Steven can wait as long as he likes now to remix Songs From the Wood, since I have only just acquired the original!
Steven can wait as long as he likes now to remix Songs From the Wood, since I have only just acquired the original!
From 2013
http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/sw-remi...tulls-benefit/
Steven’s new stereo and surround mixes of Jethro Tull’s classic third album Benefit will be released on 28th October in a 3 disc CD/DVD and single vinyl edition. Also included are new mixes of all single A and B sides from the period, with the exception of The Witch’s Promise for which the multitrack tapes are missing (the original mix is included in both mono and stereo however). No mastering has been done to the remixes, and a flat transfer of the original stereo mix is also included.
http://audiophilereview.com/audiophi...-sparkles.html
Firth, I think you missed bob-32-116's rather subtle joke!
Has anyone ever considered that maybe the original mixes where just how the bands, artists, or their hired engineers intended?
Sometimes it's ok for things to sound blended.... and not every instrument panned and eq'ed then placed into an un natural position in the sound stage is best for the overall experience.
A cooked soup that blends all the ingredients together sometimes tastes better than each ingredient tasted separately.
Well in the case of these Steven Wilson remixes, they are commissioned by the artists, so I'm guessing that Fripp, Anderson et al. were less than happy with some of them, and felt they could be improved. Whether you or I find them to be actually improved is of course subjective.
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.
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I'm with Skullhead on this one actually, though possibly for different reasons. I grew up on the original mixes; that's how I hear those albums and anything else sounds wrong, really. The biggest exception so far has been Relayer, which was such a pile of crap that I can't help but love the clarity of the SW remix. But even there there are balances in the keyboards that vary from the original that drive me nucking futz. OTOH, the remixes are often a fantastic intellectual exercise in hearing music in a fresh way, and to enjoy the possibilities of what could have been in a different time or place for this music. The remixes of Inconsolable Secret were presented in that vein, as a companion to the original mixes, not a replacement. The notion that the old versions are somehow magically more blended, or warm, or whatever though is a misnomer imo. They're merely familiar.
For me it is a selfish reason, Songs From the Wood is my favorite Tull. I do have the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab disc, which I think sounds really good, but would like to hear what SW would do with it. Honestly, I pass on most of these remixes, since many I have on album, CD, remastered CD, and now this? Not sure I can justify buying the same thing over and over - I'd rather hear something new.
As for the Hackett box - I have everything he has done, and just cant justify the expense. Hope it sells well for him
I was talking to a major label sound engineer a few years ago, and he told me that he actually mixes stuff now to sound best on the iphone, mp3 platform.
I almost vomited, but somehow didn't.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
If you read what Ian had Steven do for Benefit, then you would understand that the original stereo mixes were optimized for the equipment people had which didn't have good stereo separation. Therefore, even digital and today's systems don't portray a straight up transfer the way it used to sound. Every live performance is a cooked up sound and what's wrong with the artist wanting to convey his art differently.
The iPhone is more of a Apple compression platform, but ITunes does support lossless. Apple has actually given artists tools which require an high res input and allow the artist to avoid saturation in the compression process. So the output is the Apple compressed format which is better that MP3 at the same data rate.
Huh, afaik our direct sales still lean very heavy on cd and physical media. At least I don't think many prog bands are consciously mixing for phones and earbuds though there's a project or two I can think of that did pretty well that do have that kind of sound (and were mostly praised for it).
^ ^ ^
I was speaking of sales, not speaking of specifically mixing for mp3 and earbuds. Sorry for my confusion.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
With Tull and KC SW was definitely in touch with Fripp and Anderson, and I believe that he was probably directly commisssioned by XTC, but I've never heard it said that he was commissioned by the artists for the Yes, ELP, Simple Minds, Hawkwind or Tears For Fears remixes. I'd be very interested to know the process of his becoming involved in each case.
I am only interested in remixes where I think there was something deficient with the original. Most of what Wilson has done, I don't feel that is the case. And as I don't have any interest in 5.1 mixes (I find them artificial, I'm a stereo or mono listener) which I suppose are the main selling point of them, that aspect doesn't appeal to me either.
However I will say he's almost single-handedly revived the surround market. It was basically dead in the water before that, after the whole SACD/DVD-A thing.
Last edited by JJ88; 10-21-2015 at 10:39 AM.
I would/could never buy any of these mega-boxes that are coming out but Steven Wilson's quote in the first post here suggests the Steve Hackett set is doing very well indeed. He had good sales on Wolflight, the GTR Esoteric re-release is selling well (Vicky has confirmed this here) and now this. It does feel like there's a wider audience for his solo work than there was before he did the Genesis Revisited II album and tour, which is nice.
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