My ears are coming
August 25th, 2007 by arturobandiniSincere gratitude to all associated with this record. I first heard IICORMN in 1983, as a teenager listening to a 40-year-old hippychick’s cassette copy in her basement room as she splashed on patchouli; it wasn’t the best introduction. Thank god, 24 years later I was allowed to rediscover this beautiful, beautiful butterfly of an album through Barncard’s glorious new surround mix. Maybe it’s just the timing, but I don’t know that I’ll ever hear a finer, more ‘in tune’ rock-n-roll record. Probably nothing else I’ve heard comes close in terms of chemistry, artistically or pharmaceutically.
I rediscovered Tim Buckley’s GREETINGS FROM L.A. about 6 years ago and had a similar response. How many other rock masterpieces from the golden era are languishing in obscurity? Time to trot them all out again, one by one, because it seems that our great cultural heritage is getting lost on the tonedeaf iPod generation.
Technically, I would’ve preferred an SACD mix to any of those offered, but the DTS mix is still gorgeous — swirly and shimmery and worthy of its own contact high. I’m not sure why, but my subwoofer picks up a strong signal (man, does it ever kick in with “Cowboy Movie”!). It’s orgasmic. I feel like I’m center-stage at the Fillmore.
Thank you Croz, thank you Stephen, your friends and your whole generation. The patchouli fades, mercifully, but your passion still glows.
September 1st, 2007 at 09:32:00
Thanks for the kind words…
I don’t want to get into a format pissing contest, however the Surround MIX is the same for Dolby, DTS, or DVD-A. Your quality will get better as you move up the list toward DVD-A.
If we could offer a SACD version that was imbedded, we would. Not company policy in the WB world.
I guess we’re supposed to be grateful for the few surround music products offered at all in any format these days.
sqb
December 1st, 2007 at 11:16:51
” I’m not sure why, but my subwoofer picks up a strong signal (man, does it ever kick in with “Cowboy Movie”!).”
Thanks for that, and I consider it a vindication. I got some flak from the record company about the lack of the “.1″ (LFE) in the final mixes, but it was my artistic decision to not use it.
My logic is simple - if someone has a properly set up surround system with bass management - they’re going to hear a kick drum anyway if I use it in the other channels. I didn’t want to use the LFE for just ‘more bass’. I just couldn’t find a place for it in the mix. I even tried to use it on “Kids and Dogs” on Crosby’s time-keeping foot track, but there was nothing down there.
What WERE you doing with that 40-year old hippy chick?
December 10th, 2007 at 12:14:54
Hey Man,
When I originally posted, I didn’t realize that a DVD-A mix was on the disc. There’s no indication on the packaging of my copy. It wasn’t until I bought another copy for a friend that I realized some pressings have that mix (or bear the logo, at least) and some don’t.
I dismantled my DVD-A player years ago, in favor of Sony’s wealth of SACD jazz titles — so my system wouldn’t have indicated the presence of a DVD-A mix, anyway.
I totally see your point re the bass signal. And as long as there are producers and engineers who care as much about fidelity as you do, I will continue to boycott mp3s. That said, the DTS bass on “Cowboy Movie” sounds ultra-groovy to me; I can’t wait to be convinced otherwise.
Thanks, too, for the explanations. After 15 years of erratic performance, my subwoofer is finally starting to make sense to me.
Finally … I was barely legal, I swear! She picked me up at a skanky Hollywood Blvd. art opening and introduced me to IICORMN, the ‘natural’ look and patchouli oil in the same evening — in that order of preference.