Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Re: Recommended Music

Thanks for that. I saw them on the Crossroads gig and was really impressed.

You'll love it . JB did 5 nights and word got out that something special was going on , hence the audience is full of luminaries such as Page and Plant .

Also features guest appearances by excellent Imogen Heap and Eric Clapton .

If anyone ever finds out why Clapton and Winwood's own live BD does not contain a lossless track please let me know Ridiculous !

Still pretty good show though too


~M~

Manus, what region is it?

Got mine from Play.com and its region free and very reasonably priced. Available here :

http://www.amazon.com/Performing-Th...&s=dvd&qid=1246999735&sr=1-1

and more locally :

http://www.play.com/DVD/Blu-ray/4-/...jeff+beck&searchsource=0&cur=257

and a review here :

http://Bluray.highdefdigest.com/2532/jeffbeck.html


~M~

I've purchased 30 BD operas (not all arrived yet) and only a few so far viewed but the three outstanding ones are:

"Romeo & Juliette" http://www.amazon.com/Gounod-Juliet...&s=dvd&qid=1247794841&sr=1-1

and

"La Traviata" http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Traviat...&s=dvd&qid=1247794889&sr=1-3
This is the Renee Fleming version with traditional staging. I have the Anna Netrebco version on DVD and like it just as much although many are put off by the modern setting.

"I Puritani" http://www.amazon.com/Bellini-I-Pur..._1?ie=UTF8&qid=1247807568&sr=1-1

Similarly a lot dislike "Aida" http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Aida-Bl...&s=dvd&qid=1247795027&sr=1-1 because of the overdone fades in and out although I found the singing so enjoyable I could forgive that.

Handel's "Semele" is really an oratorio but is presented in operatic form with incongruous modern dress. A mixed bag not to everyone's taste.

Bottom line is that BD has lifted the bar on operatic enjoyment probably more through the audio than the video which on the best DVDs comes very close in picture quality. However the number in the "best" class is rather limited and only those originally done in HD seem to qualify. So far I've not struck any audio or video dud in this new BD format. And much of the top notch audio sheets back to the Meridian HD621.

If anyone is interested I have short reviews of opera & ballet at
http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showforum=151

John

Thanks Tassie Devil

Have you seen the following BD of the Berlin Concert?

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/DG/0734491

The picture is 5/5 and audio 4/5 and the concert setting is 5/5. A great watch!

Well, I got lucky in A Charity shop today and stumbled on an un-opened copy of "The Skiffle Sessions", Van Morrison, (The late) Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber.

There is a guest appearance of Dr John and a fine set of backing musicians.

To Quote Lonnie Dongan in the sleeve notes, "We sung it, it went down the wire and now you've got it! No "overdubs", no tricky echoes, no rehearsals, no Mirrors".

Well, its a Jem of a disc and sounds Fab on the F80, Played it twice already and great to accompany on your accoustic Guitars.

Recorded live in Belfast 1998, I wish I had been there.

If you like good time music, go get it. Chris


P.S. Not a download in site...............

Try the new 2009 remastered Beatles boxset in stereo. They are simply terrific!

With all the Beatlemania at present, I thought I'd have a look to see if any other classic bands have remasters or reissues. Looking for Queen info on Brian May's website (sadly nothing new BTW), I found an interesting link to this classical guitarist who plays his own arrangements of Queen's music. Rather good!



Cheers

George

Hiya, First post here:

I can add my voice to the praise of the new Beatles remasters: shockingly this is the first time I have owned any Beatles on any format: as I didn't know where to start really I had a look on http://www.thebeatles.com, picked a song I knew I liked and bought the album that went around it. So, perhaps bizarrely, my first Beatles lp is 'Magical Mysery Tour' (the song being Strawberry Fields Forever). Being such a sad label geek, I almost squealed when the CD had the Capitol rainbow label! (You can't get a thrill like that from a download!)

I quickly added Sgt. Peppers to go with. (later the same day, actually) I am probably now going to work backover before hitting the later works. I'm hooked though.

Anyway: some of my favourites - I like these for music, and sound too.

Dean Martin: Sleep Warm (Capitol, stereo 1959) - Dino in luscious voice, perhaps an artistic peak with pallie Frank Sinatra conducting the orchestra.

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (Reprise, stereo 1966) - Frank this time so laid back he's horizontal. Nice stuff.

Joan Sutherland: Operatic Arias (Decca, stereo 1959) - Her first solo Lp for Decca, it sounds like a recording of its day - airy and spacious, natural and that voice.

Abba: The Visitors (Polar, stereo 1981) I guess this must be some sort of studio remix/upsampling - a 24-bit remaster of an Original Digital Recording from 1981. In any case, it sounds better than the original CD release (was this really the first popular music CD issued?). I still have the original Epic LP which doesn't sound as good, but has many many years of wear on the inferior music centre turntables of my youth. It's a shame these and other hi-res remasterings didn't make it to a hi-res carrier. That said, the shimmering mandolins at the start of One Of Us always give me goosebumps. The wonderful final fling single 'The Day Before You Came' (an epic six-minute masterpiece with an emotional vocal from Agnetha to rival Winner Takes It All) is among the bonus tracks.

Now I'm going to go spin some of these on my 5o6.2o, and dream about a G61R.

Thanks (& sorry for rambling)

Malcolm

Check this song out.

I just heard it on a repeat of Prarie Home Companion

Called Radio Hula by Ledward Ka'apana

http://www.imeem.com/people/xv2vdS/music/LyQaohdC/ledward-kaapana-radio-hula-instrumental/

Sounds good on anything IMHO.

http://www.porcupinetree.com/

The new Porcupine Tree album has just been released ' The Incident ' . DVD-A to follow later . After several listens this just gets more and more rewarding with nods to Pink Floyds ' Animals ' album amongst others ( this was the first record that the young Steven Wilson ever bought )

I was fortunate enough to get the Limited Edition containing a DVD with both 24-bit hi rez and dts versions :

http://www.rhino.co.uk/rhino-store/products,the-incident-limited-edition-boxset_2764.htm

normal 2cd available here , there and everywhere : http://www.thehut.com/CD/porcupine-tree/incident-the/10052974.html

Review here : http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200942.php

and interview here : http://www.dprp.net/specials/2009_porcupinetree/index.php


I dont know how he manages it but Steven Wilson has also found time to remaster in Stereo and 5.1 some King Crimson albums in CD+DVD-A sets available here :

http://www.burningshed.co.uk/

~M~