DVD/DTS Poll Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (Defective Original Disc) [DTS/DD DVD]

[onlyconnect]

The glitches on the original stereo transfer are indeed horrible.

I will mention to EMI and Ian these issues, I very much doubt they are aware of them.

S

I made every effort to inform EMI, almost exactly a year ago. However there is no obvious contact point on the emimusic web site (no doubt deliberate). The only contact given is for press. Eventually I found a couple of email addresses, one a person (a Release Director) the other a generic customer services address. I sent separate emails to both addresses. You guessed ... no reply.

This Aqualung set was not cheap and it is disappointing.

Of course I could have returned the set to Amazon. But I don't want to return it, I want the set but without the glitches.

Tim

 

[grill]

Sorry to repeat myself, the TAAB remix deserves a blu-ray release with flawless lossless audio and a readable on-screen newspaper.

 

[fredblue]

Sorry to repeat myself, the TAAB remix deserves a blu-ray release with flawless lossless audio and a readable on-screen newspaper.

or it could have been a DVD-A to really do the SW presentation justice.. in LP packaging to really do the physical newspaper justice!

The one time I would not have whined if EMI had put this in with the LP (as they do so often) and...

 

[zfox]

Well, the financial aspect for blu-ray...

 

[fredblue]

Well, the financial aspect for blu-ray...

DVD-A wouldn't have cost EMI a penny more to produce than the DVD-V (Neil Wilkes can attest to this fact) and as EMI have released a separate vinyl issue of this mix at the same time, it would have kept costs down for them to produce just one set with vinyl and Hi-Rez surround in it together.

ah well, lets see if EMI come up with the goods and at least replace our duff DVDs with ones that are 'fit for purpose'..

 

[davie]

I'm fed up with Tull sounding too bright for my taste. Like Steven Wilson said about Aqualung, "Peter Mew seems to have added some extra brightness, around the 10-12K area - I can't say I prefer it that way, but again it's a taste thing."

Oh God! If we could only get TAAB and Aqualung (My God and so on) with the Peter Mew remastering removed I could be in hog heaven!

 

[fredblue]

why don't EMI let him Mewtilate the stereo remix for CD in future if, as Abbey Road's senior mastering geezer, he must get his hands on these things.. and leave the surround well alone..!?

PM is behind the (re)mastering on virtually every one of EMI's surround releases/quad reissues.. one wonders what these things would have sounded like (regardless of the majority of them being lossy surround) had he not tampered with them in the first place.

the Peter Mew question is one topic I am in full agreement with members of the SH forum about, there's almost universal dismay/condemnation at his mastering work over there.

one can only imagine Mew boosts the top end on everything because his hearing has gone south.. why no-one ever stops to question his mastering decisions (he is not God, after all, not infallible) I don't know.

what sticks in the craw even more is he has spoken out publicly (& passionately) about his feelings on the "Loudness Wars".. yet when he masters he regularly uses noise reduction with gay abandon and needlessly jacks up the EQ at any given opportunity.

 

[wavelength]

Oh God! If we could only get TAAB and Aqualung (My God and so on) with the Peter Mew remastering removed I could be in hog heaven!

Other than the dropouts - which GOD knows how that happens - I love EVERYTHING about Aqualung.

 

[0tto]

i'm pretty much liked approach of SW to combine mixing and mastering at same time, or as he does
call it - flat transfer. i found sound on both ELP's very natural and true to the time and gears, when
it was recorded. albeit here were some complains and comparison with BSS DVDA, i personaly prefer
this two.
both of his latest BD-A was done very well. if he could pay lil bit more attention to recording of the
vox and avoid quite heavy sibilance in the high "s" and "sh", they both would be just perfect from
point of sound fidelity.
really i can't see any sense in sound mastering done to his mix, other than that someone in studio
wanted to be busy.

 

[bArtMan]

I've made an analog re-mastering for me. A massive cut at 9K, small boost at bass-range and generate deep bass for the lfe. From 05:00 to 10:30 I've inserted a de-esser to minimize the strange overheads. Then I've edited the dropouts on all channels at 03:02. Now TAAB sounds warm and transparent with a touch of vintage.

 

[eddieginger]

I made every effort to inform EMI, almost exactly a year ago. However there is no obvious contact point on the emimusic web site (no doubt deliberate). The only contact given is for press. Eventually I found a couple of email addresses, one a person (a Release Director) the other a generic customer services address. I sent separate emails to both addresses. You guessed ... no reply.

This Aqualung set was not cheap and it is disappointing.

Of course I could have returned the set to Amazon. But I don't want to return it, I want the set but without the glitches.

Tim

EMI Customer Services (UK)
27 Wrights Lane
London W8 5SW

Tel: (0)20 7795 7000
Fax: (0)20 7795 7001

PS: Problems with this, with Aqualung, with the Wish You Were Here blu-ray, with this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Through-Wilko-1974-1977-Includes-Bonus/dp/B0076WFTS8/ref=cm_rdp_product, with the Layla super-deluxe box....any quality control out there?

 

[onlyconnect]

EMI Customer Services (UK)
27 Wrights Lane
London W8 5SW

Tel: (0)20 7795 7000
Fax: (0)20 7795 7001

Thanks. Though I imagine it is non-trivial to get past customer services (who will just advise to return "faulty" product) through to someone who might have some input to the process of fixing a faulty mastering.

Tim

 

[onlyconnect]

Here is what happened when someone got through to customer services to complain about crackling on CD2 of the Dr Feelgood box:

EMI told me that they do not deal with individual consumer issues. You can try [email protected] but I was just told that there is no known fault with this product and that I should return it to the retailer. I don't think they have any intention of fixing it.

Tim

 

[Frantic]

Now my rant;>) or oh let me rant.
I'm fed up with Tull sounding too bright for my taste. Like Steven Wilson said about Aqualung, "Peter Mew seems to have added some extra brightness, around the 10-12K area - I can't say I prefer it that way, but again it's a taste thing."
This time with TAAB the cymbals are destroyed in parts of the 5.1 mix. Ignoring the glitches. The 5.1 mix is a treat at lower levels. For me, less bright and it would be a perfect 5.1 experience. Subtle surround when it needs to be. Listening at a reasonable level it will do, cranked then I have a real problem with the top end. You get tired of the cymbal sound by the 7 minute mark.

I feel very humbled.
I must admit I voted after one listen at low volume before I went away on holiday.
I came back, fired up the forum and saw all of this conversation about the glitches etc....
I could not wait to listen at my "Usual" volume and I did discover those harsh/bright cymbals. It was really not that evident at lower volumes. Hence my "10" vote. The mix seems very nice and I hope that this issue is resolved and we can enjoy this effort as Mr. Wilson wanted us to enjoy it!
Burning Shed, are you listening? Can you send us the replacement without prompting when it is complete?

Thank you for posting Mr. Wilson, keep the mixes coming. We really do appreciate all of your effort.

 

[patrick1]

Hello. What to do, what to do? I haven't opened mine yet. Is it the brightness thing?, or the glitches? I can deal with a few dings or just return it unopened. Arrrrrgggghhhhh! Thanks.

 

[SMS]

Hello. What to do, what to do? I haven't opened mine yet. Is it the brightness thing?, or the glitches? I can deal with a few dings or just return it unopened. Arrrrrgggghhhhh! Thanks.

I suggest you return it.

The glitches didn't bother me too much. But, the brightness issue is so severe that I found it completely unlistenable. I tried to listen to the 5.1 mix all the way through twice, and was unable to.

Find out if your retailer will let you return it after it is opened. That way you can listen to it first and decide for yourself. Amazon.ca allowed me to return it opened.

 

[ssully]

Returning mine to Amazon today for a credit but....how to know when the corrected version is available?

 

[zfox]

I had a full refund from Amazon.co.uk today. I returned the item unsealed as defective, mentioning in the description the timemarks of the glitches. I guess Burning Shed will be able to inform the customers when the corrected version will be in stock, so we can buy the title again.

 

[kvsawilson]

I've played it through quite a few times now and my thoughts are that it's a great mix, but the fidelity isn't near on par with Aqualung. I was all set to blame it on the difference between blu-ray and dts even though I've never thought I had good enough ears to hear the difference. I also thought that maybe the source tapes just weren't as good. Now I've seen SW's comments about it and it really disappoints me. I guess I thought that a mix by him would be basically the same experience we had with Aqualung and didn't realize there would be someone else to come along and mess it up.
That being said, I still am enjoying this disc a lot! It's one of my all time favorites and the glitches (particularly the "spin me back down the years and the days of my youth"
that JohnN pointed out earlier) are distracting and I agree that it doesn't allow for as loud a play as Aqualung. But my ears have 50+ years of wear and tear and the cymbals don't bother me and sound like I think they always have, just separated out so they more easily noticed. And that is what I find enjoyable is that the music is opened up to where I definitely hear things I've never picked up before and the drums otherwise are great. I own the old Mobile Fidelity stereo release and this is far more enjoyable for me. The incredible surround mix trumps the sub par fidelity in my world.
I'll give it an 8 which I think on my scale is probably higher praise than most give with an 8. I would buy it again in a heartbeat even knowing the issues with it. Still a very enjoyable listen to me.

K

 

[fredblue]

I'm so over this balls up. I just want a replacement for the DVD that works, thank you very much!

I've a surround music "to-get" list as long as my arm, I know its only £20 and in a lot of ways the set is great.. but at this point I could have put that twenty quid towards something else that does what it should.