Sound Stage - Rating: 1-5 - Music & Multimedia CD/DVD/Game Reviews

Eric Bibb
Diamond Days
Telarc
Music
Sound Quality
If you're a famous actor playing someone deaf, dumb or transsexual, expect an Oscar nomination. Some folks fall for showy stuff. A folk-blues album such as Diamond Days doesn't provide the type of showy moments of audio possibility that others might, but it sounds really good, both as a CD or SACD. Bibb's voice and guitar, the backbone of the album, are both clear while maintaining the slight edge that makes them resonant. The short "Dr. Shine" is a great example of what's pleasant about this album. The song is simple and comforting, and I'm not sure I've heard a tuba and mandola in such sweet harmony. -DC Gott

Dan The Automator
Presents 2K7
Decon Records
Music
Sound Quality
Hip-hop mastermind Dan Nakamura got his own video game! Actually, it's a compilation for NBA 2K7. Though the Automator's fronting this terribly unlikely melding of hoop and hop, his production is not the focus of the art on the recording. 2K7 is a series of platforms for some pretty good rappers. The beats are clean and the bass pumps. The vocals all have impact, from Chali 2na's baritone staccato to Phife Dawg's choirboy to-and-fro. Dynamics are good, but songs like "Here Comes the Champ" have limited stereo imaging. Some of the samples sound canned. This album is a nice head-nodder, but Dan could have brought his work closer to center stage. -DC Gott

Stanton Moore III
Telarc
Music
Sound Quality
Stanton Moore's III is a funky, polyrhythmic groove recorded entirely at the famed Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Though that's a pretty small space, the recording sounds a bit distant and muted. Some of the complexities of Moore's drumming are lost without very close listening. The recording has good dynamics and a decent soundstage. III sounds its best with horns, as with the breathy sax on "Water from the Ancient Well," the first in a trio of songs Moore did as tribute to post-Katrina New Orleans. -DC Gott

BT
This Binary Universe
DTS Entertainment
Music
Sound Quality
When DTS releases an album, it makes fantastic use of 5.1 surround sound. If it didn't, it would be a lot like low-fat pork rinds or white crayons. I never understood white crayons. Electronica pioneer BT's latest effort was composed expressly for 5.1 and it sounds it. All the channels are discreet and important. They are mixed beautifully to create a lush soundstage. Dynamics are impressive, and levels are nicely even across a broad frequency range. The bass is powerful and tight. The only thing missing is the immediacy provided by a broader use of live instruments. But then, that wouldn't be quite right for electronica. Kind of like low-fat pork rinds. -DC Gott

Heather Headley
In My Mind
RCA Records
Music
Sound Quality
Heather Headley has a fine, natural voice. She's not going for the elusive eighth octave or trying to out-Aretha the next girl. The recording of In My Mind complements that voice nicely. For the most part, the songs don't. The production is slick, but there's nothing different from most major label R&B releases. Though mostly at one volume, it's also pleasing to the ear. -DC Gott

Depeche Mode
Some Great Reward (deluxe re-release)
Rhino Records
Music
Sound Quality: 4
Some Great Reward has joined several other DM albums in DVD-Audio re-release, and it confirmed suspicions I had when listening to this album repeatedly in the '80s on my crappy no-name boombox. Suspicion 1: Synthesizers can sound good when they're presented properly. The electronic compositions on the 5.1 DTS album and on the stereo CD are lushly mixed and have an excellent soundstage. Each state-of-the-art 1984 effect is delivered with punch, and with quick progressions from soft to loud and back. Suspicion 2: "Somebody," really does have a random conversation and the sounds of clinking drinking glasses going on in the background. With the boombox, I was never quite sure. -DC Gott