Pink Floyd - "Animals" 5.1 Surround Sound Mix (Blu-Ray & SACD editions out in September 2022!)

[Robert van Diggele]

the more I think about this release, the more excited I get.

Pigs on the Wing could be a just a simple front heavy mix with Dogs intro coming in from the rear channels. The middle section will be awesome in surround, as will be the different guitar soli.

Pigs has the oinks plus the key boards doublong in front and rear. The cowbell in the rear.
Sheep will be the bomb. The keys and bass intro can duel in the different corners with the vocals morphing into synts from front to rear. Again a great middel section to use all speakers. Outro will be magic.
Then a cool down with the second Pigs on the Wing.

Hey Guthrie, hand me those multitracks

 

[kap'n krunch]

...Hey Guthrie, hand me those multitracks

Yeah, no shit, Sherlock...too bad Andy Jackson is not mixing this...

 

[Simon A]

No disrespect to anyone, but could we keep the complaining until we've actually heard it? I for one am very excited about this news.

 

[Daniel John]

YES!!!!!!! My fav PF album, formative years, saw the concert at Montreal's Big O, you all can relate.

 

[4-earredwonder]

the more I think about this release, the more excited I get.

Pigs on the Wing could be a just a simple front heavy mix with Dogs intro coming in from the rear channels. The middle section will be awesome in surround, as will be the different guitar soli.

Pigs has the oinks plus the key boards doublong in front and rear. The cowbell in the rear.
Sheep will be the bomb. The keys and bass intro can duel in the different corners with the vocals morphing into synts from front to rear. Again a great middel section to use all speakers. Outro will be magic.
Then a cool down with the second Pigs on the Wing.

Hey Guthrie, hand me those multitracks

Nice concept, Robert and perhaps in lieu of including coasters, marbles or scarves in the Immersion box set they could throw in an 8 ounce bag of PORK RINDS!

Or, am I being P[R]IGGISH?

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

Holy crap, man!! I laughed like a lunatic, out of excitement, when I read this thread topic! Oh hell yes...

I've played this album through my QSD-1 in synthesize mode many times, but so look forward to a discrete mix. There are at least four layers of guitar I can hear in "Pigs",
and the album offers so much for mixing possibilities. And at the end of "Pigs" I could imagine the song slowly receding back to stereo from surround, and then further
collapsing down to the center channel only (essentially as mono) as it fades out into the distance (literally giving the impression of moving away from the band) and the
sounds of the pasture leading into "Sheep" take over, surrounding the listener and placing them in the pasture, and then the keyboard intro into "Sheep" starts.

...No marbles, but an inflatable pig balloon in the ultra boxset.

In one of the older threads, one of our members mentioned buying a very early release of Animals and having an inflated pink pig in the gatefold. Maybe out of nostalgia
they'll actually repeat the effort if they do an Immersion-style boxed set. That'd be pretty neat.

I bought Animals on the first day of release, there was not a Quad version at any store in my area, But in the first day albums the jackets had a big lump to them upon opening the shrink wrap between the gate fold cover was an inflated pink pig, it was so cool I went back to buy another one the next day and bummer all the ones left were flat as normal so I only ever got the one.

 

[drphibes]

Yeah, no shit, Sherlock...too bad Andy Jackson is not mixing this...

It's likely that Guthrie mixed this, but do we know for certain?

Also, I'm going to go against the grain here and say that while Andy Jackson's mix on The Division Bell knocked my socks off, his other efforts, while great, did not wow me as much. I also like the Guthrie mix of DSOTM, although the quad has some elements that I adore.

 

[4-earredwonder]

It's likely that Guthrie mixed this, but do we know for certain?

Also, I'm going to go against the grain here and say that while Andy Jackson's mix on The Division Bell knocked my socks off, his other efforts, while great, did not wow me as much. I also like the Guthrie mix of DSOTM, although the quad has some elements that I adore.

A fascinating article detailing James Guthrie AND Alan Parson's respective takes on the Dark Side of the Moon 5.1 and 4.0 remixes: http://www.pinkfloydz.com/interviews/james-guthrie-alan-parsons-dark-side-interviews-2003/

 

[Frogmort]

I actually really like James Guthrie's surround mixes. In fact I prefer them for DSotM and WYWH compared to the quads. I do enjoy the differences between both respective mixes, but overall, I think Guthrie's mixes are more seamless, balanced, and full. I also really love what he did in the surround mix for Amused to Death.

It almost seems to be a sacrilege to like Guthrie's mixes, and I just don't really get it. I would even go so far as to say that I prefer his surround mix philosophies to Andy Jackson. I really thought Division Bell had a few spots where the vocals got lost in the mix a bit from lack of center channel lead vocal use. His newer Meddle mix does however actually incorporate the center channel into the mix.

Hell, I'm just happy as a pig in slop to be getting a real surround mix of Animals by any of these amazing gentlemen. I hope the disc has the original rumored quad and both a Guthrie and Jackson surround mix!

 

[humprof]

A fascinating article detailing James Guthrie AND Alan Parson's respective takes on the Dark Side of the Moon 5.1 and 4.0 remixes: http://www.pinkfloydz.com/interviews/james-guthrie-alan-parsons-dark-side-interviews-2003/

Thanks for posting this; it's a fascinating read. I understand Guthrie's philosophy, yet even though I side more with Parsons, I don't hate Guthrie's mixes.

And as for Parsons: I wish I liked his own music more than I do, so that I could truly appreciate some of his fully-formed projects. (I dug Tales and Robot as a teenager, but they just don't click for me any more.) Now, if he were to remix the first two Ambrosia albums for surround, I'd be all over that.

 

[GabeL]

I am very excited for this news! Bring on more fantastic Pink Floyd albums in Surround, I'll take them all

 

[ProgRules]

It'll actually be hard to top the first-class upmix that been circulating for awhile now.

Whoa there Steven- careful not to set up confirmation bias.

 

[himey]

I actually really like James Guthrie's surround mixes. In fact I prefer them for DSotM and WYWH compared to the quads. I do enjoy the differences between both respective mixes, but overall, I think Guthrie's mixes are more seamless, balanced, and full. I also really love what he did in the surround mix for Amused to Death.

It almost seems to be a sacrilege to like Guthrie's mixes, and I just don't really get it. I would even go so far as to say that I prefer his surround mix philosophies to Andy Jackson. I really thought Division Bell had a few spots where the vocals got lost in the mix a bit from lack of center channel lead vocal use. His newer Meddle mix does however actually incorporate the center channel into the mix.

Hell, I'm just happy as a pig in slop to be getting a real surround mix of Animals by any of these amazing gentlemen. I hope the disc has the original rumored quad and both a Guthrie and Jackson surround mix!

What's not to get? The Alan Parsons mix of DSOTM and the Andy Jackson mix of Division Bell are much more discrete than anything James Guthrie has ever mixed. Of course you are free to like whatever you want, but if you don't understand why many people here would prefer a different audio engineer, the answer is very simple. Discrete and tasteful is how I would describe a quality mix.

I enjoy Amused To Death which was mixed by JG but only because there are so many non-musical elements. He doesn't get nearly as discrete with the musical parts. You may like that fact but many others don't. Steven Wilson has found the perfect balance to keep nearly everyone happy. JG has not up to this point.

 

[ProgRules]

JG may not be perfect, but he's pretty good in my book- though I understand others feel different.

And given my preference, I'd choose AJ.

But to me these are moot points. I'm just thrilled we're getting Animals in 5.1.

Which I hope follows RW's and JG's last release- CD plus blu (I'm actually awaiting delivery of AtD set tomorrow; never even heard the album before). Ideally, 3-4 CDs w/ some bonus tracks along w/ a nice full concert soundboard (of which many have been confirmed, according to folks over at SHF; no multis, just straight board).

But that's hoping for too much, esp. since it's heading into Immersion territory- which I'd hate, as it would mean I would pass. I'm sure I'd get it eventually, but the wait would be hard.

But we're all waiting for the next batch of info. A-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-o-n... (Wonder if Carly liked Floyd?)

 

[kap'n krunch]

Well , anyone can redeem themselves..even JG... but I still hold him accountable for that travesty that is the DSOTM SACD mix...ALTHOUGH.. you never know how much of that had to do with Roger W...

 

[IMachine]

Perhaps Guthrie wants to do the same quality Mr. Jackson did. It could be a competition (Pink Floyds createria Nr.1 ) and we can hope for a better discrete mix.

But I have to say, that I have no big problems with Guthrie‘s mixes!

 

[LuvMyQuad]

What's not to get? The Alan Parsons mix of DSOTM and the Andy Jackson mix of Division Bell are much more discrete than anything James Guthrie has ever mixed.

I enjoy Amused To Death which was mixed by JG but only because there are so many non-musical elements. He doesn't get nearly as discrete with the musical parts.

Yes. I couldn't have said it better myself. Guthrie's mixes sound like processed stereo with discrete effects. IMO when it comes to Guthrie's DSOTM, even the effects placement leaves a lot to be desired.

Guthrie does seem to be able to squeeze out some increased fidelity though. The sonics on his mixes are pretty good. Maybe that is part of the reason some like them.

I would take it a step further and speculate that if you are a fan of Guthrie's PF mixes, you probably also like Giles Martin's 5.1 Sgt. Pepper mix, that many here (including me) believe is not discrete enough but has enhanced fidelity. Though Pepper does have a handful of decent tracks as well, just nothing stellar.

 

[rtbluray]

I think the main difference between James Guthrie and Andy Jackson is that Guthrie has to answer to Roger Waters (and sometimes David Gilmour too) whereas Andy usually only has to answer to David.
I think that in itself is where a big part of the difference lies.

 

[ProgRules]

I think the main difference between James Guthrie and Andy Jackson is that Guthrie has to answer to Roger Waters (and sometimes David Gilmour too) whereas Andy usually only has to answer to David.
I think that in itself is where a big part of the difference lies.

I've never considered this, but it sounds very logical. Given how much of a control freak RW is reputed to be. Good call.

 

[kap'n krunch]

I've never considered this, but it sounds very logical. Given how much of a control freak RW is reputed to be. Good call.

my point exactly...RW puts on a great show but his neuroses and controlling nature really put me off his solo stuff..even late PF (can't stand the Wall nor TFC)!!!