Ulf,
I don't play music DVDs by habit, but I'm in the midst of this Lindsey Buckingham infatuation so I took your advice and bought the Bass Hall dvd. Gadzooks! The performance is almost unbelievable - is there anything left of that guy's right hand after a show? - and the sound/picture quality produced the kind of "impact" that really approaches a live show.
I have my listening room and my wife has her movie room. I usurped her territory last night and was really surprised by how good it sounded. I bought her decent stuff, but didn't overdo it because I knew she didn't care about nuance. So good speakers (Vienna) and mid fi electronics (Sony) it was.
I've seen many dvds in there before, but I kind of disconnect my critical listening when I walk in. Very nice to learn that I didn't have to.
I don't have a ton of context, because (as I noted), music dvds aren't my thing, but this one blew me away.
Marty |
Arkio,
IMHO "Cradle" was more typical of Buckingham - some great songs, some that don't work. As always, his playing is compelling. I agree that "Cradle" has some great sounding passages, too. OTOH, "Screws" is - again just IMHO - brilliant from the first note through the 8th song. The last 2 tracks are also very good, just not up to the first 8. No shot at "Cradle", but I feel that "Screws" is about the best new R&R record I've heard this millenium. The again, it hasn't been a great millenium for RnR.
Marty |
LB's "Out of the Cradle " ablum from 5-6 years ago is incredible - soundwise and music. One of the best sounding CDs in my library. I use it all the time when auditioning equipment, very well recorded and the musicianship is just second to none. Really cool
Good listening |
I, too, have enjoyed this LP. Lets hope more artists follow his lead and include uncompressed CDs with LP releases. LB's previous CD was less than stellar to me. I was very pleasantly surprised with this LP. Great sonics and very quiet. Will use as one of my test LPs to show off my analogue to friends. |
Marty, I'd agree with you regarding sound quality. Can't say I found the bass lacking, just Lindsey's preference for upper mid-range exaggeration. Perhaps his hearing has been affected by too much exposure to high db concerts. BTW, if you get a chance to see it, the Music in High Def channel has a really good Fleetwood Mac (sans Christine) reunion concert airing now. Lindsey is in stellar guitar form and Stevie'd voice sounds pretty good too. |
Floyd,
I'm a bit surprised by the "no bass" cmment. I just listened again - loud - and that didn't really strike me as an issue. Some of the multi tracked guitars (starting with track one) are dramatically recorded. The vocal tracks vary all over, from unremarkable to pretty awful. LB's preferred sound can be a bit "splashy" and forward through the presence region and this one is no exception. I've also had some tracking issues. In all, the sound quality of this realease strikes me as "up and down", but I wouldn't argue with anyone who says more "down" than "up".
OTOH, the music and playing is IMHO spectacular and I'm starting to believe that this cd ranks with the very best (of the 3,000 or so) pop records that I own.
Marty |
I have the commercial CD and the sound quality is terrible. Everything sounds thin, no bass. |
The vinyl version is an all analog album - recorded, mixed, and mastered on analog tape with no compression. The commercial CD has some compression in the mastering I believe, but the LP and the free CD that comes with it are totally uncompressed.
It makes a big difference to my ears and I find this to be an immensely enjoyable album. More like this please. |
I really like "Live at the Bass Performance Hall". It is both a CD and DVD. The DVD is fantastic showing what an exellent artist (fantastic guitar playing) Lindsey is. The DVD has very good sound! In fact almost better that the CD! |
Photon,
Agree that the acoutic stuff shows off his right hand. I'd add that the electric stuff reveals an active left side as well! Absolutely love both, so far this cd continues to amaze me.
Drubin,
The first track may scare you - his voice is, well, ...you know. But try to ignore it and listen to that gitar playin' behind him! I suspect that LB doesn't really like the sound of his own voice - maybe he still misses having Stevie do the singing. To my ear, the instrumental tracks sound much better than the vocals. As I noted in my first post, at least he brings his guitars forward in the mix on this one which was - for me - an issue on the otherwise excellent and underappreciated last release form Fleetwood Mac "Say You Will".
Marty |
Will have to check it out. LB is a unique talent, a great guitarist, and a great performer overall when he's on his game. |
Thanks for the recommendations, guys. I'm also a fan and think he is one greatly under-appreciated guitarist. I have his last release, which he recorded at home and on which he did most of the parts himself. There's some great music on it, but the recording, particularly the processing on his voice, makes it practically unlistenable, even in the car. This one's better?
He needs to be kidnapped and reprogrammed at Camp Audiophile. :-) |
Marty, I this disc up yesterday and having listened to it twice now, I agree that this is a great release. I've always been a big fan of Lindsey's songwriting and guitar playing and this is some of his best work ever. He's really turned loose his guitar prowess on this release to great effect. His right hand technique would make a Flamenco master proud, extremely assured rhythm and timing. It did induce a bit of nostalgia, as I could imagine how several of these songs would sound with Christine, John, and Stevie adding their touches. Fans of Lindsey and the Mac should do themselves a favor a get this one. |
