Search - David Bowie :: Young Americans (W/Dvd) (Spec)

Amazing new 5.1 surround mix!!

M. Scott Spalding | 11/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bowie's longtime producer Tony Visconti strikes again! After the wonderful DVD-Audio and CD re-releases of David Live and Stage, Mr. TV has worked his magic on the classic Young Americans album.



If you've never heard this album, it will rock your world. If you know this album well, the new version will rock your world even harder! I was simply amazed at how great the sound is, especially the surround effect in 5.1. I heard instrumentation and vocal arrangements that got lost in the earlier stereo album mix. It was like hearing the album for the first time all over again!



If you don't have surround sound yet, the included stereo CD is just as exciting. The mix is much brighter and more powerful than before, so you won't be disappointed.



Also, the DVD includes the rare video of Mr. Bowie's completely coked-up appearance on the Dick Cavett show -- absolutely essential viewing for any Bowie fan!"

Best cover of "Across the Universe" Ever!!!

Aitor Mendoza | Chicago, il United States | 10/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't care what the review says, this is the best cover of Across the Universe ever! The best song on the CD next to Fame and better than Fiona Apple's and Rufus Wainwright's, which are pretty good themselves.



I love the drumming at the end of the song and both John & David going at it (if that is John Lennon with him). A cover song is supposed to sound different than the original but keep some elements and this song is definitely David Bowie's version not Beatles which is a classic by itself. Why do the song the same as the original?



Anyway, David is no stranger to great covers, Let's Spend the Night Together is even better than the original.



And I love it when they cover him too. I love Seu Jorge and even the much maligned Barbra Streisand cover of Life on Mars? I give her props for tackling it in her Butterfly album (the best song on that CD too) and I like her vocals in it even though the instrumentation is not as mystifying as David's with Piano and Cello's etc... Her voice was great, if she could redo it with his music that would be a treat."

More on the sound quality

Sean Feeney | San Francisco, CA United States | 01/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Since a lot of the comments here are regarding the sound quality, I thought I'd chime in too. I don't have a surround setup so these comments are just regarding the stereo CD. A careful comparison with the Ryko CD reveals the stereo "stage" is different on this new release. For instance, on "Win" on the Ryko release, the guitar is off to the far left, the sax to the far right, just like the original RCA LP. On this new release, the instruments are much more towards the center, creating a narrower soundstage. Furthermore, the sax seems to drift from right to left at some points. This leads me to believe the stereo disc is mixed down from the surround version, which I imagine has some of the instruments moving around at points. While the sound quality is overall quite good, I would prefer the stereo imaging mimic the original, not change things. The original LP did have a bit of an exaggerated stereo effect, but that's the way it was recorded."