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Every Little Thing- Beatles Discussion => The Beatles- Albums => Topic started by: Mervap on September 03, 2016, 04:00:37 pm

Title: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Mervap on September 03, 2016, 04:00:37 pm
Pre-ordered mine today!
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Greg on September 03, 2016, 05:40:55 pm
What format?


And...why did you order it?  I have the vinyl, so Im asking what are some good reasons to order this?



Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: 2 of 3 on September 03, 2016, 06:09:51 pm
I think there is another HB thread talking about the remastering and extra songs coming out soon.
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Mervap on September 03, 2016, 09:10:54 pm
True, it has been discussed elsewhere on LTB, but when I get this, I'll be doing a review.

The samples that I have heard sound excellent, so I figured I'd keep Macca out of the poorhouse and order it. I actually have the vinyl also, as well as a boot of the shows....the record is one of the first I bought by the band, actually. Very fond memories.
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Greg on September 03, 2016, 09:27:39 pm
Yes.  Let me know.  I am kind of hoping you end up saying, "Greg, youve got to get this!"
I take it you arent getting the vinyl again.



(And what a kind gesture towards Paul to keep him from possible eviction from his efficiency apartment.)  ;)
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: 2 of 3 on September 03, 2016, 10:38:08 pm
Quote
And what a kind gesture towards Paul to keep him from possible eviction from his efficiency apartment.

Yeah, I heard the boiler was acting up.  :P
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Mervap on September 03, 2016, 11:04:44 pm
Check it out....listen to how much clearer the introduction by Paul is. The rest ain't bad either.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-boys-hollywood-bowl/
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: kylenz on September 04, 2016, 08:52:06 am
I hate to be the wet blanket here, but just did a comparison of 'Boys' of the new remixed version from that video clip, with my vinyl rip from the original LP, and I reckon the original LP sounds way better. The drums are much clearer and louder, though shoved over to the left hand side (which I know Giles Martin HATES!). Sending it straight up the middle kinda gets 'em lost amongst the crowd noise. Giles kept George's solo on the right hand side, but yeah I actually prefer the sound picture of the original, where the treble frequencies of the drums are based on the left-hand side but also leak in through the vocal mics placed up the middle. Gives the drums a neat kinda quasi stereo effect.

They did very well at the time to capture them in 3-track stereo. I'm not sure if Giles again, is the right man for the job here. It's almost as if he has become the custodian of their recordings just from pure birthright - I'm sure he is a complete Beatles fanatic of course with a lot of love to bring to all the projects he commands, but sometimes I'm not sure he makes the correct engineering decisions. On the 1/1+ remasters he did some fine work, and some not-so fine work. But to most people, I guess they wouldn't really notice or be too bothered. I must ask, has he actually done any production on albums for other people aside from Beatles material?
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: 2 of 3 on September 04, 2016, 09:26:30 am
In 2004 he produced Hayley Westenra's multi-platinum album Pure, the UK's fastest-selling classical album of all time. Other acts Martin produced include Kula Shaker, Jeff Beck, Elvis Costello, INXS, and Kate Bush.
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: kylenz on September 04, 2016, 09:29:21 am
That's right, he did produce Hayley Westenra (New Zealand artist!), now I think of it!  :-X
 ;D
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Mervap on September 04, 2016, 09:41:53 am
Prolly a matter of horses for courses, indeed......we shall see.
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: kylenz on September 10, 2016, 05:49:52 am
First listen to the new remix - and it is not very good. Just played the rip from my 1977 vinyl LP alongside the new CD. The drums have been dialed back and almost sound muffled - the whole thing now lacks the visceral effect of hearing them cut through the crowd. Giles Martin has fouled up the Beatles legacy again!
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: kylenz on September 10, 2016, 05:52:11 am
The only saving grace - are the bonus tracks. Good to include a live version of 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. But overall, it lacks the top-end of the original LP. Very disappointing.
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: 2 of 3 on September 10, 2016, 06:53:26 am
That's interesting kyle...I read another review and they said almost exactly the same thing. Something like...the energy was sucked out of the performances. Hmm ???
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: kylenz on September 10, 2016, 09:28:59 am
That's exactly what it is! Sometimes, Giles has done some nice things with the drum sounds (when you can hear them!) giving them a nice bottom end, but more often than not, it's like the drums and the vocals have been tucked away almost into the background, disappearing into the sea of crowd noise. Which shouldn't be happening because supposedly the crowd noise was meant to be reduced.

One other thing I've noticed about the remix - not only have all the higher treble frequencies been drained out of it (i.e. all the excitement and energy that comes with it) but the bass guitar is really wooly and indistinct - it's kinda muffled. On the LP, it actually stands out surprisingly well. Again this shouldn't be happening, because didn't Giles Martin have access to all this new-fangled isolation technology which could work with any sound element in a mono mix and extract it and enhance it? It's like he's drained all the impetus out of the bass as well as the treble!

They'd be better off offering up the individual WAV stems to people on the internet to make their own remixes. I've heard people on YouTube make better remixes than the actual original masters. This dude for instance makes superb Beach Boys remixes - here's a stereo remix of 'Darlin' from the mono Wild Honey album - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCyLh4eEGrU

and here's 'I Get Around' (which I've never heard in stereo before - this is AMAZING!) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTmJSHaf8BE

 ;D
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: 2 of 3 on September 10, 2016, 10:39:08 am
There are a few songs up on Youtube now and from that, I would say to ME it sounds a bit like a badly mixed soundboard recording.  ??? I wonder what they were going for here. What the Beatles sounded like live or what it was like to be at a live Beatle concert.

The Beach Boys stuff sounds great, I agree. BUT the guy did have a lot more to work with that what Giles had. I would guess I mean.  :P
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Mervap on September 10, 2016, 12:54:10 pm
As I said before, "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" was among the very first Beatles albums I purchased and I played it a lot. I liked it a lot, but once I started getting actual studio recordings, I stopped. Mostly because of the huge, monolithic sound where everything was just kinda 'there', with a huge jet engine screaming next to it. I mean, the performance was good, when you could hear it well, but the girls were just louder.

What I have noticed, with the new re-master, is that things have been separated quite well, so that now, if one listens, one can hear it all....plus, there's a new depth to the sound, more like being there. I don't feel the excitement has been sucked out at all. I had it in my car and, at a respectable volume, it sounds fantastic. The vocals are better and the intros sound like they were done yesterday. My only quibbles with this set is that we didn't get the entirety of both performances like I have on my dutch import and that, as has been said, the bass sounds less distinct than it could. That's a shame, because Macca was ON those nights.
Title: Re: Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Post by: Keri on September 26, 2016, 02:21:02 am
I had this album, might still have it on vinyl. I didn't listen to it much at all and didn't really appreciate it. But  I got the new mix on cd and I like it, I'm finally ready for it. I can hear the music clearly enough and there is certainly plenty of "atmosphere". i think I now see it as an important part of the Beatles story, the mix of music and hysteria. Those songs and their voices and personalities somehow unleashed this massive wave of energy, you put this cd on and you really soak in it. As Dylan said "something is happening but you don't know what it is..."