HiRez Poll Lennon, John - IMAGINE [Blu-Ray Audio]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2018 reissue of the classic John Lennon album "Imagine".
There's a LOT of surround content spread out over the 2 Blu-Ray audio discs, so here's the full surround content:

blu-ray disc 1
imagine – the ultimate mixes

Imagine – The Album
Remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound 24-96
1. Imagine
2. Crippled Inside
3. Jealous Guy
4. It’s So Hard
5. I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die
6. Gimme Some Truth
7. Oh My Love
8. How Do You Sleep?
9. How?
10. Oh Yoko!

Singles & Extras
Remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound 24-96
1. Power To The People
2. Well… (Baby Please Don’t Go)
3. God Save Us (Bill Elliot vocal)
4. Do The Oz
5. God Save Oz (John Lennon vocal)
6. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Imagine – The Quadrasonic Mixes
Remastered in Quad 4.0 24-96
1. Imagine
2. Crippled Inside
3. Jealous Guy
4. It’s So Hard
5. I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die
6. Gimme Some Truth
7. Oh My Love
8. How Do You Sleep?
9. How?
10. Oh Yoko!

blu-ray disc 2
in the studio and deeper listening

The Raw Studio Mixes
Extended Album Versions
New Mixes in 5.1 Surround Sound 24-96
1. Imagine (take 10)
2. Crippled Inside (take 6)
3. Jealous Guy (take 29)
4. It’s So Hard (take 11)
5. I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (take 4 extended)
6. Gimme Some Truth (take 4 extended)
7. Oh My Love (take 20)
8. How Do You Sleep? (take 11 extended)
9. How? (take 40)
10. Oh Yoko! (take 1 extended)

The Raw Studio Mixes
Out-takes
New Mixes in 5.1 Surround Sound 24-96
1. Imagine (take 1)
2. Crippled Inside (take 2)
3. Crippled Inside (take 6 alt guitar solo)
4. Jealous Guy (take 11)
5. I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (take 21)
7. How Do You Sleep? (take 1)
8. How Do You Sleep? (takes 5 & 6)
9. How? (takes 7-10)
10. How? (take 40 alt vocal)
11. Oh Yoko! (take 1 tracking vocal)

The Elements Mixes
From the Master Multitracks
New Mix in 5.1 Surround Sound 24-96
1. Imagine (strings)
2. Crippled Inside (upright bass & drums)
3. Jealous Guy (piano, bass & drums)
4. It’s So Hard (strings)
5. I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die (guitar, bass & drums)
6. Gimme Some Truth (electric piano & guitar)
7. Oh My Love (vocals)
8. How Do You Sleep? (strings)
9. How? (strings)
10. Oh Yoko! (acoustic)

 

[JonUrban]

This could be the box set that sets the surround standard that all other boxes, past, present and future are judged against. The raw mix out-takes are why QQ exists.

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

I agree. Here's hoping The Beatles White Album can match the quality and comprehensiveness of this deluxe set.

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

Wow! I am blown away by the quality and quantity of this deluxe set. So much to listen to...
Initial listen to the 5.1 original album was so impressive, great fidelity and clarity.
I will vote after hearing all the material offered on these discs, but my first impression is one of sheer joy.

 

[oxenholme]

Imagine is my favourite John Lennon Album.
Imagine is my favourite John Lennon song.
So the music gets off to a strong start.
Listening to the new Blu-ray discs for hours on end didn't induce listener fatigue.
So the sound must be pretty good.
And then we have those 5.1 mixes and the original 4.0!
As for presentation that book is pretty special.
It's a 10 for me.

 

[beerking]

This could be the box set that sets the surround standard that all other boxes, past, present and future are judged against. The raw mix out-takes are why QQ exists.

I couldn't agree more Jon.

This box set has truly set my surround juices flowing. So much material to absorb and enjoy. It was my second LP vinyl purchase way back in 1971 where I played it to death on my parents mono, old gramophone player. It has never lost its appeal to me and from what I'm reading, many other fellow QQ'rs have the same opinion. To anticipate its release so much and then be astonished at the time, effort and craftsmanship that has gone into producing this iconic album into a remarkable box set, takes my breath away.

Top that ..as they say.

A very happy, no extremely happy TEN

 

[cornwall198]

Back in the day, it felt to me like solo Beatles just couldn't come anywhere close to full Beatles. What a bummer they broke up - and how disappointing was the solo stuff. And dear old John - singing too many silly love songs to Yoko and stupid angry songs to Paul. No need for either of those. With rich boy paeans to imagining no possessions too! Winston - give us a break! So we returned to The White Album - where authenticity and genius could still be found. Except this is a terrific album - as we later began to acknowledge. And now this wonderful box set. Blu-ray 2 is just so very, very special. And I was really surprised when Oh Yoko! suddenly emerged as the most moving song on the album. "Simple" John says as he kicks it off on one of the mixes - and it is. Rollicking along joyously and spontaneously - expressing his love for a woman. As so many pop songs do. Except John names his woman, and the feeling comes over as so profoundly honest and straightforward in the moment. So utterly alive - what a singer! It brought a tear to my eye - partly as Yoko has now curated this loving tribute to one of her husband's best albums. And because we all know what happened later.

I loved the whole experience of the box set much more than I expected. And the 'in the middle of the band' mixes on Blu-ray 2 are so engagingly immersive. I worried at first that drums in left rear with bass in right rear would become distracting and annoying - but no! It feels just so alive, vivid and real. And beautifully balanced sonically. I keep replaying disc 2 over and over - always a good sign, right? And those Elements tracks? So beautiful in places. John's double-tracked voices on the a cappella 'Oh My Love' are, once again, so moving in their beauty and sincerity - and fidelity. Hauntingly lovely. And with everything else on top of Blu-ray 2, well I just have to give the overall package a 10. The book is also a gem. I'm thrilled with the entire thing...

 

[rtbluray]

Listening to the 'Raw Studio Mixes' (especially the 'Extended Album Versions' playlist) makes me think that this is what "Imagine" could have sounded like in Quadraphonic had it been released on a label like Columbia and mixed by one of their engineers.

 

[JonUrban]

Back in the day, it felt to me like solo Beatles just couldn't come anywhere close to full Beatles. What a bummer they broke up - and how disappointing was the solo stuff. And dear old John - singing too many silly love songs to Yoko and stupid angry songs to Paul. No need for either of those. With rich boy paeans to imagining no possessions too! Winston - give us a break! So we returned to The White Album - where authenticity and genius could still be found. Except this is a terrific album - as we later began to acknowledge. And now this wonderful box set. Blu-ray 2 is just so very, very special. And I was really surprised when Oh Yoko! suddenly emerged as the most moving song on the album. "Simple" John says as he kicks it off on one of the mixes - and it is. Rollicking along joyously and spontaneously - expressing his love for a woman. As so many pop songs do. Except John names his woman, and the feeling comes over as so profoundly honest and straightforward in the moment. So utterly alive - what a singer! It brought a tear to my eye - partly as Yoko has now curated this loving tribute to one of her husband's best albums. And because we all know what happened later.

I loved the whole experience of the box set much more than I expected. And the 'in the middle of the band' mixes on Blu-ray 2 are so engagingly immersive. I worried at first that drums in left rear with bass in right rear would become distracting and annoying - but no! It feels just so alive, vivid and real. And beautifully balanced sonically. I keep replaying disc 2 over and over - always a good sign, right? And those Elements tracks? So beautiful in places. John's double-tracked voices on the a cappella 'Oh My Love' are, once again, so moving in their beauty and sincerity - and fidelity. Hauntingly lovely. And with everything else on top of Blu-ray 2, well I just have to give the overall package a 10. The book is also a gem. I'm thrilled with the entire thing...

Now THIS post above is what a poll thread should be all about. Nice job!

 

[GOS]

Content - Disc 1 = 10
Content - Disc 2 = 10
Surround Mix Disc 1 = 8
Surround Mix Disc 2 = 10
Fidelity Disc 1 = 9
Fidelity Disc 2 = 10

I guess that averages to a 9.5 for me, which I'll add a half a point for the sheer shock I have that I love it this much. 10!
The bottom line is, Imagine never, ever sounded this good. Well, at least all versions I've heard and I had little hope for this to be honest. It has easily surpassed all my expectations making it one of my favorite releases in quite a while.

 

[filper]

Are the 5.1 mixes different on the Imagine/Gimme Some Truth blu-ray only different than on this release ? Aside from the raw mixes of course.

 

[JonUrban]

Content - Disc 1 = 10
Content - Disc 2 = 10
Surround Mix Disc 1 = 8
Surround Mix Disc 2 = 10
Fidelity Disc 1 = 9
Fidelity Disc 2 = 10

I guess that averages to a 9.5 for me, which I'll add a half a point for the sheer shock I have that I love it this much. 10!
The bottom line is, Imagine never, ever sounded this good. Well, at least all versions I've heard and I had little hope for this to be honest. It has easily surpassed all my expectations making it one of my favorite releases in quite a while.

This is about how I feel about it. The raw mixes are so outstanding that it's almost depressing to hear the Disc 1 actual 5.1 tracks knowing what they could sound like. It's like, "OK, we have the nicely remastered stereo tracks of the album that reflect the original, so now we are going to create a 5.1 mix that respects the stereo. WHY? WHY? Why does a 5.1 mix have to "respect" the stereo mix? IT IS NOT A STEREO MIX! It is a 5.1 mix!

If the Disc 1 5.1 mix were done in the same manner as the raw studio stuff, this box would be a '28'! As great as those raw mixes are, it sorta annoys me no end that the Disc 1 mixes could have been done in the same manner. The surround releases always get restricted by engineers and artists who want to mimic the stereo mix when the point of doing a 5.1 mix is to make something new and different.

Anyway, I still think this release is great. It's a '10', but it's a '10' because of Disc 2, not Disc 1. IMHO.

 

[4-earredwonder]

This is about how I feel about it. The raw mixes are so outstanding that it's almost depressing to hear the Disc 1 actual 5.1 tracks knowing what they could sound like. It's like, "OK, we have the nicely remastered stereo tracks of the album that reflect the original, so now we are going to create a 5.1 mix that respects the stereo. WHY? WHY? Why does a 5.1 mix have to "respect" the stereo mix? IT IS NOT A STEREO MIX! It is a 5.1 mix!

If the Disc 1 5.1 mix were done in the same manner as the raw studio stuff, this box would be a '28'! As great as those raw mixes are, it sorta annoys me no end that the Disc 1 mixes could have been done in the same manner. The surround releases always get restricted by engineers and artists who want to mimic the stereo mix when the point of doing a 5.1 mix is to make something new and different.

Anyway, I still think this release is great. It's a '10', but it's a '10' because of Disc 2, not Disc 1. IMHO.

Totally agree, Jon. I had to knock off a point [voted 9] because of that discrepancy. It's like they're taunting us with what could've been and what IS. The original QUAD mix, IMO, is depressing considering at that time the Columbia Engineers were releasing those wildly discrete QUAD mixes.

But, IMO, anything beats that recent Universal Stereo BD~A of Imagine which will now become another pricey coaster in my already burgeoning COASTER COLLECTION!

 

[elshagon]

Everything about this disc is a 10 except for the most important part, the original 5.1 mixes are pretty meh. It's been pointed out already this disc has a lot of extras as far as surround mixes go, and the extras are done so much better than the disc 1 original songs. It's only this that drops me down to a 9. I wish this was mixed like the Elton John 5.1 mixes. It could've been brilliant. Don't get me wrong, I think all the raw mixes and extras mixed into 5.1 are great. Just wow me a little more with the disc 1 original mixes!

 

[Albert Dagger]

Why does a 5.1 mix have to "respect" the stereo mix? IT IS NOT A STEREO MIX! It is a 5.1 mix!

I'd generally agree with you on this. But an aggressive/discrete approach to surround mixes isn't always the right answer. Some music would definitely benefit from that approach, some other music won't. The same is valid for albums that are mixed to stereo. Some albums sound good with a large soundstage and hard panning of instruments, other albums don't.

Pink Floyd's music comes immediately to my mind: stereo mixes with hard panning, effects.... therefore, aggressive/discrete surround mixes work! I was recently listening to Marillion's Misplaced Childhood in surround. I wouldn't call that mix discrete or aggressive by any means. However, it works beautifully, like the stereo mix does. They are immersive in a different way, which I enjoy for that kind of music/album. An extreme example of discrete vs. non-discrete mixes could be found in King Crimson's Thrak, which was recently remixed with several instruments, including drums, hard panned in mono on the L/R channels! This crazy, extreme approach makes you wonder which one of the two mixes is the better mix... the double trio represented with hard panning and instruments placed in mono on the L/R channels? Or the less surgical and more organic/compressed original mix? For this particular album, I'd say the remix represents well the double trio, better than the original. To me, this discussion has to be made on a case-by-case basis...

Going back to Imagine, I'm glad they have mixed the studio album differently than the raw mixes, even if I haven't listened to the surround mixes yet! You want to be in the studio for the raw mixes, as you want to experience that recording stage in which the album developed and finally emerged. But that wouldn't necessarily work for the studio album. At least, that's what I think while waiting to get the box set...

 

[jefe1]

Wow I made the logical decision for me....and I was wrong! I ordered the buray movie figuring the 5.1 soundtrack would serve my needs. Who could have predicted that the outtakes and leftovers would be the surround highlight? Just when I thought I was out from buying box sets they pull me back in.....

 

[ar surround]

Wow I made the logical decision for me....and I was wrong! I ordered the buray movie figuring the 5.1 soundtrack would serve my needs. Who could have predicted that the outtakes and leftovers would be the surround highlight? Just when I thought I was out from buying box sets they pull me back in.....

Yep. My copy of the standalone Bluray movie is sitting unopened on my desk. The question is: Do I send this $16 disc back to Amazon and get the big box set so as to indulge in Bluray disc 2? I like some stuff on this album but is that enough to justify the big box? I imagine (Oops, sorry about that) some others are pondering this decision as well.

 

[filper]

Yep. My copy of the standalone Bluray movie is sitting unopened on my desk. The question is: Do I send this $16 disc back to Amazon and get the big box set so as to indulge in Bluray disc 2? I like some stuff on this album but is that enough to justify the big box? I imagine (Oops, sorry about that) some others are pondering this decision as well.

Thus my query in Post #11. Are they the same ?

Hell I might get both. The Deluxe looks like so much fun.

 

[Mesozoic Mike]

I voted a 9 for this package. I so wanted to vote a 10, but that would mean it's perfect and couldn't be any better. As stated by others, the fidelity and surround mixes on disc 2 would be worthy of a 10, but disc 1, although sounding very good, is just a tiny bit disappointing. It's really close, though. I respect all who voted a 10. I really had a tough time deciding. I do keep listening to both discs as they are both great.
Anybody on the fence with this release should go for it. It's a winner.

 

[Strilo]

I'm hearing not great things on other forums. Is there really no ambience or soundstage between the front three channels? Also sounds like the mix has the same issue as Sgt Pepper, where the rear channels are attenuated. Anyone confirm this?