HiRez Poll Porcupine Tree - FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET [DVD-A/BDA]

[GOS]

Lay off the crank, my friend!

hahahahaha....oh yes. I try to control myself. Good one bro.

 

[bluelightning]

I will lay my cards out right at the start. I think this album is dreadful, and is amongst the worst albums I own. Although it stands alone as an album which actually annoys me.

The surround sound mix is as you'd expect from Wilson. Professionally done, immersive, and the rest. The package it comes in is pretty good as well. So no complaints there. The problem I have with it is the music. The undercurrent which existed in earlier songs such as "Piano Lessons", "Four Chords That Made A Million" and "The Sound of Muszak" comes fully to the fore in the title track. Which, bluntly, sounds like a man in his late 30s railing against the tunes the then current "yoof" were listening to. "They sound like Pearl Jam, Their clothes are all black, The music is crap" he opines like someone indignantly waggling a pipe. Of course, I could be missing the point and I'm simply not clever enough to see they are being ironic; PT condemning yet simultaneously pursuing the exact same black clothed demographic. But I suspect there's nothing ironic about it, as evidenced by the decision to call a 17 minute long dirge "Anesthetize"

So 2 for the surround mix, 1 for the packaging and a big fat zero for the music.

This reminds me of the saying "It is better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." . I get that one doesn't have to like this music or rather hates it. That is fine. There is plenty of music I don't like. Objectively, how can one rate the packaging and surround mix at 1 & 2 respectively. Really ?

 

[The56Kid]

I also think that the live performance of the entire album on the Anesthetize Blu-Ray concert is actually more powerful than the studio version!

Interesting, Jonathan, because FOABP didn't really grow on me until I absorbed the Blu-Ray concert performance.

Personally, I am fascinated with dark subject matter. I think (no, I know) this album and this mix is an absolute stunner. I simply cannot get enough of this. For me, a few beers, maybe a joint, crank this thing up and it simply is astounding.

Amen, brother Gene!

 

[Sixtyten]

This reminds me of the saying "It is better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." .

Advice you'd be better heeding, than offering.

 

[JediJoker]

Revisited this old friend yesterday. I notice I already voted in the poll, but did not give a review or breakdown. My rating will remain, and my reasoning is as follows:

MIX: This mix made the surround world stand up and take notice of Steven Wilson (as a mixer) for the first time. This was one of his earliest released mixes and is still great. Excellent use of surrounds throughout, while not deviating too far from the sound and character of the stereo mix. Interestingly, some of the best surround moments happen on the bonus tracks. 3.

FIDELITY: The tonality is excellent. Unfortunately, Darcy Proper's mastering does intrude in places. For example, what should be the loudest part of "Anesthetize"—what I call the "circle mosh" section—loses punch and volume in comparison to the more sparse sections surrounding it, a sign of too much compression. 2.

CONTENT: The album has aged well. The bonus tracks are great. It's nice to have the videos. 3.

PACKAGING: A simple, single disc package that was available at a reasonable price new. I think a CD/DVD-A mediabook package would have represented a better value, but I still can't fault this. 1.

TOTAL: 9

 

[madship]

I was very much into early Marillion; saw them live in 1985 before the split. After that I followed Fish more than the remaining band. This ironically brings us back around to PT!

Steven produced Fish's Sunsets On Empire album. He also co-wrote a couple songs and played on them. This is where SW met John Wesley, who would of course, later become the '5th Beatle' of Porcupine Tree, serving as tour guitarist/singer. He was kind enough to chat and autograph my In Absentia CD booklet in Milwaukee (Shank Hall) 2002.....

Holy Cow, I never knew that. I'm going to have to check, but I think I have a promo copy of that CD. I've always been mostly meh on Fish's solo material, even Weltsmertz (which I am thrilled to have). hopefully this will give me a new perspective.

 

[madship]

Been surfing my library and QQ this evening. I notice I voted on this album (10) back in the day but never said anything about it.

I bought the original multi-disc DTS version as my first new release of a Porcupine Tree album. My only complaint then was that it was only six songs. I loved the music and the mix from day one,

I saw PT for the first time on their tour supporting the Nl Recurring release, Wilson made a snarky comment about the Albany audience being unwilling to travel to see them. Untrue Mr. WIlson I saw PT in Montreal and at Radio City on the The Incident tour. Since then it has all been local shows. The NR show was transcendent, I was transported to another world during Anesthetize. Great show, one I will never forget.

Since purchasing the DVD-A it has been my goto for listening to this album. The mix is excellent as is the sound quality. The four Nil Recurring songs are also great. I would love an anniversary deluxe edition of Fear. Finding out how the NR songs became their FoaBP counterparts would be fascinating.

 

[martyn7772]

I've just managed to snag a copy of the deluxe edition, which I've just noticed is only DTS and doesn't include the extra tracks. I hope I won't be too disappointed, it was a bit of an impulse purchase offered by the seller after id just bought deadwing DVDA of him.

 

[Beefalo]

This sounds awesome to me.
I looked up the DVD-A on the dynamic range data base and there were some notes about clipping. Does this guy know what he's talking about?

1. "The as-released disc music tracks de-clipped using Audacity Clip Fix, and reduced to "0" ReplyGain overall. Much different sound of this DVD-A after declipping. Much, much smoother sounding without the induced odd harmonics splatter of clipped peaks"

 

[Matt Wilson]

10. I have the two-disc version. Great album, great surround mix. My first Porcupine Tree purchase, there will be more.

 

[The56Kid]

10. I have the two-disc version. Great album, great surround mix. My first Porcupine Tree purchase, there will be more.

Better late than never but still surprised this is your first PT purchase. Welcome to an amazing band in surround!

 

[alansanchez86]

Happy 15th anniversary to this masterpiece.

Time for a spin!

 

[mrcond]

Happy 15th anniversary to this masterpiece.

Time for a spin!

This album was my introduction to PT and Mr. Steven Wilson. I can't believe it has been 15 years already.

 

[SomethingAnything]

Happy 15th anniversary to this masterpiece.

Time for a spin!

15 years. Amazing. And yes, a truly great album. Probably their best, upon reflection. And those live shows that went with it -- yow!

 

[rugene]

Impossible to have this rare DVD-A at a reasonable price, so I have to stick with the live blu-ray-DVD combo which has the complete album in surround.

 

[Godman]

The Bonus EP in 5.1 is a hidden gem!!!! Pulled this one out last night. The whole bonus EP Nil Recurring in 5.1 is magnificent and to my ears better than their latest release. Especially " Cheating the polygraph" and " What happens now" . What a mix!

 

[Sal1950]

5CD/Blu-Ray packshots:

BTW, thanks for all the jpg's Jon !

 

[rugene]

The Bonus EP in 5.1 is a hidden gem!!!! Pulled this one out last night. The whole bonus EP Nil Recurring in 5.1 is magnificent and to my ears better than their latest release. Especially " Cheating the polygraph" and " What happens now" . What a mix!

Yes, I was looking forward to this, and I was not disappointed. As for the 2024 surround mix of "Fear," it's one of the loudest, surround mixes I have heard. It's so loud that I had to adjust my DB rear level to 0.