If any of you fancied buying Steven Wilson's remix of Jethro Tull's Stand Up album but baulked at the pricey box set, it's now out in a affordable 1 disc version.
I spent the weekend comparing SW's 2016 remix back to back with the previous 2001 Ian Anderson-approved remaster, and you read the results here:
https://momentstransition.wordpress....on-remix-2016/
including a little hint about SW's next confirmed remix.
Good review! Nice to have a pretty close comparison with the original mix
There has yet to be a version of this album that does justice to the track We Used To Know. The opening verses have always sounded so muted and quiet to me, like something went wrong during the recording or something. I had hoped the SW mix would bring some life to it, but nope.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
You're not the only one who's noticed.Originally Posted by Progatron
either its unfixable, or that's the way Ian Anderson wants it... He did sign off on the final product...
"Angels die, redemption rages
The age of man on an empty page
And chances are
This will save your soul or break it forever"
I'm sure that distant sound at the beginning of the song is an intentional effect, like a voice coming from the past. I've always loved that, I'd hate for it to be changed.
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx
I have an original UK vinyl rip of this (along with just about every CD version except for this new SW) and it sounds magnificent. Curious to hear this one.
Last edited by chalkpie; 02-20-2017 at 12:57 PM.
Unfortunatelly, link doesn't work for me.
Seen this?
Is the idea that Tull is Yacht Rock? Never thought of it as such but I suppose it could be.
Give me a break.
FWIW, comparing the 2001 CD (which isn't a highly regarded version of the original mix) to the remix seems a bit puzzling.
I've got about 3-4 vinyl pressings of this album that are absolutely fantastic. For digital, the original US Chrysalis CD and the MFSL CD already sounded great. I find myself somewhat amazed that record labels are able to take great sounding albums, digitally remix them and actually sell the stuff. I have curiously tried many of Wilson's remixes trying to be open-minded but finally gave up. The appeal of his work just doesn't compute except that I suspect so many music listeners have become used to listening to sterile, lifeless sounding CDs which have been poorly mastered that Wilson's remixes sound acceptable by comparison.
Great sounding record that never, ever needs a "remix."
Obviously this only applies to a stereo remix. Apples to apples, after all.
I don't think that was the plan. I think someone on the staff there just loved Tull enough to force an episode about it. It's more about the tastes of the host Steve's dad than Yacht Rock for this one episode... Oddly
Hi Grego
I tried the link and it seems to work ok - https://momentstransition.wordpress....on-remix-2016/
Cheers
Hi Jeff
I did the comparison between the two cds because (a) I don't have it on vinyl and (b) there are bound to be others like me who bought the IA approved remasters in 2001 and that's been their main copy of the album until now. Sorry if I puzzled you
SW's remixes are always going to be a source of controversy, but I kinda think that's cool because in the end it draws everyone's attention back to the album itself. I find it helps me rediscover albums that have sat neglected in the cupboard for years.
If you've already got a version of Stand Up that you think sounds good, then that's great!
Having grown up with the vinyl, I won't disagree with your points, and have read many of your posts and respect your audio knowledge, which probably blows away 99% of us on these forums.
That being said, I love the care that Steven Wilson gives these projects. And you DO get excellent needle drops PLUS a 5.1 version (usually the deal maker in my case), plus well written liner notes and seldom seen photos and band perspectives from the recording and touring that took place. All for a price much less than a MFSL or (gasp) DCC or AF version, where they even exist.
So if the remix is not to your liking, there is so much more to take in. I compare these to various deluxe editions or the many box sets I have purchased from other bands and there is generally no contest.
What is a little unsettling to me is that in 20 years people may only know Genesis (for example) material from the recent revisionist remixes and not the original versions.
I thought the same myself.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've got the very same vinyl reissue I bought back in '87 and it sounds crazy good.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I was probably just in a bad mood yesterday.Hi Jeff
I did the comparison between the two cds because (a) I don't have it on vinyl and (b) there are bound to be others like me who bought the IA approved remasters in 2001 and that's been their main copy of the album until now. Sorry if I puzzled you
SW's remixes are always going to be a source of controversy, but I kinda think that's cool because in the end it draws everyone's attention back to the album itself. I find it helps me rediscover albums that have sat neglected in the cupboard for years.
If you've already got a version of Stand Up that you think sounds good, then that's great!
Look, all I'm saying is that I find the praise of Wilson's remixes often come with a caveat; the buyer has done little to no research on what the preferred versions are of the original mix. He uses a version for comparison that generally isn't considered good in the first place, then thinks Wilson's new mix sounds wonderful.
I've seen the argument that Wilson brings attention back to some great albums. I can't say I disagree.
But I think what he's doing to analog recordings is simply abysmal. We're changing from a musical world where overall tonality, warmth and a final artistic statement agreed upon by talented musicians, highly skilled engineers and creative producers are being replaced with the following factor: "Oooh, I don't remember hearing that bass note in that section before!"
People feeling they need to somehow "prove" their love for an album by buying it again is justified with the "detail" component of a mix. And it's only my less than optimistic opinion but I think people are being way too gullible. I'm not suggesting that Steven Wilson isn't passionate about his work and doesn't believe in it, because I think he does. However, these releases ultimately amount to fans being sold a product which they have most likely purchased already, and on some level are being told is now "improved." IMO, that notion is not only absurd, but the product is markedly inferior to its original offering in nearly every case where I've compared.
The "bonus" material is wonderful in some cases, but I don't think the new mixes should be immune from praise or criticism as a result. I would also point out that the needle drops that accompany these have in some cases been proven to be somewhat poor, and easily outdone by what's out there in the vinyl ripping community already.
TBH, I don't get involved in these threads much any longer. I've gone back to listening to music on vinyl about 95% of the time. Music gets to my soul that way and I've remembered why I fell in love with it. There is something about digital that isn't right, IMO. And while I can enjoy a little of it and do concede that hi-res can sound incredible, I think Wilson's mixing technique is so fundamentally flawed that it is nearly unlistenable.
When you strip every track from an analog multitrack mix down to a hi-res file, then reassemble the mix with software, you are just losing too many things for the sake of "clarity." All the final decisions are gone. You have to recreate the reverb with digital plug-ins and so forth. It just doesn't work, IMO. And it saddens me that I've seen some of the most brilliant and artistic engineers of their time be somewhat dismissed as Wilson's new mixes are hailed as superior. To me, this is just a travesty. Because I don't think Steven Wilson has the creative engineering skills that Eddie Offord or John Burns or Andy Johns or George Chiantz and others had in a single left pinky.
Interesting, I didn't know there was a "vinyl-ripping community." I hope this means there's also a "vinyl-rip sharing community" as well...
The larger set has a flat transfer of the original mix, of course. I would use that as the basis for comparison.
Thanks Valen - tried once more, but it doesn't work. Maybe due to the part of the world I live in.
I have Chrysalis deluxe edition, 2CD + dvd, issued in 2010. It sounds good...
If you look in your message box, you'll find I've sent you a transcript of the review
Anyone buying any of these sets likely has 6 copies of the CD, (or at least has been through a few "upgrades")
Personally the stereo mixes are inconsequential
It's all about the 5.1
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks