artist: Bob Marley and The Wailers This title is currently unavailable from Amazon.com. album: The Best of The Early Years (DVD-A) format: DVD-Audio label: Silverline release year: 2003 performance: 8.5 sound 6.5 reviewed by: Tim Hart The first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions the name of Bob Marley is ganja. However, there was much more to Marley and his music than sparking up a big spliff, which admittedly was fully entwined in his culture, his music and his philosophy. Bob Marley was a rebel, political and deeply spiritual. He was an advocate for the Third World and the high priest of Rasta, and he put reggae firmly on the pop map in the ‘70s. Some say reggae died when he did, or at the very least that this style of music faded into the background after Marley’s death.

John McEuen and Jimmy Ibbotson, Nitty Gritty Surround (DVD-A), AIX Records, 2001 | Performance 8 | Sound 8 | While the bulk of DVD-Audio releases are from Warner Music Group, with a steady stream (or is it trickle) of new titles, virtually all of them, as far as I know, are remixes of previous stereo blockbusters. It’s the small companies that are being the most innovative, such as Chesky, SurroundedByEntertainment and, of course, DTS Entertainment, all showing what the new technology can do.

artist: Art Pepper function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); album: Meets The Rhythm Section format: DVD-Audio label: Contemporary Records (Japanese Import) release year: 2002 performance: 9 sound 10 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano Music enthusiasts who have invested in the DVD-Audio format are often left wondering, “Where are all the great titles?” They can see and hear the potential of the format, but a shopping spree at Tower Records or Amazon.com leaves them wanting better quality releases in many cases. Upon listening to an unacceptably large number of lousy-sounding and/or poorly mixed early titles, most of DVD-Audio’s early adopters are still seeking true reference DVD-Audio discs. DTS has some great ones, most notably Queen.

artist: Astrud Gilberto This title is currently unavailable from Amazon.com. album: Now format: DVD-Audio label: Silverline/5.1 release year: 2002 performance: 6 sound 6 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano Astrud Gilberto is more known for being the Girl From Ipanema than the wife of Brazilian jazz great Joao Gilberto. Shepherded by popular musical icons of the time, including Frank Sinatra and Dizzy Gillespie, the Brazilian jazz or bossa nova craze caught on with hipsters in the mid-1960s, launching the critically acclaimed careers of Joao Gilberto and arranger Antonio Carlos Jobim. Verve Records, in an attempt to capitalize on the good looks of Astrud Gilberto and the popularity of the “Ipanema” hit, signed her and started developing her career with the hopes of widespread commercial success.

Silverline performance 7 sound 7 released 2002 Silverline, aka 5.1 Entertainment, one of the top producers of DVD-Audio material, have their work cut out. In a deal with Sanctuary Records, they have undertaken to release around 10 DVD-Music discs (with both DVD-A and DVD-V areas) a month, up to a total of at least 140. One of the first is this offering from Gerry Rafferty.