: 7

 

[keenly]

This is another title that is a victim of the stupid loudness wars. There is NO point in compressing the heck out of DDV Audio titles, they are NOT going to be played over radio! Foolish mastering decision!

Great 5.1 mixes ruined by horrible mastering; no dynamics, loud as hell. Mies are a 10 for me, mastering 1/10. Real shame.

 

[keenly]

The Flaming Lips series of DVD-A releases are presented with more love and attention than any other I can think of. Meaningful bonus content, videos, and attractive package. I'm only a moderate fan, but their experimentation and passion seem to always win me over. I'm even a bigger fan of their newer releases: Embryonic and The Terror. Heartbreaking there is no 5.1 in pipe for those two releases. The FL releases should be a must own for anyone who likes 5.1. Check out their doc. The Fearless Freaksas well.

Mix/Sonics: 10
Music: 7

Sonics 10? The mastering is horrendous. NO dynamics at all.