Pink Floyd - The Early Years - 1965 > 1972

[JediJoker]

FWIW, just snagged the box for ~$440 US shipped from Amazon UK. After the Meddling was revealed, I bit the bullet. [emoji6]

 

[himey]

Just finished running Meddle through my ears. Here are my initial impressions.

#1 *@#$ YES!
#2 Definitely more toppy. I am so mixed about this. I suspect it was an attempt to include more of what is on the master tapes. There are definitely things here I have never heard in the original mix. Of particular note are the EFX backgrounds around the "ping" at the start of Echoes.
#3 There are some things I would rather not point out, so that if you don't notice them you will not be looking for them. But I totally agree with previous posters that there is an LFE cliff after the middle section of One Of These Days, and I do not prefer it.
#4 I hesitate to make any criticisms until ALL Floyd material is mixed to 5.1 so they don't say "screw these ungrateful bastards" and scrub the others.
#5 In light of that - thank you thank you thank you to all persons who made it possible for me to hear Meddle in surround, be their actions intentional or inadvertent. The importance this holds for me is as irrational as it is significant, but I do not care to understand it. It just is!

#6 I feel the same about Obscured By Clouds. Please have mercy on my hungry soul!

Wish I had four of those Dahlquist you have there.

 

[jimfisheye]

Alright. I listened to a few things here to see where my perspective was today.

DSOTM quad from bluray
WYWH quad from bluray
AHM quad from this set
TER 5.1 from bluray

then
OBC from 24 bit HD tracks edition
OBC from 1st UK pressing vinyl
Meddle 5.1 from this set
Meddle 2.0 from this set
Meddle 2.0 from MFSL vinyl

My initial glowing review of this AHM master was a little too kind. This is still a huge upgrade from the noisy Q8 tape! But there's a little bit of a high end eq hype going on that's tiring on the ear and really punishing on Summer '68. Nothing like the sonic destruction on the Meddle or OBC remixes but it shouldn't be there. I wouldn't call this ruined from it either. I give it 8/10.

DSOTM, WYWH, & TER are all in the sonically perfect territory. I didn't like TER all that much and the lack of any aggressive surround material didn't help. But the mix is fantastic sounding and that includes the surround work and presentation.

I hear elements of greatness in the Meddle and OBC remixes. The over the top high end in both and whatever happened to the 2nd half of OOTD specifically are full disasters and blinding.

This combined with the questionable portable master hyping on the CD's makes me think there was a monumental mastering disaster responsible. Throw in the accidental Meddle mix for further example of attention to detail. Who mastered this set? Unless this set was only intended to be a novelty collectors item (like a vinyl picture disc with its lower fidelity might be considered), this is a recall worthy screw up on multiple levels.

This is an amazing set for content. Even with the above said and the mistakes, most of this material still sounds excellent and includes stunning upgrades on bootlegs some of us have cherished. I still have to highly recommend it if you obsess on Pink Floyd music and can afford it. I'm even happy to have some of the screw ups as curios in my collection. But it is very much a very flawed masterpiece.

 

[drphibes]

Hey jimfisheye, would you describe the issues with the Meddle mix to be a mastering problem more than a mixing problem?

I think that's what you're getting at. Am I correct?

 

[jimfisheye]

Hey jimfisheye, would you describe the issues with the Meddle mix to be a mastering problem more than a mixing problem?

I think that's what you're getting at. Am I correct?

That's my current speculation. Same for OBC.

 

[drphibes]

Folks, please don't take this the wrong way, but sometimes I am happy that hearing tests demonstrate that I have poor high frequency detection.

I can't hear what you're missing.

 

[César]

Box on my hands now. Can anybody please play Set the Controls from Pompeii set in 5.1 and let me know if there's distortion on your FR speaker?
I thought my tweeter had blown away, really strange.
I played before Meddle and now AHM and no issues.
A couple of observations: Echoes in meddle has got Rick and David's voices mixed in the center channel plus some keywords whereas in Pompeii they are isolated in the center channel. I was hoping to have them in pristine quality from the studio recording but that's not the case
AHM beats all the rips I have, it's fantastic!

 

[atrocity]

AHM beats all the rips I have, it's fantastic!

I finally got around to playing the lossless version of it yesterday and I love it. I'm not being sarcastic when I say I even loved the obvious tape hiss at the end of "If". It's the beautiful sound of a lack of unnecessary tampering!

So far my only technical complaint is that I have a gap + repeat at the beginning of the live "Pow R. Toc H.". Since no one else has complained I suspect I have a defective CD, but I can't for the life of me figure out how that's possible.

 

[rontoon]

So far my only technical complaint is that I have a gap + repeat at the beginning of the live "Pow R. Toc H.". Since no one else has complained I suspect I have a defective CD, but I can't for the life of me figure out how that's possible.

It's in all of them and some folks have been posting about it (maybe in other forums). My preview copy has it as well. Didn't seem worth complaining about but I'm surprised that it went out like this.

 

[atrocity]

It's in all of them and some folks have been posting about it (maybe in other forums). My preview copy has it as well. Didn't seem worth complaining about but I'm surprised that it went out like this.

Thank you!

Because of where it happens I agree with you that it's not a big deal. And for those of us who usually play everything via served files, it's probably an easy fix if I can find the time and ambition.

 

[drphibes]

Questions re the BBC material:

Are all the sessions they recorded at the BBC present and complete?

Also, I read some of the sessions - I can't remember which - are in mono but have been available in stereo on boots. Is that correct?

All of the BBC material i've listened to sounds like mono, and I'm gutted to realize that. I wasn't looking for it, so I didn't notice that at first. It still sounds
good, but it is mono. Sadness. This stuff is available, much of it in very high quality, in stereo.

Is mono harder to spot on headphones? I didn't notice at first.

 

[rontoon]

Posted on Y

A comment on the most recent Pink Floyd Facebook post from the actual disk manufacturer:

If anyone is having any technical issues playing any discs, please email details to [email protected]

Worth a shot if you're having issues.

 

[privateuniverse]

I'm posting this because I think I read that a few of you are having the same issue with Amazon UK that I am having.

I pre-ordered this back in August. As of this morning they still had not shipped my copy. My order status has been saying "preparing for dispatch" since last Thursday.

I filed a complaint with their customer service this morning. I just got a response from them apologizing for what has transpired. To rectify the issue, they upgraded me to the fastest shipping and said they would not charge me at all for shipping.

So if you're in the same boat that I am, it might be worth it to file a complaint. It may save you a few $ and it might get you the box faster.

 

[atrocity]

All of the BBC material i've listened to sounds like mono, and I'm gutted to realize that. I wasn't looking for it, so I didn't notice that at first. It still sounds
good, but it is mono. Sadness. This stuff is available, much of it in very high quality, in stereo.

The only BBC material that was ever available in true stereo is the September 1971 live set. You're right that it's mono in the box, but as I recently learned from RonToon, it's a true dedicated mono mix and not an intentional or accidental fold-down. I agree that it's a shame, though. I LOVE the stereo mix of that show.

 

[onthewall2983]

I was surprised to learn that "Blues" was recorded in '68, and not '71. It features a Hammond organ on it, and I thought Wright only used a Farfisa live until the following year.

 

[rontoon]

I'm posting this because I think I read that a few of you are having the same issue with Amazon UK that I am having.

I pre-ordered this back in August. As of this morning they still had not shipped my copy. My order status has been saying "preparing for dispatch" since last Thursday.

I ordered from UK the day it was announced. Apparently they ran out of stock pretty quickly and had to search European warehouses to find product to ship. After 3 days of complaining it was finally shipped. I'm tracking my order and see that it's currently in Philly so it's getting closer.

Best of luck with your situation! Persistence and patience seems to have paid off in my case.

 

[elmj001]

Sorry about everyone's issues. I paid Amazon US price preorder on day 1 of announcement. Guaranteed delivery on release day. Well, low and behold, Amazon decided to save on the shipping and go with USPS. November 11 is Veteran's Day (national holiday in US). So my delivery was moved to the 12th. At the price I paid I was pissed. I called Amazon customer service and started my tirade with the unfortunate rep that got to take my call. I went through 3 reps and 2 supervisors. After 30 minutes of losing my mind (and voice) a supervisor came back on the line and said my package will arrive that day. About an hour later I get a knock at the door. Its my mailman. His supervisor made him go open the post office, find my package and deliver it. Well, I felt bad for him so I tipped him. Then some kind soul finds Meddle 5.1:banana:. So now I have to go buy a blu-ray writer. When all is said and done this thing cost me like $700.00. It's a good thing my wife loves my hobby!!

 

[Ranasakawa]

I ordered from UK the day it was announced. Apparently they ran out of stock pretty quickly and had to search European warehouses to find product to ship. After 3 days of complaining it was finally shipped. I'm tracking my order and see that it's currently in Philly so it's getting closer.

Best of luck with your situation! Persistence and patience seems to have paid off in my case.

If anyone deserves this box early it's you.

 

[sunra]

I'm posting this because I think I read that a few of you are having the same issue with Amazon UK that I am having.

I pre-ordered this back in August. As of this morning they still had not shipped my copy. My order status has been saying "preparing for dispatch" since last Thursday.

I filed a complaint with their customer service this morning. I just got a response from them apologizing for what has transpired. To rectify the issue, they upgraded me to the fastest shipping and said they would not charge me at all for shipping.

So if you're in the same boat that I am, it might be worth it to file a complaint. It may save you a few $ and it might get you the box faster.

Yes I had the same experience. My box set is scheduled to arrive Friday, which is pretty good considering I just complained yesterday!

 

[Deek57]

Sorry about everyone's issues. I paid Amazon US price preorder on day 1 of announcement. Guaranteed delivery on release day. Well, low and behold, Amazon decided to save on the shipping and go with USPS. November 11 is Veteran's Day (national holiday in US). So my delivery was moved to the 12th. At the price I paid I was pissed. I called Amazon customer service and started my tirade with the unfortunate rep that got to take my call. I went through 3 reps and 2 supervisors. After 30 minutes of losing my mind (and voice) a supervisor came back on the line and said my package will arrive that day. About an hour later I get a knock at the door. Its my mailman. His supervisor made him go open the post office, find my package and deliver it. Well, I felt bad for him so I tipped him. Then some kind soul finds Meddle 5.1:banana:. So now I have to go buy a blu-ray writer. When all is said and done this thing cost me like $700.00. It's a good thing my wife loves my hobby!!

I had to buy a BD writer too, I got the last one in the shop, not an external plug and play like I wanted so I had to spend ten minutes swapping the drives on my tower, must be the quickest hardware upgrade that I've ever done..