Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band


Studio album by
the Beatles
Released 26 May 1967
Recorded 6 December 1966 – 21 April 1967
Studio EMI and Regent Sound, London
Genre Rock pop psychedelia art rock
Length 39:36
Label Parlophone
Producer George Martin

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26 May 1967 in the United Kingdom[nb 1] and 2 June 1967 in the United States, it spent 27 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart and 15 weeks at number one on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the US. It was lauded by critics for its innovations in production, songwriting and graphic design, for bridging a cultural divide between popular music and high art, and for reflecting the interests of contemporary youth and the counterculture. It won four Grammy Awards in 1968, including Album of the Year, the first rock LP to receive this honour.

In August 1966, the Beatles permanently retired from touring and began a three-month holiday. During a return flight to London in November, Paul McCartney had an idea for a song involving an Edwardian military band that formed the impetus of the Sgt. Pepper concept. Sessions began on 24 November at EMI Studios with two compositions inspired by the Beatles' youth, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane", but after pressure from EMI, the songs were released as a double A-side single and left off the album.

In February 1967, after recording the title track, McCartney suggested that the album represent a performance by the fictional Sgt. Pepper band. This alter ego group further inspired the band to experiment artistically. During the recording sessions, there was no thought of reproducing the songs in concert, and the band were free to continue the technological experimentation marked by their previous album Revolver, this time without an absolute deadline for completion. With producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick, the group approached the studio as an instrument, colouring much of the recordings with sound effects and tape manipulation, as exemplified on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" and "A Day in the Life". Recording was completed on 21 April 1967. The cover, which depicts the Beatles posing in front of a tableau of celebrities and historical figures, was designed by the pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth.

Sgt. Pepper is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the use of extended form in popular music while continuing the artistic maturation seen on the Beatles' preceding releases. An important work of British psychedelia, the album incorporates a range of stylistic influences, including vaudeville, circus, music hall, avant-garde, and Western and Indian classical music. It is described as one of the first art rock LPs, a progenitor to progressive rock, and the starting point of the album era. In 2003, the Library of Congress placed Sgt. Pepper in the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2] Rolling Stone ranked it as the greatest album of all time. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with more than 32 million copies sold worldwide as of 2011, and remains the UK's best-selling studio album. Professor Kevin Dettmar, writing in The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature, described it as "the most important and influential rock-and-roll album ever recorded".[3]

The Beatles

• John Lennon – lead, harmony and background vocals; rhythm, acoustic and lead guitars; Hammond organ, final piano E chord; harmonica, tape loops, sound effects, comb and tissue paper; handclaps, tambourine, maracas
• Paul McCartney – lead, harmony and background vocals; bass and lead guitars; electric and acoustic pianos, Lowrey and Hammond organs; handclaps; vocalisations, sound effects, comb and tissue paper
• George Harrison – harmony and background vocals; lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars; sitar, tambura; harmonica, comb and tissue paper; handclaps, maracas; lead vocals on "Within You Without You"
• Ringo Starr – drums, congas, tambourine, maracas, handclaps, tubular bells; lead vocals on "With a Little Help from My Friends"; harmonica; final piano E chord

Additional musicians and production

• Sounds Incorporated – the saxophone sextet on "Good Morning Good Morning"[428]
• Neil Aspinall – tambura, harmonica[429]
• Geoff Emerick – audio engineering; tape loops, sound effects[430][nb 42]
• Mal Evans – counting, harmonica, alarm clock, final piano E chord[432]
• George Martin – producer, mixer; tape loops, sound effects; harpsichord on "Fixing a Hole", harmonium, Lowrey organ and glockenspiel on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", Hammond organ on "With a Little Help from My Friends", piano on "Getting Better", piano solo on "Lovely Rita"; final harmonium chord.[433]
• Session musicians – four French horns on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band": Neill Sanders, James W. Buck, John Burden, Tony Randall,[342] arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; string section and harp on "She's Leaving Home", arranged by Mike Leander and conducted by Martin; tabla, dilrubas, tamboura and swarmandal on "Within You Without You", played by members of the Asian Music Circle, with eight violins and four cellos arranged and conducted by Harrison and Martin; clarinet trio on "When I'm Sixty-Four": Robert Burns, Henry MacKenzie, Frank Reidy, arranged and conducted by Martin and McCartney; saxophones on "Good Morning Good Morning", arranged and conducted by Martin and Lennon; and forty-piece orchestra, including strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion on "A Day in the Life", arranged by Martin, Lennon and McCartney, and conducted by Martin and McCartney.[434]

Side one
1. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" McCartney 2:00
2. "With a Little Help from My Friends" Starr 2:42
3. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" Lennon 3:28
4. "Getting Better" McCartney with Lennon 2:48
5. "Fixing a Hole" McCartney 2:36
6. "She's Leaving Home" McCartney with Lennon 3:25
7. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" Lennon 2:37
Total length: 19:34
Side two
1. "Within You Without You" Harrison 5:05
2. "When I'm Sixty-Four" McCartney 2:37
3. "Lovely Rita" McCartney 2:42
4. "Good Morning Good Morning" Lennon 2:42
5. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr 1:18
6. "A Day in the Life" Lennon with McCartney 5:38
Total length: 20:02
--------------------------------------------
Although sometimes the forum makes you wish the Beatles didn't exist, they did certainly produce some wonderful music. When they decided to stop touring it opened up a whole other world for the band, because they no longer needed the songs to be able to be played anymore, they just had to sound cool. So yea, the Beatles did some innovating, but they were in a position to do so. Many bands did a ton of innovative writing and recording, but still had to play the song once the album came out .... and these things do make a difference.
Anyhow, I'm not going to bother with any historical back story, because any page that pops up on here, is probably already full of that

As always this albums remix drew a wide range of emotions from the Beatles fans, I believe some folks wanted Giles Martin executed, and some wanted him deified ... I have only had a chance to listen to this probably 2, maybe 3 times I seem to remember enjoying it.

Still available new from Amazon for $128.74 https://www.amazon.com/Peppers-Lonely-Hearts-Blu-ray-Deluxe/dp/B06WGVMLJY
On discogs from $71.43 The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Remix Producer Giles Martin
Remix Engineer Sam Okell
Remix Assistants Greg Mcallister, Matt Mysko
Remastered by Miles Showell Sean Magee

.

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Guitars either side front. Crowds in the side. Horns front and sides.
Love that right side guitar.
Crowds in the rears

With A Little Help From My Friends
Starts with a really full orchestral like surround.
Piano left side, guitar right side.
Bvox rears and sides.
Really nice sounding mix.
Bass is nicely audible.
Really nice mix here.

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Harpsichord front left and right rear.
Vocal front, swell left side. Melody gtr right side.
Organ left, other instrument right (chorus)
The chorus is quite magnificent in surround actually.
Another very balanced nice mix.
Sorry, but no, the mono doesn't sound better than this.

Getting Better
Guitar front left, guitar right rear. Keys left rear. Percussion handclaps tears.
Chorus bvox sides.
Really nice clarity.
Sound effect through rears .. hurdy gurdy?
Another really nice balanced mix
Percussion and guitar fade out on the right.

Fixing a Hole
Harpsichord left side, hats left side are slightly loud.
Guitars through the rears.
Lead guitar up front, possibly slightly loud.
Ooo's in the rears.
I like this mix, but it is perhaps not as balanced as the original. Still enjoyably immersive though.

She's Leaving Home
Harp up front with vocal.
Cello front left, then strings all round.
Staccato strings either side sound really nice.
Such a nice arrangement.
The interplay between the strings and harp work really in the surround field.

Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
Lots of sounds here I am just not going to know what they are.
We start with all five channels working together
Hats on rears. The psychedelic section, is yes, very psychedelic.
We have balance and immersion, and for a song like this, some trippy surround effects.
I think this works very well, fulfilling the intention of the writer, to be trippy

Within You Without You
Drones in rears. Violin front right, table front left.
This has a very ethereal sound.
I was never really big on George's raga things, but this sounds really good.
Counter melody strings on rears.
So for me, like the revolution 9 - 5.1, this song gets rescued from the abyss.
The interplay between the violin and sitar is really good the percussion builds around us, and we have a really nice mix, sound and track.
Good value.

When I'm Sixty Four
Drums front left. Clarinets front.keys rears.
Vocals front and sides. Tubular bells left rear.
Another piano right side... clarinet fill right side.
Again. This is really well done, fully immersive, all the bits are audible, without being disconnected.
It is just a really nice experience, from my perspective.

Lovely Rita
Vocals all round.
Most of the music up front here.
Percussion comes in rear right.
Bvox all round.
Mellotron? Rears.
This is an unusual mix, it kind of creeps up on you.
Again balance here works really well.

Good Morning Good Morning
Rooster up front.
Starts by surrounding us in a wall of sound. Some of this actually reminds me of Madness (the band)
Full immersed in this dense horn laden track.
The wild guitar bursts out of the front.
This is actually more of a song than I ever give it credit for.
Really nice, and that crazy outro works well too.

Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise
Guitar right rear.
Lead guitar slicing the middle of your head open.
Crowd all round.

A Day In The Life
Piano front left, send to right rear.
Acoustic gtr left front.
Vocal front and centre.
Drums put a fill in that rolld to the left side, gentle crash right rear.
Shaker left rear.
Slowly we get that orchestral orgasm all around us.
Ahhh's in the rears.
Orchestral surge all round
Drums are right front, with dome sound field stretch to the right side.
We get the final crescendo, and it is intense.
With the chord of resolution we fade nicely.
Then we get the run out groove thing 39:23 - 39:39 fading out altogether at 39:45.

Strawberry Fields forever
Opening chords up front mellotron?
Gtr comes on left rear.
Morse code left rear.
Main guitar right side
Then the sound thickens with horns on the rears.
Reverse effect left rear.
Strings right rear.
This build of intensity here is disarmingly subtle, it goes from quite minimalist to super fat and intense besutifully.
Again a really balanced and beautiful mix.
A goofy little recurrence swells back up with a circling effect.

Penny Lane
Keys right right, left side, flute right side
Horns rears.
Trumpet sound great up front.
Again beautifully immersive and balanced.

When this came out, I seem to remember a huge backlash from Beatles fans wanting Giles Martin executed ... at least ... I reckon this is great, I bought it purely for the surround mix, I have the mono and stereo albums, already, so I don't really care what they sound like when i put this on .... and unless i'm in the car, this is all I will be putting on.
Perhaps it isn't exactly the same as the original mix ... to be honest, I don't get time to studio one band's song that often to really notice minor nuances like that. I tend tyo put an album on and left it take me where it goes, I enjoy it, or I don't enjoy it..... This, and the other two Beatles surround mixes, I very much enjoy.
I'm sure that a really hardcore Beatles junkie, could tell me that the orange choral sitar played by Ralph Schummacher in the original mix is too low, or there is a bell missing from the crescendo of A Day In The Life or something ... and it may well be true, I don't know, but what I just heard was The Beatles Sergeant Pepper's album, it sounded like the Sergeant Pepper's album, and I think it is a great mix, that gives the album a previously unheard clarity, and a surround field that is worth sitting in.

 

Monster


Studio album by
R.E.M.
Released September 27, 1994
Recorded October 1993 – May 1994
Studio Kingsway Studio, New Orleans Crossover Soundstage, Atlanta Criteria Studios, Miami Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles
Genre Grunge alternative rock punk rock glam rock
Length 49:15
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Scott Litt R.E.M.

Monster is the ninth studio album by American rock band R.E.M., released on September 27, 1994 by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by the band and Scott Litt and recorded at four studios, the album was an intentional stylistic shift from R.E.M.'s previous two albums Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), with loud, distorted guitar tones and simple arrangements. Michael Stipe's lyrics, dealing with the nature of celebrity, are sung by him in several characters.

Led by the successful single "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", Monster debuted at number one in the United States and at least seven other countries, and received generally positive reviews. Four more singles were released from the album, including the UK top-20 hits "Bang and Blame", "Strange Currencies", and "Tongue". That year, the band promoted the album with their first concert tour since 1989; although the tour was commercially successful, band members suffered several health problems. The album's follow-up New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996) was primarily recorded during the tour.

R.E.M.

• Bill Berry – drums, percussion, bass guitar, backing vocals, production
• Peter Buck – guitar, Farfisa organ on "Let Me In", production
• Mike Mills – bass guitar, piano, organ, backing vocals, guitar on "Let Me In", production
• Michael Stipe – lead vocals, production

Additional musicians

• Ané Diaz – backing vocals on "Bang and Blame"
• Sally Dworsky – backing vocals on "King of Comedy" and "Bang and Blame"
• Lou Kregl - backing vocals on "Bang and Blame"
• Thurston Moore – vocals and guitar on "Crush with Eyeliner"
• Rain Phoenix – backing vocals on "Bang and Blame"
• Lynda Stipe – backing vocals on "Bang and Blame"

Technical personnel

• David Colvin – second engineer (Crossover)
• Jeff DeMorris – second engineer (Ocean Way)
• Mark Gruber – second engineer (Criteria)
• Mark Howard – engineering (Kingsway)
• Victor Janacua – second engineer (Ocean Way)
• Scott Litt – production
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering engineer (Precision Mastering)
• Pat McCarthy – engineering
• Mark "Microwave" Mytrowitz – technical assistance

1. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" – 4:00
2. "Crush with Eyeliner" – 4:39
3. "King of Comedy" – 3:40
4. "I Don't Sleep, I Dream" – 3:27
5. "Star 69" – 3:07
6. "Strange Currencies" – 3:52
7. "Tongue" – 4:13
8. "Bang and Blame" – 5:30
9. "I Took Your Name" – 4:02
10. "Let Me In" – 3:28
11. "Circus Envy" – 4:15
12. "You" – 4:54

--------------------------------------------------------
We covered the album Green earlier on in the thread, and that is probably my favourite REM album. Document to Monster is my favourite period. Monster did take me a little to fully engage with though.

REM are from Athens Georgia. The first spark was when Michael Stipe and Peter Buck met, in a record shop Buck worked in. They found they had similar taste in music because Stipe said, "It turns out that I was buying all the records that [Buck] was saving for himself."
These two guys met Bill Berry and Mike Mills, who had been together in bands since High School, at the University of Georgia.
These guys eventually decided to drop out of University to focus on the band. They pretty much instantly gained a following and got them selves a manager - Jefferson Holt a record store clerk, who was so impressed with the band that he moved from his hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina to Athens.
Their first single was Radio Free Europe. They pressed 1000 copies, 600 of which went out as promos, and the single quickly sold out, so 6000 more were pressed. Despite its limited pressing it was listed as one of the best ten songs of the year by The New York Times.
The band did the rounds and recorded some very good albums between 81 and 86, and by the time 1987 came around the band just needed to write the right songs and they would launch themselves into the world.
In 87 the band recorded their, essentially, break through album Document. The songs The One I Love, and It's The End Of The World As We Know It becoming anthems of the late eighties and still hanging around these days.
Frustration started to seep in for the band though, because IRS couldn't distribute them well enough overseas, and nobody makes records to not be heard, no matter what anyone says. So the band signed with Warners, and a wild ride was about to begin.
The first Warners album was Green, and to me the band delivered the goods in spades. Out Of Time became a monster of an album, and Automatic For The People seems to be regarded as a classic album these days, which it more than likely is.
And that brings us to Monster...

By this stage the band was huge, and what we find on this album, is Michael Stipe inhabiting different characters in the song lyrics. There is a a bit of a jab at the pop/rock star culture and celebrity in general, and there is , I suppose a certain creepiness in the pathology of the characters.
The guitars are back in force, with the band feeling they had explored enough of the acoustic stuff for a while, and stating that it is fun to just rock out on an electric guitar. Although they say they didn't go into the studio to make a rock record particularly, that is what they ended up with.
Of course as always, many cried sell out, and all the rest of it, but Monster is a very good album, so lets have a listen.

cd/dvd-audio
at amazon from about $17 second hand https://www.amazon.com/Monster-CD-DVD-Dig-M/dp/B0006IIPFS
at dioscogs from about $13 R.E.M. - Monster

5cd/bluray box set I assume this is the same 5.1 mix -please let us know
new on amazon from about $57 https://www.amazon.com/Monster-25th-Anniversary-Expanded-Blu-ray/dp/B07VTYDX88

5.1 mix Elliot Scheiner
Mastered by Darcy Proper

What's The Frequency Kenneth
We start up front, nice grunt guitars. Stipe vocals.
We get a punctuation of shaker on the right side. A nice vibrato type guitar comes in left rear then front right then left front then right rear.
Subtle but effective use of the channels.
Shaker right rear.
Here what they have gone for is a solid front rock band, with the accent guitar moving to different places in the sound field, and the shaker in the right rear.
It is actually quite an interesting mixing choice, and does two things, it keeps the wall of rock sludge intact, but still gives us some surround immersion.

Crush With Eyeliner
Again we start up front.
During the chorus gtrs come on from the rears.
We do have surround ambiance in the verse.
Now we get a single strummed guitar left rear.
Back into the fully loaded chorus.
We get a whisper vocal in the rears.
This is a balanced and subtle mix. I reckon it works for this style quite well.

King Of Comedy
A very narrow bass guitar drum and vocal intro up front.
But the drums have a kind of in the middle of the room feel
At the end of the first section, a guitar chord one each side in the rear. Effective.
Bvox rears.
Again subtle mixing, but effective.
We break down to piano up front and acoustics either side in the rears.
Effective.

I Don't Sleep I Dream
Drums start us off across the front.
Gtrs either side, a more traditionally immersive mix here.
Again the balance is good and the mix effective.
On this album so far Scheiner is showing some restrained artistic flair.
The mixing has stayed interesting, and is accentuating the song, not dominating it.

Star 69
Again a nice tight sound ip front.
We get some effects sends to the rears, and in the chorus we get guitars come in either side in the rears, cymbal left side.

Strange Currencies
Gtr vocals up front. Effects sends to rears.
Organ left rear.
Gtrs either side.
I think I always considered this a rewrite of Everybody Hurts, and to a degree it is, but it is a good track on it's own right.
Good song, good mix. Nothing amazing but effective enough.

Tongue
Percussion right side. Piano left front. Organ right front.
Stipe doing his best Smokey impersonation up front.
Delay guitar comes in struck on right, decay on left, very effective.
Again subtle, but nice mix.

Bang And Blame
Bass up front. Guitar right rear. Drums up front. Alt gtr left side.
Vocals nice and clear up front.
Chorus crunches the guitars either side.
Effective bvox either side. Nice little lick comes in on the left for the fade out.
Nice.
Fade up of extra bit of track. Nice

I Took Your Name
Lots of vibrato on the crunchy gtrs with this album, sounds cool.
We build into a nice full mix in the change.
We get a guitar chorus. The little lead guitar lick is very effective. The minimalist lead moves to different spots in the soundfield.
Percussion left rear.

Let Me In
Cutting guitar up front. Vocal buried inside it.
Seems to be trying for a pinkish sound.
The gtr seems to be all round the vocals almost hidden, no bass or drums yet.
Almost sounds like a demo.
Organ comes in left side.
An interesting arrangement for its absence of instruments.

Circus Envy
Swell gtr front left. Rhythm front right
Drums solid up front.
Unusual atmosphere to this track.
With change we get more guitars filling in the rears.
Again has a bit of a demo sound to it.

You
Again big guitars up front. Vocal up front.
We get guitars and effect sends in the rears also.

So this album has a sort of ominous feel once you get passed the singles. It is a pretty good album, but perhaps a little top heavy.
The surround mix does work well, but perhaps a little on the underdone side.
The effective use of the speakers is there, and it is certainly a good listen, but the surrounds (generally) are being used for dynamics and effect, rather than continual immersion.... and that is a very good way to mix some albums.
In the end I like this album and this mix, but both could have been a little better.
I reckon if you like this period of REM, then you do probably want this. From the quick look I had, the box set has some stuff in it, that would probably make it very worthwhile for the hard core REM fan.
So yea, for me very good, but not amazing.

 

Great review as always, Mark! I thought this mix was unfairly attacked as well. I think I remember reading that Giles' goal was to create an enhanced mono mix when he set out to do the surround mix which I thought sounded odd at the time. I think it sounds great though and is a nice alternative to the official mono and stereo mixes. I almost always enjoy the full immersion and discreteness of an Elliot Scheiner or Steven Wilson mix over a less discreet mix but it sounded like Giles was somewhat limited with the way the multitracks were laid out.

 

In Deep



Studio album by Argent
Released: March 1973
Genre Progressive rock, hard rock
Length 45:03
Label Epic
Producer Chris White, Rod Argent

In Deep is the fourth studio album by Argent, originally released by Epic Records in 1973. It features the original full-length recording of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", which reached No. 18 in the UK charts (U.S. No. 114) when released in edited form as a single later the same year.

Personnel
Rod Argent – organ, electric piano, vocals; lead vocals on "Christmas for the Free"
Russ Ballard – guitar, vocals
Jim Rodford – bass guitar, guitar, vocals
Robert Henrit – drums, percussion
with:
Derek Griffiths – guitar solo on "Christmas for the Free"

Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" Russ Ballard 6:44
2. "It's Only Money, Part 1" Ballard 4:03
3. "It's Only Money, Part 2" Ballard 5:08
4. "Losing Hold" Rod Argent, Chris White 5:30
5. "Be Glad" Argent, White 8:38
6. "Christmas for the Free" Argent, White 4:15
7. "Candles on the River" Argent, White 7:01
8. "Rosie" Ballard 3:44
______
The quad mix was recently released in a three album, two disc set by Dutton Vocalion, which they sell for 20 pounds. Only In Deep is in surround; Nexus and Ring of Hands are stereo-only. The cover looks like this:



5.1 mix by Whomever Did That Sort of Thing for Columbia in the 70’s

God Gave Rock and Roll to You
Guitar starts rear right, then bass in front, then percussion left front, then organ in back, then vocals in front – all in the first minute. Background vocals in back. In the fourth minute, vocal duet in right and left front speakers. After a few seconds of silence, they start up again with positions reversed – guitar in left front, organ in front, percussion in back. lead vocals still in front, background vocals in back. Guitar back in rear right at the end

It's Only Money, Part 1
Starts with guitar right front and organ in surround, then bass in right rear. Then bass switches to front as drums and vocals come in. Guitar in back. At two minute mark, guitar riffs in right front, then left front, then rear right.

It's Only Money, Part 2
Swirling organ, guitar right front. Bass and percussion in front, background vocals in back, lead in front. Guitar constantly changes positions again, then settles into front with organ in back. Finale has lead vocal and bass in front, very cool dueling background vocals in left and right rear.

Losing Hold
Left bass thud, right bass thud, then lead vocal, bass, drums in front, organ in surround. Then guitar in front, organ in back. Then organ in surround, flute (no credits for flute, but that’s what it sounds like) on right, background in back.

Be Glad
Starts with piano right rear, then rest of the band comes in front, except background vocals in rear. Then piano moves to surround, with lead vocals in front, background in rear. Percussion in back, oscillating left and right. Guitar left rear. Swirling organ at end.

Christmas for the Free
Lead vocal front left, piano in surround. One minute in, percussion and bass in front, background vocals in back. Guitar solo right rear.

Candles on the River
Starts with organ in surround, bass on left. The organ moves to right, percussion in front, guitar joins bass on left. Lead vocal left front, then right rear. Then organ left front, guitar left rear, organ moves to right rear with bass and drums in front.

Rosie
Piano left rear, bar noises right rear, then vocal left front, guitar in left rear, drums and bass in front. Background vocals right front.
_____

Argent were one of my favorite groups in the 70’s, and In Deep is the main reason why. I jumped on this the minute I saw it and then waited six weeks for my order to find its way across the Atlantic. It seems to have been shipped from the Czech Republic. I guess that’s what they call a hard Brexit.

Since they are also included in the package, I will also say that Nexus is also a very good album, but Ring of Hands is not. Had they included All Together Now instead of the latter, then you would have pretty much all the Argent you would ever need in one tidy two disc package. I’d have much preferred Circus even. Oh well, Dutton Vocalion beggars can’t be choosers.

As for the surround mix, I’m pretty sure I used to have the quad LP pictured at the top – this sounds like an old friend. Even though the mix is very ambitious almost to the point of being an audio collage, it all sounds just right to me. My track reviews probably didn't record even half of the changes in direction of different instruments. I think I’ve listened to it six times in the last three days. I guess I must really like it. (3/4)

A four for the mix is supposed to be special, but I think I’ve handed out three lately. Maybe the new system has something to do with it. I’m sure I’ll listen to all of the ones in upper echelon again in the near future and perhaps revise a few.

 

Gentle Giant ‎– Three Piece Suite
Label:
Alucard ‎– ALUGG057
Format:
CD, Compilation, Digipak
Blu-ray, Blu-ray Audio, Multichannel, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround
Country:
Germany
Released:
29 Sep 2017
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Prog Rock



CD-1 Giant 6:27
CD-2 Nothing At All 9:07
CD-3 Why Not? 5:32
CD-4 Pantagruel's Nativity 6:57
CD-5 The House, The Street, The Room 6:08
CD-6 Schooldays 7:42
CD-7 Peel The Paint 7:36
CD-8 Mister Class And Quality? 5:52
CD-9 Three Friends 2:56
CD-10 Freedom's Child 3:58
CD-11 Nothing At All (Steven Wilson 7" Edit) 4:54

BD-1 Giant
BD-2 Nothing At All
BD-3 Why Not?
BD-4 Pantagruel's Nativity
BD-5 The House, The Street, The Room
BD-6 Schooldays
BD-7 Peel The Paint
BD-8 Mister Class And Quality?
BD-9 Three Friends
BD-10 Freedom's Child
Instrumentals
BD-11 Giant
BD-12 Nothing At All
BD-13 Why Not?
BD-14 Pantagruel's Nativity
BD-15 The House, The Street, The Room
BD-16 Schooldays
BD-17 Peel The Paint
BD-18 Mister Class And Quality?
BD-19 Three Friends
BD-20 Freedom's Child
Blu Ray Extras Original Album Mixes (Transfered Flat 96/24 Stereo Lpcm)
Gentle Giant
BD-21 Giant
BD-22 Funny Days
BD-23 Alucard
BD-24 Isn't It Quiet And Cold?
BD-25 Nothing At All
BD-26 Why Not?
BD-27 The Queen
Acquiring The Taste
BD-28 Pantagruel's Nativity
BD-29 Edge Of Twilight
BD-30 The House, The Street, The Room
BD-31 Acquiring The Taste
BD-32 Wreck
BD-33 The Moon Is Down
BD-34 Black Cat
BD-35 Plain Truth
Three Friends
BD-36 Prologue
BD-37 Schooldays
BD-38 Working All Day
BD-39 Peel The Paint
BD-40 Mister Class And Quality?
BD-41 Three Friends
-----------------------------------
So with this album, at the time of making this collection they couldn't find all the multitrack tapes, so they made an album up out of what was avialable from them... yea, it sounds like a bit of a cop out, but this is actually a pretty value packed set.
In 5.1 we get three tracks from the debut, two from the follow up and four from the third album, and an extra track Freedom's Child.
We also get hi-res flat transfers of all the albums in full.

No since this came out, they found the complete masters for the debut album, and at the moment at least it is in a very good, but very expensive box set, so I am really hoping for a separate release, because I may be insane, but $400 and over is just way more than I can justify for one disc, never mind, just a few songs.
I guess we could jump up and down and say why didn't they wait, but if they hadn't found more tapes, we would have said hey, why haven't you released that yet ... so it is what it is .

Gentle Giant came to be a from the Shulman brothers band, Simon Dupree and The Big Sound. They were a somewhat blue-eyed soul/pop band, and at one point Reggie Dwight (yes ladies and gentlemen, that's Elton) tinkled the ivories for them. They recorded a song that had Dudley Moore on it etc etc ... but they wanted a change.... gentle Giant was that change, and a big one.

In 1969 the Shulman's (multi-instrumentalists themselves) teamed up with Gary Green and Kerry Minnear, also multi-instrumentalists, and Martin Smith the drummer from Simon Dupree stayed on board. They had three very distinctive vocalists Derek Shulman - who had a sort of Rhythm and Blues type voice (he always reminds me a little of Steve Winwood) Ray Shulman - more kind of, folk type vocals and Kerry Minnear - very delicate voice, sang the lighter folk and somewhat chamber music stuff.
According to a booklet that was included in their first album, the band's name was a reference to a fictional character, a "gentle giant" that happens upon a band of musicians and is enthralled with their music. The character is reminiscent of those from the Renaissance tales of François Rabelais.
From the start, Gentle Giant was a particularly flexible band because of the exceptionally broad musical skills of its members. One Gentle Giant album would list a total of forty-six instruments in the musician credits — all of which had been played by group members — and five of the six members sang, enabling the band to write and perform detailed vocal harmony and counterpoint. The band's approach to songwriting was equally diverse, blending a wide variety of ideas and influences whether they were considered commercial or otherwise.

This compilation mixed to 5.1 by Steven Wilson is made up of tracks from their first three albums, and memory tells me it is really good.
I discovered the band just before the first 5.1 came out, and I found them fascinating and entertaining, and they remain, now, a band I am so glad I discovered and put the time into acclimatising to them.

If you look to buy this from amazon, make sure you search for the bluray, if you want the 5.1. There is a cd a little cheaper that is listed as the Steven Wilson mix, but it is just a stereo cd, please don't get caught in that trap of getting the wrong one.

Amazon have three left in stock for $21.90 https://www.amazon.com/Three-Piece-...te+bluray&qid=1581258368&s=music&sr=1-1-fkmr0
Discogs has it from about $10 Gentle Giant - Three Piece Suite
Elusive Disc has it for $23.99 Gentle Giant Three Piece Suite Blu-Ray & CD
Burning Shed is out of stock, so if you have been sitting on this one, it may pay to grab it before it runs out ... and perhaps, bumps up to a stupid price.

5.1 mix Steven Wilson

Giant
We get a slow fade up organ on the left side, and the bass comes in and then we are into it.
We get some digital type video of construction sites with lyrics coming up on the screen, just for the record.
Organ in rears, gtr front left.
The drums get some nice width also.
Horns front and right.
We have balance, and the mix works well.
There have generally been issues with the debut albums recording quality though, but this is clear and good.
Mellotron starts left side and slowly moves right around the field.
We come to the slow, somewhat regal crescendo that leads back onto the groove.
It's been a while... love these guys
Such a good arrangement, and the mix accentuates that.

Nothing At All
Acoustic just left of front left.
Counter guitar right rear.
Nice bass up front.
Nice layering of stringed instruments, maybe mandolin in here as well.
We get a really slow burn crescendo. Great dynamics.
Again a really nice balanced mix.
We start to move into the rock bit, great riff. Two or three guitars front and either side.
Dies down for the synth, and them boom, back into it. Great arrangement.
Lead gtr left.some nice and cool movement of the guitar, slightly psychedelic.
Hong type sound in rears.
We morph into a flanged drum solo.
The drums rotate around us.
We get some rim shot stuff. Meanwhile on the left Kerry Minnear is playing a somewhat classical piano, that gradually melds into some more fusion type stuff, and there is an almost chaotic mix of circling psychedelic madness.
Not sure if it was the right choice, but it is entertaining.
We move back through the gong, and return to the opening sequence.
Giant are always entertaining.
The mix is unusual in the drum solo section, but it keeps the mind interested, probably even for those that aren't lovers of drum solos even when accompanied by classical piano that morphs into fusion lol

Why Not?
Organ starts us up front.
Guitar on the left front.
Organ rears.
Bvox in rears.
Horn punctuations on the right side.
We break down into a mellow section with mellotron in rears and recorders? Flutes all round.
Organ swells in the rears and the guitar takes a lead front right.
Horn accents left rear.
The mix is very engrossing, and I love this track.
We break to a cool bass and drum groove, then get nice harmonised guitar either side, and then move into a blues jam.
Organ rears, lead guitar front right. Rhythm gtr front left.
So cool.

Pantagruel's Nativity
Synth up front, another left side.
Vocal front. Acoustic guitar front left. Mellotron rears.
Such a great arrangement to this song.
Horns either side.
Another keyboard right front.
Ominous for comes in front and centre over the drums.
We get some wonderful layered counterpoint vocals all around us.
Sounds wonderful.
There is so much that goes on in this song.
The second album was better recorded as well.
This is beautifully immersive, and very much like being inside the story, which is the song.

The House, The Street, The Room
Beautiful warm mildly sub assisted bass up front.
Guitar just left of front left. Keys in the rears. Bvox through rears.various stringed instruments either side.
Again, magnificent arrangement and instrumentation that is really brought to life by the 5.1 soundfield.
Various, strings, keys, horns, percussion etc spread all around us for the break down. Then with a bang we move into a guitar lead break with ominous organ chords and some solid drums.
Organ rear lead front. Drums have nice width .
We move back into the vocal section.
We have the same mix set up.
Great song great mix.
All the tracks have cool little videos with lyrics

Schooldays
Vibes ? Left side guitar right.
More counterpoint vocals using the surround field beautifully.
The bands music and arrangements are so original and unique to me.
Wonderful immersion, and so many wonderful little bits and pieces in the mix... and they are certainly surrounding us.
If they find all the multis and release these as three whole albums, I will definitely be buying them all.
The piano lurches in to take over, accompanied by the mellotron in the rears.
Very full wide sounding piano up front.
Three Friends is such a magnificent album.
Vibes up front. Piano left side. Break down to the guitar playing a run front right, then front left, then left rear.
Wonderful mix.

Peel The Paint
Keys left rear, bass and vocal up front.
Then we become surrounded by mellotron and various other keys. Great sound and mix.
This is such a cool song.
Pizzicato violins, as well as bowed ... I love this. So refreshing to listen to this again.
Then we move into a dirty groove, any rock band would kill for.
Such a great riff and beat, and we are surrounded by all the instruments, as one body, immersing us deeply into the song.
Great stuff.
Then we burst into a great guitar lead break with just the drums, and these guys are burning hot. We get a descending pattern and then it smoothed off to hives us gentle delay guitar over the more jazzy drums. I wonder if this is where Brian May got his inspiration from?

Mister Class And Quality?
Keys rears, bass front, guitar right front, violin left front.
We start with a jam feel that slowly moves into a riff and groove, and it it a great riff and groove.
Another killer track. Another great mix.
Some nice shooting guitar relay effects across the field.
The unsurpassed brilliance of this band never ceases to surprise me. Each time I listen to them I hear something new and special.

Three Friends
We move seamlessly into this track.
Synths either side. Choral vocals all round. Guitar and bass playing melodic lines up front.
Such a grand piece of music.

Freedom's Child
A fairly new song to me. A somewhat folk type ballad.
We get some nice instrumentation around us.
When the vocal comes in we get acoustic front left. Fiddle left side. Keys right side.
Bvox either side.
This is a somewhat more traditional song.
A violin either side.
A really nice way to end this album.

If you aren't familiar with Gentle Giant, please give them a try. They are one of the greatest discoveries in my musical life. It takes a couple of listens to attune to where they are at, but the payoff is so rewarding. I'm not a guy who generally has "a favourite", but whenever I listen to one of their albums, I feel like these guys are my favourite band. The incredible arrangements and writing. The amazing musicality. The complete indifference to genre and focus on writing something worth actually hearing. Sure they probably aren't for everyone, but man, they should be.

This mix is wonderful. The songs are amazing. I think this is another must own disc .... I don't know what else to say, except I really hope all the multi's are found and we get
Gentle Giant
Acquiring The Taste
Three Friends
In a Glass house
Free Hand
Interview
Missing Piece
Civilian
Not so enamoured with Giant For A Day, but heck I would probably still get it. The quad mixes for Interview and Free Hand are good, but pretty much impossible to find, or expensive, I will go through them one day here, but I sure hope we get all these in Wilson surround some day soon .......

 

The Gentle Giant debut has been mixed in surround by Steven Wilson, but it only comes in a very expensive box. There is going to be a repress of 1000 copies in April. I'm gonna stick with the Three Piece Suite.

 

I will be also, but I certainly hope that they release it individually at some point in the future

 

Yes the surround in the Blu-ray is the same Schneider mix.

 

This is me. I was around for a lot of the bands I now love, but wasn’t exactly listening to them at the time. Or when I was listening to them, it was casual and nuances between old/new mixes didn’t register.

So when I went back and rediscovered these albums (especially surround stuff), I didn’t necessarily have the songs imprinted on my brain cells to be a certain way. I enjoy these mixes for what they are now without feeling something’s wrong. But I completely understand when it does jar people, or feel like the songs have been taken a step too far. There are a few albums where a different mix does stand out as different to me, but even then I’m at that point where I want to enjoy music in the moment.

This is where I’m at. I bought the Steven Wilson mixes because I’m such a fan of his work and approach to things. But to make a corny joke... acquiring the taste (sorry!) for GG does take some time. For me, it’s the vocals. It’s not a sound I prefer. But what I love about a lot of Wilson’s remixing projects (King Crimson, Yes, and Gentle Giant... not to mention is own solo albums) is that instrumental versions are included. Because a lot of what made prog great to me was the musicianship. So that’s my entry point with GG. Still not quite a huge fan, but glad I got the albums.

 

Beat


Studio album by
King Crimson
Released 18 June 1982
Recorded March - April 1982
Studio Odyssey Studios, London, England
Genre New wave, progressive rock[1]
Length 35:19
Label E.G.
Producer Rhett Davies

Beat is the ninth studio album by the British rock band King Crimson, released in 1982 by record label E.G. It is the first King Crimson studio album to feature a band line-up identical to that of their previous album.
King Crimson

• Robert Fripp – guitar, organ, Frippertronics
• Adrian Belew – guitar, lead vocals, additional drums (3, 4)
• Tony Levin – bass guitar, backing vocals, Chapman stick
• Bill Bruford – drums, percussion

additional personnel

• Rhett Davies - producer
• Graham Davies - equipment
• Rob O'Conner - cover design
• Tex Read - social services
• Patrick Spinks - management

1. "Neal and Jack and Me" 4:22
2. "Heartbeat" 3:54
3. "Sartori in Tangier" (instrumental) 3:34
4. "Waiting Man" 4:27
5. "Neurotica" 4:48
6. "Two Hands" 3:23
7. "The Howler" 4:13
8. "Requiem" (instrumental) 6:48
-----------------------------------------------------
The Eighties King Crimson was a very different animal to the seventies. The bold experimentation still existed, but Fripp was enthused to some degree by the New Wave. He happily took elements of it and built a new band that could carry off this new sound, and for many of us, it was an overwhelming success. A lot of folks from the seventies could just never come to grips with the change in direction and style, but in reality, the was a progressive band actually progressing, adapting, being reborn.
The album that generally gets all the kudos is Discipline, and why not it is bloody marvelous, but often Beat and Three Of A Perfect Pair, are left out to dry.

Today I am going to revisit Beat

This isn't technically a concept album, but it is somewhat thematic. Although many probably associate the word Beat, with the modern type rhythms and such found within, Beat is actually a kind of double meaning here, as the songs are generally centred around the poets of the Beat era, Jack Kerouac being probably the most famous.

When in the studio, it is often a difficult balance between egos and talents, and probably the reason so many artists choose to fly solo, because you get drawn down a line. You see a path in your own head of where an album, or song, is going to go, and often not everyone agrees, and these kinds of things are the things that break bands up. During the mixing stage of this album, this occurred, and Fripp took off and had nothing more to do with the album. Yea, it may seem like a petulant child thing, but it is amazing how close you can get to your own music, and when someone else drives the ship in another direction it can really mess with your headspace.
The upshot is, not all the band were happy with the album at the time. Later most all agreed that the album should have turned out differently, but anyway ... what do artists know .... so often caught so deeply in their own vision that they throw the bay out with the bath water. Anyhow, I am not as familiar with this album as I should be, but I know it is a very good album.... so lets have at it.

Still available at the Schizoid shop for $24.99 King Crimson - Beat (40th Anniversary Edition)
Still available at the burning shed for 13 pounds Beat - 40th Anniversary Edition
Also available on discogs from about $14 King Crimson - Beat

5.1 mix Steven Wilson, with Robert Fripp
Mastering Simon Heyworth with Robert Fripp

Neal Jack And Me
The rubberband arpeggios here are hypnotic, and put on top of the beat they have, make them almost mainstream.
We have gtrs front and both sides and the way they play off each other it brilliant.
Some amazing lead stuff. Cut through the middle of my head.
Percussion leftish moving about.
Levin's bass slides around in the middle of this beautifully. Bruford manages to make the beat sound natural.
Beautiful stuff. Great mix and great track.

Heartbeat
Again a wonderful triangle of guitar, giving this a beautiful textured sound.
Percussion left rear.
This sounds like it could almost have been a hit single.
Synth or guitar swells in the rears.
Backwards guitar moving around like a fly in a moving car. Awesome.
In spite of its slight strange leanings, this would have been top ten for Hall and Oates.
Great track, great mix.

Sartori In Tangier
We start with some nice guitar volume swells.
Levin pumps in on the bass, Bruford is right there with him, very cool groove.
Swell in rears. Atmospheric guitar up front. Great drums front and sides.
Fully immersed.
Ethereal graceful immersion.
Little pieces of guitar instigated sounds all round, subtle movement also.
Excellent.

Waiting Man
Tapping melody double by drums.
Separate styles of guitar tapping on either side.
This really is quite hypnotic.
Belew puts in a really good vocal.
The way the percussion and the guitars are blending rhythms here is sensational, and being spread around the sound field just enhances that even more.
Fripp I suspect launches into a very controlled lead that is out there, but right in every way.
This is so rhythmically great.

Neurotica
Swell on the left side. Then it kicks in.
We get a guitar sounding like a siren, doppler. A glorious melange of sounds, dancing across the soundfield.
Meanwhile Belew throws out a rapid fire narrative, no idea what he says, but it all works perfectly together.
The music certainly conveys the songs title.
We settle down somewhat, and melody wins the day.
Again surrounded by a triangle of guitars playing off each other.
Beautiful balance and writing and mixing.

Two hands
We start with some really cool guitar.
Congas either side.
This is like liquid soap, it is just slippery and smooth.
Perhaps the guys did disagree about this track, but I think it works really well ... and I'm sure in hindsight they do too.
Really nice volume swell lead.
Really the somewhat smooth and simple styling here, adds abundantly to the feel of the albums flow.
Nice piece of work, I reckon.

The Howler
That triangle of guitars is back, and the beat comes back with it.
These guys get some amazing sounds out of their guitars.
Maybe it's a return of last nights absinthe, but this is a somewhat drunken feeling in the middle of this instrumental section.
Such original arrangements.

Requiem
Swell intro from left radiating to the right.
The front brings in it's own swell pattern.
Surrounded by luxurious swells, creating a sonic landscape that is beautiful, with a hint of sorrow. Totally immersive.
Again hypnotic is the word that comes to mind.
When you figure we must be about to fade out. We get a beautiful melancholy lead break up front. It is really very effective.
As the guitar starts getting totally over the top yet brilliant we are joined by percussion, and this landscape changes again. The guitar leaves us and we have Bruford laying down a jazz type beat.
Then the guitar comes back, and we get abstract guitars either side, the subtle beauty has turned into a revelling frenzy.
The drums are all around us, the guitars are all around us, the restful country pasture has turned into a violent city riot ... yet it has a beauty all its own.
This is the extended version, and so it should be, it's wonderful.

This is probably the closest I have been to this album before. I reckon on previous listens I was probably googling or whatevering ... just listen and let this thing wrap itself around you, bloody wonderful .. and some see this a s lesser album.
I know Crimson aren't for everybody, and there are so many flavours of Crimson that it may be hard for someone new to know what flavour to try. This is somewhat like Talking Heads best more exploratory work, on the next level or something, meaning no insult to either band, both of whom I reckon are great.
I think the surround mix is wonderful, and it is actually almost interactive.
I highly recommend this album. I think it is really a lot more worthy than the general banter would seem to suggest ... I am going to have to revisit Discipline and Three of A Perfect Pair for a reassessment, because this album is really top class, whether they liked it or not.

 

Also don't forget to run through any of the albums we have done, if you feel drawn to

Reference to the albums

Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare
Alan Parsons Project - Tales Of Mystery and Imagination
Allman Brothers Band - Live At Fillmore East
Allman Brother Band - Eat a Peach
Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here thanks @riskylogic
Anathema - Weather Systems thanks @riskylogic
Anderson, Ian - Homo Erraticus
Anderson, Ian - TAAB 2
Argent - In Deep thanks @riskylogic
Ayreon - The Source thanks @riskylogic

Band - Music From Big Pink ... I did this twice ... must occasionally sleep lol
Bass Communion - Loss thanks @riskylogic
The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
The Beatles - Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Be Bop Deluxe - Futurama
Be Bop Deluxe - Sunburst Finish
Beck, Jeff - Blow By Blow
Beethoven - 3rd Symphony Eroica
Beethoven - 5th Concerto (Emporer) - Barenboim/Rubenstein
Bjork - Vespertine
Blackfield - IV thanks @riskylogic
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Blood Sweat and Tears - Blood Sweat And Tears
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties
Blue Oyster Cult - Agents Of Fortune
Bowie, David - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
Browne, Jackson - Running On Empty
Bruford - Feels Good To Me thanks @riskylogic

Charles, Ray - Ray Sings, Basie Swings
Clapton, Eric - Back Home
Cobham, Billy - Spectrum
Cobham, Billy - Spectrum (Quad) thanks @-dave--wave-
Coltrane, Alice/Santana, Carlos - Illuminations

Davis, Miles - Sketches Of Spain
Davis, Miles - In A Silent Way
Davis, Miles - Bitches Brew
Davis, Miles - Live Evil
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Deep Purple - Stormbringer
Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
Depeche Mode - Delta Machine
Derek and the Dominos - Layla and other assorted love songs
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
Doobie Brothers - The Captain And Me
Doors - LA Woman
Drake, Nick - A Treasury
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time
Dukes Of Stratosphear - Psurroundabout Ride
Dylan, Bob - Blonde On Blonde

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

Fagen, Donald - The Nightfly
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Foreigner - Foreigner

Gabriel, Peter - Up
Gallagher, Rory - Big Guns (Best Of)
Gaye, Marvin - Lets Get It On
Genesis - Overview of all thanks @MikeF63
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
Genesis - And Then There Were Three
Gentle Giant - Three Piece Suite
Gentle Giant - The Power and The Glory
Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead

Hackett, Steve - Voyage Of The Acolyte thanks @riskylogic
Hendrix, Jimi - Electric Ladyland

Inxs - Kick
Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death

Jeff Beck Group - Rough And Ready
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
Jethro Tull - Minstrel In The Gallery
Jethro Tull - Stormwatch
Jethro Tull - TAAB 2 thanks @riskylogic
Joel, Billy - The Stranger
John, Elton - Madman Across The Water

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - The Traveller
King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King 40th and 50th
King Crimson - Red
King Crimson - Beat
King Crimson - The Power To Believe
Knopfler, Mark - Sailing To Philadelphia
Kooper, Al (with Bloomfield and Stills) Super Sessions
Kraftwerk - 3d Catalogue - Man Machine

Living Colour - Collideoscope
Love And Rockets - Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven thanks @riskylogic
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Southern Surroundings

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire
Marillion - Afraid Of Sunlight
Moody Blues - Days Of Future Passed
Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance
Moody Blues - Seventh Sojourn
Morrison, Van - Moondance
Mussorgsky, Modeste - Carlo Ponti - Pictures At An Exhibition+
Mozart - 40th Symphony

Nektar - Journey To The Centre of The Eye Thanks @riskylogic
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
No Man - Schoolyard Ghosts Thanks @riskylogic

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

Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day
Pineapple Thief - Dissolution
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
Pixies - Doolittle thanks @Galactus2
Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream

Queen - A Night At The Opera

REM - Green
REM - Monster
Rich, Charlie Behind Closed Doors
Riverside - Love, Fear And The Time Machine thankl @riskylogic
Riverside - Wasteland
Roxy Music - Avalon
Rush - Fly By Night
Rush - 2112
Rush - A Farewell To Kings (Wilson version)
Rush - Hemispheres
Rush - Moving Pictures

Santana - Abraxas
Santana - Lotus
Sly And The Family Stone - Greatest Hits
Soord, Bruce - All This Will Be Yours
Squire, Chris - Fish Out Of Water
Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker - Neeme Jarvi
Talking Heads - Fear Of Music
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Damn The Torpedoes
Townsend, Pete/Lane, Ronnie - Rough Mix
T Rex - Electric Warrior

Uk - Night After Night
Uriah Heep - Gold From The Byron Era

Wakeman, Rick - Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth
Waters, Roger - Amused to Death
Wayne, Jeff - War Of The Worlds
Who - Tommy
Who - Quadrophenia
Wilson, Steven - The Raven That Refused To Sing
Wilson, Steven - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Wings - Band On The Run

XTC - The Black Sea
XTC - Oranges and Lemons

Yes - Close To The Edge
Yes - Tale Of Topographic Oceans
Young, Neil - Harvest

Zappa - Quaudiophiliac

If the mood takes you, please feel free to give us your summary of any of these albums that we have done. For our purposes here, please try and give us information about the mix, in as much or as little detail as takes your fancy.
If you feel so inclined, review the album, and the mastering or anything else about the album that you feel drawn to.
Cheers,
Mark

 

Well firstly, thanks for the choices you made this week, that was a fantastic mornings listening for me.
Secondly, maybe it's the bronchitis, but now I'm exhausted lol
So I am going to chill and watch a Rush Bluray concert

 

Some choices for next week

Bryan Adams- reckless

 

Bjork - homogenic

 

Steve Hackett - At the edge of light

 

Opeth - heritage

 

Soundgarden - superunknown

 

Tangerine dream - ricochet

 

David bowie - station to station

 

Bryan ferry - boys and girls

 

My entry point to Crimson was Thrak and it remains my favorite KC album. But after getting that album, I went back to the other Belew releases and really like those three albums from the 80s.

Beat is actually my least favorite of the three, but I still enjoy it. Discipline gets my top vote. But taken all together, it’s really a nice set of albums that do have a similar feel, and totally unlike anything I had in my library at the time.

 

Rick wakeman - journey to the centre of the earth

 

Talking heads - naked

 

Great review!

That included me, briefly. I actually STILL have a bug up my a$$ about the 80s. I continue to be annoyed by the tinny, twitchy dance club presentation of the most popular 80s music. The gated drums, the affected vocals. I'm all about change and progression, but The Popular Taste escapes me.

Nonetheless, it was/is those very dance clubs that do routinely explore for the Next Big Thing. Artful developments often materialize after the initial shock. King Crimson would be Exhibit A therein.

I can't deny I didn't immediately get Discipline (after being wired to the band since 1969), but two things can confirm the greatness: 1. seeing them live at the time made everything clear, period. 2. if you weren't fortunate enough to do 1., then Steven Wilson's remixes – both stereo and 5.1 – reinstall the appropriate weight this band had. Translation: Levin's bass is now an equal partner in the quartet; original releases were 80s-tinny.

Wilson's remixes are my go-to version for the entire Crim catalog. Very mindful of the originals, but just enough revision to drive home the weight and power. (Lizard!)

Production-wise, Beat is nothing less than yet another fine Wilson remix. The 80s material in particular really gets a serious boost in 5.1.

Content-wise, my only criticism of Beat is that tunes such as Heartbeat, Two Hands, Howler come off more like Belew songs rather than King Crimson works; both Fripp and Belew have acknowledged this. The band was fractious, no doubt. But often that results in superior music.

Whether they know it or not.

 

Agree completely.
I agree that those tracks sound like Belew, but to a degree it gives the album a really good balance .. for my ears at least.

As I only really started listening to music in, literally 1980, properly, I kind of grew accustomed to the way it sounded. I was grounded in 50's, 60's, and 70's pretty well, and would generally say they are my favourite periods of rock, but the eighties is like a close friend that not everybody likes in my world lol