96kHz/24-bit Surround Sound
96kHz/24-bit Stereo
I really like this disc. In fact, I flirted with giving it a rating of four. The songs are incredible! Well... at least some are. You may remember this album from a few years back. It is the album where Santana has numerous guest performers such as Rob Thomas (from Matchbox 20), Wyclef Jean, Dave Matthews, and Eric Clapton. Most of the songs feature a nice blend of the guest musician and the guitar work of Carlos Santana. Then there are a few songs that are mostly instrumental that I'm guessing are more traditional Santana tunes, though I am no expert.
The Multi-channel Tracks
There are at least a few songs whose sonics and surround mixing are good enough to be considered reference material. Those tend to be the mostly instrumental tracks, such as "African Bamba" and "El Farol"---possibly even the hit song "Maria, Maria" featuring Wyclef Jean and Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis. On these tracks the sound is just gloriously engulfing. All the speakers are used for everything. And the music is so juicy it just drips with full flavor and I swear you could stick your tongue out and lick it up. (Okay, so is that sick or what?!!) Regardless these few songs are incredible!
The rest of the songs---the majority---aren't as impressive, but are still a decent listen. The sound isn't as richly enveloping and I get the impression there is a more distinct separation between channels. Maybe I could call them more dry than wet? I suppose they did this for the guest vocalists? They were mixed moreso like a pop song?
(Isn't it a wonderful struggle to watch me try for new adjectives to describe the sound of music? Hopefully they make at least some sense.)
Disc Navigation
Well, it's very pleasant to look at. For each different track played we are treated to a new, bright and colorful picture. I like this feature. Also, the on-screen controls are easy enough to use. However, there are some negatives to how this disc was authored. They are easy enough to look past, but I'll mention them in the hopes that future releases don't repeat these mistakes.
First of all, you MUST use the on-screen menu if you want to select tracks directly---and it doesn't matter if you push play first or press the close button when inserting a disc. Basically, if you don't turn on the television the only way for you to select tracks is to jump sequencially from one track to the next. So if you want to listen to track 10 and you are on track 1, you'll have to hit the 'next track' button ten times. I would have preferred it if this disc would've offered direct track access via the remote control like some other DVD-Audio releases.
What is worse, if you do decide to turn on the television to be able to enjoy the ability to select tracks directly, you'll find that the music actually stops playing anytime you go to the tracklist screen! How incredibly annoying. This is the first DVD-Audio release I've noticed that doesn't keep playing music until I select a new track.
Also, you'll have to sit through a brief "Arista DVD" introduction complete with swooshing sounds---everytime you play this disc. This might be fine for movies, but I don't want this kind of worthless crap on a DVD-Audio release.
There is a silver lining in all this, though. And that is you have the ability to switch between either the stereo or surround sound playlists via the remote control by hitting the "audio" button. So fans of stereo music will be glad to hear this as it makes this disc usable enough without a television monitor.
Extras/Bonus Material
You get four music videos of the hit singles from "Supernatural". Unfortunately, they are only available in stereo 2.0-channel Dolby Digital. I would have preferred to see the videos available with a 5.1-channel surround sound mix. In fact, I find it incredibly idiotic that we don't have a choice of audio here. I'm dumbfounded.
You also get a special "Making of Supernatural" video, which I haven't yet watched. And then there are the little things like some pictures, biography, and lyrics.
Conclusion
This was definitely worth getting even if just for the few really awesome-sounding tracks.
