Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally on double CD again, but what about that piano sound?, November 16, 2003
By A Customer
If there was only one album that I could take to a deserted island, "Gone to Earth" would be it. In my opinion, this piece of atmospheric pop-chique is the best Sylvian ever did. So when the remaster was released, I went and got it right away. There are some obvious bonusses to this particular release: For the first time since the long-deleted japanese version you get the full album on CD. And not only the four tracks that went missing on the single CD release are back, but also three very interesting new mixes of River Man, Gone to Earth, and Camp Fire-Coyote Country. If it had been my choice I would have put the new mixes at the end of the second disc, so that you could first enjoy the full length of the original album, but then again, a CD player can be programmed... Since the MUSIC of the original release has been commented on often enough, I will concentrate on the SOUND of this remaster, to give an indication for all those audiophiles out there... Does it sound better? Quite a bit! The overall sound is deeper, wider and more dynamic. There is more 'space' too. The drums in Before the Bullfight (one of my favourite tracks when listening to new audio equipment) are thundering like they were recorded only yesterday. David's voice is more focussed, and the inner detail of the cymbals and other high-pitched sounds has increased by at least 25% without getting too bright. But what about that piano sound? In Laughter and Forgetting something weird has happened. On the original release the sound of the piano is not very bright, but straight. On this remaster it is brighter, but it sounds as if a high-rated chorus has been added.
A bit like in the old days, when you would play a cassette on a deck with a dirty pinch-roller.
Maybe this "effect" was actually added during the recording, and it is only now that it can be heard because of the remaster, but I doubt that. It almost gives reason to assume that the tape that was used for this remaster was not the original master, but some copy that has been lying around on some shelf for too long. There is another downside too. Like the other remasters of Sylvians work, this one has that wretched Copy Control thing on it. And this introduces some serious problems. Playing it on my DVDplayer gives a lot of pops and clicks, my car-stereo has the same problems with it, and my computer will not play it at all. Oh yes, there is a disclaimer in very small printing, and some yada-yada-ing about stealing a CD from a store.
Don't get me wrong. Large scale illegal copying WILL harm the music industry, so I'm not into that. But if the weapons against piracy will damage the sound or affect the way a disc plays on different equipment, it feels like another lost battle to me.
At this moment, there is NO copy protection that will NOT influence the sound of a compact disc.
So I'm left wondering what this remaster would have sounded like if the digital Copy Control data had not been embedded in the bits that make up the music signal.
And because of that I'm forced to extract one star of the possible five, and give this very essential remaster a score of just 4.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Silver Moon still shines!, January 15, 2005
Having (almost accidentally!) loved and cherished this particular album since it came out, I think it is time for me to do my bit for this marvellous piece of music!
First of all, let me state that this was my first Sylvian album. I must confess though that back then, I bought Gone to Earth merely on a whim - just because the cover seemed strangely inviting. I did not have a slighest clue on what to expect of the music itself, when I lowered my not-so-hifi record player's stylus into the first grooves of what was to become a fixture in my all-time favourites for years to come. Well, it did initially sound a bit strange. (I blush to remember thinking: maybe I can still take this back to the shop and get my money back!) At that time, I was -to an extent- already familiar with the featured guitarist, Robert Fripp, of King Crimson fame, but this was very different, something like... oh well. Silver Moon seemed to be the only piece of music that was accessible and beautiful on the first go. It took a few listens to get used to the almost tribal and scarce drumming, the meandering atmospherics, Kenny Wheeler's trumpet soloing, and the second lp filled with nearly static instrumental pieces. But in the end I got the message.
And I'm still wondering what that message is, actually! However: once your appetite has been whetted, this album keeps you coming back for more.
Gone to Earth is now available in its entirety on cd, hooray with knobs on for that. But as for saying very much more about the actual musical contents, I'm afraid I'd mostly be preaching for the converted. I guess this is simply one of those albums that every fan has a very personal relationship with, and trying to share those experiences might just appear silly. And anyway - I do not know how (and why) to try and convert anyone to succumb to the charms of this music. So, a few words in general.
The earlier single-disc cd pressing omitted some of the atmospheric instrumental pieces, and it's good to have them back at last so that the album is "complete". There are a few bonus tracks, remixes and stuff, but personally I do not think very much of them to be honest. Enjoyable as they may be in their own right, for someone like me with a long history of listening to the original lp issue, they do not belong to this album. Still, this is no major complaint because it's easy enough to skip listening to them.
As an artistically inclined aside, the packaging is also quite lavish - however, nothing can beat the good old lp gatefold sleeve! The original lp issue had a peculiar inner gatefold design involving a slab of something that seemed like molten gold on a flowing, dark-blue background, sadly dropped from this reissue.
The remastered sound is maybe a tad stronger in presence and clearer than on the previous single-cd issue. But again, I do not give very much weight on this matter. It is the music itself that counts for me; I'm no sound engineer or hi-fi specialist. Maybe it is only a matter of personal taste. Curiously enough, I remember reading somewhere that Sylvian himself was uncomfortable with the final mix of "Wave", and it's always been my personal favourite on this album - I wouldn't have changed a single detailo in the arrangement! Well I guess there's a lesson to be learnt from this.
All in all: I can just say that Gone to Earth still sounds fantastic, but I do not know whether it's because of "the depth or the surface", so to speak. I managed to enjoy this album immensely, scratches and all, in it's lp format, and can just say that this beautiful pair of cd's is an essential part of any adventurous music lover's collection. I neither know nor care very much whether this album ever reaches a widely accepted classic status, given the distance of time; I hate to think so but probably this album will sink into obscurity and oblivion in the years to come. However, for you who have had the patience to wade through this review so far: if you like things that might take a bit of time but give immense rewards, Gone to Earth is VERY strongly recommended - alongside with Brilliant Trees and Secrets of the Beehive by the same artist.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dear god, why the copy protection?, April 9, 2004
I was delighted to hear that "Gone to Earth" had finally been issued on CD in it's full form. My vinyl copy has long since been loaned out and not returned, and my original CD has been abused to the point where it is starting to cause probelems. However, my new problem is this. My last audio CD player died a year ago. I have computers in my studio and office, and a DVD player in my living room. However, apparently this disk will play on none of them! Quite frankly, copying of David Sylvian albums doesn't strike me as a likley problem or significant source of lost revenue. However at least one sale is lost right now because none of my equipment will play the thing!Note: re: the previous review: "Laughter and Forgetting" is probably my favorite track, and I often play it as a reference befoe mixing on unfamiliar monitors. However, on several good speakers (primarily Genelecs) there is something ODD about the piano on the original CD also; Im not sure if its actually a sampled grand or a real one with some compressors pulling up the decay on the notes, but after the initial attack, the is someting strange (a slight "phasing" or perhaps a "looping" anomoly)about the sustain on the instrument... If you have something that will play it.... Five stars for content. Probably Sylvian's best Album.
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