Rolling Stones Goats Head Soup Deluxe Edition (with 5.1 & Dolby Atmos mixes!)

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I don't want to turn this thread into a referendum on Beatles remixes, but I really don't think it could've been that much more adventurous with someone else at the helm. It's incredibly difficult to create a cohesive 5.1 mix from an 8-track recording. The only surround remix that Scheiner's done from an 8-track master is Van Morrison's Moondance, and that mix borders on vintage quad style at times with different instruments mostly isolated in each corner. Interesting as it may have sounded, I don't think that style of mixing would've been approved for Abbey Road.

I love to nitpick about these things, but I honestly think Giles succeeded at creating a cohesive soundstage with wide channel separation when possible. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that he put the same kind of stuff in the rears that Scheiner usually does - backing vocals, percussion, strings, synthesizers, etc. He even threw a guitar solo in one of the back corners!

I'm guessing that GHS was probably recorded 16-track back in 1972, giving whoever did these new mixes much more leeway in terms of surround placement.

The Beatles remixes sound bright and harsh. SPLHCB is terrible. None of them since Love sound great. INXS Kick is a joke.
 
I am so happy Goats Head Soup is coming in surround. Only having one track legally released in there catalog, Sympathy For The Devil,
this box set is going to be great. :LB I love the music and this era of the Stones is just another good era of the Stones. I have listened and bought almost every Stones album since I was in 6th grade.

I was in my first band 1966, 6th grade, we where called The Lovelorns ". and we played Satisfaction.
adjective
adjective: lovelorn; adjective: love-lorn
  1. unhappy because of unrequited love.
    "a lovelorn teenager"
 
The Beatles remixes sound bright and harsh. SPLHCB is terrible. None of them since Love sound great. INXS Kick is a joke.

I wouldn't call Pepper bright but it is lacking any bass and the mix is bad. White Album leans a bit towards bright but I wouldn't label it BRIGHT. Abbey Road is perfect. Kick is odd sounding that could be put in that 80s sound category.

Consistency surly isn't Giles strong suit...
 
I wouldn't call Pepper bright but it is lacking any bass and the mix is bad. White Album leans a bit towards bright but I wouldn't label it BRIGHT. Abbey Road is perfect. Kick is odd sounding that could be put in that 80s sound category.

Consistency surly isn't Giles strong suit...

Pepper is loud and harsh, with nothing discrete in rears. White album is loud and less harsh, with some discrete moments throughout. AR Atmos is loud, with some bright moments, and rears under utilized. Gald a lot of here like it, for them, but I look at these releases totally objectively. I do not rate something higher due to the fact the group are legendary, or the mix engineer is a legend. I feel many do that, and it is okay for them but I feel as consumers, who pay LOTS of money we should voice our feelings when there are sub par mixes.

Kick original LP sounds fantastic, 80's or not. The Blu Ray is a wasted opportunity. I can upload vinyl rip sample if you want? pm me. I was suprised how great the orginal sounded. I was not even an INXS fan, then I heard it and I was blown away.
 
Pepper is loud and harsh, with nothing discrete in rears. White album is loud and less harsh, with some discrete moments throughout. AR Atmos is loud, with some bright moments, and rears under utilized. Gald a lot of here like it, for them, but I look at these releases totally objectively. I do not rate something higher due to the fact the group are legendary, or the mix engineer is a legend. I feel many do that, and it is okay for them but I feel as consumers, who pay LOTS of money we should voice our feelings when there are sub par mixes.

Kick original LP sounds fantastic, 80's or not. The Blu Ray is a wasted opportunity. I can upload vinyl rip sample if you want? pm me. I was suprised how great the orginal sounded. I was not even an INXS fan, then I heard it and I was blown away.

No thanks. I am happy with the CD I bought on release date.

We can disagree on the other stuff. Abbey Road especially, although I am talking about the 5.1 mix with no bass management like most Atmos setups do. The "objectively" comment you make sounds a bit patronizing to me and doesn't help your opinions...
 
Maybe Giles isn't a favorite mixer of many here (including me), but we could do a lot worse... Giles puts a decent amount of activity in the surrounds for my taste and his mixes have gotten progressively more aggressive. Would I prefer a Clearmountain mix? Maybe... his mixes are also somewhat hit-and-miss for my tastes. At lease we know this won't be one of those "is anything happening back there" mixes.
 
What we all need to remember and have perspective on is that most of the music listening world prefers stereo. Most think quad/surround/Atmos is a "gimmick, "a fad," or they just plain don't like hearing instruments behind them or above them, and so those of us that ♥ aggressive mixes, are in a very, very small niche minority. So when we are talking about a Giles Martin mix or Rich Chycki mix, they are mixing for mass acceptance, millions of consumers, not for a few thousand people.
 
4CD BOXSET

Goats Head Soup Super Deluxe box sets features 35 tracks on three CDs&one Blu-ray disc (Dolby Atmos, 96kHz/24 bit high resolution stereo, and 96 kHz/24 bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1). Included are the new stereo album mix, sourced from the original session files, Rarities&Alternative mixes featuring three previously unreleased tracks, Scarlet, All The Rage&Criss Cross.



Also included is The Brussels Affair, recorded live at the Forest National Arena in October 1973. The 4 discs are housed in the boxset alongside a 120 page book with an incredible array of photos and 3 essays. 50 Years On – An Appreciation of Goats Head Soup by Ian McCann, Brussels Affair Live 1973 Tour by Nick Kent&The Story Of The Cover Art by Darryl Easlea. The set is completed with 4 x 1973reproduction tour posters, rolled up within the packaging to avoid creases.
Can’t wait!
 
Pepper is loud and harsh, with nothing discrete in rears.

It's not great, but I don't agree with your claim that there are no discrete elements in the rears - electric guitars in "Fixing A Hole" and "Strawberry Fields", keys in "Mr. Kite", horns in "Penny Lane", etc. There's even a fun around-the-room pan on the harp after the chorus in "Strawberry Fields".

AR Atmos is loud, with some bright moments, and rears under utilized.

I can't speak for the Atmos, but AR 5.1 sounds fantastic on my system. Nice mastering and discrete elements on every track.
 
What we all need to remember and have perspective on is that most of the music listening world prefers stereo. Most think quad/surround/Atmos is a "gimmick, "a fad," or they just plain don't like hearing instruments behind them or above them, and so those of us that ♥ aggressive mixes, are in a very, very small niche minority. So when we are talking about a Giles Martin mix or Rich Chycki mix, they are mixing for mass acceptance, millions of consumers, not for a few thousand people.

Most of the people you mentioned haven't heard quality mixes on quality setups. The super rare minority are people that go from quality multichannel to two channel only without extenuating circumstances. Yes we are a small minority but to think qualified listeners use terms like "gimmick" to describe quality SS mixes is wrong. Those are people talking themselves out of the added expense and issues like additional wires, heat, WAF ect.
 
It's not great, but I don't agree with your claim that there are no discrete elements in the rears - electric guitars in "Fixing A Hole" and "Strawberry Fields", keys in "Mr. Kite", horns in "Penny Lane", etc. There's even a fun around-the-room pan on the harp after the chorus in "Strawberry Fields".



I can't speak for the Atmos, but AR 5.1 sounds fantastic on my system. Nice mastering and discrete elements on every track.

Pepper Within You Without You is the highlight I would say...
 
Maybe Giles isn't a favorite mixer of many here (including me), but we could do a lot worse... Giles puts a decent amount of activity in the surrounds for my taste and his mixes have gotten progressively more aggressive. Would I prefer a Clearmountain mix? Maybe... his mixes are also somewhat hit-and-miss for my tastes. At lease we know this won't be one of those "is anything happening back there" mixes.
Agreed!
Last night I watched the BD of “The Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers live at the Fonda Theatre in 1975. A relatively small venue for the Stones. I bought it because I remembered seeing it on TV awhile back and liked it. Granted it’s a live show, but I was left cold by the mix. It was a Clearmountain mix also. Too much audience noise in fronts, very little but that in the rears. Also too much room reverb, and just try to pick out Chuck Leavell’s wonderful keyboard playing in the mix (non existent except for a solo or two.)
My point is, even the best engineers are hired and most likely follow directions from the artists & producers as to how they want it to sound. Because it’s hard for me to believe that Bob made those choices. A better example of a live show mix for Bob C. is the recent release of Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars. It’s got that heavy center channel that’s been cropping up in his mixes lately, but it’s much better than this Stones show. So why so different?
I believe this interview with Tony Visconti is a must listen for us that are into surround and mixing engineers, as he gives some great insights into all of this.

https://open.spotify.com/show/4kUxJevOqRd8TylWivOYQj?nd=1&nd=1
 
What we all need to remember and have perspective on is that most of the music listening world prefers stereo. Most think quad/surround/Atmos is a "gimmick, "a fad," or they just plain don't like hearing instruments behind them or above them, and so those of us that ♥ aggressive mixes, are in a very, very small niche minority. So when we are talking about a Giles Martin mix or Rich Chycki mix, they are mixing for mass acceptance, millions of consumers, not for a few thousand people.

Mr Chycki improved alot with his latest Dream Theater mix. I needed to raise several elements in the rears, but there is plenty of discrete stuff, great sounding drums and no harshness. Compare that with the horrible sounding Rush Moving Pictures. I would be happy if he did more work as good as DT Blu Ray.

The true gimmick is 360 or atmos for headphones, WTF? LOL That is ridiculous. In fact stereo itself is technically a gimmick. Surround sound is niche, period. That is ok. I would tell any engineer; please Just listen to kraftwerk Atmos mixes for referance before mixing your project and you will surely be inspired.
 
No thanks. I am happy with the CD I bought on release date.

We can disagree on the other stuff. Abbey Road especially, although I am talking about the 5.1 mix with no bass management like most Atmos setups do. The "objectively" comment you make sounds a bit patronizing to me and doesn't help your opinions...

Sounds great, does it not? Guns in the sky drums are superb. Better production than most 80's stuff IMO.

I am not meaning to be patrotizing, I just feel Beatles fans are biased in general. They would be quick to give a 10, when the same mix would be a 7 if somebody else's material. No problem, I am happy if they feel that way. Just my observation.
 
Sounds great, does it not? Guns in the sky drums are superb. Better production than most 80's stuff IMO.

I am not meaning to be patrotizing, I just feel Beatles fans are biased in general. They would be quick to give a 10, when the same mix would be a 7 if somebody else's material. No problem, I am happy if they feel that way. Just my observation.

I felt like I was on an island when I said Pepper mix wasn't good originally. We agree mostly on that. The Abbey Road in 5.1 and to a lesser extent, the White Album is where we differ a little bit. WA isn't nearly as aggressive as I like but I don't think brightness is the problem. Piggies and Rocky are so good that I am willing to forgive some of the other tracks but not because I have Beatles bias.
 
Most of the people you mentioned haven't heard quality mixes on quality setups. The super rare minority are people that go from quality multichannel to two channel only without extenuating circumstances. Yes we are a small minority but to think qualified listeners use terms like "gimmick" to describe quality SS mixes is wrong. Those are people talking themselves out of the added expense and issues like additional wires, heat, WAF ect.
I don’t think quality setups really impact how people generally feel towards surround. Folks love to listen to full range 3 way towers, dual 15” subs, alll dialed in setups at the stores but when it comes to home, where do they put a quad, 5.1, 7.1 or Atmos setup? They want the setup but, as you said, SAF, or more $$, wiring, etc.

Space in homes is a premium and only nuts like me have repurposed their living room to a sound room. People want convenience and portability. That lends itself to speakers of the smaller variety, typically bookshelf size, and headphones. Also computer setups, generally speaking are stereo in nature. Yes there are niche folks out there with surround sound computer setups.

As far as “qualified” listeners there is truth to the fact that some experts and consumers (more of a majority) have used the term “gimmick” to describe music in surround. How many reviewers and you tube channels really and genuinely talk about the surround mix? Our own @edisonbaggins is truly a pioneer, he is on the forefront and as far as I know the ONLY you tube channel that takes surround seriously. And what Mike is doing is commendable! You might get Paul of PS Audio to mention surround in his videos on rare occasion but even his new label isn’t producing surround. Neither is MFSL or Intervention Records who we can all agree they produce spectacular second to none stereo master quality red book CD/SACD product. Yet neither of these companies will dignify the question with a response when asked about producing surround product.

I❤ that we are getting all sorts of surround mixes and super appreciative that the music stakeholders recognize that there is a market for surround.
 
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