DVD/DTS Poll Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (An Extended Performance) [DTS DVD]

[IMachine]

It arrived today and I have to choose PCM Stereo in the menu to get the 5.1 DTS track.
Weird @:

 

[JohnN]

It arrived today and I have to choose PCM Stereo in the menu to get the 5.1 DTS track.
Weird @:

In player aspect ratio must be set to 16:9 to avoid this problem.

Read more: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...on-due-june-2014.346420/page-14#post-10705495

 

[rtbluray]

Can't go for a full 10 on this one. So a '9' it is.
Main reason? You guessed it. No MLP 5.1, just DTS and "Dullby".
It still boggles my mind how they can continue to put out DVD-V for these Tull releases when there simply isn't enough worthwhile video content!
A ballerina moving her arms and hands a little bit and a slideshow of pics from the Passion Play era? That takes precedence over lossless 5.1 audio? Unreal...no wonder we love Mr Wilkes work so much. He has his priorities straight.
So with my main gripe out of the way, let me say that this is a great 5.1 mix of my 2nd favorite Tull album (behind "Thick as a Brick"). There aren't really any highlights on this particular disc since it stands together as one big work, but it's a full on surround assault for an album that was too big for stereo to contain, like "Lizard" from King Crimson. The two things that standout most to me about this disc is Ian's soprano sax, which always gave this album such a distinctive sound, and Barriemore Barlow's powerhouse drumming. His playing pushed Tull further and further towards musical greatness in a way that no other Tull drummer has ever come close to.
The Chateau disc really doesn't do anything for me, but maybe that's because I just need to listen to it some more. It certainly is a very discrete mix like APP but it lacks the same power and intensity. Still it's nice to have some alternate 5.1 mixes of "Skating Away" and "Only Solitaire". I can only hope it's a preview of things to come with a remix of "War Child".

 

[sukothai]

The Chateau disc really doesn't do anything for me, but maybe that's because I just need to listen to it some more. It certainly is a very discrete mix like APP but it lacks the same power and intensity. Still it's nice to have some alternate 5.1 mixes of "Skating Away" and "Only Solitaire".

I completely agree. I gave "A Passion Play" a 10, but in no manner included "Chateau" in my rating. I consider the "Chateau" material interesting historical background - improved a bit over the same material in "Nightcap" by surround treatment, but the more I play it, the more I remember why (in my house) "Nightcap" didn't get much playtime. Of course I enjoy "Skating Away" and "Only Solitare" and the dissonant piano in "Critique Oblique" really tickles my brain, but the rest is really starting to get tiring. So tiring that I've begun skipping the whole "Chateau" part of the disc I made for car play so I can get back to "A Passion Play".

Come to think of it...

A Passion Play (in its entirety)
Chateau: Critique Oblique (part I)
Chateau: Critique Oblique (part 2)
Chateau: Only Solitaire
Chateau: Skating Away​

Now this would make a good "mix tape" for my car. I'll get to making this new disc right now...

 

[Frantic]

The entire package is easily a solid 10.

Thanks to all involved in the effort.

 

[geoffcb]

I agree with most sentiments, and I'd give the package a 10 except for no lossless 5.1. Surely a BluRay (if not DVD-A) would not have been a problem (or much more cost) to include. However, dts does sound good out of an Oppo 105, and it can output dts as 7.1 analog, so there's plenty in the rear channels!

Geoff

 

[blue.monk]

For those curious souls, Ian sheds some light on the "Steve, Caroline" thing (discussed above) in the new War Child liner notes. Steve is Steve Peacock, a journalist from Sounds who according to Ian "had written something very scathing about me personally". 'Only Solitaire' was Ian's response. He adds:

'Steve' also crops up at the end of A Passion Play, recorded in the wake of the Chateau sessions, with the shout of "Steve! Caroline!" Caroline was also a journalist - probably, thinking back, Caroline Coon. Possibly.

 

[GOS]

This one makes me a little giddy. Again, had this for some time...found it necessary to play again, listen closely and report.

Man - the surround mix is over the top great IMO. Ian's vocals are locked in center, some discreet guitars and other goodies find their ways to various speaker locations. This is so damn good. I suspect, you don't even have to be a Tull fan to really appreciate this quality.

Oh, and the whole packaging? wow, how cool is that? This is such an easy 10 for me. It has everything I love. Super, crystal clear vocals, pronounced bass and other instruments across a very wide sound stage.

This is high resolution surround. The way it was made to sound. What? This is from the 70's? OK.....what is everyone waiting for? One of the best I own....

10!

EDIT - I had to add this. Since the wife is gone, I realized that this disc totally jams. So....I gave the old Denon a little nudge...and wow, this disc absolutely will blow the roof off. Unbelievable......can I give it an 11?

 

[LuvMyQuad]

This got a 10 from me. It never was a go-to Tull album for me in my youth, but this release has given me a new respect for it. I suppose it could also be a few decades passing and my tastes changing.

The Passion Play surround mix is wonderful. I don't even mind the Dolby/DTS only codecs. I have heard many DTS surround products that sonically deliver as good or better than higher resolution releases. The Chateau disk is a winner as well. I had only heard snippets of this through the years. The fact that we get it all in one presentation AND in surround is just a thick layer of icing on this cake. I even enjoyed the video of the Hare. Is it just me or does anyone else really like the lead in music to that piece?

I have to say a few words about the packaging. For my $24 I got 2 CDs and 2 DVD's in a beautiful package. The disks are very nicely authored and the video components are nicely done. This is true value and I hope the trend catches on and releases like this continue. I only wish they had done Aqualung and Benefit the same way. I would have bought both. Don't wait on getting this if you are a Tull fan. You will kick yourself if it sells out and you are without one.

 

[Ge Someone]

The package is great and so is the surround mix. The Chateau tapes make a good listen too.
It's just not one of my favorite albums. Together that would be a 8 or 9 from me.

BTW. I don't take off a point for it being DTS (96/24) as this is the DTS/DD discs section. If a disc would have only DD then it might loose points.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Bringing up the strategic rear here, with a 7... Reasoning is that I don't like this as much as Benefit, which got an 8... hahahahaha
Just don't like this musically as much as most other JT I've heard. This feels noodley. It's got fun moments, but yeah... :-/

 

[GOS]

Noodley...LMAO!! That's awesome. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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[edisonbaggins]

Noodley...LMAO!! That's awesome. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Haha, I just mean they seem to meander a lot - the music doesn't often take me anywhere or engage me in the way some other Tull does. Good for background music, I suppose.

 

[ssully]

Haha, I just mean they seem to meander a lot - the music doesn't often take me anywhere or engage me in the way some other Tull does. Good for background music, I suppose.

 

[Ninecats]

What a great 5.1 disc this is, more punch and more dynamics, better separation and the already AMAZING drumming is even more amazing now. The format aside, this adventourus album can't possibly sound better to me, hence a 10. The fidelity is so great that it just flows, no fatigue at all.

Also, the Château d'Hérouville disc is very enjoyable to me. This shows some really interesting ideas, at times even more interesting than the material found on APP. Too bad it ended up the way it did, bittersweet I should say, because APP happens to be in my personal top 3 Tull.

 

[skherbeck]

The Chateau Sessions is just fantastic; incredible music from start to finish, excellent mix, and very good fidelity... I can't stop listening to this one! The same goes for "A Passion Play" (in terms of mix and fidelity)... with regards to content, I'm sure I would eventually love it if I could just make myself suffer through enough listens to get to that "A-ha" moment that the most complicated progressive music makes you work for. Alas, I'll settle for the enjoyment I get from "The Foot Of Our Stairs" and leave it at that... the Chateau Sessions alone are worth purchasing this package (especially for the extended "Critique Oblique", "No Rehearsal", and the alternate "Skating Away"). Overall I give this a 9 (mostly for the Chateau disc).

 

[Mirsset]

10! This and Under Wraps are the best vocal deliveries by IA.

 

[Mirsset]

Bringing up the strategic rear here, with a 7... Reasoning is that I don't like this as much as Benefit, which got an 8... hahahahaha
Just don't like this musically as much as most other JT I've heard. This feels noodley. It's got fun moments, but yeah... :-/

My tips for non-believers:
Right relaxed mood without external disturbances
Start the music from Forest Dance #2 segment
Great melodies, vocals and passion play guaranteed

PS You love Hemispheres and Brain Salad Surgery and talk about cookin' noodles here? C'mon...
Jokes aside. App is definitely not for everyone. Even IA and MB don't think much about it.

 

[jefe1]

This is the one package I skipped because I could not stand the music it seems so pretentious to me. I should have focused on the extra unreleased stuff on it. It is now too expensive to pick up. I also never got too old to rock n roll but it is still affordable if I change my mind.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Start the music from Forest Dance #2 segment

Definitely one of the best Tull instrumentals....