I’ve listened to the new stereo and Atmos mixes one more time, and now I’m completely in love with these new versions.
Larks has always been a very dynamic album with many quiet passages alternated by loud and powerful moments of climax. The 2023 mixes render this aspect much better than the 2012 mixes, which took a more modern approach instead. Instruments are now placed exactly where they are in the original mix without revisionism, and also the intro of Easy Money (where Wetton starts singing at the guitar note) has been restored to the original setting. The atmos mix is very discrete and uses all the channels effectively but it’s also immersive and cohesive. In comparison, the 2012 5.1 mix sounds a bit disjointed, but this is a very minor thing.
The sequence from Easy Money to Larks Part 2 is the highlight of the mix, and it’s so dynamic and immersive that towards the end of Larks 2 I felt like when watching a horror movie, with scary sound effects, guitars and violin coming from behind and above me.
In my opinion, this is a must own like The Dark Side or Kraftwerk 3D. King Crimson is not to everyone’s taste but it’s my favourite band, so this is going up there in the top demo material. Just waiting for a poll to cast my vote
. You can guess what’s going to be.