Abacab (W/Dvd) Review

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(More customer reviews)Abacab is the 5th post-Peter Gabriel album, originally issued in Fall, 1981. It continued the rapidly evolving sound of Genesis from prog rockers to more commercial and mainstream-sounding. Personally, I had a difficult time to accept or like that change as it took place 25 years ago. I never did buy either "Duke" or "Abacab" when they came out. But the temptation of a bunch of DVD bonus materials was such that I did buy the "Genesis 1976-1982" 6 CD/6 DVD set, and now I finally have the "Abacab" album proper.
As to the CD, "Abacab" (9 tracks, 47 min.) is somewhat of a revelation to me. I still don't like "No Reply At All" or "Mman on a Corner" as a Genesis song (how can you differentiate it from Phis Collins' "Face Value" album? you can't, as Phil wrote these at the same time and it just sounds the same), but I found a lot of other things here I like a lot. The title track, of course, but also a brooding "Keep It Dark", the epic 7+ min. "Dodo/Lurker", and "Like It Or Not". Abacab will never be my favorite Genesis album, but I enjoyed it better than I ever expected.
As to the DVD, it first brings the album in a terrific 5.1 surround system, and it sounds fantastic if you have the proper home music set-up (which I do). As to the visuals, it comes with the videos for Abacab, No Reply At All, Keep It Dark, and Man on the Corner, nice but nothing earth-shattering. The "Reissue Interviews 2007" brings about 20 min. of the guys bringing their perspectives on the album, quite entertaining. Regretfully, there is no concert footage, unlike most of the other albums reissued, and that makes this reissue of "Abacab" less essential.
If you are considering buying any of the reissued CD/DVD albums, you really should look at buying the "1976-1982" box instead as it offer far more "bang for the buck" (only $69 here on Amazon), and on top it comes with a bonus CD/DVD of assorted B-sides, EPs and other hard to find tracks from that era.

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Invisible Touch (W/Dvd) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm writing this review for people who are actually trying to decide whether to buy the album. No doubt, reading the reviews here is confusing because half the people love it and half the people hate it. Genesis is one of the biggest acts of the rock-pop era...and that's without the solo work of its members, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford (of Mike and the Mechanics) and various more obscure projects. THIS album is the band's biggest POP album success. It's got FIVE top 10 singles and two more songs that charted in the top 40. How many albums can you say that about?? So why do some people hate it? Well, Genesis started as a progressive rock band that focused on long (10 to 20 minute), complicated songs that displayed a huge degree of musicianship. Unlike most prog bands, the vocals were always good. Still, the poetic, complicated lyrics about mythical creatures, etc, do turn off general audiences. When Phil Collins took over on lead vocals after the departure of Peter Gabriel (Phil had just been the drummer up to that point), the band stayed prog for a while, but in the 80s, drifted into more melodic, romantic, shorter, and, yes, poppier songs. Some musical snobs pretend that the Gabriel era was all about art and the Collins era was all about selling out. It's just not true. Some of the Gabriel stuff still sounds great, but some of it is hopelessly dated. Gabriel stopped making that kind of music when Genesis did. It ran its course. And make no mistake: EVERY Genesis album, including this one, ALWAYS features great musical playing and some progressive elements (the big prog track here is Domino, a three part song). Not only was Phil a great singer; he was one of the best rock drummers of all time. The title track of this album is a great pop song, but most of the other "pop" songs here have some weird little edge to them or some kind of darkness that make them stand out from other pop songs. Tonight, Tonight is pretty murky for a pop song. The few ballads are about as good as ballads get and deserved their "hit" status. This was actually the first album I bought. I was a radio kid until I heard this album. This was my "gateway album" that steered me from solely radio pop toward more complicated fare. Domino changed my life. I'd never heard a 10 minute song before...with lyrics about melting children, no less! And a whole instrumental track? But the album is so LISTENABLE. It's like a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down--progressive music in a tasty pop frosting. NOTE: If you like this, the NEXT step in Genesis is Duke. That 1980 album had what I consider the best mix of real progressive rock and melodic or pop sensibilities. It's my favorite Genesis album. Best Gabriel album? Selling England By the Pound. Working your way BACKWARDS in Genesis a great way to discover the band for people unfamiliar with progressive rock or technical music. It's a fun band with a diverse catalogue of music. Enjoy!

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Buffalo Springfield Review

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(More customer reviews)Those who have an original vinyl copy of this album will remember the "liner notes," i.e. a collection of the various band members' favourite colours, favourite places, their zodiac signs and random thoughts (the comment about Stephen Stills showing up in his "profile"). When I began to delve into classic rock of the '60s in my teens (20 years too late, I have often lamented), this was one of the albums I picked up...yes, an actual LP. I used to have quite a collection of those, although it might not rival some...
In 1997, when the new remaster was released with the mono and stereo versions of the album put together on one CD, I rediscovered this album in all its glory. It's not perfect--what debut album is?--but it was pretty damned good for a first record (can't say that for all of them). The remaster featured the mono version Atco originally released in December of '66, which featured a different running order--"Leave" was track 3, side 1, and "Baby Don't Scold Me" appeared as track 5, side 2. The latter was a nice little song with Steve and Richie Furay sharing lead vocals, including an instrumental quote from the Beatles' "Day Tripper" (the familiar riff). And as the notes on the remaster indicate, mono was how the band intended this album: "We never had a chance at the stereo," they say, indicating that their producers (Charles Stone & Brian Green, IIRC) snapped up that chance for themselves; they proceeded to remix the album, removing "Baby Don't Scold Me" and replacing it with the band's big hit, "For What It's Worth," which became track 1, side 1, and "Leave" relegated to the position of track 5, side 2. That version, released as Atco SD33-200A in April of '67, is the one I bought some 20 years later on vinyl, and makes up the second half of the remastered CD.
The sound on both versions is much improved; the remaster is an HDCD (High Definition CD), with warmer sound than had been possible before in digital. Unfortunately, this CD is now out of print; the Buffalo Springfield Box Set, which Rhino released in 2001, rectified that by putting remastered versions of this album and Again, the band's more famous sophomore effort (and the one the critics like the best), together on the 4th disc in that set. That version of the first album includes the original mono running order, with "For What It's Worth" sandwiched in between the 2 albums as a bonus track.
What Rhino ought, IMO, to do this year, this being the 40th anniversary of Buffalo Springfield's forming, signing to Atlantic and recording/releasing their debut album, is remaster all 3 of the band's original studio albums, complete with bonus tracks from each LP's original studio sessions, especially since this is how classic albums are now being presented (Yes' Atlantic catalogue, Donovan's studio albums, still others too numerous to mention here). And maybe we can consider SACD remasters?

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No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: CDArtist: BUFFALO SPRINGFIELDTitle: BUFFALO SPRINGFIELDStreet Release Date: 10/10/1989

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Quadrophenia Review

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(More customer reviews)The Who were at the top of their game when they recorded Quadrophenia and each member showcased his abilities to the fullest. This is Pete Townshend's most concise work as a musical story teller. It also features some of the best songs he ever wrote. At least six of the pieces on this set exceed even his normal (high) standard. `Sea and Sand' contains enough melodic fibre for two songs. `The Punk and the Godfather' and `The Real Me' are as fiery a pair of hard rock songs as have ever been released. `I'm One', `The Dirty Jobs', `Is It In My Head', and `Drowned' could easily find a place in music theatre. More familiar pieces such as `5:15', `Bell Boy' and `Love Reign O'er Me' continue to shine to this day. Even some of the flawed material stands out. `Dr. Jimmy' begins brilliantly but (partially) fails because Townshend didn't seem to be able to figure out how it should end. His playing and singing is uniformly outstanding throughout the set. There's some great guitar work on `Love Reign O'er Me'.
Roger Daltrey found himself as a vocal dramatist while the group was recording `Tommy'. The full power of his vocal range came out during the tours that followed and in the subsequent recording of `Who's Next'. He made full use of both, and did so with flair, style and confidence on this record. There are points where he sings more softly, points where he roars and times when he does both. His best moments come during `The Real Me', `Love Reign O'er Me' and on `Bell Boy' when he sets the stage for Moon.
John Entwistle came up with the clinic on how to use the bass as a lead instrument. His (most obvious) great moment comes early, midway through `The Real Me' when he and Keith take up the entire melody of the song and carry it under Daltrey's vocal line. It's been done many times by a lot of people but seldom better than this. Mostly however, his work on this record is extremely subtle. He carries much of the melody (as was the norm for him) but provides an excellent platform for the layers of guitar and synth work that ride over-top. Listen closely to `Cut My Hair', `The Punk Meets the Godfather' and "Is It In My Head'. The point of note is that much of what he does only seems to be coming from the bass guitar if a listener stops and really thinks about it.
Keith Moon gave his best (and last great) studio performance on this recording. The way he and Entwistle carry the melody of `The Real Me' is astounding. The symphonic element he lends `Dr. Jimmy' is something few other drummers could pull off. The phrasing he used to mark `Sea and Sand' is unique to this day. He marked Entwistle's bass line on `The Dirty Jobs' with his feet and Daltrey's vocals with the sticks. His use of cymbals to close, open and join the song's musical phrases is nothing short of remarkable. No other drummer would have played this piece like that, not then, not now, and not ever. He was probably the most innovative player ever to sit behind a drum kit.
This album never really got the recognition it deserved. That's not surprising considering the troubles that dogged it right from the beginning. After the Lifehouse episode the group wasn't ready to swallow another magnum opus from Townshend all too easily. Inactivity had shaken Moon's confidence. The group had trouble enough finding him to bring him into the studio to play and even more trouble getting him to play once he was there. The record was released after the tour began because of an unexpected shortage of vinyl. None of the members was ever satisfied with the way it was mixed initially. Once it was released It didn't get much media exposure either, probably because there wasn't much on it that would have been suitable for radio. On stage it was too complex for the band to play without a set of backing tapes. The tapes malfunctioned on a regular basis. When they did work they locked the band into a set rendition of the pieces. Moon made things worse one night by getting into monkey tranquillizers and collapsing on-stage. He recovered but wasn't himself for the rest of the tour (he dried out in a nursing home after it ended). That couldn't have helped the shows. The group never really shook off those problems and, after a short tour the following year (for the most), left it behind them.
It's stood the test of time (though it has its share of flaws that are all the more glaring because of the quality of the material surrounding them). The two instrumental pieces can wear their welcomes out quickly. In the wrong mood they sound either pretentious, dragged out, or both. `Dr. Jimmy' spends at least three minutes rambling after it's finished. `Helpless Dancer' falls flat on its face. Those are small complaints though. There's a lot to absorb on this record and it's still well worth the effort to do so. The writing approaches volatile subject matter subject matter thoughtfully and with great insight. The delivery is powerful and original. It reaches the heart as well as the mind. With this release the problem with the mix has been corrected. The sound is excellent. And, apart from correcting the original problems, it now also comes closer than any of their other albums to bringing their stage sound to record. This may be hard to imagine given all the synthesizer tracks on the recording but it's the truth. Who's Next is a close second but playing to the time signatures of the click tracks for the first time put too many restraints on Moon for that to be the case. By the time the band recorded this album he'd had enough experience with them to work better within the limitations they imposed. The bootleg recordings from the '75 tour prove this.
This is (finally) close to being the record the Who wanted to release. It's everything a record should be.

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Limited 2008 UK double 180gm vinyl pressing of this classic album, released to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the long-playing record. This is an exact replica of the original packaging and contains a voucher enabling the purchaser to download MP3 versions of the songs within.Happy Birthday, my dear vinyl LP!Universal.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Review

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(More customer reviews)Since I purchased a Super Audio CD player (SACD) about six months ago, I've been disappointed by most of the surround sound mixes I've heard. It's true that remixing a recording that was originally prepared for two-channel stereo into 5.1 surround does create a different performance. So? The original stereo mix is still available (and with the two-layer "hybrid" format used here, it's readily accessible). As a result, most multi-channel mixes are fairly timid, placing the voice in the center speaker and perhaps daintily tossing a few stray ambient sounds into the rear speakers. When I buy a SACD, I want to hear something daring, something adventurous, in other words... something I haven't heard before.
On this new mix of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", the producer has pulled out all the stops and created a powerful, knock-your-socks-off reinterpretation that really deserves to be called "surround sound." Bold, vibrant music surges into all five speakers from the opening organ notes of "Funeral For A Friend", and the action never lets up until the last note of "Harmony."
This demonstrates the advantages and disadvantages of surround sound re-mixes. On the plus side, you hear details that were buried before; backing vocals, guitar parts, and other dynamics leap out at you. This was always a lush recording, but you can now appreciate some of the ingredients more fully.
The downside, of course, is that some passages sound quite different from what you're used to. The opening of "I've Seen That Movie, Too," for example, is almost unrecognizable, as the guitars are much more prominent and even threaten to drown out Elton's piano. Perhaps the producer went a bit too far... but the original stereo mix is right there (and plays on SACD or ordinary audio CD players). "Yellow Brick Road" has been released several times on CD but it's never sounded this good. (We're back, however, to the two-disc format of the first CD issue.)
If you have a surround sound system, don't even think about it. Buy this disc. If you have a regular stereo CD and just need a copy of this record, this is the edition to get.
The DVD contains a 50 minute "making of" program that's fascinating and adds to the value of the package which is admittedly steep. Take note, however, that a more complete version of this video, running to 90 minutes, has been previously released separately on DVD, and the additional 40 minutes are well worth seeing. (I never realized that Nigel Olsson, Davy Johnstone, and Dee Murray did most of the backing vocals; their three-part harmonies rival anything by CSN.)
Note: This release is now available on DVD-Audio. This contains the same surround-sound mix as the SACD. DVD-Audio, with its greater storage capacity, is a single-disc release. The SACD, by contrast, is a two-disc set; however, unlike DVD-Audio, SACD can be copied onto ordinary CDs for car or portable stereo. Sound quality is virtually the same for both formats.

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UK 2 x LP pressing. Contains a voucher enabling the purchaser to download MP3 versions of the songs within.Tracks, LP1 - Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding (Album Version); Candle In The Wind (Album Version); Bennie & The Jets (Live); Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; This Song Has No Title; Grey Seal (Version 1973); Jamaica Jerk-Off; I've Seen That Movie Too. LP2 - Sweet Painted Lady; The Ballad Of Danny Bailey (1909-1934); Dirty Little Girl; All The Girls Love Alice; Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Rock n' Roll; Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting; Roy Rogers; Social Disease and Harmony.--This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

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