This release is certainly a little bit controversial, befitting the challenging music Gentle Giant made at the time.
The first track of any release (from both a musical and a mixing perspective) is always important because it sets the tone for everything else that follows and could easily convince someone to stay tuned in or to tune out and go listen to something else.
Given that the first two songs on this album necessitated upmixing is never a great thing as we would all prefer well-done discrete mixes that really suit the medium of surround sound, but despite that, I'm glad to say that the upmixes come off well for the most part. Where they falter is not something that can be helped, and in this instance, these upmixes still bear the full sonic characteristic of the original mix, and not for the better as there are some unpleasant distortions present in the original mix that can never be removed, and that's part of the reason why these upmixes will never quite fit in sonically with the other discrete mixes on this release.
Once we have gotten past the first two tracks, we're finally onto the discrete mixes, starting with "A Cry For Everyone". The clarity in comparison to what came before it is astonishing and a clear reminder that mixing is not just about how loud things are and where they go. The right amounts of EQ, compression, and other processing all contribute just as significantly to a successful mix, and Steven still retains the great things about the sound of Octopus while still providing more clarity when needed.
Going into this release, I always knew that the success of this surround mix would live and die by how well "Knots" was presented, and it's presented exactly as I hoped it would be, with a different voice in each corner. The accompanying instruments for those acapella sections are also discretely mixed in the corners as well, and it's a technique that works very well for this song. Bloody well done!
Next up is the final upmix of this release "The Boys in the Band", and this one is definitely the best IMO, probably because this particular track doesn't suffer from the same mix distortions like "The Advent of Panurge" and "Raconteur Troubadour" do.
"Dog's Life" has never been my favorite track on the album, but its instrumentation and arrangement work perfectly well in surround, especially in the middle section.
The penultimate song on this album, "Think Of Me With Kindness", is my favorite, and it could be Gentle Giant at their most heartfelt and melodic. Like a "Dog's Life", the middle section of this song provides the best surround moment with Kerry's vocals and mellotron filling all channels out very nicely.
Finally, we get to "River". Not one of my favorites on the album, but the surround mix of it works just fine. Derek Shulman's voice appears to come further out in the room on this track than previous ones. One thing I do really love about this song though is Gary Green's fantastic bluesy guitar solo right in the middle. He and John Weathers on drums definitely helps Gentle Giant to loosen up and groove a little more, and their contributions should never be minimized.
The proper album itself has me overcooked, so I'll wait for another opportunity to comment on the bonus live track.
I don't find this release to be quite as stellar as "The Power and the Glory" is for obvious reasons, but I truly think all involved with this release did the absolute best job they could to present the definitive version of this album to us, and for that, I have no issues giving it a '10'.
One final thought: This release is very special for one of our own members as it's the first time (I believe) that Thomas Lafon (Plan9) has been recognized for his contributions in helping to fine-tune Steven Wilson remixes by receiving credit in this release's booklet. Way to go, Thomas! I always knew it would happen one day.
