HiRez Poll Mitchell, Joni - THE ASYLUM ALBUMS (1972-1975) [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[privateuniverse]

I’ll have to vote with the crowd on this one.....

Same here. Can't really add much to the conversation that hasn't already been said. This sets a gold standard for other bands and record companies to aspire to:

Steely Dan - The ABC Years? Yes please!
The Kinks - The Reprise albums? Sign me up!
Squeeze - The A&M Collection? Take my money!
Electric Light Orchestra - The United Artists Era? I've died and gone to heaven!

But back to reality....I'll settle for the next set of Joni's Asylum albums in a Quadio box. Or perhaps a Warren Zevon Asylum albums set?

Anyway, four classic albums in excellent quad & Atmos mixes. Plus going the extra mile to create a new quad mix for an album that never had one. Anything less than a 10 is unthinkable.

Thank you @ForagingRhino for bringing this to us!

 

[edisonbaggins]

A VERY strong 10.
Life in Surround Review - Quad vs. Shootout

Excellent release @ForagingRhino

 

[Guy Robinson]

A VERY strong 10.
Life in Surround Review - Quad vs. Shootout

Excellent release @ForagingRhino

Good review. Your take on the set is EXACTLY what my take was when I posted in this thread back on May 6th. Good to know.

 

[4-earredwonder]

This was certainly a much appreciated labor oif intense love from the folks at Rhino. Especially, discovering MILES OF AISLES in the vaults which was never released as a CD~4 and then going a step further and remixing the multis into ATMOS was a mindblower!

As for the other three. Court and Spark has always been a classic favorite and to hear it finally in such startlingly clear sonics was a thrill indeed!

FOR THE ROSES AND HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS sounded equally spectacular.

And correct me if I'm wrong. But these four treasures were encoded at a much higer level than most of Rhino's new crop of BD~As and sounded especially vibrant. At 74 db [which I played the Jonis at] versus 80~84 db which I'm been playing most of my QUADIO BD~As at I wish all future QUADIOs be given the same treatment. Encode them at a higher level. The BD~A has plenty of headroom!

A 10!

 

[edisonbaggins]

This was certainly a much appreciated labor oif intense love from the folks at Rhino. Especially, discovering MILES OF AISLES in the vaults which was never released as a CD~4 and then going a step further and remixing the multis into ATMOS was a mindblower!

As for the other three. Court and Spark has always been a classic favorite and to hear it finally is such startlingly clear sonics was a thrill indeed!

FOR THE ROSES AND HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS sounded equally spectacular.

And correct me if I'm wrong. But these four treasures were encoded at a much higer level than most of Rhino's new crop of BD~As and sounded especially vibrant. At 74 db [which I played the Jonis at] versus 80~84 db which I'm been playing most of my QUADIO BD~As at I wish all future QUADIOs be given the same treatment. Encode them at a higher level. The BD~A has plenty of headroom!

A 10!

Spot on. I forgot to mention in my review that I'm impressed how well they level-matched all the mixes. Within 1 to 3 db, to my ears, to my taste.
I'd bet they were level-matching the vocal, but I listen for drums, because I want the BUMP!!!

 

[Dynamic Editor]

From a surround sound perspective, I'm really not getting much out of the For the Roses quad and Atmos mixes. Perhaps it's due to the instrumentation being a lot simpler than the other albums, but it's honestly pretty unrepresentative of how great the other mixes are.

 

[JDeanB]

I voted 10! Joni Mitchell's The Asylum Albums (72-75) sound wonderful in 5.1 surround and quad. While there are some differences between the quad & 5.1 mixes, they're minor. One thing I've picked up on is that on the quad mix of Court And Spark, 'People's Parties' doesn't fade into 'Same Situation' the way it does on the stereo & 5.1/Atmos mixes of the album (they have a few seconds of silence between them on the quad mix). And while it's great to have the original artwork of the albums faithfully reproduced with this box set, it would be great to have a booklet included with the lyrics and credits in larger type so they're eaiser to read (while I can always read the lyrics to Joni's songs on her website, it would be a good addition to have such a booklet as part of the set). Anyway, thanks to all at The Joni Mitchell Archives & Rhino for the collection (and bring on Mitchell's 1976 thru 1980 LPs in Surround/Atmos soon).

I got the Joni box yesterday and was a bit startled when I heard "People's Parties" complete without the fade into "Same Situation". I don't know if anyone else agrees, but I wish the lyrics would appear on the screen during the songs. That is one thing I do like about Apple Music: the lyrics do appear for many songs.

 

[Doug G.]

The original CD-4 doesn't have the immediate segue between those two songs either, so it isn't really an issue with this release.
Doug

 

[5.1 4 Life]

The original CD-4 doesn't have the immediate segue between those two songs either, so it isn't really an issue with this release.
Doug

Thanks for the info. I've never heard the original CD-4 of Court And Spark before but I figured that it was mixed without the segue between 'People's Parties' & 'Same Situation'.

 

[key_wiz]

Not much to say that hasn’t already been said. How can this not be a “10”? I haven’t played the quad mixes yet, but the Atmos mixes are great, fidelity is superb. Four classic 5 star albums. Stellar packaging. Hope there’s more to come! Bring on “Asylum Albums (1976-1980)” !

 

[sjcorne]

Yep, joining the "10" crowd. With the exception of Miles of Aisles, I much prefer the sonics and mixing decisions in the Atmos versions. It's all good fun to listen to though!
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/jon...-1972-75-quadio-4-0-quadraphonic-dolby-atmos/

 

[Titch]

A 10. No question. I've only ever listened to the stereo vinyl and CD versions for the last 40 years and it's like listening to them for the first time. Extraordinary dynamics, fidelity and clarity. So much better and more exhilarating than the CD versions from the Asylum Albums box set released a couple of years ago - it's like comparing the Stop Making Sense VHS tape with the recent 4K UHD.

 

[The56Kid]

Yep, joining the "10" crowd. With the exception of Miles of Aisles, I much prefer the sonics and mixing decisions in the Atmos versions. It's all good fun to listen to though!
https://immersiveaudioalbum.com/jon...-1972-75-quadio-4-0-quadraphonic-dolby-atmos/

Dammit! I guess I’m going to have to eventually give in to that Atmos gap in my listening space!

 

[4-earredwonder]

An absolute RAVE review of the Joni Asylum albums from blu.ray.com with an announcement that as this review was written the next batch of Asylum albums will be released within the next month:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Joni-Mitchell-The-Asylum-Albums-Blu-ray/361203/#Review

 

[Titch]

I believe anything less than 10, is just trolling for the sake of it. A+ review on Blu-ray.com.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Joni-Mitchell-The-Asylum-Albums-Blu-ray/361203/

 

[perzon57]

I gave it 8, but it's not trolling for the sake of it. I will play Court and Spark and The Hissing of Summer Lawns regularly, but the two others I will not, and $130 is costly for 2 albums.

 

[wavelength]

I gave it 8, but it's not trolling for the sake of it. I will play Court and Spark and The Hissing of Summer Lawns regularly, but the two others I will not, and $130 is costly for 2 albums.

Before buying this set I listened to all four albums multiple times on YouTube to be sure that I would like them. I'm not much for live albums but the other 3 are great.

 

[perzon57]

Before buying this set I listened to all four albums multiple times on YouTube to be sure that I would like them. I'm not much for live albums but the other 3 are great.

I listened to them several times also on AM in Atmos as those mixes was the ones I cared for, still I bought the set for the two albums I like, but I can't give a 10 for only those two given the price I paid.

 

[Todd 987]

Only have listened to the quad mixes. Very clean and crisp. Besides great performances. 10

 

[aoxomoxoa]

10 and I've never bought anything by Joni before.
I'm a convert.