Artist: Nirvana
Title: Nevermind
Release Year: 1991 / 2013
Genre: Grunge, Alternative Rock
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 00:49:51
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video 6917 kbps 1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 (96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English DTS HD MA 2.0 (96 kHz / 3302 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (96 kHz / 2554 kbps / 24-bit)
Size: 8,33 GB
Released in September of 1991, Nirvana’s sophomore album and major label debut elevated Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl from a critically acclaimed Aberdeen, Washington, cult band to generational spokesmen who’d unwittingly created a cultural shift and musical touchstone.
Rising to #1 the world over by year’s end and ultimately selling over 30 million copies worldwide, Nevermindwould come to be much more than one of the most successful and influential albums of its or any era. As the album that returned unaffected rock ’n’ roll integrity and passion to the top of the charts, Nevermind would prove a singular inspiration to fans and musicians alike over the last two decades, and will undoubtedly do so for generations to come!
“The overnight-success story of the 1990s, Nirvana’s second album and its totemic first single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” shot up from the nascent grunge scene in Seattle to kick Michael Jackson off the top of the Billboard album chart and blow hair metal off the map. No album in recent history had such an overpowering impact on a generation – a nation of teens suddenly turned punk – and such a catastrophic effect on its main creator.” – #17 on Rolling Stone’s ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time’
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Artist: Nirvana
Title: In Utero
Release Year: 1993 / 2013
Genre: Grunge, Alternative Rock
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 00:41:26
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video 4780 kbps 1080p / 24 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Audio: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 3560 kbps / 24-bit
Audio: English / Dolby TrueHD Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 2999 kbps / 24-bit
Size: 5,67 GB
To say that Nirvana’s third and ultimately final studio album In Utero was 1993’s most polarizing record would be the understatement of a decade. The unadorned sonic rawness of Steve Albini’s recording laid bare every primal nuance of the most confrontational yet vulnerable material Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl would ever record. And with its 1991 predecessor Nevermind having sold some 30 million copies, single-handedly returning honest rock ’n’ roll to the top of the pop charts, In Utero was essentially the first record Nirvana would make with any expectations from the public.
So from the opening quasi-shamble melodics of “Serve The Servants” through the bittersweet closing strains of “All Apologies,”In Utero was the sound of the most incredible yet conflicted rock ‘n’ roll band of the era at the peak of its powers coming to terms with a generational spokes-band mantle they’d never seen coming – and ultimately surmounting these struggles to make the record they needed to make. As Rolling Stone’s David Fricke said in his review at the time, “In Utero is a lot of things – brilliant, corrosive, enraged and thoughtful, most of them all at once. But more than anything, it’s a triumph of the will.”
Read moreMiles Davis – Take Off: The Complete Blue Note Albums (2015) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]
Artist: Miles Davis
Title: Take Off: The Complete Blue Note Albums
Genre: Jazz, Bop, Hard Bop, Cool Jazz, Trumpet Jazz
Label: © Blue Note Records/Universal Music Enterprises
Release Date: 2015
Recorded: Tracks 1 to 6, 19 to 21 and 29 to 30 were recorded at WOR Studios, New York City, NY, May 9, 1952.
Tracks 7 to 12 and tracks 22 to 28 were recorded at WOR Studios, New York City, NY, April 20, 1953.
Tracks 13 to 18 were recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, March 6, 1954.
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 01:51:27
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 / 96 kHz / 3339 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 / 96 kHz / 2458 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Universal Music Group has gone back to the original master tapes to deliver fully uncompressed, high-resolution versions of many of your favorite albums on Blu-ray Pure Audio Disc. Mastered at 24bit/96kHz, Blu-ray Pure Audio Discs deliver the sound the artists originally heard in the studio when these classic albums were recorded. These discs provide all the recorded musical information. While convenient due to their small file size, today’s heavily compressed music files do not represent the true fidelity of the original album.
• Recordings are transferred from the original master tapes and delivered in high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz audio
• No compression is utilized, and the sound quality is vastly superior to MP3 or standard CD
• Three separate choices of audio file format for playback: PCM 2.0, Dolby True HD, or DTS-HD Master Audio (5.1 available where noted)
• Your preferred audio format is chosen either by pressing the “Audio” button on your Blu-ray remote or via your onscreen menu display
Now available on Blu-Ray Pure Audio Disc, Take Off: The Complete Blue Note Albums is a new Miles Davis Estate-approved collection of the legendary artist’s three Blue Note 10-inch albums plus all alternate takes issued on subsequent 12-inch albums and CD reissues: a total of 26 tracks recorded for Blue Note Records on three dates in 1952, ’53 and ’54. This is the first time Davis’ 10-inch albums – Young Man With A Horn, Miles Davis Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 – have been issued in their original sequence since the early 1950s.
Release Date: 29 April 2022
Label: UMR / Virgin EMI
A lavish deluxe 20 disc boxed set comprising 17 CDs and 3 Blu Ray discs covering Van der Graaf Generator’s entire recorded work for Charisma Records. Between the years 1970 – 1978 the band released 8 albums (two under the name Van der Graaf) for the legendary Charisma label. Each record was ground breaking and the influence of the band’s unique music would be felt in the ensuing decades by artists of many different musical genres. This boxed set features all of their Charisma albums newly re-mastered from the first generation master tapes and much more.
The albums “H to He Who Am the Only One”, “Pawn Hearts”, “Godbluff” and “Still Life” have been stunningly remixed from the original multi-track tapes in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound by Stephen W Tayler. These feature on 4 additional CDs and two Blu ray discs. Also featured are two CDs of a recently discovered and previously unreleased entire concert recorded in Paris in December 1976 by French radio and all of the surviving BBC sessions recorded by the band. In addition there is a Blu ray disc featuring all of the surviving VdGG television footage and promotional films including their appearance on German TV’s “Beat Club” in 1970, their filmed appearance at The Bataclan in Paris in 1972 for the French TV show “Pop Deux”, the 1972 appearance on “Pop Shop” for RTBF Belgium, a live performance shot by Belgian TV in Chaleroi in September 1975, the promotional films of “Wondering” and “Cat’s Eye”, and a 20 minute documentary with live footage shot by Austrian television at The Kohfidisch Open Air Festival, Austria in June 1978.
Lavishly packaged with a 68 page book and rare photos, “The Charisma Years” is the definitive collection of work by Van der Graaf Generator.
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Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: The Dark Side Of The Moon (50th Anniversary Edition Box Set)
Genre: Rock, Prog Rock
Label: Pink Floyd Records
Release Date: 2023
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 00:43:04
Container: ISO (*.iso)
Size: 10.82 + 15.3 + 3.41 GB
Blu-ray of original album 5.1 and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes
LPCM Audio – English – 13824 kbps – 5.1 / 96 kHz / 13824 kbps / 24-bit
LPCM Audio – English – 9216 kbps – 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio – English – 9043 kbps – 5.1 / 96 kHz / 9043 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 6.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio – English – 3302 kbps – 2.0 / 96 kHz / 3302 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 3.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Blu-ray of Atmos and high-resolution remastered stereo mixes
Dolby TrueHD/Atmos Audio – English – 6481 kbps – 7.1 / 48 kHz / 6033 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -31dB)
LPCM Audio – English – 9216 kbps – 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio – English – 3302 kbps – 2.0 / 96 kHz / 3302 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 3.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DVD of 5.1 and remastered stereo mixes
5.1 SURROUND MIX @ 640kbps
5.1 SURROUND MIX @ 448kbps
STEREO MIX 24bit/48kHz uncompressed
One of the most iconic and influential albums ever, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon celebrates its 50th Anniversary.
The album was partly developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of the suite at London’s Rainbow Theatre several months before recording began. ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ is the eighth studio album by Pink Floyd, originally released in March 1973. The new material was recorded in 1972 and 1973 at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) in London. The iconic sleeve, which depicts a prism spectrum, was designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis and drawn by George Hardie. ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ has sold over 50 million copies worldwide.
The new deluxe box set includes CD and gatefold vinyl of the newly remastered studio album and Blu-Ray + DVD audio featuring the original 5.1 mix and remastered stereo versions. The set also includes additional new Blu-ray disc of Atmos mix plus CD and LP of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974’.
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Title: Marillion – With Friends At St David’s
Release Date: 2021
Genre: Rock
Production/Label: Universal Music
Duration: 02:12:47 + 00:25:04 + 01:19:59
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio codec: DTS, PCM
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 29999 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: English / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Audio#2: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 96 kHz / 6626 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Size: 46.06 + 39.07 GB
This is the Blu-Ray version of the concert film recorded at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Wales on the 16th November 2019 during the Friends From The Orchestra Tour.
Features the entire show. Audio is stereo PCM and 5.1 surround.
Also includes bonus material –
Man Of 1000 Face (Live In Paris with choir)
Live In Kensington Bootleg Slideshow (You’re Gone, Power, A Collection)
Making Friends (Documentary)
Estonia Promo Film
With Friends From The Orchestra Studio album in 96khz stereo PCM and 96khz 5.1 DTS Master HD
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Сomposer: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Artist: Monteverdi Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Title: Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Genre: Classical
Label: © LSO Live
Release Date: 2017
Recorded live 16 February 2016 in DSD 128fs, at the Barbican, London
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
BD Audio:
Duration: 00:55:13
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29.970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 192 kHz / 10478 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
BD Video:
Bonus HD video footage of the full concert performance on 16 February 2016, at which this recording was made, additionally containing the concert’s first half (Mendelssohn Symphony No 1).
Duration: 01:37:26
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 22000 kbps / 1080i / 29.970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
BD ROM:
Digital files: Stereo files in DSD / 24bit 96kHz FLAC / 16bit 44.1kHz WAV / 320kbps MP3
Continuing his award-winning cycle of works by Felix Mendelssohn, Sir John Eliot Gardiner leads the LSO, his Monteverdi Choir and three talented young actors from the Guildhall in a landmark performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, which was performed as part of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. To mark the celebrations, Gardiner produced a special version of the work featuring some cuts to the original movements that, in his words, “remove all of the music relating to the Mechanicals and thus focus on the world of the fairies and the human lovers”.
Mendelssohn, who adored Shakespeare’s writings, composed his concert overture based on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in 1827 aged 17, after having read a German translation of the play. The overture was immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece and quickly became a popular favourite throughout Europe. Years later in 1843 he was asked by the King of Prussia to provide a score for an entire production: 14 short works based on themes and moods from the original overture, with a broadly romantic sound although classical in style and structure.
The Pure Audio Blu-ray disc includes bonus footage of the concert performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No 1, alongside high resolution master audio. (more…)
Lionel Richie – Can’t Slow Down (1983/2013) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]
LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 & Dolby TrueHD 2.0 | 24bit / 96kHz | Time – 00:40:52 minutes | 4,56 GB
Propelled by his immensely productive songwriting skills along with his dynamic performing style, Lionel Richie has reached a series of dazzling artistic heights, setting new standards in his craft and in the industry. With the Commodores he wrote some of the most enduring songs of all-time including “Still,” “Sail On,” “Easy” and the group’s first #1 hit, “Three Times a Lady.” At the dawn of the ’80’s, Kenny Rogers scored a #1 hit with Richie’s “Lady” and Richie had the same results with the Oscar nominated film track “Endless Love,” a duet with Diana Ross.
In 1982, Richie embarked on a solo career with the #1 single, “Truly.” A year later, Richie’s career hit its apex with the phenomenal album, Can’t Slow Down, which sold in excess of 15 million copies worldwide, spawned five chart-topping singles, and became the biggest selling album in the history of Motown Records. Can’t Slow Down’s first single, “All Night Long” became one of Richie’s most memorable hits when, at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Richie performed a marathon 20-minute version of the song before a television viewing audience estimated at 2.6 billion people worldwide. (more…)
Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way (1993/2014) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc] | 10.15 GB
#1: English / LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
#2: English / DTS-HD MA 2.0 / 192 kHz / 6339 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
#3: English / Dolby TrueHD 2.0 / 192 kHz / 5904 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Are You Gonna Go My Way is the third studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on March 9, 1993 by Virgin Records America. It was recorded at Waterfront Studios, Hoboken, New Jersey by Henry Hirsch. It became Kravitz’s first Top 20 album on the United States Billboard 200, and his first number one album in both Australia and the United Kingdom, achieving massive worldwide success that helped to establish his popularity as a performer. The album was certified 2× Platinum in the United States, for shipments of over 2.2 million copies, making it his third most successful album there, totalling over 4 million copies in worldwide sales.
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Artist: Love And Rockets
Title: Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven
Genre: Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Goth Rock, Post Punk, New Wave
Label: © Beggars Banquet Music
Release Date: 2017
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 00:55:44
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 3995 kbps / 1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 96 kHz / 8432 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English LPCM 5.1 / 96 kHz / 13824 kbps / 24-bit
Size: 13 GB
Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven was Love And Rockets darkly psychedelic debut album, and it was released by Beggars Banquet in 1985 and marked the beginning of a career that would span an impressive 14 years and 7 albums. This special release features a high definition 96 kHz / 24 bit surround mix created by Neil Wilkes from the analogue multi-tracks and also includes three additional bonus tracks from the original session including the single “Ball Of Confusion” and a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Lucifer Sam”.
The original stereo masters, as used on the CD and vinyl, were digitally mixed on to F1 masters in 1985 at 44.1 kHz / 16 bit, so no high resolution analogue copies were created. For the Blu-ray release, Neil Wilkes has created a new HD stereo mix. The release has been approved by original producer John A. Rivers.
Love And Rockets formed in 1985, almost 2 years after the demise of cult goth pioneers Bauhaus. The band re-united Daniel Ash (vocals and guitar), David J (vocals and bass) and Kevin Haskins (drums). Back in the mid-Eighties, when the US alternative scene was just that, Love And Rockets were one of the leading lights.
Love and Rockets provided a clean slate and an opportunity to plumb the depths of imagination and influences. Their first single, a radical reworking of The Temptations classic “Ball Of Confusion”, was a huge hit in underground dance clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. The release of their acclaimed debut album followed. Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven was an unashamedly psychedelic adventure, far removed from the dark soundscapes of Bauhaus. Yet they had to fight hard to avoid being branded ‘goth’, citing Syd Barrett, Marc Bolan and the Beatles as primary influences.
This release is on a Pure Audio Blu-ray disc, meaning it can be played on a Blu-ray player like a CD, without the need for a navigational screen (though this is included). The audio streams are allocated to the color buttons on the remote control.
Ned Ragget wrote about it’s recent 30th anniversary for The Quietus. “it’s its own thing, ruined elegance, sculpted beauty, sometimes sharp without being angry, often inspiring without being sappy, able to capture even slow dull moments in an attractive fashion. Every time I hear it, I’m glad it exists.”
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Artist: Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody
Title: Prometheus {The Dolby Atmos Experience}
Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal, Symphonic Power Metal, Neo-Classical Metal
Label: © Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: 2016
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 01:10:12
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29.970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD) 7.1 / 48 kHz / 7262 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
The latest album of Luca Turilli’s RHAPSODY, »Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus«, was chosen to be the first studio album in music history to be remixed in Dolby Atmos. Renowned producer/mixing engineer Chris Heil (DAVID BOWIE, BRYAN ADAMS, SCORPIONS) mixed the entire masterpiece in Dolby Atmos – the mindblowing result will be submitted for the 2017 Grammy nominations. »Prometheus, The Dolby Atmos Experience + Cinematic And Live« will be released December, 9th via Nuclear Blast.
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This box set features 18 CDs, 3 x blu-ray audio, one blu-ray video and two DVD-Audio discs. The first three CDs are devoted to enhanced version of the studio albums The ConstruKction Of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003). The former has been remixed (by Don Gunn) and features all new drums by Pat Mastelotto and has a new moniker The ReconstruKction Of Light. The Power to Believe is featured as an extended/enhanced stereo mix and includes the studio version of Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With and Level 5.
The next four CDs feature the instrumental/improvised ProjeKcts, er, projects, described as “research and development” by Robert Fripp. These are all new to CD and each ‘ProjeKct’ each CD features a different line-up.
A further 11 CDs feature live recordings (several new to CD, with some material previously unreleased) from the 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2008 tours.
Of the three blu-ray audios:
- Disc One contains the complete recordings of ProjeKcts 1, 3, 4 & 6 – every single concert plus additional material the ProjeKcts released, it features the complete albums: ProjeKct 1- Space Groove, The ProjeKcts – 4CD box, ProjeKct 1 – Jazz Café Suite, ProjeKct X – Heaven & Earth, BPM&M – ExtraKcts & ArtifaKcts and Rieflin/Fripp/Gunn – Repercussions of Angelic Behaviour
- Disc Two contains the complete recordings of ProjeKct 2 (every single concert). More than 30 shows plus an album’s worth of rehearsals.
- Disc Three contains The ReconstruKction Of Light – the album in stereo and 5.1 mixes with the drums completely re-recorded by Pat Mastelotto – stereo mixes by Don Gunn, 5.1 mixes by David Singleton and the original album in hi-res stereo, The Power to Believe – expanded/enhanced 2019 master (2 tracks with additional elements plus 3 extra tracks assembled/mixed by David Singleton) and 5.1 surround mixes by David Singleton – all mixes executive produced by Robert Fripp – plus the Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With and Level 5 mini-albums, the 2000 show from London, the EleKtriK live album from 2003 and a video of a tour of the KC studio/live equipment setup from 2002.
There is also blu-Ray video disc of Europe 2000 – The Bootleg TV tour, which features around 10 hours of audio/video mostly never seen/heard since the concerts with versions of selected songs and improvs (usually two per night of each) from almost every show. Includes footage and music from 20 performances.
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Artist: Hawkwind
Title: Days Of The Underground (The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979)
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock, Space Rock
Label: Atomhenge
Release Date: 2023
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 00:40:16+01:24:23
Audio#1: English / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Audio#2: English / LPCM Audio / 5.1 / 96 kHz / 13824 kbps / 24-bit
Size: 39,22 GB
Nearly a decade after the release of the acclaimed surround mix of Warrior on the Edge of Time, a limited edition 8 CD / 2 Blu ray boxed set from Hawkwind that showcases the band’s tenure with Charisma Records in the late 1970s is released in March 2023. On this deluxe box set titled “Days of the Underground: The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979” fans will find the music that breaks new ground, producing a series of classic albums that adapted to the changing musical times with invention and flair. Specifically, the boxed set features three albums: “Quark, Strangeness and Charm,” “Hawklords: 25 Years On,” and “P.X.R. 5” each with immersive 5.1 surround sound and Stereo remixes by Steven Wilson.
But there is much more, there is a host of rare studio outtakes from that era, as well as four additional CDs of live material. These performances have been newly mixed from the original multi-track tapes, including all the surviving recordings from the September 1977 ‘Sonic Assassins’ concert, the Hawklords’ concert from November 1978 and a previously unreleased promotional film of Hawklords at Uxbridge University in 1978.
The boxed set also comes with a lavishly illustrated book, essay, and a poster. Fans will be able to dig deeply into the history of this groundbreaking period in Hawkwind’s career. Experience their live performances, with Robert Calvert as an able frontman, and hear previously unreleased tracks from these legendary concerts.
Each of the three albums that have been remixed in surround by Wilson extend the territory of their music style. “Quark, Strangeness and Charm” was the first to depart from Hawkwind’s traditional space rock sound and marked their shift towards pop and accessible melodies. The album featured songs that fed into the traditional Hawkwind mythos, such as “Damnation Alley” and “Forge of Vulcan,” as well as a Middle Eastern epic called “Hassan I Sabha.” Their new sound was a shock to loyal fans back in the day, but ended up receiving airplay and the band even made their first mainstream UK TV appearance in some five years. The album has gone on to remain one of Hawkwind’s most endearingly enduring albums.
Then there is “Hawklords: 25 Years On” which emerged as one of the band’s last great albums before Hawkwind’s decline in the 1980s. This album continued the band’s experimentation with electronics and quirkiness, which had been heard on their previous album, Quark Strangeness and Charm. The album featured a range of themes, including comedy, sci-fi, and futurism, and was in line with the current music scene. Yet, despite the album’s quality, it failed to achieve major success, and now surround immersionists can enjoy this album from their sweet spot.
PXR5 is the last album in the boxset to be remixed in surround, and it closes out the-’70s incarnation of the group, which features vocalist/poet Bob Calvert along with other members. It is the final album in a sequence of pop-inflected records that the band released that have been critically acclaimed to have astounding sounds and amazing music. Featuring punkish intensity and fashionability with themes of life atop spacy pastures and roughshod tracks that easily could have slipped out of songs like “In Search of Space.” Although the album is not an all-out classic, it does contain very worthy tracks, and “Death Trap” is among those songs.
While I may have preferred these albums to be released separately, I also appreciate the multi-album boxset that packs in the live material, bonuses, and of course the 5.1 surround mixes of three of Hawkwind’s late ‘70s output. Best for serious fans of Hawkwind, surround music collectors, and psychedelic progressive rock listeners.
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Title: Schiller – Illuminate
Release Date: 2023
Genre: Electro, Downtempo, Ambient
Production/Label: Sony Music
Duration: 01:49:29+02:25:21+00:30:19
Quality: Blu-ray
Container: BDMV
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio codec: PCM / DTS / Dolby TrueHD Audio
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 21990 kbps / 1080i / 25 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: English / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Audio#2: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2671 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#3: English / Dolby TrueHD Audio / 7.1 / 48 kHz / 3588 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps)
Size: 41.66 GB
With 8 number 1 albums and numerous gold & platinum awards, Schiller mastermind Christopher von Deylen is Germany’s number 1 electronic artist. On his new album Illuminate, von Deylen consistently continues his musical path, which has recently led him back towards edgy electronic beats with catchy melodies. Like “Morgenstund”, “Summer in Berlin” and “Epic”, the new album with 18 selected songs will be available on Blu-ray Disc with Dolby Atmos mixes and a video track.
For the first time, there is a limited premium deluxe edition. The 60-page extra large hardcover book (28x28cm) contains three CDs as well as a Blu-ray and an exclusive, hand-signed and limited edition special print with a unique motif. The Blu-ray contains the highlights of “Illuminate” in Dolby Atmos Surround Sound as well as a lot of visual content. The super deluxe edition is also limited and comes as a hardback box set in a slipcase with two CDs and a Blu-ray.
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Album title: Thomas D.A. Tellefsen (1823-1874) – complete piano works
Performer: Jørgen Larsen
Genre: Classical, piano
Label: 2L, Lindberg Lyd
Location: Ringve Museum, Norway
Release date: April 2012
Recording date: May 2010 and February 2011
Original source: Mastering in DXD (352.8kHz/24bit)
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 03:18:36
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 96 kHz / 5660 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
The story of Thomas Dyke Acland Tellefsen (1823-1874) has a special place in the history of 19th century Norwegian music. In his own lifetime he earned an international reputation as a composer, piano virtuoso and teacher, enjoying a close relationship to Chopin both as a pupil and a friend. The connection to Chopin is reflected in several ways in Tellefsen’s music, both in terms of choice of style and genre and by the fact that the majority of his works are for solo piano.
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