Surroundablog

Thick as a.......deluxe edition!

Hot on the heels of Steven Wilson's excellent remaster of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" comes word on "Thick as a Brick". In this month's issue of "Classic Rock"....Johnny Black interviewed the eccentric flautist of Jethro Tull....

Aqualung and Thick as a Brick  are set for Deluxe Editions soon. How involved have you been with the new packages.

IAN: I started having discussions with them more than a year ago with  EMI, whose initiative it was. A lot of credit for how good they sound now has to go to Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree who did the remixes. I'm involved but, really, Steven doesn't need me holding his hand because he has an instinctive and very respectful way of working. He has great regard for the original so he can bring about something with a lot more sonic clarity and authority without making it sound too unfamiliar.

This revelation is not expected before the new year....but stay tuned for all the bits and bytes of this gem coming soon....SOON.....5.1 TOO PLEASE!

Also...check out this article written by Anne Leighton concerning Ian Anderson's upcoming tour "Thick as a Brick" which will include a multitude of special guests..... http://anneleightonmedia.blogspot.com/2011/08/two-announcements-from-ian-anderson-and.html

More Jethro Tull comin'

I've been a fan of this band since Jethro first put drill to seed...andI missed this release the first time around (thanks RT musicman for the info). If you missed it too...A digitally re-mastered and expanded three disc Collector's Edition of Jethro Tull's brilliant 1969 sophomore release.

CD 1 includes Stand Up re-mastered and 11 bonus tracks (including BBC radio sessions and the classic singles Living In The Past and Sweet Dream), while CD 2 contains a 1970 live show from Carnegie Hall.

A DVD-Audio disc features a 5.1 mix of the Carnegie Hall show plus an interview with Ian Anderson.

Comes as a deluxe digipack with a replica of the original vinyl gatefold pop-up and a detailed booklet.

'A crucial album.' - Popmatters

CD 1: Original album, re-mastered:

1. A New Day Yesterday
2. Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square
3. Bouree
4. Back To The Family
5. Look Into The Sun
6. Nothing Is Easy
7. Fat Man
8. We Used To Know
9. Reasons For Waiting
10. For A Thousand Mothers

Bonus tracks

11. Living In The Past
12. Driving Song
13. Sweet Dream
14. 17 [mono]
15. Living In The Past [original mono single version]

"Top Gear" BBC Radio session recorded 6/16/69; broadcast 6/22/69

16. Bouree [mono]
17. A New Day Yesterday [mono]
18. Nothing Is Easy [mono]
19. Fat Man [mono]

20. Stand Up US radio spot #1
21. Stand Up US radio spot #2

CD 2: Live At Carnegie Hall [1970]

1. Nothing Is Easy
2. My God
3. With You There To Help Me/By Kind Permission Of
4. A Song For Jeffrey
5. To Cry You A Song
6. Sossity, You're A Woman/Reasons For Waiting/Sossity, You're A Woman
7. Dharma For One
8. We Used To Know
9. Guitar Solo
10. For A Thousand Mothers

Disc 3 - DVD Audio

Live At Carnegie Hall [1970]
Carnegie Hall audio: DTS & Dolby Digital 24 bit 48kHz
5.1 surround sound and 2.0 24 bit 48 kHz LPCM stereo [audio only]

1. Introduction
2. Nothing Is Easy
3. My God
4. With You There To Help Me/By Kind Permission Of
5. A Song For Jeffrey
6. To Cry You A Song
7. Sossity, You're A Woman/Reasons For Waiting/Sossity, You're A Woman
8. Dharma For One
9. We Used To Know
10. Guitar Solo
11. For A Thousand Mothers

DVD Bonus Feature:

An interview with Ian Anderson [London, 2010]

Opeth Heritage...but where's Storm Corrosion?

Here's some detail on the upcoming multichannel release of Opeth's "Heritage". Their appearance at last weeken's "HeavyTO" festival surpassed the headliners of Rob Zombie, Anthrax, Megadeth and Motorhead. Now then...when and where is the Steven Wilson-Mikael Akkerfeldt-Mike Portnoy super project Storm Corrosion?.....?

Opeth has spent over two decades steadily amassing a body of work that is at once possessed of a fervent and unrelenting devotion to aesthetic progression (and perfection) while simultaneously scaling the summits of power, mysticism and might aspired to by the group's hard rock forefathers in Sabbath, Purple and Zeppelin.
The band's roots in the doom-laden shade of occult-infused Scandinavian death metal and dark romanticism are undeniable and will never elicit apology. But the transcendent emotional and melodic heights achieved on the brilliantly titled tenth full length Opeth album, Heritage, marks a new chapter in the storied quintet's career. Band leader, singer, guitarist, songwriter and long-running consistent member Mikael Åkerfeldt has reshaped the pathway forward for his artistic vehicle without sacrificing the hard won spiritualism of previous endeavors

Special Edition contains 2 bonus tracks and a full length DVD making of the album as well as a 5.1 mix of the entire album.

video

CD:
01. Heritage
02. The Devil's Orchard
03. I Feel The Dark
04. Slither
05. Nepenthe
06. Häxprocess
07. Famine
08. The Lines In My Hand
09. Folklore
10. Marrow Of The Earth
11. Pyre
12. Face In The Snow

DVD:
Includes 2 bonus tracks, 5.1 audio mix of album and ‘making of Heritage’ Documentary

1st Annual Toronto Audio and Video Entertainment Show

This summer kicked off with the unexpected demise of audiophile retailer Brack Electronics. It was a day to forget as some choice pieces fell under the gavel at prices that were sobering. Personally; I thought many of the demos and end of the liners went too high and were mostly 5 years past their due date. Why would anyone purchase a pair of B&W CM7s with a cracked cabinet for 800.00 a pair?! But I digress....here is some great news for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts....

"Get ready for the most anticipated consumer electronics event in Canada! After almost a decade of absence, Toronto will host a brand new consumer audio video and electronics show. The event, organized by an experienced team, promises to promote and revitalize the consumer electronics industry and is expected to draw thousands of visitors.

The Toronto Audio Video Entertainment Show, dubbed TAVES, has come to life after two years of development and market study, thanks to the collaboration of Canada HiFi magazine, Salon Son & Image and AuDiYo Inc. The first annual show will be held at the luxurious Le Meridien King Edward hotel from September 30th to October 2nd , 2011 just in time for the biggest shopping season. The King Edward hotel is a prestigious heritage building located in the heart of downtown Toronto and offers larger than average exhibit rooms with excellent sound acoustics.

The TAVES will showcase state-of-the-art consumer audio video products and technologies from mainstream and enthusiast brands. Consumers will be able to listen to and compare a large number of two-channel music systems as well as experience full-scale home theater setups. Products on display will range from entry-level components to the ultra high-end and everything in between. In addition, a number of exhibitors will present the visitors with the opportunity to purchase various media products from rare music discs, vinyl albums and Blu-ray discs. On Saturday evening visitors and exhibitors will be invited to listen to a number of live music performances by Canadian professional artists.

The show exhibition space will consist of a combination of larger than average hotel guestrooms, large parlours and a grand ballroom. Beds and other furniture will be removed from the rooms to accommodate audio and video setups.

Additional note: Roger Daltrey is performing "Tommy" in its entirety on Friday September the 30th at the Sony Centre in Toronto...and its located just 4 blocks away! Also; the Billy Bishop airport is a hub for major east coast cities AND its located in the downtown core of Toronto. So all you audio enthusiasts in Canada, Chicago, Detroit, New York etc. make plans to attend the greatest offering of quality un-bigbox electronics at the 1st Annual Toronto Audio and Video Entertainment Show.

http://www.taveshow.com/About/taves.html

 

What's Grey and Pink and surround all over?

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of Caravan's seminal 'Canterbury' offering, In The Land Of Grey And Pink, the album has been reissued as a three-disc, deluxe edition.

Alongside a new remaster of the original mix and several rarities (both audio and visual), the multi-track master tapes have been remixed in stereo and 5.1 surround by Steven Wilson.

The booklet includes many rare period photographs and an informative Mark Powell essay.

Disc one features the original album newly remastered by Paschal Byrne at The Audio Archive plus three new Stereo mixes by Steven Wilson.

Disc two features two previously unreleased versions of It Doesn't Take A Lot and Nigel Blows A Tune plus four non-album tracks remixed by SW. Disc two also includes three songs recorded live for BBC radio's Sounds of the Seventies - Love To Love You, Love Song Without Flute and In The Land Of Grey And Pink plus two songs recorded live for John Peel's Sunday Concert which included a superb cover version of Soft Machine's Feelin', Reelin', Squealin' and Caravan's epic Nine Feet Underground.

Disc three is a DVD featuring a brand new 5.1 surround sound and stereo mix of the album plus two performances recorded for German TV's Beat Club in June 1971. Golf Girl was broadcast at the time but Winter Wine has never been previously seen before now.

Pete Townshend feeling Quadrophenic....in proper 5.15-ery Guvner...

Editor's note: Pete Townshend is frittering the days away by working on a proper box set reissue of Quadrophenia. Several tracks will be presented in surround sound.....(bets on "I am the Sea-the Real Me). Here's his latest blog entry...

WHAT I'M DOING EVERYDAY

I am shut away in my home studio at the moment working to restore the demos of Quadrophenia. Bob Pridden is doing surround-sound mixes of selected tracks. Jon Astley is remastering the original vinyl mix, and evaluating his own 1996 remix (the one where you can properly hear Roger's astonishing vocals). I am sitting in a pile of notes, desk diaries, photos (I took a lot of my own between 1971-1973 when Quadrophenia emerged), original lyrics and writing liner notes. 

I am really enjoying this work. Bob's mixes are mind-blowing. My demos are among the best I've ever done, and include some real quirky tracks that didn't make it onto the final album. I still find studio work strange – I have to have the speakers very low in volume, not what I'm used to. This package, due in October if all goes well, is another Live at Leeds and Hull – or even another Lifehouse Chronicles – in the making. You are going to love it. I hope so, because I am missing this summer sunshine to get it completed on time. 

In my recent interview with my friend Simon Garfield for INTELLIGENT LIFE, I professed some difficulty in my interaction with fans as I grow older. What is so wonderful about working on Quadrophenia is that back in 1970, all the way through to the recording in 1973, the primary challenge for me was to tell the story of the Who's fans and at the same time address the wayward creative needs of the band as individuals and artists. The Who, and Jimmy as a kind of model for one or all of our fans, really had developed a powerful symbiosis that deserved a project like Quadrophenia both to honour the mechanism and address why it started to fail almost a soon as it had begun 

So I am enjoying working with the music, but I'm enjoying writing about it too.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds release Collectors Editions of 4 Classic Albums on Monday May the 16th....

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds announce the latest in a series of re-issues of their classic albums. Let Love In (1994), Murder Ballads (1996), The Boatman’s Call (1997) and No More Shall We Part (2001) — their eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh studio albums respectively – will come out 16^th May 2011, each as a separate deluxe double-disc Collectors Edition.

 These latest releases are the third set of reissues from a series that will ultimately see Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ entire album catalogue digitally re-mastered and remixed for 5.1 Surround Sound for the first time since their original release.

Each deluxe double-disc Collectors Edition contains the re-mastered stereo album, the new surround mix (in DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1), a specially commissioned short film made by UK artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, plus b-sides from the singles, videos and exclusive sleeve notes.

The first three consecutive albums in the re-mastered deluxe edition series — From Her to Eternity, The Firstborn Is Dead, Kicking Against the Pricks — were released in 2009. The next four in the series — Your Funeral…My Trial, Tender Prey, The Good Son and Henry’s Dream – were released last year. All were received with unanimous critical welcome.

Pink Floyd Immersion....

EMI is making yet another trip to the Pink Floyd well......and they're unleashing a deluge of previously unreleased live material, alternate cuts and......a surround sound version of "Wish You Were Here"!

The "Discovery Series" consists of the entire catalogue of remastered albums in one box set (or individually) hits the market on September 27. All 14 original Studio albums have been painstakingly digitally remastered by James Guthrie (co-producer of The Wall), and are reissued with newly crafted packaging and booklets created by the band’s long-time artwork collaborator Storm Thorgerson. These ‘Discovery’ albums are designed as an introduction to the artist, with all booklets including full album lyrics.

The "Experience editions" are expanded versions of classic albums in a Digipak bonus disc format. Included are the original remastered album, a disc of additional material and an expanded CD booklet. Experience editions:

The "Dark Side of The Moon" Experience boxset (September 27)
Includes a 2nd disc of a live performance of Dark Side of the Moon at Wembley in 1974

"Wish You Were Here" Experience boxset (November 8)
Includes a 2nd disc of previously unreleased studio and live recordings

"The Wall" Experience boxset is a 3 disc set (few details so far) (February 28, 2012)

And then the "Immersion" series.....Immersion Editions present the complete artistic experience. Lavishly packaged in a sturdy 29cm square box, the sets contain remastered, previously unreleased and audio-visual material, plus much additional content – reproduced memorabilia, brand new graphics, art prints, collectors’ items, lavish booklets and more. It looks like the boxes will be a mixture of dvd and blu-ray with more info to come....but so far...

The "Dark Side of the Moon" Immersion box features 6 discs of audio and video content with many previously unreleased segments of 5.1 Concert Film footage from the early '70's. I suspect one of the discs will be the discontinued sacd version and maybe we'll get the Alan Parsons version too (fingers crossed). It too comes out Sept. 27th.

The "Wish You Were Here" Immersion box features 5 discs of audio and video and includes the quad mix as a special bonus. It's out November 8th

"The Wall" Immersion contains 7 discs of studio and live performances and will probably include a remastered "Is there anybody out there" set. Further details are sketchy but hopefully the set will also include previously unreleased video footage and live cuts...

All editions are available for preorder on Amazon....see www.whypinkfloyd.com for more info...

 

 

 

Surroundagoth.....

 

Paradise Lost (Draconian Times: Legacy Edition) CD

The album has been fully re-mastered and has SEVEN previously unreleased bonus tracks added. These comprise two demos from the original 1994 sessions and five live tracks recorded on the original European tour in 1995. The second disc is a DVD and comprises a brand new 5.1 mix of the original album. Additionally, the DVD features the promo videos for the singles Forever Failure and The Last Time plus Hallowed Land (recorded live at the 1995 Dynamo Festival). Disc 1: CD – remastered album + SEVEN previously-unreleased tracks 1. Enchantment (6.03) 2. Hallowed Land (5.03) 3. The Last Time (3.27) 4. Forever Failure (4.18) 5. Once Solemn (3.04) 6. Shadow Kings (4.41) 7. Elusive Cure (3.21) 8. Yearn for Change (4.20) 9. Shades of God (3.55) 10. Hands of Reason (3.58) 11. I See Your Face (3.17) 12. Jaded (3.29) 13. Enchantment (5.03) * 14. Last Desire * This song never previously released in any form) (3.10) * 15. Forever Failure (4.21) ** 16. Shadow Kings (4.49) ** 17. Once Solemn (3.05) ** 18. Hallowed Land (5.11) ** 19. The Last Time (Live Germany 1995) (3.41) ** Disc 2: DVD – original album mixed to 5.1 + 3 bonus promo videos 1. Enchantment (6.03) 2. Hallowed Land (5.03) 3. The Last Time (3.27) 4. Forever Failure (4.18) 5. Once Solemn (3.04) 6. Shadow Kings (4.41) 7. Elusive Cure (3.21) 8. Yearn for Change (4.20) 9. Shades of God (3.55) 10. Hands of Reason (3.58) 11. I See Your Face (3.17) 12. Jaded (3.29) Bonus video footage: 1. Forever Failure (4.48) 2. The Last Time (3.36) 3. Hallowed Land (5.15) ** * Demo from 1994 ** Live in Germany 1995

Emerson Lake and Palmer Legacy Editions

This month's edition of Prog Rock contains the following tidbit..

"It might only seem like yesterday that another raft of ELP reissues appeared but the recent sale of the band's back catalog from Universal to Sony means this year will once again see the band's majestic past raked over. What will undoubtedly thrill any ELP fan wil be the news of impending Legacy editions of, initially, "Tarkus" and "Pictures at an Exhibition" which will come with new 5.1 remixes (rumours currently suggest at the hand of Steven Wilson), extensive sleevenotes and bonus materials ...!