I wonder if that was an oversight, a conscious artistic decision or a result of a technical issue with the multi’s.
This thread said the remix was so bad that i had to download a couple of songs . Thats 3 dollars wasted
I hope "Someday" was not one of them... with its disgustingly autotuned vocal... Never thought anyone would dare or even have the idea to do this to a classic recording from 1969. But I was proven wrong.
I've been looking for the complete ballet for years but I never thought I'ld hear it as gorgeous and full of clarity as what I hear on that YouTube video. I bought the Steven Wilson remix of Chicago II and it's worse than my Group Portrait version which it sounds like the quad was sourced from but with more separation of the brass and vocals. The trombone really comes out to balance the rest of the brass tones. I'm a former trombone and big band musician and I'm just stunned by the better sound than all the Chicago CD's I have. Where the hell can I buy this quad mix down on CD?! Every Kath era Chicago album should sound this good even CTA.
I even played the Ballet quad mix down YouTube vid on one of those bluetooth boomboxes I've been researching from noticing how clear and up front they make all music sound even out in my local park and on the river. These devices really project the sound with a balanced clarity that never was on similar play back devices of the same class and size back in the day. Just took a shot of my workstation showing the W-King playing the quad ballet and I don't have to create an EQ to hear the separation of the instruments on such a small (12in. long) listening device and it's loud and clear. The drum tim-tom bell tones just jump out of this boombox with such clarity. It's incredible the way it sounds considering it's size and $80 cost.
I still want to know what became of the redone remix..??? I was highly anticipating the first one and was really deflated at the nearly *totally* negative response from fans of the album. In truth, this album wasn't in dire need of a remix (like that of Chicago II which I'm still a bit disappointed by)but when it comes to albums I grew up with and loved my entire life (almost), nicely done alternate "listening experiences" are always simething I find exciting. I guess the redone remix fell by the wayside.
The remix was never going to be redone. The claim was the problem was with manufacturing, and that apparently was “fixed”.
I feel the same way. This album is a huge favourite of mine and I know it quite intimately. That being said, I will saw that the SW stereo remix is to die-for. The clarity, separation and EQ-work (or lack of EQ-work?) is fantastic. This album has never sounded better. Plies he’s a man of his word, and was true to the original as much as possible.
There are things about the "II" remix which still leave questions. While the overall sound was improved, there are portions which still sound pretty bad..almost as if Wilson was working with tape that had dirt on it, if I'm being literal.
I'm not sure how I feel about iconic albums being remixed (parts or whole), but it's a reality within the music business. The remix of Chicago II engineered by Steven Wilson improves upon the original mix in my opinion...the orig is too congested, and fortunately Wilson was able to place some separation around the instrumentation, which gives it a better listen. It's not perfect, but a little sweeter to my ears. The remix of Chicago Transit Authority may be the worst attempt ever. When listening to the original mix along side the remix, there is not one single aspect that I can give that has been improved...you would think I could find at least one. Tim Jessup should be ashamed for the stinky pile of poo he concocted. I keep the 50th anniversary cd as an example of how some albums should be left alone.
On the plus side, this may be the first time in this forum's history that there's actually a real consensus on how a release sounds. This one sounds *bad*.
It only takes one "oh s***" to wipe out a dozen "good job" compliments. Also, it does seem that people will more readily agree that something is really bad than they will agree that something is really good.
