Derek and the dominos - Layla and other assorted love songs - HF Pure Audio BluRay

You may be wonder why we're reviewing an album that was released in 1970. Well there is a good reason - the review is more about the new format than the album itself. The original album was released in 1970, but what we have here is a newly remastered version that forms part of a new series of releases from Universal Music Group. The releases are all "Hi Fidelity Pure Audio" releases - basically instead of using CDs, these use Blu-Ray instead to allow a lot more information to be stored. This means there is no compression used and the sound quality is intended to be the best possible. As such the range is intended to appeal to serious music lovers - those for whom CD's just aren't good enough quality. There are already a number of releases available including albums from Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, Nirvana, Queen, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder. There is also a vast selection of classical and jazz music including Jonas Kaufmann, Rolando Villazón, John Coltrane and Oscar Peterson.

With this release buyers have a choice of several different sound formats - PCM, Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio at 2.0. Some of the other releases also offer 5.1 surround sound.
There's also a download voucher included in the pack, so you can download a standard quality version for use with mp3 players etc.

So, thats the theory, but how does it sound in reality - and can they make a 1970 recording sound better than the normal CD release? Well if you listen to it through PC speakers then you're unlikely to notice a difference, but if you play it through a good hi-fi setup then you'll notice just how good the sound quality is - it really does sound good. For the average listener then I'm not sure how many would notice a significant difference, but serious audiophiles will notice a difference.

This range isn't for everyone - many people won't notice much difference between this release and the standard CD, other than the fact this costs twice the price of the CD, so unless you are someone who takes their music seriously and listens to it on a good quality sound system then I'd recommend sticking with the CD. If however you are really serious about your music then this is certainly worth going for - it's the best quality sound you're likely to get.

"Layla and other assorted love songs" is out now on Blu-ray audio.


Track listing:

1. I looked away
2. Bell bottom blues
3. Keep on growing
4. Nobody knows you when you're down and out
5. I am yours
6. Anyday
7. Key to the highway
8. Tell the truth
9. Why does love got to be so sad
10. Have you ever loved a woman
11. Little wing
12. It's too late
13. Layla
14. Thorn tree in the garden