Philip Hamm

I need to start this review by admitting that I’m a big Midnight Oil fan. I’ve been interested in the band since my brother gave me “10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1” for Christmas in 1983. I loved that album but never really followed up until the mid-90s when I started eating up everything I could find, starting with some pre-recorded MiniDiscs that I found for cheap.

Their latest album, and possibly their swan song, since singer Peter Garrett just left, is entitled “Capricornia”, and is typical Oils. That is to say, it is exceptional. It’s been a staple in my CD rotation since it came out. The music is excellent and the recording is very good as well.

I read about the DTS CD here on HTF a few months ago, and ordered it immediately, along with a couple other CDs I’ve been meaning to order. I had to wait for a long time, I suppose because something was backordered, but it arrived today.

At the Home Theater Cruise last fall DTS Entertainment mentioned, much to most of our surprise, that they were planning on continuing the DTS CD program. Apparently the idea of a disc that you just put in and press play and it works, multichannel, with no DVD-A or SACD complication, is something that people like. I know I do.

I believe that “Capricornia” is the first DTS-ES CD that has been produced. According to the packaging, the mix was specifically engineered for a 6.1 system. I do not have a 6.1 system, but I reap the benefits of the mix anyway. Let me explain…..

I’ve been enjoying 5.1 music for years, ever since I first got my Millenium 2.4.6 decoder in 1999. With the exception of some 70’s Quad resurrections (which for the most part use all four stereo soundfields in the format) , most of the mixes that I’ve experienced have treated the front soundfield very much like a stereo field, and used the rear left and right as “extra sources”. Very little care has been taken to use the rear or side stereo soundfields as cohesive units. There are some exceptions, but very few and never consistently across a whole album. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the 5.1 mixes I've had. Some, particularly the Paul McCartney 70s Quad albums and Steely Dan’s Gaucho, are really exceptional!

I would say that the one mix that has stood out as actually using the rear cohesively has been the recent Pink Floyd “Dark Side Of The Moon”. It doesn’t consistently use the rear as a cohesive soundfield, most sounds are either in the rear left or the rear right, rarely does anything appear in the center. But occasionally.

Until now.

With this disc, and the DTS-ES format, I’ve finally heard the rear channels as they should be used. The cohesiveness of the rear soundfield, and the use of instruments panned across the rear: left, right, and center is borderline revolutionary. The mix for the most part is fairly conservative, with the bass, drums, and lead vocals in the front, with other base instruments. Some guitars, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals, and ambient effects (most effectively in the “hallelujia” verse in “under the overpass”) are in the rear.

This disc is probably the single best example I’ve heard to date of what can be done with a multichannel mix. The way the rears are used, thanks to the DTS-ES rear channel, is just like the way the fronts are used. It makes the whole experience extremely cohesive.

If you’re a fan of Midnight Oil, don’t hesitate, pick this up immediately. Do not wait! You don’t even need a SACD or DVD-A player, it’s a CD!

If you’re a fan of multichannel mixes and want to hear what could be the best one out there, seriously consider this disc. It is, IMO, a groundbreaking disc. Plus, you may find that you like the music.

Oh yeah, one more thing. The quality of the audio is tremendous. It’s 44.1K 24bit native recording compressed to DTS. Honestly, to my ears, it sounds as good as any DVD-A or SACD disc I have. The quality of the recording itself is excellent, and that’s where it all begins. I’m not as critical as some of you I’m sure, but I think you’ll be happy with the audio quality.

Thanks, DTS Entertainment, and keep them coming. I hope that anyone who is interested in doing multichannel music mixing gets an earful of this. It really is something.

Philip Hamm
Moderator Emeritus

Ron Etaylor

Thanks for the review. The Oils are underrated in this country. I'll be on the lookout for this one.

LanceJ

I've seen Capricornia at Best Buy already.

LJ

Michael Hein

Peter Garrett left Midnight Oil?

I have been a huge fan since 1988's Diesel and Dust. Bought most of their discs but can honestly say I haven't been to particular here the last 7 or 8 years since they went back to the punk-surfer sound that they had back in the late 70's.

Musically, whats Capricornia about? Interested in picking this one up.

Curtis Lotter

This disc is too good not to bring this thread back to life!

I picked this one up after reading the review by Philip.



I couldn't agree more, I didn't have a chance to listen the disk a whole lot when I first bought it, but just spent a couple hours with it today. I think this is one of those recordings that will keep revealing more and more of itself with repeated listenings.

Like Philip, I was a fan of Midnight Oil since 10,9,8... but I felt the they got off track with Earth And Sun And Moon. I would have passed this one by so my thanks to Philip