Graham Nash – Songs For
Beginners
(1971/Rhino CD + DVD-Audio Set)
Stereo:
B+ Dolby Digital: B DTS 5.1: A- MLP: A-
Extras: C+ Music: B+
A few
years ago we had the pleasure of reviewing Graham Nash’s Songs for Survivor’s which always seemed like the complimentary
piece to his debut album Songs for
Beginners, which has recently been released as a CD/DVD-Audio combo
set. Check out the review for Songs for Survivors here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/215/Graham+Nash+-+Songs+For+Survivors
It only
seems natural for his debut album to follow with great results that Survivors did with the DVD-Audio
treatment. Although, in the recent years
since that title was issued much has changed in the world of high-resolution
music. For one, we are seeing less and
less on the DVD-Audio format and more SACD’s issued, but even those are
starting to dwindle and it appears will never be a mainstream format. Having this particular album issued this way
will make everyone happy as it contains the basic CD as well and then the
beefed up DVD-Audio for home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles.
In
comparing Beginners with Survivors you can hear a quick
distinction between the two. The most
obvious thing is that with Beginners
we hear a youthful Nash who is pouring out his heart in a post-CSN (&
sometimes Y) sort of way. He is finding
himself as a solo artist and defining his sound on his own. That same sound is also heard on Survivors, but it’s a more matured
sound, more polished, and reflective, while Beginners was dealing with the moment. I suppose it’s fair to say that Beginners was raw, hopeful, emotional,
and direct. Of course those who know the
history of this album can easily see why as he was dealing with the split from
Joni Mitchell, plus leaving a successful time with Crosby and Stills, plus our
country at the time was on the tail end of a bizarre war.
For
DVD-Audio purposes the performance is quite stunning considering its age and
quite dynamic too. I was immediately
impressed with how the soundstage (in particular with the 5.1 mixes) never felt
too thin or spread out, which is a common problem when re-translating material
from a 2.0 source into a 5.1 mix. Here
though we get a great balance and while the majority of the mix is front-heavy,
it still has nicely placed surround and ambiance. It’s incredible to think that an album
completed in 1971 could have the sonic abilities even as it rapidly approaches
the 40-year mark.
The album
was a hit during it’s time and is perhaps a great album worth rediscovery and
what better way than this particular release, which will give those who are
very familiar with the album a new fresh perspective with the remixes and
high-resolution sound.
Track
Listing
Military Madness
Better Days
Wounded Bird
I Used To Be A King
Be Yourself
Simple Man
Man In The Mirror
There’s Only One
Sleep Song
Chicago
We Can Change The World
One of
the better tracks on the album is the opener Military Madness, which is an obvious politically-charged song that
reminds me of John Lennon’s Mind Games,
which also opened that album. The clanky
guitar riffing over the funky piano sound are staples here. The vocals appear
to come from a very large front soundstage and the melody of the song is
constantly changing shape within the mix giving it a freshness and lasting
life. Chicago was another hit from the album (Nash’s only Top 40 solo hit
to date) too and also has a fresh sound here with a bit more richness to
it. The more acoustical songs also
present themselves well, especially in the high-resolution format with far more
detail being heard and the album sounds more life-like and live, it’s almost
like you can hear and feel the sound from a real guitar within your room,
rather than just a recording of one.
This is the real distinction that CD was never quite able to deliver
without super-high-end equipment to do so, but even then was limited with its
compression.
Overall
the MLP 5.1 (48k/24bit Meridian Lossless Packing format) is perhaps my
favorite, although the DTS 5.1 mix feels a bit deeper in the lower end, it
doesn’t quite have the fidelity, so I tend to lean towards more fidelity in the
mix. The weakest mix on the DVD-Audio is
the Dolby Digital mixes, which just seem flat by comparison and do not even
sound nearly as engaging as the CD’s PCM 2.0 sound, which has also been
remastered with a new stereo mix. There
is also a photo gallery and new interview with Graham Nash included.
In the
end we get a great update on a classic album and this CD/DVD-Audio combo with
hopefully excite a new generation of listeners and also please those who grew
up with it. I see no reason why it
wouldn’t or couldn’t accomplish both, Rhino got things right with this release
for sure!
- Nate Goss
