I voted a “9”. Yeah, it's a bit disappointing to have this surround disc confined to a moderately-expensive bookset while the Pineapple Thief albums are on single Blu-Rays for under $20--but $40 still feels pretty fair for both the main album and ‘acoustic reworkings’ in 5.1 & 96/24 stereo. Throwing in the self-titled album’s 5.1 mix would’ve made it an even better value though.
This album does not rock hard. It’s a collection of somber, ominous, mostly-acoustic songs in the vein of Pineapple Thief tracks like “No Man’s Land”, “Not Naming Any Names”, or “Stop Making Sense”. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really enjoy this style. As has been stated before, the lyrics are very personal and often quite moving. My favorite tracks include “The Solitary Path Of A Convicted Man”, “All This Will Be Yours”, and “One Misstep”.
From a panning standpoint, this is an excellent 5.1 mix. Bruce Soord really ‘gets’ surround music--the effect of being stuck between his trademark high/low vocal harmonies is absolutely mesmerizing. Most songs have acoustic guitars, backing vocals, and some percussive elements isolated in the rear channels. The drum kit is effectively spread over the entire surround field with the toms and/or cymbals frequently popping up in the rears, most notably in “One Misstep”. Towards the end of the title track, there’s a particularly cool '70s quad-esque soundstage with the rhythm section upfront, lead guitar in the left rear speaker, and hi-hat in the right rear speaker.
Sonically, this sounds great--the clarity of the acoustic guitars and vocals is startling at times--but it seems to be mastered a bit louder than the Pineapple Thief 5.1’s, and it’s too aggressive on the low-end for my tastes. On my 5.0 system, both the ‘full-range’ and ‘bass-managed’ 5.1 options for the main album sound slightly muddy. The kick drum in “Solitary Path” immediately comes off as overpowering and has me reaching for the tone controls.
On the other hand, the ‘full-range’ 5.1 option for the ‘acoustic reworkings’ sounds just about perfect to me. These may end up being my preferred way to experience the album going forward: they're even more poignant, haunting, and intimate. Special shoutout to the acoustic rendition of "Solitary Path"--I love those additional backing vocals not present in the main album version.