• Message from Steven Wilson on the ELP 5.1 Releases

    by
    Steven Wilson
    Published on 07-13-2012 08:16 PM
    12 Comments Comments
    Hi again folks, a little update:

    Although Sony may not have seen your petition, I was certainly aware of it and the enthusiasm for these being issued on a high res format. In fact we do owe Sony our gratitude - they basically fired their regular authoring house from the job (after a pretty poor effort) and have taken a leap of faith in delaying release and trusting me enough to have "my guy" Neil do the job instead - politics in major companies does not often allow for these kind of things to happen, so respect to them for that.

    A couple of other things:

    - the mixes on the DVDA (including the new stereo mix) are flat transfers - unlike on the CD, no mastering has been done, EQ, limiting or compression.

    - I took the opportunity to reconsider and to scrap the idea of the alternative Tarkus running order, so the stereo bonus material now appears at the end of a new mix of the complete album including that classic Are you Ready Eddy (-;

    The 5.1 remixing work has taken a bit of a backseat to my own music for the last year (the 2 ELPs were done last Summer, release schedules take a while to catch up), but I have just finished a mix of another classic 1972 album, not progressive rock this time - news on that soon I hope.

    Best
    SW
    Comments 12 Comments
    1. doppelbock's Avatar
      doppelbock - 07-14-2012, 04:07 AM
      Steven and/or Neil -

      I'm guessing you've seen so many positive comments about these releases without us even having heard them - that in itself is a testament to the faith we have in you guys due to the quality of the work we've bought already, and imho it's well deserved, both with the archive 70's stuff and the newer stuff which I love as well.

      If you've been following the thread(s), one question (hope) that seems to be common is about ELP Welcome Back My Friends album and the status of the multi tracks for potential 5.1 release. Do either of you know, or at liberty to say at this point, if the multis have been found for a potential remix? So many of us are dying to know as this is an album of the band at its peak that is in such dire need of a master's touch.

      I'd by 3 of each copy of ELP and Tarkus if I knew it'd lead to a proper remix of MBMF...seriously I would....any comments are so much appreciated!
    1. jdmack's Avatar
      jdmack - 07-14-2012, 04:33 AM
      Steven,

      Much thanks! I look forward to these and all future releases with which you are involved!

      J. D.
    1. Ranasakawa's Avatar
      Ranasakawa - 07-14-2012, 10:52 AM
      Its such a privelage to have Steven Wilson here being open and honest about the music we all love. Steven has in my opinion reinvigorated my interest in souround 5.1 audio and prog music in general.
      He seems to have respect and clout within the major record companies as well which is a major advantage to all who want this music released in the format WE want.

      Once again I am deeply grateful to Stevens efforts in producing, enhancing and promoting some magnificent music, both his own and other peoples music.
    1. Ge Someone's Avatar
      Ge Someone - 07-14-2012, 02:15 PM
      This step is remarkable, especially for a company like Sony. They might have pushed "their" formats like SACD or even BluRay. We are grateful for your efforts, your mixes deserve a proper release.
      I wonder if the band had any say in this?

      BTW. personally I think the Advanced Resolution thing is often a bit overrated here, what really counts is the lossless format (no DTS nor Dolby encoding needed). Although those lossy formats need to be there as well for compatibilty with the DVD-Video players. (Of course Neil will take care of that).

      The 5.1 remixing work has taken a bit of a backseat to my own music for the last year
      That is probably as it should be. In a way I'm glad the 5.1 mixing is helping you to partly cover the costs of touring. It is a win, win from our (surround) perspective.
    1. rusinurbe's Avatar
      rusinurbe - 07-14-2012, 03:01 PM
      I am gratefull but have to ask why push these as DVDA and then relase his own stuff on Blu Ray ?

      I am in that position where I ahve not heard storm Corosion or grace form drowning as I dont have and have no plans to buy a Blu Ray player so missed sales there Steve.
    1. kap'n krunch's Avatar
      kap'n krunch - 07-14-2012, 03:51 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by rusinurbe View Post
      I am gratefull but have to ask why push these as DVDA and then relase his own stuff on Blu Ray ?

      I am in that position where I ahve not heard storm Corosion or grace form drowning as I dont have and have no plans to buy a Blu Ray player so missed sales there Steve.
      +1 here...I'd love to hace his latest one, but I'm not planning on getting a BD player...
    1. sukothai's Avatar
      sukothai - 07-14-2012, 06:42 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by rusinurbe View Post
      I am gratefull but have to ask why push these as DVDA and then relase his own stuff on Blu Ray?
      I think the answer to that is because you can add the MLP in the AUDIO_TS folder at virtually no cost to the producer. Especially since Neil donated his time. The jump to Blu-ray is a significant cost bump that Steve Wilson has mentioned he's willing to pay in order to be able to include both hi-rez audio and hi-rez video on the same disk.

      I'm looking forward to the day when Blu-ray blanks are reasonable and a car Blu-ray player is available. It would be nice to back up all my DVD-As on Blu-ray and be able to play them in the car. Now they are valuable enough that I hesitate taking them in the car and my Pioneer player won't play the non-watermarked backups.
    1. JonUrban's Avatar
      JonUrban - 07-14-2012, 10:36 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by rusinurbe View Post
      I am gratefull but have to ask why push these as DVDA and then relase his own stuff on Blu Ray ?

      I am in that position where I ahve not heard storm Corosion or grace form drowning as I dont have and have no plans to buy a Blu Ray player so missed sales there Steve.
      If they asked for Blu-Ray, the cost would have been too steep, and we'd be stuck with Dolby Digital DVD-V. Look at these as DVD-V's with a "bonus" DVD-A section, not as a replacement for a Blu-Ray release.
    1. David Barrickman's Avatar
      David Barrickman - 07-15-2012, 06:35 PM
      Thank you Steven. I am a big fan of both your own music and your 5.1 remixing work. It is indeed a privilege that you communicate with us here and Sony hearing our pleas is great news! I am very glad to hear Neil is now involved.
      Thanks again! David
      P.S +1 re:Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...
    1. Ge Someone's Avatar
      Ge Someone - 07-23-2012, 10:53 PM
      I took the opportunity to reconsider and to scrap the idea of the alternative Tarkus running order
      Are you sure the artwork is not yet made? see example
    1. kap'n krunch's Avatar
      kap'n krunch - 11-18-2012, 04:01 PM
      Just read this again , and it stuck this time...

      FLAT transfers..no EQ....again..NO EQ!!!

      Speaks volumes of the outstanding quality of the original recordings.

      Great job and ˇOlé tus huevos, Steven!!

    1. leevitalone1's Avatar
      leevitalone1 - 11-18-2012, 04:49 PM
      BTW- Grandpas girl!#1!!
      Wow! are we lucky or what? Not only direct from the scource, but our voices are being heard! Thank you from an old man who always wished to hear it as you have done, and was never able. MY only regret is my age, and the fact the whole thing can no longer be "enhanced" by additives any longer, the way it was when we 1st heard these masterpieces. Once again-Thank You!