Tuesday, 27 March 2001 |
Written by
Richard Elen
|

artist:
Studio Voodoo
album:
Studio Voodoo
format:
DVD-Audio
label:
DTS Entertainment
release year:
2001
performance:
8
sound
8
reviewed by:
Richard Elen
The
possibility of dance clubs using surround replay systems has been
explored experimentally for some years, particularly in the U.K., where
clubs in the Midlands started installing Ambisonic surround sound
systems in the ‘80s. It’s an incredible idea, and as soon as the venues
are ready for it, here’s the music.
Tuesday, 13 March 2001 |
Written by
Richard Elen
|

Ludwig Van Beethoven,
Symphony No 9 Op. 125
Europa Philharmonica Budapest Orchestra & Choir
Maximianno Cobra, Conductor
Hodie "Essentia" Series
DVD-Video and DVD-Audio Versions available
| Performance 7 | Sound 7 |
If
you are at all familiar with other performances of Beethoven’s Ninth,
this interpretation will probably shock you, and not necessarily in a
nice way. The immediately evident departure from the norm is that the
tempi have been reinterpreted by the conductor, Maximianno Cobra, in a
way that results in many of them being reduced to something close to
half their normally-rendered speeds. Apart from that, the performance
is excellent and the recording is quite respectable too, given the
multi-mic approach employed.
Friday, 02 March 2001 |
Written by
Richard Elen
|

artist:
Various Artists
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album:
Immersion
format:
DVD-Audio
label:
Starkland
release year:
2001
performance:
0
sound
0
reviewed by:
Richard Elen
The
intention of producer Thomas Steenland in putting this disc together
was to commission various electro-acoustic music producers and
composers to create surround works for a "millennial" DVD-Audio disc.
The pieces had to be produced in the first quarter of the year 2000 for
release later the same year. As a result, the interesting group of
artists, represented here by 10 very varied tracks, were not given an
enormous length of time to create their pieces.
Thursday, 01 March 2001 |
Written by
Richard Elen
|

artist:
Take 6
album:
Take 6
format:
DVD-Audio
label:
Warner Music Group/Reprise
release year:
2001
performance:
8
sound
8
reviewed by:
Richard Elen
Like
Aaron Neville’s Devotion (see link below), this is also, at least
nominally, a gospel album, and it too contains a number of traditional
numbers, in virtually every other respect it is in a completely
different genre. This is a re-working of the group’s debut album that
is not as eponymous as it might seem: it actually has a title if you
read carefully.
Tuesday, 27 February 2001 |
Written by
Jerry Del Colliano
|

artist:
Foreigner
album:
Foreigner
format:
DVD-Audio
label:
Atlantic Records
release year:
2001
performance:
7.5
sound
7.5
reviewed by:
Jerry Del Colliano
Camaros,
mullets and armless t-shirts were in vogue when Foreigner was the
indisputable king of rock ‘n’ roll in the very early 1980s, when their
self-titled album laid claim to the title of Atlantic Records
largest-selling record internationally. Foreigner was Foreigner’s
landmark album, laden with hits and a developed style that has defined
a genre of music that has since been archived with millions of spins on
classic rock radio and been loved by generations of listeners.
Foreigner is a bit cheesy to this member of Generation X, yet their
musical talent and, more importantly, their songwriting gifts give them
staying power more than 20 years after their call to glory.