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DiscountDelight - Running on Empty (CD & DVD Audio)
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List Price: $24.98
Our Price: $15.37
Your Save: $ 9.61 ( 38% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0081227828325
Format: Original recording remastered
Label: Rhino / Wea
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
Publisher: Rhino / Wea
Release Date: 2005-11-15
Studio: Rhino / Wea
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Differences between LP, CD, and DVD-A Stereo sound
Comment: I spent several hours comparing the sound of my original LP phonograph record of Running on Empty with the CD and two-channel DVD Audio disks included in this package. I wasn't able to sample the multichannel DVD Audio.
The music and tempo are identical on LP, CD, and DVD-A, but the sound is quite different. The LP and the CD sound very similar, and are apparently from the same original mixes for these tracks. However, the 192kHz 24-bit two-channel DVD Audio tracks are apparently a completely new mix, probably made just for this release. The differences are very interesting: the CD/LP mix at first sounds much clearer and brighter than the DVD-Audio, just the opposite of what I would expect. Also, in some portions the CD/LP contain reverb of Browne's voice missing on the DVD-Audio. By direct comparison, many DVD-A vocals at first sound muffled compared to the CD/LP mix.
However, a closer audition reveals that DVD-A often has more content than CD/LP. For example, a backup vocal barely audible on CD/LP is clear and distinct on DVD-A. And left-right channel separation is usually better on the DVD-A. (By the way, many DVD-A tracks also have much more leadin material).
I can only conclude that the originals were recorded with multitrack equipment and the DVD-A is taken from microphones that the original album obscures with material from other tracks. It sounds to me like the CD/LP uses microphones that recorded sound coming from stage speakers, and the DVD-A favors the musicians' microphones instead. Also the equalization is probably boosted on the CD/LP to compensate for typical record players of the 1970's, making the sound artificially brighter, but obliterating much detail.
The CD/LP sound is as you may remember it from the radio, the DVD-A sound is quite different. Browne himself runs a sound studio, and probably had a hand in mixing the DVD-A. In a recent Stereophile magazine he says the surround DVD-A is remarkable. Possibly the two-channel DVD-A is derived from this mix.
So, the two channel DVD-A mix should be regarded is a separate work from the LP/CD. Therefore, if you're hoping DVD-A is an enhanced version of the original LP/CD mix, you'll be disappointed (as I initially was). However, the DVD-A, though not as bright sounding, is possibly even better than the LP/CD. I'm still deciding.
Customer Rating:
Summary: About time
Comment: Well worth owning; sounds so much better than original CD from way back.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Running On Empty is a timeless piece of artistry that should not be missed
Comment: The Good
"Running on Empty" is the most familiar song on the album, and it sounds so much better with its heightened clarity and 5.1 mix. Jackson expressed how his journeys are wearing down on him. "The Road" takes you deeper into depression and despair with acoustic guitars and emotional lyrics. The piano heavy track "Rosie" delves into the trials and tribulations of the `groupie' culture. It's no surprise that drugs were a big part of the music industry at the time (did I just say were?). Browne approaches the subject with a little bit of humor and a little bit of sadness on "Cocaine."
"Love Needs a Heart" is a touching power ballad where Browne puts his heart out on his sleeve. "Nothing But Time" has a funky rhythm and bluesy vocals that convey all that can happen when you have nothing to do until the next show. "Stay" wraps the whole saga up with a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Whereas most of the album focused on the negative aspects of the road, this one focuses on the great things and people you deal with along the way. The bonus tracks are included only on the DVD mix of the album. "Cocaine Again" is okay, but not really interesting, and "Edwardsville Room 124" is a mellow instrumental.
The Bad
The rest of the DVD material (montages, photos, lyrics) are cool to have, but you'll probably only view them once.
The Verdict
I never really listened to what Running On Empty was all about until now. Apparently I missed a lot just listening to it casually. The album is a well-written, informative, intelligent, and sometimes sad account of life on the road. It's an album that can hold it's own no matter what decade your talking about. I can honestly say that Running On Empty is a timeless piece of artistry that should not be missed. The 5.1 mix is excellent.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It's a DVD Audio NOT a DVD Video
Comment: This is a DVD AUDIO release so don't make the mistake of expecting to see video footage like an earlier reviewer did. DVD Audio is all about the sound - much higher resolution than CD plus a choice between stereo or 5.1 surround. If you've got a DVD-Audio player and you're a Jackson Browne fan, consider this purchase essential. The 5.1 surround mix is like hearing the album for the first time. Consider the still images a bonus but buy it for the music.
Customer Rating:
Summary: More "live" than ever!
Comment: Running on Empty rocked the music world almost 30 years ago, both literally and figuratively: a live album of all new material, recorded on stage, backstage, on a bus and in hotel rooms! Now, with enhanced 5.1 sound (it sounds great!), two previously unreleased songs, and hundreds of moving, candid photographs by Joel Bernstein, this classic record has been masterfully revitalized. R&R Hall of Famer, Jackson Browne, never sounded better, surrounded by some of rock's best musicians from that classic era. To me, Russ Kunkel's drums always sounded "bigger" than anyone else's at the time, and David Lindley's virtuosity on anything with strings was never more evident. This release is a gift to Jackson Browne's current fans, and to those who will be!
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Editorial Reviews:
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On 1976's The Pretender, Jackson Browne confessed to enough distractions from his craft and disenchantment with the world around him to make a candid and contemporary rock album that set an optimistic stage for what was lying on-deck. And though Running On Empty would become Browne's quarter-century meal ticket, it was no favorite to the hard cores who found commercial contrivance in its "rock-star-on-the-road" concept. Yet nearly three decades after its release, the remastered and repackaged live album sounds as innovative and unsullied as ever (complete with a DVD that includes audio of two previously unreleased songs from the era). Recorded on stage, on motel room furniture, and aboard the tour bus, the songs served as Browne's diary of a mad musician, including womanizing in Danny O'Keefe's "The Road," drugs in the Rev. Gary Davis' sermonette "Cocaine" and the enduring anthem of roadies and crowd adoration (and a Top 10 hit), "The Load-Out." Though Browne's commercial appeal would never again rise to this level, his legacy in his generation of popular music was sewn, and the record that put him there is still running on endurance. --Scott Holter
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