HiRez Poll Wilson, Steven - THE FUTURE BITES [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

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Rate the BDA of Steven Wilson - THE FUTURE BITES

  • Total voters
    96
Like I mentioned earlier I voted 9. Just to add a viewpoint specifically related to Atmos and focussing a little less on the album as a whole: with King Ghost, Man of the People and Personal Shopper alone this album has such Atmos highlights on offer that I'm truly happy it's here finally! These songs sound amazing to me, both in terms of the music and in terms of the Atmos mix (y) Keep it coming, Steven!
 
Like many of you, this album has been a bit of a challenge for me. There is no doubt that this was created with 3 dimensions in mind. It is just amazing how good SW's mixing has become. As for the music, I don't mind artists moving in different directions. Hell, I fell in love with his music with Deadwing. He didn't start sounding like that, so change was/is good. The difference for me with this album versus To the Bone is that TTB just grabbed me right away. I wanted to keep listening to it and the more I listened, the more I loved it. TFB didn't grab me, but it does seem to improve with multiple listens. A year from now, when I go to listen to the "pop" SW, I'll probably put TTB on, not TFB. But, only time will tell.
 
I’m going to do a quick review for now since having an infant takes away a lot of time to get a detailed review out. I’m giving this a 10. Sonically, it’s SW’s best and I am really impressed on how well he has gotten over the years. Anything he mixes past this point will just be downright amazing.

This might also be his best 5.1 mix too. It takes what made To The Bone great (A super gelled and immersive experience) and added a bunch of wonderful panning without it being super tacky. The fact that this album has a lot of sequencers and synthesizers in it is perfect for an active mix. It’s a lot easier to crazy pan those instruments than a bunch of guitars (Though the crazy panning happens with a guitar (Or is it a synth?) in Personal Shopper and is fantastic). He is also a master at mixing vocals together to create this very huge sound that encompasses the entire sound field. Personal Shopper is a highlight of this. Every backing vocal part is awesome, especially the “Consumer of Life” verse near the end of the track.

Also, I hope one day we get the extra tracks mixed in 5.1 / Atmos. The 20 minute version of Personal Shopper is phenomenal and makes the album version look like child’s play. Every section of the song has room to breath and have its own idea, rather than cramming a bunch of them together in the album version. It’s the first time that I have felt that an extended version is worth my time more than the album one. King Ghost and Eminent Sleaze both benefit from a couple of extra minutes too. Most of the other original songs that were extra were good, but in the end i’m glad they were not on the main record.

I also love that there are a couple of Pink Floyd similarities to a couple of songs here. Eminent Sleaze has Have a Cigar keyboards and Man of the People has a acoustic guitar/synth section that is very similar to Welcome To The Machine. I want to see if anything else from WYWH pops out to me from this album with more listens.

The direction SW seems to be going in to is very similar to Rush transitioning from their prog era to the 80s synth one. Now for a lot of fans, it is an era that is totally forgotten about. I’m not sure on what people thought about Signals and Power Windows in the moment since I wasn’t alive back then. But when you talk to a lot of Rush fans, their interest usually ends with Moving Pictures (1980). It’s a shame because to me because Power Windows is a 80s masterpiece with a pretty much flawless record. Sadly, when those songs were played at the 2012/13 Clockwork Angels tour, I saw a lot of people heading for a beer run. It’s looking like that this era of SW will be the same for a decent amount of people as well.

I’ll do a track by track analysis after a couple more listens, but I love every song except Count of Unease. That one just hasn’t made an impact on me yet. I wish Self was a single. It’s my favorite song on the record! So damn catchy and Unself really sets it up perfectly.

This is going to be getting a ton of play from me this year and I will welcome more records like this one in the future for sure. I just wish I had an Atmos rig to hear that mix!
 
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Steven Wilson, The Future Bites (Standalone BR)
I don't have anything of value to add to the posts that have come before. The mix is outstanding, the music is meh. Even with my not liking it, it pulled a 7 which is no mean feat.

30% SURROUND MIX - Listening to the 5.1 and it is a very well done mix. Steven has come into his own with this one. 9/10 = 2.7
30% AUDIO FIDELITY - As with the mix, the sound is awesome and you may play it at your preferred level without fatigue, at least from the volume and mastering; you may feel differently about the music. 8/10 = 2.4
30% CONTENT - Yeah, not my cuppa. I don't hold the new direction against him, but neither am I required to enjoy it. This is pretty much his version of Music From The Elder. There are a number of elements that are compelling but as an overall release, I am unlikely to return to it. 4/10 = 1.2
10% OVERALL PACKAGE - No frills with the standalone version but with multiple purchasing choices it deserves full marks. 10/10 = 1

Surround 9 (2.7)
Audio 8 (2.4)
Content 4 (1.2)
Package 10 (1)
7.3 rounds to a 7
 
I am not going to vote yet, but you cannot argue that the surround mix (5.1) is not a 10 all the way. Right from the first track there is no doubt in your mind, this is a full on surround assault on your ears.

I am really liking the Unself and Self. For some reason they resonate with me and the audio and mix are what draws me in. Exceptional.

It's odd but there are hints of other artists I am picking up as I learn this music. Some of it does not grab me at all yet, where others I am slowly getting into.

As others have said, "12 Things I Forgot" is the most commercial sounding tune. At the start of the song, it flashes me back a bit to Ian Cooke's "Antiquasauria" for a moment. The sparse vocal is clearly Steven but the effect is a lot like some of the tunes on the Cooke album.

And the girl chorus or group on "Personal Shopper" flashes me back to "One Night in Bangkok" from the '80s. I know, I must be wacked-out, but that's what I thought of the first time I heard that part.

Anyway, I am enjoying this at this point. Mix and Fidelity are clearly '10s. No doubt.
 
Finally got around to listening to the 5.1 (no Atmos for me). It's great as accepted. It all feels a little sterile. I like the music overall, but I wouldn't mind if he were to 'reinvent' himself once again for the next album. This isn't really a style that can hold my interest more than once.

I agree with the comments about the flow of the album. I know I'm 'destroying the vision' by doing so, but I swapped FOLLOWER and KING GHOST's positions. I much prefer this, as I basically didn't feel like listening to the album after PERSONAL SHOPPER.
 
JonUrban said:
I am not going to vote yet, but you cannot argue that the surround mix (5.1) is not a 10 all the way. Right from the first track there is no doubt in your mind, this is a full on surround assault on your ears.

I am really liking the Unself and Self. For some reason they resonate with me and the audio and mix are what draws me in. Exceptional.

It's odd but there are hints of other artists I am picking up as I learn this music. Some of it does not grab me at all yet, where others I am slowly getting into.

As others have said, "12 Things I Forgot" is the most commercial sounding tune. At the start of the song, it flashes me back a bit to Ian Cooke's "Antiquasauria" for a moment. The sparse vocal is clearly Steven but the effect is a lot like some of the tunes on the Cooke album.

And the girl chorus or group on "Personal Shopper" flashes me back to "One Night in Bangkok" from the '80s. I know, I must be wacked-out, but that's what I thought of the first time I heard that part.

Anyway, I am enjoying this at this point. Mix and Fidelity are clearly '10s. No doubt.
Click to expand...

I also noticed the hints of other artists; particularly of Pink Floyd. I know that comparisons might be odious, but as a mentioned in my review post, "Eminent Sleaze" reminded me a lot to Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" in music and theme. It is almost like "Have A Cigar, Part 2". But I might be overthinking.

And to me, the background vocals on "12 Things I Forgot" sounds like something taken from The Dark Side Of The Moon, like the background vocals on "Time" or "Us and Them". And I like the song.
 
notfer said:
I also noticed the hints of other artists; particularly of Pink Floyd. I know that comparisons might be odious, but as a mentioned in my review post, "Eminent Sleaze" reminded me a lot to Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" in music and theme. It is almost like "Have A Cigar, Part 2". But I might be overthinking.

And to me, the background vocals on "12 Things I Forgot" sounds like something taken from The Dark Side Of The Moon, like the background vocals on "Time" or "Us and Them". And I like the song.
Click to expand...

And MAN OF THE PEOPLE has clear "Welcome to the Machine" vibes.
 
I really wanted to love all the songs on this disc but that didn’t happen.

The songs I really like are:

Self (with the exception of the unnecessary expletive)
King Ghost
Man Of The People
Personal Shopper
Follower

The just okay songs are:

Unself
12 Things I Forgot
Eminent Sleaze
Count Of Unease

‘Man Of The People’ sounds like it should have been on To The Bone.

I like the sound of Eminent Sleaze with the early 70’s R&B / Disco vibe but, overall, the song did nothing for me.

Count Of Unease is one of his tried and true slow song numbers but it doesn’t tug at the heart like his other darker slow songs such as Drive Home. Actually, the more I hear it, the more it grows on me.

The lead (lead-in) track, Unself, is sort of boring. If it was part of the track Self and not a separate track to rate, I wouldn’t even talk about it.

Overall, I like that Steven is trying to find new ways to challenge himself on every release and not sound the same on each new release. After the first couple of listens, I was ready to give it a ‘7’ overall rating. But, because the song selection is mostly good and the mix is excellent, I’m voting a ’9’.

P.S. I really want to hear the 19 minute version of Personal Shopper. When I decided I wanted to order the Deluxe Box Set to get it, it was sold out. 😥
 
The "better" (IMO) tracks for the bonus content of TFB, as opposed to the album proper have me wondering if there were "better" tracks for TRtRtS and HCE!
I love those albums so much I never felt the urge to look in to it. But, if there are awesome bonus songs from those deluxe sets, it would be nice to know.
 
Perpendicular said:
The songs I really like are:

Self (with the exception of the unnecessary expletive)
Click to expand...

For me the expletive fits perfectly......it's what his truly feeling, you can hear his attitude here & throughout the album.

Good artists only put in an expletive when it's what they're feeling, not being expletive for effect.

( It's like Billy Joel, "feeling like a f**king fool" )
 
Last edited:
Perpendicular said:
I think I’ll wait to see if Steven releases those bonus tracks from the Deluxe Box Set in the next year or two. Otherwise, I’ll just play the regular version twice. :LOL::ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

The songs from the deluxe edition aren't in 5.1, so there isn't really any reason not to just stream the song. I actually liked the extended edition of Personal Shopper, but it's a bit repetitive. Mostly worth listening to for the extended shopping list by Elton John at the beginning of the song.
 
Oh and I finally received my Deluxe Edition boxset today. Got to say it is so cool. I've also listened quite a bit to the album and B sides via Apple Music while out and about and my favorite track is In Floral Green (a cover of a Lonely Robot song). Very addictive.
 
minimumtumbleweed said:
I actually liked the extended edition of Personal Shopper, but it's a bit repetitive. Mostly worth listening to for the extended shopping list by Elton John at the beginning of the song.
Click to expand...

My favorite part of the extended version is actually the last four or five minutes--that crunchy synth part starting at around 15:30 is badass.
 
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