Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

In regard to the surround mix of ELP's Brain Salad Surgery, which has been done twice ...

One example of two surround mixes is Yes: Fragile.

The first surround mix was done in 2002 and released on a DVD-Audio disc.

When Steven Wilson remixed Yes for surround he did his own surround mix of fragile. The blu-ray version of Wilson's mix also includes the 2002 mix which is a nice touch

 

Well, there are sure a lot of titles there! Not the most compelling stuff on my surround sound list. Certainly a treasure trove of composers I'm not familiar with to check out...

 

Karn is continuous I believe. One of the other things I really like about the dvd-a

 

Remain In Light Dvd-a new for sixteen bucks - two left
https://www.amazon.com/Remain-Light.../ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

Lots of stuff im very unfamiliar with...they do a lot of classical, easy listening, some country...not much of my cup of tea either; however they've more recently delved into pop / rock titles which ARE more to my liking

Ex: guess who, paul revere n raiders, country rock: pure praire league

Im beginning to broaden my musical appreciation w a lil jazz like herbie hancock

So dig deep thru their catalog...they got Garfunkel too

U can read thru surround polls at the other site
Www.quadraphonicquad.com

 

XTC - Black Sea
This is a really special album to me. It was the first XTC album I'd ever heard back in 80-81, and after instantly falling in love with it, I immediately bought everything by them I could find. XTC very quickly became my favorite band and continued to be my main band throughout the 80's. This surround disc is incredible. Steven Wilson has done an exemplary job on these XTC titles. I really can't find any faults at all in the mix, every instrument and vocal can be heard clearly and is well positioned. I still feel that "Living Through Another Cuba" goes on for a bit too long, but that is a minor quibble. "No Language In Our Lungs", definitely one of the highlights of the album, is just phenomenal in surround, really immersive. The metallic percussion in the instrumental bridge on "Paper & Iron" was really shocking to me the first time I heard it, it's much louder than the original version. Now that I've gotten used to it, it's really cool. "Travels In Nihilon" has always been a personal favorite from this album, and the surround mix really does it justice. Hearing Andy's whispered vocal track so clearly really adds to the sense of doom, and that whiplash like percussive sound going back and forth in the rear speakers is just sonic perfection. It's really great that they included the era's extra tracks and b-sides on these discs, "Take This Town" is probably my favorite here, it's really cool hearing the 'don't treat her like that' backing vocals so clearly in the rear channels. Overall, if I were to rate this disc it would get a 10 out of 10. It's really a shame that the multi tracks for "English Settlement", "Mummer" & "The Big Express" are missing, it would be really nice to have all the albums in surround. But what we have so far is outstanding!

 

I have the dvda of fragile n enjoy it very much...have not spluged for the newer mix by steve wilson on bluray

Another mix thats been twice atleast is the Who s tommy...i have 2 disc set sacd...theres another newer mix on bluray which i dont have either...

Also another is deep purple machine head which the UK version is supposed to be the best but most have the Japan version which ive read is not as discreet as the UK version

 

I will be devastated if they don't find English Settlement.
I thought they had the Big Express tapes?

 

Like you I have Fragile DVD-A and due to the awesomeness of other SW remixes decided to double-dip. After A/B'ing (which is easy due to both mixes being included on the SW disc) I much prefer Mr. Wilson's surround mix as it makes greater use of the surround sound field than the older one does and provides a more immersed and enjoyable listening experience.

 

I can confirm that K9-1st Impression is a continuous play.

 

If I recall correctly, according to Andy, they have some of the multi's for Big Express & Mummer, then again, Andy's been missing from Twitter for quite a few months now, maybe more have been found since? He was also teasing us about the next release, and then quit Twitter. I'm thinking it's either one of the first two or the last two.

 

I'm flipping through my newly arrived copy of Mix magazine, and on page 16 there's a news bit about a Nashville facility called Blackbird demonstrating their Dolby Atmos music studio - equipped entirely with very expensive ATC monitors (including some of the same ones that Kate Bush has in her studio.)

They say:

Attendees were treated to a listening session with a wide variety of tracks including Elton John's Rocket Man, Beck's 7th Heaven and, for the first time ever, Prince's When Doves Cry, newly mixed by multi Grammy award-winning engineer David Leonard who was in the room to discuss the latest mix of this legendary track.

 

Well some Prince in 5.1 would be awesome, bring it to the table guys!

 

Kindly remind me of which ones you're getting. I either missed it, or just can't find it.

For surround XTC, I only have Drums & Wires and Black Sea. Great places to start, especially since they were mixed by Steven Wilson, but I'm also interested in hearing about other surround XTC albums.

I keep lobbying Chrysalis and Ultravox to start doing some of their classic albums in surround, but they dutifully keep ignoring me.

 

I have on their way from New Zealand to Australia XTC's Oranges & Lemons and Black Sea.

I bought Nonsuch in 2014 and Drums and Wires in 2015

 

In the same issue they have one of their deep dives into recording of a single song about Let's Go Crazy, and they interview Susan.

 

I found a link to the article:

https://www.mixonline.com/news/blackbird-studio-dolby-atmos

5.1? Pshaw! Try 9.1.6:

Blackbird’s 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos reference/mix room is outfitted with ATC SCM300ASL Pro speakers (L-C-R), ATC SCM100ASL Pro speakers (six top and three per side) and ATC SCM1-15ASL Sub (single-15s, with four front, two rear/side)
​

6 subwoofers sounds like something that would have a good chance of rearranging your internal organs.

 

Elton and Billy are ahead, but there is still time to vote for this week's choices. link above

 

I have the Machine Head 5.1 done by Roger Glover (bass player). It’s very, very good.

 

Madman Across the Water



Studio album by
Elton John
Released 5 November 1971[1]
Recorded 27 February; 9, 11, 14 August 1971[2]
Studio Trident Studios
(London, England)
Genre Progressive rock[3]
Length 45:17
Label Uni, DJM
Producer Gus Dudgeon

Madman Across the Water was the fourth studio album released by Elton John, as well as his third album to be released in 1971, at which point John had been rising to prominence as a popular music artist. It contains 9 tracks, each composed and performed by John and with lyrics written by songwriting partner Bernie Taupin as with his previous material. As with all of John's other studio albums at the time, Madman featured John's touring band, which consisted of bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson on only a single song, due to producer Gus Dudgeon's lack of faith in the group for studio recordings. Instead, most of the tracks were backed by studio players and string arrangements put together by Paul Buckmaster. Davey Johnstone, who had previously worked with Dudgeon as a part of Magna Carta, was also put on as the main guitarist.[5] Murray and Olsson would later be fully featured in John's succeeding album, Honky Château.[5] Later band member, percussionist Ray Cooper makes his first appearance with this album. This was John's last album to be recorded at London's Trident Studios, although subsequent albums would be remixed or overdubbed at Trident. Caleb Quaye and Roger Pope would not play with John again until Rock of the Westies in 1975, following Murray and Olsson's departure from the band.

The album's title song was initially set to be released on John's previous album Tumbleweed Connection, featuring guitarist Mick Ronson as the primary musician; however, it was set aside and was re-recorded for this album, with Johnstone on the guitar.[5] The earlier version was included on the remastered Tumbleweed Connection CD. Dispelling rumours that the song‘s lyric referred to then US President Richard Nixon, Bernie Taupin had this to say:

“ Back in the seventies, when people were saying that "Madman Across the Water" was about Richard Nixon, I thought, That is genius. I could never have thought of that.[6] ”
Madman Across the Water was one of John's lowest-charting album efforts. It continued a streak of mediocre performance in the UK for John, peaking at No. 41 on the UK Albums Chart[5] and spending two weeks there. The album fared much better in North America, peaking at No. 8 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums[5] and later on at No. 10 on the year-end list of 1972.[7] It received Gold by the RIAA in February 1972, achieving $1 million in sales at wholesale value just in the United States. In 1993, the album was certified Platinum, representing shipments of more than 1 million units in the US.[8] In 1998, the album was certified Multi-Platinum, representing shipments of over 2 million units in the US.[8] In May 2017 the album was certified Silver for sales of 60,000 units by the British Phonographic Industry.

When it was released in 'The Classic Years' collection, it was the first album not to feature any bonus tracks. One known track recorded at the time, "Rock Me When He's Gone", was released on the 1992 compilation Rare Masters. The song was written for and recorded by one of John's long-time friends, Long John Baldry. This was John's first album to feature Davey Johnstone, who contributed acoustic guitar, mandolin and sitar. He would join John's band full-time for Honky Château.

• Elton John – piano, vocals
• Brian Dee – harmonium (2)
• Rick Wakeman – Hammond organ (3, 4, 7)
• Jack Emblow – accordion (3)
• Diana Lewis – ARP synthesizer (4, 7)
• Caleb Quaye – electric guitar (1, 2, 3), acoustic guitar (6)
• B. J. Cole – steel guitar (1)
• Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar (1, 4, 7), mandolin (6), sitar (6)
• Chris Spedding – electric guitar (4), slide guitar (7)
• David Glover – bass guitar (1, 3, 6)
• Brian Odgers – bass guitar (2)
• Herbie Flowers – bass guitar (4, 5, 7)
• Chris Laurence – double bass (5)
• Dee Murray – bass guitar (8)
• Roger Pope – drums (1, 3, 6)
• Barry Morgan – drums (2)
• Terry Cox – drums (4, 5, 7)
• Nigel Olsson – drums (8)
• Ray Cooper – percussion (4), tambourine (7, 8)
• Paul Buckmaster – orchestral arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9)
• David Katz – orchestra contractor
• Lesley Duncan, Sue & Sunny, Barry St. John, Liza Strike, Roger Cook, Tony Burrows, Terry Steele, Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson – backing vocals (1, 6, 7)
• Cantores em Ecclesia Choir – backing vocals (5, 8)
• Robert Kirby – choir director

Production

• Gus Dudgeon – producer, liner notes
• Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer
• Tony Cousins – remastering
• Gus Skinas – editing
• Ricky Graham – digital transfers
• Greg Penny – surround sound
• Crispin Murray – assistant
• David Larkham – art direction, design, illustrations, photography, cover photo
• Gill – artwork
• Yanis – artwork
• Bob Gruen – photography
• John Tobler – liner notes

Side one
1. "Tiny Dancer" 6:15
2. "Levon" 5:22
3. "Razor Face" 4:44
4. "Madman Across the Water" 5:56
Side two
1. "Indian Sunset" 6:45
2. "Holiday Inn" 4:17
3. "Rotten Peaches" 4:56
4. "All the Nasties" 5:08
5. "Goodbye" 1:48
---------------------------------------------------
I am guessing virtually nobody needs an introduction to Elton. One of the most flamboyant of the seventies rock/pop stars, who has released music now for the better part of five decades. Everybody will have an opinion on whether that music is good, and when it was good, but there was a patch between 1970 and probably 1975, where Elton released 9 albums that are pretty much universally acclaimed as his best, and remarkably good, especially when one considers that is nearly two albums a year.
Interestingly the album Elton John hasn't been recertified since 1971, and remains at 500,000, or gold in the US, but all the others have since been certified platinum with sales between one and three million each, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road having sold 8 million. Definitely a nice run, that didn't really end there.
Anyway today we are looking at Elton's fourth album Madman Across The Water, with certified sales of two million, as certified in 1998, which was actually only his third album in the US, with Empty Sky only being released in the US in 1975.
At this stage of his career Elton was writing with Bernie Taupin, and they have a storied writing relationship. Elton would write the music and Taupin the lyrics, and their success was quite incredible all through the decades, but particularly in the seventies. From 72-75 Elton had seven albums in a row go to number one in the US, which was a first. In 1975 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, an autobiographical album debuted at number one, which was the first album to do so.
This album is among good company, and really, you can get any album from this period, and if you like Elton, you will be pleased with it. This album had two singles Levon and Tiny Dancer, which didn't really set the charts on fire, but Tiny Dancer has gone on to sell three million copies of the single.

Like the majority of these albums, this was released in 2004 on sacd, as a 5.1 album, and I highly recommend all of them. They are all very well done, and we can only hope that a few more artists from the period will move on to release good sections of their back catalog in 5.1.
The Elton albums released at the time were
Elton John
Tumbleweed Connection
Madman Across The Water
Honky Chateau
Goodbye Yellow Brick road
Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
Surprisingly this album is still in print, and available new on amazon for about $18, with a 2-5 week lead in time.
https://www.amazon.com/Madman-Across-Water-Elton-John/dp/B00064X3EK
On discogs it is available from $9.50
Elton John - Madman Across The Water (SACD, US, 2004) For Sale | Discogs
and still available at Acoustic Sounds new for $19.98
Elton John-Madman Across The Water-Hybrid Multichannel SACD|Acoustic Sounds
So that's a relief.

The 5.1 was Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Greg Penny

Tiny Dancer
We open with solo piano and vocal, and has some space in the zone, but it is subtle.
As the song starts to smoothly fill out, we get a guitar left, steel guitar right. A nice round sub on the bottom end, sounds very balanced. It sounds beautifully recorded and produced to me.
A chorus of ahhh's to the left.
In the chorus the strings wrap all round beautifully.
The arrangement of this song is wonderful, and this setting really sets that off well.
The prime listening spot for this is slightly forward.
Great stuff.

Levon
There is a country feel about many of these tracks.
Starting again with solo piano and vocal, and I think an organ subtly riding underneath in the rears.
Again we kick in with a really nice drum sound, with strings sitting nice and wide in the mix. Davey Johnston's guitar is left again.
Another really nice mix.

Razor Face
An organ right, piano up front. The organ ends up through the rears.
Then at the change the guitar is left, and organ is right.
Again, as I tend to like, this album has a really nice balanced sound. Again it sounds so well recorded and produced.
The organ gets a sort of lead, with a piano accordion just left of the front left speaker, getting a good workout.
The guitar organ, and piano accordion are having somewhat of a jam here, and it works really well, into the fade.

Madman Across The Water
Here we start with an acoustic guitar, just left of front left, and then the piano comes in.
Electric guitar comes in on the right side. Some percussion right rear. Strings again get a nice full sound in the rears.
Beautiful slow fade back to the acoustic, works like a fake ending, and then the next verse comes in.
The prolonged water final vocal gets a really nice, smooth slide to the rears.
Really nice groove in this song too.

Indian Sunset
A synth swell into the rears, and then a solo vocal, with nice reverb sends to the rears.
Horns come up nicely on the right.
They smoothly get a little right rear action.
This is an extremely effective intro to this song. Dare I say excellent deep track.
The strings ride in for a crescendo, then we move back to the slightly stripped back opening section.
The song moves into another smooth dynamic swell.
Then we have another somewhat false fade to a slightly more augmented intro section, with nice strings gradually swelling to the end of the verse.
We get a nice coda that ends quite suddenly.

Holiday Inn
This starts with a somewhat bluegrass feel.
We get mandolin right. It sounds like a banjo to the right, although I don't see a banjo credit.
A really nice full mix, with b box and strings filling the soundstage really well.
We fall back to a mandolin right, acoustic guitar left, and then swell back up to the fully filled out band sound.

Rotten Peaches
Slide guitar front right. A nice steady hat's or shaker in the rear also, with strings. Percussive acoustic right side.
B box both sides.
I am not familiar with Greg Penny, but he has delivered the goods with this album, we get a very dynamically immersive mix that really accentuates how good this album is. Although I am no audiophile, nor want to be, but I would say he has done an excellent job mastering this as well. With a very natural ambiance rising and falling naturally with the band/song.

All The Nasties
Piano and gentle strings, front and rears respectively.
Are there two piano's in here?
This ends up being a slightly unusual mix.
Elton sings oh my soul right side, and then we get a crescendo that has Elton either side choir up front that gradually gets thicker and thicker and ends up being really effective... initially I was going to suggest this was the least of the mixed but it really sets a standard with the crescendo coda.

Goodbye
We get piano and strings, in this short closing track.
Again beautifully balanced with piano front, and strings rear.
This track works as a very good album coda of sorts.

What a great album and mix.
This is a very satisfying mix. There are occasions I suppose where the more critical listener may suggest that on occasion the strings may be ever so slightly loud, but to me, I think this albums works incredibly well. It sounds so beautifully recorded and produced and this mix is a great enhancement to a great album.
I feel fairly confident in say that if you love Elton and surround, you need to hunt down all these 5.1 sacd's. Memory tells me that they are all extremely well done, and well worth adding to the collection.
Each of these albums is obviously Elton, but each has its own sound and feel, and unless you just don't like Elton, one could easily listen to these albums back to back and not get bored with them.

 

The Stranger


Studio album by
Billy Joel
Released September 1977
Recorded July–August 1977
Studio A&R Recording, Inc., New York City
Genre Rock Pop
Length 42:34
Label Columbia
Producer Phil Ramone

The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer Billy Joel, released in September 1977 by Columbia Records. It was the first of Joel's albums to be produced by Phil Ramone, with whom he would go on to work for all of his albums up until his 1986 album The Bridge.[1]

The Stranger was released a year following Joel's previous studio effort, Turnstiles, which had sold modestly and peaked low on the US charts, prompting Columbia to consider dropping Joel if his next release did not sell well. Joel wanted the album to feature his newly-formed touring band that had formed during the production of Turnstiles, which consisted of drummer Liberty DeVitto, bass player Doug Stegmeyer and saxophonist Richie Cannata. Seeking out a new producer, he first turned to veteran Beatles producer George Martin before coming across and settling on Ramone, whose name he had seen on albums by other artists such as Paul Simon. Recording took place across the span of three weeks, with Devitto, Stegmeyer and Cannata being featured in addition to other studio musicians filling in as guitarists on various songs.

Spending six weeks at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200, The Stranger is considered Joel's critical and commercial breakthrough. Four singles were released in the US, all of which became top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, including "Just the Way You Are" (no. 3), "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", "She's Always a Woman" (both no. 17), and "Only the Good Die Young" (no. 24). Other songs, such as "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Vienna", have become staples of his career and are frequently performed in his live shows. The album won two awards at the 1978 Grammy Awards, winning Record of the Year as well as Song of the Year for "Just the Way You Are". It remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date, and surpassed Bridge Over Troubled Water to become Columbia's best-selling album release, with more than 10 million units sold worldwide. It was ranked at No.  70 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

• Billy Joel – vocals, acoustic piano, keyboards, synthesizers, Fender Rhodes
• Richie Cannata – organ, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute, tuba
• Dominic Cortese – accordion (4, 5)
• Richard Tee – organ (9)
• Hiram Bullock – electric guitar
• Steve Khan – six and twelve string electric guitars, acoustic rhythm guitar, high string guitar
• Hugh McCracken – acoustic guitar (3, 4, 7, 8, 9)
• Steve Burgh – acoustic guitar (3, 7), electric guitar (4)
• Doug Stegmeyer – bass guitar
• Liberty DeVitto – drums
• Ralph MacDonald – percussion (2, 3, 8, 9)
• Phil Woods – alto saxophone (3)
• Patrick Williams – orchestration
• Patti Austin – backing vocals (9)
• Lani Groves – backing vocals (9)
• Gwen Guthrie – backing vocals (9)
• Phoebe Snow – backing vocals (9)

Production[edit]

• Phil Ramone – producer, engineer
• Jim Boyer – engineer
• Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York).
• Kathy Kurs – production assistance
• Jim Houghton – photography

1. "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" 3:30
2. "The Stranger" 5:10
3. "Just the Way You Are" 4:52
4. "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" 7:37
5. "Vienna" 3:34
6. "Only the Good Die Young" 3:55
7. "She's Always a Woman" 3:21
8. "Get It Right the First Time" 3:57
9. "Everybody Has a Dream" (LP and cassette include a reprise of "The Stranger", however *the 8-track does not include the reprise) 6:38
Total length: 42:34
--------------------------------------------------
The Stranger is just one of those albums where everybody, pretty much is familiar with it.
Billy Joel is one of those artists that many just don't like, and I am not exactly sure why. A great writer, singer and piano player, who wrote so many great songs, that I think some got sick of hearing him. I have never really had that problem with him to be honest, and consider myself a fan, even if I don't actually have all his albums.
Early on in his career Joel had recording and producing problems. He wanted his band recorded live in the studio to capture their raw live sound, but the life was sometimes taken out of the tracks, even though they were excellent pieces of writing. The best representation of these early songs is almost certainly the single live album Songs In The Attic, which really shows, how good Joel's band and he were, and also how good these songs could sound, recorded and produced in the right way.
With The Stranger Joel started working with Phil Ramone and he and Ramone really worked together well. This is the first Ramone production and really the big breakthrough album that put Joel front and centre on the world stage. It went on to be certified with ten million sales in 2003, and has certainly sold even more since then.
This album contains a great variety of sounds and styles, with the wonderful pop rock of Anthony's Song (Moving Out), the wonderful balladry of Just The Way You Are, and She's Always a Woman, The good time rock fun of Only the Good Die Young, the funky vibe of the title track set in a rock zone, and then probably the centrepiece of the album, the virtually progressive Scene's From An Italian Restaurant.
This album ends up being, like Queen's Night At The Opera, and 10cc's Original Soundtrack, the album the artist had to make to survive in the turbulent time of the seventies. In all those instances with the artists back up against the wall, they not only secured another album, but set themselves up for life with reaching, adventurous and creative work, that contained great writing, that even if it doesn't last the ages, is certainly well loved and remembered for its greatness at this point in time.
From this point on, Joel continued to release blockbuster albums, pretty much all through the rest of his career, and has left a legacy, that most are comfortable, give him a place in the halls of the greats

Sadly this album gets the out of print status, but is thankfully still very affordable.
Starting from $37.30 on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Billy-Joel/dp/B00004YC0D
On discogs it starts at $55.56
Billy Joel - The Stranger
There is the US pressing at discogs with only one copy at $120.02
Billy Joel - The Stranger

There are copies on Ebay, but i am not confident about some of their credentials so I am not willing to post a link. If you type in Billy Joel The Stranger sacd, or 5.1 quite a few will come up. there is one that is definitely 5.1, but comes from Honk Kong, and I know there are bootlegs often come from Honk Kong... roughly $32 ... but there were a lot of stereo only sacd's for this album also, so if you are looking for the 5.1 please be careful what you order.

The 5.1 mix was produced by Phil Ramone
Mixed by Frank Filipetti
and Remastered by Ted Jensen

All my memories tell me this is also a great mix, but the only real way to be accurate, is to put it on. Last night with some friends we listened to 52nd street in 5.1 and it is very well done indeed, no disappointments or poor memory on that one.
For the record and a bit of a sideline we also listened to Weather Report Tale Spinnin' which is an excellent Dutton-Vocalion release, that I highly recommend if you like Zawinul or Weather Report. Jeff Beck Group (orange) which sounded very good, but I had had a few beers by then.

Movin' Out
Percussive keyboard right, hats right rear. Nice bvox right rear. Sax riff through the rears. Heart attack ack ack slowly moves from front speakers to the sides.
This is a mix to sit fairly well forward for optimal position. Although clear enough to sit back and be satisfied.
Excellent balanced immersive mix.

The Stranger
Nice effect send for the reverb on the piano and whistling of the intro melody.
Guitar riff right side, strings left. Nice rhythm guitar just wide of front left.
This is a much more dense mix than I have noticed before, and the balance here is beautiful.
We have rhythm and percussive elements all round that creates a really cool immersive groove.
In the reprise of the intro we get the trap set just to the left, and in this instance it works really nicely. The whistling and piano are reversed in order. I never really noticed that before.
Excellent work here.

Just The Way You Are
Again this album has a nice smooth bottom end, via the sub.
Acoustic guitar left. Percussion right rear. Bell ring right side. The 10cc-like ahh's swell left side and we get really nice strings during the sax solo that is right in your face.
Again excellent.

Scene's From An Italian Restaurant.
Probably my favourite song here.
Nice wide piano, piano accordion beautifully balanced in the rears. Acoustic rhythm left.
Cymbals get some nice right rear treatment. The bottom end is lovely.
This is really nice mix all round.
We have nice immersion, and the fairly dense instrumentation manages to remain unified, but still able to be picked out individually with focus.

Vienna
Carnival style piano intro the settles to a choral arrangement.
Nice ride cymbal on the left. Strings get the surrounds nicely... could be synth strings?
Piano accordion gets a nice mix in the rears.
A nice deep cut this one, with a bit of a Broadway feel.

Only The Good Die Young
This was my favourite as a young fella.
Handclaps in the rears. Organ right. Acoustic rhythm left.
Again, excellent balance and unity of the instrumental sounds, with the sax solo in the middle of your head.
The horn additions either side nicely also.

She's Always A Woman
I have always loved this song.
A nice front mix, giving the intro a nice lonely feel.
Then we get arpeggio guitars either side. Gentle strings up front that are joined subtly in the rears.
Like a lacquered jigsaw puzzle this fits together beautifully.

Get It Right The First time
We get a full trap set across the field, a popular choice for this mix.
Probably the lesser of the songs on this album, still well done though. The mix has all sorts going on. The percussion is certainly the main bed here, with everything slotted in nicely around the field.
I had never really paid attention to how dense the mix is on this album. That always is a good thing for surround.

Everybody Has A Dream
The big ballad closer, starts gently.
Back box all round. Organ left, with some sends right.
We end with another solid mix.

This is an excellent album, and this remix was released in 2001.
We get a nice immersive, somewhat wall of sound feel from this album, that is beautifully balanced with some nice use of dynamics, in the writing, arrangement, and production.
The album closes out with a reprise of the Stranger, mellow barroom jazz feel. The added strings/mellotron? Add really nicely to this extended reprise.
So this is another album that i feel i can highly recommend the 5.1 mix. I think it delivers the goods.

 

excellent choices. Love madman 5.1. I have all the Elton sacds and they all sound great. wish he would release them all! Madman is one of his better albums I think.
I have the japan deluxe 40th edition of the stranger, its a nice set. Packaging and sound are top notch.

what is the closest gas station to my location

 

Phaedra


1974 LP album cover, by Edgar Froese
Studio album by
Tangerine Dream
Released 20 February 1974
Recorded November 1973
Studio The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell, England
Genre Electronic music[1][2] kosmische ambient[2]
Length 37:33
Label Virgin
Producer Edgar Froese

Phaedra is the fifth studio album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. It was recorded during November 1973 at The Manor in Shipton-on-Cherwell, England and released on 20 February 1974 through Virgin Records. This is the first Tangerine Dream album to feature their now classic sequencer-driven sound, which is considered to have greatly influenced the Berlin School genre.[3]

The album marked the beginning of the group's international success and was their first album released on the Virgin label. It achieved six-figure sales in the UK, reaching number 15 in the UK Albums Chart in a 15-week run,[4] with virtually no airplay, only by strong word of mouth. It also earned the group a gold disc in seven countries,[5] and yet in their native Germany it sold barely 6,000 units.[6]

On hearing a set of recordings Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke had made earlier in the year at Skyline Studios in Berlin, Virgin Records' Richard Bransonoffered the group a five-year contract and was keen for them to record in UK. A modular Moog synthesizer was bought with the advance and the trio arrived at The Manor, in Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire in the winter of 1973.[7]

The entire album was recorded in less than six weeks, with the first recording session taking place on 20 November 1973. Some of the music was recorded with the help of Froese's wife, Monique. Interviewed by Mark J. Prendergast, Froese recalled:

Phaedra was the first album in which many things had to be structured. The reason was that we were using the Moog sequencer (all driving bass notes) for the first time. Just tuning the instrument took several hours each day, because at the time there were no pre-sets or memory banks. We worked each day from 11 o'clock in the morning to 2 o'clock at night. By the 11th day we barely had 6 minutes of music on tape. Technically everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The tape machine broke down, there were repeated mixing console failures and the speakers were damaged because of the unusually low frequencies of the bass notes. After 12 days of this we were completely knackered. Fortunately, after a two-day break in the countryside a new start brought a breakthrough. 'Mysterious Semblance' was recorded on Dec 4th. Pete and Chris were asleep after a long day's recording session so I invited my wife, Monique, into the studio. I called in the studio engineer and recorded it in one take on a double-keyboarded Mellotron while Monique turned the knobs on a phasing device. This piece is on the record exactly as it was recorded that day. And this practice was to continue for the rest of the session.[7]

The title track was originally based on an improvisation recorded in the studio, and unintentionally exhibits one of the limitations of the analog equipment used at the time. As the equipment warmed up, some of the oscillators began to detune (they were highly temperature-sensitive), which was responsible for some of the changes in the music towards the end of the piece.

Both the title track and "Movements of a Visionary" rely on Franke's use of the Moog analog sequencer as a substitute for bass guitar. "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" features Froese soloing on a Mellotron which is treated to slowly sweeping filter effects. "Sequent C'" is a short but memorable piece by Peter Baumann on flute, with tape echo.

The sleeve design and cover painting are by Froese.[8]

• Edgar Froese – production, mellotron, guitar, bass, VCS 3 synthesizer, organ, cover painting
• Chris Franke – moog synthesizer, VCS 3 synthesizer
• Peter Baumann – organ, electric piano, VCS 3 synthesizer, flute

1. "Phaedra" Froese, Franke, Baumann 17:39
2. "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" Froese 9:55
3. "Movements of a Visionary" Froese, Franke, Baumann 7:56
4. "Sequent 'C'" Baumann 2:13
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had a copy of this on vinyl as a fairly young pup. Introduced to the band, by the same bass player that introduced me to Zappa. I was still a teenager, and I was a hyperactive singer, guitarist, so at the time this didn't really work for me. Over the Years I have grown to enjoy this much more. When I got the Tangerine Dream box set that this was in, I was very pleased with it, but this is only my second listen so I am leaving my main thoughts open for the listen I am about to have.

I thought it may be nice to go through something a little more recently released, and this is one album from the box set.
This is the Amazon description of what's on this set ...
-------
Limited 18 disc (16 CDs + two Blu-ray) set. Tangerine Dream were one of the true pioneers of electronic and ambient music and the albums they recorded for Virgin Records between 1973 and 1979 remain classics of the genre. In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973 - 1979 is the definitive statement of this period in Tangerine Dream's history, featuring newly remastered versions of the albums Phaedra, Rubycon, Ricochet, Stratosfear, Encore, Cyclone and Force Majeure all drawn from the original first-generation master tapes, and new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes of Phaedra and Ricochet by Steven Wilson. In Search of Hades includes eight CDs of previously unreleased material; three London concerts in full (Victoria Palace Theatre in 1974, The Rainbow Theatre in 1974 and Royal Albert Hall in 1975) along with the previously unreleased full soundtrack to Oedipus Tyrannus, recorded in July 1974 and remixed in 5.1 surround sound and stereo by Steven Wilson. Also includes two CDs of previously unreleased outtakes from the Phaedra sessions at The Manor Studios, Oxfordshire in November 1973 and the surviving 35-minute live recording from Coventry Cathedral in October 1975. The box set features two Blu-ray discs featuring the 5.1 mixes of Phaedra, Oedipus Tyrannus and Ricochet, along with a 1976 German TV performance and BBC Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast of Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral. In Search of Hades is lavishly packaged with a hardback book featuring new liner notes and rare photographs and memorabilia.
-------
This is not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but with two fairly mainstream albums this morning, I thought it may be nice to go through something a little more alternate to balance things out.

Still in stock at Amazon it is currently at $238.99
https://www.amazon.com/Search-Hades-Virgin-Recordings-1973-1979/dp/B07QH1GWDP
Barnes And Noble have it for about $144
In Search of Hades [16CD/2 Blu-Ray Audio Box Set]
Deep Discount $156
Tangerine Dream In Search Of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979 [Import] on DeepDiscount
Import cd's $143
Tangerine Dream In Search Of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979 [Import] on ImportCDs
Discogs starting at $200
Tangerine Dream - In Search Of Hades (The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979)
Ebay $142 - new
Tangerine Dream-In Search Of Hades (UK IMPORT) CD NEW | eBay

So this is still readily available new, and already there is a wide range of prices. I know that it may seem a bit rich to some folks, but if you like the band, there really is a wide selection of stuff on here, and I would think fans would find the $140 region prices to be quite fair in light of the actual content.

anyhow.
Ray Shulman of Gentle Giant did the bluray Authoring
This is a Steven Wilson project, and he has done the 5.1

Phaedra
A swell brings the whole field into play. An excellent mellow burbling instantly through your head.
This is somewhat ambient electronic music, so it really is suited to this format.
Percussive synth left. Piano notes right.
A nice through the head feel with more pad-like synth.
We have some really effective synth sounds with cool effects, doing some nice through the head effects .. in fact really nice.
The somewhat soundtrack nature of the music really lends itself to this type of mix really well.
We get the percussive main keys sitting up front, with all these subtle little sounds coming in with great effect in the surround field.
This surround mix really elevates the value and interest level in this music for me. It gives the arrangement more texture and ability to draw the listener in. Certainly not everybody's thing, but definitely entertaining in this set up.
This is almost trance inducing stuff. The care and subtlety of this arrangement is really brought out in the super clean and clear mix.
The space, actually enhances the surround mix of this..
The somewhat bird call quality of the synth around the 12 minute mark gets some movement and is also very effective, but there are so many subtle little bits and pieces in this mix, it really is a joy to experience.
Prior to its release someone stated that the pad synth applications in this, made 5.1 a little redundant, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The whole feel, sound and mix here, works beautifully and raises this work in my mind, quite considerably.
A really nice ambient sfx fade out also.

Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares
We slide into this piece smoothly.
This probably isn't party music, but it is an engaging listen, in the right mood.
This piece has some nice mellow string sounds left and right, with some synth that may well have been the inspiration for the Jean Michel Jarre classic Oxygene's more quiet sections.
There is a gentle circling feel here, with some really nice subtle surround panning. That gives this a great dreamlike feel.
If you're in the mood for Sabbath, this isn't the album to put on, but if you want your brain gently caressed and calmed, this is sensational.
Something for the young folk to understand is that these guys weren't using computer presets here. These are old analog synths and they were creating these sound via synth programming, before all those presets existed.

Movements of a Visionary
Nice trippy sound effects sliding through the sound field here, and extremely effective. These are evocative tunes, that rely as much, if not more on texture than necessarily melody. Which isn't to say there isn't melody.
These are grand textures that in this format at least are engaging, soothing and slightly challenging all at the same time.
On the screen you have the album cover and a somewhat hypnotic microdot, version of the cover gently swirling behind it.
Again we have this layering of synth sounds creating, a wonderful sound field that has this perpetually hypnotic feel about it, with rhythmic and melodic elements combining to give you a nice aural journey.

Sequent 'C
Here, gentle swells create almost a coda for the album, with all those nice surround atmospheres combining really well, for a relaxing outdo to this texturally beautiful album.

This is a mighty fine piece of work, from the band, and Wilson. The album give you a gentle flowing journey, that is very pleasurable. The surround aspect, as far as I am concerned really gives you value for money and manages to recreate headphones, that are better than headphones.

If you like Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, or any of the early synth/ambient/mellow music that started to appear in the early seventies, this is a very highly recommended package. It may contain more than a newbie wants, but it is thorough and done with exceptional taste and skill.
As someone who wasn't sure about this, and nearly didn't get it, I am extremely glad that I did. Wonderful piece of work.

 

The Elton John and Billy Joel multichannel SACDS are examples of how fine 5.1 can be done.

 

Playing the 2014 deluxe edition version and like what I'm hearing. Tastefully done with all speakers engaging in a very even mix, not sure why it took me five years to sit down with this one?!