Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Jun 15, 2019.

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  1. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    Yes, I it's a 3/4 - I guess I forgot to put the rating in. I'll tabulate all my ratings again sometime - I'm thinking it will be a good New Years Day project. It's relatively pricey for a DV quad - three albums for 20 pounds, but only In Deep is quad.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2020
  2. GerryO

    GerryO Senior Member

    Location:
    Bodega Bay, CA
    Really tbe only way to hear this album, as this 5.1 version sounds so much better than the UK with bonus tracks CD. Too bad they aren't also included here and good news is that they sound much better than the other standard CD tracks.
     
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  3. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I never got into quad in the 70's, so I guess I carried that into 5.1 music, for whatever reason! Worse part is, I have the 5.1 system, I got a blu ray player, I should be good to go.

    Now I'm surprised I've never bought 5.1 music.

    Good thread.
     
  4. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    There are some good albums to check out. If you do I hope you enjoy them :righton:
     
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  5. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    70's quad and modern 5.1 have some differences. The former mixes were designed for four speakers with equal capabilities, while the latter are designed for small satellite speakers in back with a subwoofer in front. Quad mixes with a lot of bass in the rear won't sound quite right on a home theater system.
     
  6. GerryO

    GerryO Senior Member

    Location:
    Bodega Bay, CA
    Accidental quad here, as my first purchase was the Cheap Thrills SACD with several extra seconds added to a track or two, but then I needed something to play it on. Two thrift store receivers, an eBay second set of matching late '60s floor speakers and a couple of bargain SACD/DVD/Blu Ray players and I'm all good to go. Prefer 4.0 to 5.1, probably due to the current? small size of my center speaker, and now everything can come and sounds better coming out of at least four speakers?
     
  7. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    To a degree, but it really depends on the frequency range of the speakers. I only have have what would be considered small satellite speakers, but they handle all the frequencies very easily.
     
  8. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    For the record, it looks like we will have Seeds Of Love and Vienna ready to roll on Sunday
     
  9. Galactus2

    Galactus2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Excellent. I just received Vienna yesterday, and am looking forward to a discussion on it.
     
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  10. Ephi82

    Ephi82 Still have two ears working

    Location:
    S FL
    This is not completely correct. 5.1 mixes of music are designed to be optimally heard on a system with full range main, center and surround speakers augmented by a sub woofer. That being said, many people first experienced 5.1 in home theatre systems that have small center and surround speakers and these systems were designed for watching movies. Listening to surround music is fun on a home theatre system, but having full range, match speakers all around is the way to go
     
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  11. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    Maybe there are exceptions, but it seems to me that most 5.1 mixes have bass and drums in front. Many quad mixes do not. I have two systems, one with a 120 Hz cutoff in the rears and another with a 60 Hz bottom. I've come to the conclusion that the first one is not good for the quads, but it usually seems to do OK with the 5.1s.
     
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  12. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I think the bass and drums up front is more to do with sonic balance than frequency range.
    Sharp percussive sounds and rumbling bottom end don't really balance out with the mid and treble frequencies in a modern style mix.
    Merely speculation, but I get the feeling that some of those early seventies wild mixes with the bass and drums in random spots have more to do with the sixties style unbalanced stereo mixes.
     
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  13. Ephi82

    Ephi82 Still have two ears working

    Location:
    S FL
    We are pretty much in agreement. As you say, the old quad mixes sound great on a surround system with full range speakers and sound very unbalanced on home theatre systems with those little cube surrounds. A lot of modern music surround mixes don’t fully leverage the surround channels, but those that do are best heard with full range speakers all around.
     
  14. Audiowannabee

    Audiowannabee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Imho its best to have full range but we all have different systems so...

    But yeah it makes a big difference for music...i had bipolar rears till i went surround music...now its 4 full range but im not 100% matched cuz im using 2 different pair speakers...same brand though
     
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  15. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Ultravox Vienna.

    firstly - is this our own @Post-Punk Monk ? Want List: The 40th Anniversary Boxed Set of God Of Ultravox’s “Vienna” Is Nearing Launch

    [​IMG]


    Disc 1
    1. Astradyne
    2. New Europeans
    3. Private Lives
    4. Passing Strangers
    5. Sleepwalk
    6. Mr X
    7. Western Promise
    8. Vienna
    9. All Stood Still

    Disc 2
    1. Astradyne (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    2. New Europeans (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    3. Private Lives (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    4. Passing Strangers (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    5. Sleepwalk (Steve Wilson Stereo Mix)
    6. Mr. X (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    7. Western Promise (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    8. Vienna (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    9. All Stood Still (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    10. Waiting (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    11. Passionate Reply (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    12. Alles Klar (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    13. Herr X (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)

    Disc 3
    1. Sleepwalk (Early Version) [2008 Remastered Version]
    2. Waiting
    3. Face To Face (Live in St Albans 16/8/80)
    4. King's Lead Hat (Live at The Lyceum 17/8/80)
    5. Vienna (Single Version)
    6. Passionate Reply
    7. Herr X
    8. All Stood Still (Single Version)
    9. Alles Klar
    10. Keep Talking (Cassette Recording During Rehearsals)
    11. All Stood Still (12" Mix)
    12. Sleepwalk (Recorded Live In Rehearsals At The Lyceum 17/8/80)
    13. All Stood Still (Recorded Live In Rehearsals At The Lyceum 17/8/80)
    14. Vienna (Live Video Version, St Albans City Hall 16/8/80)
    15. Sleepwalk (Live Video Version, St Albans City Hall 16/8/80)

    Disc 4
    1. Astradyne (Cassette Rehearsal)
    2. New Europeans (Instrumental - Cassette Rehearsal)
    3. Private Lives (Instrumental - Cassette Rehearsal)
    4. Passing Strangers (Instrumental 1 - Cassette Rehearsal)
    5. Sleepwalk (Version 1 - Cassette Rehearsal)
    6. Mr. X (Cassette Rehearsal)
    7. Western Promise (Cassette Rehearsal)
    8. Vienna (Cassette Rehearsal)
    9. All Stood Still (Instrumental 1 - Cassette Rehearsal)
    10. Sound On Sound (Cassette Rehearsal)
    11. Animal (Cassette Rehearsal)
    12. Sleepwalk (Version 2 - Cassette Rehearsal)
    13. Sound On Sound (Instrumental - Cassette Rehearsal)
    14. Passing Strangers (Instrumental 2 - Cassette Rehearsal)
    15. All Stood Still (Instrumental 2 - Cassette Rehearsal)

    Disc 5
    1. Astradyne (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    2. New Europeans (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    3. Passing Strangers (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    4. Quiet Men (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    5. Face To Face (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    6. Mr. X (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    7. Western Promise (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    8. Vienna (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    9. Slow Motion (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    10. Hiroshima Mon Amour (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    11. All Stood Still (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    12. Sleepwalk (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    13. Private Lives (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)
    14. King's Lead Hat (Live in St Albans 16/8/1980)

    Disc 6
    1. Astradyne (5.1 Surround Mix)
    2. New Europeans (5.1 Surround Mix)
    3. Private Lives (5.1 Surround Mix)
    4. Passing Strangers (5.1 Surround Mix)
    5. Sleepwalk (5.1 Surround Mix)
    6. Mr. X (5.1 Surround Mix)
    7. Western Promise (5.1 Surround Mix)
    8. Vienna (5.1 Surround Mix)
    9. All Stood Still (5.1 Surround Mix)
    10. Waiting (5.1 Surround Mix)
    11. Passionate Reply (5.1 Surround Mix)
    12. Herr X (5.1 Surround Mix)
    13. Astradyne (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    14. New Europeans (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    15. Private Lives (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    16. Passing Strangers (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    17. Mr. X (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    18. Western Promise (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    19. Vienna (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    20. All Stood Still (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    21. Waiting (Steve Wilson Stereo Mix)
    22. Passionate Reply (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    23. Herr X (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    24. Alles Klar (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix)
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    I couldn't wait until tomorrow, I have been excited about this since first hearing about it.

    Ultravox are a band that I always liked their singles, but it took me a long time to get one of their albums. After seeing the Monument live concert and tv, and being really impressed by the songs, the show and the performance, I bought the next new release of theirs on a whim when I saw it had just come out .... This is years ago and without looking it up I couldn't tell you what year. I was at the record store and saw they had a new album, and I just thought "well, why not, I don't have any of their stuff". The album was Lament, and I still love that album, but it led me to end up buying Vienna, Rage In Eden and Quartet, and for me they are all really solid synth-pop/new wave/ --- whatever tag you want to put on there.
    I did try the earlier albums, but I just didn't really like Jon Foxx's vocals, the music is still good though, so don't let my opinion stop you from checking it out.
    The band with Midge Ure was more focused in my opinion, and the way they blended guitars and synths, drums and drum machines was really very good for the day. They had a remarkable knack for writing very catchy and entertaining songs, and I think they put them together well, and very well made albums. To be honest, between the four albums that I think are all classic albums, I would be struggling to really pick a favourite.... perhaps Quartet, but then when I listen to the others, I doubt that decision.
    Anyway, I am not going to hang around, because I don't know how much spare time I have, so I am going to hook in.

    5.1 Steven Wilson

    When considering the other sets that have come out recently, the price of this set is remarkable.
    Super Deluxe Edition about 52 pounds Ultravox / Vienna 40th anniversary | superdeluxeedition
    Burning Shed about 49 pounds Vienna (Deluxe Edition): 40th Anniversary
    Deep Discount about $53 Ultravox Vienna [Deluxe Edition]: 40th Anniversary on DeepDiscount

    It is brand new and I just got my pre-order a couple of days ago, so there are plenty of places to look to get a copy.

    The audio is dts 96/24 ... with my 52 year old ears, that certainly good enough for me.

    Astradyne
    This instrumental track rise up slowly in volume and then slides into the groove.
    Percussion left rear.
    Synth swell across front.
    The synths seem to slowly spread to the sides.
    Electric piano sound, right side.
    Solid drum sound up front with a nice sounding, balanced kick.
    Violin is mainly to the rears, but has a bit up front.
    The synths have nice broad areas of sound.
    Really nice dynamics, I kept turning it up for my level balance, and sitting at 20.5.
    The trademark lead synth with pitch bending is up front.
    We have a nice immersion of synths all around us, and the balance is good. Nice sounding mix.

    New Europeans
    We get the guitar up front, with either doubled gtr or fx send to right rear.
    Midge's vocals in the centre.
    When the synth effects come in for the chorus, we get the whooshing, zipping between the rears.
    The organ in the breakdown is in the left rear, with the synth drone right rear.
    Again the drums sound very good.
    The sfx zipping around is really effective, and doesn't sound out of place.
    The piano comes in up front, then seem to move to the middle of the room.
    Again excellent mix, nice and balanced.

    Private Lives
    The piano intro seems to stretch across the field diagonally with the bass end front left and the treble end in the right rear. Nice.
    Drums bass and guitar up front.
    Synth across the back.
    Little synth licks come in, alternating in the rear speakers.
    Again it ends up being nicely balanced.
    Very solid, and full sound. Nicely immersive.
    There is a really nice blending of sounds and there is nice movement. Subtle on the it seems like a particular section is somewhere other than it was.
    The instrumental break/coda is a really cool new wave psychedelic type mix.

    Passing Strangers
    Synth left rear.
    Gtr right rear.
    The arpeggio Kyoto like synth is across the middle towards the rears. The melody synth is hard to nail down. I think it is upfront, with effects sends.
    Everything us nicely audible.
    The bvox kind of float to the sides.
    The synth beak has the riff in the right rear. The chord stab left side, and the lead synth front but moving slightly right.
    Wilson has really thought this out, and there are some really nice subtle things going on here.
    Another nice balanced mix

    Sleepwalk
    The start of this is excellent.
    We get the drum Strike up front and the reverb effect slides around the right, across the back and down the left side, and then the song comes in really nicely.
    We have the staccato key riff bouncing backwards and forwards around the left to the front etc, really effective.
    Percussive effects and little synth parts punch in from various speakers.
    We get the bvox moving between the rear speakers, and this track just took this mix to the next level.
    Excellent in every way.

    Mr X
    Nice electronic kick, and the synth tin can type snare come in, effective for this song.
    Synth across the back bass synth up front.
    The keyboard stabs slide from right rear to left rear, with occasional modulation effect.
    The spoken, narrative vocal comes in from the centre channel.
    We have a nice melange of synths, all in various spots and creating a very interesting and immersive mix, and it suits the somewhat cold feel of the music.
    This is another really nice mix from Wilson, and it gives this album a really good, previously unheard dimension.
    We get various violin melodies and effects all over the place, and it also creates a really nice effect.

    I get the impression that a lot of the synth/new wave movement didn't really do well in the US. Look this isn't roots rock, but it sort of takes the semi-prog, semi-experimental work of the seventies and reimagines it really well.

    Western Promise
    A synth or rhythmic sequencer starts us, coming from the end of Mr X, in it rolls from side to side up front.
    A lead synth is up front also.
    Violin right rear?
    Synth effect right rear.
    Some sludgy effect synths in the rear.
    This sounds good, but I'm not sure that the EQ-ing could have been better.
    We are immersed and balanced, but the frequencies sound a little mid-rangey.... but I haven't had a listen to this album properly for a good while.
    The staccato sequencer is now circulating us.
    We end on a synth drone, and the iconic Vienna drums come in.

    Vienna
    Kick sounds excellent.
    The effect snare moves around us, and the floating ambient synth tone is up front.
    The high pitched held synth note is left rear.
    The floating ambient synth does some field sliding.
    Synths across the back.
    Piano left side and front.
    Airy synth snare sound right rear with a bit of movement.
    The instrumental section builds nicely.
    The final vienna vocal is missing that effect wobble, sounds better to me.
    Very good.

    All Stood Still
    Guitar across front. Synth across rear.
    Grungy synth in the rears.
    Some subtle sliding going on.
    Lead guitar up front.
    Bvox all round and effective.
    A very full immersive mix will all sorts of layers that are revealed more clearly, but blend really well.
    Midge gets a chance to do some nice lead, and then the synths have a field day with various circling and side to side sliding effects that are really effective.
    Percussive sound left rear.
    Too much going on here to fully communicate.
    Really full on mix, that again, has a certain psychedelic sound and feel.

    Waiting
    Synths slide into the sides from the front via delay. Effect synth in rear.
    Then we move into a clean guitar, bass and vocal.
    Synth slides across the back.
    Really nice arrangement.
    Accent snare roll left side.
    Various synth sounds floating around in an ambient stew.
    Then we move back to the guitar, bass and drums section.
    Then we move into the instrumental section again.
    Really a very effective mix.
    I think this was a b-side but it is an excellent piece of work, and even moreso in surround.

    Passionate
    Tinkling across the back
    Rhythmic synth and drums up front.
    Distorted, slightly flanged guitar just left of front left.
    Melody synth right rear.
    This is an interesting song. Quite stripped back, but effective in its delivery.
    We get some field sliding lead synth, and the thickness of the mix builds.
    Again this ends up being a pretty solid piece of work.

    To be honest these extra tracks are pretty new to me. I have the 2cd edition from a few years ago, but I only ever listened to the album.

    This track is really pretty good, and it is very effective on this mix.

    Alles Klar
    Sample and hold keys up front, with a percussive sound. Then a synth bass comes in. The we get some wind like sounds roaming.
    Then we get a nice sounding synth chord across the back, and it kind of swims up and down in either side rear channel.
    Some effected guitar does the same thing.
    This is an atmospheric track and the surround mix works well here also.
    Essentially we have a rhythm section up front, and layers of musically led atmospheric synths and guitars doing various things in various locations, creating a nice aural experience.
    Very cool.

    Herr X stereo only.

    We also have on here, the original 1980 mixes in 96/24 lpcm.
    Also we have 6 b-sides, the 12" for All Stood Still, and a rehearsal called Keep Talking, also in 96/24 lpcm.

    The packaging is essentially two gatefold record style inserts. One has the books and stuff, and one has the discs in sleeves ... so none of that afraid to pull the disc out in case it scratches it nonsense.
    It is fairly minimalist in design, but it is very practical, and functional, and looks good.

    I really enjoyed this mix. I think this is an excellent album, the three bonus track's surround mixes are very good, as are the songs.
    There were a couple of small spots where I wasn't sure about the EQ-ing, but nothing that particularly put me off. The mix is very good, and in many spots (more than less) really excellent.
    This album comes alive even more in this surround mix, and I found some of it to be really engrossing, drawing me further into the songs.
    I am no expert on Ultravox, I have the main four albums (from my perspective) and I really enjoy them, and I hope they do the other three.

    Probably the main thing for anyone to consider here, is whether they like this style of music. I think it presents really well in surround, but having hit 12 in late 1980, I grew to really enjoy the synth pop movement, once my guitar based biases had been brought under control, and I realised I enjoyed many synth pop songs, and moved on to enjoy many synth pop albums. I am still disappointed that Tear For Fears The Hurting didn't get a 5.1, and Howard Jones Human's Lib didn't get a 5.1, but here Ultravox show quite clearly how promising the format is for synth based bands.
    I think this is an album that anyone who likes the style/genre is really going to enjoy in 5.1, and as for value for money. Look at the sets released recently by sixties/seventies bands, and the hundreds of dollars they want for those, and this shows itself to be an absolute bargain.
    I have only listened to the live cd so far out of the other stuff, and knowing me, that is probably all I will listen to. The live cd is very good also. The only thing I didn't like, was the vocal effect put on during Vienna ... I didn't feel like it worked, but the performance all round from the band is great and all in all, this is a very high quality set, well worth considering.
     
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  16. Post-Punk Monk

    Post-Punk Monk Seeking divinity in records from '78-'85 or so…

    Location:
    North Carolina
    negative1 and mark winstanley like this.
  17. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    For anyone who has never heard the album, and is mildly interested. Here is the original record in full, to give you an idea of whether you may like this album.
    Obviously it may take a couple of listens, but I reckon it is an excellent album.
     
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  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I listened to the live disc to and from work yesterday. I couldn't wait to listen to the 5.1, it was my whole reason for getting it in the first place :)
     
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  19. Galactus2

    Galactus2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    I mentioned this box set in the current Ultravox thread. Worth repeating here:


    In terms of value and bang-for-the-buck, one of the first things that I thought of with Vienna was how much they gave us in the deluxe box, in comparison to what the Stones gave us with their deluxe of Goats Head Soup.

    Vienna - 5 CDs, DVD, booklet and various photos. US price: around $65.
    GHS - 3 CDs, a BluRay disc, a book (that inexplicably cannot be removed from the back cover of the box set), some posters. US price: around $125.

    Might be apples to oranges to some, as it's different genres and levels of popularity of the bands. And I'm not even remotely trying to start a battle of 'who's better.' But in terms of sheer value, this isn't even close. Vienna all day, every day.

    Oh, and as far as a 5.1 mix goes, Steven Wilson > Giles Martin.

    That, too, for me isn't even close.

    And I'd also like to add that Steven Wilson was the right guy to do Vienna justice. In the wrong hands, I could see where an album with some wild synth work could really be abused in a surround mix.

    This is one that I'll be visiting and re-visiting quite a bit, as there's a lot there.
     
  20. Post-Punk Monk

    Post-Punk Monk Seeking divinity in records from '78-'85 or so…

    Location:
    North Carolina
    A big part of my problem with 5.1 is the TINY size of my living room… about 12' x 12' space. Front L/R are about 10' apart with front R in the corner of the room but front L 2' from the left wall. Center channel is hardly in the middle but under the TV on the rack. Maybe 2' to the left of the front R. Rear L/R are about 10' back from the front L/R on facing walls. The placement of speakers cannot be balanced in the tiny space. I actually never wanted 5.1 but it sort of came with the stereo tuner!
     
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  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    I understand that. My room is atrocious. It took me quite a while to set all the speakers correctly...
     
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  22. jamesc

    jamesc Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    My room is awful as well but the room correction on modern AVRs does a nice job of adapting your system to it's surroundings.
     
  23. riskylogic

    riskylogic Forum Resident

    Ghost Reveries

    [​IMG]


    Studio album Opeth
    Released August 29, 2005
    Recorded 15 March – 1 June 2005
    Studio Fascination Street Studios (Örebro, Sweden)
    Genre Progressive metal, progressive rock, death metal
    Length 66:46
    Label Roadrunner
    Producer Jens Bogren, Opeth


    Ghost Reveries is the eighth full-length album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on August 29, 2005. It was their first album after signing with Roadrunner Records, and first album since Blackwater Park to not be produced by Steven Wilson. Ghost Reveries is the first album by Opeth to include keyboardist Per Wiberg as a "permanent" member (although Wiberg contributed keyboard work to Opeth's live performances starting around the time of Lamentations), and it is the last Opeth album to include drummer Martin Lopez and long-time guitarist Peter Lindgren.

    For the first time since Still Life, the songs for Ghost Reveries were written for the album before going into the studio. This gave Opeth three weeks to rehearse and perfect the recording in the studio. The band had to decide whether to record the album at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden, or at Sonic Ranch. They eventually chose Fascination Street Studios, as it was closer to their homes.

    The album marks a temporary return to the progressive metal styles of the previous albums and features death growls, though still includes some of the progressive rock elements of Damnation.
    Ghost Reveries was initially intended to be a concept album, with numerous tracks linking together a story of a man's turmoil after committing an unconscionable act, symbolised by killing his own mother. However, Mikael Åkerfeldt commented:

    1. "I had intended to do a occult concept piece lyrically and got off to a great start with some downright evil lyrics like "The Baying of the Hounds" and "Ghost of Perdition", then I did "Isolation Years" which had nothing to do with the intended concept but I liked it so much I decided to ease up on the concept idea in favour of this one lyric. Why I decided on a occult theme? Well, I've always been intrigued by it, especially Satanism and stuff like that. I studied some books that oddly enough my wife had in her collection like "Servants of Satan" as well as "Witchcraft and Sorcery" + some more. I figured it'd be interesting to see what a mature 31 year old mind would make of this subject as opposed to the 16 year old kid who used to pose in front of his Bathory poster. I'm quite happy with them to be honest, and they're ... evil!"

    Personnel
    Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, Mellotron
    Peter Lindgren – lead guitar
    Martín Méndez – bass
    Per Wiberg – Hammond organ, Mellotron, grand piano, Moog
    Martin Lopez – drums, percussion

    Track listing
    No. Title Length
    1. "Ghost of Perdition" 10:29
    2. "The Baying of the Hounds" 10:41
    3. "Beneath the Mire" 7:57
    4. "Atonement" 5:23
    5. "Reverie/Harlequin Forest[a]" 11:39
    6. "Hours of Wealth" 5:20
    7. "The Grand Conjuration" 10:21
    8. "Isolation Years" 3:51
    _______

    A special edition of the album was released by Roadrunner Records on October 31, 2006. It is packaged in a large digipak and contains a CD and DVD, along with new cover art and an extended booklet featuring extra album artwork and a letter from Åkerfeldt. The CD contains the original tracks from the album, as well as a bonus cover of "Soldier of Fortune" by Deep Purple, which was recorded as a live take with the band's new drummer, Martin Axenrot. The DVD contains a Dolby 5.1 surround sound mix (not including the bonus track), a 40-minute documentary, and the video for "The Grand Conjuration". This documentary details the making of Ghost Reveries, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the band's day-to-day life while recording and touring.

    I have this for over ten years, but I don’t remember ever listening to it before. It’s out print, but there are used copies to be had. Discogs.

    5.1 mix by Jens Bogren

    Well, this review is going to be quite short. I sat down to report on what was coming out of the back speakers, but nothing to speak of ever did. OK, there is some guitar reverb but that’s it . At the end of "Grand Conjuration", the guitar recedes in the front before the back; which makes it about the only time I noticed something coming out of the back that wasn't also coming out of the front. The mix doesn’t use the center channel either. I run into mixes like this all the time on the video thread. This was produced at about the same time as a lot of those, so I guess that’s what Bogren was aiming for – the impression of a live performance without messing up the stereo mix. But the fact of the matter is that there is no good reason to not just listen to the stereo version – at least it isn’t Dolby Digital. Maybe it is a tad “immersive”, but that’s not enough to make me want it.

    While this album came out after Deliverance and Damnation, this “surround mix” came out before those did. Like Deliverance, this one has a combination of clean and growly vocals. The album does have many nice songs that have both prog and metal passages - but those are also the ones with growly vocals. The shorter songs -“Atonement”, “Hours of Wealth” and "Isolation Years" all have just clean vocals. "Atonement" has backing vocals and acoustic guitar - I bet it would sound really good in surround ;)

    Bogren more recently did a decent job with one of the Anathema albums, but it seems that he didn’t do any of the other Opeth 5.1 efforts: Wilson did Damnation and Pale Communion, Soord did deliverance, and I think Stefan Boman may have done In Cauda Venum. Don’t know who did Sorceress. I guess Bogren learned what not to do with this one. (1/1)
     
    weekendtoy and mark winstanley like this.
  24. Galactus2

    Galactus2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    How right you are, and we should all be thankful for that!

    Monk, my home office / man cave is only slightly bigger than your living room, but we all have to work with what we've got. And I've accepted the fact that I'll never get great sound out of my small room, but with Audyssey's room correction feature that comes with many modern AVR's (as James pointed out), I can live with the fact that I'm getting acceptable and decent sound.

    The old cliche of 'great is the enemy of good' can certainly come into play with our gear interacting with our rooms.
     
    Linger63, mark winstanley and jamesc like this.
  25. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    There's always a better system, better recording, and better rooms. My room isn't great either, and I have to do some insane balancing rear left, for some reason. However, I can appreciate surround mixes, and enjoy listening. At the end of the day, that's good enough. Best not to pine what you don't have. Just enjoy what you do. :)
     
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