Was finally getting around to watching all of the documentaries on these sets; finished watching the Clutching at Straws one so felt that it would be fair to revisit this mix. It's been about five years since I'd last heard it, and unfortunately my opinion has not changed. This is by far the worst of all the Marillion remixes, and one of the worst mixes I've heard period in the last ten years. Really not sure how some people are giving it 9's or 10's here. Feels like the Band or Fish owed Bradfield and Mackintosh a favour with this one. They improved in later mixes but it's a real shame that one of Marillion's best albums had to be butchered like this along the way.
- Zero dynamics, completely squashed. Everything is just at the same volume.
- Complete and utter incompetence in the use of surround as a format.
These two are probably the worst things here. To the second point, there is just no thinking whatsoever to how surround should be used it seems. Some songs feel practically in stereo. Occasionally you get random unexpected effects or vocals in the rears, as if they suddenly remembered they were mixing in surround. The guitar solos, which are absolutely central to this album, are crammed in the centre channel and buried underneath everything else. If ever there was an album where guitar solos should be moving around the channels it's this one. Vocals are buried as well.
On top of it all, there were weird changes to the mix, such as the alternative version of Going Under, or changes to the solo in Sugar Mice, but those are whatever and I could give a pass if it wasn't for how egregious the rest of the mix is. This is one of my favourite albums, so I think I was especially bummed with just how bad it turned out. I think I originally gave this a 6. I'm lowering my score to a 4 to offset the crazy high scores here - they get points for the package, which is generous as always, and I do like the music itself and the inclusion of the original 1987 mix in hi-res. The new mix gets a zero.
- Zero dynamics, completely squashed. Everything is just at the same volume.
- Complete and utter incompetence in the use of surround as a format.
These two are probably the worst things here. To the second point, there is just no thinking whatsoever to how surround should be used it seems. Some songs feel practically in stereo. Occasionally you get random unexpected effects or vocals in the rears, as if they suddenly remembered they were mixing in surround. The guitar solos, which are absolutely central to this album, are crammed in the centre channel and buried underneath everything else. If ever there was an album where guitar solos should be moving around the channels it's this one. Vocals are buried as well.
On top of it all, there were weird changes to the mix, such as the alternative version of Going Under, or changes to the solo in Sugar Mice, but those are whatever and I could give a pass if it wasn't for how egregious the rest of the mix is. This is one of my favourite albums, so I think I was especially bummed with just how bad it turned out. I think I originally gave this a 6. I'm lowering my score to a 4 to offset the crazy high scores here - they get points for the package, which is generous as always, and I do like the music itself and the inclusion of the original 1987 mix in hi-res. The new mix gets a zero.
