HiRez Poll Zappa, Frank - APOSTROPHE [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this brand new reissue of Frank Zappa's classic album "Apostrophe".
This 50th anniversary edition includes a Blu-Ray audio disc that contains brand new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mixes along with the original 1970s Quadraphonic mix, available again for the first time in 50 years!

 

[ogrequad]

Definite 10 for me. I first listened to the Atmos mix (through my 5.1 set up) and absolutely loved it. Adventurous and discreet and sonically just beautiful. Highlights were the Yellow Snow suite and Stink-Foot, both of which make full use of all the speakers, but the other tracks are great too. Currently listening to the quad mix and this is a significant upgrade over the quad transfer DVD-A that I’ve been listening to for years. That transfer always sounded pretty flat to me but the Blu-Ray has been mastered to perfection. As for the rest of the package, I’ve only listened to the Colorado show and, outside of the surround content, that performance alone makes this set worth every penny. Can’t wait to check out everything else but I am already a happy Zappa fan! Keep em coming!!

 

[stoopid]

[5.1 only] Crisp and fun. And I still need to get through all the bonus content. Pricey but worth it for any FZ fan. Easy 10. Stoked for One Size Fits All, coming up next presumably.

 

[shedsoundsmedia]

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY ! This is a fantastic boxed set, an embarrassment of riches ! Here's my detailed thoughts.

 

[SomethingAnything]

Most enjoyable on Atmos. I've listened to it on Tidal, so I won't vote upstairs, but it's a ten.

 

[Matt Wilson]

Yeah, I'm going with a 10. I seem to be rather generous with my 10s lately. Now, whether that's because I'm getting less picky in my old age, or that they're making better surround sound discs, I dunno - but I ain't complainin' either.

 

[shedsoundsmedia]

Yeah, I'm going with a 10. I seem to be rather generous with my 10s lately. Now, whether that's because I'm getting less picky in my old age, or that they're making better surround sound discs, I dunno - but I ain't complainin' either.

This year has been particularly generous with great atmos / surround mixes I think. Looking forward to Red by King Crimson in Oct.

 

[Michael Marshall]

Now THIS is how a deluxe box set should be done! I can only imagine that the ZAPPA archives are unique unto themselves (Prince's estate and the archives held within might be a distant second) as the material available for this (and other) release(s) is vast and deep. I watched several of the "official" YouTube videos this morning (shortly before the USPS derived my copy) and was floored by amount of and how, literally, EVERYTHING, was saved and archived and under one roof! It was as if his estate was being curated by the Smithsonian Institute, latex gloves and all (watch the videos and you'll understand). I have only made it through the Blu-ray so I can only comment on the sonic merits of the Apostrophe Quad and Atmos mixes and they are BOTH stunning! As much as I love the recently released OverNite Sensation box set, this takes things to an even higher level of detail and execution. An absolute MUST buy and beyond worthy repeated listens.

 

[Intruder461]

As with all these Zappa boxsets they are vastly overpriced but as it's Frank, they have me by the balls to keep spending my cash on them. The Blu Ray with the surround mixes is my real enticement to lay the extra 60 bucks they charging for it simply because in any CD package that comes in a Clamshell box such as this you can get anywhere from 4 to 6 CD's in one from 20 to 30 bucks. The Clamshell box was also originally designed to sell all or part of most bands and artists' discography on the cheap and for a package that costs 99 bucks, this is not cheap. I would even go as far as to say that the presentation totally SUCKS! and Franks's music is worthy of being treated better than this.

The surround mixes are to die for and as with any of these boxsets the extra live content on the CD's is killer though I should add that no way are the 5 CD's that come in this package worth any more than 20 to 30 bucks which is the genuine price point so the Zappa trust is obviously making a killing on these things. I should also add that there is no way I would lay out silly money like this if the boxset only contained CD's such as the Hot Rats boxset for example which did not interest me one bit, especially at the extortionate price they put it out for.

The one thing that is puzzling me right now is why with the multichannel content did they start with the Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo from 1972, surely they must have the multichannel tapes for all the other albums that came before them.

 

[marpow]

I voted 10, as I have with all the surround reissues from Frank Zappa. The Zappa surround reissues are the most consistent in re-mix that I like as a surround enthusiast. Must haves.

Forget sound quality for a moment, his music and humor, the way he delivers his music in his zany ways are perfect, love it all.
This box set a weekend (2 day) listen of course.

I'll be simple from Blu Ray:
Atmos very best. MKV file 24/48.
5.1 second best. FLAC file 24/96
4.0 third best. FLAC file 24/48.
Stereo 24/192 Flac file fourth best.
Stereo 24/96 FLAC file fifth best.

5 Stereo CD's- 16/44.1 Flac file great live performance 4 of the 5 discs..

Please Keep Poll Threads Pure to your listening experience only.

 

[Guy Robinson]

7.1 from ATMOS. One of the best mixes I have ever heard. All speakers are in use discreetly and liberally. A 10 from me. No volume correction required. This one is loud with regular volume settings without having to crank your receiver to the maximum as is the case with most ATMOS mixes.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

What's not to like , it's Zappa ..in QUAD !!!

I like both the quad mix and the new 5.1. Both have panning in surround and quad throughout.

Anyone else notice Frank's LIVE shows come from quad Reels ? ie 4 track?

This bluray will get plenty of plays , by this quaddie.

TEN is most deserving of this Masterpiece.

 

[FusionHead]

Voted a 10. Another good Atmos remix by Gobel and Auger, with quality equal to the Waka-Wazoo remixes. Some interesting aspects to this one, let me expand on that ...

Beyond the common practice of keeping the lead vocal, bass, and drums forward, it seems sometimes a lot of other parts are positioned forward where they could have maybe been spread out a bit in the surround channels for an even more dramatic effect. It's hard to know if some of these placement choices were due to limitations of the source multitracks (i.e. elements combined by Zappa on some tracks). Having said that, there's a lot of fun, active stuff going on in the side, rear, and height speakers like keys, some of the backing vocals, etc. And it's in those channels I'm hearing things I may not have noticed before in the original stereo mix. Some elements also seem higher fidelity, e.g. a bit more top end, which is cool.

I have not had a chance to listen to all of the other disks yet, which I hope have some interesting live versions. [EDIT: I am currently listening through some of the live material, and it's mostly excellent. Interesting and fun versions of familiar songs, with decent sound quality. The production team did a good job of curating some great performances from one of Zappa's best touring lineups.]

But again, this is my only criticism of these releases: we are forced to pay an exorbitant price for a large collection of disks and special packaging, where I am only interested in acquiring the Atmos remix. This is the reason I still have not purchased the Overnite Sensation set.

Some artists/manufacturers are getting smart and releasing not only a pricey box set, but also (often later) the single Atmos disk from that set. We've seen this with Dark Side Of The Moon, and recently with Who's Next. Wouldn't it be nice if the Zappa team would get smart and release these Atmos disk releases on their own (or as digital downloads)? My bet is they would still sell as many box sets but would increase revenue with the additional surround audio sales.

PS. All my fingers and toes are crossed that we soon see an Atmos remix of 'One Size Fits All', but even more so, I am hoping for them to do surround remixes of Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, and Orchestral Favorites (or the equivalent set "Läther", inclusive of Zappa In New York).

 

[quicksrt]

So the dull sounding original quad mix sounds much better here. It's it still kind of a double stereo sounding mix? Or is more L&R and front to back goings ons revealed in this new mastering of the 4.0 mix?

 

[BillTubes]

This record put a giant smile on my face. I could feel the cold artic wind !
Listened to the 5.1 and quad versions. The 5.1 is much better IMO then the quad but am happy to have the original quad in the best possible fidelity. This one is an easy 10.

 

[jimfisheye]

I had a shared alleged Q4 rip of this. (I discovered Zappa after this was long out of print.) I don't know that I'd give this new reissue the highest marks for mastering but this is a solid upgraded copy with no pointed damage. Maybe a little on the bright and clinical side. The 2012 stereo master that was finally released around 2020 has a fatter sound at lower volume compared to this quad reissue.

For all that those unexpected new 12 channel mixes of Waka Jawaka and Grand Wazoo hit it out of the park, the Atmos remix here fails. If there was anything to critique about bright or thin in the original mixes, there sure isn't next to the remixes. Dulled sounds, poor attention to mix balances, and this 80Hz or thereabouts constant ringing resonance. The bass end was tight instrument to instrument in the originals. The 5.1 remix isn't any better. This all went really wrong.

Solid reissue of the original quad mix.
No volume wars here - turn it up! Might be a little bright but it's not shrill. Maybe 8/10. It's mastered to 4.1 in 24 bit 48k. I didn't investigate the Lfe track. Dunno if it's proper extracted lows from the mains or a potential mastering faux pas.
Surprised how bad I think the Atmos and 5.1 remixes are after the last few releases.

The quad mix does have the weight of the mix in front. Still fully discrete elements in back. Even gratuitous 360 pans and playful stuff. I wouldn't call this unadventurous like some reviews. There are definitely elements of using quad with an extension to stereo kind of vibe throughout in both this and Over-Nite. The mixes might not be over the top surround demos but they still go beyond his stereo mixes and even sound a little better.

 

[Frogmort]

For all that those unexpected new 12 channel mixes of Waka Jawaka and Grand Wazoo hit it out of the park, the Atmos remix here fails. If there was anything to critique about bright or thin in the original mixes, there sure isn't next to the remixes. Dulled sounds, poor attention to mix balances, and this 80Hz or thereabouts constant ringing resonance. The bass end was tight instrument to instrument in the originals. The 5.1 remix isn't any better. This all went really wrong.

Are you sure there wasn't something amiss with your settings at the time or something, because I think it sounds great. I mean, it's maybe mixed a bit dry and warm overall, but it's mostly rather crispy and clear all around to me. And it does have the Zappa vocals spread "Central Scrutinizer" style in the center and front height speakers, like all of the other Zappa Atmos albums mixed by Erich Gobel and Karma Auger (which I find a bit odd, but it's starting to grow on me), and it does have maybe a touch of mid-bass going on, but I've always found this album a bit warm and dry, and mid-bassy.

"Apostrophe" with Jack Bruce on bass and Jim Gordon on drums definitely sounds a bit muddy, but from my understanding, it was basically a garage band style recording of a jam session (Zappa said about Bruce's performance "He sure doesn't like to stick to the root, for a bass player, does he?" This album also has much less overall horns and crazy effects than the preceding albums, and seems more "meat and potatoes rock band" than some of Zappa's other stuff, but I'm hearing everything nicely balanced, with some great Atmos spreading of sounds, and fairly well balanced levels.

I'm actually kind of perplexed that you're finding such a vast discrepancy with these exact same mixer guy's approach on just this one particular album, when to me it sounds right on par with the other three mixes of Zappa's that they've done, especially with the tremendous amount of respect that I have of your opinion.

As an aside, this was the very first Zappa album that I got turned on to by my drum instructor, around 1982 when I was 12 years old. At one of my first lessons, after showing me some basic rudiments, he went to make a Zerox copy for me to take home, and put this record on "St Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast" and said, "Try to play along to this", all casual like. My life was never the same, as a drummer, a musical artist, and as a 12 year old boy: "As he stumbled on his cock, he was delighted as it stiffened, and ripped right through his sock!"

 

[FusionHead]

For all that those unexpected new 12 channel mixes of Waka Jawaka and Grand Wazoo hit it out of the park, the Atmos remix here fails.

My ears might not be as good as yours, but the Atmos remix sounds pretty good to me in terms of general sound quality. But similar to Waka/Wazoo and Overnite Atmos releases, I just wish the surround mix choices were a bit more dramatic.