It really pains me to say this, because I really do love Steven Wilson's 5.1 surround mixes, and I like Gentle Giant's music too, but I really need to draw the line on a box set like this.
Yes, this is not the only ridiculously expensive box set that is being released later this year. The other obvious set would be Pink Floyd's "Later Years" box set (and the big, bloated box set for Gene Clark's "No Other") but in all honesty, I see SO much more value in the Pink Floyd box set than I do in this Gentle Giant, and not just because I'm a bigger fan of Pink Floyd than I am of Gentle Giant.
Let's break it down:
-Pink Floyd's set contains
6 Blu-ray Discs, including 3 full studio 5.1 surround mixes (one released for the first time, which would be "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" and another released with full video for the first time, which would be "The Endless River"), 4 live films (3 of which contain 5.1 surround mixes), and a whole host of music videos, bonus live and rehearsal videos, screen films, documentaries, and more, so yes, it is still expensive, but it has a lot of great content spread out across the 6 Blu-ray Discs!
-Gentle Giant's set contains only 1 Blu-ray Disc with only 1 5.1 surround mix, and 3 of those tracks have already been released in discrete 5.1 surround before, leaving only 4 new 5.1 surround tracks on this disc (and let's face it, "The Queen" isn't much of anything)
Now, maybe I would be willing to buy the box set if the band had elected to include the following material on any number of Blu-ray Discs:
-All 12 original studio albums in remastered high-resolution stereo
-Full Steven Wilson stereo, instrumental & 5.1 remixes of "Gentle Giant", "Octopus" (including the 3 upmixed tracks), "The Power & the Glory", "Free Hand", and "Interview" (plus the additional 7 remixes from the "Three Piece Suite" release covering the remixed tracks from "Acquiring the Taste" and "Three Friends")
-Remastered 1970s 4.0 mixes of "Free Hand" and "Interview" (originally released in 2012 on DVD)
-Plus, maybe even all the video footage encapsulated on the band's DVDs "Giant on the Box" and "GG at the GG - Sight and Sound in Concert"
You put all that together on some Blu-ray Discs, and you now have a great set!
Finally, I know I'm usually the one to squash talk of any cheaper releases of surround mixes locked away in expensive box sets, but I think this Blu-ray Disc will see the light of day outside of this set next year, when Gentle Giant's 1st record reaches its 50th anniversary. Then the band will probably release a more common CD/Blu-Ray set of the 1st album with the new Steven Wilson stereo remix on CD and The Blu-Ray from this set.
So in summary, this box set receives a "Hell no!" from yours truly.