Customer Reviews

Rough Mix

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Ronnie Lane was having financial difficulty he asked Pete Townshend for a loan. Pete said no. He then suggested that Pete produce his solo album and contribute songs to a solo album Townshend had a counter proposal; they record an album together. The result is the marvelous "Rough Mix" which features both songwriters in top form and meshing to create a unique sythesizer of both their sounds. The album sounds like a collison of these two unique songwriters and their bands (Lane was a member at one time of the Faces and The Small Faces)than just about anything either one of them created by themselves. The production by Glyn Johns and musical contributions from John Entwhistle, Eric Clapton, Charlie Watts and Rabbit makes this marvelous musical confection come together and gel.

Does this album sound better than the previously mastered version? Yeah it's improved. We get the original album remastered for CD with video interviews with producer Johns and Townshend on the DVD-audio side of things. There are also stills from Townshend's collection of the recording of the album. The 5.1 mix of the album sounds quite good as well although I find myself listening a bit more to the stereo CD side only because I tend to listen to music much more in the car than I do at home.

The booklet has information on the recording of the album in a brief essay as well as the original lyrics for all the songs. The big find though is three previously unreleased songs two by Lane and one by Townshend. "Good Question" builds on a demo from "Scoop" that Townshend recorded called "Brrr". Both "Only You" and "Silly Little Man" are exceptional Lane tunes that add to his musical legacy.

A warning to Townshend/Who fans; don't except "Empty Glass" this album has much more in common in tone, feel and sound to Townshend's "Who Came First" album than his later albums.

Pete's in great voice throughout. The opening strains of the odd "love song" "My Baby Gives It Away" which wouldn't have been out of place on a Who record. Townshend's songs tend to rock out a bit more than Lane's but the two provide perfect balance to each other here.

This is a 5-star album. Period. And while I lobbied for a decent remaster, I certainly never expected all this. They did a very good (not great) job of remastering, and you get your choice of conventional CD stereo, Dolby DVD stereo or Dolby DVD 5.1. No DTS, unfortunately. I know I'm picking nits, but I don't find the 5.1 mix all that alluring. First, the sound is anemic, requiring much more volume and amp power to get a decent listening experience. The mix lacks punch and high end and is not at all realistic, e.g. the drums are all in the right front channel, kind of a throwback to the "2-track" stereo mixes of the 60s. Also, some of the vocal tracks are different, which is OK, I guess, but off-putting and not as good as the finished vocal tracks. It's one of the most curious, and disappointing surround sound mixes I've heard. I don't know how the stereo master can be so much improved from the previous LP and CD releases, yet the 5.1 mix sound so different and disappointing.

But, honest, I'm not complaining. You don't have to listen to the 5.1 mix, it's there if you want it, and I'm well pleased with the stereo mixes. The CD stereo remaster seems a bit better than the Dolby DVD remaster, but they are close.

At any rate, I am glad they finally remastered this classic album, and the extras are very much appreciated.

When I bought this disc I was skeptical as to how good the 5.1 mix would be. First, of all of Townshend's solo albums, this one seemed to me to be the least best candidate for a surround sound mix. Second, the 5.1 mix that Townshend had done for the Who's classic Tommy had not impressed me. Within one minute of putting this dual disc into my dvd player though, I realized that this was exactly the sort of surround sound mix I always hope I will be getting. There are enough unique, specific events going on in the rear speakers so that you know they're there, but not so much as to be overwhelming. The 5.1 mix was done by long-time Who soundman Bob Pridden who should be given high praise. Hopefully Pridden will be in charge of any future surround sound mixes that are to be done for the Who/Townshend catalog. The interview section of the disc could have had some more talk from Pete, but that's the only minor complaint I can think of.

Glad to have it in surround.

The guy that can't play it on his Pioneer needs only to take in his Pioneer DVD-Audio player to a dealer that can update his firmware, that will fix the problem! I guarantee it!

This is one of those great albums that didn't hit the top of the charts or win the Grammy (I cringe to think what did). Throw the Who and the Small Faces together and what else would you expect? One technical aside: despite assurances to the contrary, this did not play on my old great Sony player ('no disk' and a whine), but was fine in the DVD (lesser speakers in my setup).

The bonus cuts are good and in keeping with the album. "Street in the City" and "My Baby Gives It Away" are as good as anything the Who ever did. And the album is as consistantly good as either man was ever involved in. So buy it. Wish they'd done it again.

...and it's the same one I had with my DualDisc copy of the Talking Heads' Remain in Light. For some reason, I cannot get the audio on the tracks on the DVD side to be heard on my Pioneer DV-563A. (I had this problem with 2 copies of Remain in Light, so now I'm wondering if it's just certain labels doing something odd with the DualDiscs, because my other DualDiscs play without issues on my Pioneer.) However, the CD side plays just fine. Strange.

That said, this is a fine album. Remembering that Ronnie Lane agreed to do this album when Pete Townshend turned him down for a loan, it's amazing the kind of art that desperate situations can produce. "My Baby Gives it Away" could have easily fit onto any Who album, yet I'm glad Townshend kept it for himself--Daltrey's bluff and bluster, of which there was entirely too much on the Who's late '70s releases, would have just ruined it. Ronnie Lane's contributions are absolute magic here, showing why he was so integral to the (Small) Faces. And this was just about the time he was starting to be affected by the MS that would eventually end his life at the too-young age of 51. I agree with another reviewer that the interview section is too short and needs more of Townshend's input, but it certainly is nice to have.

what a classic! great music and service just as good! id recomend buying from this seller again!

I own tons of Dual Discs and have had no problems with any of them. I own a Sony high-end SACD/DVD player and it'll play anything I throw at it. The CD side of this item plays fine. The extra features are pretty swell, too. The very opening seconds of the DVD side are improperly mastered which causes an annoying "stutter" as the disc attempts to initiate the Surround Sound. I checked it on my other player, same thing. Being that there are no surface scratches or any defects visible, rather than bothering Amazon with returning the item, I have contacted the manufacturer(Hip-O) THREE TIMES to try to have this addressed only to be told someone will get back to me with no replies. This has been since 10-28-06. So if you want to listen to the first cut on the CD side, stop, flip it over to the Dual Disc side and reinitiate play at the second track, it's pretty swell. For those of you nostalgic about missing the flipping over of a vinyl record(not I), it may be right up your alley. No more Hip-O purchases for me. There's plenty of other music out there.

Two cuts: "Street In The City" and "Heart To Hang On To" are must-own production numbers.