HiRez Poll XTC - BLACK SEA [Blu-Ray Audio]

[whatsmyname4]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone heard if Mummer is in the works next for the 5.1 treatment?

 

[sjcorne]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone heard if Mummer is in the works next for the 5.1 treatment?

Last I read the Mummer and English Settlement tapes are still lost. I'd bet on either Big Express or Apple Venus for next year.

 

[Perp]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone heard if Mummer is in the works next for the 5.1 treatment?

My guess? It will be a few more months before we should hear anything. Late Spring at earliest that something is mixing and late Summer early Fall until we hear exactly what album it is that will be next. At least, from what I’m remembering, this is the norm for previous releases.

 

[Perp]

Last I read the Mummer and English Settlement tapes are still lost. I'd bet on either Big Express or Apple Venus for next year.

Miracles do happen. So, let’s keep our fingers crossed. On one hand only, please! ?

 

[whatsmyname4]

Last I read the Mummer and English Settlement tapes are still lost. I'd bet on either Big Express or Apple Venus for next year.

That's a bummer. Hopefully, the tapes will turn up someday!

 

[marpow]

Listening now to this wonderful XTC, Black Sea. All XTC's in 5.1 are a must for the surround sound collector.

 

[mac444]

Didn't know anything about XTC until reading about them on this site. All I can say is WOW! Surround is a 10!

 

[sjcorne]

Didn't know anything about XTC until reading about them on this site. All I can say is WOW! Surround is a 10!

This is my favorite in the series thus far, but they're all worth picking up - their style changed quite a bit over the years. This one and Drums & Wires sound very much like a rock band playing live, while Skylarking, Oranges & Lemons, and Nonsuch are studio-driven affairs with far more complex arrangements and more eclectic instrumentation.

The surround mixes are all fantastic - I'd go as far as to say that "Across This Antheap" from Oranges & Lemons and "Books Are Burning" from Nonsuch are two of the best 5.1 mixes I've ever heard. I can't wait for the next installment of the series, supposedly coming later this year...

 

[Scott65]

I can't wait for the next installment of the series, supposedly coming later this year...

A few of us on this forum feel the same.

 

[atlantasteve]

I have been listening to my MCH discs in alphabetical order for some time. For this disc, I must have been ill when I first voted a 7. I will change my vote to 9. If you like crazy movement in your speakers, this is a great disc. If you like subtle changes, this is your disc. If you like surprises, get this disc. Band, production and mixing at its finest. Why not a 10? I can't be THAT wrong about something!

 

[Albert Dagger]

Voted 9. Music is a lot of fun, and the mix is revelatory. Living through another Cuba is the standout for me, in terms of surround mix.
For the stereo mix, I prefer the original included as a flat transfer in 24/96. The remix sounds more congested, and I'm not comfortable with the mix balance on most songs. It's also a bit harsh at times. Living through another Cuba is an exception where I think the focus on rhythm improves the remix.

 

[ngv99]

An absolute 10 for my favorite XTC album and a 9 for the mix, so I rounded it up to a 10 overall. These XTC discs overall are fantastic in sound and content.

 

[Marplot]

Again, coming late to the game for reviewing these, I have nothing to add to the comments already here.
Mr. Wilson again knocks the mix and fidelity out of the park and the price for all the add on goodies, CD and BR is unmatched in the industry.
We are so in need of the next installment ...
Surround Mix: 10 = 3
Audio Fidelity: 10 = 3
Content: A wider range of styles than Skylarking, which I adore. 9 = 2.7
Package: 10 = 1
9.7 = 10

 

[Breetle]

Steven Wilson really hit it out of the ballpark with the surround mixes on BLACK SEA, always my favourite of the original albums. The sonic excellence is 2nd only to DRUMS & WIRES and equal to NONSUCH for absolute perfection in a 5.1 environment. I still don't like ORANGES & LEMONS much on any CD/DVD-A?Blu-Ray as much as the original double vinyl LPs. I haven't heard SW's new stereo mixes on vinyl yet, but time takes time. Can't wait for APPLE VENUS 1!!

 

[Scottie-boy]

It's this mix, after buying Drums and Wires that made me realize XTC is the most underrated band of my time growing up in the 80's. Had listened to Skylarking - but not really everything else. The mixes are genius and so is XTC. 10

 

[edisonbaggins]

Of all the XTC 5.1 albums, this one grew on me the most.
So many great songs, some of which were never singles. Burning with Optimism's Flames? C'mon.

 

[Clement]

This release holds a special place in my heart. I saw XTC on two consecutive nights when they were on tour for this album back in 1980: on 21 November, they headlined at the University of Illinois in Chicago; the next night, they opened for the Police at the Aragon Ballroom. Listening to Steven Wilson's mix always takes me back to the energy of those shows--phenomenal! Great album, building on the breakthrough that is Drums and Wires, rocking harder, louder, more polished, and dropping increasingly more incisive and witty social and political commentary. My vote of 10 may be slightly elevated for sentimental reasons, but only slightly--this one does NOT disappoint!
Here's the setlist from the 21 November show: Outside World; Life Begins At The Hop; Helicopter; Love At First Sight; Respectable Street; No Language In Our Lungs; Meccanic Dancing; This Is Pop; Scissor Man; Tower Of London; Real By Reel; Battery Brides; Living Through Another Cuba; Generals And Majors; Making Plans For Nigel; Are You Receiving Me; Crowded Room.

 

[shakti]

This is an easy 10. It is my favourite XTC album, brimming with energy and exploding with creativity and songcraft. No Language In Our Lungs is one of the greatest deep album tracks of all time. The surround mix puts it all over the top.

That setlist is absolutely droolworthy, Clement! They were a superb live band at that time.

 

[jhw59]

9 for me. Another great Wilson surround mix. Generals and Majors is truly wonderful.

 

[dadregga]

FWIW this is back in stock at BurningShed, though quantities are limited: Black Sea