HiRez Poll Various Artists - INSIDE THE MUSIC: NEW WAVE [DVD-A]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this DVD-Audio disc of various artists.

TRACK LISTING:

1. One Way or Another - Blondie
2. My Sharona - Knack
3. Destination Unknown - Missing Persons
4. Eyes Without a Face - Idol, Billy
5. She'a a Beauty - Tubes
6. So L.A. - Motels
7. Girls - Twiley, Dwight
8. Tenderness - General Public
9. Call Me - Blondie
10. Lunatic Fringe - Red Rider
11. Mexican Radio - Wall Of Voodoo

 

[jarofclay73]

From what I hear this is probably the best of the "Inside The Music" series. I heard that there was different authoring system used and it shows. All the songs are more even sounding in fidelity.

With so many Blondie songs on different albums, why couldn't they make a Blondie greatest hits DVD-A?

 

[BananaSlug]

why couldn't they make a Blondie greatest hits DVD-A?

No kidding, that would have been a great disc if done right. However, as regards to the New Wave disc, they are mostly fake surround - and poorly done at that. There are a few notable exceptions though. I need to go back and write down which is which - it's on my list of things to do.

 

[JonUrban]

They still list it at 5point1 for $19.99

http://www.5point1.com/EASY_LISTENING-Inside_The_Music_New_Wave_DTS_5_1_DVD_Audio.html

 

[EMB]

I have serious issues with this series...although not with the sound quality itself, which seems decent enough, but with the mixes, which are sometimes not really that discrete, almost contrived 5.1. I mean, are we to believe the compilers managed to obtain the multitrack tapes of all the songs of this series? And even if they did, many of the mixes are not nearly as discrete, or creative, as one would expect given the recent nature of the source material, and the potential to really have some fun.

I'll have to pull this one out and give it another listening before rendering further judgment. My wife will go for it, since she's a Missing Persons fan, tough not sure what's up with that...

ED

 

[Bob Romano]

They still list it at 5point1 for $19.99

http://www.5point1.com/EASY_LISTENING-Inside_The_Music_New_Wave_DTS_5_1_DVD_Audio.html

I just ordered one... hopefully it's in stock.

 

[EMB]

One nice touch is "Mexican Radio," which got some MTV videoplay but wasn't much of an AM hit, but has always stuck in my head, and sounds good here, though the mix isn't adventurous enough, IMO....

On the other hand, "Call Me," while perhaps Debbie Harry's most impressive vocal performance(well, other than early stuff like "X-Offender"), doesn't quite jell in 5.1 as it did in stereo. The separation's good, but the backing vocals--which in stereo sound like a gang of thugs shouting behind her[CALL ME!!! they seemed to insist] --are reduced to backing male singers in this mix, way too mild, and that's too bad, as their raffish bellowing was a camp hallmark of that hit(for me), giving it an extra dash of stupidity that was inherent to the generic nature of the enterprise.

This disc is also loaded with B-grade material, including "My Sharona"(which, from '79, admittedly lays the foundation for a certain '80s neo-punk/pop sound, though it was hardly the only one of the type that year)...and I'd rather have had the fine "Dreaming" instead of "One Way Or Another" from Blondie.

A '7' from me...but not one I'd play much, save for a few choice cuts.

ED

 

[Eggplant]

The two standout tracks are Billy Idol / Eyes Without a Face and The Tubes / She's A Beauty. The latter is, IMO, one of the finest specimens of surround pop ever. Crank it up LOUD. No, LOUDER THAN THAT. PAST ELEVEN.
My 1500 watts never sounded better. It's beauty.

Mexican Radio mix is cute. Silly song, definitely well known in my area of the country. Though quite discrete, my friend claimed a missing guitar part in the chorus -- I'll have to find the stereo and compare.

The two Blondie tracks sound real to me (after isolating all five tracks). Just not very exciting. I hated, HATED Call Me, and I still hate it in surround.

The one clear fake track is Knack / My Sharona. And it's really, really, bad surround. I could immediately tell not just because there is virtually no difference between front and rear, but I can clearly hear it's the same stereo master, with all the same quirks. Can somebody PLEASE tell me what in THEE hell they were thinking here? This is ELECTRONICALLY RE-CHANNELED redux, 2001. Embarrassing.

The other tracks sound real to me. If someone's figured out how to isolate elements that well from stereo, including solo vocals with no instruments or trace of reverb in the center, then I say bring on the fake. But I'm pretty sure that hasn't happened.

All tracks originate from one of three labels: Capitol/EMI, Chrysalis, and IRS. The Knack were on Capitol, so who knows why they were unable to obtain the multitracks. This disc is exec-produced by Ken Caillat, a respected veteran whose three-decade-plus career included both the original and 5.1 mix of Fleetwood Mac / Rumours. I'd sure like to have a talk with him about MS and that crappy Surf's Up disc.

 

[oxenholme]

The one clear fake track is Knack / My Sharona. And it's really, really, bad surround. I could immediately tell not just because there is virtually no difference between front and rear, but I can clearly hear it's the same stereo master, with all the same quirks. Can somebody PLEASE tell me what in THEE hell they were thinking here? This is ELECTRONICALLY RE-CHANNELED redux, 2001. Embarrassing.

All tracks originate from one of three labels: Capitol/EMI, Chrysalis, and IRS. The Knack were on Capitol, so who knows why they were unable to obtain the multitracks. This disc is exec-produced by Ken Caillat, a respected veteran whose three-decade-plus career included both the original and 5.1 mix of Fleetwood Mac / Rumours. I'd sure like to have a talk with him about MS and that crappy Surf's Up disc.

Your comments bewilder me. My Sharona - I simply do not understand what you mean by "virtually no difference between front and rear". They could hardly be more different.

Surf's Up is of course another thread - it gets lambasted there, yet I love the disc.

 

[Franklin]

I just heard some of Eyes Without A Face from this disc. I don't like it, and although the mix balance is quite different to the stereo, it's the over dry lead vocals that don't work for me. Didn't the original have some kind of slap back plus reverb on the lead vocals?

 

[fredblue]

These strike you as genuine remixes and not upmixes, Aquamike?

 

[Franklin]

Eyes Without A Face definitely without a doubt is. I can have a quick check on the others in a bit.

 

[Franklin]

One Way or Another - meat of the track is in the front pair. Centre is largely reverbs, some vocal and keyboard more prominent at the end. Rears: percussion low, treated guitar prominent, dry vocal.

My Sharona - questionable. Rears very similar with some kind of reduction of something. Centre sounds derived.

Destination Unknown - front, rear and centre all have differences.

Eyes Without A Face - as above (but significantly different balance to stereo mix).

She's A Beauty - as above

So L.A. - meat of track in front pair. Rears seem to have less in them rather than much unique stuff. Centre is vocal, with distant sounding percussion and keyboards. Very quiet bass in centre.

Girls - Again meat of track in front pair, but this time much lower level and reverbed lead vocals in rears. Centre: vocals, some keyboard, tambourine, some guitar/bass.

Tenderness - Similar to above, but less going on in centre with it sounding more derived, quiet and reverbed.

Call Me - lo fi sounding centre channel! No entirely sure if this is upmix or not. Kind of twin stereo with vocals lower and reverbed in the rear.

Lunatic Fringe - centre has vocal and bass. Meat of track in front pair, rear pair is more like it has stuff missing than much unique placed there.

Mexican Radio - similar to above, except rears are much more interesting. Some vocals and prominent keyboards and percussion.

Bass isn't sent solely to centre on any of the tracks. I don't have a sub, and I made the above notes listening to thirty or so seconds, maybe a minute, or each track.

 

[The Bright Side]

Hmm. I might have to give this a go. The "Classic Rock" and "Women on Top" discs are pretty good, after you extract them to FLAC and then manually fix the bass and volume of the songs. Mix-wise, those do have some real winners!

 

[ar surround]

Hmm. I might have to give this a go. The "Classic Rock" and "Women on Top" discs are pretty good, after you extract them to FLAC and then manually fix the bass and volume of the songs. Mix-wise, those do have some real winners!

I rated Women on Top much higher than this disc because of the more discrete sounding cuts. However, I rate the sound quality of this one, without considering the mix, is as good as Women on Top.

 

[Franklin]

Yeah, the sound on this one is nice (save for that AM sounding centre channel on Call Me, perhaps.)

 

[MacDaddy]

Anyone interested in picking up "Inside the Music: New Wave" it is available from Amazon.ca for $7.83 Cdn in limited supply. There was also a couple other titles available for $7.83 from the "Inside the Music" series. Buyer beware - SILVERLINE

ASIN: B00005U2J3

 

[key_wiz]

Geez. After reading so many “buyer beware” posts, I was reluctant to pick this one up, but found one cheap so I figured why not.

I’m not seeing what the problem is. If any of the tracks here are upmixes, then they are pretty damned good!

The biggest issue I have is they are inconsistent. But that probably is to be expected with 4 different engineers across 11 tracks. The only one that sounds really iffy to me is “One Way or Another” with mostly reverb in the center channel and not much going on in the rears. But I hear discreet elements on every track.

The track selection is what it is. I like all the tracks and remember them all fondly. But “So LA” was only ever an album cut, and I never considered Red Rider to be “new wave”, but oh well.

“She’s A Beauty” is demo material. Makes me wish there were full Tubes albums in surround. Missing Persons too! And Blondie!

I know there is good reason to dislike Silverline releases, but I’m not having any issue with this one. Fun memories! A “9” from me!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Geez. After reading so many “buyer beware” posts, I was reluctant to pick this one up, but found one cheap so I figured why not.

I’m not seeing what the problem is. If any of the tracks here are upmixes, then they are pretty damned good!

The biggest issue I have is they are inconsistent. But that probably is to be expected with 4 different engineers across 11 tracks. The only one that sounds really iffy to me is “One Way or Another” with mostly reverb in the center channel and not much going on in the rears. But I hear discreet elements on every track.

The track selection is what it is. I like all the tracks and remember them all fondly. But “So LA” was only ever an album cut, and I never considered Red Rider to be “new wave”, but oh well.

“She’s A Beauty” is demo material. Makes me wish there were full Tubes albums in surround. Missing Persons too! And Blondie!

I know there is good reason to dislike Silverline releases, but I’m not having any issue with this one. Fun memories! A “9” from me!

Keywhiz, I have ALL the Silverline INSIDE the MUSIC series and really, NO complaints here. They are what they are. Capitol Records themselves hardly put out a slew of Surround Discs and the Silverline series at least attempts to right that wrong .... of course to varying degrees.....but IMO, they were all available at some juncture affordably cheap and one could nitpick here and there .... but I'm glad I do have them all.

 

[winopener]

I know of 2 ItM disc, how many had been released?