Is it me or do some of the transitions from parts in the songs sound out of sync like? I don't know if it's just the ambience of the 5.1 but it does sound weird sometimes.
The more I listen to this the more I prefer the original stereo mix.
It seems as SW has taken a lot of liberties in the surround mix. Just listen to the end and fade out Siberian Khatru. It's a fucking mess.
Whereas to me, SK is the one that works best in surround. The only thing noticeably different about the coda is that the guitar has been brought up a little in the mix. I was really pleased with SK, less so with the other two tracks. It's also the one track where the remixed drums have a wholly satisfying snap to them (I know this album *extremely* well, which is kind of a curse when confronted with a remix)
I'm not having any bass issues. I do have an issue with the balance of the backing vox on 'Solid Time of Change' -- way too loud for my tastes. I may try lowering the Ls and Rs next time I listen (they are currently equal in level to the other channels at my listening spot, to within 1 db). Also, the reverbs just don't sound 'right', which is an issue I note with a lot of modern remixes -- digital 'verb just doesn't sound the same as the old analog plate technology. Comparison to the UK vinyl and the flat 2ch master transfer (which both sound fine to me) also indicates there's something weak about the beginning of the climactic Moog moment at the end of I Get Up -- like a doubletracked low bass part is missing or something.
Those are things I could get used to in time, balanced by the good things in those mixes. The real unsalvageable mess to me is, unfortunately,
America. Not as bad as the horror show that's on the DVD-A years ago, but still 'not right'. Way too much reverb, keyboards way too high in the mix, and the juggling of intensities between the different parts of the guitar rave-up has been botched. The orignial mix builds from section to section to the final slam at ~8:22. Here it's almost an anticlimax. Guess I'll stick with the 'Yesterdays' 2-channel mix included on this set (which is wetter than the original New Age of Atlantic mix, that seems to have gone missing).
As we learn more an more from these comparisons, what his contribution to the sound of those old records was, Eddie Offord really does need to be recognized as the '6th member of Yes',