HiRez Poll Jones, Howard - HUMAN'S LIB [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this brand new reissue of the classic album "Human's Lib" by Howard Jones.

The Blu-Ray disc contains a 5.1 Surround Sound Mix and 96/24 LPCM 2024 New Stereo Mix of the entire ‘Human’s Lib’ album plus bonus tracks ‘Always Asking Questions’, ‘New Song (Farmyard Version)’ and ‘China Dance’. The 5.1 Surround Sound Remix and 2024 New Stereo Mix created from the original multi-track master tapes by the original ‘Human’s Lib’ album engineer Stephen W Tayler. The Blu-Ray disc also contains Dolby Atmos mixes of ‘What Is Love?’, ‘Hide And Seek’ and ‘New Song (Farmyard Version)’ created from the original multi-track master tapes by Bob Clearmountain. The CD contains the 2024 New Stereo Mix of the entire ‘Human’s Lib’ album plus bonus tracks ‘Always Asking Questions’, ‘New Song (Farmyard Version)’ and ‘China Dance’. Packaged in a digipack with a fully illustrated 12-page CD booklet containing brand new interviews with Howard Jones and Stephen W Tayler in conversation with Anil Prasad discussing the 5.1 Surround Sound Remix and 96/24 LPCM 2024 New Stereo Mix.

 

[oxenholme]

Three discs have arrived in two days. Looking forward to giving them a listen.

 

[oxenholme]

Wow! This is how to do it.
Excellent digipak packaging. Beautifully done.
Superb graphics.
Excellent mix. Enveloping.
Vibrant sound. Aurally exciting and very listenable.
Bear in mind that this is very much on the fringe of my musical tastes yet this release has been created so well that it has had me sat listening and looking absolutely engrossed.
Ox = delighted and is giving it a well deserved 10.

Same review as for the other Howard Jones Blu-ray/CD. Both are superb.

 

[JDeanB]

Listened all the way through this morning. Excellent album, fantastic 5.1 mix. And the sometimes psychedelic visuals are great!

 

[elshagon]

Very nice mix and I like the bonus tracks included as well. Easy 10

 

[Pitscher]

A Must-Have. Immersive mix at it`s best!

 

[beerking]

SWT strikes again but this time with bells on it
Talk about a labour of Love.
He really has pulled if off....utterly fantastic.
And his talents go as far as creating the visuals as well... marvellous.
We are not worthy ....
But boy are we lucky to have SWT on board the good ship QQ and we get to hear these sonic masterpieces.
Happy times
10+

 

[Stephen W Tayler]

SWT strikes again but this time with bells on it
Talk about a labour of Love.
He really has pulled if off....utterly fantastic.
And his talents go as far as creating the visuals as well... marvellous.
We are not worthy ....
But boy are we lucky to have SWT on board the good ship QQ and we get to hear these sonic masterpieces.
Happy times
10+

Thanks for the lovely responses so far!! Yes, a complete work of passion.

And yes - bells - there are bells on every track, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden, but it was one of those lucky charms. There are a couple more Easter Eggs on such projects - enough said!!

SWTxx

 

[GOS]

This is an incredibly active mix with lots of discrete stuff throughout. The fidelity is super as well. Somehow, I thought this was a full Atmos release. Though, the description does make it clear that only 3 songs are in Atmos and actually from Elliot Scheiner Bob Clearmountain. No worries at all, because Stephen's 5.1 mix of the album is spectacular. Wow! This is a 10 from me.

 

[4-earredwonder]

This is an incredibly active mix with lots of discrete stuff throughout. The fidelity is super as well. Somehow, I thought this was a full Atmos release. Though, the description does make it clear that only 3 songs are in Atmos and actually from Elliot Scheiner. No worries at all, because Stephen's 5.1 mix of the album is spectacular. Wow! This is a 10 from me.

Those three Dolby ATMOS remixes were done by Bob Clearmountain not Elliot Scheiner, Gene. My copy is enroute from Deep Discount! Glad you thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

[Stephen W Tayler]

Though, the description does make it clear that only 3 songs are in Atmos and actually from Elliot Scheiner.

Bob Clearmountain!!

 

[GOS]

Bob Clearmountain!!

Oops! Yes. I get those 2 guys mixed up at times.

 

[hafquark]

I got both of these Howard Jones releases in the mail yesterday. I've only had a chance to listen to Human's Lib so far. I know a lot of people around my age are "80s music haters" but I loved a lot of these New Wave bands back then, and still do. I was only familiar with a couple of the tracks here, nevertheless greatly enjoying the whole album.

I believe Stephen W Tayler is right up there with Elliot Scheiner in his ability to mix in surround. The 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio is stunningly good -- silky smooth, yet punchy and vibrant. The psychedelic visuals for each track are an added bonus, as opposed to most music releases which have rather dull, static videos.

I can't say enough good things about this release, and am highly anticipating Mr. Tayler's coming 5.1 mixes of the Hawkwind, Jack Bruce, and Al Stewart albums.

 

[mandrix]

It's all been said. I vote a 10.
Excellent packaging, excellent mix.

 

[srbjab]

Although I'm a die hard progressive rock fan, I've always loved well done 80's synth pop. Both Humans Lib and Dream Into Action are stellar examples of this. Both 5.1 mixes are incredible, as is the fidelity - they are an easy 10 from me. The extra Atmos tracks are just icing on the cake.

 

[marpow]

I voted 10.
This commentary slightly different than my Dream Into Action.
I purchased directly from Cherry Red, no problems.
All my listening/watching was of the Blu Ray.
Hard Disc: Put in player, easy menu navigation and listening/watching. This was just to confirm the ease of such.
Ripped Disc: I used MKV for Blu Ray Rip and MMH for tagging. All played through JRiver PC player. All listening done this way via a ripped file either a MKV file or a FLAC file.
Liner Notes: Fantastic and must needed component for listening experience. What the reader will learn is that Howard Jones and Stephen W. Tayler have both a intimate relationship with this music as Stephen was the original engineer.
The two combined now years later set out to have this new 2024 release be a surround experience, taking artistic liberty that I personally found fantastic, not sticking with the old way as others might say, "we wanted to stay true to the orginal mix". I personally find that old fashioned and prefer this new thought process.
On Screen Graphics: More fantastic and was a reason that I did certain ripping tactic that I normally do not do, I'll explain later. You will learn more about the on screen graphics in the liner notes. Check ou track 8 Equality, the coolest onscreen of the bunch.
5.1 Listening: My rip stayed to the MKV file, which I never do with 5.1's, I always rip to FLAC. I wanted the on screen graphics, therefore the MKV file made more sense. The negative I thought would be that now this forces me to use HDMI out to get the on screen graphics, but proved to be a good decision. For testing I did use my analogue outs for the DTS HD MSTR signal and I seemed to prefer the same signal via HDMI DTS HD MSTR.
5.1 Sound: Exquisite, exactly how I like it, great mid range and deep bass, did not bother my Tinnitus with annoying highs. Surround sound, perfect, fun and engaging. This release has many gapless tracks compared to Dream Into Action.
Listening was a MKV file, DTS HD MSTR, 24bit/96Khz. DR's are 10, 12's, 13's, 14.
Atmos: Sure great, only three tracks so not a lot to sink your teeth into. I felt the main takeaway from the three Atmos tracks was the height ambience. If you do not have Atmos capable, no worries the fun is in the 5.1 mix. The Atmos MKV file, 24bit/48Khz. DR's are 11, 14's. A note about the Atmos, you will have to turn up volume a touch as does not play as loud when switching from 5.1 to Atmos, this is normal.
Stereo from Blu Ray: FLAC file, 24bit/96Khz. Dr's are 8, 9's,10's 11. Great room ambience, sound stage has great height with wall to wall effect.

Ending: A must for the surround enthusiast in a very special New Wave genre. I am a huge fan of Stephen W Tayler and now a fan of Howard Jones, with this Human's Lib.

Please keep Poll Threads Pure to your listening experience only.

 

[808Surrounded]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this brand new reissue of the classic album "Human's Lib" by Howard Jones.

The Blu-Ray disc contains a 5.1 Surround Sound Mix and 96/24 LPCM 2024 New Stereo Mix of the entire ‘Human’s Lib’ album plus bonus tracks ‘Always Asking Questions’, ‘New Song (Farmyard Version)’ and ‘China Dance’. The 5.1 Surround Sound Remix and 2024 New Stereo Mix created from the original multi-track master tapes by the original ‘Human’s Lib’ album engineer Stephen W Tayler. The Blu-Ray disc also contains Dolby Atmos mixes of ‘What Is Love?’, ‘Hide And Seek’ and ‘New Song (Farmyard Version)’ created from the original multi-track master tapes by Bob Clearmountain. The CD contains the 2024 New Stereo Mix of the entire ‘Human’s Lib’ album plus bonus tracks ‘Always Asking Questions’, ‘New Song (Farmyard Version)’ and ‘China Dance’. Packaged in a digipack with a fully illustrated 12-page CD booklet containing brand new interviews with Howard Jones and Stephen W Tayler in conversation with Anil Prasad discussing the 5.1 Surround Sound Remix and 96/24 LPCM 2024 New Stereo Mix.

Just so glad to have opened and played this today. Needed a serotonin boost & this album with the amazing 5.1 mix > Wow!

 

[4-earredwonder]

1984's HUMAN LIB from an uber talented Howard Jones emerged right out of the gate in the UK as a number 1 hit album spending 57 straight weeks on the charts and last night I had the privilege of spinning it on my new system while beholding the psychedelic images on my 120" projection screen. At one point, I wanted to eject myself from my cushy home theater seating and boogie...so intoxicating were the melodies and beats!

Cherry Red Records has put together a very nice package at a more than fair price for a RBCD and BD~A/V with astonishing lifelike resolution and Stephen W. Tayler's superb 5.1 remix and Bob Clearmountain's three bonus tracks remixed in Dolby ATMOS were indeed the cherries on the TOP!

What Is Love, Jones asks ......

My simplistic answer: Cherry Red's astounding NEW reissue of Howard Jones' HUMAN LIB!

 

[bktouchstone]

This is just a great release and the surround mix is awesome. I keep the video off mostly so I can focus on the music only. The video I have seen is a nice complement to the music. It’s a rare pleasure to experience a surround mix this well done. Music, songs, fidelity all top notch. It’s a 10.

 

[key_wiz]

After cancelling my initial order with SDE because AmazonUS was going to be so much cheaper, I placed another (even pricer since they no longer offered a bundle price for the two together) order with SDE when AmazonUS delayed the shipment and I started to worry I might miss out altogether.

I don't even care about the extra cost now --- WOWOWOWOW!!!!

I wasn't expecting such a reimagining of the mix, but I'm not at all surprised as any HoJo fan knows that there were MANY mixes and variations of some of these tracks back in the day. And what SWT has done here is OUTSTANDING. The album opened with "Conditioning" taking off in all corners of the room and it never really lets up from there. Love the new mixes, the 'no fade' endings, the segues, and especially the beefier, more muscular sound throughout. Even the upmix of "China Dance" sounds great. Never would have guessed!

Has it really been FORTY YEARS since I first heard this record? Hard to believe. (and hard to believe I got this album and heard the "Purple Rain" remixes in the same week!) Especially when listening to this mix which is so fresh sounding!

I haven't played the stereo mix yet, but I'm pretty sure this will be my new go-to version! The Clearmountain mixes are nice (I play in 5.1), but they hew a bit closer to the originals and aren't as beefy.

Liner notes are great getting input from both Howard and Stephen on each song.

Love Stephen’s graphics as well! Nice touch!

Still working on finding all the Easter Eggs.

You can really tell this was work done by people who intimately know and love the music. THIS is what surround remixes should be about!

I wouldn't have minded if they had included a few other b-sides, or the full length "What Is Love?" but that's just quibbling....

Easy "10".