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Crowded House / Gravity Stairs SDE-exclusive deluxe blu-ray

#23 in the SDE Surround Series

By Paul Sinclair

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Crowded House’s “late career triumph” on SDE blu-ray • Pre-order now

Crowded House’s soon-to-be-released new studio album Gravity Stairs is now available to pre-order as an SDE-exclusive deluxe blu-ray audio edition, with a host of audio and video content, including an immersive Dolby Atmos Mix.

The album, which Classic Pop magazine has already called a “late career triumph” (and given a 4.5 star review) is the band’s eighth in total and the second from the current line up of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Finn’s sons Elroy and Liam.

It’s the act of climbing those figurative ‘gravity stairs’ inspired by a heavy stone staircase near where Finn vacations, that he likens to his mindset as a creator. The Gravity Stairs are symbolic of the struggle to ascend, acknowledging the opposing forces of weight on the mechanics of living. It’s an act of will every day. 

Crowded House have already made available two singles, ‘Oh Hi’ and ‘Life’s Imitation’ (aka ‘Teenage Summer’), and these join nine other songs on the album, including ‘The Howl’ (which evokes Together Alone), the quirky and choppy ‘Blurry Grass’ and the driving, insistent ‘I Can’t Keep Up With You’. Gravity Stairs has been produced by the band and Steven Schram (who created the Atmos Mix).

The SDE-exclusive deluxe blu-ray edition of Gravity Stairs offers a ‘full house’ of audio and video content, as follows:

  • Dolby Atmos Mix
  • 5.1 Mix (DTS-HD Master Audio 48/24)
  • Stereo Mix (PCM Stereo 48/24)
  • Instrumental Mix (PCM Stereo 48/24)
  • HD Videos (‘Oh Hi’ and ‘Life’s Imitation’/’Teenage Summer’)
The exclusive deluxe blu-ray package of Gravity Stairs includes a slipcase and five art cards (click image to enlarge)

Only the PCM stereo version is available on another physical product, everything else is exclusive to this deluxe blu-ray audio and indeed, this is the very first time a Crowded House studio album has been available in instrumental form.

Obviously, since it’s not out, you haven’t heard the whole record yet… but trust me, this is not one you want to miss! For this writer, Gravity Stairs is a truly beautiful album; full of great pop songs, with hooks and great harmonies – easily their best studio long-player since Together Alone.

Here’s the now traditional reminder as to why this blu-ray is highly recommended:

  • It’s the only way to enjoy the Dolby Atmos mix of the album via a physical product
  • You don’t need to sign-up to a streaming service such as Tidal or Apple Music to hear the spatial audio mix
  • The Dolby Atmos Mix on the Blu-ray is not compressed due to streaming bandwidth restrictions. It is encoded in Dolby TrueHD Atmos on blu-ray and has a bit rate 10 times higher (up to 8000 kbits/s) compared to streaming’s Dolby Digital Plus (768 kbits/s)
  • You own the product, you are not renting it from a digital service provider
  • The Blu-ray audio is an excellent format for music and you don’t want to see it die off
  • Supporting SDE with these initiatives is leading to similar collaborations with labels/artists and we are keen to bring your more in the near future!

This release is #23 in the SDE Surround Series of blu-ray audios and a free collectible SDE slipcase and this deluxe package additionally includes five band member art cards (with intricate artwork combining book carvings by Nick Seymour and mosaic portraits Sharon Finn).

This deluxe blu-ray audio edition of Crowded House’s Gravity Stairs is only available via the SDE shop and is a limited edition, with just 2,000 units available worldwide (there’s a purchase limit of 2 per customer). It will be released on 31 May 2024. Pre-order using this link or the button below. Don’t miss out.

Tracklisting

Gravity Stairs Crowded House / SDE-exclusive blu-ray

    • Gravity Stairs is featured on the blu-ray in the following audio streams: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Mix (DTS-HD Master Audio 48/24), PCM stereo (48/24), Instrumental Mix (PCM Stereo 48/24)
      1. Magic Piano
      2. Life’s Imitation
      3. The Howl
      4. All That I Can Ever Own
      5. Oh Hi
      6. Some Greater Plan (for Claire)
      7. Black Water, White Circle
      8. Blurry Grass
      9. I Can’t Keep Up With You
      10. Thirsty
      11. Night Song
      HD Promo Videos
      1. Oh Hi
      2. Life’s Imitation

1 Tears For Fears / The Tipping Point

2 xPropaganda / The Heart is Strange

3 Gilbert O’Sullivan / Driven

4 Shakespears Sister / Hormonally Yours

5 Brian Eno / ForeverAndEverNoMore

6. Orbital / Optical Delusion

6.5 Various Artists / Concert For George

7 Ten Years After / A Space in Time

8 Bob Dylan / Time Out Of Mind (2022 Remix)

9 Tears For Fears / The Hurting

10 Mike Oldfield / Tubular Bells

11 Suede

12 ABC / The Lexicon of Love

13 Duran Duran / Danse Macabre

14 Trevor Horn / Echoes – Ancient and Modern

15 Soft Cell / Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

16 Def Leppard / Diamond Star Halos

17 Paul Young / No Parlez

18 Mark Knopfler / One Deep River

19 Wham! / Fantastic

20 Wham! / Make It Big

21 Keane / Hopes and Fears

22 Luther Vandross / Never Too Much

23 Crowded House / Gravity Stairs

24 Ultravox / Lament

SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

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