THRAKBOX - New King Crimson boxset?

[edisonbaggins]

Once upon a time...

Discipline was my favorite KC album. It was the gateway for me. The first KC album that got my attention (in a good way) and I truly liked and wanted to hear again.
These days, Red and Thrak have overtaken Discipline in interest.
Out of curiosity, I'm aware that KC have a few other mega-ultra-bitchin-deluxe sets, but not sure for which albums or which are recommended.
I know about "Road to Red," but I'm not sure what it is. A bunch of concerts? I know the debut has a mega-ultra, but I don't like the debut enough to invest.
Does Discipline have a mega-ultra?

 

[quicksrt]

I prefer "THRAK" myself, both the music and the mix. I understand that THRAK Box might not be the best option for everyone, but everyone should at least own the CD/DVD-A edition. However, if one can spring for the full box set, ATTACKATHRAK and the THRAK EPK are wonderful additions, plus the live shows should be fantastic too. (Haven't had time to go through those yet, but they should be wonderful based on the previews I heard.)

Is THRAK out also in a CD/DVD edition? This I didn't know, perhaps lost in the hoopla over the big box?

 

[skherbeck]

Is THRAK out also in a CD/DVD edition? This I didn't know, perhaps lost in the hoopla over the big box?

Here's a link to amazon us... November 13th release.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013RY369W?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

 

[rtbluray]

Once upon a time...

Discipline was my favorite KC album. It was the gateway for me. The first KC album that got my attention (in a good way) and I truly liked and wanted to hear again.
These days, Red and Thrak have overtaken Discipline in interest.
Out of curiosity, I'm aware that KC have a few other mega-ultra-bitchin-deluxe sets, but not sure for which albums or which are recommended.
I know about "Road to Red," but I'm not sure what it is. A bunch of concerts? I know the debut has a mega-ultra, but I don't like the debut enough to invest.
Does Discipline have a mega-ultra?

There's 5 King Crimson Box Sets for "In the Court of the Crimson King", "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", "Starless (& Bible Black)", "(The Road to) Red", and "THRAK".

The DVD-A discs for "In the Court of the Crimson King" and "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" are the same no matter whether you purchase the Box editions or the standard CD/DVD-A editions.
For "Larks" the Blu-Ray in the box contains more stereo content but no additional surround content.
The "Starless" box contains additional surround content different from the CD/DVD-A edition on both DVD-A and Blu-Ray discs contained in the set.
And as for "Red", the surround content is the same between the CD/DVD-A edition and "The Road to Red" box set, but the surround content in the box is only available on the Blu-Ray disc.

So, to sum up, if you're mostly interested in surround content, I would get the "Starless" and "THRAK" box sets before the others, but the "Larks" and Red" sets are fantastic too with lots of loverly high-res stereo content.
And I sincerely hope that the next gigantic box set is a box covering all three 1980s albums.

 

[elmer]

I picked up the box today at the post office and had to drive around with it all day as it lay in my back seat screaming to me. Finally had the the chance to open it this evening - the opening of the box was as close to ritualistic as I get these days but it was pretty damn impressive to say the least. Real listening won't begin in earnest for another day or so, but just a quick listen to a few tracks in surround has me brimming with excitement. Maybe I'll get up early tomorrow, and just after the missus leaves for work, I'll treat my neighbors to some wake up music.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Real listening won't begin in earnest for another day or so...

I'm on a surround sabbatical until November 11th, at least...

 

[rugene]

darren lock didn't think they did a good surround sound on that Thrak album :

[video=youtube;McwIdRZqBoY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McwIdRZqBoY[/video]

 

[fredblue]

I'm not taking the mickey, who is this Darren Lock and why does it matter what he thinks about this boxset? Is he some sort of revered reviewer (or you tube fella by the looks of it)?

 

[Robert van Diggele]

I'm not taking the mickey, who is this Darren Lock and why does it matter what he thinks about this boxset? Is he some sort of revered reviewer (or you tube fella by the looks of it)?

He does a lot of these unpacking box sets video's. In the past I watched a few of them, but could not be bothered with it. Seems to be a repetative affair, just different artists and sets.

 

[Simon_LDT]

I find him quite funny and don't take his reviews too seriously as it's just an opinion at the end of the day. Some of his videos are hilarious (check out the Dream Theater - Metropolis one - He really didn't like that album!).

I tend to agree regarding the new stereo mix - It loses some punch of the original, especially on the rockier tracks like Dinosaur, People, Thrak. I do like how it's done though and it offers a different way to experience the album. The separation does give new life to the softer moments.

The 5.1, I find to be pretty damn good though. I get what Darren Lock means about separating each member like the live stage set-up (and it makes sense) but I do like what they've done by splitting up the drum tracks front and back. I don't find it lacks punch either.

 

[rtbluray]

IMHO, Darren Lock's suggestion about emulating the THRAK stage setup for the album's 5.1 mix is absolutely ludicrous.

If you have the front line in the front channels and the back line in the back channels, you get two bass instruments in their own channels in the front with Belew in the center channel (which is one element that makes sense in that approach for Belew's vocals) but then the drums would each need to be squeezed respectively into the left and right surround channels with Fripp in the center. This strategy is even more useless when you reverse this setup by placing the back line in the front and the front line in the back as Belew would now be singing behind you.

The great thing about separating the drum kits with one in the front channels and one in the surround channels is that you get the desired separation enhancing the clarity of what each drummer is doing while still having the full stereo width you want when mixing and listening to studio recorded drums. There are times in this particular surround mix that I wish that the drum kit placement was flipped, but I'll have a lot more to say about this surround mix (and all the others) once I get them all in and poll threads are posted!

 

[rontoon]

I'm switching to octopus for a while before coming back to Thrak.

Funny you should write this. I'm currently killing time by listening to Octopus while waiting for my Thrak box to arrive. Wanna come over to me house? :friday:

 

[blue.monk]

The box arrived today! ’Tis a thing of beauty. I just finished the THRAK 5.1 mix and I think Jakko did a terrific job. Can’t wait to dive into more content.

I’m very fond of this album. I first heard news of the band reforming when I saw Adrian Belew do a solo show in a Chicago club October ’93. It was a small, intimate space and Belew told stories between songs and took questions. (In addition to the KC news I remember him telling us about visiting an ailing Frank Zappa and his fondness for XTC.)

I attended the June 8, 1995 Cleveland concert. Terrific show. The California Guitar Trio opened. I had never heard of them. They killed. In fact it was one of those rare times when a crowd demanded an encore from an opener. I believe they obliged with “21st Century Schizoid Man” if memory serves. I’ve since seen them several times over the years.

 

[César]

Funny you should write this. I'm currently killing time by listening to Octopus while waiting for my Thrak box to arrive. Wanna come over to me house? :friday:

Sure! I'll bring some Spanish wine, we could also have some Floyd chat to kill time.
Funnily even, I worked in Arlington Heights some years back, pity I didn't have the quad bug back then. Are there yet the excellent jazz and blues clubs in Chicago downtown?

 

[privateuniverse]

I've already listened to Thrak and Kcensington Thrak and enjoyed both. Today when I got home from work I put on ATTAKcATHRAK. Holy crap! This one is nuts. 50 minutes of Krimson improvising in concert. (And if you know anything about KC improvs, they ain't exactly done over three-chord blues changes, LOL.) The 5.1 mix is awesome; so far my favorite surround mix in the box. Jakko really went to town on this one. Where's the poll???? I feel a 10 coming on!!!

 

[rontoon]

Funnily even, I worked in Arlington Heights some years back, pity I didn't have the quad bug back then. Are there yet the excellent jazz and blues clubs in Chicago downtown?

Of course. These things help to define our city and will always be popular.

 

[Plan9]

IMHO, Darren Lock's suggestion about emulating the THRAK stage setup for the album's 5.1 mix is absolutely ludicrous.

If you have the front line in the front channels and the back line in the back channels, you get two bass instruments in their own channels in the front with Belew in the center channel (which is one element that makes sense in that approach for Belew's vocals) but then the drums would each need to be squeezed respectively into the left and right surround channels with Fripp in the center. This strategy is even more useless when you reverse this setup by placing the back line in the front and the front line in the back as Belew would now be singing behind you.

The great thing about separating the drum kits with one in the front channels and one in the surround channels is that you get the desired separation enhancing the clarity of what each drummer is doing while still having the full stereo width you want when mixing and listening to studio recorded drums.

Agreed!

 

[edisonbaggins]

IMHO, Darren Lock's suggestion about emulating the THRAK stage setup for the album's 5.1 mix is absolutely ludicrous.

Though I think it would be VERY cool to get alternate 5.1 mixes of an album, or at least certain songs. Like how alternate angles are done with video.
Sure, why not present it as if it were a live configuration (there is some wiggle-room for exactly where stuff goes, based on much stuff getting routed through the PA)?
As long as there was also a version that went for the best overall soundstage also.

 

[dr. simple]

Admittedly I have not read every word of every post in this thread, so I apologize if this has been discussed.

I have the CD/DVDA version - not the big box (although I'm a little jealous of all of you who love this album so much that the box was made for you).

Anyway, to MY ears, I have to reduce the rear speakers by a couple db each to balance the front and back. It's either that or move my chair to the middle of the room. This is fine with me; I'm just wondering if I'm alone in this perspective. It's as if, on paper, Jakko wanted each trio equal, and did not compensate for the typical 5.1 setup.

That being said, once I pull back the rear volume, this is a wonderful mix.

 

[rtbluray]

Though I think it would be VERY cool to get alternate 5.1 mixes of an album, or at least certain songs. Like how alternate angles are done with video.
Sure, why not present it as if it were a live configuration (there is some wiggle-room for exactly where stuff goes, based on much stuff getting routed through the PA)?
As long as there was also a version that went for the best overall soundstage also.

I would be fine with an alternate surround mix that presented the double trio more in their live configuration, but I would not take it at the expense of the way Jakko orchestrated this mix. I just really wanted to poke a huge hole in Darren Lock's logic cause I think he's full of crap a lot of the time, and I certainly would not have wanted his own desires for the surround mix to replace what was actually released.