Deluxe Edition of "Imagine" Coming Soon! (Remixed 5.1 and Remastered Quad audio)

[fredblue]

I LOVE this set!!! It should satisfy every surroundaholic: the original Quad in hi-Rez, a 5.1 surround mix of the original album that stays “true to the stereo mix”, and a beautiful, discrete original surround creation in the “raw studio” mix... it’s perfect!

I can’t say enough about how wonderful the raw studio mixes are... all the reverb is gone and the drums are relegated to mainly the left rear, and yet it still sounds so full and balanced... and so clean (kind of like the White Album)... the only thing I can think of that would have made this slightly better is if the location of the instruments around the room was varied from song to song, but as is it’s still so cool... it really sounds like you’re in the studio with the band running through the entire album live... Dare I say it... yes, I’ll say it: THIS is the surround release of the year!

oh do i concur!!
i just voted an Instant (Karma) 10 in the QQ Poll, its a stunning set and for us QQ surround music devotees a bit of a dream come true I reckon.

do I have tiny niggles and nit-picks? yes! are any of them deal breakers? so far, not really.

one thing i do have a wee question mark hanging over the surround in the box is just maybe there's a mastering engineer/or engineers at EMI/Abbey Rd who like to "futz with the 5.1"..?

this is without having looked at the original album's 5.1 individual stems/tracks yet and not least because the Lennon Legend DVD 5.1 mixes by the same man are more Rear-heavy than his mixes in this set..

bear with me a sec., I'm thinking of the Sgt Peppers' 5.1, the main album of which appears, to me, to have boosted Fronts and when the Rears are boosted a bit/or Fronts lowered hey presto some of us prefer the surround sound.. and yet Giles Martin's Love 5.1 mix had no such Front to Back balance discrepancy, imho.. and the Sgt Peppers' bonus tracks in 5.1 are ok, similarly the Imagine 5.1 bonus tracks seem better balanced than the album 5.1 itself.. hmm.. I'm trying to resist the urge to doff my deerstalker and go stem-shit crazy Sherlock.

bah scrap that I might just forget all about it, stick on Blu-ray 2 again and grab a Moscow Mule or 23 instead

 

[4-earredwonder]

It easy to affix blame to Giles Martin...but you are just shooting the messenger...those surround mixes you are mentioning were years ago...and Love wasn't even an album...if there was ever a clear indication of what you can expect it's on the Imagine "album"...this was the perfect storm for a super discrete mix(like the the raw studio mix)of the Imagine album...it wasn't a Beatle "classic"...it had Yoko pushing for the max and you still got the "true to the original" mix...it can't be any clearer than that..if it was ever going to happen...it was on this album...and it didn't...IMO Giles Martin.....could easily provide the mix you are wishing for...and yet it didn't happen...you gotta remember how small the surround community is and how big these releases are...they just aren't going to depart from the original material and believe it or not the masses don't want them too...it's hard to hear...but it's the truth...the majority could care less about surround sound...and we are talking about a LOT of fans when it comes to these releases....since you mentioned Martin's father...I have another thing to consider...he wasn't real happy with anyone making another run at the Beatles catalog....he spend years working on the 2009 re do of the Beatles catalog...and it's a huge part of his legacy...so he wasn't some driving force to replace it...from what I had heard it was just the opposite...

Ralphie..it is what it is...we just have to accept it and appreciate what offerings we do get...or if you in the unsatisfied group...buy something else with your money...there certainly are a lot of titles coming our way...

Clinty, I think if you re~read my post I am resigned to the fact that what we are receiving in terms of Beatles 5.1 remixes ..... is what we've GOT! Yes, I realize surround is/has and will always be a niche market and the conservatism displayed in Giles' surround mixes has to satisfy ALL factions of the Beatles listening public. I thought I made that clear in my post.

But don't think this is the end of the Beatles' remixes. This is just one of MANY ....... not a hunch .... but a certainty!

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Clinty, I think if you re~read my post I am resigned to the fact that what we are receiving in terms of Beatles 5.1 remixes ..... is what we've GOT! Yes, I realize surround is/has and will always be a niche market and the conservatism displayed in Giles' surround mixes has to satisfy ALL factions of the Beatles listening public. I thought I made that clear in my post.

But don't think this is the end of the Beatles' remixes. This is just one of MANY ....... not a hunch .... but a certainty!

There will be more...I agree...and yes I did understand your point...but although I'm posting to you...you aren't the only person I'm trying to reach with my message

 

[4-earredwonder]

There will be more...I agree...and yes I did understand your point...but although I'm posting to you...you aren't the only person I'm trying to reach with my message

But there IS only ONE Ralphie, Clinty!

As in all things in this divisive age, you can preach to the masses all you want [it's YOUR unalienable right] but we ALL have different concepts of how we want things to look and sound.

You have to respect that, too, Clinty! Blonds, Brunettes or Redheads? [note to Jon....why NO brown color?]

 

[fredblue]

There will be more...I agree...and yes I did understand your point...but although I'm posting to you...you aren't the only person I'm trying to reach with my message

good luck with that, Clint-E!
some of us (me) currently have Gin(s) and Tonic(s) coming out of our ears and are, as a result, temporarily deafened to your wise words of common sense! "cheers!"

 

[4-earredwonder]

good luck with that, Clint-E!
some of us (me) currently have Gin(s) and Tonic(s) coming out of our ears and are, as a result, temporarily deafened to your wise words of common sense! "cheers!"

And this from one who LOUDLY asserts: If it AIN'T WILDLY DISCRETE it's

 

[fredblue]

But there IS only ONE Ralphie, Clinty!

As in all things in this divisive age, you can preach to the masses all you want [it's YOUR unalienable right] but we ALL have different concepts of how we want things to look and sound.

You have to respect that, too, Clinty! Blonds, Brunettes or Redheads? [note to Jon....why NO brown color?]

oh there's only one Ralphie alright!
(thank GOD!!!)

 

[fredblue]

And this from one who LOUDLY asserts: If it AIN'T WILDLY DISCRETE it's

i said "its a hit" not "its shit"..!

 

[4-earredwonder]

i said "its a hit" not "its shit"..!

Oh, Adam, I wasn't actually referring to the IMAGINE BD~As ..... I love 'em, too. Just surround, in general.

 

[esimms86]

1) Beatles purists want the mixes that the Beatles were themselves invested in. In most cases this means Mono. Beyond that they’re happy with the original stereo albums remastered in stereo.
2)Yoko has emerged as the biggest champion of surround sound almost whenever possible. Paul is the one who most aggressively dictates what Giles should do with the stereo albums. Hence, 5.1 for the main album only. At least it looks that way for the time being.
3)I would love to see Yoko get free rein to do a super deluxe Let It Be.

 

[4-earredwonder]

oh there's only one Ralphie alright!
(thank GOD!!!)

Signore Raphael, to you, Adam. Just comin' off a Columbus Day Higheven though he was a murderous SOB!

 

[skherbeck]

“Let It Be” is Prime for a “true to the stereo” surround mix and a “raw studio” surround mix (the equivalent of “Let It Be... Naked”!) Best not to dream to much, though... I’ve been dreaming of Rush Hemispheres mixed by SW for a year now and we know how that turned out

 

[H.A.L.]

Finally . . . the Imagine box arrived -- on the same day as the Hendrix SACD.

Guess I'll have to flip a coin on which to listen to first . . . Naw, stereo first, then surround to appreciate the difference!

 

[Clint Eastwood]

This is the strangest thing I have seen since I joined the forum...although I understand the reasoning...a surround portion of a box set...the extras...if you will...is propelling it to one of the top spots in all the polls...it's not even an album...even Love which wasn't an album had more structure than this...these are interesting times indeed...and I was most interested in Jon's perspective....it's a little bittersweet knowing that the actual album could sound like that...but doesn't...and also that future projects could sound like that...but won't....

 

[4-earredwonder]

This is the strangest thing I have seen since I joined the forum...although I understand the reasoning...a surround portion of a box set...the extras...if you will...is propelling it to one of the top spots in all the polls...it's not even an album...even Love which wasn't an album had more structure than this...these are interesting times indeed...and I was most interested in Jon's perspective....it's a little bittersweet knowing that the actual album could sound like that...but doesn't...and also that future projects could sound like that...but won't....

And there's a term for that, Clinty: Schizophrenia!

When you advertise an album as a 5.1 remaster and the REAL 5.1 is included on a bonus disc of outtakes, etc., it really is a bit of misrepresentation, AFAIK!

Because of the excellence of the box set I had to knock off a point and voted 9 for IMAGINE for this 'discrepancy!'

 

[fredblue]

And there's a term for that, Clinty: Schizophrenia!

When you advertise an album as a 5.1 remaster and the REAL 5.1 is included on a bonus disc of outtakes, etc., it really is a bit of misrepresentation, AFAIK!

Because of the excellence of the box set I had to knock off a point and voted 9 for IMAGINE for this 'discrepancy!'

hey! that's my favourite album by the 'Oo!


Quadroschizophrenia.

 

[4-earredwonder]

hey! that's my favourite album by the 'Oo!


Quadroschizophrenia.

Quadroschizophrenia by the Rock Group "WHOSIEWHATSIE?"

tenderly,

the ONE and ONLY Ralphie accept NO substitutes!

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Two days ago I got Imagine on Amazon.fr for €59 shipped (to the US). I would have gone with Amazon.de, which was four Euros cheaper, only Amazon.fr also had the Beatles White Album for €105 Euros shipped, whereas Amazon.de was 120-something. So I ordered both from France, and Imagine should arrive in five more days. Oh-la-la!

Good find! I have not bought from Amazon France lately, so not sure how fast items will arrival to the West Coast of the USA. Amazon DE has been fairly good, arriving about 7 to 17 days after purchase with standard shipping. I also like Amazon UK, and their arrival times are sometimes similar to Amazon DE. But Amazon UK can also be almost a month for something to arrive, and more often than not, we have no control how an item is shipped.

In this case with Amazon DE, global tracking via DHL was offered, which put everything at around $85. So, one word of warning on getting this box set for $70 : No tracking numbers are offered that I could find. So, either put one's mail on hold for awhile, or stay close to the mailbox.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Good find! I have not bought from Amazon France lately, so not sure how fast items will arrival to the West Coast of the USA. Amazon DE has been fairly good, arriving about 7 to 17 days after purchase with standard shipping. I also like Amazon UK, and their arrival times are sometimes similar to Amazon DE. But Amazon UK can also be almost a month for something to arrive, and more often than not, we have no control how an item is shipped.

In this case with Amazon DE, global tracking via DHL was offered, which put everything at around $85. So, one word of warning on getting this box set for $70 : No tracking numbers are offered that I could find. So, either put one's mail on hold for awhile, or stay close to the mailbox.

I received my Imagine boxset from AmazonUK on Columbus Day which was roughly 5 days AHEAD of schedule without paying any additional s/h charges other than their normal £3.08 fee. Total cost was $72, delivered.

 

[LennonCobain]

What I really like about the Imagine Ultimate Edition box set is that it is a Blu-ray first set with CDs as extras. Most often, such boxes are CD first with a DVD or Blu-ray as an extra.