Steven Wilson Pink Floyd - Live at Pompeii - Steven Wilson mix - May 2nd 2025

[César]

First listening from Tidal.

It’s curious. Dave and Rick voices are crossed backwards. In the Fronts, Dave is on the left and Rick is on the right. But on side and rear surrounds, they are backwards, Dave on the right and Rick on the left.

Since you hear more the side surround than the front, it appears that Dave is on the right, but really both voices come from mixed directions in a strange manner.

Also, yes, the Heights only output very low global echo/reverb in the Top x.x.2 bed channels. I.e. in a x.x.4 system they sound the four top speakers, but in a x.x.6 system only sound the Top Middles.

On the other hand, there is content for the Wides, so the mix is pretty good surrounding you at floor level as if you were there, between them at Pompeii amphitheatre, without sound coming from the open sky above.

I like the clear sound of drum cymbals more than the other quad and 5.1 copies that I have.

One of the aspects that make Echoes special to me is how David and Rick's voices blend together. They way Steven mixed them in surround, so separated between both sides of the listening spectrum, somehow breaks the magic for me. This time, I prefer his stereo mix to the Atmos. Yesterday, I was comparing Andy's mix to Steven's and in terms of voices and instrument placing, I prefer Andy's. Yet, the sound quality is so bad that Steven sounds like heaven in comparison

 

[steelydave]

Much of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw set had already been mixed and broadcast in quad in the 1970s on King Biscuit.

I suspect the elements available to Wilson were already stemmed for 'quad;, hence the remix in quad.
Otherwise why not simply mix to 5.0 or 5.1?

This isn't a thing, especially in the analog era, they wouldn't have made some kind of submaster or intermediate tape in between the multitrack and the mixed quad master. The idea of "stems" is a mostly-consumer term of the post-'Rock Band' game era.

All the KBFH quad masters were destroyed in a fire at DIR's office building in the early '80s, so all that remains are the original multitracks, which were stored elsewhere.

IMO not using the center channel in a live mix, especially a vintage one with a limited number of multitracks has a lot more to do with instrument leakage from onstage mics. Onstage amps and drums all leak into each other's mics, and especially the vocal mic - if you put any vocals in the center channel, you also get guitar and other instruments coming out of the center channel every time you bring up the vocal mic in the mix. If you bypass the center channel all of that leakage can just be part of the 'ambiance' in the phantom center of the front stereo mix. Otherwise you get into trying to use stem extraction software and other tools to try and get a 'clean' vocal with all the other stuff digitally removed, and it's so easy for this to sound artificial, and well...just bad. Even though it's just stereo, Chicago's 1970 Isle of Wight performance (issued as part of their Decades: Live box set and mixed by the oft-reviled Tim Jessup is a good example of just how wrong this kind of thing can go.

It’s curious. Dave and Rick voices are crossed backwards. In the Fronts, Dave is on the left and Rick is on the right. But on side and rear surrounds, they are backwards, Dave on the right and Rick on the left.

Since you hear more the side surround than the front, it appears that Dave is on the right, but really both voices come from mixed directions in a strange manner.

IMO this is about stereo/binaural fold-down as much as anything else - you get the vocal on one side, and you get the ambiance (vocal echoes/reverb/tails/whatever) moving toward the other side. In full surround it allows each vocal to have their own "right angle triangle of sound" in the mix: FL-Ls-Rs for the front left vocal, and FR-Rs-Ls) for the front right vocal.

Eddie Kramer took a similar approach toward the quad mix of The Song Remains the Same, so I think SW's in pretty good company on this.

From a thread I did on the subject:

 

[Owen Smith]

and still reflecting a great non-understanding of how DTS and DD compare.

I'm saying what my ears hear. Dolby Digital 5.1 is generally poor compared to DTS 5.1 with the material I have.

 

[ssully]

This isn't a thing, especially in the analog era, they wouldn't have made some kind of submaster or intermediate tape in between the multitrack and the mixed quad master. The idea of "stems" is a mostly-consumer term of the post-'Rock Band' game era.

All the KBFH quad masters were destroyed in a fire at DIR's office building in the early '80s, so all that remains are the original multitracks, which were stored elsewhere.

IMO not using the center channel in a live mix, especially a vintage one with a limited number of multitracks has a lot more to do with instrument leakage from onstage mics.

That all makes sense. But the point was that Steven Wilson has no special affinity for quad AFAIK; he mixes in quad when circumstances demand it.
That doesn't make him the likely 'producer' pushing for the inclusion of old quad mixes with his remixes.

 

[marpow]

I have ordered CDJapan 2 X CD & Blu Ray 7" Cardboard Sleeve
$46.54 US. I had 788 Yen in points so total Japan to Calif was $64.74.

Pink Floyd's legendary 1971 live performance at the Pompeii ruins returns with the highest quality ever. The footage has been restored in 4K from the original 35mm film, the audio features a new remix by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), and the package is completed with newly designed artwork-making it the ultimate definitive edition. Recorded in October 1971 at the "Amphitheater" of the Pompeii ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site, this was a live performance with no audience. The film, originally released in 1972, also includes behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions for "The Dark Side of the Moon" at Abbey Road Studios. This exclusive 2CD + Blu-ray package is currently available only in Japan. It comes in a 7-inch-sized cardboard sleeve jacket with a special bonus poster. DISC 2 of the 2CD set includes an alternate take of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" and a long version of "A Saucerful of Secrets." Includes liner notes, lyrics, and Japanese translations.

 

[JediJoker]

I have ordered CDJapan 2 X CD & Blu Ray 7" Cardboard Sleeve
$46.54 US. I had 788 Yen in points so total Japan to Calif was $64.74.

Pink Floyd's legendary 1971 live performance at the Pompeii ruins returns with the highest quality ever. The footage has been restored in 4K from the original 35mm film, the audio features a new remix by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), and the package is completed with newly designed artwork-making it the ultimate definitive edition. Recorded in October 1971 at the "Amphitheater" of the Pompeii ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site, this was a live performance with no audience. The film, originally released in 1972, also includes behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions for "The Dark Side of the Moon" at Abbey Road Studios. This exclusive 2CD + Blu-ray package is currently available only in Japan. It comes in a 7-inch-sized cardboard sleeve jacket with a special bonus poster. DISC 2 of the 2CD set includes an alternate take of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" and a long version of "A Saucerful of Secrets." Includes liner notes, lyrics, and Japanese translations.

CDs and Blu-ray in one package; just what I was hoping for! And bonus points for being in the 7" sleeve format. I'll be adding that to my next CDJapan order.

 

[Mcallister]

I have ordered CDJapan 2 X CD & Blu Ray 7" Cardboard Sleeve
$46.54 US. I had 788 Yen in points so total Japan to Calif was $64.74.

Pink Floyd's legendary 1971 live performance at the Pompeii ruins returns with the highest quality ever. The footage has been restored in 4K from the original 35mm film, the audio features a new remix by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), and the package is completed with newly designed artwork-making it the ultimate definitive edition. Recorded in October 1971 at the "Amphitheater" of the Pompeii ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site, this was a live performance with no audience. The film, originally released in 1972, also includes behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions for "The Dark Side of the Moon" at Abbey Road Studios. This exclusive 2CD + Blu-ray package is currently available only in Japan. It comes in a 7-inch-sized cardboard sleeve jacket with a special bonus poster. DISC 2 of the 2CD set includes an alternate take of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene" and a long version of "A Saucerful of Secrets." Includes liner notes, lyrics, and Japanese translations.

Awesome! Also just ordered going to cancel my Amazon order.

 

[Steve Bruzonsky]

Awesome! Also just ordered going to cancel my Amazon order.

Me 2!

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

IMO not using the center channel in a live mix, especially a vintage one with a limited number of multitracks has a lot more to do with instrument leakage from onstage mics. Onstage amps and drums all leak into each other's mics, and especially the vocal mic - if you put any vocals in the center channel, you also get guitar and other instruments coming out of the center channel every time you bring up the vocal mic in the mix. If you bypass the center channel all of that leakage can just be part of the 'ambiance' in the phantom center of the front stereo mix.

In my own experiments with live sound, being able to use the center channel depends entirely on whether you need to use gating for whatever you're putting in the center. If, let's say a vocal mic picked up instrument bleed but there's a large enough difference between the volume of that vocal and the bleed, you probably don't need to filter out that bleed with gating and you can put it in the center channel and it will sound fine.

 

[Sal1950]

Pink Floyd's legendary 1971 live performance at the Pompeii ruins returns with the highest quality ever. The footage has been restored in 4K from the original 35mm film, the audio features a new remix by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree), and the package is completed with newly designed artwork-making it the ultimate definitive edition. Recorded in October 1971 at the "Amphitheater" of the Pompeii ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site, this was a live performance with no audience.

An epic Pink Floyd performance for sure, and one any PF enthusiast must have. That said the David Gilmour Live at Pompeii is IMHO the superior performance to own. The drop dead Comfortably Numb delivery is a Work Of Art all of its own. WOW.

 

[ssully]

That song is so played out I can't even listen to it any more.

 

[Sal1950]

That song is so played out I can't even listen to it any more.

I could easily say that about Another Brick in the Wall (hey teachers, leave those kids alone) and possibly the near entire The Wall album, but Gilmours solo performances of Comfortably Numb will never get old..
YMMV

 

[DrKlahn]

I could easily say that about Another Brick in the Wall (hey teachers, leave those kids alone) and possibly the near entire The Wall album, but Gilmours solo performances of Comfortably Numb will never get old..
YMMV

I don't know about other Countries or regions of the U.S., but here ABitW pt2 is by far the most overplayed. Then probably Money.

That Pompeii concert is great and the sound quality is excellent. I'd also say I really liked the takes of Sorrow and One of These Days too.

 

[rontoon]

Just bought my IMAX tickets. $62 for the pair was a bit pricey, but I'm not going to miss this.

 

[gorman]

They should all sound the same on any particular receiver. If they don't that receiver has bugs. I have demo blu rays with the same tracks in each of LPCM, DTS HD MA and Dolby True HD and barring volume levelling issues with some of them for Dolby True HD (damned dialogue normalisation) they sound identical in all three formats.

Of course they do. That's mathematics. I don't even understand the point of discussing this.
Source files being equal, compression through DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD is lossless.
The fact that for DTS and Dolby sources an AVR can opt to apply different output settings doesn't change the above.

Preordered, by the way. Not locking multichannel mixes behind insanely expensive boxes of obscure content is the way to go and I'll always try to vote with my wallet.

 

[Owen Smith]

Of course they do. That's mathematics. I don't even understand the point of discussing this.
Source files being equal, compression through DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD is lossless.
The fact that for DTS and Dolby sources an AVR can opt to apply different output settings doesn't change the above.

Others have been disputing this. To me that's like claiming the earth is flat.

 

[gorman]

Others have been disputing this. To me that's like claiming the earth is flat.

Absolutely. And sorry, I ended up quoting you but I read everything and I absolutely understand you are right. TrueHD and DTS-HD MA is precisely like FLAC. Output is identical to source uncompressed sound. Unless 2+2=5 (Radiohead notwithstanding), there's nothing to discuss.

 

[kenth]

Yes well, Guthrie's preference for DD 5.1 over DTS and his preference for valve mic amps (lets add odd order harmonics to the audio shall we?) are why I think he's highly misguided at best and an idiot at worst.

This reply is only for your comment about valve mic (pre) amps. A large percentage of top audio engineers prefer valve based mic preamps and/or valve microphones, at least in certain situations. So Guthrie is by no means alone in his opinion of valve mic pre amps.
Low level signals (such as from microphones) going through typical valve designs generate predominately even (not odd) order harmonics, which many find pleasing. See this: https://milbert.com/Files/articles/TvsT/tstxt.pdf It is a paper presented at the Audio Engineering Society.
For audio reproduction, such as for home audio applications, I personally prefer transistor based gear as it is lower in distortion and more accurate to the source.