Mannheim Steamroller - Fresh Aire 8

Amazon.com

Followers of Mannheim Steamroller's 28-year-old Fresh Aire series will welcome this ambitious program of mesmerizing music and video. Series creator Chip Davis spared no expense in creating this final Fresh Aire opus, supporting Mannheim's electronic soundscapes with the London Symphony and compelling visual counterparts, each exploring the central theme of Infinity. Musically, this is one of Mannheim's least inventive efforts, but noteworthy exceptions (like "Fractals") come to life in exquisitely discrete 5.1-channel sound. While the visuals range from cheesy re-creations of Plato's ancient symposia to the hypnotic progression of mathematically generated fractal imagery, the DVD's behind-the-scenes featurettes include enlightening "professor's notes" from scholarly experts, lending the entire enterprise an all-ages air of exploratory spirit. Other featurettes reveal Davis's all-encompassing input, and you can't help but admire the synthesis of art, music, and education that Davis has created. There's magic here, if you're receptive to the enduring Fresh Aire vibe. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Explore 8 topics of infinity and experience the art of DVD with multi-platinum selling artist Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller. Fresh Aire 8 is a unique double-sided disc--one side is DVD Video with 5.1 surround sound audio in Dolby Digital and DTS, and the other side of the disc features the new high-resolution 24 bit/96 kilohertz DVD-Audio format. All the music was composed and created by Chip Davis in 5.1 surround sound. Included in the "double hub" package is a free audio CD of Fresh Aire 8 for the car or home.

Visually stunning graphics created for this project depict each topic of infinity:

Infinity in Philosophy (Greek Thinkers suite)
Infinity in Cosmology (The Big Bang)
The Infinite Thinker (Leonardo da Vinci)
Infinity in Mathematics (Fractals)
Infinity in Art (Waterfall, based on Escher's painting)
Infinity in the Wedding Band (The Circle of Love)
Infinity in Music (The Steamroller)
Infinity in Egyptian Afterlife (The Heart & the Feather)

Fresh Aire 8 DVD contains over 4 hours of content in five main layers:

1. Art: On the DVD video side, this layer presents the 8 topics of infinity on Fresh Aire 8, with extraordinary graphic images.

2. Behind the scenes: Many of the music movies in Fresh Aire 8 are live-action scenes, and this layer provides a glimpse of the action behind the cameras.

3. Professor's notes: While researching the topics for Fresh Aire 8, composer and creator Chip Davis consulted with many leading experts on the pure disciplines of each topic of infinity, and this layer provides unique insight into these disciplines.

4. Chip's Creative: Chip Davis discusses on camera his approach to creating the art of Fresh Aire 8.

5. Interactive: With a Web-enabled computer, this layer allows the consumer to play a game to discover the 9th "hidden" topic of Fresh Aire 8 and win some fabulous prizes, including trips to NASA, Kennedy Space Center, and the Jet Propulsion Lab.

Customer Reviews:

igottaview.......2007-03-08

GREAT ALBUM! Not quite as BIG as Trans Siberian but still a keeper!

"to infinity and beyond is FRESH AIRE 8".......2002-12-13

American Gramaphone presents - "Mannheim Steamroller - Fresh Aire 8" on DVD, which brings us to the completion of the "Fresh Aire Series". Chip Davis takes the listener on a musical odyssey, with the theme - "Infinity" for "Fresh Aire 8", ranging from wedding band, philosophy, mathematics, art, cosmology, music, the Egyptian afterlife and Leonardo da Vinci (the infinite thinker)...mankind's curiosities about himself and the universe.

The entire DVD is refreshing, just what you would expect from this ground breaking group of talented musicians, and just for good measure the London Symphony joins in, plus a full motion in DVD 5.1 Surround Sound, what more could one ask for. This album is what you hoped for and more, don't pass this one up...and extraordinary collection from the "King of New Age", outstanding and original...Chip Davis has done it again...another WINNER! There is a wide variety of styles on this DVD, loaded with exciting and intriguing arrangements. "The Heart and the Feather" is wonderful, as is the "Greek Thinkers Suite", being of Greek descent I'm a little prejudice. "The Steamroller" gives the viewer just what they want to see and hear ~ ENTERTAINMENT! Love the "Back To The Future", touch with saxophones, and I thought the different style of this piece was a nice change. Mannheim Steamroller compositions never should be put into any certain category, though; whether they like it or not, I think "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy To The World" is the epitome of Mannheim. This DVD is excellent for another journey into the world of science and exploration into the mind and body of the creatures that roam this planet Earth.

So step right up and buy a ticket to a trip to infinity and beyond, all through the eyes of Chip Davis and his friends The Mannheim Streamroller, gotta love it!

FRESH AIRE 8.1.......2002-10-27

I've been a Steamroller fan for many years now, and I have to admit that I thought Fresh Aire 8 (CD version) was subpar compared to the brilliant Fresh Aire 7. It was good, but somehow lacked something. Then I got the DVD.

The DVD version is really the way to experience Fresh Aire 8. The sound is incredible, the videos are pleasant enough (though the Fractals video could just be a screensaver), and the insights from Chip Davis are truly the next generation of liner notes!

The DVD isn't flawless. Some of the videos are cheesy, and the Greek Philosophers' Suite plods along a little too slowly for my taste. But you have to admire the sheer amount of work that went into this project. More importantly, the music from Fresh Aire 8 suddenly seems better when paired with the images. Chip admits that he wrote the music as a score for these videos (unlike most artists who do it the other way around), so may account for why the CD version didn't hold up as well. Just like how a movie soundtrack is less effective without the movie.

I've been a bit rough on Chip Davis over the past few months. His Ambience albums weren't up to Fresh Aire standards and Christmas Extraordinaire paled in comparison to the first two Christmas albums. But he really came through here. If you're a Steamroller fan, you ought to get this, even if you already have the CD version.

Technical Achievement.......2002-06-22

The music on this disk is easy listening and, in my opinion, is good but nothing special. What really shines here is the technical quality. First, it's multi-format. One side is DVD-Audio, the other has DTS and Dolby 5.1 soundtracks. Don't you wish ALL disks were like this? Secondly, your get a second CD disk of the music in HDCD. Good value. On the DTS-Dolby side, you can watch graphic and real-life images that were shot and edited to go with the music..... which has a theme: Infinity. Unfortunately, those images are not available on the DVD-Audio side. A clever contest has even been worked into the DVD which gives you a clue and then you use that clue on the web site to enter a drawing (through 2003). The music is good, the sound is excellent and the value is very good. What's not to like? If you are an audiophile, a fan of new age music or you are already a Mannheim Steamroller fan, you'll want this.

Great DVD.......2002-06-18

This is my best music DVD. This DVD is enjoyable for all ages from 2 to 80 years old. The 5.1 sound is terrific. The video scenes match the audio music. The bonus material is very interesting.

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