More FM DVD Audios!!

[BigAl84]

Check this out...i guess they are putting tusk and the self titled album on dvd-a yehh!

http://www.dvdangle.com/dvd_audio/titles.html

[Brad]

Thanks a lot for posting that link. I can't wait to see what Tusk sounds like.

Brad

[saradorna]

TISL is going to be release as a DVD-A too!!! Wow I need some money I have a lot of Audio DVD's to buy.

Isabel

[BigAl84]

I bet they are planning to release these around the time of the new greatest hits cd or the new album.

Alex

[rhiannon1119]

Cool.. thanks for posting this info!

Michelle

[David]

I don't think the white album makes such a great choice for DVD-A remixing. The great thing about a DVD-A is that you can take a complex track & production job & dice it up & get to the root of it. But the white album, which Keith Olson produced, is a pretty simple job -- no great mysteries there. "Mirage" would have made a better candidate for DVD-A status.

Same thing goes with "Shangri-La." The tracks aren't complex; they're straightforward, guitars sound like guitars, keyboards sound like keyboards, & almost every part is audible (in other words, nothing is used for its alchemic texture in a mix). Now Ken Caillat manned the helm for both "Rumours" & "Tusk," but he had nothing to do with "Shangri-La," so his mix decisions may be surprisingly different from what we expect.

Both the white album & "Shangri-La" are so similar to live mixes, & it's that type of album that doesn't really gain much from the whole DVD-A process, which is the process of breaking things down & rebuilding them & bringing hidden elements to light.

[nodmod]

Originally posted by David
Now Ken Caillat manned the helm for both "Rumours" & "Tusk," but he had nothing to do with "Shangri-La," so his mix decisions may be surprisingly different from what we expect.

Has Ken's company been confirmed as the source of these DVD-A releases?

Hope so!!

[greatdarkwing]

Look at this awesome review on the website for Rumours!!!! This guy is definetly a FM fan.....

Expectations & Reactions:


In the long list of albums that have meant a great deal to me in my life – from Abbey Road to Paul's Boutique, and many in between – Fleetwood Mac's Rumours probably ranks the closest to my heart for many reasons. The album was among my favorites even when I wasn't old enough to comprehend in the slightest what its words meant (how can a 5-year-old possibly understand heartbreak, anger, jealousy, and emotional catharsis on the level expressed in these songs?), but even before I could find a true connection to the theme of the album, it's catchy beats, layered guitars, brilliant harmonies, and funky rhythms caught my attention, and as I grew up, the album seemed to grow up with me, revealing new meanings and deeper poignancy every time I listened.

I've owned Rumours on every format, from vinyl to CD (I lose track of just how many cassettes I've worn out), and know it like a lover. Sadly, the CD version is the one I've listened to the most in the past 10 years, and I don't think it's exaggeration to say that it is the worst sounding Compact Disc in my collection. I remember as a child "feeling" the album…bathing in its warmth and texture - qualities that simply can't be attributed to the CD.

That's a thing of the past, though - with the DVD-A release of Rumours, I can "feel" the album once again. Add to that the fact that "Silver Springs" has been restored to the running order, which has been slightly rearranged to accommodate the song, and I couldn't possibly be happier with this release. Warner has gone all out in presenting what is arguably the best, but certainly the most popular Fleetwood Mac album on DVD-A in a version that is as wonderful as I could have ever hoped for. Most importantly, the songs sound better than they ever have (probably as good as they possibly can), the album is now complete after almost 25 years, and to "ice the cake," the included supplemental material makes this a must buy for anyone with the slightest interest in the album.

Audio & Mix:

I'm generally not a "stereo purist," or whatever you want to call it – I love 6-channel music, and welcome the spaciousness and creativity that goes along with the such mixes, but sometimes things can be carried a bit too far, and in the process actually take away from the enjoyment of the music itself. This was my main concern when I heard that Rumours was being remixed to 5.1, but I also worried that these songs, which I knew so well in stereo, just wouldn't work with rear channels, and a locked-in center speaker. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I have to say, although I may be biased a bit, this is now my favorite multi-channel music remix…in contrast to some other 5.1 channel mixes, the instruments and vocals on the 96 kHz/24-bit 6-channel version of Rumours have been placed with such care that the disc sounds good at any volume, rather than falling apart or sounding uneven at lower levels, as is sometimes the case with other such mixes. The rear channels are anything but subtle - in fact they are at times just as powerful as the fronts - but it this never seems to lead to a tug-of-war, rather a balanced and complimentary mix that draws the listener in. As many of the vocals for this album were mixed off-center or slightly out of phase, voices aren't locked into the center channel too often, but the channel certainly doesn't go unused - in fact it is often just as strong as the left and right fronts, and is used to good effect when presenting the three-way harmonies of Lindsey, Stevie, and Christine in "You Make Loving Fun," for example.

The album begins with the strumming guitar of "Second Hand News" placed playfully in the rear channels, letting you know right from the beginning that this is a totally new experience. Generally, the rears consist of the underlying textural guitar or piano, and on occasion solo instrumentation and backing vocals. There are times in which instruments move from front to back with subtlety, and other times when they leap boldly, but it never seems gimmicky - the engineers never seem to be playing ping pong with notes, instead crafting an sound experience that seems to say "damn your six speakers, I'm filling the room." I swear that at times, it seems as if specific sounds emanate from not only points between the front and rear soundstage, but also above and below them.

The new mix does contain a few surprises in addition to sound placement as well - most notably the addition of elements that were originally removed in stereo mixing due to the fact that they simply didn't fit into two channels well. Perhaps the most shocking addition is a solo during "Never Going Back Again," but there are many nice touches that caught me quite by surprise on my first listen…mostly little bits of vocal embellishment or textural instrumentation.

For the purist, though (and for myself, depending on my mood), there is also an included 96 kHz/24-bit stereo track that contains the original mix of the album. It is with this version that true assessment of the disc's fidelity is possible, since the "wow factor" of the multi-channel presentation doesn't cloud judgment. Without question, Rumours has never sounded this good. There is a new life to this recording that comes mostly from the stronger and more fluid midrange, as well as the crisp, open high frequencies, which impart a more impressive sense directionality and channel separation over previous versions. Vocals sound more natural, which seems a result of increased fidelity rather than reworked equalization, the sustain of the electric guitar hangs in the air a bit longer, acoustic instruments regain the warmth that has been missing for years, and ambience (whether it be artificial reverb or natural studio acoustics) seems to come from within the room itself - even in the two channel version. In fact, it is this 2-channel version that I use to demonstrate the benefits of DVD-A for the uninitiated, before blowing them away with the 6-channel track.

Of course, with a format as revealing as DVD-A, the limitations of the source material are more apparent, but the good more than makes up for any flaws. There is some intermittent hiss on occasion - more noticeable on some tracks than others, and at times only affecting the vocal track, but there nonetheless. The vocals also sound slightly mid-rangy at times on both versions, but this is a characteristic of the source material, and an inherent quality of the album. As I said, these flaws are there if you want to notice them, but are easily forgiven. Only "Songbird" suffers from a level of hiss that could be considered distracting, but when considering the beautiful reproduction of Christine's vocals, the noise is of little consequence.

The included Dolby Digital 5.1 track, accessible by standard DVD players, does a respectable job of presenting the new remixed album, and in fact, sounds almost as good as the 48 kHz music that accompanies the audio commentary…but it just doesn't quite hold up to the high resolution tracks. Upper-mid-to-high frequencies suffer the most in this version, which isn't to say that it sounds bad at all, just not spectacular in comparison. The most striking difference is probably in "Songbird," which features piano work captured by 11 carefully placed microphones - the advanced resolution tracks contain subtleties and a general fluidity that is "close but no cigar" on the Dolby Digital version. In addition, mid-to-low frequencies aren't integrated as well, ambience is slightly less enveloping, and detail is somewhat lower. For all of the complaining, the Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds much better than the CD version of the album - warmer and more lifelike - even if that isn't saying much. Something that bears mentioning, though, is that there is no stereo version available for those who don't have DVD-A players, and the 5.1 mix was crafted so specifically for multi-channel listening that it sounds downright horrible when downmixed to stereo, much more so than most 5.1 mixes, so take that into consideration before purchasing.

Extras & Highlights:

For an album with as much or more history, subtext, and meaning than most films, it is fitting that Rumours includes an audio commentary featuring all of the band's members from the "Rumours Era." Recorded specifically for this release, The Making of Rumours, as it is called, provides a different experience than the 1998 Fleetwood Mac: Rumours: Classic Albums documentary. The band gets a little bit more personal at times, and a bit more technical at times, and although there are a few cases in which the information from each overlaps, listening to the bands' comments in a manner such as this makes it seem totally fresh. For the most part, each track is simply presented sans vocals, with commentary presented on top of the 6-channel mix, but there are a few tracks that begin with completely different takes to emphasize discussion of how the song evolved (most notably "Never Going Back Again" and "Gold Dust Woman"). Even for those without DVD-A hardware, who have no desire to listen to the album in its remixed form, the disc is worth the purchase for this feature alone, as it in addition to the version presented in 48 kHz on the DVD-Audio portion of the disc, the commentary is also available in Dolby Digital 5.1.

Just as important an inclusion as the commentary is the reinsertion of "Silver Springs," a song that was cut from the album for reasons that vary from account to account, though the commentary indicates that is was simply a matter of space (vinyl allowed only about 22 minutes per side without a loss of quality, as Mick puts it…which doesn't add up, since the song could have fit with half a minute to spare, if that were the only consideration). The song is placed in the middle of the album, between "Go Your Own Way" and "Then Chain," and as a result, "Songbird" has been moved to the end of the running order. I suppose due to the fact that I'm used to hearing "Songbird" at the close of Fleetwood Mac concerts, I really like this arrangement, which is saying a great deal, because I've always thought the running order of Rumours was perfectly fine before - but for whatever reason, it really works well now…arguable better.

Also included are two different sets of photo galleries - well, 24 different sets if you want to get technical, as each song is in fact accompanied by two different sets; one of which plays with the songs, and features numerous shots of the band form the era (many from the original album packaging and inserts), as well as a few nuggets of trivia from time to time; and a completely different set that accompanies the audio commentary, featuring many more behind-the-scenes photos, as well as handwritten temporary tracklistings (some featuring alternate song titles), and breakdowns of the contents of each of the 24 recording tracks (i.e. which track held vocals, which held guitar, and so forth). Also included here is a complete printed list of the instruments used on each track. None of these galleries are accessible through standard DVD players, and therefore require DVD-A specific hardware.

Rounding out the package is a section of credits for both the album itself, as well as the DVD-Audio remix and remaster.

Menus & Interface:

Most DVD-A menu systems have struck me as functional but plain to this point, but Rumours is one exception to that trend. The entire interface revolves around images form the album's artwork, at times animated into transitions that admittedly take a little bit of time away from listening, but that are impressive all the same. Everything is laid out well, and unlike many DVD-A titles, there aren't two separate playlists (sound format selection has its own submenu, with the 6-channel being the default). The photo galleries are accessible via an arrow at the bottom of the screen that accompanies each song. My only complaint is that getting back to the main menu is somewhat frustrating, due to the fact that it isn't an option on all screens.

Song & Tracklisting:

Second Hand News
Dreams
Never Going Back Again
Don't Stop
Go Your Own Way
Silver Springs
The Chain
You Make Loving Fun
I Don't Want To Know
Oh Daddy
Gold Dust Woman
Songbird

Artists & Technicians:

Rumours features the most famous Fleetwood Mac lineup, which consists of Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and John McVie. The album was produced by Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, and Ken Caillat. Caillat also mixed the original album, and returned to mix the new 6- channel version found on this disc.

Conclusions & Afterthoughts:

Rumours is not only one of the quintessential Fleetwood Mac albums, but also one of the greatest rock records of all time. It spent 31 weeks at the top of the album charts, went gold within a month of release, platinum the next month, and has since gone on to be certified 18 times platinum. It is fitting that this is the first DVD-Audio offering by the band, but I hope others soon follow. This album's predecessor, the self-titled Fleetwood Mac may not be as consistent as Rumours, but deserves as much attention, in my opinion, and would make a perfect companion to its better known sibling. It has already been announced, though, that the somewhat esoteric but also amazing follow-up, Tusk, is next in line for DVD-A treatment, which should make for some very interesting 6- channel listening.

I can't say enough good things about this disc…this is truly why God made speakers on the 8th day. Rumours is one of those albums that begs to be explored time and again in different ways - whether it be to simply get lost in the complete experience, or to find an enjoyable groove and follow it throughout a song, or to divert attention back and forth between different yet complimentary rhythms - and there is no better way to do that than with this disc. For fans, this is the perfect reason to buy that DVD-A player you've been holding out for, and for those who have never heard Rumours (both of you), this disc is the perfect introduction to the perfect album. The inclusion of "Silver Springs" makes the experience complete, and the extras are a major plus, but it is the music that will keep you coming back, and it has never sounded better than this.

[wondergirl9847]

What a gusher, greatdarkwing! LOL He REALLY loves Rumours!! YAY!! I cannot WAIT to hear Tusk, FM and TISL even in DVD-A!! :thumbups: They need to just go ahead to do Mirage and Tango too!! How about L&O, Go Insane and OOTC as well. LOL I'm so greedy!!

[estranged4life]

"Tusk" as a DVD sounds very interesting...Definately peaked my interest, Cant wait to see the bootleg versions coming out on trade sites (ala "Roumours")...lol...Brian