DVD/DTS Poll Ohio Players - Fire [DTS CD]

[Bob Romano]

Please post your comments, thoughts and observations.......

 

[EMB]

Like HONEY, great, fun mix...don't like the music quite as much as that one, but given how few R&B albums are in multi-channel, it's nice they put this one out...another '8.'

ED

 

[Eggplant]

Fabulous.

One of the very best of the original quad mixes.
The DTS release a decade ago should have spawned firework celebrations in the surround community for this rare gift from the Quad God.

Not only quite discrete, with lots of percussion in the rears, but in all respects a very well engineered recording. I don't know what album I'd pick for better-sounding drums from 1974. Sonics hold up well and compare favorably to the original stereo. One of the first mixes to spread the drum kit over all four channels, most notably on "I Want to Be Free". Having heard this track originally on Q8, I originally thought the barely-audible hi-hat cymbal had been intentionally potted down, but it in this full-fidelity version it can be clearly heard for the first time.

Beyond the classic title chart-topper -- one of my favorites of the 70's -- and IWTBF (the other hit, reaching Billboard #44), other tracks range from pleasant to strange. No matter. Two great surround tracks is certainly reason enough to drop a few bucks.

I part company with others who prefer Honey -- this mix is both more discrete and more faithful to the original.

A firm 9.

Somewhere in this wide strange world are the long-lost quad mixes of Skin Tight and Contradiction.

If only . . .

 

[ClarkNovak]

Too very cool! Probably my favorite so far of all the DTS discs. VERY discrete indeed!

 

[breakingglass]

:banana:

 

[carledwards]

Always liked this album and this MC version is excellent! For me, this was their best album. The bass is outstanding and the surround channels are utilized nicely. A 10 all the way.

 

[rusinurbe]

Great DTS disc though not quite as good as Honey IMHO.

The music is quite funky all the same and the mix is 70s 'Quadtastic'

Well Worth the £5:00 i paid for it recently

 

[Quad Linda]

5. Not a bad mix, far from fantastic. Same for the performance. I prefer the Honey Quad, but this one is good, too.

Saw them live a few years ago. They were great.

 

[fredblue]

it's a "9" from me.

the mix, the fidelity, the music are all easily among the very best of any quad I've heard!
Honey's great too but I prefer this.
the tapes for these two must have been well cared for, they sound terrific!
for DTS cd's of quad material these are exemplary.. I'm quite sure these could have been released as is on SACD and nobody would have grumbled! high-res terrific!

it does seem a bit mad that Skin Tight (another of the OP's great albums) didn't get similar treatment.. but then with this 5.1 music lark, common sense and logic invariably go right out the window straight away!

 

[skherbeck]

Funk, yeah! This is a great sounding disc... The mix is discrete and active with percussion all over the place; the fidelity is full and dynamic and the bass is prominent (but not overly so). The sound quality is on par with the recent Audio Fidelity SACD quads, and is one of the better-sounding DTS CDs. If you like a little funk or R&B, this definitely satisfies... "What The Hell" is an especially fun and chaotic romp. The cover's not too bad either (maybe I should have been a fireman!)... But nothing beats the "Honey" gatefold... An 8.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Reminds me of Tower of Power at times, also Kool and the Gang and Mike Bloomfield's Living in the Fast Lane album.
Great mix. Very decent sonics.
9 just 'cause.

 

[Clement]

Yowza! This disc is quite a gift--figuratively and literally (it arrived this morning, a real, unexpected treasure). In my younger years, I owned three Ohio (long) Players: Skin Tight, Fire, and Honey. To me, they were all equally essential. I never heard the quad mixes, so going through this today (I'm on my third spin) is quite a revelation.
Let me interrupt the flow for a moment to once again note that QQ has put the joy into enjoying when it comes to dts CDs; I came to surround sound a little over a year ago through SACDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays, and I thought of dts CDs as an inferior precursor to superior technology. And though there is more than a little truth in that last sentence, it certainly doesn't detract from a much larger truth: there are some killer dts CDs our there . . . and this is mos' def' one of them--the shiznit, as the youth are wont to say!
From the opening sirens and horns behind me to the drums and bass upfront, this mix caught my attention--then horns up front and percussion bouncing back and forth behind me--as @skherbeck so aptly put: FUNK, YEAH!
And the mix just gets better from there, really cumming "Together" with the next track.
The third track's mix takes its cue from the title: "Runnin' From the Devil" and the lyrics "keep on movin'" . . . discrete feat!
Butt weight! There's MORE: "I Want to Be Free" . . . the drums are really set free on this track--comin' atchya from all four corners . . . "free . . . free . . . I want to be free!"
Now, you can't have fire without "Smoke," and had the next track replaced the surgeon general's warning on packs of squares--the tobacco industry would be long gone by now--this track is nearly as infectious as the title track, and the mix is even better--much more adventurous (nearly every track's mix tops the preceding one--forilla, Godzilla!)
"It's All Over" reminds us that the band can do sad, slow jams, but it's nothing compared to the mad mix intensity of
"What the Hell"--the epitome of what @rusinurbe calls "70s 'Quadtastic'"! This track is a straight-up sticky sick mix of funk bliss!
The comedown surround sound of "Together/Feelings" is a mellow exit after the preceding swell of a trip to hell . . . yes! That's a 10 for me, baby!

 

[Philip Spinner]

You need to get Honey next if you don't already. It's just as good if not better. Rollercoaster is a trip.

 

[quicksrt]

I use "Fire" as a demo song, just great bass and drumming sections of toms pounding from rear channels never gets old.

Everyone loves this song.

 

[marpow]

I voted 9. Really good surround disc in 5.1 20/44.1 DTS CD. Great moments of active surround, good use of rears. Cool when on tracks 1 & 7 when swirling fire engine goes around room.
I love the music. Probably could be a 10 but I feel stingy.

 

[Goona]

Not sure who suggested this album to me. But have to say a big thank you. One of my favourite albums from the 70,s along with Machine Gun (Commodores). The surround on this album is fantastic, cannot believe after all these years getting to hear how this was meant to be heard, I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who likes The Ohio Players and forget what people say about DTS being lossy this is an excellent example of how good DTS can be.

 

[jefe1]

I didn't know there was music inside those covers. Guess I'd better investigate.

 

[HDave]

I still prefer the sound of my original release vinyl compared to this, definitely why I sold it on fleabag. I think I had it rated a 5 cause that's my lowest, since I don't own it anymore I withdrew my vote. Not a very good surround disc had it's moments but the 2.0 is better.