Thanks for those reviews. I plan on getting them (not expecting them to sound better than the originals but I want them for the liners and the extra tracks.) at some point. Probably getting Movable Feast first though.
Glad it was of some help. I haven't been able to get savvy to creating DR comparisons or anything like that, so it was more or less shooting from the hip. Glad it didn't just amount to pointless rambling from me. I will definitely say that, whatever misgivings I have about some of the bonus musical content, the liners are great - if not always helpful if one wants to keep a flawless view of Mr. Fish's handling of his own affairs. He certainly doesn't spare himself from criticism. Great to get background on the songs and albums though.
So, while I don't have any sort of DR-metering software and the Foobar plugin doesn't seem to work anymore, I do have Audacity and loaded a few sample tracks from original CDs and the remastered editions. Unfortunately, what I found is that the original CDs weren't terribly dynamic to begin with. They aren't brickwalled completely, but they're well on their way. In some ways, I wonder if this is why I haven't warmed to some of these albums as much as, say Fish's work with Marillion. A little breathing room would go a long way on some of these and seeing the waveforms does offer at least a little explanation of certain involuntary reactions. Interestingly, while there is a boost visible in the waveforms of the remasters, we're talking a tiny upward tick. Granted, since everything was so boosted to begin with, it's not like we had a lot of headroom to spare, but it's nice to see things didn't get the full Megadeth treatment. Field of Crows, though a remix and not a straight remaster, actually had some interesting changes where I was able to see boosts in some parts of a given track along with decreases in level (at least going by the waveform) as well, so it wasn't just a hatchet "push it all into the red" job on the remix. Fortunately, this is another thing my ears reported which the waveform more or less confirmed. The remix, in spite of the blocky waveform, definitely seemed to play to those dynamic limitations in a more sonically pleasing way relative to the original. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll upload some screen caps. Not sure if anyone following the thread is particularly invested in this angle though.
On the off chance anyone here hasn't heard this news: thread here: Marillion's Misplaced Childhood Deluxe Edition incl. Steven Wilson 5.1 mix to be released in July
I am interested in the new mastering so thanks for the updates. I haven't gotten any of the remasters yet and I don't have Field of Crows at all. Pat
If you want to post a few great but if not that's OK. Like you said, the initial mastering for at least the later period stuff was not that dynamic, etc anyway.
These albums fall into the murky waters of my past iTunes purchases. The good news is to this day I can download (and stream) Field, Feist, Sunsets, Raingods, and Sashimi. Not so great is the lossy format and lack of physical media. So I feel pretty compelled to pick these expanded editions up at some point. I appreciate the field notes and feedback.
I attempted to upload a screen cap of the wave forms to Imgur and link here, but all I get is "." I'm pretty sure this used to work, so I'm not sure what's going on here. Any alternative hosting options?
I've just read this whole thread. Thanks for a very interesting read! I'm in agreement with Runicen re Fish's voice. It's my understanding that he pretty much blew it on the Sunsets tour and never really recovered his range after that. This is somewhat backed up if you listen to the live tracks on the deluxe editions. The live Sunsets material has him pushing all over the place but by Fellini he's taking it very carefully. Yes, unfortunately, I also agree that there's never much room to breathe on Fish albums. The original EMI Vigil CD sounds wonderful. Internal, Mirror and Suits are all decent sounding in their original versions but after that it becomes harder work. As already mentioned, everyone should pick up the four 'official bootlegs' from the early nineties. Brilliantly recorded, Fish on top form and versions often better than the albums. Also, another vote for the Field Of Crows remix. If you only buy one of the deluxe editions it should be this one!
When I popped in the Live at Leamington CD, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was incredibly sad to hear "Script" sung by Fish as he sounds today. He can kind of get away with some of the later Marillion stuff like "Clutching at Straws", but hearing him wheeze and struggle even in a lower register for those early tracks is depressing. I don't think I'll be bothering with the new Misplaced Childhood live box.
Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors is a masterpiece. Right up there with Marillion's classics. Internal Exile is patchy, with less of a natural flow than Vigil, and why he left the b'sides "Poet's Moon" off it I'll never know. It's on the CD now though. Songs From The Mirror is a misstep, but it's entertaining enough. Suits is the groovy pop one. Sunsets On Empire is a more conventional rock album. Raingods With Zippos is one of his best, while Fellini Days is probably the worst (albeit with a stunning title track). Field Of Crows is great. I'm looking forward to hearing the remix. 13th Star is his late-career masterpiece, only Vigil topping it, in my opinion (obviously). Feast Of Consequences is great, if a little subdued. If you want great live stuff, yes, it's the 90's soundboard releases you want. Here ends my potted career review. Which nobody asked for, but hey, I'm on the train and was bored. Anyway, he's an artist well worth checking out...
Sounds about right although I do have a soft spot for Fellini Days. If he'd delivered Sunsets or Raingods earlier in his career he might have made it bigger. Just when the world was listening he hit a dodgy patch! All time top top Fish has to bePlague Of Ghosts. Even better than his Marillion stuff for me.
Yes. I see he's just released another full Misplaced live but I'm not getting too excited. Such a shame as his Marillion and early 90s concerts are bristling with edgy energy. Best stick one of those on instead.
As part of my experience going through these remastered editions, I've made a point of listening through his catalog in sequence. While they can be a little beholden to the path he carved out with Marillion, the first four records definitely feel like they fit Fish well. I can't always say the same of what came after. There are great moments on the four albums covered by this set, but it feels a bit like he stumbled looking for a direction that worked for him. Sunsets on Empire feels like a missed opportunity, with a collab with Steven Wilson offering some very left of center possibilities. Unfortunately, what resulted played it very safe and didn't really play to the strengths of SW or Fish terribly well in my view. Ok songs and probably the last hurrah of the "old" Fish voice let down by unimaginative arrangements. The blocky mastering robbed some of the arrangements of power as well. That this album didn't see a remix was a disappointment. Raingods with Zippos I'm going to say feels padded. Where it's good, it's great and plays a moody, ambient vibe very well. "Incomplete" is one of my all-time favorite Fish songs. I will say that the "Plague of Ghosts" suite leaves me a bit cold and feels like extended filler meant to give the thing a proper run-time, but I'm clearly alone in feeling that way. It's nothing cringe-inducing or outright horrible, but it's neither fish nor fowl. As an instrumental piece revealed by the demos on the new edition, it's alright if a bit uneventful. The vocals don't add up to much in my opinion and it doesn't really feel like a unified suite, just a bunch of micro-songs segued together. Fellini Days comes off considerably better and I'd mark this as the moment that Fish started to find a road that suited him as well as the changes to his voice. This is the point where he fully steps out of the prog shadow of Marillion and starts to do something that feels uniquely his. My only gripe is the constant projector noise and Fellini quotes interspersed through the record. Fish himself, in the liners, admits he would remove those at this point or at least cut them back given the option. Sadly, the multi-tracks for this album resided on hard drives that bit the dust years ago, so that will never happen. There are a few songs here that don't set the world on fire for me, but they all feel "of a piece" and the album hangs together beautifully as far as I'm concerned. Field of Crows is where we start firing on all cylinders. It's cohesive, got a great vibe to it, and the songs are compelling throughout. Interestingly, even though Fish is playing with a diminished voice here, it feels like he uses what he has more effectively than on some of the early albums. There is nary a note or expression out of place here and the album is more impressive for it. Though it's kind of a tenuous connection, and I'd be hard-pressed to point out specific reasons for this comparison, this is also the album that feels most like a logical continuation of his work in Marillion. This feels like the same musical and lyrical mind that was involved with the creation of Clutching at Straws. He may be older and a bit wiser, but it's the same guy and that's on display here. The album is proggy without it feeling like it's trying too hard to trade on past glories, catchy without being trite, and has some great songs on it. And, venturing outside of these reissues, I'd say that 13th Star continues that upward trend as a great, cohesive album that looks a gem from all angles. I'm not sure how I feel about Feast of Consequences as yet. It works beautifully in some places (mostly the "High Wood" suite) but can feel a little too "topic of the day" on other songs in a way that feels like Fish is trying too hard to be relevant to modern interests (which I don't think merit songs in their honor, but that's another conversation). In other news, can anyone recommend a good hosting service for the waveform images I mentioned earlier? Imgur used to work for me, but doesn't seem to want to cooperate of late.
[QUOTE="In other news, can anyone recommend a good hosting service for the waveform images I mentioned earlier? Imgur used to work for me, but doesn't seem to want to cooperate of late.[/QUOTE] I have been dropping stuff in the Google photos gimmick that came with my Gmail account. You can copy the link and then use it to paste the image into the thread.
I had a look at that 1998 reissue of "Vigil..." and it doesn't include the 12" versions of 'State of Mind' or 'Big Wedge' I've always liked both but especially 'Big Wedge' - it actually sounds a far better song to me than the album version. There's less brass in the choruses and the bridge section that begins with the bass guitar is superb. It maybe goes on a bit too long at the fade out but I find I cant listen to the shortened version anymore. Was the 12" the full version of the song and it was edited down for the album? It's always sounded like that to me.
Fish wrote on Facebook that he plans on remastering and expanding "Songs from the Mirror" next. Because there isn't so much material left in the vaults, he wants to record half a dozen new cover somgs to be included.
I have tracked down many of the cd singles that Fish put out and there is a lot of really good stuff on them. I never bought the remaster of Vigil since I have the B sides on the singles. I don't remember any extended versions of his songs though.
The State Of Mind CD single has the extended "presidential mix" of State Of Mind. It's very good. Big Wedge did have a fantastic 12" Extended Mix but for some reason on the 12" only, the album version being used on the CD single. This has always frustrated me, as the 12" mix is great, and has never been released on CD. Not even on the latest 3 disc remaster. A 1995 version of Big Wedge did have an extended version on the Yin/Yang pair, but not that original 12" one. I'm still hoping for a vinyl rip...
That doesn't make sense to me - those songs wouldn't be related to the originals though. Other than that they'd be more covers. Be more appropriate to release a new standalone covers album than material that has no relationship to the original album.
If he were to do anything, I'd be more inclined to have a Then & Now type setup where the original album gets a MINOR sonic brushing down and then there is a second disc of new covers. Two out-takes plus an EP's worth of covers wouldn't really make for an enticing package if that's where things are leaning now.
