Ultravox "Vienna" (Steven Wilson 5.1 remix in October!)

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Bull Moose sent me a very nice and personal sounding reply saying that they have been having trouble getting big box sets (and all their preorder stock) from their distributor. No ETA on when they will get more.
And we keep waiting on.

They are very accessible and easy to get in touch with...I like dealing with them...they can't always be as low as the bigger outlets....but their customer service is top notch..
 
I had never heard of this group until seeing this thread. Apparently they did not have much exposure in the USA. But I was living in Europe in 1980 when Vienna came out yet didn’t hear about it...and I even had a Gruppo Sportivo (Yes, it’s Gruppo not Gruppon f’n auto correct!!!) album or two!

I will have to audition a few songs from this album. Always a blast to learn about an act you didn’t know about especially from your own “golden age.”
 
One of my favourite albums. I must recognize the 5.1 mix is not as impressive as The seeds of love.
I think that the use of synthesizers in electronic music of the 80s gave a lot of play in stereo sound with few tracks, but it gives little play to separate into 5.1 channels.
 
I got this one in earlier in the week. I know Ultravox mostly through their greatest hits CD, so many of these songs and the overall sound of the album is new to me. I can't tell if it's the sparse, cold nature of the recording or the something with the DTS 24/96 mix that left me a bit unsatisfied here, or both. Certainly, Wilson's mix seems to be effective and there are discrete elements at times to listen to. But, I may pass on officially reviewing this unless I figure out whether I actually "like" the overall tone of the album.
 
One of my favourite albums. I must recognize the 5.1 mix is not as impressive as The seeds of love.
I think that the use of synthesizers in electronic music of the 80s gave a lot of play in stereo sound with few tracks, but it gives little play to separate into 5.1 channels.

Not meant to start an argument. Just my observation. I respect yours.

I am not sure why or how you would want to compare the two begin with.

It’s like saying Michael Angelo’s Statue of David isn’t as impressive as the Sistine Chapel. They are both works of art.
OK, maybe that is a bit much :)

They are two different extremes of alternative music, one made near the start of synth music popularity and the other at the tail end of the ‘80’s era.

Ultravox - Synth pop, quasi industrial genre
New label, Fledging success, Recorded on the cheap quickly.

Song structure: cold, industrial, stark

Tears For Fears - Full on ‘80’s Pop Band by this time
Full label support, Follow up to a massive album.

Song structure: Over the top production with million dollars of attention & 4 years of tinkering given to it.

I respect what you are saying but I think Wilson did a better job with less to work with on Vienna.

I would be extremely disappointed if Seeds wasn’t by a long mile, a better showcase of immersive surround.
 
I'm just comparing the last two works of Wilson and I think that seeds of love has a much more discreet mix than Vienna, only because Wilson would have had many more items to play with.

I prefer vienna than seeds like album but I prefer seeds than vienna like discrete mix

this is my opinion, as respectable as anyone else's.
 
That is a fair critique. The box set would have been reasonable at $30 to $40 for the overall amount of content provided and a stand alone would have been appreciated.
Honestly, this box set should have been $50. That seems like a good price for what is included (I haven’t received mine yet, and got mine for $45 from BM). It just blows my mind that I can stream everything except the 5.1 on Spotify, so having those other 4 discs to me are almost pointless.
If a 5.1 disc was $30 or even $35 standalone, I would buy so many more. Hell, even if it’s just a preorder or a small run of them to make a bit of profit (like The Division Bell DVD) that would be a welcome sight.
 
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