Customer Reviews

Blue Man Group - Audio

5 star:		(151)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Returning home from a business trip I was disappointed that my anticipated Blue Man CD hadn't arrived. Soon enough, I found my son had already intercepted the delivery and as he handed it over he said it was "Awesome". And he's right! Taking the advice that "louder is better", I cranked it up and planted myself in front of the speakers. I could feel myself morphing into a Blue Man as the waves of percussion passed through my body. Approaching track 11 or 12 I noticed the dog was barking at the front door and I was busted by the neighbors who were trying to go to sleep. So I guess I'll be hunting for a new home with several acres so the Blue Men and I can live in peace. Audio is an excellent piece of work. I've seen the Blue Man Group twice in New York and I suspect that my visual memories might enhance my Audio experience. The only way this could be better would be if they created a DVD with the same scorching sound coupled with the fascinating display of imagination and style as they wield their unconventional weapons of percussion. Now excuse me while I go to the hardware store to buy some PVC!

So, I originally saw the Blue Man Group on the Intel ads, and I was immediately intrigued... But it took me a while to realize that they existed outside of that realm. Well, enlightenment has found me -- Upon seeing their use of a "drumbone", as I now know it, in the Pentium 4 ad(s), I figured, OK, this has to be more than just an Intel marketing phenomenon... so I did a search, and sure enough, found blueman.com, their home site... I had to explore further, so I got the DVD. It arrived today, and I'm thrilled with it.

A couple of notes about the DVD release: It is meant primarily as a means for giving 5.1 surround sound, so don't think it's going to be a bunch of music videos... But, it does have stills of the group performing through most of the songs (see below for the exception), and a 10 minute short with interviews and such, and text descriptions of the various instruments, etc. Also, for those of you familiar with the more advanced features of your DVD player, there's even an (at least one) "easter egg", which I found to be quite amusing. And a not-so-easter-egg thing which I also quite enjoyed was the video (this is the exception noted above) on track 12. If you're a cat lover, especially a tech-geek one, I imagine you'll love it.

And whatever your geek-factor and your opinions on cats, if you enjoy both "techno" and "tribal" music, you're pretty sure to enjoy this, a wonderful blend of the two, if you ask me.

Fans of Blue Man Group's excellent Audio CD may well wonder why they should consider "upgrading" to their new DVD release. Seriously, how much better could it be in Dolby Digital or DTS surround? Holy cow!

After giving the DVD a couple runs around the block, I can only describe the original Audio CD recording as anemic by comparison. The 5.1 mix opens up the sound field, completely enveloping you in the "wall of drum" sound that's at the core of Audio. The .1 bass extension will work your sub HARD - so much so that you may have to rethink vibration isolation for your DVD player. (There were several segments where the drum grooves were giving my player the jitters!)

As for extra content, there was quite a bit more than I expected. The Tubes "cat video" was fun, as was a video interview with the Blue Man FOUNDers. Bumper video segments on the menus are very cool. BMG's remix of Last Train to Transcentral and some very funny radio promos round out the package.

If you liked Audio and own a 5.1-capable system, you need this disc! If you have no clue who BMG are, but like techno-tribal grooves that will make you move, then prepare to become a fan.

Fans of the Blue Man Group's live shows have been eagerly anticipating this, their first recorded offering. While not specifically a soundtrack per se, it does offer many pieces that will sound familiar to anyone who's been to one of their performances. But there is also a lot of new material on here, stylistically very much in keeping with Blue Man's established drum-heavy industrial sound. And as always, Blue Man proceeds with tongue firmly implanted in cheek. A wonderful hour's worth of sound, to be highly recommended to people unfamiliar with Blue Man, too.

I saw BMG for the first time a few years ago in Boston, and thought it was really cool. I went to Vegas this year and saw the show at Luxor, and enjoyed it (although I think the Charles in Boston is a better theatre for BMG than the Luxor).

Listening to the album, I can see BMG banging away. I get to see as many shows a week in the "Theater of the Mind" as I want for the price of the CD.

I recommend seeing BMG before you listen to the CD - the show is best seen with NO advance information at all. Trust me on this one - do not let anyone describe it to you and do not describe it to others. Just see it.

I agree with past reviews. Get a REALLY good set of headsets and CRANK IT! I do not listen to music very loudly often, but BMG is worth it.

It's just a good thing that CD's don't wear out like tapes used to :)

BLUE RULES.

I bought The Complex on DVD-A after it was recommended to me by several people. It is good and has some great tracks on it but it wasn't the Blue Man Group sound I had found myself loving. It was too rock-ish and almost too conventional.

Enter the aptly named "Audio." This is a good example of why BMG became so big, it's got all their creative efforts in creating new instruments and sounds bottled up on one dual sided disc without all the extra people singing on top of it.

The sound is dynamic, bright and fun and it makes great use of the full 5.1 channels provided to it. Bass is punchy and reasonably well defined and detail through the higher frequencies holds pretty well. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, you realize this isn't just a DTS/DD deal, this thing has DVD-A! So flip that thing over and put it in right side up (or upside down as I will explain) and enjoy even tighter, more defined bass with better detail and separation across the instruments. The subtle benefits of DVD-A are made use of on this disc, and you can hear why DVD-A is better if your equipment is halfway decent (sorry Bose guys).

Now that bit about being upside down and the wrong side up. This disc is labelled but if you don't look closely you just might miss it. If you want to watch the video part, which is the side containing the DTS and DD tracks you need to place it in your player with the little label saying DVD-Video facing down. If you want to experience the joy of DVD-A you have to place it in with the DVD-Audio label facing down.

Unless I'm mistaken this is the exact opposite of every other disc I have and probably most discs on the market. It's a small nuisance, made worse by the fact that the lettering telling you which side is which is small and in an awful choice of color. It does not stand out well against the white band near the center of the disc. Don't miss it though, it's worth putting this disc in wrong side up!

Out of the 5 DVD audio titles I own, BLUE MAN audio is THE cheapest dollar wise and best sounding of them all! If you've seen them live, you can recreate their performance in your own home. Not to mention the extra bonus video, interview and info on the instruments. Be sure to crank up the volume on this one.

The modern version of tribal. This is a CD like no other, youdon't listen to it you FEEL it ! Many of the instramanets are"traditional" , however many are NOT "traditional" Listening to this CD I can't help but wish my system had MORE POWER, and it allready has two powered subs. Put the CD in , get the best seat, turn down the lights, and close your eyes. The rhythm will move you from within. I had the privledge of seeign the BLUE MAN GROUP live in Chicago a few years ago, and words cannot describe the experiance. This CD was not made as a "soundtrack" but as an Expansion to the experiance. It delivers on a new level. The sound quality if first rate, you truly get the LIVE feeling. I would reccomend it to EVERYONE a must have.. For more info on the "Blue Man Group" if they have a show in your area GO SEE IT ! YOU WILL NEVER FORGET IT !

I have never heard of THE BLUE MAN GROUP until I saw the pentium commercials, and then later found out that they where a band, I went to their site, read up on them, and went out and bought their CD, "Audio" IMPRESSIVE, was my first thought, and my second thought was to hit the repeat button on my CD player. This has to be one of my favorite CD's and im glad I made the purchase. I recomend this CD to anyone that likes music. The Blue Men have a certain style to their music that is hard to explain, but it is so good that all music lovers will like them. All of their songs use cross beats, and it is obvious that these guys are VERY tallented, BUY THIS CD, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

Unbelievable! It's hard to put my feelings into words here. In the past few years I haven't bought much new music at all. There wasn't anything new out there that I felt was worth it. Then I saw the Blue Man Group on the intel commercials. I never heard of them, but for some reason they sparked my interest. I did an internet search and found their web site (which is really quite good by the way and if you want to learn more about their unique instruments I highly recommend you take a look at it). After listening to a few small samples on the website I decided to make the plunge and order their CD. It's one of the best purchases I've ever made. This CD is just better than mere words can express. I have a new all time favorite album now. Amazing!