Short take: Unless you hate Jethro Tull, this is essential listening.
The two most anticipated surround releases of the last 12 months have been delayed to my sweet spot for various reasons. The other one (sorry Beatles) was the Pink Floyd Early Years box. I finally got Songs From The Wood two days ago, a full month after the release date (my May was intense).
I have noted elsewhere (
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/index.php?threads/jethro-tull-5-1.14476/post-316800) that this WAS my 2nd most anticipated unreleased surround release, and now it is here.
A Blu-ray release would have been nice, but I can find no fault in the audio quality, and the vintage 1970s video would not have seen any appreciable benefit from the greater resolution that Blu-ray can offer. So that is not a stumbling block for me.
I had been hoping that the title track would receive a mix treatment similar to the Eagles "Seven Bridges Road," and I am delighted to say that the 5.1 mix does not disappoint. I have not yet isolated the tracks for deeper scrutiny, but I do not need that level of analysis to know that this mix is delightful to the ears.
The album occupies the sweet spot of my nostalgia, as I was 15 years old on the date if its' release. I wore the groove of this LP through to the flipside, and have loved the songs ever since.
I consider Velvet Green to be nothing less than a masterpiece, and in my opinion it stands as at lease among their best work, if not their very best. To have this particular song in both 5.1 and original unreleased quad is beyond my best hopes. I really thank the compilers of this box for digging up and including the four quad mixes. I too am a little surprised that there has not been more discussion of their inclusion. I need to do more listening before I can properly compare and contrast the quad & 5.1, but I have always believed that having two different surround mixes is great. Adds perspective to the music, particularly when they were mixed in two different eras.
The video is excellent. I am still warming to the mix on the video, but the fact that it was mixed in surround at all is a delight. Most video from the 70s is mono or stereo audio only.
No surprise to find that I voted a 10 on this.