Amazing clarity & dynamics on the high-resolution 5.1 remix on the Blu-ray disc
I don't know whether I'll ever get around to listening to all of the live concerts on this 5-disc set. But it's worth buying just for the hi-resolution 5.1-channel Blu-ray disc remix of Quadrophenia! [It was available separately originally, but is no longer available and extremely expensive on the used market - but this set is another way of getting it.] If you like Quadrophenia and have a good 5.1 (or even stereo) setup, YOU MUST HEAR THIS VERSION! By remixing from the original multi-track master tapes, the sound quality is unbelievably better! I always thought of the original (on LP or CD) as having rather impressive dynamic range - but THIS IS AMAZINGLY BETTER! I get the feeling that I'm at a live performance, of the original studio "take", sitting in the middle of the band. The clarity of everything, the frequency range, the macro- and micro-dynamics of the drums and vocals - incredible! After hearing this version, you pretty much can't go back to the 1973 original (regardless of version, even the Japanese SHM SACD). If you read some others' reviews, you may see complaints about a lack of bass on this version. Well, not at all in my opinion - 5.1 setups are sometimes a bit tricky to get right, with so many physical and electronic settings. Even if the complainers have their setup perfect and even if this version possibly sounds a bit thin compared to the legacy stereo mixes, it's probably more a matter of the extended high frequency content and clarity than it is any actual lack of bass. The bass on the drums, bass guitar, and effects (waves, thunder, etc.) are impressively powerful. In 5.1, the image spread allows much better clarity of every element, every instrument in the mix, especially the horns, vocals and drums. If you're possibly hesitating because of cost of whatever version you're considering, I would unequivocally say go for it if you possibly can afford it, you will not regret it! // I did listen to/watch a bit of one of the live video versions on one of the DVDs. Hey, I'm sorry, but we all eventually get old, and the explosions and light shows can't really make up for the lesser energy of Townsend and Daltrey, not to mention the loss of Moon and Entwhistle. Daltrey tries his best; Townsend changes a lot of the vocal arrangement details (sometimes sounding more like speech than singing) and usually doesn't even try for the higher notes (understandably, just like McCartney these days); the other band members compensate as best they can where possible. Daltrey insists on unnecessarily and repeatedly swinging, throwing, and catching his mic, as if to prove that he can still do it. Townsend insists on doing his occasional trademark "windmilling", but approaching that age myself, I can "feel" the probable arthritis pain in his shoulder, assume that he's on pain meds for it, and keep thinking "He probably had to pay for that later that night!". The part that I liked best about the video was the still and movie images that they play throughout the concert of themselves from those early/mid '60s days that form a bit of the semi-autobiographical background of the lyrics. Overall, rather good, but the original recording captured in '73 in hi-resolution 5.1 is by far the big deal, at least for an audiophile fan like me, and I close my eyes and let my imagination fill in the visuals.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned