Customer Reviews

Diana Krall: The Girl In the Other Room

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Diana does it again! Her smoky-voiced vocals and superb piano playing make these songs jump out of the speakers, regardless of whether you play the CD or DVD-A side. "Temptation" is a great track to show this disc's capability to your friends and to get them hooked on Diana as well. In defense of the Dual Disc format, remember that it's still a work in progress. I had no problems playing this, or any other Dual Disc I've purchased, on any player. The warning given about the CD side stems from the fact that the CD data layer is closer to the lens than is a standard CD, and some players may not be able to focus in on it. Newer players should have no trouble. The DVD layer on this disc provides the album in both DVD-Audioadvanced resolution sound, as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM stereo, and some music videos. The inclusion of Dolby Digital is welcome for the ability to allow those who do not have DVD-Audio players to still enjoy the full surround version. And it doesn't sound bad at all. I agree that ALL Dual Disc releases should include 5.1 surround sound (after all, this is the 21st century), and that MLP DVD-Audio should be required on all discs, as well as the Dolby Digital, or even DTS track. (Are you listening, Sony BMG?) This format is still coming together. Let's embrace it and give it the chance to grow.

Her music is amazing, the audio quality is very good, very clean, i would like to have 96khz 24bit audio, the dvd audio side is 48khz 24bit only but it's ok, it's better than CD.

I have several DVD-Audio and SACD discs. On this one, the DVD-Audio tracks have no sound. They show to be playing, but I get no audio from multichannel or stereo playback. The Dolby Digital tracks play just fine, as do the music videos. My player is a Pioneer DV-563A and I have never had this problem before. Really a disappointment since I was so glad to see a Dualdisc with DVD-Audio content.

UPDATE: Took the disc up to Best Buy and tried to play it on several DVD-Audio players. The disc played fine on all of the Denon units, but refused to correctly play back on any Pioneer machine.

UPDATE 2: Pioneer has a firmware upgrade that resolves all playback issues with this disc, and their newer players don't have the issue mentioned above.

I've had no problem with this or any other DualDisc. The warnings are included because the DDs are slightly thicker than the standard for CDs and thus do not qualify under the redbook guidelines to carry the official CD logo - the labels are playing CYA. While I've read of isolated problems here and there, they seem to be limited to a small handful of players and, in a few cases, authoring problems on the part of the label. Most users posting to various audiophile websites report being able to play these without trouble.

Also, you don't exactly get a "DVD" as in a full length video on this one. The appeal of this particular release is the high-resolution DVD-A layer. If you don't have a DVD-A player, the extra value of the DD here is marginal (standard-res 5.1 mix); if you do have a dedicated hi-res DVD-A player, it's doubtful you'd be playing the CD layer anyway.

Regarding the program itself, it's a good pop-oriented set from Krall, though nothing special. Special kudos go to her new guitarist, Anthony Wilson. He's been doing great stuff on his own for a few years, and is a solid addition to her band. The hi-res surround mix isn't flashy, but works well to bring you into the middle of the band.

this dualdisc truly takes advantage of the formats capabilities (HEY YOU WHINERS AT SONY, ARE YOU LISTENING????) IT HAS A TRUE DVD AUDIO LAYER, IN 5.1 AND STEREO!!!!, THIS IS GREAT MUSIC BY DIANA KRALL, I HAVE SOME OF HER PREVIOUS WORKS ON DVD AUDIO, AND THIS ONE SOUNDS JUST AS GOOD.

BY THIS DUALDISC, YOU WONT BE DISSAPOINTED

After so many disappointing CDs, with the slowest tempos and quietest songs ever, all in a row like a funeral dirge, Krall actually acts like a jazz singer at times here, some songs, gasp, actually have noise, and Krall does something besides whisper in ultra quiet mode. This is a very enjoyable album, although not a fabulous one. But the music is fun, and the performances remind you of the early Diana Krall. You know the one who had pretensions of being a jazz artist, not the female version of Mantovani. The flip side of this is a dvd that contains a few music videos, and it forcefully reminds you of Krall's other flaws. Her performance is utterly without personality. Why bother to video such a thing? It reminds me of a surly concert performance she once gave in my city. Enthusiastic fans were appreciative. She barely acknowledged that she was in a room playing for other people. Fans called out some favorites that they wanted her to do. She looked up and sarcastically stated--and it sounded mean, no joking here---"What, do you think I have a tip jar here?" Then she realized what she had done and made a half hearted apology. Not a trace of a connection to the audience. Krall is a leaden performer, and it shows on the music videos, which might as well not exist. She's hard pressed to crack a smile. If she has a personality, it is hard to find. Just be satisfied that the music is decent again. About time.

Don't buy this. While you might be thinking "Hey- this is neat! I get a DVD and CD on one disc!", the reality is that you're really just getting a DVD. The CD side isn't really a CD and is unplayable on many CD players (like the one in your car or some disc changers) and on computers. The CD insert says: "The audio side of this disc does not conform to CD specifications and therefore not all DVD and CD players will play the audio side of this disc". Save a few dollars and buy the real CD version and avoid these unusable fake CDs.