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ForEvermore

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    How The West Was Won Remastered Reviews/Thoughts

    in Led Zeppelin Reissues

    Posted

    5 hours ago, tmtomh said:

    Great review!

    The Blu-Ray stereo track does have a spoken intro to Dancing Days, although it's tracked at the end of What Is and What Should Never be, rather than at the beginning of Dancing Days.

    Thank you very much! :)

    I'll have to listen to both again and make sure I'm just not imagining things - if they are different, I wonder why there would be differences between 5.1 and stereo versions of the same recording., esp. in a spoken introduction. Weird...

     

    How The West Was Won Remastered Reviews/Thoughts

    in Led Zeppelin Reissues

    Posted · Edited by ForEvermore

    I finally got and have listened to the BluRay audio surround sound of HTWWW.

    There are certain albums that make you happy that you invested a little money in a surround sound system - this is definitely one of them. One of the best things about a well-made BluRay Audio 5.1 mix is that it isn't a punch-you-in-the-face affair like DVD-Audio discs from about 10-15 years ago were. Now, if you want to take the paint off the walls with it, you can - you just crank up the volume - but, the default volume is just well-balanced and pleasant to listen to.

    One of the things I like the most is a surface detail - I can listen to the whole thing in one sitting without changing discs! (In fact, this detail is one of the reasons I like CDs compared to vinyl, i.e., no flipping over half-way through.) Well, I'll point out a few sonic highlights:

    Every song sounds better - it's that simple. The ones that will really blow your mind in surround are (of course) the longer songs. If the mere concept of hearing "Dazed and Confused" in 5.1 sounds intriguing, I promise that the reality is even more so. Bowed guitar and theramin sounds floating all around you menacingly as if you were in the crowd yourself is a great treat! Accompanied by JPJ's throbbing bass, Bonzo's relentless rhythms, and Robert's languid moans, you remember why LZ was so beloved live. It was a full sensory experience.

    "Moby Dick"...Jesus H. Christ! So that's what an elephant stampede sounds like! You even get the added bonus of Bonzo giving you a tour of your speakers on this song. Jimmy does the same thing in the middle of "What Is And What Should Never Be" with the guitar.

    "Whole Lotta Love" - see "Dazed and Confused" above for a description of the middle section. As many others have said, the cut of "Hello Mary Lou" isn't noticeable - if you didn't know it was there originally, you wouldn't know anything had been cut.

    Have you ever had the experience of rediscovering a song that you once really liked, but you had heard it too often to properly appreciate it for its own merits anymore? If you haven't, listen to this version of "Rock And Roll" - I got the same buzz hearing this version as I got when I first heard it ever. I didn't expect that!

    You can hear the crowd respond to some of Robert's ad-libs he inserted into some of the lyrics - a nice little bonus. Things like this exemplify one of the the best things about a well-mixed live recording - you feel like you're actually at the show, but with the ambient crowd noise down to a comfortable level and with extra clarity in the instruments.

    Throughout the show, I kept saying to myself, "This music was created by only three instrumentalists and one singer? That's not possible!" LZ always sounded like a rock orchestra live, as if they had 6 or 7 people on-stage playing instead of just the 4. Both the recording and the mix just make you appreciate the collective alchemy they had on stage.

    I seem to remember a spoken introduction to "Dancing Days" that isn't on this - I'll have to check that and make sure I'm not confusing this with a different show. We've talked about the cuts of "Plantations" on official live recordings here - does anyone think that Robert might be the one vetoing their inclusion, and not just Jimmy? I've often wondered about this...

    Well, if anyone is on the fence, get off of it and buy some version of this remix/remaster. It is definitely worth it - and this is coming from someone who was disappointed in the original announcement of this release. I wasn't sure I was going to get any version of it, and now I very happily have two...

     

     

    football

    in Ramble On

    Posted

    5 hours ago, LedZeppfan1977 said:

    Sorry.  3-0.  Bring on Germany.  England were robbed blind in that game vs Italy as I watched from my hospital bed.  Bullshit penalty shot awarded with 3 minutes left.  What an acting job by the guinea diver.  Never was touched.  Are they blind?

    That is a very good result for Mexico - they must have improved greatly since last summer and/or Iceland had a poor game.  (Obviously, I didn't see it.)

    I hope you feel better soon.

     

    How The West Was Won Remastered Reviews/Thoughts

    in Led Zeppelin Reissues

    Posted

    On 3/23/2018 at 4:54 PM, zeplz71 said:

    The new remaster sounds better to me. Drums are clearer, better eq and can hear the bass better too.

     

    On 3/23/2018 at 6:55 PM, SteveZ98 said:

    Agreed. This is how the first release of HTWWW should have sounded. I still can't believe Jimmy OK'd the brickwalled mess that was the original version. Why go to all the trouble of picking the best performances from the two nights only to have them lose their impact because of the poor mastering?

     

    On 3/24/2018 at 12:55 AM, tmtomh said:

    Yep, definitely. Slightly more dynamic mastering, overloaded mid-bass nicely cut down, harshness basically gone. A series of small improvements that add up to a noticeably better listening experience, especially over the course of the full 2-1/2 hours.

     

    On 3/24/2018 at 10:18 AM, rebeldhipi said:

    The new one is better. 

    The bass in What Is And What Should Never Be is a delight. Probably always was but the new remaster brings in up nicely.

     

    Edited to add:

    The booklet is really nice with great pictures i havent seen before.

    Hello Marylou is cut and it works. From Lets Have A Party to Going Down Slow flows well.

     

    On 3/24/2018 at 6:35 PM, tmtomh said:

    Agreed on all counts. Would have loved to have Mary Lou again, but I have to admit I can see why Page might have cut it - the song flows more logically without it.

    I can only agree with all of the above. I'm listening to the new CD version (on the headphones I talked about in another thread :) ), and it sounds SOOOO much better than the original version. No overly-compressed wall of sound (in the negative sense) here...

     

    12 hours ago, blindwillie127 said:

    This new remaster sounds so fucking good its frightening. Feels like your your getting punched in the gut and slapped in the face at the same time. Im cranking the shit out of it on my very powerful old school stereo system and Im getting my fucking face melted. That beautiful syncopated bass line that JPJ is laying down during the solo to OTHAFA with Bonham locked tight on his ass is just unreal magical shit.

    God this band was powerful.

    :D

    I have the feeling I'm going to be gushing like you when my BluRay Audio version arrives later this week - yes, I made up my own "digital boxset" by getting both the CD and the BluRay versions ("thanks", Jimmy... ;)

    Did I mention I just got a new 5.1 system last week? Quite a coincidence for that to happen right before the new HTWWW remaster came out... :rolleyes:

    football

    in Ramble On

    Posted

    9 hours ago, LedZeppfan1977 said:

    I sure cleaned up with my picks on the World Cup friendly match's topped off with the "gift" of Mexico minus a half vs Iceland.  How in the devil does anyone think Iceland can hang with Mexico?  3-0.  I am going to take a light shot on Mexico vs Germany in the opener in June

    Ummm...Iceland is a very good team. They knocked England out of the Euro Championship 2 years ago and got all the way to the quarterfinals in that tournament. I agree that Mexico will probably win, but no way 3-0. This Mexico team is not one of their especially strong ones.

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