HiRez Poll Harrison, George - ALL THINGS MUST PASS [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[key_wiz]

I should perhaps start by saying I’ve never been one who loved this album. Is it one of the best Beatles solo albums? Yes. But, sadly, that’s a low bar for a band who had almost nothing but classic, nearly perfect albums as a group. (But that’s a topic for another thread.). Had I owned this album since its release, perhaps I’d have that same love for it others have, but I didn’t.

so—material wise? It’s an 8. 1/3 of the tracks I can do without. And I won’t even include the jam disc in this. (I’m only reviewing the surround here, and those tracks were only recorded to two-track in the first place).

Mix? The Spector mix has always been a muck. Clearly there was only so much that could be done with it. This is no “Abbey Road” for sure. But they do nicely with what they have. I don’t have an Atmos set up yet, but the Atmos mix played in 5.1 is far superior to the DTS 5.1, which sadly seems to be an afterthought.

Yes, the bass is too loud. But I’m not complaining much. It does make it rock more. The rears are nice and active with tons of discreet elements. It’s a nice enveloping mix. The key is to play it loud enough so that it opens up. Played at low volume and it’s just a muddy mess. At least on my system in my room.

I’m torn between an 8 and 9 on this one. It’s a nice mix, but this isn’t a “reference” or “demo” disc. Not even close.

Don’t know it it’s totally fair but I’m going with an “8” because of the price. It’s a nice set, but what is here that we haven’t gotten on the Jethro Tull or Tears for Fears sets for a fraction of the price?

Will these sets continue? I hope so. Will I pay over $100 for “Living in a Material World”? I don’t think so. I’ll settle for streaming or whatever else at that point.

 

[key_wiz]

Oh—-I should also add—- I don’t know if it’s a defective disc I got, or my player just doesn’t like it or whatever (no one else has complained about this I don’t think) but the menu access is a mess. At first I thought it didn’t work at all. Then I noticed it was moving but the cursor wouldn’t move. And I have to press it random times to get it to go where I need to go. I guess I’ll try it on my other player and if it doesn’t work I’ll on that one I’ll try to return it. But still…. For the $$$?

 

[~dave~~wave~]

Oh—-I should also add—- I don’t know if it’s a defective disc I got, or my player just doesn’t like it or whatever (no one else has complained about this I don’t think) but the menu access is a mess. At first I thought it didn’t work at all. Then I noticed it was moving but the cursor wouldn’t move. And I have to press it random times to get it to go where I need to go. I guess I’ll try it on my other player and if it doesn’t work I’ll on that one I’ll try to return it. But still…. For the $$$?

I believe you will find, as I and many others have observed, that your menu issue is due to the "highlighted" menu choices being nearly invisible.

The bright white background with dark green type dazzles my aging eyes. The "highlighted" selection is then actually "lowlighted" as black, so nearly imperceptible contrast with the other dark green choices.

The menu designer trying to be a little too clever, nothing wrong with your disc or player, most likely.

This is a crap photo, but can you tell that the next selected track is If Not For You?
It is slightly "bolder" and darker.

These video designers assume we are all watching on gigantic hi-res monitors like they are.

 

[Strilo]

Will these sets continue? I hope so. Will I pay over $100 for “Living in a Material World”? I don’t think so. I’ll settle for streaming or whatever else at that point.

I hope so as well. I don't think a set for Living In The Material World would have nearly as much content for a huge set, but I would pay for an Atmos mix of that album as well. I cannot help but wonder if Cloud Nine would be next, though...

 

[admsh]

I cannot help but wonder if Cloud Nine would be next, though...

Yes please!!! I'll take either one of those. Cloud Nine would be fabulous in multichannel. And if we do get it, wouldn't that be the first Jeff Lynne production in surround? (correction, I guess not really: Jeff Lynne Song Database - The Quadraphonic Mixes (And Other Multi-channel mixes)

 

[Quadkid]

I believe you will find, as I and many others have observed, that your menu issue is due to the "highlighted" menu choices being nearly invisible.

The bright white background with dark green type dazzles my aging eyes. The "highlighted" selection is then actually "lowlighted" as black, so nearly imperceptible contrast with the other dark green choices.

The menu designer trying to be a little to clever, nothing wrong with your disc or player, most likely.

This is a crap photo, but can you tell that the next selected track is If Not For You?
It is slightly "bolder" and darker.

These video designers assume we are all watching on gigantic hi-res monitors like they are.




View attachment 72663

I so agree! It’s maddening what they did! Turns a enjoyable album into a chore to listen to. Come on, you had one job!!!!

 

[Todd 987]

I guess I have two contrary feelings about this release. I’ve had this in different formats, starting with the record and it never sounded that great, though I would like to hear the lp again. This 5.1 mix is the best ATMP I have heard by far and am lucky to own it. But…somehow it feels like there were a couple of missed opportunities In the mix.

It is a solid 9, and will be a regular listen.

 

[bktouchstone]

I wanted to like the surround mix a lot as there are two of my favorite post-Beatles singles, My Sweet Lord and What is Life on this album. Some of the issues are due to the source materials and the embedded production effects compliments of producer Phil Spector. I think these limit the potential fidelity of the remix. Also, I think to make this sound its best in surround you probably have to boost the surround speakers a bit. My system is calibrated and other surround mixes sound great, but the rear spears on ATMP atmos seem weak. This is like stepping out of bounds on an Olympic floor routine and result in an automatic point deduction because I am lazy. Also I am worried that I will forget the custom setting and screw up the setup for subsequent listens to other surround mixes. So I tried listening to the LPCM stereo 192k version and played it on DTS Neural X, or something like that, aka “fake surround” and it wasn’t bad at all. Double and triple albums are also tough due to time constraints, task lists around the house, a spouse who wants some attention, pets, friends, life, etc. But no points were deducted for artistic largesse. So if you are not lazy and don’t mind boosting your surrounds, it’s probably an 8, but I gave it a 7 again due to my own laziness, for which I can’t blame either Spector or the Harrison estate..

 

[tlake6659]

I wanted to like the surround mix a lot as there are two of my favorite post-Beatles singles, My Sweet Lord and What is Life on this album. Some of the issues are due to the source materials and the embedded production effects compliments of producer Phil Spector. I think these limit the potential fidelity of the remix. Also, I think to make this sound its best in surround you probably have to boost the surround speakers a bit. My system is calibrated and other surround mixes sound great, but the rear spears on ATMP atmos seem weak. This is like stepping out of bounds on an Olympic floor routine and result in an automatic point deduction because I am lazy. Also I am worried that I will forget the custom setting and screw up the setup for subsequent listens to other surround mixes. So I tried listening to the LPCM stereo 192k version and played it on DTS Neural X, or something like that, aka “fake surround” and it wasn’t bad at all. Double and triple albums are also tough due to time constraints, task lists around the house, a spouse who wants some attention, pets, friends, life, etc. But no points were deducted for artistic largesse. So if you are not lazy and don’t mind boosting your surrounds, it’s probably an 8, but I gave it a 7 again due to my own laziness, for which I can’t blame either Spector or the Harrison estate..

Try the Atmos mix doenmixed to 5.1

 

[popshop]

Please consider giving it your attention for at least one listen. If you aren't hearing loud guitars and vocals in the rears on What Is Life you may want to check your system. Lots going on in general.
You can always come back and bump your score up

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Try the Atmos mix doenmixed to 5.1

I agree. In pretty much all of the Atmos releases I have played on my 5.1 system, that is the best option mix wise.

 

[ar surround]

Try the Atmos mix doenmixed to 5.1

I agree. In pretty much all of the Atmos releases I have played on my 5.1 system, that is the best option mix wise.

What I did was rip the 7.1 TrueHD stream using DVD AudioExtractor. Then I removed the two channels as indicated in the screen shot below thereby creating a 5.1 from the TrueHD stream. The two channels that I eliminated contain reverb only. Although these channels do not play back at a significant volume, it is a way to even further de-Spectorize the mix. (I do play the Atmos layer, but sometimes I'm too lazy to get up and load the disc. So I just play a song or two in 5.1 from the ripped files.)

 

[martyn7772]

Just a heads up for UK buyers. This is £48 on Amazon uk right now. The cheapest I had seen it before was £75ish. Now to decide between this or Toto IV sacd. I can't have both

 

[DuncanS]

Just a heads up for UK buyers. This is £48 on Amazon uk right now. The cheapest I had seen it before was £75ish. Now to decide between this or Toto IV sacd. I can't have both

Get the George Harrison it'll only go in up in price (great album), the Toto will stay the same so get it later!

 

[madscot]

Very tempted but not willing to pay £48 for an atmos disc, the cd’s would be untouched as I already have the album

 

[wrat]

Mixed bag IMO there are some good songs here but also some filler the mix is what it is, sounds as good as its going to probably solid 7 overall

 

[ar surround]

Mixed bag IMO there are some good songs here but also some filler the mix is what it is, sounds as good as its going to probably solid 7 overall

I find it fascinating that a few people have said that there is some filler in the album. When I got the vinyl when it first came out, my juvenile brain did not consider any of the tracks to be filler, except for Apple Jam. After a gazillion plays, it must have gotten embedded in my young brain as I still have that opinion today. I think that @edisonbaggins also stated somewhere that there is some filler, but my now senior brain can't remember if he mentioned any songs. So I would be interested to know which tracks some consider to be filler as perhaps I need to be deprogrammed. LOL

 

[AshBuchanan]

Just a heads up for UK buyers. This is £48 on Amazon uk right now. The cheapest I had seen it before was £75ish. Now to decide between this or Toto IV sacd. I can't have both

It's at £270 now

 

[madscot]

It's at £270 now

That is for the Japanese SHM-CD version, the normal box is £103, so much cheaper lol

 

[popshop]

I find it fascinating that a few people have said that there is some filler in the album. When I got the vinyl when it first came out, my juvenile brain did not consider any of the tracks to be filler, except for Apple Jam. After a gazillion plays, it must have gotten embedded in my young brain as I still have that opinion today. I think that @edisonbaggins also stated somewhere that there is some filler, but my now senior brain can't remember if he mentioned any songs. So I would be interested to know which tracks some consider to be filler as perhaps I need to be deprogrammed. LOL

I think I Dig Love and one version of Isn't It A Pity were mentioned. I'd agree, but wish that I Live For You was included in the 2021 version.
I think comparisons to 70s film are apropos. Pacing is just completely different 50 years later. Something like Five Easy Pieces or Easy Rider wouldn't be made now, but if they were they'd be shorter with quick cuts.
Also funny that Awaiting On You All was actually shorter, and Phil made it longer.
Such a wonderful album.