Wanna hear THRILLER in 5.1? Too bad . . . for now.

http://mixonline.com/recording/mixing/new-york-metro-november/

We all know cover-ups are occurring everyday, with the CIA, the FBI, the military and…Michael Jackson? You better believe it. With the 25th anniversary of Thriller past, it may seem surprising that no 5.1 surround version of one of the greatest albums of all time has ever been released — especially because the 6-channel mix for much of the album has been in existence since 2001.

The intrigue began seven years ago, when mixer Mick Guzauski (www.jdmanagement.com) got a call from Tommy Mottola and Al Smith at Sony Records: Would he be interested in doing a surround mix of the Quincy Jones-produced Thriller — the album that has sold an estimated 100 million copies and won seven Grammys? “I said, ‘Yeah!’” Guzuaski recalls. “Thriller has great production, great music, great parts. I thought something like that could really work in 5.1.”

Early on, however, Guzauski got the feeling that things might not move smoothly for Thriller. “There were arguments going on within Sony,” he says. “Some people thought strongly that it should be left as is and not mixed in surround, and some thought that it should. While that was going on, there were all the well-publicized problems between Michael and Tommy, and Michael and the law.”

Nonetheless, later in the year, Guzauski's Lawrence Swist-designed Barking Doctor Recording studio (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) received a prized shipment in the form of the raw Thriller sessions, transferred from 30 ips analog to Sony 3348 48k/24-bit digital tape.

Working with his longtime assistant Tom Bender (Thriller engineer/stereo mixer Bruce Swedien was invited but was unavailable), Guzauski hunkered down behind his Sony Oxford console and got to work on converting Thriller from stereo to multichannel.

“The approach wasn't to change anything,” he explains. “Bruce did an incredible job recording that album. Naturally, [my approach] is going to be a little different — different studio and different mixer — but I wanted to give the album a little more space to live in while staying true to the original mixes.”

Mixing down to six tracks in Pro Tools, Guzauski began to sink his teeth into the hits that make up Thriller, giving the surround treatment to “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” “The Girl Is Mine,” “Baby Be Mine,” “Wanna Be Startin' Something” and “Beat It.”

“The appeal of surround is there's so much more space to place stuff in,” says Guzauski. “Where Thriller benefited most from this was mainly in the vocal arrangements. There are so many cool things in the background that didn't draw your attention in the stereo mix, but really helped in 5.1.

“The song ‘Thriller’ gave us the most opportunity to be expressive with the surround soundfield: the door slamming, the guy walking around — all the effects there were fabulous.”

Listening on five Tannoy SRM 10B monitors and a JBL subwoofer, Guzauski reached mostly for outboard gear such as his EMT 140 plate, Sony DRE777 and Eventide SP2016 reverbs. “There actually weren't a lot of reverbs and delays on that record,” he observes. “Michael's vocals were very well-recorded, so there wasn't any dynamics correction needed. It was just finding the balance and positioning, and getting it to fit in the mix.”

Into 2002 and in the middle of mixing “Beat It,” Guzauski got another call from Sony. “They put a hold on it,” he reports, “and said, ‘We don't know if we're going to finish it.’ They said they'd restart it several times, but the last time was in 2004, when I got a call saying, ‘We want to finish Thriller. What would it cost?’ Two hours later, it came on the news that Michael's Neverland ranch had been raided for a second time. That's the last I heard about it.”

In the wake of label infighting, legal wrangling and Jackson's personal problems, the only place in the world to hear true 5.1 surround mixes of Thriller is sitting next to Guzauski at Barking Doctor. “It's one of the most classic records ever made,” he says, “and it works great in 5.1. I just know a lot of people would love to hear it like that.”

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I head Bubbles the chimp ripped a copy off the hard drive, though...

 

I've wanted MJ in 5.1 for awhile. I think his albums really lend themselves to multichannel, they're layered, playful, and I think it's really a missed opportunity. Not that it'll make any money for Sony...

 

I could understand how a band's performance would be great to hear in surround sound, but truthfully and speaking as a fan, I can't imagine wanting to hear MJ's stuff in surround. It's mostly all electronic instruments anyway.

 

I don't understand why that would be less suitable? I'd like to hear Kraftwerk in 5.1. Vangelis too. Anything works, if it works.

 

how about "billie jean" in surround on the history dvd? it's quite spectacular with the backing vocals, violins, keyboards becoming discrete

 

All the master tapes on Michael's solo projects exist, and I bet most of them could be remixed from 24 track (or 48 track in the case of his later albums) to surround with great results. These would be fantastic SACD surround/stereo reissues.

Unfortunately, there's so much politics going on, this would be as bad as trying to remix the later Beatles albums to surround. Plus, I'm not sure a big enough market exists to justify the expense.

 

I could imagine a very potent surround mix for Thriller, at least for some songs. The timeline discussed in the piece where work is halted, is right around the time Sony stopped pushing SACD. Was the surround mix intended for a hybrid SACD release? It could have been a big title for the format in surround.

 

hmmmmmm a guy I know has a 5.1 mix of Thriller...... he assures me it sounds amazing !!

 

Its probably some kind of unconverted "mix" using the stereo mix as the source.

 

If they were to release thriller in 5.1, I certainly hope that it would sound balanced.

 

HA! HA! HA! Sony release a hybrid SACD in 2003.

 

I would love to hear Thriller in 5.1. It's a shame it probably will never happen.

 

Michael did not approve the 5.1 mix ...

I've read in "Thriller: The Musical Life of Michael Jackson" by Nelson George (2010)
that Michael Jackson himself had not aproved the 5.1 mix of Thriller on SACD.
I don't know whether he approved the 5.1 mix of his other albums.

 

Billie Jean
Beat It
and Thriller were all mixed in discrete 5.1 by Brad Buxor for the History DVDs and were approved by MJ.

 

I see.

Thanks.
Michael did not approve the Mick Guzauski's 5.1 mix of the Thriller.

 

I'm not an MJ fan, but a blu-ray with all the videos from Thriller with the new surround mix, as well as the album in stand alone audio might sell better than something without video content.

 

Blue-ray Thriller.

Yes, his commanding stage presence, his phenomenal dancing, ...

 

What new surround mix?

 

"Thriller" the song is some kind of fake upmix on the History DVD.

 

Strike that, the already extant surround mix, mentioned in the article.

 

Cool, thanks. I thought that I had missed something.

 

Have a listen to Minimum-Maximum in 5.1. Quite incredible.

 

in the History On Film DVD the only Thriller remixed song was Billie Jean. Thriller and Beat it videoclips have sound effects and the film and DV 2-channel tracks had to be used. they've just added barely audible reverb in surround and center channels

 

By the way, has that film edit of "Thriller" even been released?

I'm always sorry for people that are trying to mimick the video choreography using the standard album version...