Bjork catalog to be re-released in 5.1!
07-27-06, 03:13 AM
#27
Banned by request
I bought this today at Amoeba in Hollywood. Really nice packaging. They're all in jewel cases, and they all reproduce the original artwork. The rear covers have the remaster information, but you can flip them inside out to have the original rear cover. Very cool.
The one thing I noticed is that there is not one mention of the original stereo versions of the albums being remastered. Everything I've read on it says "CD side contains original album. DVD side contains album remastered in 5.1 with videos." Does anyone know definitely whether or not the CD side of the album has also been remastered? Because I'll be pissed if they aren't. As nice as the 5.1 mixes may be, I do most of my listening in stereo.
The one thing I noticed is that there is not one mention of the original stereo versions of the albums being remastered. Everything I've read on it says "CD side contains original album. DVD side contains album remastered in 5.1 with videos." Does anyone know definitely whether or not the CD side of the album has also been remastered? Because I'll be pissed if they aren't. As nice as the 5.1 mixes may be, I do most of my listening in stereo.
07-27-06, 10:45 AM
#30
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I've heard of too many people having trouble playing Dual Discs to ever buy 'em myself. I pick up the standard CD version of an album whenever possible; if there's only Dual, then sorry, they lose a sale. Double-sided DVDs suck, too, but at least they work on everything.
07-27-06, 02:49 PM
#31
Banned by request
Originally Posted by Cosmic Bus
The CD sides are identical to the original pressings. Sorry!
Well, I'm a big enough Bjork fan that I will be able to appreciate 5.1 versions of all of her albums, but this kind of pisses me off. This is the first time I've seen Rhino do a reissue where they haven't remastered the original album. And considering they've started remastering Depeche Mode's catalogue where the 5.1 DVD is its own separate disc, the idea to make these DualDiscs is even more frustrating. Now, watch as Rhino releases double-disc remastered CD versions of Bjork's catalogue.
08-01-06, 01:27 AM
#32
Banned by request
I finally got a chance to go through these discs last night. They were better than I expected them to be.
The Good: The surround mixes on all the discs sound spectacular. While not true DVD Audio, the DTS is really impressive, and at times, such as the climax of Hunter, were almost awe-inspiring. Every album included the original booklet and on the inside cover was the rear cover art, so you could turn it inside out to replicate the look of the original CD. Every album except for Selmasongs and Drawing Restraint (which had no videos) have the corresponding music videos on the disc, all available in Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, and the original stereo. The best part is, if the single used a different mix (such as All Is Full Of Love), the single mix got the surround treatment for the video. The mixes feel very natural, with a broad soundstage and excellent mixing all around. Compare this against the Depeche Mode 5.1 mixes, which sound very artificial and the tracks are too separate from each other. Bjork's 5.1 mixes are far more organic. Also, Debut tacks the song Play Dead onto the end, which originally was only available on a movie soundtrack and import versions of the album as a bonus track. The U.S. version ended with The Anchor Song. So I'm glad they added that.
The bad: Telegram is not in this box. Now, I know that it's not an album of all-new Bjork material, but considering how different each song sounds, it should be considered a separate album. And considering how closely Bjork oversaw each track, I think it's criminal that such an inventive work be kept out on a technicality, especially since this of all of her albums might have seen the most benefit from a 5.1 mix. They were already doing extra work by making new surround mixes of Medulla and Vespertine, which both have proper SACD and DVD-A releases, so why not go the extra mile and make the set definitive by including Telegram? They could even have made it a box-set only extra, since currently the box offers nothing you cannot get on the standard DualDisc releases.
Oh yeah, these are all DualDiscs. DualDiscs suck. A lot. I hate them. A lot. There's no side you can safely touch and they're so thick that they actually don't conform to industry standards, which are put in place for a reason. The result is that these discs won't play in all CD or DVD players. And if you put them in a player that can't play them, you risk damaging either or both sides. If Depeche Mode can get seperate DVDs for their surround mixes, so can Bjork, dammit. No more DualDiscs, Rhino.
Not only are these DualDiscs, but, other than the inclusion of Play Dead on Debut, absolutely nothing has been done to the CD side of these albums. Now, I know that from Selmasongs on, the albums are a little too recent to be remastered, but I think Debut, Post, Telegram, and Homogenic could all use a nice remastering (not that they currently sound bad by any means).
None of the videos are anamorphic, even when they're widescreen. Even the videos for Vespertine and Medulla, which were surely shot when widescreen TVs and anamorphic enhancement were commonplace are not anamorphic. Also, nowhere on or in the box do they list the directing credits for the videos. This is minor, but a little annoying, since this set is clearly for Bjork completists.
And now, easily the most annoying thing, Post is a faulty disc on the DVD side. Specifically, no matter whether you select DTS, Dolby Digital, or stereo for the music videos, they play in stereo. I cannot find any way to access the DTS or Dolby Digital versions. I am emailing Rhino about this, because I want to make them aware of this error, and I want them to replace my disc as soon as they press fixed copies.
So, in the end, this is an easy way to get all of Bjork albums (except for Telegram) in 5.1. On the other hand, you might want to buy these separately, and then get the SACD or DVD-A versions of Vespertine and Medulla for the better sound quality. The only thing you'd miss by doing that is getting non-anamorphic versions of the videos for those two albums with 5.1. For serious Bjork fans, I'm iffy about recommending it, because I've bought every major Bjork release (including the Family Tree and Live Box sets), and this is easily the weakest. I'm angry at the lack of Telegram and anamorphic enhancement for the videos. The lack of any changes to the CD side make these release seem even more superfluous. Why not just do DVD-A or SACD versions of these? If you really consider those formats dead, just do DVD-A versions that also offer DD and DTS, problem solved. Making them DualDiscs was a bad idea, excluding Telegram was a bad idea, and the overall execution just feels lazy. I will keep it because the 5.1 mixes really are awesome and I'm a Bjork completist, but I really cannot recommend this to anyone who hasn't already bought it, as there are better ways to get this music.
Edit: In a bizarre twist, I put Post back into my DVD player to test something on the DVD side. When I did, it said "No disc found." I figured this was par for the course on this set, where the quality control clearly wasn't a high priority. I ejected it, made sure it was on the DVD side, and put it back in again. This time, it worked perfectly DTS and Dolby Digital both played for the videos. The moral? Don't use discs that deviate from industry standards, because weird shit like this happens.
The Good: The surround mixes on all the discs sound spectacular. While not true DVD Audio, the DTS is really impressive, and at times, such as the climax of Hunter, were almost awe-inspiring. Every album included the original booklet and on the inside cover was the rear cover art, so you could turn it inside out to replicate the look of the original CD. Every album except for Selmasongs and Drawing Restraint (which had no videos) have the corresponding music videos on the disc, all available in Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, and the original stereo. The best part is, if the single used a different mix (such as All Is Full Of Love), the single mix got the surround treatment for the video. The mixes feel very natural, with a broad soundstage and excellent mixing all around. Compare this against the Depeche Mode 5.1 mixes, which sound very artificial and the tracks are too separate from each other. Bjork's 5.1 mixes are far more organic. Also, Debut tacks the song Play Dead onto the end, which originally was only available on a movie soundtrack and import versions of the album as a bonus track. The U.S. version ended with The Anchor Song. So I'm glad they added that.
The bad: Telegram is not in this box. Now, I know that it's not an album of all-new Bjork material, but considering how different each song sounds, it should be considered a separate album. And considering how closely Bjork oversaw each track, I think it's criminal that such an inventive work be kept out on a technicality, especially since this of all of her albums might have seen the most benefit from a 5.1 mix. They were already doing extra work by making new surround mixes of Medulla and Vespertine, which both have proper SACD and DVD-A releases, so why not go the extra mile and make the set definitive by including Telegram? They could even have made it a box-set only extra, since currently the box offers nothing you cannot get on the standard DualDisc releases.
Oh yeah, these are all DualDiscs. DualDiscs suck. A lot. I hate them. A lot. There's no side you can safely touch and they're so thick that they actually don't conform to industry standards, which are put in place for a reason. The result is that these discs won't play in all CD or DVD players. And if you put them in a player that can't play them, you risk damaging either or both sides. If Depeche Mode can get seperate DVDs for their surround mixes, so can Bjork, dammit. No more DualDiscs, Rhino.
Not only are these DualDiscs, but, other than the inclusion of Play Dead on Debut, absolutely nothing has been done to the CD side of these albums. Now, I know that from Selmasongs on, the albums are a little too recent to be remastered, but I think Debut, Post, Telegram, and Homogenic could all use a nice remastering (not that they currently sound bad by any means).
None of the videos are anamorphic, even when they're widescreen. Even the videos for Vespertine and Medulla, which were surely shot when widescreen TVs and anamorphic enhancement were commonplace are not anamorphic. Also, nowhere on or in the box do they list the directing credits for the videos. This is minor, but a little annoying, since this set is clearly for Bjork completists.
And now, easily the most annoying thing, Post is a faulty disc on the DVD side. Specifically, no matter whether you select DTS, Dolby Digital, or stereo for the music videos, they play in stereo. I cannot find any way to access the DTS or Dolby Digital versions. I am emailing Rhino about this, because I want to make them aware of this error, and I want them to replace my disc as soon as they press fixed copies.
So, in the end, this is an easy way to get all of Bjork albums (except for Telegram) in 5.1. On the other hand, you might want to buy these separately, and then get the SACD or DVD-A versions of Vespertine and Medulla for the better sound quality. The only thing you'd miss by doing that is getting non-anamorphic versions of the videos for those two albums with 5.1. For serious Bjork fans, I'm iffy about recommending it, because I've bought every major Bjork release (including the Family Tree and Live Box sets), and this is easily the weakest. I'm angry at the lack of Telegram and anamorphic enhancement for the videos. The lack of any changes to the CD side make these release seem even more superfluous. Why not just do DVD-A or SACD versions of these? If you really consider those formats dead, just do DVD-A versions that also offer DD and DTS, problem solved. Making them DualDiscs was a bad idea, excluding Telegram was a bad idea, and the overall execution just feels lazy. I will keep it because the 5.1 mixes really are awesome and I'm a Bjork completist, but I really cannot recommend this to anyone who hasn't already bought it, as there are better ways to get this music.
Edit: In a bizarre twist, I put Post back into my DVD player to test something on the DVD side. When I did, it said "No disc found." I figured this was par for the course on this set, where the quality control clearly wasn't a high priority. I ejected it, made sure it was on the DVD side, and put it back in again. This time, it worked perfectly DTS and Dolby Digital both played for the videos. The moral? Don't use discs that deviate from industry standards, because weird shit like this happens.
Last edited by Supermallet; 08-01-06 at 02:08 AM.
08-04-06, 01:25 AM
#33
DVD Talk Special Edition
Nicely done you summed it up PERFECT and thats why I will not bother with this or ANY dual disc. I mean they're not even cd side either because they were to cheap to pay for the rights to that standard...not taking any chance of ruining my gear to play for crap format, period.
I already own the dvd-audio versions of vespertine and medulla I'll just buy till they pull their heads out of their asses. I'll pick it up used or in a bin for $20 bucks one day. That or download them when they rip the DTS off them and release them scene wide.
I already own the dvd-audio versions of vespertine and medulla I'll just buy till they pull their heads out of their asses. I'll pick it up used or in a bin for $20 bucks one day. That or download them when they rip the DTS off them and release them scene wide.
10-21-07, 07:15 PM
#34
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Originally Posted by Suprmallet
Oh yeah, these are all DualDiscs. DualDiscs suck. A lot. I hate them. A lot. There's no side you can safely touch and they're so thick that they actually don't conform to industry standards, which are put in place for a reason. The result is that these discs won't play in all CD or DVD players. And if you put them in a player that can't play them, you risk damaging either or both sides. If Depeche Mode can get seperate DVDs for their surround mixes, so can Bjork, dammit. No more DualDiscs, Rhino.
When I first got the Talking Heads dualdiscs, some of them WERE damaged due to incompatibility. DualDiscs suck. Hard.
10-23-07, 02:57 AM
#36
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^^ Riiiight....
