Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries PART 2

There's also a 5.1 version of his 2020 solo album Evidence Unearthed.

 

Double Vision was Foreigners best selling Album, 2nd is Foreigner 4 with hit songs of Urgent, Juke Box Hero, (which my son and all pre-teens dreamed about being) probably did more for guitar sales then any other rock song before it, and the Ballad, Waiting for a Girl Like You.
Great sounding 5.1 mix with still quite high resale prices on both formats Dvd-Audio and Sacd, ($100+ and the ridiculous $300+) I've owned both and prefer the DVD-AUDIO (sounds better ?) which also has a photo gallery and lyrics.

 

Marillion
Holidays In Eden (Deluxe) (CD/BluRay / Vinyl Boxset pre-order)

Holidays In Eden (1991) was Marillion’s sixth studio album and second with Steve Hogarth on lead vocals.

This 2022 deluxe 3CD/BluRay edition is packaged inside a hard back book which includes additional content, essays and lyrics.

The set includes a 2022 remixed stereo version of the album by Stephen W Tayler, as well as a full 1991 live show from Hammersmith, London. The Blu-ray features the brand-new 2022 stereo remix in 96/24 Stereo LPCM, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 96/24 5.1 LPCM as well as B-Sides & bonus tracks such as The Moles Club demos, lots of video content, including a brand-new documentary of the band telling the story of the album, HD upgraded promo videos and a live concert from Rockpalast In Concert from German TV.

Also available as a 4 x 180g vinyl deluxe edition.

Pre-order for September 19 release.

 

The Shakespers Sisters Hormonelly Yours is up for presale at The SDE Shop on Blu-ray Audio for one week.

 

Talking Heads: 77

Studio album by Talking Heads
Released September 16, 1977
Recorded Late 1976 – April, June 1977
Studio Sundragon, New York City
Genre New wave, art rock, art punk
Length 38:37
Label Sire
Producers Tony Bongiovi, Lance Quinn, Talking Heads

Talking Heads: 77 is the debut studio album by American rock band Talking Heads. It was recorded in April 1977 at New York's Sundragon Studios and released on September 16 of that year by Sire Records. The single "Psycho Killer" reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.

From the group's earliest days as a trio in 1975, Talking Heads were approached by several record labels for a potential album deal. The first person to approach the band was Mark Spector for Columbia Records, who saw Talking Heads perform at CBGB and invited them to record a demo album. Next would come Mathew Kaufman for Beserkley Records. Kaufman brought the trio to K&K Studios in Great Neck, Long Island, to record a three-song, 16-track demo tape containing "Artists Only", "Psycho Killer" and "First Week, Last Week". Kaufman was pleased with the results, but the band felt that they would need to improve drastically before re-entering a recording studio.

A month later, Lou Reed, who had seen a few Talking Heads shows at CBGB, invited the trio to his New York apartment, where he began to critique the group's act, telling them to slow down "Tentative Decisions", which had originally been fast and bass-heavy. Reed also suggested to David Byrne that he never wear short sleeves on stage, in order to hide his hairy arms. Over breakfast at a local restaurant, Reed expressed a desire to produce the group's first album and wanted to introduce them to his manager, Jonny Podell. That same day Podell called the trio to meet at his office, where he immediately offered them a recording contract. To assist with the contracting, the group sought out assistance from lawyer Peter Parcher, a friend of Frantz's father. The next day, the trio visited Parcher's office, where Parcher asked his partner Alan Shulman to look over the contract. Shulman told the group not to sign the deal, or else Reed and Podell would own full rights to the album and collect all profit. Talking Heads declined the deal, but maintained a respectful relationship with Reed.

Around August 1976, Chris Frantz was given the number of Jerry Harrison by former Modern Lovers bass player Ernie Brooks. Brooks assured Frantz that Harrison was not only a great keyboard player, but was a great guitarist too, two things the band were seeking out. When Frantz called Harrison, he was still feeling burnt out from the demise of the original Modern Lovers and had just enrolled at a Harvard Graduate School, and was unsure about joining a new band. But after discovering that several labels were interested in signing the group, he agreed to hear them play live. Frantz booked a concert local to Harrison in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When the group began to perform, they found Harrison nowhere in sight, but eventually saw him mid-set, seriously observing the band, and appearing displeased. After the show, Frantz asked Harrison what he had thought. Harrison did not answer until the next day, saying he was not impressed by the show, but was intrigued. He said he would like to jam in New York but stipulated that he would not officially join until they had secured a recording deal.

During late September the group began to consider Sire Records again, and asked advice from Danny Fields, the Ramones' manager. Fields praised Sire despite them having the normal flaws of a record label. On November 1 the trio met with Seymour Stein again at Shulman's office, and signed a recording deal with Sire, with an advance allowing the trio to make music their full-time career.
Sessions started at Sundragon Recording Studios in late 1976, where the group recorded the track "New Feeling" and the single, "Love → Building on Fire". Jerry Harrison was not present at these sessions, as he had not yet been informed that the group had received a record deal. These sessions were produced by Tony Bongiovi and Tom Erdelyi. After hearing of the recording session, Harrison was eager to join, and in January 1977, the trio went to his apartment in Ipswich to teach him their songs and play a few shows in the area.

In April, sessions for the album proper began in earnest at Sundragon Studios, with the group finally a foursome. Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn acted as co-producers on these sessions, with Ed Stasium as engineer. Frantz claims that Stasium did most of the work on the album, while Bongiovi took phone calls, read magazines, or talked about airplanes. Bongiovi was dissatisfied with the group's performances, often asking for seven or eight takes of a song, even after the best take had already been recorded. The group felt that Bongiovi was condescending, and that he was trying to make them sound like a different band. He was also repeatedly rude to bassist Tina Weymouth. Stasium and Quinn were full of encouragement for the group.
The first song to have vocals recorded was "Psycho Killer". Allegedly, during recording of this track, Bongiovi went into the studio kitchen and gave Byrne a knife, telling him to get into character when singing. Byrne simply responded with "No, that's not going to work" and the band took a break. During the break Byrne confessed that he felt uncomfortable singing with Bongiovi watching, and asked Stasium to remove him. Stasium suggested evasion, recording when Bongiovi was not around, before he arrived, or after he left. Bongiovi allegedly never noticed they were doing this, being more concerned with the building of Power Station Studios.

The group wanted the album to "Convey a modern message about the importance of taking charge of your own life", whilst still being fun to listen to. Within two weeks the basic tracks were down, but still needed overdubs. Sessions were halted when Ken Kushnick, Sire's European representative, offered them a chance to tour Europe with the Ramones in order to promote their "Love → Building on Fire" single.

While on tour the group continued to develop their sound, and on May 14, performed at The Rock Garden in Covent Garden, London, where John Cale, Brian Eno and Chris Thomas saw them. Linda Stein, the Ramones' co-manager brought Cale, Eno and Thomas backstage after the concert where they all shook hands. Thomas allegedly heard Cale say to Eno "They're mine, you bugger!" All members of Talking Heads already knew Cale fairly well, as he had produced Jerry Harrison in 1972 for The Modern Lovers, and was a regular at CBGBs throughout the original trio's growth.

After the meeting they all went to The Speak Club to drink and discuss. Thomas declined the opportunity to replace Bongiovi as producer for the remaining album sessions. When the group returned to the US on June 7, they booked a four-day recording session at ODO Studios in New York to record vocals and overdubs, as well as to mix the album. The album was finished.

[I edited down a bit, but I think this my longest wiki cut-and-paste to date. Reads like a soap opera].

Personnel
David Byrne – guitar, lead vocals
Chris Frantz – drums, steel pan
Jerry Harrison – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Tina Weymouth (credited as Martina Weymouth) – bass guitar

Track listing
1. "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" 2:48
2. "New Feeling" 3:09
3. "Tentative Decisions" 3:04
4. "Happy Day" 3:55
5. "Who Is It?" 1:41
6. "No Compassion" 4:47
7. "The Book I Read" 4:06
8. "Don't Worry About the Government" 3:00
9. "First Week/Last Week… Carefree" 3:19
10. "Psycho Killer" Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth 4:19
11. "Pulled Up" 4:29
_______

The 5.1 mix was released in 2006, with both CD+DVDA and DualDisc versions. I have the two disc version and the 5.1 is lossless. Out of print, but used copies are not expensive.

5.1 mix by Jerry Harrison

"Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town"
Bass, drums guitar in front. Lead vocals in front; center channels is used but nothing is isolated. Guitar in rear too, plus keys pop up periodically in the rear too. There an alternative mix of this song at the end which seems the same but with some added backing vocals in the rear.

"New Feeling"
Bass, drums, Byrne vocals in front with left and right guitars spilling into the rears for a wrap around stage.

"Tentative Decisions"
Starts of with percussion far left and guitar on the right. After about drums and bass go in front, with backing vocals in the rear. Then guitar in rear. Repeat.

"Happy Day"
Guitar, bass and drums in front, keys in the rear. Vocals in front. Far left and right guitar.

"Who Is It?"
Guitar and faint backing vocals in the rear, everything else in front.

"No Compassion"
Guitar in the rear; I think Harrison likes mixing himself to the rear. Lead vocals showing up a bit in the rear too. Great guitar solo in the rear in the fourth minute.

"The Book I Read"
Bass, drums, guitar in front, keys and guitar in the rear.

"Don't Worry About the Government"
Sounds like mandolin in front, keys and backing vocals in the rear. Guitar takes over in rear at about the 45 second mark. Then back to keys. Mix isn’t as discrete as most of the others.

"First Week/Last Week… Carefree"
Percussion in the rears -marimbas perhaps, along with some keys. Horn or sax in rear in second minute.

"Psycho Killer"
Starts with bass in front, then front and back guitar, then drums and vocals in front.

"Pulled Up"
Pretty much the same mix with rears dominated by one of the two guitars, and I think it’s Harrison again. Backing vocals in rear too.
_________
This album was groundbreaking and has great historical importance. However, it’s not as good as most of their later stuff. I don’t feel like it really gets going until “No Compassion”. “Psycho Killer” is a classic song, and having worked in Washington for 25 years I really get a kick out of “Don’t Worry About the Government”.

The surround mix is pretty basic, but it’s mostly discrete. Most of the time, it seems like Harrison has himself (guitar. keys, backing vocals) in the rear and everyone else in front. There’s percussion back there on several songs plus what seems to be a sax on “First Week”. (2/3)

 

From the New World



Studio album by Alan Parsons
Released July 15, 2022
Studio Parsonics, Santa Barbara, CA
Genre Symphonic Rock
Label Frontiers Music SRL
Producer Alan Parsons

From the New World is the sixth solo album by English rock musician Alan Parsons. The title is taken from the symphony written by Antonín Dvořák. However, only “Goin’ Home” is actually derived from that.

Personnel
Main Lineup
Guy Erez – bass
Danny Thompson – Drums and Percussion
Tom Brooks – Keyboards, Orchestral Arrangements
Jeff Kellman – Guitar

Additional Musicians
Todd Cooper – Lead and Backing Vocals, Sax (1, 4, 8)
Doug Powell – Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar (1, 3, 8)
Dan Tracey – Guitar and Backing Vocals (1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11)
Mark Mikel – Lead and Backing Vocals, Swarmandel (2, 6)
Chris Shutters – Backing Vocals (2)
Tommy Shaw – Lead Vocals (3)
Alan Parsons – Lead and Backing Vocals (4, 7, 8, 10)
PJ Olsson – Lead and Backing Vocals, Bass, Keyboards (4, 9)
Andy Ellis – Keyboards (4)
James Durbin – Lead and Backing Vocals, Guitar (5)
Joe Bonamassa – Guitar (5, 7)
Jeff Marshall – Guitar (5)
Scott Hunt – Backing Vocals (6)
David Pack – Lead Vocals (7)
Mika Laron – Cello (7)
Kim Ballard – Keyboards (7)
Tim Pierce – Guitar (7)
Matt McCarrin – Keyboards (10)
Tabitha Fair – Lead and Backing Vocals (11)

Track listing
1. Fare Thee Well 4:37
2. The Secret 4:16
3. Uroboros 4:07
4. Don't Fade Now 4:17
5. Give 'em My Love 3:22
6. Obstacles 3:37
7. I Won't Be Led Astray 4:39
8. You Are The Light 4:26
9. Halos 4:17
10. Goin' Home 4:43
11. Be My Baby 3:04
_______

The 5.1 mix is on a CD+DVD set, with only Dolby Digital encoding unfortunately. Contrary to what it says on the sleeve, the stereo version on the DVD is also DD. I ripped the CD for stereo instead.

5.1 mix by Alan Parsons

“Fare Thee Well”
The lyrics have numerous references to APP albums; apparently this is a tribute to Eric Woolfson, who died in 2009. The instrumentation sounds like an APP hodge-podge too. Starts with synth in front, then guitar in rear with bass and drums in front. Then guitar in front, strings in the rear. Vocals come with piano in front. Nothing isolated in enter. Acoustic guitar then more strings in the rear. Sax in front in the third minute. Backing vocals in both front and rear but not at the same time, strings trade places with guitar in rear.

“The Secret”
The title track of the previous album that got left out. Starts with guitar in front, then bass and drums in front, percussion in the rear. Keys then vocals in front. Backing vocals and guitar in rear. Guitar solo in front in fourth minute.

“Uroboros”
The uroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail – I looked it up. Starts with guitar in front then keys in rear, followed by bass and drums in front. Lead vocals in front. Backing vocals and second guitar in rear.

“Don't Fade Now”
Acoustic guitar and keys in front, percussion in rear, lead vocals in front. Guitar and left and right backing vocals in rear. Some keys too.

“Give 'em My Love”
Piano in front, acoustic guitar in rear, lead vocals in front. Bass and drums in front. Electric guitar solo in front in third minute. Backing vocals in rear.

“Obstacles”
Piano, bass, vocals in front. Acoustic guitar in rear. Backing vocals in rear.

“I Won't Be Led Astray”
Starts with synth in front and electric guitar in the rear. Then bass in front, strings in surround. Lead vocals in front. Keys in rear. Backing vocals front and rear, acoustic guitar and rear. Drums come front in third minute. Nice guitar solo in front in fourth minute.

“You Are The Light”
Starts with bass, drums, electric guitar in front, acoustic guitar in back. Lead in front backing vocals in front and rear. Electric guitar in rear. A little synth in surround.

“Halos “
Starts out with bass in front then second bass in rear. Drums and vocals in front, keys in rear. Guitar in rear. Backing vocals in rear. Synth and sound effects in surround. Pretty cool – best surround track.

“Goin' Home”
Starts with orchestra in surround, strings in front, strings and horns in the rear. Lead vocals in front. I recognized a passage from New World Symphony about two minutes in. Tympani in the rear too.

“Be My Baby”
Starts with 20 seconds of silence then drums and bass, percussion, lead vocals in front. Strings in the rear, backing vocals in front. Boy does this song not fit at all.

_______
The first song is fun and the next two are both really good, with “Uroborus” being the standout track on the album. But the only track I have much use for after that is “Halos”, which breaks a series of drippy songs that aren’t really saved by some nice guitar work. The last two tracks are just weird.

The surround mix is very good; mostly discrete with lots of acoustic guitar, strings, and backing vocals in the rear. The Dolby Digital is disappointing though; “Halos” in particular seems like it could some more bits. (1/3)

I figure I could combine The Secret and From the New World and then cull down to ten tracks and get a pretty good album.

 

Closure/Continuation

Studio album by
Porcupine Tree
Released 24 June 2022
Recorded 2011–September 2021
Studio Home Studios of each band member
Genre Progressive rock[1]
Length 48:01
Label Music For Nations
Producer Porcupine Tree

• Steven Wilson – vocals, guitars, bass, piano, mixing
• Richard Barbieri – keyboards, synthesisers
• Gavin Harrison – drums, percussion, drum mixing

Additional personnel

• Ian Anderson – art direction, photography, graphic design
• Lisen Rylander Löve – voice sample (track 4)
• Suzanne Barbieri – voice sample (track 4)
• Ed Scull – additional engineering
• Paul Stacey – additional engineering

1. "Harridan" Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison 8:07
2. "Of the New Day" Wilson 4:43
3. "Rats Return" Wilson, Harrison 5:40
4. "Dignity" Wilson, Richard Barbieri 8:22
5. "Herd Culling" Wilson, Harrison, Barbieri 7:03
6. "Walk the Plank" Wilson, Barbieri 4:27
7. "Chimera's Wreck" Wilson, Harrison 9:39
Total length: 48:01

Deluxe edition bonus tracks
8. "Population Three" (instrumental) Wilson, Harrison 6:51
9. "Never Have" Wilson 5:07
10. "Love in the Past Tense" Wilson, Harrison 5:49
Total length: 65:48

This is a really interesting albumin creation, because essentially the guys have been working on it in the quiet for ten years. Apparently none of this is leftovers from "The Incident".
Also unlike most Porcupine Tree albums, this was not written ahead and demoed by Wilson, as prior PT albums had been.

Material started coming together in 2011, with Wilson and Harrison Jamming together. Wilson was unusually playing the bass, which according to Harrison made the material very different to what they had been doing previously.
Harridan and Chimera's Wreck came essentially from these jams.
Unusually for Porcupine Tree there is only one song here solely written by Wilson (Of The New Day) and the rest of them a collaborations, as you see in the credits above.

Essentially it seems like the guys always had ever intention of releasing this album, but the way they went about it, and the distractions in other various projects they were doing led to it taking quite a while.
Eventually in 2019, just before covid introduced some issues, the band got together to talk about completing the project properly and finally, but the lockdowns delayed them again....

"'Harridan' and a few of the other new songs have been in play since shortly after the release of The Incident. They initially lived on a hard drive in a slowly growing computer file marked PT2012, later renamed PT2015, PT2018, and so on. There were times when we even forgot they were there, and times when they nagged us to finish them to see where they would take us. Listening to the finished pieces, it was clear that this wasn't like any of our work outside of the band – the combined DNA of the people behind the music meant these tracks were forming what was undeniably, unmistakably, obviously a Porcupine Tree record."

It seems like in many ways all these delays had done the band a lot off good, because there seems to have been an ever growing anticipation from the fans for them to do something, and also in the meantime other people were discovering the band, and when the announcement was made, they certainly got no shortage of pre-orders.

There have been some issues with the release in terms of availability, with many people's pre-orders from various distributors being delayed, and the delays have been quite long, and I believe some people are still waiting.
In spite of this though the album did very good business for the band.
Initially the album was on track to debut at number one, and would have been the band's first album to do so. In the end it debuted at number two on the chart, which is no mean feat for a rock band in 2022, particularly a somewhat prog/metal type rock band.

Just because it's interesting, here ar the chart figures for the album

Chart performance for Closure/Continuation
Chart (2022) Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) - 13
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) - 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) - 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) - 3
Canadian Albums (Billboard) - 76
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) - 20
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) - 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) - 2
French Albums (SNEP) - 24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) - 1
Irish Albums (OCC) - 42
Italian Albums (FIMI) - 4
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) - 24
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) - 25
Polish Albums (ZPAV) - 5
Portuguese Albums (AFP) - 7
Scottish Albums (OCC) - 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) - 7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) - 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) - 1
UK Albums (OCC) - 2
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) - 1
US Billboard 200 - 90

I haven't been getting time to really do much on here on Sunday's, and I'm hoping that clears up soon as I miss my Sunday morning 5.1 listens. Thanks to @riskylogic for continuing on, and for you guys still contributing to the discussions. At the moment I am not super interested in the streaming thing, but perhaps down the track I will be, but it is interesting reading what the developments are at least.
Over the coming couple of months we will have the Ultravox and Pink Floyd releases coming from me, and I am sure Ricky will keep pulling out some other stuff for everyone to read up about, but today I got up a bit earlier so I could actually have a listen to this, and I'm looking forward to it.

So far we have looked at these PT albums Stupid Dream - Lightbulb Sun - In Absentia (deluxe version 1) - Update on fixed copy - Deadwing - Fear Of A Blank Planet - The Incident

Closure/Continuation is a new release and currently is available
Deep Discount has it on pre-order for about $65 Porcupine Tree Closure / Continuation on DeepDiscount
Import cd's says they now have it in stock for about $55 Porcupine Tree Closure / Continuation With Blu-ray, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Booklet on ImportCDs
Burning Shed says they have it in stock for about 55 pounds https://burningshed.com/porcupine-tree_closure-continuation_boxset
Bull Moose says they have it on pre-order (coming Aug 11th) for about $73 - Porcupine Tree - CLOSURE/CONTINUATION Deluxe CD/Bluray set
and there are many more options out there

I'm not sure why there are hold ups, I can only assume they weren't expecting the album to do this well?

Anyway, lets have a listen to this. I haven't even opened the plastic yet, so I have no idea what we are going to have here, except Porcupine Tree

The box is presented as a 12x12, about an inch thick.
We have what looks like two records inside, and they are a disc holder and a book.
The book is pretty good, but the artistic choice to put a white square representing the back of the album, isn't one I would have gone with. The pictures behind it being nice, but somewhat redundant.
Sometimes the white square has lyrics in it.
I'm not bothered either way, I just want the music, and i suppose it is probably some deep and meaningful artistic thing.

The audio choices are
Atmos
Stereo LPCM
Dtshd 5.1
LPCM 5.1
(All 96/24)

Away we go

Harridan
The bass brings us in, the drums join in.
The drums have some nice space in the field, with some tom and cymbal work rolling into the back and sides.
The bass has a nice bit of thump to it.
A couple of neat sfx come in the rear.
The hook or chorus has nice accented guitars in the rears.

We get a mellow bridge come in, and we get a really nice soundstage set up.
Rim shot rears.
Texture instruments in the rears.
Guitar up front.

Then it pounds back in...
It sort of reminds me of Tool.

Another tension break comes in and we get a circling pulsing synth. Some nice drums accents in the rears.

Wilson's use of the surround field here is excellent, there is no debating, it is well balanced and suits the music nicely, but it isn't particularly subtle, and nor should it be... this is a surround mix, not some 5.1 attempt to appease the stereo only crowd.

On a first listen this is an excellent songs, great textures and sounds, and a very good mix.


Of The New Day
We open with a clean guitar and vocal up front.
Some keys add some texture and slide into the rears.
Guitar left side
Another in the right rear, as the song moves into what appears to be its groove at this stage.

We get a burst of aggression, and it works as a nice refocus point.
Then we move into the verse style.
Then a bridge takes us back to the burst of aggression.

The mix is again nice and full.
The song has great dynamics and works very well.
Perhaps the ballad of the album?

Rats Return
We open with electronic sort of static kind of sounds, and they spread from the front to the rears, and then we move into a heavy guitar riff.

Then we come to a withdrawn section, that has an edge all its own.

Wilson seems to have excelled with this mix. It seems like this is an important part of the equation and it's sort of hard to imagine this working as well in stereo.

The grinding riff is spread nicely, but we have all these different textural elements coming in here and there adding to the songs and the surround experience.
I would imagine the atmos mix is really good too.

It's hard to break this down, because it isn't so much that the guitar is here, and the keys are there, but more that the soundfield itself is quite alive

Excellent mix and track

Dignity
We open with a series of influences being evident, but not overwhelming, it still sounds like PT.
I hear Yes, The Church, among others.

Again we have a full, living mix.
I'm impressed with the sound of this too.
The album seems full frequency and balanced.
There is a nice bit of bump from the sub, but it isn't obliterating the mids and highs, they are all well represented in the audio field.

This is another balladishish type track, but not in a dull live song kind of way...
It is a seething hybrid genre pulsing track.
The mix is great.
With various sections of the track, having keys, mellotron, guitar etc coming in in various spots.
Currently there is a string pad left side.
A mellotron right side towards rear.
Then it changes up and a guitar comes in playing a riff in the right rear.

Now we have filled out again, and it is like a cross between a Floydian dreamscape, and Stone Temple Pilots.

It's really very good.

Herd Culling
We open up front.
A doubled vocal. Clean and some form of vocoder.
Guitar riff.
Synth pop riff up front.
Key pad left side.
Interesting blips and bleeps all round.

Then we burst onto some nice grinding riffage.
Nice use of delays and reverbed on this as well.....
As a ghostly synth slides from side to side across the middle.

This is like a modern technoish type track married with a solid grinding rock.

Then we burst into a different thing again.
Acoustic guitar right rear.
Fx pads surrounding us.

Really enjoying this album and mix.

Effected vocals front and rear in this section.
Stuttering keys propelling us forward to the end.
A false fade to a clock sound, and then we burst back in.

I really don't mind someone taking 11 years to put out a specific album, if it has this quality and coherence...
and this mix is very engaging.

A beautiful slow fade out.

Walk the Plank
A synthetic sounding drums and bass up front.
Elec piano left side.
Rhodes kind of sound up front
Effected vocal effect comes in all round.
Pad left towards rear
Bass sound right towards rear.

Then we get a very involving percussive section with synths, all surrounding us.

So hard to hear this for the first time, and try to share it.
Fast changing soundscapes, and song textures, but not incoherently so.
Just a really engaging batch of songs sounds and mixes.

Each track has a series of digitally manipulated pictures, that will probably trip the shroomers out.

Excellent song and mix.

Chimera's Wreck
We open with the guitar upfront.
Textural sounds tickle the sides.

Guitar and vocal then give us a structure upfront.
Echo vocals in the rears.

Tempo and feel change up, and urgency creeps in.
With a tremolo guitar left rear.
Then we return to the original feel.
Guitars either side of us,
Vocals at various points using the soundfield with layering.

We start moving into a change if feel into a more rock groove.
With layered vocals all around
Instrumentation spread really nicely across the whole soundfield.

Maiden type guitar riff up front, organ swell right rear.
We move into what might be the first lead break.

Another change of texture with a synthesized vocal effect.
Percussion really working the 5 speakers.
Keys hitting out right side towards the rears.

Again great track and great mix

For the record, there is an option to turn the visuals on or off.

This kind of felt like I was doing one of those reaction videos to be honest.... which is odd, and I suppose to some degree that is what I have been doing all along, but I had never really thought about it like that before....

This is a really great album, on first listen at least.
The band seem to have taken all their influences, and all the things they have done in the past, and managed to smoothly compound it into one really engaging album.
Over the course of the album I hear touches of Yes, Floyd, Tool, nineties alternative rock, a smidgeon of synth pop, some Lightbulb Sun, some, sort of, ambient bits, some of their more hard rock/metal type stuff, and it all blends into this beautiful collage of sound... It has touches of all that stuff, but ends up being completely its own thing, and for me that is quite an achievement.

I certainly don't hear this as being derivative in any way. I know some old schoolers have accused Wilson of merely replicating the seventies with modern sounds or something, and although to some degree I can hear why they may feel that on occasion in the past, that certainly isn't what we have here at all.

To me this is a dynamic and engrossing album. The sound is great, and the feels blend nicely together, it doesn't sound or feel like an ill fitting jigsaw puzzle of music, it feels like really well thought out writing and dynamics, creating an engaging album that entertains the ears really nicely.

The surround mix is really top class, in my opinion, and again, it has all sorts of things going on in the mix.
Occasional swirls, some side to side across the middle, and most of the things that can engage in the surround format, but it doesn't sound as if they were just slotted in there as an effect. There is a cohesive feel about all of this for me, and it works to enhance the album, rather than be any kind of gimmick to try and make the album pop.
I get the impression that this album will pop, even just on the cd, and the surround mix is like going from the transistor radio to the big home hifi or something, for want of a better way of putting it.

Much like the Devin Townsend albums I have really been engaged by recently, this album really has a way of making me feel like I am getting exactly what I want form surround and the album experience.

This is the first time I have heard any of this album, and I personally really like it. The bonus tracks aren't on the bluray, and I haven't even looked at the cd's yet, but to me, unless you just don't like music post 70's,80's, 90's ... or whatever the cut off is supposed to be, this is pretty much a must have album for the surround fan and the Steven Wilson fan and the Porcupine Tree fan. I have enjoyed all Wilson's work that I am familiar with up to this point, but this may be the most impressive release since Hand Cannot Erase.
Well worth checking out.

I don't have time to check myself... Time ran out again, so forgive the probably multiple typos in there

 

I spent this last week reviewing some of my many surround sound discs...playing at least one a day.

 

Part two:



Everything sounded great (some discs are more discrete in channel separation).

 

Ocean to Ocean


Studio album by Tori Amos
Released October 29, 2021
Recorded 2021
Studio Martian Engineering Studios (Cornwall, UK), Cyclops Sound Studio (Los Angeles, California), Studio Mezzanotte (Los Angeles, California), Brickhill Studios (Orleans, Massachusetts)
Genre Alternative rock, chamber pop, pop rock
Length 47:38
Label Decca
Producer Tori Amos

Ocean to Ocean is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released on October 29, 2021.

Amos shelved a whole record she had prepared upon entering the third lockdown of the pandemic at the beginning of 2021 in Cornwall, where she lives. "These songs, when I would play them back, I would just think 'This is not taking me where I need to go out of this tonality that is toxic.' I didn't know how to get out. I couldn't go near the piano. I just had to sit there and say 'We don't have it. I don't have it. This record is not the elixir. It's not the medicine that will take me out of this rot.' [...] (The songs) were taking me to [...] battle, but then I'm asking 'What are you battling? Because battling isn't working right now. Maybe that was working a year and a half ago,...when (her memoir) Resistance came out.' But as the tides began to turn and as we began to see what battling looked like and then it takes us to watching an attempted coup live on television...oh my god! That's not the record."

Amos then wrote and recorded a new album while in lockdown in Cornwall, with her writing inspired by her fascination with "the county's landscapes and ancient myths". Part of her writing was also explained to be in reaction to the 2021 United States Capitol attack. The first song written for the finalized album was 'Metal, Water, Wood'.

In a press release, Amos described the album as "a record about your losses, and how you cope with them". She elaborated that she realized she had to "write" to "shift" her perception of herself, saying: "I was in my own private hell, so I told myself, then that's where you write from—you've done it before."

Due to Cornwall under lockdown during the pandemic, instruments aside from the piano were recorded outside of Martian Engineering Studios, without Amos' presence. "It went to (drummer Matt Chamberlain) first; this is the only record whereby there wouldn't have been in the room conjuring together and working together so then you're working off each other, and working off each other is a very different thing. This time, (Matt) had no idea, once it left him, anything was going to happen. So I think it probably shocked the hell out of him that Jon Evans [bassist] took '29 Years' to that Police kind of groove, but Matt didn't know til-- and (strings player) John Philip Shenale would say he really loves his position because he's almost the last one in; everything else is set and Tash is the very last one in so she kind of has a really good time cause she knows what's happened."

Personnel
Tori Amos – vocals, piano (all tracks); Hammond B3, keyboards, Rhodes, Wurlitzer electric piano (1–6, 8–11)
John Philip Shenale – Marxophone, Optigan, sampling, synthesizer (all tracks); additional keyboards (1, 3–5, 11), Hammond organ (4, 5, 11)
Tash – additional vocals (1–3)
Jon Evans – bass (1–6, 8–11)
Matt Chamberlain – drums, percussion (1–6, 8–11)
Mark Hawley – guitar (1–6, 8–11), dobro (2, 3)

Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Addition of Light Divided" 4:05
2. "Speaking with Trees" 3:55
3. "Devil's Bane" 4:32
4. "Swim to New York State" 4:20
5. "Spies" 5:59
6. "Ocean to Ocean" 3:30
7. "Flowers Burn to Gold" 3:41
8. "Metal Water Wood" 4:00
9. "29 Years" 4:47
10. "How Glass Is Made" 3:56
11. "Birthday Baby" 4:44
_______

I’m probably not going to do any streaming-only titles unless I really want a (reasonably priced) physical copy or perhaps a lossless download. But that’s what this is, so think of this review as a cry for help. For now anyway, you can only stream it in Atmos from either Apple or Tidal.

Atmos mix by ?

"Addition of Light Divided"
Starts out with piano and guitar in front. Then about fifteen seconds in backing vocals that constantly shift left to right and top to bottom using the ceiling speakers. Sounds amazing. Then lead vocals and light drumming start up in front. There’s also some synth in surround which I think is nonstationary, but it’s the sporadic backing vocals that dominate.

"Speaking with Trees"
Piano in front, electric guitar in rear. drums in surround. Guitar then goes in front with additional percussion in ceiling and rears. Piano in front too. Guitar solo in surround in second minute. Acoustic guitar in ceiling in third minute. Second electric guitar and backing vocals in rear in fourth minute.

"Devil's Bane"
Starts with synth from the ceiling then second synth right front. Drums, bass, guitar, vocals start up at about the 30 second minute. Percussion in rear. Backing vocals in rear and ceiling start in second minute, more synth too.

"Swim to New York State"
Starts with mellotronic synth in front. Then piano and vocals in front. Bass and drums start up after a minutemark. Rears and ceiling finally wake up with orchestral synth in second minute. Rears fade out last.

"Spies"
Starts with eerie sound effects both front and rear. Then drums, bass, piano in front; synth in rear. Lead vocals in front. Ceiling speakers don’t get going until third minute with additional ethereal synth. Backing vocals in rear in fifth minute.

"Ocean to Ocean"
Starts with bass in front, percussion from ceiling. Lead vocals in front, guitar right rear. Piano in front, guitar in rear. Piano in front and ceiling.

"Flowers Burn to Gold"
Piano then lead vocals in front. Backing vocals from ceiling. Simple song and mix.

"Metal Water Wood"
Percussion, bass, lead vocals in front, synth in ceiling and rear. Some percussion from ceiling too. The rears sound underfunded in the bit rate department. Some guitar in the rear and ceiling too, but it’s mostly synth. Also some piano in front.

"29 Years"
Bass and drums in front, guitar in rear. Wailing second guitar in ceiling. Lead vocals and piano in front. Backing vocals in rear. Organ crops up in surround in last minute

"How Glass Is Made"
Guitar and keys in front, second guitar in rear. Then lead vocals, piano, bass and drums in front. Guitar from ceiling in second minute. Flutish synth in front in third minute.

"Birthday Baby"
Starts with synth in surround, then bass and drums in front. Lead vocals and piano in front. Percussion in rear in second minute along with the synth. Orchestral synth from ceiling in last minute
________
I only streamed this in the first place because of the Atmos mix and a passing interest in Amos, but as it turns out it was my second favorite new album of 2021 (after Lord Huron – Long Lost). It’s probably the Atmos mix I’ve steamed the most and I’ve listened to it in stereo quite a bit too. My wife likes it too.

"Addition of Light Divided" is a fantastic Atmos track. And the others are all good to great too. But there are tracks where I feel bits are missing. In particular, "Metal Water Wood" might also be an Atmos demo track if only it were lossless. (3/3 and a 2 for audio quality)

 

I bought the 2021 SDE of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass 5 cd/1 bluray set, since it dropped, very briefly, to $65 on Amazon (this was a week ago). Since I already had the 3 cd issue I was mainly into it for the 5.1 surround sound. I had not found anything on the forum that said something about the 5.1 mix, whether it was good or bad, so I went into this naked and afraid...

I only listened to it once so far, and I want to listen to the Atmos version next (though I am not set up for Atmos at all). My basic impression is this: Every song or two is nicely discrete in each speaker, then another song later it's just back speaker ambiance mainly. I would guess this is due to the recording tapes themselves and what was possible to separate/clean up.

For instance, the first two songs on the disc have ambient rear speaker action, then Wah Wah comes in discretely, and features sounds long buried in the regular stereo mix. But the quality of the sound and the material itself was so good I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the surround version.

The clarity of the mixes overall is very good*, quite nicely de-Spectorized. I heard many things I've never heard on any other release of this material. Even the jams sounded good, mainly as background music to doing something else other than intense listening.

(Sorry, I would have done a song by song analysis but I was too busy listening to write. )



*Keeping in mind an old man's ears (I don't hear 10khz+ too well) and my equipment is distinctly lo-fi.

 

I had a run through it on page 6, about fifth post down ...
I can't link it, because I'm on my phone

 

It's really difficult to get it down while listening... but by the same token, my memory isn't good enough not to lol

 

Oh my, I read it. A "run-through"? Man that was a detailed breakdown beautifully done. Puts my wee post to shame.

 

Nah mate. I want folks to put whatever thoughts they have down. Lord knows I'm failing to get much on here recently

 

I just listened to the Atmos version, it really opened up the back speakers. Seemed louder all around. Could be my equipment, but I enjoyed the Atmos mix more than the 5.1.

And I previously failed to mention the lovely music behind the menu screen, a pared down instrumental version of All Things Must Pass, which runs through the entire length of the song. Very nice.

 

This is a flaw (0r pleasent side-effect, depending on who you ask) with how Atmos folds down to 5.1 on legacy gear - the information meant for the 'side' speakers in a 7.1.4 setup is directed solely to the rears rather than between front & rear. The side channels on ATMP happen to carry a lot of the same information as the fronts (drums & bass, lead vocal, etc), so that stuff gets pushed further out into the room than on the dedicated DTS-HD 5.1 mix - but I wouldn't say the rear-panned instruments (such as the main guitar part in "What Is Life") are necessarily any more prominent in the Atmos mix.

As for the inconsistent nature of both surround mixes, I think the source material really limited the possibilities for a remix. Paul Hicks mentioned in an interview with Sound & Vision Magazine that all the rhythm guitar parts (acoustic and electric) were combined into a single stereo pair with Spector's reverb baked in. For a number of songs, it sounds to me like all they were able to do surround-wise was move that stereo guitar track partially or entirely towards the back with the drums/bass/lead vocal upfront. My biggest gripe with all the remixes is the hyped bass response, I usually end up lowering the bass 3-5 dB when listening to the 5.1 mix.

 

This is streaming only I presume ?

 

Yes, and it's a damned shame.

 

It'd be a great candidate for SDE's ongoing "Surround Sound Series" of HFPA Blu-Rays - Paul Sinclair was soliciting requests from fans on Twitter a few weeks back.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if her album "Ocean To Ocean" is the next SDE Blu-ray in this "Surround Sound Series". Paul Sinclair had an interview with Tori Amos not so long ago.

 

That would be cool.

 

A heads-up for those of you who like massive church organ in Atmos: just now a box with over 3 hours of The Grand Organ of Notre Dame de Paris in surround is available at Amazon.uk for about £25 (here). It's on a single Blu-ray but the box also contains 10 CDs of the same music + the complete organ music by Messiaen not on the Blu-ray. It has an additional resonance in that this particular organ will never again be experienced since the fatal fire a few years ago that left the cathedral an empty shell.

 

USA Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Recordings-10CD-Boxset-Blu-Ray/dp/B09M5CZM64

 

Wouldn't mind having the Blu Ray but not sure I need 10 CD's of organ music