Surroundablog

Los Lonely Boys in the garbage

I rolled on over to HMV this week to invest my birthday money in one of these new-fangled DualDiscs that everyone's been writing about. The selection is quickly becoming quite tasty with the likes of both new (Judas Priest and Velvet Revolver) and old titles like Miles Davis polluting front store bins. After a quick and close scrutiny, I settled on the DualDisc version of The Los Lonely Boys. For those of you stumbling on my blog for the first time, DualDisc is the format equivalent of the "taste of the day" that all the labels are banking on. One side of the disc is a cd...on the other side is a dvd with a mix of audio presentations and visual content.

DualDisc is number 1..

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Matchbox twenty frontman Rob Thomas makes Billboard 200 history this week, becoming the first male artist from a pop or rock group since the chart's inception in 1955 to bow at No. 1 with his debut solo effort.

"... Something To Be" (Melisma/Atlantic) sold 252,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, to put it at the head of this week's chart. It's also the first album available exclusively as a dual-sided disc to debut at No. 1.

Thomas fares better on the album chart than his band ever has. Matchbox twenty has peaked as high as No. 3 with 2000's "Mad Season" (Atlantic). The group's best-selling album to date, at 8 million copies, is its 1996 debut, "Yourself or Someone Like You," which peaked at No. 5 on the tally.

The arrival of Thomas' "Something" replaces Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island/IDMJ) at the top of the Billboard 200. Her album falls to No. 2 on sales of 226,000, a 44 percent decline from the previous week.

Following the established acts are two artists making their Billboard 200 debuts. With 181,000 copies, rapper Mike Jones' ....that's enough of that business...

5.1 Entertainment and DVDplus International Sign License Agreement

Editor's Note: Good news Europe..you too will soon be able to own your very own copy of such "highly" sought after hi-fi gems as "Asshole", "Liars" and "Curse of Blondie". Yesterday I wrote that DualDisc's major label export to Europe would be determined by the success of "little known" artist Bruce Springsteen's new project. For those of you keeping track, Springsteen's "Devils and Dust" is hitting North American shelves exclusively on DualDisc. If you just can not wait for the good stuff...5.1 Label Group wants you to know that you too will be able to buy their titles sooner than later.

More Dust and Devils DiscDual...business...whaa?

Editor's note: Here's an article that ran on www.sify.com last night. Most interesting...the success of this title should nail down a roll-out date for DualDisc in Europe. To stack the deck, Sony BMG is issuing "Devils and Dust" exclusively on DualDisc in North America...

Fan fever over the release of a new Bruce Springsteen album next week is matched by recording industry interest in how sales may be affected by its US launch in the new DualDisc format.

"Devils and Dust," the Boss's 19th album, will only be available in the United States in the fledgling CD/DVD hybrid, which represents the first major change in retail music packaging since the compact disc was introduced more than two decades ago.

The format pairs a standard CD on one side with a DVD on the flip side, which offers video and a surround-sound mix of the album for home theaters.

Old and New Oasis on DualDisc

A must have for any fan...On May 17 Oasis will release a DualDisc of the 1994 Gold-certified album Defintely Maybe. On the video portion of the "Definitely Maybe" DualDisc, fans will get 30 minutes of documentary footage from the making of the legendary album plus two live audio tracks - "Live Forever" live from Glastonbury in 1994 and "Columbia" live from the Hammersmith Palais in 1994. The DualDisc of "Don't Believe The Truth", out May 31, includes more than 15 minutes of select making the album footage as well as the video of their first single "Lyla."

For those of you keeping track, these DualDisc releases mark a turning point for the Manchesterians. Oasis previously released "(What's the Story) Morning Glory" and "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" as hybrid Multichannel SACDs. Clearly; a sign that Sony has backed away from it's own proprietary technology.

In other related Oasis-age...They are excited to announce additional U.S. tour dates in support of their May 31st release of "Don't Believe The Truth". Taking only an hour to sell-out the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City as well as shows in Philadelphia and Detroit, Oasis have added nine tour stops in September with Jet and Kasabian to support.

Brothers In Arms Coming to SACD Surround Sound on May 9th

	Editor's note: fantastic news today from HiFidelity.com... Brothers In Arms by the Dire Straits, one of the best known rock albums of the '80s and one of the most sought after rock albums for a Surround Sound edition is coming to Surround Sound Super Audio CD next month on May 9th. News of the upcoming SACD release of Brothers In Arms broke last week on two web sites that closely follow the music of Mark Knopfler who was the lead vocalist, guitar player and leader of the group. Brothers In Arms and Shangri-La in Hi Rez Audio Brothers In Arms features 9 songs written by Knopfler, including one that was co-written by Sting who provides guest vocals on the album as well. It was originally released in 1985 and next month's special edition marks the albums 20th Anniversary. The SACD of Brothers In Arms follows last year's release of Knopfler's most recent album entitled Shangri-La in Surround Sound SACD in the European market by Mercury Records and later in the U.S. on a DVD-A + CD Double Disc by Warner Music U.S. News About the 5.1 Surround Sound SACD Mix There's also been some discussion about the Brother In Arms 5.1 Surround Sound mix over on the Hi Rez Highway Internet Forum. On that forum, Telarc Chief Engineer Michael Bishop says veteran producer and surround sound mixer and engineer Chuck Ainlay spent 3 months mixing Brothers In Arms into Surround Sound. Interestingly, the mix was done in the "analog domain" and Ainlay was said to be "thrilled" with the final results. It sounds like this will be a very nice SACD to add to any rock fan's collection. The 3,000th SACD Release? Knopfler's "Shangri-La" release gained some notoriety in Super Audio CD circles as the 2,500th SACD release worldwide. Some SACD fans have asked if Brothers In Arms will be the 3,000th SACD release since the current count stands at 2,942 according to the sa-cd.net web site in Australia that catalogues all Super Audio CDs released. We'll have to wait until May 9th to see if that is the story. Another Surround Sound Special Edition from Mercury Records The SACD edition is coming from Mercury Records and the Vertigo label of Universal Music International in Europe. It closely follows their recent 40th Anniversary Surround Sound SACD by Dutch rock group Golden Earring. Two SACD Editions of Brothers In Arms? One of the interesting parts of the release is that we are told that there will be two versions of the Brothers In Arms SACD - one in a regular case (Vertigo/Mercury Records 987149-8) and a second will be a "Limited Edition" SACD in a Digipak (Vertigo/Mercury Records 987149-7). We'll keep an eye out for more information on what the difference is between the two versions. Preorders Being Taken by Amazon in the U.K. Now that the Brothers In Arms: 20th Anniversary Edition SACD is just a month away, Amazon.Co.Uk has listed both versions of the Brothers In Arms SACD for preorders. Each carries a price of £11.99 and Amazon says that "This item will be released on May 9, 2005. You may order it now and we will dispatch it to you when we receive it from our supplier."

Yokohama FM Begins Broadcasting With SRS Circle Surround(R)

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SRS Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRSL - News), one of the world's leading providers of audio, voice and surround sound technologies, announced today that Yokohama FM Broadcast Co., Ltd., a major radio station in the heart of Yokohama, Japan, has adopted SRS Circle Surround® 5.1 ("CS") as their surround sound technology for radio broadcasts. Yokohama FM began broadcasting their station identification jingle in CS on April 4 and is planning to broadcast live concerts, in CS, in May 2005. SRS Circle Surround is an advanced encode/decode system that allows professional audio engineers to encode up to 6.1 channels of discrete audio for distribution or broadcast over existing two-channel carriers such as SD and HD television, analog and digital radio, streaming media, CDs and VHS tapes.

DTS Entertainment Debuts Second Surround Mix from Porcupine Tree

New Surround Music Release, `Deadwing,' Includes Unique Bonus Features

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 2005--DTS (Digital Theater Systems, Inc.) (Nasdaq:DTSI - News) entertainment label, DTS Entertainment (DTSE), announces a May 10th street date for surround music version of notable British rock band Porcupine Tree's new album "Deadwing." DTS Entertainment previously released the 5.1-channel surround version of the Porcupine Tree's critically acclaimed "In Absentia" in March 2004, which received the 2004 Surround Music Award for Best Mix: Non-Orchestral.

Known for their unique blend of rock, atmospherics, songwriting and dark intellectual cool, Porcupine Tree is a band whose goal is to dissolve boundaries between different music genres. The stereo version of "Deadwing" is scheduled for release by Lava Records on CD on April 26th, and the track "Shallow" is currently breaking into the Active Rock chart according to Radio & Records.

The DTSE 5.1-channel surround version DVD-A of "Deadwing" offers a wealth of bonus features, including:

• Exclusive surround re-mixes of all nine original songs
• Three new bonus tracks: "Mother And Child Divided," "Revenant," and "Half-Light"
• Film short on the making of "Deadwing"
• Album Trailer
• Gallery of more than 100 photos

No Radar Love no Twilight Zone no point...not even on sacd..

Golden Earring has just released the "eagerly" anticipated "Naked III: Live at the Panama" on SACD. Great!....except that it has all the hits that no one outside of a Kooyman would care for...not even "Candy's Gone Bad" which is as deep as any self-respecting music fan ought to venture. (Clears throat) for more info..

Mudvayne dirties up your home

Coming to a record store near you...yawn...Mudvayne's "Lost and Found" from Sony\BMG on DualDisc. The DVD side will feature an enhanced stereo version of the cd side...excited?

Me no...I saw Mudvayne a couple of summer's back during Metallica's "Summer Sanitarium" tour. Holy blag Batman. I know these guys have a following...but I found them to be a little too disturbingly over-the-top in the untalented field.....likewise with the Deftones who should be called tone-deaftones as evidenced by their lack of anything melodic. The middle rotation of Limp-Park-Linkin-Bizkit were terrific but interchangeable. Metallica was uninspired, uninvolved and unheadliner-worthy.

As an aside...if new releases like Judas Priest's "Angel of Retribution, Mudvayne and Velvet Revolver are out of the box examples of "need to get" DualDiscs,  what's the likelihood of this format surviving? Honestly; wouldn't you rather hear "Screaming for Vengeance" or "Appetite for Destruction" or "Purple" in multifun BEFORE potentially wasting your money on the aforementioned? I'd even take a chance on "Defenders of the Faith"...but don't get me started on Joe Perry...

Ron Wheeler Editor