Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies

 

Genesis - Live At The Rainbow 1973

 

I have voted for :

Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
Genesis - Live At The Rainbow 1973
Pink Floyd - Endless River
Queen - The Game

Great choices for next week !

 

Alice's Billion Dollar Babies gets my vote. Didn't even know this one was out in 5.1.

 

It was quite early on in the piece when it came out. I reckon it is excellent.... but it is a while since I had a listen. More due to time than anything else.

 

No remixing has been done. All the Sony Japan Jeff Beck MC-SACDs use the '70s quad mixes for the multichannel layer. What they've done is synthesize center & sub channels from the original four channel master. The center is a mono sum of all four channels and is relatively low in level, so it doesn't (to my ears, at least) affect the phantom center image between the two front channels. If you chose to mute the center on direct playback or delete it when ripping to files, you won't lose anything.

The last two Sony Japan MC-SACDs I picked up (Miles Davis' Bitches Brew & Live-Evil) were authored as 5.0 with no content in the center, just like the Audio Fidelity quads.

Wired is actually my favorite of the bunch, with two caveats: Jan Hammer's solo in "Come Dancing" is buried and "Sophie" appears to be some kind of upmix from stereo rather than a true quad remix from the multitrack.

 

Do you have a source for this? I was under the impression that it was the summed front channels. If you are correct, I am going to make sure I redo all my rips and remove the center (and sub) channels. As it stands now I just set my Oppo to 4.0 and let it downmix.

 

Hey, thanks for that. Playback on my system – for all the titles you named – is exactly as you described. That would explain the (near) exact replication of Rough And Ready as I remembered from my CD4 vinyl. (Yes, years ago, but I played it a LOT, literally had it memorized.)

But it sure begs a question. Why would they bother to put anything in the center at all? These simple quad transfers play back so well. That also goes for the few Dutton-Vocalion quad reissues I have.

Guess it doesn't really matter if it sounds good.

 

I just ripped my Wired SACD again to double-check and it's definitely all four summed to mono. During "Come Dancing", you can hear the rhythm guitar and keyboard in there (which are isolated in the rear channels) along with the rhythm section. However, the center channel is about 10 dB quieter than the front channels - so it's barely noticeable.

I agree, and I'm not really sure why they do it. Fortunately, it's been done in a fairly unobtrusive way on these Sony Japan reissues. The worst 4.0 -> 5.1 job I've seen to date is the EMI DVD reissue of Deep Purple's Stormbringer with the quad mix. The center on that disc is a copy of the front left channel only with some kind of delay on it.

(Also - Rough and Ready was originally on SQ vinyl)

 

Guess I am now in search of a full list of all origional quad, digital releases with the added summed center, sigh Hopefully the kind folks @ QQ can help. Simple process luckily...

 

On the '90s Miller Nevada DTS-CDs sourced from quads (BTO, McCartney, Poco, etc), it's just the fronts summed to mono for the center. Same with the '00s Sony SACDs that use quad mixes for the MC layer (Herbie's Head Hunters, O'Jays' Ship Ahoy, Weather Report's Mysterious Traveller, etc). The only exception among the Sony's is the Isley Brothers' 3+3: in addition to the fake center, they altered the front/rear balance in a detrimental way on a few of the songs. The biggest gaffe on that disc is that the rear channels are entirely missing(!) for the first 15 seconds of "What It Comes To Down To". I'd be game for a fresh transfer of that one if Dutton-Vocalion eventually decides to pursue the Isley Brothers' quad mixes for their SACD reissues.

 

Yup! Thanx.

 

Nice review as usual. I also loved this surround remix. Kometenmelodie 1 was particularly effective to me.
For the title track, I have to confess I slightly prefer the original quad mix. If I remember correctly, at the 9 min mark, it feels like you are in the middle of the highway, with cars and motorcycles mainly moving from the front to the rear speakers and vice versa. Very rarely, left to right. I thought that FL/RL and FR/RR effect was great, but couldn't feel the same when listening to the new mix. That's the only think I'd suggest checking, if you have access to the old quad mix.

 

Well, I've got some serious catching up to do. Including two new acguisitions (Soord, Bruce - All This Will Be Yours and Towsend -Empath). I already had a backlog of four before yesterday, and then Mark just tacked on five more yesterday. Looks like I'm going to have one or two from next week too. Might be a week or two before I get around to reviewing a new title on this thread. Also looks like I ought to cover the video from Ricochet and Endless River on the video thread this week.

 

Just do what you can.
In four or five weeks I will likely have two Sundays off, so there'll be plenty of time to catch up

 

A comment on the Layla DVD which I just was able to purchase in the 40th anniversary box set. I don’t own the SACD but I’ve heard this album a lot through the years .... I was pleasantly surprised at how much Duane Allman was featured - prime example is Key to the highway where he is much more prominent in the mix than any other instrument. On my surround it is the most center of any other solos on the album. Other songs have Duane left and Eric right and it’s so cool to be able to tell who is playing what. I have this album in my personal top ten so the surround is a revelatory experience for me.
As Mark described Duane on Key to the Highway in his review:
Duane cuts right into it with some intensity
I have not heard the SACD but that might go double for the DVD.

 

Just picked up Heavy Horses new for a song and the bang for your buck is incredible. Three cd’s and two DVD’s plus a beautiful book/case, one cannot go wrong. As you stated in your review, the sound is fantastic.

 

The Endless River


Studio album by
Pink Floyd
Released 7 November 2014
Recorded 1969, 1993, 2013–2014
Studio Royal Albert Hall Olympic Studios Britannia Row Studios Astoria Medina Studios
Genre Ambient[1] psychedelic[2] blues rock[2] instrumental
Length 53:02
Label Parlophone
Producer David Gilmour Youth Andy Jackson Phil Manzanera Bob Ezrin (co-producer)

The Endless River is the fifteenth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released in November 2014 by Parlophone Records in Europe and Columbia Records in the rest of the world. It was the third Pink Floyd album recorded under the leadership of guitarist David Gilmour after the departure of bassist Roger Waters in 1985, and the first following the death in 2008 of keyboardist Richard Wright, who appears posthumously. Gilmour said it would be the final Pink Floyd album.

The Endless River comprises instrumental and ambient music based on material recorded during sessions for the band's previous album, The Division Bell (1994). Additional material was recorded in 2013 and 2014 on Gilmour's Astoria boat studio and in Medina Studios in Hove, England. It was produced by Gilmour, Youth, Andy Jackson and Phil Manzanera. Only one track, "Louder than Words", has lead vocals. After the death of longtime Pink Floyd artist Storm Thorgerson in 2013, the cover was created by artist Ahmed Emad Eldin, design company Stylorouge, and Aubrey Powell, co-founder of Thorgerson's design company Hipgnosis.

The Endless River was promoted with the "Louder than Words" single and artwork installations in cities around the world. It became the most pre-ordered album of all time on Amazon UK, and debuted at number one in several countries. The vinyl edition was the fastest-selling UK vinyl release since 1997. The album received mixed reviews; some critics praised the nostalgic mood, while others found it unambitious or meandering.

• David Gilmour – guitars (all but 3), EBow guitar (1, 3, 10), lead vocals (18), backing vocals (7, 14, 17), keyboards (7, 15, 16), piano (6, 7), EMS VCS 3 (4, 6), bass guitar (2, 4, 7, 17), Hammond organ (18), percussion (8), voice samples (1), producer
• Nick Mason – drums (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18), percussion (15, 18), rototoms (5), gong (5, 12, 16), voice samples (1)
• Richard Wright – Hammond organ (1, 11, 13, 16), Farfisa organ (4, 6, 14, 16), Royal Albert Hall Organ (12), piano (4, 6, 8, 14, 18), Rhodes piano (9, 18), electric piano (3), keyboards (1, 2, 5, 16, 17), synthesiser (1, 2, 8, 10, 14, 17, 18), voice samples (1, 18)

Additional musicians

• Guy Pratt – bass guitar (9, 14)
• Bob Ezrin – bass guitar (11, 13, 18), additional keyboards (1), co-producer 1993 sessions
• Andy Jackson – bass guitar (5, 16), effects (15), engineer, producer, mixing, mastering of bonus content on DVD and Blu-ray
• Jon Carin – synthesisers (9, 11, 13), percussion loop (11, 13)
• Damon Iddins – additional keyboards (4, 12)
• Anthony Moore – keyboards (15)
• Gilad Atzmon – tenor saxophone (7), clarinet (7)
• Durga McBroom – backing vocals (14, 17, 18)
• Louise Marshal – backing vocals (18)
• Sarah Brown – backing vocals (18)
• Stephen Hawking – voice sample (14)
• Youth – producer, additional programming, engineering, sound design, assorted synthesisers and keyboards
• Eddie Bander – additional programming, engineering, sound design, assorted synthesisers and keyboards
• Michael Rendall – additional programming, engineering, sound design, assorted synthesisers and keyboards
• Escala:
  • Chantal Leverton – viola (18)
  • Victoria Lyon – violin (18)
  • Helen Nash – cello (18)
  • Honor Watson – violin (18)

Production and design

• Phil Manzanera – producer
• Damon Iddins – engineer
• James Guthrie – mastering for CD[73]
• Joel Plante – mastering for CD
• Doug Sax – mastering for the vinyl issue
• Aubrey Powell – creative director
• Stylorouge – sleeve design
• Ahmed Emad Eldin – album cover concept

BD-1 Things Left Unsaid Written-By – David Gilmour, Richard Wright 4:26
BD-2 It's What We Do Written-By – David Gilmour, Richard Wright 6:15
BD-3 Ebb And Flow Written-By – David Gilmour, Richard Wright 1:58
BD-4 Sum Written-By – David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright 4:49
BD-5 Skins Written-By – David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright 2:37
BD-6 Unsung Written-By – Richard Wright 1:07
BD-7 Anisina Written-By – David Gilmour 3:15
BD-8 The Lost Art Of Conversation Written-By – Richard Wright 1:44
BD-9 On Noodle StreetWritten-By – David Gilmour, Richard Wright 1:42
BD-10 Night Light Written-By – David Gilmour, Richard Wright 1:42
BD-11 Allons-y (1) Written-By – David Gilmour 1:57
BD-12 Autumn '68 Written-By – Richard Wright 1:35
BD-13 Allons-y (2) Written-By – David Gilmour 1:36
BD-14 Talkin' Hawkin' Written-By – David Gilmour, Richard Wright 3:26
BD-15 Calling Written-By – Anthony Moore, David Gilmour 3:39
BD-16 Eyes To Pearls Written-By – David Gilmour 1:51
BD-17 Surfacing Written-By – David Gilmour 2:47
BD-18 Louder Than Words Written-By – David Gilmour, Polly Samson 6:32
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


So far we have looked at
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell

If pushed I would probably say Floyd are my favourite band. These days I like so much music that it is very hard to justify that, because I love variety too much to want to be that particular. During the eighties and nineties though, if asked that question Floyd would have been the answer.

I certainly hope Dave and Roger get their shiz together and release Animals and Obscured By Clouds. I certainly hope that the Wall, which they were working on, gets done, although there was talk of the tapes being in bad condition. Against what appears to be the current popular position, I hope that The Final Cut gets released in 5.1 .... but at the moment, this is the last of the Pink Floyd surround albums.

After a sensational career, with a great variety of albums, and more than enough controversy, this is almost certainly going to be the last Pink Floyd studio album release, and it is an interesting way to go out.... if not slightly disappointing. I don't dislike this, but from the two listens I have had, this somewhat sounds like what it is, a series of leftovers from The Division Bell Sessions. I do get the impression the Gilmour put this together as a kind of a tribute to the recently deceased Richard Wright, and that is a beautiful thing, and they did do a very good job of it, and if I remember correctly the 5.1 is very good, but the album, from memory, Isn't as focused as a Floyd album usually is, and being predominantly keyboard based instrumentals, it is very different. I have grown to enjoy somewhat ambient music in my old age, so perhaps today this album will click a little for me, but on last listen it had the same issue I had with it when I first got it, it was nice, but just a bit dull..... and Floyd were never really dull.... for me at least.
So lets get into it and see where we end up.

There are many different editions available of this, so lets look at a few.

Amazon has the cd/bluray set for about $23 https://www.amazon.com/Endless-River-CD-Blu-ray-Casebook/dp/B00NQKWAIQ (18 copies left)
Disocgs has the same cd/bluray version from about $9 Pink Floyd - The Endless River and the US press Pink Floyd - The Endless River
Discogs has the cd/dvd box for about $6 Pink Floyd - The Endless River and the US press Pink Floyd - The Endless River

Of course there is also The Later Years set which has the Momentary Lapse Of Reason and Division Bell 5.1's, The Pulse and Delicate Sound Of Thunder concert videos, plus other stuff, and also The Endless River 5.1 mix put to a specially shot film.
It is currently on Amazon for $467 https://www.amazon.com/Later-Years-Pink-Floyd/dp/B07X2M36TF (18 copies left)
There are currently 25 copies on discogs starting from $309 Pink Floyd - The Later Years 1987-2019 (always check that things haven't been taken out with these kinds of sets. It should be mentioned in the details, but many purchase the set for something specific and then sell the rest to recoup some money)

5.1 Mix Andy Jackson with Damon Iddins
Mastered by Andy Jackson

So on we go ..

Things Left Unsaid
We open with a typically Floydian soundscape. Taped talking. Synth swells all round and a solid thump in the sub.
We move to a synth pad up front and a melody synth, to the right.
Some volume swell guitar comes in, and an acoustic responds to it.
Certainly some sub rumble when required.
The sound sort of stretches out to the rears.
An ambient glow of synths around us, and a couple of specific sounds come in either side in the rears.

It's What We Do
Organ comes in the front.
An ambient synth across the rears.
A couple of nice little whooshes between the rears.
A neat comes in, and an organ pad across the rears.
We have really nice balance, and the sound is beautiful.
Humour rolls a lick up front.
Acoustics in the sides.
Lead guitar with a delay/reverb splashing into the rears.
Organ on the right side.
Rhythm guitars in the sides. Electric piano in the sides.
The drums have good width, and are generally in front, but come somewhat into the middle of the room giving it some air.
Jackson does a good job of the mix. The subtleties of the music, and the layering works well for this format.
This track has a sort of classic Wish You Were Here album sound and feel.

Ebb And Flow
Wave effect rolls across the back.
All these tracks flow as one track.
Electric piano (rhodes?) Across the front. A strum of acoustic across the rears.
Lead guitar up front.
Wind sound all round.

Sum
This song comes after the first break.
Keyboard sfx all round.
Some nice movement.
The synth takes up a rhythm, and though based up front, via sends or layers, we have the rears in lived too.
We have a sort of Welcome to the machine sound.
Bouncing keys and sliding guitar.
Pulsing sounds, and swirls all around us.
Really nice mix and balance.
Gtr front. Pulsing synth across the middle.
Guitar harmonic slides across the rears.
Again nice drum width.
Jackson creates a really nice soundstage.
Swirls and chirps all round.

Skins
Back to a direct track link.
This is the equivalent of side two.
The drums surround us.
And we have effected chirps and swooshes moving around.
Essentially skins reflects that this track is drum focus with nice effects mixed through it.
Very immersive.

Unsung
Pulsing synth front right
Lead guitar sort of moving from the rears to the front.

Anisina
This comes on like a song, and we get a piano for a nice change of textures.
A few sounds pop in here and there and its effective.
Pad across the back.
There are little pieces going on all around us and it blends too well to really explain it.
We get the appearance of the sax.
The slide guitar goes ever so high.
This sounds like a intro to coming back to life or something.

The Lost Art Of Conversation
Synth pad swells around us from the front.
Counter pad in the rears.
Piano up front.
Again nice immersion and balance.

On Noodle Street
A beat comes in, and the electric piano takes over.
Synth swell rears.
Volume swell guitar chord with it.
Really subtle surges move the pad from the front to back like a tidal flow.... the endless river.

Night Light
Sub thud, guitar delay/reverb swells around us, synth pad rears.
Gtr right rear.
Lead gtr based in front with fx sends to rears.

Allons-y
We get a Run like hell type start .
Gtrs front and either side.
A couple of lead gtrs play off against each other, right side and front.
Full immersion, and nice balance.
Synth pad rears.

Autumn
Organ across rears. Sfx and Gong front.
Again nice immersion and atmosphere, again nicely balanced.

Allons-y 2
Synth swells all round. Then we burst back into the rhythm of 1.
Like one piece with a bridge really.
Gtrs all round.
Percussion in rears.

Talkin' Hawkin'
We move into a nice slow groove.
Synths rears, also organ.
Lead guitar front.
Choral vocal or effect.
Again beautiful immersion and balance.
Stephen Hawking has his voice dropped in here.
We fade out on an ambient cloud.

Calling
We open with some sixties Floyd type sounds, and then it morphs into the synth pad and effected keys, that almost gives it a Tangerine Dream type feel.
Synth across back. Effected electric piano up front.
This again is a wash of ambient type sounds, fully immersing us, and again very well balanced.
Gtr comes in up front and left side.

Eyes To Pearls
Synth drones all round. Cymbal swells and percussion. Low country type gtr right rear.
Gtr riff up front.
Swells and slides of keys and guitars.
Organ right rear.

Surfacing
Acoustic guitar comes in and we get layered guitar and keys all round.
Again the immersion is very nice and the balance very good.
Bvox, choral, in rears.
Lead gtr up front.

Louder Than Words
Arpeggio gtr front right through to right side.
Keys front.
Acoustic rhythm left rear.
Synth tone rears.
Lead guitar left side.
Vocals in front stereo field. Acoustic centre.
Layered vocals have some sends to the rears.
Again nicely immersive and balanced.
The obligatory Gilmour lead break.
Choral bvox in rears.
We end on an atmospheric thing.

There are a few ways I could see people interpreting this album ...
Either, it is a predominantly instrumental album that reprises the bands famous seventies sound, with close ties to Wish You Were Here in sound and melody.
It is a series of Division Bell outtakes dressed up for release as a companion album.
It is a memorial for Richard Wright and the keyboard soundscapes he created for Floyd, with some Gilmour lead guitar on it.
Possibly a few others.
For me it is like a series of classic Floyd intro's that don't lead to a song as they normally would have. The song they all kind of lead to isn't bad, but isn't really a top notch Floyd song ... It is nice and sounds good and all that, but after 45 minutes of ambient build up, it is not the climax I would have wanted.
That may sound like I don't like this ... I do like it, but it has its short comings via it being .... almost a cleaning up of the leftovers, into a form.
I think most Floyd fans would like this in the collection, but unless the instrumental ambience is what you listened to Floyd for, I don't think it will be the heavy rotation Floyd album, although a very nice alternative.
The mix is really very good, and the sound is really very good, and on that level this is worth getting also.
To me, at eight or nine dollars second hand these days, it is worth adding to the Floyd surround catalog ... I personally would probably never play the cd, unless it was for background music with friends for dinner or something like that.

 

Background music....that is a perfect description of The Endless River. For some reason, it matches well with Eno's Another Green World. Both suitable for a lazy Sunday afternoon, before/during/after a nap.

 

The Game


Studio album by
Queen
Released 30 June 1980[1]
Recorded June – July 1979, February – May 1980
Studio Musicland, Munich, Germany
Genre Rock[2] pop[3] dance-rock[3]
Length 35:42
Label EMI Records, Elektra
Producer Queen, Mack

The Game is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 30 June 1980 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. The Game features a different sound from its predecessor, Jazz (1978). The Game was the first Queen album to use a synthesizer[4] (an Oberheim OB-X). "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Sail Away Sweet Sister", "Coming Soon" and "Save Me" were recorded from June to July 1979.[5] The remaining songs were recorded between February and May 1980.[5]

A critical and commercial success, The Game became the only Queen album to reach No. 1 in the US, and became their best-selling studio album in the US, with four million copies sold to date, tying with the sales for News of the World. Notable songs on the album include the bass-driven "Another One Bites the Dust" and the rockabilly "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", both of which reached No. 1 in the US. Reissued in May 2003 on DVD-Audio with Dolby 5.1 surround sound and DTS 5.1. The 5.1 mix of "Coming Soon" features an alternate backing track, as the final master tapes could not be found when mixing the album to 5.1.

• Freddie Mercury – lead vocals (1-5, 7, 9, 10), co-lead vocals (6, 8), backing vocals (all tracks), piano (1, 7, 8), synthesizer (1), acoustic guitar (5)
• Brian May – electric guitar (all tracks), backing vocals (1, 2, 4-8, 10), acoustic guitar (7, 8, 10), synthesizer (8, 10), piano (10), lead vocals (8)
• Roger Taylor – drums (all tracks), backing vocals (all but 3), electric guitar (6, 9), synthesizer (6, 9), lead vocals (6, "A Human Body"), co-lead vocals (9), percussion
• John Deacon – bass guitar (all tracks), electric guitar (3), acoustic guitar (4), piano (3), percussion (3)

Additional musician

• Reinhold Mack – synthesizer (6)

Production

• Mack – engineering, production
• Josh MacRae – engineering, production
• Jack Benson - Remix engineer (Dragon Attack)

1. "Play the Game" Freddie Mercury 3:30
2. "Dragon Attack" Brian May 4:18
3. "Another One Bites the Dust" John Deacon 3:35
4. "Need Your Loving Tonight" Deacon 2:50
5. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Mercury 2:42
6. "Rock It (Prime Jive)" Roger Taylor. vocals - Roger Taylor with Mercury 4:33
7. "Don't Try Suicide" Mercury 3:52
8. "Sail Away Sweet Sister" May. vocals - Brian May with Mercury 3:33
9. "Coming Soon" Taylor. vocals - Mercury with Taylor 2:51
10. "Save Me" May 3:48
Total length: 35:32
-----------------------------------------
We have already looked at the only other 5.1 album by Queen, A Night At The Opera. Hopefully we will get some more albums of theirs in 5.1, because the albums are well suited to 5.1, but it seems like May and Taylor are a little lost in the wilderness when it comes to the bands legacy ... They keep announcing anniversary editions that don't appear, and then when they have released something it seems woefully under researched or developed or whatever ... I am looking at you News Of The World ... So whether the guys can manage to balance their new touring band with the older material remains to be seen, but at the moment seems unlikely.

Queen are a band that seem to draw really big extremes from music observers and fans. There seems to be a certain amount of resentment of the band by some areas, and some amount of worship from others. I actually don't think it is very surprising that the band is still very popular with youth, because they covered so many bases and have had decent exposure, so they are more readily accessible than some other seventies and eighties bands some thirty or forty years later. I try and stay out of the petty debates about these things, I like the music or I don't, and I have always liked Queen's music, so trends are completely redundant to me.

So we come to the Game.... The Game is a somewhat unusual album for me, it has some of the bands best material, but it has a couple of songs that I am just not really fond of. I often wonder if that is why some folks in the US consider the band to be a singles band. Being the biggest seller, it is going to be the one most base their claims on one would suspect.
Another thing about this album, is that, Queen, the famous seventies rock band, whose music covered music hall, ballads, prog, hard rock, heavy metal, folk .... etc etc ... embraced the eighties. so this album has a bit of a hybrid sound in terms of styling, moving from the somewhat late seventies early eighties dance type tracks (done Queen's way obviously) to rockabilly salutes to Elvis, and then some of the classic style Queen power rock stuff.

I do like this album, but it isn't in my favourite Queen albums. The thing is though the Queen 5.1's are excellent, all two of them ... Come on guys! ....

This was released on dvd audio in 2003 and is currently unavailable on Amazon.
Discogs has 6 from $53 Queen - The Game - US press 4 from $65 Queen - The Game
Ebay has a lot of these from about $50 Queen The Game dvd audio' | eBay but generally as seems to always be the case with ebay, folks are asking ridiculous prices on there generally.

Apparently this year an expanded Japan release came out ... but the discs were dvd-r and bluray-r so I am not altogether sure they were official .... seems a bit Dodgy Brothers to me... There is also a bluray video collection from Japan, and that seems a little Dodgy Brothers Inc. also ... I haven't heard anything about these as being releases from the band, so I can only assume they are some form of Japanese bootleg .... hopefully Japan won't get itself caught in the China trap were releases from there suddenly become completely avoided as bootleg/grey market releases ....

5.1 mix Justin Shirley-Smith
Mastering Bob Ludwig

Play The Game
Before I put the disc in, I already know how this starts, and I am looking forward to it.....
The reverse effects slide out of each channel in a circular kind of arrangement and it sounds awesome. Then we get the final whooshing swirl that takes us into the piano... one of the great starts to any surround mixed album.
The piano is sort of left side to the front.
Cymbals rears.
Bvox all round
Guitar comes in, and it is sort of right side to the front.
Nice immersion and balance.
The instrumental section has more swirling with the synths.
This is a great song, and a really nice mix.

Dragon Attack
The main draw for this track is the great groove.
The drums on this sound really good to me.
Cymbals rears.
Guitars come in either side towards the rears.
Some vocal feeds to rears.
The drum break slides around us to either side.
Deacon's bass is very cool.
We get a percussive effect circle us.
Layers of guitars come at us from a few areas.
We get the percussive and vocal section sound brilliant with the percussion and vocals all around us.
Another really nice mix with really good balance.
Lead at the end does some channel sliding and circling and is very effective.

Another One Bites The Dust
Solid sub on kick.
Reverse piano has a bit of a swirl.
Effects across left side.
The guitar two chord stab 1st left rear, 2nd right rear.
All those cool effects do some moving and sliding.
The drums are kind of right side, but it doesn't sound odd at all.
Lots of cool swirly stuff on here, and the mix is excellent.
That great rhythm guitar is left side towards the front.
Great effective mix.

Need Your Loving Tonight
Guitar left side. Another right side.
Rhythm section up front with good width on the drums.
Again the choral type vocals work really well in the surround mix.
Short and sweet. Well mixed and enjoyable.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Acoustic guitar intro left front.
Bvox rears.
Drums seem a bit forward of front.
Percussion in rears.
Lead right side.
Hand claps kind of in the middle of the room.

Rock It (prime jive)
Gtrs either side rears.
The vocals are in the whole front field on here, for those into that distinction.
The opening is cool, and then we burst into Queen doing a kind of new wave track.
Rhythm guitars either side rears.
The chirping keyboard comes in through the rear.
The kick has nice sub assist.
Some nice little vocal effects.
Lead guitar to the right.
This track is generally better than I think it's going to be.
Bvox in the rears.
Another solid mix and well balanced again.

Don't Try Suicide
Hmmm I have always been a bet each way on this track... not really a favourite.
Gtr right rear. Then left rear.
Piano right rear.
Claps either side.
Bvox rears.
It is a really nice mix, and works very well.
Beat alternating in rears.
The change is a nice and we get a full immersive mix.
Lead guitar kind of the middle of the room, and then layered with bits all around us.
The mix for this is great, but I am just not a lover of this track.

Sail Away Sweet Sister
Synth left side piano up front.
Lead middle of the room.
A blended full mix for the chorus with guitars and keys around us.
Bvox rears.
Lead break front.
Again we get layers of harmonised guitars around us, leading back to the chorus.
Again we get a really nice mix. Balanced and immersive.
The coda is excellent.

Coming Soon
We're surrounded by drums that settle in the front.
Guitars either side in the rears.
Bvox sides and rears .
Sound effect slides across the rears.
Lead guitar across the middle of the room.
Again a really nice balanced immersive mix

Save Me
Among my favourite Queen songs.
Piano piano right side slightly towards front. Gtr left side.
Electric guitars either side rears.
Choral vocals rear.
Piano covers a fair bit of ground, from left front to right side.... two pianos? Not sure.
Cymbals in the rears.
Synth effects move around a little.
Harmonised guitars either side.
Again really very effective, immersive and balanced mix.

As with Night At the Opera this is a very solid surround mix. To some degree the songs I find a little lesser here are greatly helped by the surround mix giving them a little more interest for me...( Don't Try Suicide and Coming Soon.... Rock It is on the cusp, but I like it)
The mix is excellent, and uses the channels very well. The dynamics are very good, the sound is very good.
The album is a little top heavy, ut there are some solid tracks on what was side two, that don't leave it too unbalanced.
I think any Queen fan would pretty much have to have this, I think it is the best version of the album and it really is a a solid album, even if not in my personal top tier Queen albums.
To some degree this is a transitional album of sorts, as the band slid into the eighties with an eye on what was happening in the music scene. They never really copied anyone, they merely incorporated ideas from the wider world into the Queen sound, and that sound is one you are either going to like or dislike. They followed this with the Flash Gordon Soundtrack which has two stellar songs, and essentially a traditional type soundtrack, and then they confused the heck out of everyone with Hot Space, when Mercury and Deacon really embraced the dance music scene.... even so, that is still a good album, and I would still get it if it came out in 5.1.

A really very good to excellent mix that is worth your while ... the only things really to consider - 1 do you like Queen? - 2 is it worth fifty bucks to you?

 

Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses. I'm inclined to group this album with Minstrel in the Gallery - JT were past their peak but still very good. But I also think the surround mix kicks it up another notch. This is not among the best JT albums, but the 5.1 mix may be Wilson's best treatment of their catalog. I guess I'd have to listen all 12 of them in a row to make a really definitive statement, and that's not going to happen. It's not like the mix is unusual for Steven Wilson - it has Anderson lead vocals in center, and lots of strings, guitar, and backing vocals in the rears. But, like Tales from Topographic Oceans, the surround mix just makes the album sound better. (2/4)

Soord, Bruce - All This Will Be Yours. So, it's mine now: The price of the box dropped under $40 and I went on a late summer box-buying frenzy. However, given that I paid about the same price for Where We Stood, it's disappointing. And it's not just that it doesn't come with a fantastic concert video - it also doesn't come with a band or electric guitars. Well, there are bass and drums on at least two of the tracks. But getting past those quibbles, it's still a very nice album with a very nice surround mix. It is a studio project, so there are multiple acoustic guitar and vocals all by Soord; and there 's usually a guitar and/or some backing vocals mixed to the rear speakers. However, it's just not an album I'm going to pull up very often given my other Soord / Pineapple Thief choices. Therefore, I still recommend holding out for the stand alone bluray, but I'm afraid I can't serve as a model for box abstinence. Maybe I'll get back on the wagon; a re-evaluation will be due after the dust has settled in October. I like his first solo album better, and I got the surround mix for that as a freebie for buying the CD. Yes, I will review that one if I ever catch up with Mark. (1/3)

Yes - Relayer. I've always considered this to be one of the classic Yes albums. Yes, it was disappointing to lose Rick Wakeman, but I warmed up to this album the first time I heard it, and like all of the other classic five I played the hell out of it. I might have previously even rated it as Yes #3, but Tales definitely jumped it with the Wilson mix. The middle section of "Gates of Delirium" is just awesome. The surround mix is very good, but like Close to the Edge, this is an album I am very familiar with and there are some passages (especially on "Gates of Delirium") where I prefer the stereo version. "Sound Chaser" is awesome in surround though. (3/3)

 

Brave


Studio album by
Marillion
Released 7 February 1994
17 October 1998 (two-disc edition)
Recorded Château de Marouatte, Grand-Brassac (France), November 1992 – August 1993
Genre Progressive rock,[1] rock[1]
Length 71:08 (single-disc edition)
123:01 (two-disc edition)
Label EMI (Europe)
I.R.S. Records (United States)
Producer Dave Meegan

Brave is the seventh studio album by Marillion, released in 1994. It charted at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart, being the last of the band's albums to reach the Top 10 in the United Kingdom until F E A R reached number 4 in 2016.[4]

The album, which mixed classic symphonic progressive rock with standard rock,[1] was ranked by Raw as one of the 20 greatest albums of 1994.[5] In 2000 it was selected by Classic Rock as one of the "30 Best Albums of the 90s", and in 2003 as one of "Rock's 30 Greatest Concept Albums".[6]

• Steve Hogarth – vocals
• Steve Rothery – guitars
• Mark Kelly – keyboards
• Pete Trewavas – bass
• Ian Mosley – drums

1. "Bridge" – 2:52
2. "Living with the Big Lie" – 6:46
3. "Runaway" – 4:41
4. "Goodbye to all That" – 12:26
   1. "i) Wave"
   2. "ii) Mad"
   3. "iii) The Opium Den"
   4. "iv) The Slide"
   5. "v) Standing in the Swing"
5. "Hard as Love" – 6:42
6. "The Hollow Man" – 4:08
7. "Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury" – 8:13
   1. "i) Now Wash Your Hands"
8. "Paper Lies" – 5:49
9. "Brave" – 7:54
10. "The Great Escape" – 6:29
    1. "i) The Last of You"
    2. "ii) Fallin' from the Moon"
11. "Made Again" – 5:02

-------------------------------------------------------
We have covered a few Marillion albums so far
Marillion - Script For A Jester's Tear
Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
Marillion - Afraid Of Sunlight

and to me Marillion are a very interesting band. They followed on from the progressive rock pioneers at a time when that was very uncool, they had some success with Misplaced Childhood and after Clutching at Straws, the follow up, Fish, the well known front man left the band.
Steve Hogarth stepped in, and did very well, but the Marillion fan base seem to be as divided on Fish and Hogarth, as the Van Halen fans are on Dave or Sammy ... It makes no difference to me.

The band really started to develop their own unique sound during the Hogarth years, and many would say this is the peak of their recorded output.

The band had been at a sort of crossroads, as their previous album had attempted to appeal to the pop crowd. Here with this album they returned to a more progressive style of album and it incorporated a concept, or story if you prefer.
Hogarth put forward the story based around an actual piece of news about a girl who was found wandering on a bridge over a river. She did not know who she was, where she was, and refused to even speak. This got Hogarth attempting to piece together a story that would lead to this conclusion, creating the hows and whys along the way.

The original record had a double groove in the fourth side, with two possible endings. the somewhat happy ending, and the somewhat tragic ending. On the bluray, the somewhat tragic ending is included as a bonus track.

There was a fifty minute movie made of this also, and it is a shame that it isn't included. It took the tragic ending.



Brave (2018 Steven Wilson Remix)
CD1-1 Bridge 2:58
CD1-2 Living With The Big Lie 6:45
CD1-3 Runaway 4:43
CD1-4 Goodbye To All That / Wave / Mad / The Opium Den / The Slide / Standing In The Swing 12:26
CD1-5 Hard As Love 6:45
CD1-6 The Hollow Man 4:08
CD1-7 Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury / Now Wash Your Hands 8:14
CD1-8 Paper Lies 5:51
CD1-9 Brave 7:53
CD1-10 The Great Escape / The Last Of You / Fallin' From The Moon 6:34
CD1-11 Made Again 5:03
Brave (Dave Meegan Original Album Mix)
CD2-1 Bridge 2:53
CD2-2 Living With The Big Lie 6:46
CD2-3 Runaway 4:41
CD2-4 Goodbye To All That / Wave / Mad / The Opium Den / The Slide / Standing In The Swing 12:27
CD2-5 Hard As Love 6:42
CD2-6 The Hollow Man 4:08
CD2-7 Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury / Now Wash Your Hands 8:13
CD2-8 Paper Lies 5:48
CD2-9 Brave 7:56
CD2-10 The Great Escape / The Last Of You / Fallin' From The Moon 6:30
CD2-11 Made Again 5:02
Live At La Cigale (29/4/1994) (2018 Michael Hunter Remix)
CD3-1 River 2:02
CD3-2 Bridge 3:34
CD3-3 Living With The Big Lie 6:48
CD3-4 Runaway 4:45
CD3-5 Goodbye To All That 0:41
CD3-6 Wave 1:21
CD3-7 Mad 1:36
CD3-8 The Opium Den 2:26
CD3-9 The Slide 4:09
CD3-10 Standing In The Swing 2:11
CD3-11 Hard As Love 6:57
CD3-12 The Hollow Man 4:33
CD3-13 Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury 6:45
CD3-14 Now Wash Your Hands 1:15
CD3-15 Paper Lies 5:27
CD3-16 Brave 8:46
CD3-17 The Great Escape / The Last Of You / Fallin' From The Moon 9:35
CD3-18 Made Again 5:31
Live At La Cigale (29/4/1994) (2018 Michael Hunter Remix)
CD4-1 Cover My Eyes (Pain And Heaven) 4:03
CD4-2 Sláinte Mhath 4:57
CD4-3 No One Can 4:49
CD4-4 Sympathy 3:32
CD4-5 Easter 6:18
CD4-6 Garden Party 7:19
CD4-7 Waiting To Happen 5:05
CD4-8 Hooks In You 2:47
CD4-9 The Space... 7:11
Steven Wilson Remixes (96/24 Stereo / 96/24 DTS Master Audio 5.1 / 96/24 LPCM 5.1)
BD-1 Bridge 2:58
BD-2 Living With The Big Lie 6:46
BD-3 Runaway 4:42
BD-4 Goodbye To All That 0:45
BD-5 Wave 1:24
BD-6 Mad 1:40
BD-7 The Opium Den 2:00
BD-8 The Slide 4:39
BD-9 Standing In The Swing 1:58
BD-10 Hard As Love 6:45
BD-11 The Hollow Man 4:08
BD-12 Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury 7:22
BD-13 Now Wash Your Hands 0:52
BD-14 Paper Lies 5:51
BD-15 Brave 7:52
BD-16 The Great Escape 2:04
BD-17 The Last Of You 1:34
BD-18 Fallin' From The Moon 2:56
BD-19 Made Again 5:06
Bonus Track
BD-20 The Great Escape (Spiral Remake) 13:35
Documentary
BD-21 It All Began With The Bright Light - Recollections Of Brave 69:46
Promo Films
BD-22 The Great Escape 4:48
BD-23 The Hollow Man 4:13
BD-24 Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury 4:34

The Marillion sets, are very much like the Jethro Tull sets, as in they are the book form, and they include pretty much all you could want from the time of the album.
Here we have 4 cd's - The Wilson stereo remix - The Original Meegan stereo mix - and a 2cd concert.
Then we have a bluray with the mixes and a doco and some vids.

Amazon has two copies left at about $49 https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Deluxe-4CD-1Blu-Ray-Marillion/dp/B0792216Z3
Discogs has 9 copies from $29 Marillion - Brave

5.1 mix Steven Wilson

I have had this for about 18 months or so, and have given it a couple of listens prior to this thread. I didn't really have a chance for the album to sink in really, but I did like it and the mix seemed to be pretty good.
Marillion are fairly new to me. When I heard Kayleigh back in the eighties it didn't interest me at all. When the Misplaced Childhood book set came out, I bought it and enjoyed it, and so far I have grabbed a few of the bands surround albums.

Bridge
We open with a barge foghorn and the sound of water, which a synth or guitar kind of doubles.
We have sub, we have immersion.
A really nice effective start.
We have this dreamy synthscape surrounding us, with balance and really nice textures that draw us in.
This moves to a piano and vocal up front, and fairly quiet.

Living With the Big Lie
Some textural bell tones move across the left side. Hogarth in the centre channel.
Synth chords across the back.
We get a nice textural and effective build up,
Then the drums kick in and we get some power.
Organ across the middle guitar either side. Lead guitar up front.
We break down to what sounds like a mellotron.
Various synth lines surround us, this leads to a swell that moves back into the groove and it is slightly Floydish.
Nice separation of the guitars either side.
Really well balanced, dynamic and immersive. Off to a very good start.
Sfx come in underneath left side.
We move to a fade.

Runaway
Voices around us work as a link, keeping the flow.
A nice chorus guitar comes in left side.
Atmospherics around us.
We build slowly, but not too dramatically.
Another guitar comes in right side.
Flute sound sort of middle of the room.
Cymbals in the rear.
Piano break up front, augmented by counter-melodies either side, really effective.
Rothery plays a really nice lead break, with effects send to rears.
Layers building up all around us.
Again the mix is balanced, immersive and dynamic.

Goodbye To All That
This comes in as a quick edit, with no gap.
Piano and vocal up front. Fx sends to rears.
Volume swell guitar left side.
A pulsing raise in dynamics with drums spread wide into the sides.
Synth and guitar either side, well balanced

Wave
We went smoothly into this track probably at that dynamic change.
Synth swells across back some sliding effects.
Vocal effect right side.
This is quite a busy mix.
The thoughts of the protagonist are panned effectively.

Mad

The Opium Den
We are rolling through these sections without a blip and quickly.
We have some really nice surround here with keys in various spots all around.
A nice volume swell guitar kind of floats across the middle.
Whispers up front.

The Slide
Wide move into this smoothly again.
Some nice atmospheric sounds that make use of the surround field well.
This whole sequence somewhat reminds me of some of the atmospheric feels on Genesis's Lamb, not musically, but in its effectiveness.
We have again, nice sound, dynamics and immersion.

Standing In the Swing
A crossfade leads here with piano and vocals open us up front.
Synth strings across the back.
Sfx all around. Very effective.
A song breaks out, with a solid beat.
Guitar right side organ left side.

Hard Love
We break into a rock song.
Gtr right side.
Synth chirp left rear.
Lead guitar left side.
We move into a quiet section.
Gtr arpeggio across rears.
Synth building left side. Synth strings across the middle.
Piano across front, clean guitar left side. Voices in the rear.
Sound effects right rear.
We punch into a crescendo.
Nice immersion.
Organ lead is draped from front right to left rear, effective.
We fade into a surrounding wall of sound.

Hollow Man
Piano and vocal front.
Slow build, strings come in across middle and left rear. Lead guitar right side.
This is an effective slow build.

Alone Again In The lap Of Luxury
We open with a bit of guitar ripping, on a riff.
Gtr across the back.
Synth strings/strings all round.
A lot going on in the rears here.
Lead guitar up front. Atmospheric guitar across the middle.
Funnily the chorus reminds me of Crowded House.
Mellotron across the back.
Again a very full, immersive, balanced mix. A bit of a psychedelic ending.
A circling keyboards takes us out

Now Wash Your Hands
Keys front with vocals.
Bass up front.
The keys move into an interesting surround effect

Paper Lies
We get a nice printing press sound in a surround feel, and the break into this track .
Gtr front right.
Organ left rear.
Keyboard effect slides across theback.
Bvox all round.
Gtr left rear and right rear.
Wah guitar slides from right rear to right front.
Vocal slowly moves around the room.
Nice mix again. Big swirling kind of finish.

Brave
Synth swell all round.. a droning type feel.
A melody that sounds part bagpipe part violin comes in the middle with sends to the rears.
Vocal comes in over the surrounding synth pad.
Very effective vocal.
We move into a kind of surrounding of instruments kind of dancing with a Celtic feel with modern instruments.
It's pretty cool.
Very immersive and effective.
After the very effective building and swirling instrumental section, we end as we started.

The Great Escape/The Last Of You/Falling From The Moon
Piano and vocal front.
Nice slide into the song and beat.
Strings rears.
Piano across the middle.
Vocalising across the middle.
Synths either side.
Guitars either side.
Rothery lead up front.

• This just has a series of beautifully constructed layers that are extremely effective in the surround field.

Wilson did another good job here.
Rothery another very effective lead break

Made Again
We have water sound effects around us and we move into a really nice acoustic arpeggio guitar up front.
Vocal centre.
Then we move into a chorus of acoustic rhythm guitars. A synth plays a counter melody on the right.
A held lead guitar note floats across the front.
This is the reel good, everything will be ok now ending and it works.
We get a swell of sound around us from various instruments, and the build is very effective in its delivery and particularly the mix.

This comes across as a very heartfelt and well delivered album. To some degree it works within a smallish field with the moods being drawn upon being somewhat sombre and introspective, but the dynamics work well to liven that up. Without the dynamics it may come across as a little one paced, but the last song re-evaluates the whole feel and we get a kind of joyous crescendo.... It is very effective.... anyone that has been through a really dark period and then finally after what seems like an eternity of psychological depression.oppression, the light at the end of the tunnel blinds us and we have an uncontrollable joy, no matter how short lived it may or may not be. I think this album captures that really well, and with the subject matter it ties in beautifully.
I think the mix is everything you expect from a Wilson mix. Excellent use of the soundfield. Nice balance. This album has a really nice dynamic movement too.

I should expect all the Marillion fans would have this already, if not, get it.
If you heard early Marillion and turned away due to the Genesis nature of the sound of the band, because you felt they were just copying Genesis .... perhaps this is an album you can appreciate... It is nothing like Genesis. I know I said one section kind of felt like the Lamb, but not musically, merely in its atmospheric presentation. There were a couple of sections that sounded a little Floydish, but not in a derivative sense, more in... again a certain feel of delivery ... again it didn't come across as derivative at all.
I think the band really found their own true voice on this album. I think the album works very well. The sound and mix are great. You could make much worse purchases than this set.

 

I didn't get much sleep this week, so I need to take a nap ... yea I know "right on grandpa" lol
I have some friends coming over for a few drinks tonight... and that normally lasts til the wee small hours, and I have some cleaning up to do before they get here, so I may not get around to another today. Apologies.

This week I am sort sort of expecting a couple of new sets to roll up ... Maybe the Stones, Maybe the Doobies, Maybe Pineapple Thief .... Who knows what the mail will do.... so I am not going to put up votes this week, and if nothing shows up, there are still plenty of albums to get through... so again apologies if that's a pain, but if the new ones do come I want to get to them straight away, to give folks a chance to get them before any possible sell out and price hike, if a basic run down lets them know what they need to, to change their mind or whatever one way or the other.

Keep on smilin' folks
Mark

 

Reference to the albums

Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare
Alan Parsons Project - Tales Of Mystery and Imagination
Alan Parsons Project - Eye In The Sky
Alan Parsons Project - Ammonia Avenue
Alison Krauss and Union Station - New Favourite
Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
Allman Brothers Band - Live At Fillmore East
Allman Brother Band - Eat a Peach thanks @Galactus2
Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here thanks @riskylogic
Anathema - Weather Systems thanks @riskylogic
Anathema - Distant Satellites thanks @riskylogic
Anderson, Ian - Homo Erraticus
Anderson, Ian - TAAB 2
Argent - In Deep thanks @riskylogic
Ayreon - The Source thanks @riskylogic

Band - Music From Big Pink ... I did this twice ... must occasionally sleep lol
Barclay James Harvest - GoneTo Earth
Bass Communion - Loss thanks @riskylogic
Beach Boys - Sunflower
Beach Boys - Surf's Up
The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
The Beatles - Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Be Bop Deluxe - Futurama
Be Bop Deluxe - Sunburst Finish
Beck, Jeff (group) - Rough and Ready
Beck, Jeff (Group) - Orange
Beck, Jeff - Blow By Blow
Beck, Jeff - Wired
Beethoven - 3rd Symphony Eroica
Beethoven - 5th Concerto (Emporer) - Barenboim/Rubenstein
Birdsong At Morning - A Slight Departure thanks @risky logic
Bjork - Vespertine
Bjork - Medulla
Blackfield - IV thanks @riskylogic
Blackfield - V thanks @riskylogic
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Blood Sweat and Tears - Blood Sweat And Tears
Blood Sweat and Tears - Mirror Image/New City thanks @riskylogic
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties
Blue Oyster Cult - Agents Of Fortune
Bowie, David - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
Bowie, David - Young Americans
Bowie, David - Station To Station
Bowie, David - Stage
Browne, Jackson - Running On Empty
Bruce- Jack - Shadows In The Air thanks @riskylogic
Bruford - Feels Good To Me thanks @riskylogic
Buddy Miles Express - Booger Bear thanks @riskylogic

Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink thanks @riskylogic
Charles, Ray - Ray Sings, Basie Swings
Church - Forget Yourself
Clapton, Eric - Give Me Strength The 74/75 Recordings
Clapton, Eric - Slowhand
Clapton, Eric - Reptile
Clapton, Eric - Back Home
Cobham, Billy - Spectrum
Cobham, Billy - Spectrum (Quad) thanks @-dave--wave-
Coltrane, Alice/Santana, Carlos - Illuminations
Crosby, David - If Only I Could Remember My Name
Crowded House

Davis, Miles - Sketches Of Spain
Davis, Miles - In A Silent Way
Davis, Miles - Bitches Brew
Davis, Miles - Live Evil
Davis, Miles - Tutu
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Deep Purple - Stormbringer
Dekker, Desmond - Anthology thanks @riskylogic
Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
Depeche Mode - Violator
Depeche Mode - Delta Machine
Derek and the Dominos - Layla and other assorted love songs
Derringer, Rick - All American Boy and Spring Fever thanks @riskylogic
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
Donovan - Fairytale
Doobie Brothers - The Captain And Me
Doors - Strange Days
Doors - Waiting For The Sun
Doors - The Soft Parade
Doors - LA Woman
Doors - Best Of thanks @riskylogic
Drake, Nick - A Treasury
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time
Dubliners - Definitive Transatlantic Collection
Dukes Of Stratosphear - Psurroundabout Ride
Dylan, Bob - Blonde On Blonde
Dylan, Bob - Slow Train Coming

Eagles - Hotel California
ELO - debut album
Emerson Lake And Palmer - Tarkus
Emerson Lake And Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery

Fagen, Donald - The Nightfly
Fahl, Mary - From The Dark Side Of The Moon thanks @riskylogic
Ferry, Bryan - Boys and Girls
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (1975)
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Foreigner - Foreigner
Foundations - Very Best Of
Franklin, Aretha - best of

Gabriel, Peter - Up
Gallagher, Rory - Big Guns (Best Of)
Gaye, Marvin - Lets Get It On
Genesis - Overview of all thanks @MikeF63
Genesis - Foxtrot
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Genesis - And Then There Were Three
Genesis - Duke
Gentle Giant - Three Piece Suite
Gentle Giant - The Power and The Glory
Gentle Giant - Interview
Gilmour, Dave - On An Island
Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead
Guns And Roses - Appetite For Destruction

Hackett, Steve - Voyage Of The Acolyte thanks @riskylogic
Hackett, Steve - Broken Skies, Outspread Wings thanks @riskylogic
Hackett, Steve - At The Edge Of Light
Hancock, Herbie - Sextant
Hendrix, Jimi - Electric Ladyland

Inxs - Kick
Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death

Jeff Beck Group - Rough And Ready
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
Jethro Tull - A Passion Play/ Chateau d'Herouville
Jethro Tull - Minstrel In The Gallery
Jethro Tull - Too Old To Rock and Roll ...
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses
Jethro Tull - Stormwatch
Jethro Tull - TAAB 2 thanks @riskylogic
Joel, Billy - The Stranger
Joel, Billy - 52nd Street
John, Elton - Elton John
John, Elton - Madman Across The Water
John , Elton - Honky Chateau
John, Elton - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Johnson, Eric - Ah Via Musicom

Kansas - The Absence Of Presence thanks @riskylogic
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - The Traveller
King, Carole - Tapestry
King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King 40th and 50th
King Crimson Islands
King Crimson - Red
King Crimson - Beat
King Crimson - Thrak
King Crimson - The Power To Believe
Knopfler, Mark - Sailing To Philadelphia
Knopfler, Mark - Shangri La
Kooper, Al (with Bloomfield and Stills) Super Sessions
Kraftwork - 3d catalog - Autobahn
Kraftwerk - 3d Catalog - Man Machine

Led Zeppelin - Song Remains The Same
Lennon, John - Imagine, Ultimate Edition
Living Colour - Collideoscope
Love And Rockets - Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven thanks @riskylogic
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Southern Surroundings

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire
Manheim Steamroller - Fresh Aire 8 thanks @riskylogic
Marillion - Script For A Jester's Tear
Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
Marillion - Brave
Marillion - Afraid Of Sunlight
Marley, Bob - Legend
Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell
Monk, Thelonius - Supreme Jazz
Moody Blues - Days Of Future Passed
Moody Blues - In Search Of The Lost Chord
Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance
Moody Blues - Seventh Sojourn
Morrison, Van - Moondance
Mussorgsky, Modeste - Carlo Ponti - Pictures At An Exhibition+
Motorhead - Ace Of Spades
Mozart - 40th Symphony
Mozart - Rene Jacobs - Le Nozze Di Figaro (The Marriage Of Figaro)

Nektar - Journey To The Centre of The Eye Thanks @riskylogic
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/Lyre Of Orpheus
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
No Man - Schoolyard Ghosts Thanks @riskylogic
Numan, Gary - Anthology

Oldfield, Mike - Ommadawn
Oldfield, Mike - Five Miles Out
Oldfield, Mike - Crises thanks @Sordel 's overview
Oldfield, Mike - Return To Ommadawn thanks @riskylogic
Opeth - Deliverance / Damnation thanks @riskylogic
Opeth - Pale Communion
Opeth - In Cauda Venenum

Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day
Pineapple Thief - Dissolution
Pineapple Thief - Your Wilderness and 8 Years Later
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell
Pink Floyd - Endless River
Pixies - Doolittle thanks @Galactus2
Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream
Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (deluxe version 1) - Update on fixed copy
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing thanks @riskylogic
Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
Presley, Elvis - 30 #1 hits
Pure Prairie League - Two Lane Highway/If The Shoe Fits thanks @riskylogic

Queen - A Night At The Opera
Queen - The Game
Queensryche - Tribe thanks @riskylogic

REM - Green
REM - Automatic For The People
REM - Monster
REM - Around The Sun thanks @riskylogic
Renaissance - Turn Of The Cards thanks @riskylogic
Return to Forever - Musicmagic thanks @riskylogic
Rich, Charlie Behind Closed Doors
Riverside - Love, Fear And The Time Machine thanks @riskylogic
Riverside - Wasteland
Roxy Music - Roxy Music
Roxy Music - Avalon
Rundgren, Todd - Liars - Thanks @riskylogic
Rush - Fly By Night
Rush - 2112
Rush - A Farewell To Kings (Wilson version)
Rush - Hemispheres
Rush - Moving Pictures
Rush - Signals
Rush - Snakes And Arrows

Santana - Abraxas
Santana, Carlos - Miles, Buddy - Live thanks @riskylogic
Santana - Lotus
Shankar & Gingger - One In A Million thanks @riskylogic
Simple Minds - Sparkle In The Rain
Sly And The Family Stone - Greatest Hits
Soord, Bruce - All This Will Be Yours
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
Squire, Chris - Fish Out Of Water
Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle
Storm Corrosion (Wilson and Åkerfeldt) thanks @riskylogic


Talking Heads - Fear Of Music
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues
Talking Heads - Little Creatures
Talking Heads - Naked
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Tangerine Dream - Ricochet
Taylor, James - JT
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker - Neeme Jarvi
Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair
Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog
Thomas, Michael Tilson - Orff, Beethoven, Gershwin - Carmina Burana, An American In Paris, Rhapsody In Blue + more
Thompson, Richard - Rumour And Sigh
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Damn The Torpedoes
Tomita - Firebird
Toto - IV
Townsend, Devin - Empath
Townshend, Pete/Lane, Ronnie - Rough Mix
T Rex - Electric Warrior

Uk - Night After Night
Uriah Heep - Gold From The Byron Era
Uriah Heep - Best Of vol II

Velvet Underground - Re-Loaded

Wakeman, Rick - Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth
Waters, Roger - Amused to Death
Wayne, Jeff - War Of The Worlds
Weather Report - Tale Spinnin'
Who - Tommy
Who - Quadrophenia
Wilson, Steven - The Raven That Refused To Sing
Wilson, Steven - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Wilson, Steven - 4 1/2
Wilson, Steven - To The Bone
Wings - Band On The Run
Wings - Venus And Mars
Wishbone Ash - Bare Bones thanks @riskylogic

XTC - Drums And Wires
XTC - The Black Sea
XTC - Oranges and Lemons

Yes - The Yes Album
Yes - Close To The Edge
Yes - Tale Of Topographic Oceans
Yes - Relayer
Young, Neil - Harvest
Young, Neil - Greendale thanks @riskylogic

Zappa - Quaudiophiliac

 

Okay, maybe this was the best possible surround release license-able by D-V once you take Child Is Father and the next blockbuster off the table. Still, the weakest of the lot, even with a couple of intriguing opportunities.

The most significant for me being, the very lead track off Mirror Image, which has always sounded crappy on every stereo master I've ever heard, no matter which compilation it shows up on. I mean, seriously, why would anybody lead off a Blood, Sweat & Tears album with a mix that sounds like a third-generation cassette dub, obliterating the reputation for sound quality established in just the first two of their albums alone ( Come on! They managed to make Al Kooper sound so good on the debut album...I wasn't even aware he couldn't sing...!). So, I am the most interested in whether Mike Dutton could do anything to improve the sound quality of "Tell Me That I'm Wrong" in his quad release. But the satisfaction level of these two albums for a die-hard BS&T fan, make this one an iffy purchase...even at the twelve-dollar list price level. Besides, you have to consider, that meager sum could also score you an Earth, Wind & Fire two-fer instead...big duh...you mean, for this price, I could have either a carton of ice cream, or a bag of broccoli...? Oooh, what a choice...

I really loved Jerry Fischer's work, as well as the interesting stretching of the band in the two albums preceding these two. Getting David Clayton-Thomas back, as much as casual, traditional fans who'd only heard the hits, had loved his voice and power, was to me like a hail-mary as weak as, say, CBS bringing back Murphy Brown, or BMW bringing out a totally-re-designed AMC Gremlin. The longer DCT fronted the band, the less I liked both his performances and his song choices; returning to his old group showed me he had never learned anything from the solo albums he'd done in the interim. But replacing Fisher with LaCroix was a misstep in my opinion: weaker voice, not used well, and not what fans had been used to after years of hearing DCT on the radio...no way that was going to give the band back its' mainstream mojo (to be fair, LaCroix had just done a fill-in on a Rare Earth album as well, which I think he was better-suited to the material, if not a precise fit).

I seriously doubt my two better choices (that would be primarily, New Blood/No Sweat, or at least, 3/4), would even be in the running for a D-V release, or even if they have quad mixes worth a marketplace interest in licensing for release. But, if either were even a possibility with this already negotiated, I would still jump on those miles before this one.

Silk purse/sow's ear.