I think it has a lot to do with SW being totally in love with the newest digital technologies including 5.1. He has basically turned his back on stereo analog. I am not terribly impressed with any of his remixes, but specially how pedestrian his later albums sound on vinyl. And I did love the grand majority of his music and sound since the early days of Porcupine Tree. Also his love of pop for the last few years has taken a toll on my appreciation of his work.
Steven Wilson "Remasters/Remixes" What's Your Experience?
Over the last 12/18 months I have been collecting newly issued remastered/remixed blu-ray audio discs. Many bands have re-issued their classic albums on blu-ray audio as opposed to SACD which they did previously along wit DVD Audio.
I successfully ripped my SACDs on my OPPO 103 for many years with great results and ripped my DVD Audio discs on my computer external drive easily too.
So with a collection on blu-ray discs I researched how to rip them and bought an external drive and started with Pink Floyd - Animals and The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds which both turned out well. Next The Who - Who Are You Deluxe Box Set Japanese Edition with Shm Cds plus blu-ray credited to Steven Wilson.
Long story short the blu-ray is absolute trash and I can only conclude that Steven has hearing difficulties. The Shm edition of Who Are You is far far superior.
The blu-ray is nothing short of trash when ripped or played on my Oppo. Steven seems very good at PR but he's definitely the Clown Prince of remastering/remixing I will be inquiring regarding a refund or compensation. BTW the rest of the Who Are You Shm Deluxe Boxset is superb.
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@whart - it's a Chad/Analog Productions release; they also did this with 'Stand Up'. I have all those Jethro Tull CD's in the book-size deluxe packages, and those have SW mixes, but both 'Stand Up' and 'Benefit' sound far superior to me than any other versions I've heard, including those. I'd say those are some of the best sounding double-45's I've got. |
@larsman - I do have that recut of Stand Up! from Chad. My go-to is an early UK bulls-eye pink label I got from EIL quite a while ago, pressed at Orlake, I believe. Very bombastic. I interviewed Ian A. several years ago -focusing on that medieval ballad meets crunching rock sound. He was quite kind. I asked him about his work with Steve Wilson too. |
@mapman @zlone Exactly, I felt the life had been sacked out of the recording and the soundstage disappeared. Yes I believe he's very focused on multichannel at the expense of stereo. I am comparing Steven's 24/192 2025 remix of Close to the Edge against various other copies I have. So far it sounds very good with strong detail and momentum. I'll report back. |
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