HiRez Poll Phillips, Anthony - WISE AFTER THE EVENT [DVD-A]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this February 2016 deluxe reissue of the 1978 album by Anthony Phillips "Wise After the Even" containing a DVD-A disc with a 5.1 mix of the original album (and more).

You can check it out at Cherry Hill Records, as well as find it on Amazon and other places on the web. You can also visit his website HERE for additional information on this release.

PRE-RELEASE DISCUSSION THREAD: https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...uot-Coming-in-5-1-surround&highlight=phillips

 

[Neil Palfreyman]

My thoughts are: I still need to listen to it! It's a travesty that it arrived a couple of weeks ago and I've been so busy that I haven't had chance to listen yet. Shocking!

 

[rusinurbe]

On first listen a very nice album and very good surround mix without upsetting the musical setting, Like Neil I have had so much to listen to that I have not really given anything a full chance. Hopefully over Easter Ill get a chance to give a few things a full critical listen

 

[rtbluray]

This Anthony Phillips series is really quite a pleasant surprise! Who would have ever thought that his solo albums would get the attention they have received with such deluxe reissues and 5.1 surround mixes? I never would have thought that would happen a few years ago.

I'm giving this one a '9' after two full listens, simply because the content on this one is not as good as its predecessor "The Geese and the Ghost", so here's how I would break down my '9' vote:

Content: 2/3
Surround Mix: 3/3
Fidelity: 3/3
High-Res Disc: 1/1

There's no doubt that Anthony Phillips' music naturally lends itself to surround sound. The thick blend of guitars and keyboards and their interweaving parts is a natural fit for surround, and the fidelity of this disc is also exceptional.
If you liked "The Geese & The Ghost", I have no doubt that you will also enjoy this album too.
Now bring on "Sides"!

 

[Neil Palfreyman]

Agree entirely. For me "The Geese and the Ghost" is one of the standout surround albums of recent years. I need to find time to give Wise a listen.

 

[LizardKing]

Its good - but this one didn't grab me like Geese and the Ghost did.

 

[blue.monk]

Excellent mix and strong fidelity. It's more song-based than Geese and the Ghost and the material is rather introspective and wispy but with some clever turns and fine arrangements. Ant handles all the vocals but I personally don’t feel his voice has the strength and character to sustain an entire album. I’d recommend Geese over this one but still find it an enjoyable listen and a welcome release to be sure. An 8 for me.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Excellent mix and strong fidelity. It's more song-based than Geese and the Ghost and the material is rather introspective and wispy but with some clever turns and fine arrangements. Ant handles all the vocals but I personally don’t feel his voice has the strength and character to sustain an entire album. I’d recommend Geese over this one but still find it an enjoyable listen and a welcome release to be sure. An 8 for me.

This one failed the YouTube.0 audition for me, mostly due to the vocals. I haven't auditioned Sides yet - how do you feel it stacks up against WAtE?

 

[blue.monk]

I haven't auditioned Sides yet - how do you feel it stacks up against WAtE?

I haven't heard it in years but remember it being a mixed bag for me. I'll give it a fresh listen before deciding to order or not the new version.

 

[colsky]

This one failed the YouTube.0 audition for me, mostly due to the vocals. I haven't auditioned Sides yet - how do you feel it stacks up against WAtE?

Sides is more commercial song based than Wise, with more of the vocals handled by others. I've always preferred it to Wise, which I love too.

 

[colsky]

Just realised that I haven't voted on this yet. I'm going for a 10, based on the quality of the sound and the surround mix, although I do love this album anyway.

I must admit to being a little confused on people's votes now. I've always voted on a disc purely based on sound quality, rather than how I felt about the quality of the songs. This was how I thought that votes were supposed to be made, but reading through poll threads it seems that more and more people are factoring in their opinion of the album concerned in their votes

 

[edisonbaggins]

..reading through poll threads it seems that more and more people are factoring in their opinion of the album concerned in their votes

The guidelines from the mods are: 3/sonics, 3/mix, 3/content (music), 1/misc/packaging/etc

There tends to be a community preference for voters to not weight their like of the music TOO extremely heavily, but I think if you stick with the mods guidelines you won't.
E.g. if you hate a disc musically that sounds great and is in a great package you might still give it a 7, right?

 

[colsky]

The guidelines from the mods are: 3/sonics, 3/mix, 3/content (music), 1/misc/packaging/etc

There tends to be a community preference for voters to not weight their like of the music TOO extremely heavily, but I think if you stick with the mods guidelines you won't.
E.g. if you hate a disc musically that sounds great and is in a great package you might still give it a 7, right?

I've always taken content to mean that I should factor in the amount/quality of the extras, rather than the quality of the actual songs themselves. For example, the Tull releases have such good extras, that's got to be worth something. What bugs me sometimes is you could get a situation (I'm making up a hypothetical situation here) where there's a high quality sounding release. e.g. The Yes Album, getting mostly 9's and 10's, and then someone comes along saying "this sounds great, but I don't like this Yes album" and votes say 6 or 7, bringing down the average.

Anyhoo, I don't want to derail this poll thread, I love you all, and I'm eating chilli and drinking beer :brew !!

 

[fizzywiggs41]

The guidelines from the mods are: 3/sonics, 3/mix, 3/content (music), 1/misc/packaging/etc

There tends to be a community preference for voters to not weight their like of the music TOO extremely heavily, but I think if you stick with the mods guidelines you won't.
E.g. if you hate a disc musically that sounds great and is in a great package you might still give it a 7, right?

I understand your point, edison' , but if it's a disc I hate-musically, I probably would not give it a post-or vote.I would prefer to ignore it as I could not recommend it.



That being said I agree with Colsky on this disc by Ant Phillips.Great dvda quality, and a great prog rock album.Can't wait til I get "Sides"
"I'm giving "Wise" a nine, it's quite enjoyable I think.

 

[rusinurbe]

A very strong 9 for me, love the music the mix is great and from someone who knows that's its about more than big stereo.
The extras on CD rather than dvda or blu ray are where it drops the point. If I could give 9.5 it would be a better reflection

 

[rtbluray]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Musical content has to play a part in the judgment criteria because at the end of the day, we're still listening to MUSIC, and let's face it, some albums just don't stack up as well as others. For example, this one is pretty good, but it's nowhere near as good from a content standpoint as albums like "Hand. Cannot. Erase." or "Oranges & Lemons", and that has to be taken into account to separate the good from the best. As always, ymmv…

 

[Neil Palfreyman]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Musical content has to play a part in the judgment criteria because at the end of the day, we're still listening to MUSIC, and let's face it, some albums just don't stack up as well as others. For example, this one is pretty good, but it's nowhere near as good from a content standpoint as albums like "Hand. Cannot. Erase." or "Oranges & Lemons", and that has to be taken into account to separate the good from the best. As always, ymmv…

...but a lot of people, me included, come to QQ specifically for the info on the mix. My view is that personal rating of musical content is always going to be more subjective than a rating of the quality of the audio and the surround mix and I would sooner read about peoples view of the mix than the musical content.

There's loads of sites out there that focus on musical content but there's only one QQ.

 

[edisonbaggins]

...but a lot of people, me included, come to QQ specifically for the info on the mix. My view is that personal rating of musical content is always going to be more subjective than a rating of the quality of the audio and the surround mix and I would sooner read about peoples view of the mix than the musical content.

There's loads of sites out there that focus on musical content but there's only one QQ.

I'm pretty sure there is a whole thread about this already! But anyway, here's another angle to consider: yes, some don't like that three points are dedicated to musicality, but I have found plenty of threads where some obvious bias was at work kind of in a different way: some Silverline hatred causing posters to trash a disc that is actually pretty good, metal/hardcore haters trashing a disc, no comments on the mix even, then I listen to it and it sounds awesome.
For me, I'd like to see those posters knock off a couple/few points for genre (and comment), then be fair toward the mix/dynamics, etc.
The way we all relate to, react to and review music is imperfect, but I think the mods guidelines are actually pretty fair.
When an album of mostly crap music has a mix you just have to hear, word tends to get around anyway, like with Brittany Spears.

 

[Neil Palfreyman]

Fair points, all. I guess that's why it's important to leave a text post explaining any rating. That way readers can work out where the reviewer is coming from. I would never trust a lower or higher than average rating without an explanation.

 

[rtbluray]

...but a lot of people, me included, come to QQ specifically for the info on the mix. My view is that personal rating of musical content is always going to be more subjective than a rating of the quality of the audio and the surround mix and I would sooner read about peoples view of the mix than the musical content.

There's loads of sites out there that focus on musical content but there's only one QQ.

Trust me, if there's anything I've learned from my time here on QQ, mix and audio quality is also very subjective too. Music might be the most subjective of the three, but judging all three pieces of criteria equally means that one piece of criteria won't run away with the majority opinion. It's a good checks-and-balances system.
But I agree with you that posting a review is even more important than voting, so that way other members can decide whether a vote holds any merit for them.