DVD/DTS Poll Renaissance - TURN OF THE CARDS [DTS DVD]

[Lastingspaces]

1st post Lastingspaces ?
Welcome to the QQ forum !

Thanks Beefalo. I've been lurking for a good while, enjoying peoples' perspectives and finally decided I had something useful to add!

 

[R E Faust]

I voted 8 out of 10, though it was a close thing....nearly went for 7.

Marks knocked off for...

Cherry Red not making it clear that half the 5.1 tracks are upmixes
Not being a proper DVD-A despite the logo appearing on the box
One or two slight issues with the remixes - a little too much reverb on Annie's voice, lack of Harpsichord on Black Flame (it's too quiet IMHO)

I don't want to rank it lower as it might discourage others from getting it, I still think it's a good set and one of the bands best albums, and for my money fortunately the 3 tracks that are discrete mixes are the best 3 on the album.

Hopefully they have the multitracks for Scheherazade, but given Cherry Red have already done deluxe editions of Prologue, Ashes, Novella, Live and SFAS without 5.1 it looks like they might be gone....or did they not think about surround for those..?

 

[sunra]

Yes I am looking forward to them doing Scheherazade in 5.1! Wish they would do Ashes are Burning also, but you are right it’s probably not going to happen.

 

[Infomas]

Put me in the letdown camp.

This isn't my favorite Renaissance album to begin with (that would be A Song For All Seasons), but I enjoyed getting reacquainted with it, just the same, and I'm looking forward to hearing the famous "Academy of Music" show. The liner notes don't add much to the package, sadly--heavy on banal facts and anodyne quotes. The whole package is a decent enough value, though; the price came down to $32 by the time it shipped.

I sort of stopped reading after you said that "A Song for all Seasons" was better than anything before it. That album was pretty much when I stopped listening to them. I loved everything before that.

 

[Juggsnelson]

First off I love the fidelity on this release. A definite improvement over my original US LP. The upmixed tracks sound fine but it is obvious when listening to the album as a whole which tracks they are. The tracks in discrete surround are nicely done. Not reference material but certainly worth owning and fully engaging. The beginning of Black Flame transports you to another world. The bonus tracks and live set are nice additions. I'm pretty pleased overall, especially as I never saw this album getting this deluxe treatment. Bring on the whole catalog! I'm voting an 8 with the two points deducted for the upmixes and a slightly tame approach.

 

[JohnA]

Black flame and Mother Russia are the only half-decent surround tracks here

The others don't do Annie's voice justice, not in high-def terms.
LFE channel suspiciously quiet.

Can't give it below 7 because 6s have gone to inferior DTS mixes in this inflated world of ours..

Guess we should consider ourselves lucky we even got this eh..

 

[RustyStatic]

FWIW, I had to check what other QQers were saying about this about halfway through the first song... I adore the content, but the surround mix just sounded a bit thin/hollow... not terrible by any means (I know what THOSE sound like), just a bit like a missed opportunity, as some others have mentioned. Some moments are better than others, and I find that's mainly in the soft passages... when I want, and am expecting, some meat and some punch, that's where I just feel a lack of power and low end, and start to notice that it feels a bit hot in the midrange.

 

[Thonolan]

This is pretty good, and could have been excellent if the mutitrack tapes were available for the whole album. I absolutely adore Renaissance, and it's a shame that we could only get one album (Azure d'Or) and a half (this) in true surround - their music seems to be made for the format.

I'm a bit surprised that there seemed to be some confusion in previous messages regarding whether it's an upmix or a true surround mix. To my ears, the difference between the upmixed and the properly remixed from multitracks songs is night and day. To make it clear:

- Running Hard, I Think of You and Cold is Being are upmixes.
- Things I Don't Understand, Black Flame and Mother Russia are true surround mixes.

The later three tracks are also remixed in stereo and appear as bonus tracks in CD 1 of the package.

I find the upmixed tracks pleasant enough, but they're nothing outstanding, as expected. I always thought this album didn't sound as clear and balanced as Ashes Are Burning and Scheherazade. The bass has sounded a bit anemic in every release, which is a shame - Jon Camp deserves to be heard in full glory, and the instrument separation could be better. Of course, an upmix wasn't going to solve these issues.

The true surround mixes are a different story. I REALLY like what Ben Wiseman has done here. Renaissance's lush, layered music calls for a great surround mix but IMO a wildly adventurous mix would have sounded totally out of place for this band. Wiseman's subtle, tasteful choices are the best way to present this music. These tracks sound discrete enough, crystal clear, with great instrument separation - exactly what had been missing before in this album's production. Black Flame in particular sounds gorgeous in this 5.1 mix, and I've discovered sounds that I didn't know were there.

I have to say I've never been a huge fan of this sort of clamshell boxes. They always look and feel somewhat cheap to me. But the extra content is good: a nice concert, interesting liner notes (I love good liner notes). I enjoy the visuals of the DVD as well.

I'm voting 8. It would've been a strong 9, had the full album been remixed from multitracks, but I can't give it more than an 8 when half of the songs are upmixes. Anyway, this is the definitive edition of this gorgeous album as far as I'm concerned, as long as the full multitracks remain missing.