Customer Reviews

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Deluxe Edition CD + DVD)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've heard Zaireeka, you have an idea what the Lips can do with surround sound. The mix here is simply revolutionary, you've never heard anything quite like it before. Its not a quick and dirty "put some sound effects in the back" thing, they've completely reinterpreted the album for the surround sound format. Even if you're not a fan of the lips, this is as good a way to show off your fancy surround setup as any I've heard, and you'll probably end up a fan as a result.

What you get here is:

The brand new 5.1 surround mix of the yoshimi album (in both dolby digital and dvd-audio formats)

A new dvd-audio stereo mix of the yoshimi album

bonus videos for do you realize, yoshimi battles the pink robots, are you a hypnotist, various making of videos, and more.

Bonus stereo audio tracks Up Above the Daily Hum, If I go mad, etc.

And for good measure a standard audio cd of Yoshimi as well.

If you're fortunate enough to have a dvd audio player, the quality of the dvd audio surround mix is amazing, absolutely flawless uncompressed 96kHz 24 bit sound. Even if you don't, you can still experience the new surround mix with a standard dvd player, assuming you have a setup that can handle dolby digital surround sound (the same surround format used for movies). The dolby digital version also has little frequency waveform cartoons to go with the music. Kinda cool but I'd rather skip the cartoons and listen to the higher quality dvd-a version.

Since some people seem to be missing the point, what you're paying for here is the new surround sound mix of yoshimi, and its worth every penny. Everything else is just gravy. So who should buy this version? If you don't already have Yoshimi go ahead and get this version instead of the original, you still get the normal cd, and even if you don't have a surround sound setup theres enough extras on the dvd to be worth the extra cash. And its nice incentive to get surround sound going in the future.

If you already have the Yoshimi album and don't have a decent surround setup, you're probably wasting your money. No sense buying an album you already have just to get a few new extras.

But if you do have a surround setup, you NEED this release, even if you've already got yoshimi. You're bound to be blown away. Now I'm just hoping they rerelease Zaireeka in this format so you can here it in its surround sound glory without fiddling with four seperate cds. :)

DO NOT BUY THE CD VERSION. Why? Because this one comes with it! It's the best solution to DVD-Audio's lack of hybrid capability, like SACD allows. Don't have DVD-Audio, yet? Well, the Dolby Digital goodies are more than enough to get you by until then and all you need for those is a standard DVD Player. But I'm telling you, with just an inexpensive Pioneer DV-655A universal player, the DVD-Audio 24/96 5.1 tracks are ASTOUNDING! The sonic quality alone will amaze you. The decoded HDCD of Soft Bulletin sounded great. Yoshimi's 24bit/96khz blows it away. And that's not even considering the surround aspect of it, which is pretty much revolutionary. Stuff spins around, phases in and out, you name it, this does it...and not in some arbitrary way. It's all musically conducive to the material. The DVD contains both 5.1 and 2.0 versions of the material on Layer 1, which you select between in the DVD menu only. There are also six 2 channel 24bit/48khz live tracks and remixes on layer 2 that can be selected either in the menu or from your DVD player's controls. Then there are the Dolby Digital tracks of even more remixes and video extras. Watch out on the video for Are You A Hypnotist. It gave me a headache, though for the first half of it I was pretty impressed with the editing. If Paul Van Dyk's Global is the benchmark for CD/DVD-Video releases, Yoshimi is the new standard for DVD-Audio releases.

This dual disc, like many of the new, SuperAudio or DVD-Audio multi-channel audio releases, is a completely mis-marketed and misunderstood product (even on this site). It is not, as many owners believe, simply a CD and 5.1 Dolby Digital DVD combo. On the "DVD" portion of the duo, there exists in addition to the compressed Dolby Digital surround track, a completely un-compressed, "lossless" DVD-Audio Multi-Channel version, a format which is 64 times the sampling rate of a CD and many levels of quality higher than Dolby Digital or DTS surround. Unbeknownst to most, this material is playable on neither a CD player nor a standard DVD player. One must own a DVD player specifically equipped and labled with "DVD Audio," one of the two relatively-new uncompressed super-quality surround audio formats (the other of which is called SuperAudio MultiChannel). The format is always decoded by the player, not the receiver; the audio exits the player through not one optical or coax cable but through six RCA-type cables and therefore must be joined to a properly-equipped surround receiver or amplifier (one that specifially possesses a "6-Ch" or "External Decoder" 6-jack input). That said, the DVD-Audio track on this release is one of the greatest, most-discrete sounding surround experiences you will ever hear. If you're only able to monitor the CD, Dolbly Digital, or DVD-Video w/Dolbly Digital version, you have not even begun to live. Stores and websites alike have to get on-the-ball and create sections for "DVD-Audio" and "SuperAudio" multi-channel discs.

Finally, a DVD-Audio disc deserving of the capabilities of DVD-A! Given the Sonic Textures of SOFT BULLETIN & YOSHIMI, I was more than exicted when I heard of the proposed DVD-A disc of Yoshimi. My expectations were "more than satisfied" by experiencing the wealth of Audio & Video Delights included in this NEW Visit. Besides the Hi-Res 2 Channel Version of Yoshimi,
the Lips have completely Re-mixed & Re-imagined the CD for its Hi-Res Surround Mix. Longer Versions, Added Instrumentation, Swirling Audio and superb Multi-Channel Imagery make this the ULTIMATE DVD-A Test Disc (Listen up all yoose "HI-FI, MEGA MART
SALESPERSON WANNABEES!"). Now if the Lips (and DVD-A producer
Elliot Schneider...kudos E.S.!) will apply the same genius in mixing the underappreciated & "underheard" ZAIREEKA, all will be in Balance in the world!!

I know that music tastes are subjective, but I truly feel this is an album worth of a 5 star rating. It is daring and fun to listen to, and takes you on an immersive sonic journey.

I had almost worn out my copy of the original, so when the limited DVD version was offered, I jumped at it. How much better could it get I wondered. A lot, it turns out.
If you have a 5.1 surround sound system and a DVD Audio equiped player, you really won't believe what you are hearing. Close your eyes and the music comes at you from everywhere, swirling around you in all 3 dimensions, possibly the 4th too!

The standard CD seems like it has received some sort of freshening too, but I can't swear to it. The extras on the DVD, videos, animations and extra songs, are all great. Some reviewers expected more, why I'm not sure. They are all just bonuses to go along with this stellar DVD Audio release.

Do yourself a favor. Even if you only have a DVD player and no 5.1 surround or DVD audio player, get this album. The price is right and it will make you want to invest in a better system down the road.

I'm very happy with my purchase, long live the Lips!

Excellent value. For $20, you get a copy of the original album on CD, several videos, and a great expanded 5.1 mix of the album. the only downside is that the end of the last track, approaching pavonis mons by balloon, drops out about 20 seconds before it should... this is a major disappointment, but maybe it shows why this project has been delayed so much already. that aside, it's well worth the money. maybe warner brothers will recall the faulty dvds.

Okay, firstly, I have to say I'm a huge fan of the standard issue 'Yoshimi' album. If you haven't already heard the original version, and are looking to save some money, then I would probably recommend you buy the standard version. There's enough in there to interest the passing music enthusiast.
However, If you are looking for something mind-blowing, and totally different, fork out the extra money. Its worth it.
To start with, the 5.1/Enhanced Stereo mix of the album is sheer brilliance. The 5.1 thing's been out for a few years now, and I've struggled to find anyone who's truly used it to its full potential. The Tea Party's DVD mix of 'Tangents' (their best of (?) thingummy) may be a possible exception, but even with that, there was the feeling that they were merely lumping all the different channels around the soundscape in an attempt to show off how many instruments Jeff Martin can play.
Of course, anyone who has heard (or even just heard of) Zaireeka, knows that Wayne and co. were always going to be the ones who would take the leap into the new technology.
And leap they did. All of the new track mixes feel like home if you already know the album, but suddenly home feels a whole lot roomier. And your appreciation of different songs will change too. I never was that big a fan of Yoshimi pt.2, until I heard the full 5.1 mix (and wait until you see Wayne have a breakdown running around the room whilst listening to it in the DVD-A making-of video).
Okay enough rabbiting on about the album. If you were interested enough in either the album or the lips in general, you should already have skipped past my, and everyone elses, meager attempts to explain it in word, and bought it already.
The visuals that accompany the tracks are brilliant, if a bit repetitive. The repetitive nature of them does leave you in a bit of a happy trance whilst listening though.
The extra tracks are great.. the two unreleased ones are exemplary compared to the usual b-side fodder we're subjected to these days (not on lips singles though). The 'Do you realize?' mixes have appeared on the Fight Test single already, so they're nothing new.
The videos are great to own, especially if you haven't seen the mark pellington version of the 'Do you realize clip'.
video making ofs are so/so... but what can you say about the creation of a flaming lips clip? its all about an acid-esque happy chaos isn't it?
'Phoebe battles the pink robots' is a brilliant version of 'yoshimi pt.1'. Stripped bare, the song (Yos. pt.1) sounds like something else.
In Short: If you like music, If you like The FLaming Lips, If you liked Yoshimi the first time around or you just happened on to stumble on this page... Buy this album.

This album has been drastically remastered for the DVD-A edition, plus you get the standard CD audio version thrown in too! To be fair, if you haven't got a great sound system to listen to it on, and/or you already have the CD, you might not want to buy it. I have a Dolby Surround system, and the change in sound between CD audio and DVD audio is amazing. I'd (almost) compare it to the leap from tape to CD audio.

Some other reviewers have clearly been confused over what exactly you are getting in this edition, and that is: a 24-bit (instead of 16-bit) recording of the album, with 3 extra channels thrown in (Dolby 5.1). If it doesn't appeal to you on that basis, stick with the CD version. It's (nearly) as good.

Rarely does an album this stunning and mind-expanding come along. I have to admit that I am a late-comer to the Lips camp, but once their blend of beats, majestic pop and powerful lyrics get inside your head, it's hard to get it out.

I would compare this release to something on par with SGT. PEPPER'S or OK COMPUTER in terms of its scope and power.

As for the new mix, it will blow your mind if you've got 5.1 sound and what not. It's all over the room, jumping from speaker to speaker and making full use of the soundscape. Even if you bought this disc the first time around, it is essentially a different album as presented here.

Wayne Coyne and the boys are geniuses. Don't miss out on this release.

The Flaming Lips' sonic masterpiece "Yoshimi" gets revamped and refreshed by repackaging the original 2-channel disc with a 2nd DVD-Audio disc featuring a remarkable 5.1 mix the album along with videos and previously unavailable songs and remixes. Only a year after its original release, the Lips' take music to a new level. The Lips revoluntionalize the way we listen to music, much in the way stereo recordings did for mono. The 5.1 mix of "Yoshimi" offers more sonic depth than anything I've heard before (on any stereo or 5.1 in the past), with swurling guitars, bass lines that travel around the room and different vocal tracks from all around you. Aside from the musical awe, you are visually entertained with a spectacular light show that dances to the music. In closing this is a must-buy (even owners of the original release need to buy yhtis one too).

Audiophiles: Put away your headphones and Darkside of the Moon, and hook up your 5.1 home theater and put in "Yoshimi battle the Pink Robots"