Quality music, but painful on the eyes
349469
I won't say anything about the music itself, which is stellar, but the score reproduction is abysmal. Any pianist approaching this music better do so with a stellar technique because you will go blind if you spend too long on this music. I'm not quite sure why the notes and staff lines are so blurry. I, surreptitiously photographing the original documents in the Soviet archives surely could have done a better job than the people at Dover. Its as if the editors licked their thumbs and then rubbed them back and forth on each page.

Also, the Modernist art work on the book cover (with it's precise lines and angular figures) is surely done in jest - the note engravings are more reminiscent of French Impressionism!
1539359
i put this in the deck straight away and thought, now that is strange, i hear the washing machine humming.  it sounds to me like someone wiring up an electronics kit and putting a stethescope to the resistors, then the  capacitors, then maybe over a diode to see what sounds come out.
of the  two tracks, colder still is more lively and disjointed.  listening to this  disc is like i imagine death in the cold, numbing, soothing and  hallucinogenic if you can switch off, bludgeoning pain if you try to grasp  the textures.
the main melody and beauty here is in the beat frequencies  from composite sounds that build up and release chaotically.  clean,  difficult, beautiful.  two stars for wierdness and two for solid  construction.
3577140
I wish Mr. Ottman had shown some restraint when putting this album together. It sounds like every piece of music from the movie is here, but it also seems overwhelming. Back in 2000 (when I bought the CD), an album this lengthy was a huge deal. Varese Sarabande was used to releasing short albums with crappy inserts. This score is still the only one I own from the label that features an unfolding insert (my favorite kind) instead of a booklet or simple two-page insert (my least favorites). That's awesome.

On the other hand, the recording quality is a little dry and subdued, making for a taxing listening experience. I love Amy's theme, though, and overall, this is a great album. A little long in the tooth, but worthy of your collection if you're a horror fan or fond of John Ottman. I prefer Christopher Young's efforts for the first film, though.
327915
OK, so it's depressing (I felt compelled to write this after seeing the review of the last listener) It's black.  It's long, and at times, painful. Get it.  And listen hard.  My favorites are "Fresh Tendrils"  ("long time coming"....who hasn't been there?), "Fell on  Black Days" (actually, a very optimistic tune...."So don't lock  up something- - that you wanted to see fly), and "Like Suicide."  This album travelled with me though a lot of pain, and a lot of change. You  might want to pick it up and let it live with you as well.
274705
Great selection of beautiful songs--that's the plus.  Too bad they are arrainged in such an abysmally slow tempo with every note drug out to the max that it's almost painful to listen to them. I'd think twice (or three times) before buying this CD unless you can preview it in advance and the tempo is to your liking.
2664953
Style is very nice, I really like the aluminum head band, and real leather material.  However I don't like the fact that the headphones are cannot be folded and have to be put in the smallest setting to store in the included case, which is huge!.  A big negative for me is this thing hurt badly after ~30 minutes listening session, I'm an eyeglass wearer, the headphone presses my ear against the eyeglass causing a lot of pain.  Adjustable angle cable is gimmick really.. the connector is too big and the control is too heavy, I prefer to use the straight cable w/o any iControl whatever because of the light weight.  I'm an android user and the control only work with iDevices.  It really bother me that Sennheiser decided to ignore the android market, I guess android users are not cool enough for them.

Ok, sound quality.  I'm not an audiophile, and I'm not a bass head.  My musics are mostly 320kps mp3s, I listens mostly to country, slow female vocals, and occasional classical.  To me, the momentum sounded OK, mid range is definitely prominent compare to bass and treble.  Bass is very weak imo, comparing it to the Sony MDR-1R, the Sony bass is much more pronounce, maybe not as tight (just by a tad) as the momentum.  I can hear and feel the bass on the Sony, where as on the momentum I only faintly hear the bass.  Momentum sound stage is not as wide as the MDR-1R, and is tiresome after a while.

Between the three new "lifestyle" head phones, I would rank them like this for sound quality: MDR-1R > Momentum > V-Moda M100, and for comfort MDR-1R > M100 > Momentum. Momentum $350 asking price doesn't help either.
4703155
It hurts to wear them after a while, but the sound quality is awesome.
613560
I love the music but seem to be the first person to advise the world : cuts are distorted, Mismi Overnight and streets Ahead.  imagine someone laying a needle on a scratchy record.  no fingerprints on my disc, and the odds a scratch would start in the time between song 1 and 2 and end with song 3 is infinitesimal.  great music, terrific sound, but because of the distortion I listen to live in Los Angeles.  same songs, cool sounds from Sean Fontaine? guitar player.
439628
This CD set has a great selection of songs and as far as the vocals, what can I say, it's the Everly Brothers. But, because of the sibilance I am unable to listen to it. The Ss and Ts are loud, harsh and iritating. Another remastered CD that I will put on the shelf and not listen to again. It's a shame because the songs and the singing really are good.
3065682
gives me a headache after only 5 minutes.

the songs are great, the playing is great, and the vocals are great.  But, and this but is as big as my wife's......the speed guitar and druming are not in sync and that garble just ruins the songs.

If I could do it without too much effort, I would set up an EQ to just eliminate that horrible roar and leave behind some decent tunes.

Reminds me of Dream Theater in one ear and a blender on puree containing gravbel in the other.
940237
These headphones are great and have a great sound quality. They block out noises well, but that also depends on how loud you like to play your music and such at. Unfortunately these headphones make my ears hurt if I wear them at least 20 so minutes or more and leave red marks on my ears. Otherwise they are great quality headphones and are worth the low price.
4079341
Replacing my two scratched Left Banke albums with "There's Gonna be A Storm" was one of the wisest moves I've ever made. Great band. Great sound. Timeless, but not enough. The band dissolved too soon.
  Recently, Montage caught my eye while surfing the web.  That was how I came upon this lost gem. Montage? Who are these guys? Let me tell you. They are Michael Brown's post-Banke pet project, but that shouldn't dissuade anyone from listening. There are some wonderful tunes here and even a couple raided from Banke's own catalog to flesh it out. The sound is pure Left Banke. Or perhaps, pure Brown would be a better way to put it. So why the three star rating. No offense, but these Jersey boys don't match up to the stellar vocals of Steve Martin and crew. "Tinsel and Ivory" is a great tune, slightly marred by some off key vocals. The aforementioned off note in "Men Are Building Sand," not only happens once, but twice more and not only is it off, it is actually painful to listen to. It will make you wince! It's that bad. "Wake Up Jimmy" has, perhaps, the worst ending of any song recorded. It appears a free ride in artistic control to Mike Brown is, perhap, not too good an idea. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad buy, but I suggest you get it used and save some cash. Get the extended version because the three instrumentals will leave you wondering why there are no lyrics. Very catchy melodies.
As a whole, Montage delivers. Sadly, it just makes me think what this album could have been if Left Banke had recorded these songs.
445417
This album is excellent, melodic with lots of vocal harmonies, organ and great guitar playing. The songs are leaning towards progressive rock with songs that are both complex and still very memorable and lighthearted. It's full of joy and high spirit, manifested in great, driving rhytms, powerful melodies and memorable choruses. I tried to get the Si-Wan edition but it never was available at my local record store. So I was very pleased to see the re-release of this nice album in a digipac, on the Breathless/Abraxas label. Oh how disappointed I was when I heard the first seconds though - a very bad sound. Obviously this is a job of a poor transfer from a vinyl that is very scratchy in places. Especially noticeable in quiet passages but actually the constant hiss and scrathes are really disturbing throughout the album! I really must send out a warning here - get the Si-Wan edition if you can! Ok so this digipac is looking really good and comes with a booklet but believe me - its the MUSIC that matters, right? It is really boring that these kind of bad cd releases constantly come out all the time still. One would think that by now in 2005, people would manage to do a tolerable mastering or transfer to CD. But not in this case. And the lyricspages inside the booklet are mixed up also. A really bad job.
So, the rest is up to you... I for sure, will sell my copy and go for the Si-Wan edition or some other expensive import edition that has good sound.
1125041
I purchased this eagerly after hearing the University of Arizona marching band perform a couple of the songs and being blown away by their force. My hope that the originals would pack the same punch was not in vain. While the lyrics to these songs are darkly intelligent and insightful, the music itself can only be appreciated in the gut, not the head. These are sounds that draw you in on a visceral level and don't let you go. If the hairs on the back of your neck don't rise the first time you really listen to "Insanity" (my favorite track), I may begin to question your humanity. While this is the song with the most blatant power, all the others bear a subtle force that gradually digs deep into your heart and mind. I agree with most other reviewers who say that "Pedestrian Wolves" and possibly "Hey" could have been cut down significantly, but those are extremely minor flaws when compared to the overall power of the album.
2248098
I got these from a recommendation from Wire Cutter. The sound quality is great, and the battery life is long too at eight hours, but they hurt my ears. The cushions are small so they squeeze my ears rather than enveloping them. the band also squeezes my head all the way around, which equals more head squeezing. While they sound great, I can't keep these because I can't stand to use them through the entire work day.
2186973
I was blown away by the high quality of sound these can produce.  After spending years using only earbuds, I felt like I was swimming in a sea of lovely sound.  Strong bass (but not overpowering), with great mid-range, and adequate high-range.  I stayed up late into the night playing Mass Effect 2 while wearing these, and I was not disappointed.

Unfortunately, after playing for several hours, my ears were hurting from being pressed flat against my head.  I also had to prop my glasses up on top of the pads so that they wouldn't dig into my skin.  Furthermore, after taking these off and getting up to walk around, I felt sea-sick and dizzy, as if my sense balance was off.  I am trying them again today at work, but I can already feel the soreness and headache developing from the pressure on the sides of my head (even after adjusting the headphones for better fit).

Sadly, even though the sound output of these headphones is fantastic, I think I'm going to have to return them for a refund and look for something else.
1617431
I must admit that I really bought this for the Miraculous Mandarin which is one of my favourite pieces. The best recording of the Suite is Georg Solti's on Decca, which comes achieves the visceral quality that this music really needs. But I wanted a good recording of the complete ballet, preferably on SACD, so this recording seemed a good bet. The reviews on Amazon.com were good, and I thought Boulez would be a good interpreter of this music, so I took a chance on it.

The Miracuolous Mandarin is wonderful, visceral, hard-hitting, strident music, somewhat in the vein of the Rite of Spring. The rushing street scene at the beginning with it's scurrying violins playing augmented octaves and chattering woodwind playing tritones should sweep you up and unsettle you from the first. And the entrance of the Mandarin, blasted out on trombones and horns, again playing the tritone figure, should pin you to the settee. Late on in the piece, the entrance of the wordless choir as the Mandarin, hung by the theives from a light fitting, starts to glow, should be utterly unearthly and prickle the hairs on the back of you neck. Unfortunately, whilst this music is beautifully played here, it remains a tad too polite, and never sweeps you along as it should. Solti, perhaps because of his firey Hungarian temprement acheives the right feel, but unfortunately the Suite finishes halfway through the piece, so some of the best music is excluded.

The concerto orchestra for which most people will buy this disc is better, it is easier music after all. The same beautiful playing is evident, with Boulez's usual precision being very evident. But for this reason it is also a little too polite.

The Concerto was a quadrophonic recording originally, so this should have been made for high-res surround sound. Unfortunately, as with too many other SACD and DVD-A recordings of classical music, the suround mix is a bit shy of using the rear channels. So rather than being immersed in the music, you feel like you're listening to a stereo recording with a bit af rustling from behind your head. I'm an orchestral musician and like to feel in the middle of the mix; I wish producers were a bit more adventurous in using the surround channels. This business ofusing the rear channels for ambient effects is frustrating and ineffectual. I found myself listening to the Stereo layer through the Pro-Logic II music setting on my receiver in order to try and acheive a more "wrap-around" sound.