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107.3.2.157
Patricia Barber Modern Cool on Dual Layer Blu-RayFeaturing High Resolution Mixes of the Original 2 Track Masters & In 5.1 Surround!
Re-mixed in Surround at Skywalker Sound Studios by Original Engineer Jim Anderson & Mastered by Grammy Winner Darcy Proper!
First Release of 2 Channel Masters in High Resolution! [But see my follow-up post, below.]
Patricia Barber's Modern Cool hit like a thunderbolt when first released back in 1998. Featuring the same band as on Cafe Blue with the addition of trumpet star Dave Douglas, the 12-song set is highlighted by Barber originals like "Touch of Trash," "Company," and "Winter," to go along with her version of The Doors "Light My Fire" and her setting of an E.E. Cummings poem.
Among the many accolades received, DownBeat Magazine gave the album a coveted "5 Stars" review calling it "sonically, one of the best recordings ever made by a jazz singer with a small acoustic ensemble." The response, and subsequent worldwide touring, led to Barber’s signing to Blue Note Records one year later and the New York Times proclaiming: “Barber’s art is the kind of art we need to pay attention to.”
Now, Premonition presents a high resolution, dual layer Blu Ray of this miraculous album. Included are a 5.1 Surround remix (24/96 kHz) by original engineer Jim Anderson and the original 2 track stereo masters in 24/192 kHZ for the first time on disc. The surround remix is stunning, revealing detail never before heard while the high resolution 2 track masters shed new light on the originals!
This Blu-ray edition of Modern Cool utilizes the Pure Audio system, a new technology that allows the user to operate the disc using the onscreen menu navigation or by remote control without a TV screen. Music only release playable on all Blu-ray players.
"Wow! This is certainly a candidate for Best Surround Sound Album of 2012. A Marvelous product." - Morten Lindberg/Surround Producer 2L Records
Musicians:
- Patricia Barber (vocals, piano)
- Michael Arnopol (bass)
- John McLean (guitars)
- Mark Walker ( drums, percussion)
- Jeff Stitely (udu)
- Dave Douglas (trumpet)
- Choral Thunder Vocal ChoirFeatures:
- Re-mixed in surround at the legendary Skywalker Sound Studios by original recording engineer Jim Anderson
- Surround mastered by Darcy Proper (Grammy winner for surround mastering)
- Blu-ray authoring by MSM Studios/Munich. MSM invented the Pure Audio System
- Surround and 2 channel mixes in high resolution. First release of 2 channel masters in high resolution!
- The Pure Audio system allows for potential crossover appeal including all Blu-ray usersPatricia Barber Modern Cool Track Listing:
1. Touch Of Trash
2. Winter
3. You & The Night & The Music
4. Constantinople
5. Light My Fire
6. Silent Partner
7. Company
8. Let It Rain
9. She's A Lady
10. Love Put On Your Faces
11. Postmodern Blues
12. Let It Rain (Vamp)Above text borrowed from musicdirect.com.
(I ordered my copy on importcds.com with the 10% off promo code for $19.99 delivered.)
Follow Ups:
I listened to the album on Spotify and immediately ordered that BD and 2 others. Would be nice if Cafe Blue came out on BD.
...to be audiophile demo recordings.
Excellent sound quality but so-so musically.
I've seen her and the combo perform live and they were terrific but I don't listen to her music much at home.
Just got this today. I only listen in stereo. Through my Oppo BDP-95 the 24/192 stereo track is awesome. The space, the detail, the bass, the clarity, the effortless presentation. I'll be sure to play this disc when I think my system has a problem to remind myself that it is just fine.
I'm a Patrica Barber fan - she was great in person.
Oddly, I'm not really a "Modern Cool" fan.
But, its merits are its 2-channel, analogue recording.
It's an album for vinyl and the turntable, not for digital.
I am not a fan of this music but the stereo track on this BD is excellent and, imho, is superior to the SACD.
I am also not a fan of this mostly crap music, but because of all the near hysterical hype &( overpriced discs) I bought Patricia Barber"cafe blue" as expected its a load of tripe. No more Patricia Barber for me however its recorded.ugh.
People either seem to think she's the most gifted person in jazz currently out there or they seem to react as if she's Miss Piggy giving voice to her most famous line: "Pretentious? Moi?"
Somehow I ended up in the middle category. She's certainly a technically knowledgeable musician, but her style seems rather canned and overly laconic to me. I don't dislike her, but never go out of my way to find her stuff.
to me. Barber's style is anything but canned. I know of no other jazz musician that sounds anything like her. And her lyrics are never uncommunicative.
---------------------------
...my original point. Barber seems more likely to draw either a strong positive or negative response than a neutral one.
And, in this case, by "canned", I find her rather formulaic in her style (though this comment applies to many artists). In this context, "canned" doesn't mean she sounds generic or like others, it is just that I don't find that she ranges very far from her base sound. However, I think that attribute stands out a bit more when one isn't taken with the performer.
(Think of all the Jack Nicholson -- he's certainly a draw and has played a wide range of parts, but they all tend to come out the same. Contrast him to Alex Guinness who once played 8 different parts in the same film. I'd call Nicholson "canned" in comparison to Guinness, and I like both actors.)
I wouldn't say "canned," - but I really like Cafe Blue, and after acquiring other discs, was disappointed. A few really great songs mixed in with "filler."
"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"
I don't love every single track she's put out, but I find most of it is excellent. "Modern Cool" is a favorite Barber album for me.
But I also really dig Diana Krall & Norah Jones, and a lot of people hate them too.
I'm also really into Phil Woods, Oscar Peterson, Bud Powell, Mulgrew Miller, Diz, Bird, Miles, and all the stuff the "real" jazz people like.
If something isn't to my taste, I usually hesitate to say it "sucks" or it's "crap". It's just something I'm not into. (I do make exceptions to that rule for The Spice Girls, 50 Cent, Toby Keith, etc.)
Cheers,
Bobbo :-)
...on your ability to like musicians you do without going radically negative on those for which you don't care. Lots of people could take a lesson from you.
I will buy you the new "Modern Cool" Blu-ray so you can try a different Patricia Barber album, and you ship me your despised MFSL "Cafe Blue" SACD.
OK its a deal let me have your address. I will PM you mine. I have just noticed that you require SACD version cafe blue. Quite frankly I am glad I did not buy the SACD version of this crap disc.Premonition Records 66917/90/6027.
Cafe Blue is most probably Barber weakest outing, Mythologie and Verses
are fantastic discs, and better recordings.
Nevertheless Patricia band is very good, great bass player, drummer and guitar man.
Jim Anderson is the extraordinaire recording engineer.
Is there a better piano sound than the one on Mythologie???
OK it is a Fazzioli!!
I agree that "Cafe Blue" is a weaker outing, and I would rank "Companion" and "Nightclub" as her top releases.
great live sound, and the band really stretches out...worth it for their version of "Norwegian Wood" alone!
"Your liver suffers dearly now for youthful magic moments...so rock on completely with some brand new components"
"That was a joke, son."
The OOP "Cafe Blue" SACD sells for BIG $$ on the used market. I assumed you had the SACD and I was trying for a laugh by offering to take it off your hands for the $20 USD price of the new "Modern Cool" BD.
The CD version of "Cafe Blue" is still in print, relatively inexpensive and of no interest to me. (Thanks anyway, though.)
OK No problem. Why anyone would want to pay big bucks for the SACD version is beyond me, the CD sound is very good, I just do not care for the content.
Good News. I will surely get this one. OOP SACD is too expensive.
i would WAY sooner spend the $28 on the BD than the exorbitant mofi price. it's about time!
MoFi released the original SACD at $25, if I recall correctly. No price gouging by MoFi...only what the traffic will bear in the after-market for long out-of-print discs.
Twenty-five dollars sounds right for the MSRP on the MFSL "Modern Cool" SACD.
There are four copies of this SACD on eBay currently with Buy it Now prices from private (i.e., non-MFSL) sellers ranging from $124.95 to $202.49.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the used market for the stereo-only "Modern Cool" SACD after word spreads that a (supposedly) better-sounding two-channel version is available on BD -- along with a hi-rez surround mix -- for @ $20.00.
What about the OOP MFSL SACD (UDSACD 2003)?
Well, I own the MFSL SACD and ripped it. Problem is, the recording was done in PCM, then transferred to DSD for the SACD, so I'd MUCH prefer the original 24 bit here on BluRay (not to mention the surround remix).
I do not have the MFSL SACD, so I am happy to learn that the cheaper and soon-to-be much more widely available Blu-ray is closer to the two-channel master recording than the SACD. And yes, the BD surround mix is icing on the cake. But I still have a question about the marketing claim that the BD is the "first release" of the two-channel masters in high resolution. Isn't a high-rez PCM to DSD conversion "high resolution"? And if not, why not? The "Modern Cool" SACD is considered reference quality by many. Just look at the reviews and ratings on SA-CD.net. So how bad could that PCM-to-DSD conversion have been, and how much can the BD improve on it? I guess we will have to wait for people with both versions to compare them.
My BD shipped yesterday so I'll chime back in when i rip the 24 bit stereo layer and compare the DSD vs native 24 bit (I own 2 DSD DACs and demoing a third). But the mch layer is what I'm REALLY geeked about. :)
I am curious to hear what you think about it. :-)
Kal
Kal, et al,
I received the disc a few days ago and just this morning got around to listening. The only format I've listened to so far is the 24/96 5.1 DTS HD MA (lossless) one. I will comment on the stereo 24/192 layer, and it's comparison to the ripped DSD or redbook versions, later. Right now I have not had a chance to either have someone rip it for me (no BD ripper here right now) or worst case do the HDMI de-embedder to Meitner, as I shelved the Atlona box once I had native DSD capability.Keep in mind that 1) this is a fairly small jazz ensemble, so there is not a huge amount going on to "unearth" in a 5.1 spread; and 2) the redbook and DSD versions are no slouches, with either being easily given an "audiophile pressing" kind of nomenclature. However, the DTS HD MA remastering clearly shows off a bit better timbre/tonality, and a very tight low end, and this through lesser electronics (Denon AVR as pre/pro via HDMI) than my 2 channel rig. The native 24 bit shows through. This is where the 5.1 mix ends for me, though. I am not a fan of Darcy Proper and/or Jim Anderson's surround remix here. It's both too gimmicky at times (some songs have images bouncing, with percussion in rears, with some drum hits forward) and somewhat inconsistent (aggressive mixes in some songs, ambience in others). Where is Eliot Scheiner when you need him. :)
I am reaching a fairly hasty conclusion that this album didn't really need a 5.1 mix, and hope that the 24/192 stereo one is worth the price of admission ($19 delivered). I could be wrong, too hasty, or spot on. I may bring back out my Sony TAP9000ES analog preamp and relisten via the 83SE's analog outs. We'll see...:)
P.S. it is nice to see them use the Pure Audio method of being able to pick the surround and stereo layers via the colored BluRay remote buttons (red is DTS, yellow is stereo LPCM), which makes display-less navigation very simple.
Edits: 07/05/12
Kal,
I dusted off the Atlona de-embedder so i could hear the 24/192 LPCM layer through my Meitner MA-1. This is the layer, IMO, that is worth the $19. The timbres/colors are just that much better. Everything decays more naturally, into blackness, and the depth of soundstage is even a few degrees clearer than the redbook or DSD versions.Patricia's voice can get congested or a bit chesty, due to her deep inflections. but on this remaster, her voice is perfectly rendered...deep, resonant, but clean and clear. It actually sounds slightly more isolated (i.e obviously recorded at a different time/space than the music) but nothing that calls to itself during the music per se. It's clearly not a live album, has some heavy production value in many of the songs, and her voice fits all of them well.
The percussion, as is usually the case in remasters (sometimes to a fault), improves here quite a bit..and that is saying something. This album is quite percussive to begin with, but the added sheen and sparkle, decay and tone, does not cause brightness, brittle sound or harsh listening fatigue in the slightest. On the contrary, the perfect sizzle of the different metals comes across better, along with the deeper and more sustained thwacks of the bass drum kit (most noted on tracks like Winter or Constantinople. And finally, the depth and overall warmth of the Choral Thunder Vocal Choir on the last track, Let It Rain (Vamp) is perfectly portrayed.
I look forward to ripping this 24/192 layer, as I still believe the Atlona HDMI de-embedder solution is too jitter-prone.
Edits: 07/06/12
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