Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

excellent review and write up. Love the album and hoping they release this separately like they did the division bell a few years back.

 

I think they will miss out on a lot of sales if they don't.
I think/hope, they just want to get the desperate dans like me to get the box before they show any sign of individual release

 

your right. I think most just want the cd/and or vinyl of the remix versions and having the option of buying a separate blu-ray audio. I think the past Fleetwood mac sets were done right, pretty much came with everything without costing a ton of money.

 

I think it's about time that the companies realise that the 5.1 market is a distinct market, and we don't generally want a vinyl, cd and 5.1 hi res copy ... I personally don't have much use for tour booklets, stickers, posters etc ... I tend to look at them (maybe) once and then they just sit taking up space.
The Floyd box was particularly irritating for me, because I already have the Division Bell and Endless River 5.1's
It has a bunch of great stuff in it.
Delicate Sound Of Thunder concert movie - they seem to have done a really nice job of this.
Pulse concert movie
Knebworth and Venice concerts
A movie for the Endless River 5.1
A bunch of cool stuff.
The reality is though, had they been released separately I would have bought the 5 0r 6 blurays, and I'd be sweet. 6 blurays @ 30 each $180

 

Apparently, Richard Chycki doesn't realize that we can already do that for free with Dolby Pro Logic II!

 

This Week's votes/choices

 

A Momentary Lapse of Reason

Thanks for the great review.

I just experienced the 5.1 mix earlier today. I really like it. I am not sure the reworking of parts works all the way through (I think it sounds a bit dull on terminal frost for example) but the mix is great.

Learning to Fly and One Slip are highlights from the first "side" but Sorrow in particular is a fantastic mix with total immersion in the backing vocals.

On to the Division Bell when I get time!

 

With the recent batch of stuff, and actual life to live, time is hard to find isn't it lol

 

Just spun the Talking Heads Little Creatures In 5.1 surround. Sweet remix.

 

Voyage of the Acolyte

Studio album by Steve Hackett
Released October 1975
Recorded June–July 1975
Studio Kingsway Recorders, Kingsway, London
Genre Progressive rock
Length 40:52
Label Charisma
Producer Steve Hackett, John Acock

Voyage of the Acolyte is the first studio album by English guitarist, songwriter, and singer Steve Hackett, released in October 1975 on Charisma Records as his only album recorded and released while he was a member of Genesis. Hackett recorded the album during a break in group activity in mid-1975 and used guest musicians, including Genesis bassist Mike Rutherford and drummer Phil Collins, to play on the record. It has a loose concept with the title and lyrics of each track inspired by a Tarot card.

By 1975, Hackett had been the guitarist in the progressive rock band Genesis for four years. He began to write sections of different songs while recording albums with Genesis, specifically at moments when his "services weren't really called upon, and I found I had a lot of spare time". By this time, Hackett had become increasingly frustrated from the band's packed touring schedule which had affected his creativeness, and had a growing desire to work with a new set of musicians. He had written pieces without any specific project in mind, including those for instruments other than the guitar and another for a female vocalist, but after a while of this he had assembled enough ideas to form an album. Development was put on hold in late 1974 due to Genesis touring commitments with their album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974), but Hackett remained productive and continued to write in his hotel room each night which kept him "sane" and help calm his stage nerves.

When it came to a direction of the album, Hackett thought of a loose concept from his newfound interest in Tarot cards, which he used to title the album's tracks, and their lyrics, based on various cards in a deck. He took the cards that had conjured the strongest feeling and "mapped out a way of working", such as having "Star of Sirius" a "poppy" track to reflect the optimism that the corresponding Tarot card depicts. A track left off the album was one named "The Fool", which had Hackett play in a style similar to that of Pete Townshend to a song that was like "ELO meets The Who", but he chose not to use it. Some of Hackett's material originated from his pre-Genesis days. Hackett had convinced Genesis to rehearse "Shadow of the Hierophant" as a potential song for Foxtrot, but it fell through. It marked their first collaboration on an album which has continued through Hackett's solo career. The album also signified Hackett's first attempts at playing keyboards, and aimed for an album that had a more layered sound.

The album's original title was Premonitions, but management at Charisma disliked it and suggested Voyage of the Acolyte, to which Hackett agreed.

The album's cover is a Chinese watercolour painting by Brazilian artist Kim Poor, whom Hackett later married and produced many of his future album covers. Hackett dedicated Voyage of the Acolyte to Poor.

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Hackett, except where indicated.[7]

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Ace of Wands" 5:23
2. "Hands of the Priestess, Part I" 3:28
3. "A Tower Struck Down" S. Hackett, John Hackett 4:53
4. "Hands of the Priestess, Part II" 1:31
5. "The Hermit" 4:49
6. "Star of Sirius" 7:08
7. "The Lovers" 1:50
8. "Shadow of the Hierophant" S. Hackett, Mike Rutherford 11:44

Personnel

Musicians
Steve Hackett – electric and acoustic guitars, Mellotron, harmonium, bells, autoharp, vocals on "The Hermit", effects
John Hackett – flute, ARP synthesizer, bells
Mike Rutherford – bass guitar, 12-string fuzz-bass guitar, bass pedals
Phil Collins – drums, vibes, percussion, vocals on "Star of Sirius"
John Acock – Elka synthesizer, Mellotron, harmonium, piano
Sally Oldfield – vocals on "Shadow of the Hierophant"
Robin Miller – oboe on "Star of Sirius", English horn on "The Hermit"
Nigel Warren-Green – cello on "The Hermit"
Percy Jones – additional bass guitar on "A Tower Struck Down"
Johnny Gustafson – bass guitar on "Star of Sirius"

Production
Steve Hackett – production, arrangement
John Acock – production, engineer
Louie Austin – assistant engineer ("Shadow of the Hierophant" only)

------------------------------------------------------
The Pseudo 5.1 Mix is found in the Premonitions box set that was released in 2015.



Premonitions is out of print, and used copies are going for more than what I paid for it, which was about $120 as I recall.

Discogs

Surround Mix by a Computer
This is an upmix derived from the stereo master tapes. As you might suspect, the result is a concert hall mix with nothing distinctive going on in the back. It still sounds really good. But maybe that’s just because it’s a really good album. So, for the sake of comparision I put the CD in to see what my Yamaha AV receiver could do with it. It sounds pretty much the same to me. It might even be better. I therefore conclude that the upmix is worthless.

But, I’m still not disappointed with the Premonitions box as a whole. It has six albums, three of which I didn’t have before I got the box. It also has two actual Steven Wilson 5.1 mixes, plus some live performances. The other pseudo 5.1 (of Defector) probably also worthless, but I’ll let Mark form is own opinion on it since he reportedly has it.

As for Voyage of the Acolyte itself, it’s a great album. Even though it was the first, it is still my favorite Hackett solo album - and I have most of them. The last three are really good too, and they come with nice surround mixes. Maybe Mark will get to one one of those now that I’ve broken the lid off the Hackett surround catalog, albeit with one that is correctly advertised as a pseudo 5.1 mix. (3/1)

 

I’m non-participant in this thread until next year (!) but I think I’ve got VotA somewhere so I’ll dig it out and give it a second chance.

 

What a SUPER review of the 5.1 mix, you did a much more thorough job of it than I was able to!! (I got carried away listening and enjoying the new lease of life this mix has given the album, and forgot to write my thoughts down, on the first couple of plays).

Many Thanks for that, I agree fully with your comments, thanks for taking the time to share them!

I did another listen and made a few notes. You hit the nail on the head and already said almost all of what I had made a note of to mention, but I have a couple of additions to add:


Dogs of War:
I love the higher in the mix sax, and the increased weight/"authority" of the sound/texture of the sax! Love it! I love that the drums, particularly the toms are now spread across the stereo field - love that ! (I went back to the original (2011 remaster and original 1987 mix) and IMO the drums are all very centrally mixed and sound "thin" compared to this mix).

One Slip:
Love the new sound of the bass (goes for the whole album). The bass solo sound is brilliant, again so much more "texture" and nice a dry/"fast" sounding and more prominent in the mix I love the bass solo is at the front but is also in the rears (delay I think as opposed to reverb).

On The Turning Away:
I like the reverb for Gilmour's opening vocal is reflected/bathed in reverb in the rears, very nice effect.

Yet Another Movie:
Again, a much improved, "dryier" more textured bass up in the mix, love this Like the guitar solo with a lot of rear action, reflected (delay?) into the fronts

Terminal Front (I've always loved this for the build up to and the sax solo itself ):
I like the backing solo ladies swirling around in the lead up to the sax solo, which it turns out were always there, but pretty much burried in the mix. Loving the new clarity.

Sorrow:
BASS!!!! Love the bass on the bass, but also on the intro guitar. Made something in my room rattle (didn't do it on the second play, so not something permanent/fixture in the room). Love the (again) tightness/texture of the sync bass stuff too Agree, Gilmour vocals too low in the mix, at least in the early part of the track.

I really like the new bass and drum sounds all the way through this new mix. I love that I can now feel the kick drum and many bass parts, whereas before, they were both a bit "meh" in comparison. I don't use a sub, but all four of of my main speakers are decent floorstanders, and the centre is reasonable too (and has matching tweaters to the main front pair). I love the better dynamics and "space" of the new mix, and the more detailed textures and placement of many of the instrucments (same still goes for the new stereo mix also).

I mostly (at least originally) bought this set for the hi-res 5.1 mix (same reason I bought all the other hi-res/5.1 releases from both Pink Floyd and Roger Waters (barring TEY set, wasn't interested in that and "acquired" the hi-res 2.0 & 5.1 Meddle after purchasing the individual set and they were missing). On that basis, I am delighted that it's a great new mix, and I think it's so much better than the original (both the 5.1 and 2.0 versions).

Comparing back to the 2011 remaster (which is decent) and original 1987 mixes, this is the definitive new go-to version for me, and makes the old versions sound "thin" and muddled, to my ears. I haven't listened to the included new 2.0 mix from the new CD yet, I have created my own "CD" (Red Book 44.1/16 2.0 PCM) version to listen to (derrived from the hi-res 2.0 version) for use where sound quality isn't the primary requirement (whole house system, on the move, in the car etc.). I will compare that to the actual new CD version on the box, when I have time - if they have screwed the new CD mix/mastering (brick-wall etc.), then that's annoying, but I have the nice version down-converted from the hi-res which sounds very decent regardless

I have been working my way through all the other video content, am loving the new DSoT transfer (audio and video (aside from the excessive grain and lack of decent black levels in some shots)), it's also great to finally have a decent copy of Venice and Knebworth (I seem to have lost my VHS copies of both over the years), and I have yet to properly watch PULSE, but the new transfer to Blu seems to have made a much nicer copy to watch (plus the better sound on all of the video releases ).

All the unreleased/extra/documentaries are all nice, good stuff to have, I have watched and enjoyed those (haven't had time for the Endless River film yet though)

Overall, is it overpriced, probably, but, am glad I bought it, and didn't want to take the chance that I wouldn't have been able to lay my hands on the new hi-res AMLoR (especially the 5.1!!!). I *do* hope that they release everything individually in time, as that is the right thing to do, even if it may devalue what I have bought. I don't really care, I like the boxset, but it's more important that everybody gets to purchase the parts they are interested in, at some point, IMO! If this set was available in separate releases, I'd still want all of the parts (except TDB hi-res, I already have that from TDB Super Deluxe/Immersion boxset (I don't get why they didn't include the original 1987 (or 2011 remaster) of the original album, nor why they included TDB hi-res 5.1 mix but not the 2.0. They should have thrown it all in for completeness, and for this price (adding discs costs them pennies, when the source content already exists)).

This will help it be a Merry Christmas, in my house at least

Cheers,

Matt.

 

Music from Big Pink

Studio album by
The Band
Released July 1, 1968
Recorded Early 1968
Genre Americana roots rock
Length 42:22
Label Capitol
Producer John Simon

Music from Big Pink is the debut studio album by The Band.[1] Released in 1968, it employs a distinctive blend of country, rock, folk, classical, R&B, and soul. The music was composed partly in "Big Pink", a house shared by Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson in West Saugerties, New York. The album itself was recorded in studios in New York and Los Angeles in 1968,[2] and followed the band's backing of Bob Dylan on his 1966 tour (as The Hawks) and time spent together in upstate New York recording material that was officially released in 1975 as The Basement Tapes, also with Dylan. The cover artwork is a painting by Dylan.

The Band began to create their distinctive sound during 1967, when they improvised and recorded with Bob Dylan a huge number of cover songs and original Dylan material in the basement of a pink house in West Saugerties, New York, located at 56 Parnassus Lane (formerly 2188 Stoll Road). The house was built by Ottmar Gramms, who bought the land in 1952. The house was newly built when Rick Danko found it as a rental. Danko moved in along with Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel in February 1967. The house became known locally as "Big Pink' for its pink siding. The house was subsequently sold by Gramms in 1977, and since 1998, it has been a private residence.[3]

Though widely bootlegged at the time, the recordings Dylan and the Band made were first officially released in 1975 on The Basement Tapes, and then released in their totality in 2014 on The Basement Tapes Complete. By the end of 1967 The Band felt it was time to step out of Dylan's shadow and make their own statement.[4]

"Big Pink" in 2006

The Band

• Rick Danko – bass guitar, fiddle, vocals
• Levon Helm – drums, tambourine, vocals
• Garth Hudson – organ, piano, clavinet, soprano and tenor saxophone
• Richard Manuel – piano, organ, vocals
• Robbie Robertson – electric and acoustic guitars, vocals

Additional personnel

• John Simon – producer, baritone horn, tenor saxophone, piano
• Don Hahn – engineer
• Tony May – engineer
• Shelly Yakus – engineer
• Bob Dylan – cover painting
• Elliott Landy – photography

1. "Tears of Rage" Bob Dylan/Richard Manuel - Manuel 5:23
2. "To Kingdom Come" Robbie Robertson - Manuel Robertson 3:22
3. "In a Station" Manuel - Manuel 3:34
4. "Caledonia Mission" Robertson - Rick Danko 2:59
5. "The Weight" Robertson - Helm with Danko 4:34
6. "We Can Talk" Manuel - Manuel Helm Danko 3:06
7. "Long Black Veil" Marijohn Wilkin/Danny Dill - Danko 3:06
8. "Chest Fever" Robertson - Manuel 5:18
9. "Lonesome Suzie" Manuel - Manuel 4:04
10. "This Wheel's on Fire" Dylan/Danko - Danko 3:14
11. "I Shall Be Released" Dylan - Manuel 3:19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Band were made up of Canadian's and an American (Levon Helm AR) and came together as Ronnie Hawkins backing band in the Hawks between 1958 and 1963. They moved on from Ronnie in 1964, working as Levon and the Hawks and Canadian Squires. In 1965 Bob Dylan hired them as his touring band, for what must have been one of the most interesting gigs going. They were the backing band for the infamous Electric tours of 65/66, and crowds were famously quite contentious about Dylan playing Electric music. Some of these shows are captured on Dylan's Bootleg Series Vol 4 "Royal Albert Hall" (which was actually in Manchester, but the actual bootleg had always been mislabelled) and the massive 36 cd set The 66 Live Recordings.
After the famous Electric tour Dylan was injured in a motorcycle accident. Danko and Manuel joined Dylan at his Woodstock home to help him with the Eat The Document film, about the 66 tour, and eventually Hudson and Robertson joined them. They were mainly jamming on cover tunes, and they ended up moving to Big Pink.
At some point Levon Helm was given a call and the sessions that became known as the basement tapes were born.
An album was eventually released in 1975, and then more recently The Bootleg Series vol 11 covered these sessions much more thoroughly over 6 cd's.
I know that's a lot of Dylan there, but that is an important grounding for the band. The tour and the recordings played a big part in shaping who the band were going to become. Robertson said of the Basement Tapes "With the covers Bob was educating us a little", recalls Robertson. "The whole folkie thing was still very questionable to us—it wasn't the train we came in on. ... He'd come up with something like 'Royal Canal', and you'd say, 'This is so beautiful! The expression!' ... He remembered too much, remembered too many songs too well. He'd come over to Big Pink, or wherever we were, and pull out some old song—and he'd prepped for this. He'd practiced this, and then come out here, to show us."
Anyway, The Band wanted to form their own identity, and not just be Bob Dylan's band, and they had started to write their own material and pretty much decided that they needed to release an album to somewhat break them free of being seen as just a backing band. There are multiple stories of how they came to have the name the band, after a series of other suggestions that irked the record company, but it was decided that when they were touring with Bob they were known and referred to as The Band, so that is what they decided to call themselves.

All that stuff has a long and storied history, and I am sure there are variations, but that's about as nut-shelled as I can get with it.

Big Pink was The Band's first album and contained three songs written by or co-written with Dylan. The album was released in 1968, and was received positively critically, but didn't set the charts on fire. This is an album that has grown in stature over the years, and now is held in fairly high regard across the board.

The Band went on to record many more albums, and also a couple more with Dylan, and then they had the wonderful The Last Waltz released as a movie and concert in 1978. We will look at the Last Waltz dvd-a some time further down the track, it is a wonderful album, with some great guest spots from some very famous folk. If you have never seen the movie, I highly recommend it.

The dvd audio is available second hand through
Amazon from about $36 https://www.amazon.com/Music-Big-Pink-Band/dp/B000083EMR
Discogs from about $31 The Band - Music From Big Pink
and on Ebay at typically inflated prices The Band Music From Big Pink dvd audio | eBay

5.1 mixed by Robert Gillert
Mastered by Robert Vosgien

There was also a Super Deluxe release in 2018 with a new 5.1 mix by Bob Clearmountain, and Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Still available from Amazon from about $66 https://www.amazon.com/Music-Big-Pink-Anniversary-Blu-ray/dp/B07DVGLWLP
and on discogs from about $60 The Band - Music From Big Pink (Vinyl, US, 2018) For Sale | Discogs

I have the original dvd audio, and have no idea what the super deluxe remix is like. If one of you have it, and the dvd audio to compare it to, I am sure that folks would be interested in the comparison.

Tears Of Rage
We start with most of the elements up front.
The guitar is on the right side. The drums are just left ... probably about front left speaker. We get a tambourine in the chorus, in the left rear.
The organ swells on the left side.
When the soundfield comes into focus we get a nice immersive mix, and it works quite well

To Kingdon Come
Piano left side. Organ right side. Drums nicely centered here.
Guitar on the right.
Lead guitar comes in up front.
The sound is good, and being a somewhat new album to me, I just needed to mentally adjust to the think layered roots kind of sound they use on here.
Nice balanced immersive mix.

In A Station
Much more layered than I expected on this album.
Electric guitar slide left side with a bit of across the middle reverb movement.
Acoustic guitar right side.
The slide guitar surround effect is really nice.

Caledonia Mission
Acoustic gtr right side.
Piano left side.
This is a cool song. The mix works very well. They have gone for a fairly consistent mix, with a basic soundfield that holds firm and gives a certain aural consistency.

The Weight
Acoustic gtr up front. Drums right side.
First vocal right front. Chorus has the support vocal left front, and the third voice on the left side.
I have become more accustomed to the off centre drums, but I do prefer centered drums.
This mix is a little right side heavy.
It isn't bad, but not how I would have mixed it.
This song gave the band some good exposure via Easy Rider, I think it was.

We Can Talk
Piano piano up front, drums on the right side. Main vocal left front. Second vocal, just left of front left.
Virtually all the tracks have vocal fx sends to the rears.

Long Black Veil
Electric piano is just left of front left. Acoustic gtr right side.
Drums front and centre.

Chest Fever
We start with some pseudo Deep Purple organ, spread across the front. Drums come in on the front right.
Piano left side, gtr right side.
Organ lead break across the middle.

Lonesome Suzie
Gtr right side. Drums just left of center.
Organ left and sort of wandering across the rears.
The tom's are across the front.
I think there are actually two organs? One on either side. It creates an interesting sound field.

This Wheel's On Fire
Some kind of keyboard in the rears.
Drums right side. Piano left side.
This is quite an interesting mix, a lot of elements in here. The drums aren't dominant in the mix, so we still retain a balanced sound. There is stuff all over the place here, lots of layers.

I Shall Be Released
Acoustic gtr right side. Keys left and front.
Drums front.
Main vocal up front, and bvox around the channels.

This ends up being an unusual mix. A couple of songs in the middle are a little out of balance for me, with the mix leaning a little to the right side. Certainly some of the songs have really nice centred mixes, and I think it would be fair to say that for the most part this is a good mix, but not great. It must always be taken into consideration when listening to these earlier albums, that they had less tracks to record with, which could certainly make mixing to specific channels much more difficult in 5.1.
Post, approximately, 1974, we start to move into 24 track recording, and these days via computers and such we have almost infinite track numbers available, but I believe in 1967 one would be looking at 4-8 tracks maximum ... any experts please correct me if I am wrong there.
So I think this album would be nice for fans of The Band, and a lot of it is very nice, and immersive, but some of it is a little unbalanced in terms of the surround field.
I probably should add that although I do like The Band, I have tended to like their support rolls more than their starring roles if that makes sense. I think the pinnacle of their work was The Last Waltz, but I am sure many would disagree with me.

 

I’m inclined to just stick with my CD fo Big Pink. I also recommend The Last Waltz for anyone with a passing interest in the band and a 5.1 system.

 

The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories)


Studio album by
Steven Wilson
Released 25 February 2013
Recorded EastWest Studios, Los Angeles 15–21 September 2012 and Angel Recording Studios, London, 17 October 2012
Genre Progressive rock[1] jazz fusion[2] art rock[3]
Length 54:43
Label Kscope
Producer Steven Wilson Alan Parsons

The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) is the third solo album by British musician Steven Wilson, released by Kscope Music Records on 25 February 2013. Each track on the album is based on a story of the supernatural. Alan Parsons, who had previously been involved in the creation of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was responsible for engineering the album.[4][5]

A deluxe, 4-disc edition of the album was released as well, which included a 128-page book of lyrics and ghost stories, with illustrations by Hajo Mueller.[5] In addition to this, the album is also available in stand alone double-vinyl, CD and Blu-ray editions.[4] The album was generally well received critically, and has sold over 100,000 copies.[6]

Band

• Steven Wilson – lead vocals, mellotron, keyboards, guitars, bass guitar on "The Holy Drinker"
• Guthrie Govan – lead guitar
• Nick Beggs – bass guitar, Chapman Stick on "The Holy Drinker", backing vocals
• Adam Holzman – keyboards, hammond organ, piano, minimoog
• Marco Minnemann – drums, percussion
• Theo Travis – flute, saxophone, clarinet

Additional musicians

• Jakko Jakszyk – additional vocals on "Luminol" and "The Watchmaker"
• Alan Parsons – wah-wah guitar on "The Holy Drinker"[25]
• Strings arranged by Dave Stewart, performed by the London Session Orchestra and recorded at Angel Studio 17 October 2012 (Soloist - Perry Montague-Mason)
• Niko Tsonev – Guitar solo on "The Watchmaker (demo)" and additional guitars on "Luminol (demo)".

Production

• Steven Wilson – producer, mixing
• Alan Parsons – associate producer, recording engineer
• Brendan Dekora – assistant engineer

1. "Luminol" 12:10
2. "Drive Home" 7:37
3. "The Holy Drinker" 10:14
4. "The Pin Drop" 5:03
5. "The Watchmaker" 11:42
6. "The Raven That Refused to Sing" 7:57
----------------------------------------------------
Steven Wilson has developed a reputation as the go to man for surround mixing. To some degree this really overlooks some other great surround mixers, but the projects that Wilson has been involved with have been high profile seventies bands, and for the most part they have given him a reputation of being the go to guy for the big groups of that era. A lot of this has to do with his love of the album format, from 67-77 in his words. Obviously this has involved bands like Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson and others, and has somewhat revived the seventies prog bands, that were much maligned in the post punk era, even though their impact reached past the trends to influence bands such as Marillion, Transatlantic, Dream Theater and his own band Porcupine Tree (there are obviously many mare than that though).
In 86 Wilson started to get traction with the No Man project, which started out asa solo project and then incorporated Tim Bowness.
In 87 Porcupine Tree was started up to be a full on pastiche of Psychedelic rock, inspired by the Dukes Of Stratosphear and was essentially for the entertainment of Wilson and his childhood friend Malcolm Stocks.
No Man and Porcupine Tree developed alongside each other, and in the late nineties were joined by Bass Communion and Incredible Expanding Mindf*ck (IEM) which were exploring Ambient and Drone music.
He established his name as a Producer and was working with band s like Opeth, but commitments to his own music trimmed his work back to predominantly mixing projects rather than full on production.
The first Porcupine Tree album was a compilation of various tapes and such that had filtered out as singles and the like, and the first (in Wilson's mind) real Porcupine Tree album was Up The Downstair. By the fourth album, Signify, Porcupine Tree was a full band, writing and playing as a band. The band covered a lot of territory over their first few albums, and eventually became a somewhat hard edged progressive band. They have a very interesting evolution, that I don't pretend to be fully versed in.
In the early 2000's Wilson started doing some projects that were directly identified as solo projects, and again Wilson covered quite a variety of styles, and that brings us to the 2013 album that we will be looking at today.

This guy has had a very long and busy career, and I think it would be fair to say he has certainly been busy across the years he has been making, producing and mixing music.
He now has a very respected name in the industry for his work with all his bands, and also his 5.1 mixing.
That is a really nutshelled version of his history, and I am sure there are many places for you to read up on him, if the interest takes you.

I picked this bluray up for about $12 new, not so long ago ... it seems it is now out of print? ... I would assume it will get reissued, but in this day and age, who knows?
Amazon currently has this from about $40 https://www.amazon.com/Raven-That-Refused-Sing-Blu-ray/dp/B00AQB2AR4
Burning Shed apparently still has it new for about 14 pounds The Raven that Refused to Sing
Discogs has the European issued bluray for about $12 Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)
a Uk issued cd/dvd and bluray set from $215 Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)
A german released cd/dvd for about $27 Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)
and a 2019 cd/bluray edition from about $15 Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)

The Album was Produced by Wilson and Alan Parsons
5.1 mix by Steven Wilson

Luminol
Cymbals in rears. Drums mixed nicely across the front.
We're instantly met with a full sounding immersive mix.
The bass has some nice subtle sub assistance, as does the kick.
Some nice percussive things either side.
Ghostly synth left side.
This track has a fusion type of feel, with a really nice electric piano lead racing up.
We get synths either side, and this really has a very full balanced sound.
I can already tell that this is going to be a difficult one to fully describe.
We move into a mellow section.
Vocal front. Bvox sides and rears.
Flute left side. Rhythm gtrs front and right side.
Lead gtr licks left side.
I have heard folks say Wilson's stuff is derivative, but this sounds like it's own thing to me.
A nice piano lead just left of front.
Now the power raises and we get a very solid sub bass and an array of mellotron tracks surrounding us. Extremely effective.
Some nice zig zagging across the rears by a synth.
Moving to a piano, synth and fast chorus guitar?
Then we get a nice guitar lead break.
Marco Minneman is playing some excellent drums too.
Excellent start to the album.

Drive Home
Piano left side fx send to the right.
Nice smooth sub on the kick.
Arpeggio gtr left side.
Synth strings either side and rears.
A nice, somewhat mellow track. Nice melodic structure, and nice dynamics.
On a side note, on the screen we have a moon, set right of center with colorful patterns and faux clouds peeling off it.
Nicely structured track.
Nice bright acoustic gtr appears to be all around us us, and a really nice legato lead break from I assume Guthrie Govan.
Cymbals nicely in the rears, and the kit gets plenty of space in the mix .
Again a really nice full sounding mix.

The Holy Drinker
Electric piano with a cool vibrato comes through all round. Drums lick in nicely, and a cool gtr lead break, that moves into a synth sounding lead break.
This seems more based in fusion than prog here, and it works really well.
Again we get a nice immersive mix. With plenty of space for the instruments.
We move into a groove that is more rock, in arrangement and execution.
Slightly ominous sounding.
Mellotron left. Gtr front.
Cymbals all round.
Some really nice side to side effects from cymbal placement.
The mix and balance here really is excellent.
We move into a section that is almost sountrack-like, after another big burst of fusion. Then Wilson sings again.
Then we get punched by a synth or distorted organ? And the whole thing explodes around us.

The Pin Drop
Reverb rich arpeggio gtrs either side. Vocals front. Cymbals punctuate around us.
Drum come in up front.
Then the dynamic punch comes into, and an urgency enters the track that now fully immerses us with a nice sax up front.
We move back to the opening feel again.

The Watchmaker
Acoustic gtr front and left side.
We get some varied lead vocal sounds and positions.
Starting left and dry, and in the change front and reverbed. It's a nice effect.
Such a nice delicate start to this track reinforcing the dynamics.
We get some nice flute, front, feeding right, and then the mellotron comes in and builds.
We move to a change, and the track builds in intensity with organs and drums filling in the field with the mellotron bed still there.
A flute lead break followed by another excellent gtr lead break.
Intensity building and building... this time we have a sort of fusion-prog thing going on.
We move to a piano up front with sends to the rears.
Again excellent cymbal punctuation in the sides and rears.
A choir of vocalizing surrounds us amongst this.
Then the drums take centre stage, and give us a very cool pattern with a distorted bass taking the forefront in a sort of lead, that moves into a staccato section leading us into a somewhat Crimson sounding section where the intensity builds again.
Minneman again drumming his butt off.
Again great balance , mixing, and dynamics.

The Raven That Refused to Sing
A swell left that leads to a front and right swell, and then fades as a piano takes the reins.
When the vocal comes in we gets a sort of Radiohead sounding track.
Vocal effects sends to the rears. Synth strings fade in and out in the rears.
Nice synth string melody across the back.
Slowly it feels like the dynamics are building and there is an intensity in this slightly more simple arrangement.
We get a sort of crescendo that drops back to a piano and melodic string instrument sound.
We slowly build again and the track really delivers an intensity via its relative simplicity.
Again an excellent mix .

Again we get an album that to me at least lives up to the hype.
This is essentially a modern progressive rock album, that pulls in elements of fusion, and a little taste of semi-ambience here and there. The mix is really excellent. The music is tasteful, and varied and dynamic, and this album would be one I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys this kind of music.
I think the mix is really very immersive and fulfilling in the sense that you feel you are getting what you paid for.
Another bonus to this album, from my perspective, is it should really appeal to musicians, because the instrumentalists on here really all do an excellent job. They manage to show their prowess, and maintain connection to the music they are playing.
A highly recommended album on every level, in my opinion.

 

Agents of Fortune


Studio album by
Blue Öyster Cult
Released May 21, 1976
Recorded 1975–76
Studio The Record Plant, New York City
Length 36:35
Label Columbia
Producer Murray Krugman Sandy Pearlman David Lucas

Agents of Fortune is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, originally released by Columbia Records on May 21, 1976.

The Platinum-selling album peaked at No. 29 on the U.S. Billboard chart,[5] while the cryptic single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart,[6] making it BÖC's biggest hit. The band became a bigger concert attraction after the release of the album, in part due to extensive airplay of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," to this day a staple of rock-station playlists.

This is also the only album in the band's catalogue to have every original member perform lead vocals, and the only album to not feature any songwriting contributions from Eric Bloom.

Band members

• Eric Bloom – rhythm guitar, percussion, vocals
• Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser – lead guitar, vocals
• Allen Lanier – keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals
• Joe Bouchard – bass, vocals
• Albert Bouchard – drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, vocals

Additional musicians

• Patti Smith – vocals on "The Revenge of Vera Gemini"
• Randy Brecker – horns
• Michael Brecker – horns
• David Lucas – vocals, keyboards, percussion
• Gene Frenkle - Cowbell

Production

• David Lucas , Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman – producers
• Shelly Yakus, Andy Abrams – engineers
• Tony Stevens – mastering
• John Berg, Andy Engel – design
• Lynn Curlee – paintings

1. "This Ain't the Summer of Love" Albert Bouchard, Murray Krugman, Don Waller Eric Bloom 2:21
2. "True Confessions" Allen Lanier Lanier 2:57
3. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" Donald Roeser Roeser 5:08
4. "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" Roeser, Sandy Pearlman Bloom 3:43
5. "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" A. Bouchard, Patti Smith A. Bouchard 3:52
6. "Sinful Love" A. Bouchard, Helen Wheels A. Bouchard 3:29
7. "Tattoo Vampire" A. Bouchard, Wheels Bloom 2:41
8. "Morning Final" Joe Bouchard J. Bouchard 4:30
9. "Tenderloin" Lanier Bloom 3:40
10. "Debbie Denise" A. Bouchard, Smith A. Bouchard 4:13
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I must admit to knowing nothing about Blue Oyster Cult. The only song I have ever heard is the ubiquitous Don't Fear The Reaper.
I have been reading a little of @vinyl diehard 's Blue Oyster Cult album thread, and I was intrigued to give them a go.

I have no idea what to expect, and the reviews of the mix have been quite varied from my quick look about the place.
If you want to explore more about the band, I would recommend going to the above album thread link and doing so.

So having no idea what I am really about to listen to, I'm just going to get to the punch.

Sadly another out of print item that will cost an arm and a leg ....
Discogs from about $94 https://www.discogs.com/Blue-Öyster-Cult-Agents-Of-Fortune/release/3366390
Amazon from about $85 https://www.amazon.com/Agents-Fortune-Multichannel-Stereo-Oyster/dp/B00007FZHT
ebay I found one for $110 .... Blue Oyster cult agents of fortune sacd | eBay

Sometimes the availability of these can be so disheartening. I sure hope for a recognition from the industry that there are a lot of people loving 5.1, and hopefully we can get some reissues of all this stuff at some point.

5.1 mix Shelley Yakus
Mastering Ted Jenson

This Ain't The Summer Of Love
This track reminds me of Alice Cooper a little.
Guitars either side.

True Confessions
Piano right side. Gtr right.
Solid sound, nice balance.
The bass and kick sub assist is balanced.
Nice immersive mix.

Don't Fear The Reaper
Guitar front and either side.
Organ on the right.
Lead in the middle of the room.
Then we get the breakdown.
Again a nice balanced immersive mix.
This album so far is a nice understated mix.
We aren't getting crazy effects or anything, but a pretty solid immersive mix, with no frills.

E.T.I.
Main guitar up front with sends to the sides. Piano just left of front left.
Bvox sides and rears.
Nice synth effect moves right to left.
A bit of movement in the lead guitar during the fade out.

Revenge Of Vera Gemini
I guess Patti Smith gives us the open talk.
Gtr right side. Keys left side.
This is a very nice mix.
The rhythm section is very solid.
Nice lead break up front.

Sinful Love
Keys left, guitar right.
Again the bass and drums have a nice sub assist. Not overpowering, just there and nice.
Bvox sides.

Tattoo Vampire
Percussive effect front and sides.
Guitars either side. The breakdown has some cool stuff, with some psychedelic laughter popping into different sections of the mix, really very effective.

Morning Final
Nice intro. Lead gtr in the middle of the room.
Organ right side. Cymbals in the sides.
Keys on the left.
Lead gtr middle of the room.
Again a nice immersive mix.
Some talking front then right then left. Sfx work nicely at the finish too.

Tenderloin
Some nice synth surround fx during the chorus. What sounds like a synth lead on right side. Then a short gtr break up front leads back into the vocal section.
Then a more full on gtr lead, with percussion doing two beats either side.
Some nice harmonised guitar and keys surround us to finish.

Debbie Denise
Synth in the middle with a little movement side to side.
Piano left. Lead gtr just right of right front.
Some nice harmonised synth lines either side. Again some synth moving subtly from side to side.

Extra track.
Fire of unknown origin
Organ right, gtr left.
Keys left also.
Again a nice balanced mix.

This is a good mix, without quite getting to the excellent level. For the most part it is very balanced and even, and there are a few surround effects thrown into the mix without being too over the top.
I think if it was still at a reasonable price, this would make the Blue Oyster Cult fan very happy, but at its current over the top, out of print pricing, it would probably be a little disappointing.
Glad to have it in the collection, but I would have preferred to pay less for it.

 

This was the album that turned me into a Steven Wilson fan. I had seen his name pop up a lot, but wasn’t familiar with his music. Then I saw the video for the title track and I was hooked.

While I love all his solo albums, and appreciate that he doesn’t just make the same album time after time, The Raven... is still my favorite.

One thing I also appreciate about Wilson’s releases (Raven onward) is that the Blurays have the album in instrumental form as well. That’s happened on his Yes remix releases, too. It’s an enjoyable experience just to hear the music, sans vocals.

 

It also makes the best sounding karaoke tracks you’ll ever get!

 

Raven is a perfect album. Even without surround. With surround, it's perfect-er.

Benefiting from modern mixing techniques that were employed during the original production, rather than a stab at decades-old multis – not to mention the expert human factor in Steven Wilson – Raven shines like a beacon.

Musically it is unique in Wilson's catalog. Clearly it draws inspiration from several legacy "prog" acts: ELP, Crimson, Floyd, Yes etc, but it never mimics them; their spirit is there in a fresh new form. Melodic, artistic, haunting, exhilarating. World-class players (I caught this tour, astounding). Dripping with atmosphere, intensified by a state-of-the-art 5.1 mix.

Put this one on your get-list.

 

Abraxas


Album cover from a painting by Mati Klarwein
Studio album by
Santana
Released September 23, 1970
Recorded April 17–May 2, 1970
Studio Wally Heider Studios
(San Francisco, California)
Pacific Recording Studios
(San Mateo, California)
Genre Latin rock Chicano rock jazz fusion psychedelic rock blues rock
Length 37:10
Label Columbia
Producer Fred Catero, Carlos Santana

Abraxas is the second studio album by Latin rock band Santana. It was released on September 23, 1970 by Columbia Records.

Santana[edit]

• Carlos Santana – lead guitar, backing vocals, producer[20]
• Gregg Rolie – keyboards, lead vocals
• David Brown – bass
• Michael Shrieve – drums
• José "Chepito" Areas – percussion, conga, timbales
• Michael Carabello – percussion, conga

Additional personnel[edit]

• Rico Reyes – backing vocal on "Oye Como Va", backing vocal and percussion on "El Nicoya"
• Alberto Gianquinto – piano on "Incident at Neshabur"
• John Fiore, David Brown – engineer
• Rob LoVerde, Shawn Britton – mastering engineer
• Bob Venosa – graphics
• MATI – illustrations
• Marian Schmidt, Joan Chase - photography

1. "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts" (Instrumental) Michael Carabello 4:51
2. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" Peter Green/Gábor Szabó 5:24
3. "Oye Como Va" Tito Puente 4:17
4. "Incident at Neshabur" (Instrumental) Alberto Gianquinto, Carlos Santana 4:58
5. "Se Acabó" José Areas 2:50
6. "Mother's Daughter" Gregg Rolie 4:25
7. "Samba Pa Ti" (Instrumental) Santana 4:45
8. "Hope You're Feeling Better" Rolie 4:10
9 "El Nicoya" Areas 1:30
----------------------------------------------------------
Santana exploded onto the scene with Woodstock and their debut album, but it was probably this album that really brought them to the masses with their cover of the Fleetwood Mac tune Black Magic Woman.
We ran through some of the Santana history on Lotus the quad mix. So click that link if you want to read more on that.
I think many consider this album to be the peak of the early Santana studio albums, and generally from what I read around the place, most consider the early albums to be the ones to get. I quite like a lot of the band's, or Carlos's later work also though. I sure wouldn't complain if we got the Inner Secrets to Shango albums released in 5.1 mixes, but anyhow, we are here with Abraxas today.

available from Amazon from about $44 https://www.amazon.com/Abraxas-Santana/dp/B00002SSRZ
Ebay from about $31 abraxas dts | eBay
Discogs from about $32 Santana - Abraxas

5.1 mix and mastering David Frangioni

Singing Winds Crying Beasts
We start with piano up front and chimes all around.
The piano has a sort of reverb heading to the right side. Carlos comes in just left of centre.
Percussion percolates just right of front right. Cymbals sort of across the middle.
Carlos plays a couple of notes on the left side. The electric piano covers from centre front to just right of the right front.
Some percussion left side.
This is totally an atmospheric piece, and as an opening works really well.

Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
The organ starts across the middle but seems to be more on the left side.
The percussion is all around, particularly left rear.
Carlos guitar seems central and it sounds good, but it doesn't quite sound right... it's like it has slightly too much of the effect signal than the raw guitar, but it is a long while since I heard this.
The reprise of the opening riff, slides from side to side and sounds more immediate.
Moving into gypsy queen, we get carlos sliding around the soundfield, and a couple of "ow"s and "ahh" from someone.
Quite a bit of surround movement, and it is pretty good, but not quite right. Can't explain it better than that.

Oye Como Va
Organ front and right. Percussion all round. Carlos's gtr riff left side, and steady.
All channels getting a good workout.

Incident at Neshabur
Organ right, gtr left.
Riffing front and either side.
Hats right side. Piano just left of front left. Organ just right of front right.
Gtr left near rear, and just right of front.
There are a couple/few gtr tracks on this one.

Se A Cabo
Organ right side, gtr left side. Wall of percussion up front. Another percussionist enters on the right.
Carlos blows out a lead up front.
We get a percussive breakdown all around, with rhythm gtr either side. An organ comes in on either side.

Mother's Daughter
Organ left rear and front. Guitar right rear and front.
Lead guitar come in up the front.
Percussion all round again.
Vocals come in up front.
Lead break right side, counter lead left.

Samba Pa Ti
Organ left. Lead guitar just forward of front and slightly left. Organ right .percussion front and sides.
Rhythm gtr left.

Hope You're Feeling Better
Organ left side. Gtr right side. Percussion all round. Vocal front.
Lead guitar up front. Loud handclap not quite centre of room.

El Nicoya
Percussion all round. Vocal chants right rear.
Rhythm gtr left.

I have more questions than answers here guys. I am hoping one of our resident experts can feed us the info we need here.
Was this album poorly recorded?
Does anyone know if there were some phase issues with the 5.1?

This mix itself for the most part is very good and should be nicely immersive, but there are some quite out of balance sections, and some instruments on occasion sound like they are the effects send rather than the main instrument with the effects ... I'm not sure if that will make sense to anybody, but that is kind of what I am hearing here. Certainly some parts of this sound very good, and with the nice spread of instruments and percussion it should sound great. There are also, to my ears at least, which are far from the ears of my youth, some mixing level issues in certain sections.
This isn't a complete write off, it just has some odd sounding sections, and it spoils what really should be a great sounding disc. With this mix, and the audio from the Lotus quad, we would have just about a perfect surround disc.
Please give me your input here, as I am at a loss as to explain this mix.
Cheers
Mark

 

Nicely stated. I have heard several people say the problem with Wilson's albums is they are derivative ... but I don't hear that, I hear influence, rather than mimicry.
It's a great album.

 

I'm new to this forum, although I have been following it for a while, and have some 270 rock surround recordings. Anyway, I'm wondering about the Abraxas 5.1 if anyone knows if this is a "new" mix or a retooling of the original quad mix from 1970? All of Santana's early albums came out on vinyl in quad versions back when, but as far as I know these mixes have never been issued on CD or Blu-ray, except for the Japanese quad reissue of the (live) Lotus album. It would be great if someone did to Santana what Rhino did to Chicago, when they offered all the early Chicago albums in their original quad mixes in one sweet box (worthwhile candidate for analysis by the way).

 

Modeste Mussorgsky
Carlo Ponti and the Russian National Orchestra




Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
Pictures at an Exhibition 33:01
(Tableaux d'une exposition)
(orchestrated by Maurice Ravel)
1 Promenade 1:41
2 Gnomus 2:20
3 Promenade 1:00
4 The Old Castle 4:09
5 Promenade 0:35
6 Tuileries 1:03
7 Bydlo (The Ox Cart) 2:52
8 Promenade 0:48
9 Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks 1:12
10 Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle 2:18
11 The Marketplace at Limoges 1:28
12 Catacombae (Sepulchrum Romanum) 2:23
13 Cum mortuis in lingua mortua 2:04
14 Baba-Yaga (The Hut on Fowl's Legs) 3:33
15 The Great Gate of Kiev 5:29

16 Night on the Bare Mountain 10:49
(arranged and orchestrated by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)

The Sorochinsky Fair
(orchestrated by Anatoly Liadov)
17 Introduction 4:36

Khovanshchina
(orchestrated by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
18 Prelude (Dawn on the Moscow River) 5:15
19 Dance of the Persian Slave Girls 6:41

Russian National Orchestra
Carlo Ponti
Total playing time: 60:52

Recording venue: DZZ Studio 5, Moscow (3/2008)
Executive / Recording Producer: Job Maarse
Producer: Rick Walker
Balance Engineer / Editing: Erdo Groot
Recording Engineer: Roger de Schot
-----------------------------------------------------
Up there I have pieced together the bits and pieces I could find to try and give the tech info, of who and what this is.
I have to be honest and say that ELP brought me to this piece of music, and if you like ELP then there is also a dvd (Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Pictures At An Exhibition - 35th Anniversary Collectors Edition ) which has ELP performing the concert version and has the added bonus of "Pictures" Performed By The
National Symphony Orchestra Of Ukraine Conducted By Theodore Kuchar. I seem to remember the 5.1 being pretty decent, but it has been a while.

Anyhow today's version is as stated above in the intro spiel

Available from Amazon for about $13 https://www.amazon.com/Mussorgsky-Pictures-Exhibition-featuring-Orchestra/dp/B001HBX93G
probably available from several other sources also, but it is still new, very affordable, and possibly something that would appeal to the prog fan that doesn't have an aversion to orchestral/classical pieces from days of old.

I bought this one because it had rave reviews from almost everyone about the audio quality.....
so lets see how we go.
I'm just going to go through Pictures at an Exhibition and Night and Bare Mountain for now.... probably.

Promenade
Starting with a solo horn front an centre, we build to a full wide, and excellent immersive surround.

Gnomus
Nice separation, with different sections of the orchestra finding a home in the soundfield. Very wide dynamic range, brilliant clarity.

Promenade
A variation on the theme. The lighter horns in the rears, answering the deep solo horn from up front.

The Old Castle
The sectional breakdown of the orchestra here is really well done. The orchestra seemingly sat around us, with distinct sections.
Beautiful moody piece of music. Led by the wind section and wonderfully embellished/augmented by the strings.

Promenade
Another reprise of the main theme with a more full orchestral setting.

Tuileries
A light and airy piece of music with winds up front and strings around us.

Bydlo
A sad sounding lament, with a lead horn.
Again we get the full orchestra come in beautifully filling the surround field.
We move into a more dramatic section, that mellows out, and again such good dynamic range.

Promenade
An inversion of the main theme, again with full orchestra, and some excellent variations. Plenty of delicate instrumentation which really emphasises how well the separation of instruments works here ... really A class surround.

Ballet of the Unhatched Eggs'
The strings and horns unite beautifully for the intro.
The we get a wing instrument through the rears as the main body plays up front.

Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle
It is very hard to break down the mix as such, but believe me this is a very nice surround recording, with mixing occurring predominantly in the set up of the mics... and it's very well done.

The Marketplace at Limoges

Catacombae (Sepulchrum Romanum)
As they are short sections, I am behind here.

Cum mortuis in lingua mortua
Such balance of delicacy here, strings as if brushed by air in the sides, with horns just pushing slightly over the top of them

Baba-Yaga (The Hut on Fowl's Legs)
More dramatic, and a louder piece. Strings playing off against winds.
Then we have gentle strings descending against the horn. Percussion adds a really nice touch to the sides.
Then we start to wind up again with the louder more dramatic section coming back.

The Great Gate of Kiev
Then we move into the regal and powerful final section. Building to cymbals and going crescendo beautifully.

Night On Bare Mountain.
Probably a piece most would know well upon hearing.
String buz on the sides, and the ominous horns punch in the front.
So many great sections in this piece if music, such a broad spectrum of sounds, and the dynamics are second to none.
From a whisper to a scream, but never inaudible.

Being the type of music it is, it is very hard to break down sections as you can with a rock track, and with Pictures being a series of relatively short pieces I missed a couple of changeover spots in there as you'll see.
What I really can say about this is if you enjoy Ravel's arrangement of Pictures at an Exhibition, and Rimsky Korsakov's arrangement of night On Bare Mountain, it is hard to imagine you wouldn't love this. Classical music is recorded and mixed very differently to rock music, but it manages to give us a great surround sound mix that gives a very full sound. Being the nature of classical music, this would suit anyone that complains about brickwalling and lack of dynamics etc, because there probably isn't a form of music that uses dynamics to the same extent of classical, and this disc is another example of how good that can sound.
I reckon this is a great buy, for the price, for the recording and the performance.

 

Does your 5.1 Meddle have the piano note ping back and forth between the right and left speakers at the beginning of “Echoes”?

 

I get the impression that it may well be. Although the disc says it was mixed to 5.1 and mastered by David Frangioni.
The reason i get the impression that it may be an adaptation of the quad, is to me, it sounds like there is something not quite right with it. I am hoping someone with more knowledge than I, that has heard it, can tell us what is going on with it.