Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

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Submitted By: dcstep

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Joined: Sep 16 2007

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Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

Posted: May 19, 2008 - 1:36pm

APP wasn't my favorite group in the 1970s, but maybe it was because I couldn't hear it this way.

I listened in two-channel 24/192 and was blown away by the sonics. Close your eyes and the sound stage is 180-degrees wide. The fade at the end of "Genisis Ch.1V.32" slowly moves from covering and surrounding you with a HUGE wall of sound to fading into a very distant ball of sound that covers only about 5-degrees and seems like it's 400-yards away. Only in that final fade do you hear the tape hiss from the original master.

Musically this is very good, but variable. The best is very, very good ("The Voice", "Day After Day" and all the instrumentals). A couple of cuts stray too near mid-1970s pop, but what the heck...

There's thick layering of chorus, orchestra, rock instruments, etc. The clarity of it all is astounding. Really it's a masterpiece from this era.

Boy, I hope one day that the entire Beattles songbook will get this 24/192 treatment. Abbey Road studios evidently had great equipment.

Dave

Submitted By: rvance

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Location: Crescent City, CA

Joined: Sep 8 2007

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Re: Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

Posted: May 19, 2008 - 7:32pm

Interesting post, dc! I was never able to connect to APP in the '70's- too austere and numb. I wanted to be stoned- NOT my music. I preferred Traffic, ELO, Zappa, The Band, Capt. Beefheart, Bob Marley and a hundred others. I might just try APP based on your positive experience.

But I also share your desire for a hi-rez re-do of The Beatles catalog. My Beatle cd's are pretty horrible. "Love" is nice, but the originals would be better, to me anyway. With my luck someone will Blu-Ray the whole catalog and I'll be left in the dust.

Submitted By: dcstep

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Joined: Sep 16 2007

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Re: Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

Posted: May 19, 2008 - 7:46pm

Yeah, at the time APP seemed like studio drivel to me also. Compared to "Dark Side of the Moon" this was playing around. Now I look back at it and can't think of anything that equals "I Robot" as a studio tour de force. Most of, not all, the music stands up to the test of time and the instrumentals have a unique power.

It's under 20-bucks, so you can't go too far wrong.

Dave

Submitted By: AeWingnut

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Joined: Aug 18 2007

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Re: Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

Posted: July 18, 2008 - 8:29pm

Has I Robot been re-issued on DVD-A? You have to spend $89.99 for the DVD-A now. I hesitated because Alan Parson is a little hit and miss for me. at $90 I won't find out if it's a hit.

Submitted By: dcstep

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Joined: Sep 16 2007

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Re: Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

Posted: July 18, 2008 - 9:10pm

Interesting. It was only a month or two ago that I got it for under 20-bucks, in 24/192 format. It's certainly worth 20, but only you can tell if it's worth 4+ times as much.

If you really like it when new, then it's probably a must-have. For me it's more of a document of an amazing mix and production, even today, but amazingly new and fresh in its time.

Dave

Submitted By: BGLeduc

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Location: Albuquerque

Joined: Sep 1 2005

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Re: Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

Posted: July 23, 2008 - 3:51pm

My copy is a HDAD, with 24/96 on one side (playable by any DVD player) and 24/192 on the other, playable only on a DVD-A deck.

$90 seems pretty dear, but I suppose if it is out of print, someone that has a real APP jones would pay it.

Brian

Submitted By: AeWingnut

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Joined: Aug 18 2007

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Re: Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" DVD-A

Posted: October 21, 2008 - 6:52pm

update, I found Alan Parsons Project - I Robot for under $20

Maybe that means it will be released on Blu ray :-)