Ultravox - Rage In Eden (Steven Wilson remix out in September!)

[cbmmm3]

When I placed my order with jpc it was “In Stock” but other than an order confirmation I haven’t heard a peep since

bingo. same thing,

 

[riskylogic]

Well I'm not sure what's going on with Amazon US and their supply.
I preordered the set back when it first became available for preorder, but it's still not showing in stock or when it will be available, so I switched my order to Amazon UK, which means I will get it sometime in the month of October

I ordered from importcds and it's still crickets

 

[madship]

Arrived today from artist store. I am enjoying listening so far, was not so happy opening the package up.

 

[riskylogic]

Arrived today from artist store. I am enjoying listening so far, was not so happy opening the package up.

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That's what drives me crazy about these boxes. I really only want the one disc, yet they insist on putting it a bigger package to justify further expense usually with far inferior packaging than a jewel case. Then they sometimes suppose they can leave the one disc out (yes I mean Revolver) and I'll still buy it. Idiots.

 

[Samier]

Ive not heard from JPC on my order either. Any other JPCers hear 'sumpin ? Ralphie ?

Hi, I have received a dispatch confirmation from JPC on 06.10.22 using DHL.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Arrived today from artist store. I am enjoying listening so far, was not so happy opening the package up.

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I honestly believe that may be why I’m hesitating on ordering this one. It all just seems.so wasteful, the uncertainty of the ship date doesn’t really bug me too bad, but this just drives me crazy!

 

[splinter7]

No hesitation here and I am anxiously waiting for a shipping notification.

Wilson’s surround mix of the Vienna album is just magnificent. This genre of music just lends itself to very active surround mixes without coming across as too gimmicky.

Really looking forward to this and fingers crossed seeing Quartet & Lament receiving the SW treatment.

 

[Marplot]

Other retailers must be getting it because my copy from jpc.de shipped this morning.

 

[The Rang]

Hi, I have received a dispatch confirmation from JPC on 06.10.22 using DHL.

Same here
Though using DHL worries me, greatly increases the chance of duties & handling charges.

 

[cbmmm3]

Same here
Though using DHL worries me, greatly increases the chance of duties & handling charges.

ditto here

 

[sjcorne]

I honestly believe that may be why I’m hesitating on ordering this one. It all just seems.so wasteful, the uncertainty of the ship date doesn’t really bug me too bad, but this just drives me crazy!

I guess I'd prefer that these Ultravox reissues use the Jethro Tull/Marillion book format or the Katatonia/Pineapple Thief earbook-style packaging (though I've had both types arrive damaged), but the Vienna set was a TKO in all other aspects. The price was not outrageous and all the audio was well-mastered (or not mastered at all), which is something I can't say for most of these "Super Deluxe Editions". I consider the 5.1 mix to be one of the best ever, and I actually enjoyed the extra content on the CDs. The St. Albans 1980 set is one of the best-sounding vintage live recordings I've heard in recent years. The liner notes were quite dense and informative as well.

 

[bgf1973]

Incredible Mix!! This man must have good even broccoli

 

[bluelightning]

Same here
Though using DHL worries me, greatly increases the chance of duties & handling charges.

You should be worried. I had pre-ordered the Porcupine Tree deluxe edition from JPC, which was shipped via DHL. It was stuck in customs in Los Angeles from more than 3 months. I finally received it 2 weeks ago, just a week before the concert, when I had given up. I don't think I am going to order anything from JPC/DHL anymore.

 

[The Rang]

I haven’t ordered from jpc in years, but pretty sure they didn’t use DHL because those orders, which would have been about the same physical size, sailed through.
I saved quite a bit buying this set from them, at this point I suppose the best case scenario is that any extra costs equal the savings so that I break even.

 

[JediJoker]

...shipped via DHL. It was stuck in customs in Los Angeles from more than 3 months...

I've had great success from CDJapan via DHL. Packages arrive in Oregon faster than some from within the U.S.!

 

[sjcorne]

Mine arrived from Burning Shed today (with all the discs flopping around inside). After two years of waiting, I listened to the whole thing straight off the DVD to get a completely-unbiased first impression. It's awesome, if you liked the Vienna mix you won't be disappointed. Some initial thoughts:

• The upmixes are pretty convincing! I thought "The Voice" fared a bit better than "I Remember..." in terms of channel seperation. That said, they of course still exhibit the original mix aesthetic (darker sound, more reverb) so they don't quite blend in seamlessly with the remixes. I'm really glad this was done though, as the remixed stereo playlist omits those two songs completely.
• The backing vocal at around 3:30 in "We Stand Alone" appears to be missing entirely from the 5.1 mix, but it's in the new stereo mix?
• I thought the lead vocals in the center speaker got a bit overwhelmed in a few spots, but it could just be my system.
• The ending of the title track where everything collapses into telephone EQ'd mono is really cool in surround, it first fades into rear center (directly behind your head) and then into the center speaker.
• As with Vienna, there are a lot of fun passages where things move around the room - it's particularly well-executed with the guitars at the end of "We Stand Alone" and with Midge's voice in "Stranger Within"
• "Stranger Within" is probably the most impressive track from a surround POV - as you could imagine from the stereo version, there's a lot to play with there and SW doesn't hold back. Definitely a demo track.

 

[sjcorne]

Disappointing side-note: the two live CDs have been crushed down to a single-digit DR this time around

Not sure why they did this, the St. Albans 1980 CD in the Vienna set was fully-dynamic and sounded great.

 

[sjcorne]

I'm also a bit surprised to find that Steven Wilson's stereo mixes are not presented as an unmastered 'flat transfer' this time, they appear to have been boosted and limited by 3-4 dB relative to the original mix. I guess the idea is to create listener bias towards the remixes by making them a bit louder? That's not to say the new stereo mix sounds bad by any means, but it is definitely louder than the 1981 transfer.

"We Stand Alone" (top is the original 1981 mix, bottom is the 2022 remix lowered by 4 dB)

The 5.1 seems to be completely untouched

 

[NYMo]

Arrived today from artist store. I am enjoying listening so far, was not so happy opening the package up.

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Shaken...not stirred !

 

[Albert Dagger]

We stand Alone. Both files are from the Original Analogue Master, but the top one is from Tidal, the second is my own rip of the box set CD 1. Mastering is definitely different. Snare drum has been muted a bit, and it's a bit less ear-piercing overall, even though the overall dynamics have been reduced a little. I wonder why they haven't uploaded the same version on streaming services.

The single version of The Voice (bottom), for example, was up on Tidal for a couple of days before it was replaced by the full version (top).