Surroundablog

Opeth "Blackwater Park" legacy edition released March 29th

Sweden’s OPETH, easily one of the most revered and respected bands in the metal scene and beyond for the past two decades, will commemorate their twentieth anniversary in Spring 2010 with six exclusive shows that will take place across the globe in; Stockholm, Essen, Paris , London, New York City and Los Angeles .


At each show, the band will perform two sets. The first set will feature the band playing its breakthrough epic "Blackwater Park" in its entirety. The second set will consist of mixed material from the band’s extensive catalogue.

To commemorate these incredible a special events a CD/DVD of "Blackwater Park', with a 5.1 mix and a 30-minute, never-before-seen documentary, all packaged in a hard cover digipack designed by artist Travis Smith. will be released on March 29th, through Sony Music / Music For Nations.

King Crimson round 2 by 2...

The second series of King Crimson multi-fun albums gets it's release this spring. "Islands" and "Beat"will be released in Japan as double disc cd/dvd packages each featuring a 5.1 remix by Steven Wilson for dvd-audio. I suspect these 2 releases will follow along the same lines as last year's extraordinary "Red", "Lizard" and "In the Court of the Crimson King"....meaning: many outtakes, retakes and tae kwon dos....ahem.

Note: The description lists these as region 2.....but since it's dvd-audio I'm not sure regions apply...we'll clarify as we get it. No domestic or European release date as of posting...

Chicago Transit Authority (DVD - DTS - Quadrophonic)

Rhino Handmade raids the vault again to release Chicago's chart-topping debut, CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY in true, discrete Quadraphonic sound for the first time ever. Mastered from early 1970s Quad mixes, the DVD offers unheralded takes on the band's unique fusion of rock and jazz.

CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY rose to the top of the charts in 1969, with 12 unforgettable tracks including the hit singles "Beginnings," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" and "Questions 67 and 68." The now-classic release also contains a cover of Steve Winwood's "I'm A Man," "Prologue, August 29, 1968" (recorded at the Democratic convention) and an almost 15-minute live take on "Liberation." 

NOTE: This is a music-only DVD release and can be played in DVD player with Surround Sound to fully enjoy the Quadraphonic mix as intended.

One of the earliest offerings of what would later be known as Surround Sound, Quadraphonic sound uses four channels and speakers placed in four corners of a room to create signals that are independent of one another.

The CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY Quadraphonic DVD was mastered using the original 4-track Quad mixes as the source material. The original format of the master was a 4-track, half-inch analog tape running at 15 ips. There is not a separate or "discrete" LFE (subwoofer) track, although one can hear (or not hear) the LFE channel based on what settings one chooses on the integrated amplifier.

This DTS - DVD features 4 channels of 24-bit, 96 kHz audio (down scalable to 24-bit, 48 kHz).

It can be played back two ways: with Bass Management or without Bass Management. Bass Management sends the sum of the low-frequency information (frequencies below 80 Hz) from the four main speakers to the LFE speaker. If your surround speakers are of the satellite variety, you will want to engage Bass Management on your system to hear the full range of the recording. If your surround speakers are the large, full-range type, then we recommend turning the Bass Management off.