@@leon9021 I am so glad I have the old vinyl with the die cut/jarred octopus cover, but if I can find the Dean cover release or if one you would care to give me yours well… I can dream. Some cd’s sound great, other ones not so much and still other’s are horrible. I am not referring to the Giant cd’s and lp’s I have, they all get played and sound sweet.
@@leon9021 I have a couple imports: Free Hand, Glass House and Three Friends. They certainly don’t sound bad : ). I don’t currently have any of the Wilson mixes and probably won’t bother unless I happen upon them in a discount shop. I occasionally find a bit of treasure in those places.
That was how we heard them originally in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Roundabout and America by Yes and Knots by Gentle Giant were beamed from another planet.
In Steven’s Yes remixes I marvel at how Jon Anderson sounds like he’s singing right in front of you. But then scratch my head at why Chris Squire’s bass, which was always in your face on the original mixes, sometimes seems to disappear into the background. His mix of Topographic Oceans is a masterpiece though....it clears away the sonic muck and lets the symphonic beauty of the music shine.
Yoooo my thoughts exactly. I’m glad the vid mentioned CTTE, which i found to be unlistenable bc Squire was buried. The whole remix was just off. Tales though, fire
I have always been fans of bands like Kansas, Styx, Pink Floyd, Yes, and Asia, but just recently did I declare myself a hardcore prog fan. I would love to see more reviews on different bands, maybe even some obscure ones as well.
You probably have heard of that obscure band, Genesis... well, maybe you have heard the song Invisible Touch, ok then, roll way backwards in time if you haven't already, and start at the "first" album, Trespass (they don't count the previous effort as an album...more as a "this and that" experiment in high school). For me, the songs by Genesis, moving forward from Trespass and the albums onward (Phil Collins and Steve Hackett join on the "second" LP, Nursery Cryme), are the kind of Prog that folks can like without having to embrace being really patient and more or less bored waiting for the song to move forward and get on with it. Each song, short or long, changes up at a pace that keeps me interested til the very end. I would include them in your exploration while keep enjoying those other masters like Floyd, Yes, Asia, oh and Jethro Tull, (they have a wonderful action based music, no endless noodling -just pleasant to the ear), oh and try Audience (House on the Hill -give it time to learn to love his vocal delivery). Anywho, hope you like!
I love his remixes especially the surround mixes he does and your right he does bring the musicians into your own living room. The middle section of Close To The Edge sounds like I was literally in a Cathedral with Wakeman playing the organ it blew my brains out dude ... Great! job and I have subscribed.
Oh yeah, the organ part there is really awesome in 5.1. I feel like it makes whatever room you're in feel 10x the size with the reverb and everything. And thank you! Glad to have ya here.
@@progrock No problem and it totally immerses the whole experience and brought tears of joy streaming down my face. I've never heard that album sound so good in my life until I got Wilson's mix of it.
He kinda screwed up a bit on his remixes for Songs from the Wood. normally, I ADORE his work on Jethro Tull's albums (see my comment above); on the title track "Songs from the Wood," though, his "reboot" gets intrusive. I'm surprised Ian Anderson signed off on it, as I feel Wilson's overt tinkering hurts the song. That's the only case I can think of, though. And thank ALL the gods that Wilson trimmed the wankery from "Moonchild" on The Court of the Crimson King.
@@satyrosphilbrucato9140 I've not heard that remix though I'm very fond of the original especially the title track which has lived in my head since it came out.
@@direnova6284 Absolutely. Both the song and the album provided my gateway drug to Celtic rock and modern Paganism during my pre-adolescence in the mid 1970s.
Hey ! I just got this video by the algorithm, nice work man ! I didn't know I needed this in deepth Prog analysis, but now I want MORE! New subscriber here, cheers. Long life the Prog.
Wilson is a goddamned wizard. His Tull remixes are like entirely new albums made from the original recordings - bringing out new and unexpected levels of nuance and mastery. Aqualung (which to me always sounded, even on vinyl, like it was recorded through a pillow) is an especially striking example, one that got my to consider Steven Wilson remixes as the definitive versions of the albums in question.
I’m glad people find enjoyment from his remixes but I 100% respectfully disagree I’ve found the majority of them to be more miss than hit unfortunately. =(
Tull's records have always had decent sound quality, give him some Rainbow material. Although deluxe editions sound pretty cool, however 80's records are not covered.
The greatest thing about the Jethro Tull re-releases is the previously unreleased “associated recordings”. Tull has already released massive collections of bonus tracks over the years and it blows my mind that Wilson could still scrape up additional tracks and make them sound so amazing. The A Passion Play remix includes only one extra verse(which seems insignificant when compared to the other albums that had multiple new tracks) but that one extra verse is like a whole new world. Hearing Ian Anderson’s 1973 vocals for the first time again was priceless. Needless to say, I’m a Tull superfan. I couldn’t ask for more from these re-releases.
Agreed!!! Quite possibly the best reissues in the history of rock!! Massive Tull fanatic here too. I wish he'd continue with Broadsword - Dot Com! And put together the different remixes of the songs on Living in the Past and put it out as a separate book/ box release. 🔥✌
@dan cussin , Night Cap is great, CD 1 is the Chateau D' Isaster tapes as they called the sessions, gives u a glimpse of the unreleased double album, real gems on it. The 2nd is unreleased tracks from 75 to the 80s which also have many killer tracks
@dan cussin nightcap is totally amazing! Great collection of rare stuff... a Passion Play was remixed by Wilson a few years back! Absolutely magical mix!!! "A" is an absolute romper of an album. Utterly brilliant!! I'm not into the image etc, but the songs and the sound on that album... holy mother of god!
What really impressed me with his Gentile Giant remixes is how raw he made them sound. Like The House, The Street, The Room. It was definitely written to be punchy, and Derek Shulman, who would go on to promote punk acts probably loved the sort of punky punch Wilson managed to put into it. It was obviously recognizable, but almost a new version, And it's amazing how appropriate that punch is to the song, using the power vocals of Derek as opposed too Kerry Minear's gentler tone.
You are correct, however "Starless" does happen to be the title of the KC boxset containing all recordings from the "SABB" era including the SW remixes.
Very good review. I've been listening to some of the prog remixes on Tidal. I was really impressed with A Passion Play. The Memory Bank is one in particular that benefited from Wilson's MQA recording. The bass lines are very well articulated and it is an incredible jam session- Barlow and Hammond's work together are just phenomenal and was lost in the original album mix. Listened to some ELP From the Beginning and the harmonic richness and separation/acoustic space are very impressive sonically. As said in this video, an audiophile's dream!
The only thing that changes in the audio by changing the sample rate is the max frequency that can be represented digitally. 44.1 kHz already covers every frequency above 20 kHz (which is generally the limit of the human ear), so those who say that 96 kHz sounds better are just wrong. We as human cannot perceive the difference between two high-enough sample rates. The only reason to use a higher sample rate is for some audio effects which might have unwanted side effects in the audible range. Hope this clarifies enough the sample rate debate. edit: the other thing that a higher sample rate allows is slowing down the audio (keeping the same frequencies) without noticeable artifacts.
Great video! Thank you. I've been a fan of Steven for a long time. I hope you can go more in depth in the future and also do some videos on his history.
I enjoyed this. As a recording engineer myself, Wilson's remixes have been and continue to be of interest to me. While I like some more than others, Wilson's thoughtful approach gives me a chance to hear this classic music in a new way. Thanks for the video.
I first discovered Porcupine Tree around 2004 2005, then I became a fan of it by discovering what it did with 5.1 mixes in high definition. From that moment on, i try to find everything related to him and his remixes. I was lucky to see him live several times and reaffirm that he is a true genius.
I uploaded the 2012 ELP remasters done by SW on my youtube channel years ago. Used to constantly get comments about people complaining it was too quiet
Awesome, I was lucky enough to come to Steve Wilson through a producer friend. I became a big fan of Porcupine Tree and saw them three times live, at a local club prices...pinch me! The last time Robert Fripp as solo artist opened, well I knew that Mr Wilson was on another level. Eventually, I discovered his remixes....wow Steve has a real talent for everything he does, but it's nice to hear his remaster of Aqua Lung. Love your channel
Thanks, that was very interesting. I remember how amazed I was to hear - for the first time - the spanish guitar that Steve Howe doubles on his solo section in Sound Chaser. There are so many little gems like that sprinkled through Wilson’s mixes.
I share the sentiment of a lot of people here in that I generally much prefer the original mix compared to the remix, but I do appreciate the effort that goes into remixing.
I remember hearing a Chicago song Wilson had remixed. Terry Kath, who was an absolutely GREAT guitar player, went from amazing to sublime. His guitar always sounded "fuzzy" to me and I just assumed that was his style. The clarity was unreal. I have heard Wilson talk about the loss of range on many albums and why he hates MP3 as a format.
Well, excellent video! It is really hard to find someone on youtube talking an digging into the Steven Wilsons work, especially the remixes! But anyway, I love prog and I´m pleased to find your channel, new subscriber here! Also, I´m a really big fan of Genesis, and the new remixes are... well... pretty bad. It pisses me off a little because this modern techniques of mixing can improve a lot these classic albums, so one of my dreams is that Steven is gonna remix all Genesis albums, but is unlikely, he only remixes the albums to mean a lot to him, the perfect example is with ELP, being Tarkus his last remix because he didn't feel connected t the music the way other bands do (King Crimson, Yes)
Digitizing at 24 bit/96KHz is standard for archival audio. Doing anything less than that would be considered malpractice. Higher than that is generally considered overkill.
Very cool video...thanks for the upload. I would like to see videos from groups such as Happy the Man, PFM, Triumvirant, Nektar, and Camel. Greetings from Memphis, Tennessee...
Great video, I still haven’t heard it but I know he recently did a remaster of Jethro Tull’s “Stormwatch” 40th anniversary complete with extended and bonus tracks. Jethro Tull is my favorite band of all time, and while I enjoy the charm of the original mixes, it’s always nice to hear slightly different versions of the songs I’ve always loved. I love the wonderful sound of prog rock, remixed or not.
I think Stormwatch is one of his better efforts (the best being Aqualung). For example, the bass levels (not the styles!) of the two players (IA and John Glascock) sound more "evened up" to me.
Geoff CB - The bass on his mix has more low end and sits better in the mix. The annoying high pitch hum on his remix of “Home” is a shame though. The vocals on the original mix are really muffled so maybe his EQ to clear them up brought that out.
Geoff CB - The hum comes in when the vocals start, hard to miss it. Shame because the rest of it sounds fantastic. It was a muddy album in the first place. I'm only going off the stereo mixes, by the way. I don't listen in 5.1.
It is good to have a choice of the old and the new. Anyway, LP's were originally mixed and mastered for LP release to the general public not for CD release. CD's and 24bit 96k didn't exist back in the early 1970s. Also 44.1k was only chosen as it was the sampling rate that fitted in with US Sony 'U' matic video tape machines as digital was first developed. The original world agreement (for broadcast and as a format) was for 48k. Sadly as so many early 44.1k recordings already existed - 44.1k was chosen for CD's format. I was lucky to have the first fully digital system in 1989... that is from microphone through to digital mastering format. It was made by AMS in Burnley UK and was based on their AudioFile and Logic 1 mixing desk. My Logic 1 was the prototype. The computing power was limited in 1989 so 24bit 96k was not really practical to begin with. Fortunately for us all time and technology have moved on allowing creatives and genius such as Steven Wilson to bring out detail never before heard. Is it better than the original... no... it is just another version to enjoy. Thank you Steven and all the bands for working so hard to show us a different take.
Thanks for this insight! I’ve been seeing SW remix pop up on my favorite prog bands on Rhapsody and wondered what the story was. Looking forward to listening more deeply. Prog RULES!!
I really appreciated this presentation. I love Wilson's Tull mixes. I had no idea he'd done so many. the only mix that didn't work for me was Chicago II. Can't say why. I've tried listening to it several times but I keep returning to the original. His mix of Topographic Oceans really shows the recording to be as great many say it is. I also ran out and picked up In the Court of the Crimson King after listening to this. It's stellar. Will be interesting to compare to Fripp's own remix.
AH MAN! I just listened to gates of delirium Steven Wilson remix, and he took out one of my favorite parts. In part 2, the largely instrumental bit, sometimes you can hear applause in the background even though it's not a live recording. I love that so much, but it's clearly not very authentic so I see why Steven Wilson took that out. Still that applause added a lot of energy to that section.
Nice video. Have you try want to speak a little bit about Canterbury scene? I'm so into this type of music very much especially unknown/underrated classic prog bands.
I had no clue that all those albums were remastered by one guy. I went digging when I saw that the “Thick as a Brick” 50th was going to be another version of his 2012 remix.
I have the itcotck by King Crimson and it's a great Remix and the DVD and CDs have great features like live songs, singles, and both the original and remixed album versions and it's like a criterion edition of a rock album.
Agree that he should have redone Genesis - wish he’d do Gilmour live at Gdańsk as there is an orchestra buried in the mix somewhere in which was in many ways for me the ultimate Pink Floyd gig!
*I understand that I say 'remaster' several times throughout, when I should have said 'remix'. hope the misstep isn't too cringe inducing for all the audiophiles out there! I'll try to be more careful with my scripts in the future.
@@psychodelian remix and remaster are two completely different things. What Steven Wilson has done is to remix. Calling it remaster is just plain wrong!
He clipped a tiny bit out of "Thick As A Brick" early on "side 2". I know the original quite well and it bothers me. How such a mistake can go uncorrected and unnoticed saddens me.
Very damn cool! I really enjoyed this. Thanks! Before this, he was just a name to me, though one rising in the mixing and prog world. Now I/we know better.
Thanks for this analysis, especially for the sound comparsion between original and remix. Finally I found the justification for rebuying them all. At the moment the only albums I have which were produced by Mr. Wilson are two of Opeth (and all of Porcupine Tree - if he produced them at all, too lazy to check). This will change...
Sorry, but I have to disagree. I do not think the artists wanted hissing, pops, crackles, skips, etc. to accompany their music, and that's exactly what you end up with over time with vinyl. Vinyl served its purpose back in the day, but once you hear the music in crystal clear clarity, especially when properly mixed, ....now THAT'S the way it was meant to be heard!
@@achoo4079 You obviously did not live through the 70 s got stoned and drunk with your buddies in your parent's basement freaking out to Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd etc. You're probably one of those eggheads with a $10,000 stereo system that takes up half your house.
@@iananderson7883 I happen to be 69 years old so, yeah, I was there in the 70s, in the 60s, in the 50s.... I spent most of my youth purchasing and worshiping vinyl and have accumulated close to 5,000 albums in my lifetime, which I still own. And yeah, I spent countless hours hanging with my buddies, getting high, going to concerts and discovering all kinds of new music, which I purchased on vinyl as that was the only choice back then. Unfortunately most of those vinyl albums sound like crap now because they got played to death and worn out. I embraced the digital age of music because I could finally replace my vinyl collection with a more convenient medium that would last for many years without compromising the quality of the sound. I am entitled to my opinion of vinyl vs. digital and I don't feel you have the right to insult me for that. I certainly made no offensive remarks toward you in my first post, I merely expressed my opinion. If you don't agree, I respect that....you have every right to do so. But you don't have to be rude about it.
@@achoo4079 I guess I was a wee bit out of line and I apologize. But c'mon these Steve Wilson whatever they are sound nothing like what we heard even on a new album back in 1970 whatever. The guy didn't live through it. I find it's only these young people who are just getting into 70 s music specifically progrock who appreciate his "work". I dunno. I'm just glad that I grew up during the glorious 70 s. Cheers.
@@iananderson7883 Well, to each his own, but as founder and leader of Porcupine Tree I think Steven Wilson has proven himself quite knowledgeable of what prog is all about. And most, if not all, of his remixes have received encouragement, approval and praise from the original artists. Personally I find his remixes a revelation for the most part, mainly due to the advances in recording technology over the decades which allow the original music to be freshened up and heard more cleanly and clearly. But that is just my opinion. I know many people besides yourself that swear by the original vinyl and I can appreciate where they're coming from. Fortunately we have plenty of choices these days --- hell, some newer releases are even available in cassette format now! Go figure.... I appreciate the apology and also your taste in music ("Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd etc"). As for that $10,000 stereo system....LOL....I wish!!!
The graphics illustrating 16 v 24 bit are misleading. 16 bit does not divide the vertical axis into 16 divisions, but 2^16 divisions (65,536). Likewise 24-bit audio has a vertical resolution of one part in 16,777,216.
@@progrock On a similar note, the graph showing the reconstructed waveform at 4:41 is incorrect. It is a common fallacy that the digital signal has those flat tops; it's simply not true. Otherwise, thanks for the video; I look forward to more!
Unfortunately I doubt it. I just watched him pair up on a Podcast and it's distressing how much time he spends dismissing Genesis -especially Supper's Ready, while the other guest shows his admiration of the band. Steven just can't help himself and just keeps shooting the poor guy down. Not sure what's up but Genesis is likely not on his re-working list. Maybe it's because they have already been re-mixed a couple of times in a few different ways. Disappointing. Unfortunately, now when I think of him I only hear the person on that podcast very full of himself.
YES! you make an important point about the 1970's studio medium producing sonic blending via tape roll-over- an effect which musicians worked around. Thuss the 2015 YES ALBUM mix can seem musically unstable. eg, with 'Yours Is No Disgrace' the main melody line absolutely dissolves into the dissonance of the 11th-chord vocal textures, which being pushed forward favor the harmonic structure. These remixes are acts of revelations at times
THANK YOU I have no idea what Tony Banks sees in Nick Davis' idiotic hackery. The 76-82 boxset is atrocious, particularly bad on Wind & Wuthering, taking such a delicate, feminine album and pumping it with steroids.
@@silverwheel I believe Banks wanted to make them sound modern. Big mistake. I bought Nursery Cryme on CD and I wept at how they'd butchered Musical Box and ended up with a real listening fatigue headache. I do, however, like what he did with Trespass as it lifted Gabriel's vocal from under the blanket it'd been under before - sounds good on vinyl btw. Also liked And Then There Were Three, but the rest are an abomination.
@silverwheel I didn't mind tracks like "11th Earl" so much, but "Inside and Out" was a botched abortion. HIDEOUS. I was so happy to find out that the vinyl repressings of "Pigeon" featured the original mix.
that would be good , always thought the 1996 hall of remaster was a bit dull compared to the vinyl version and your right the warrior remaster is awesome !
I'd love for him to do Davis Sancious's "True Stories" and maybe "The Bridge" but nothing else as I like the originals and I'm not sure if you'd consider it Prog/Rock. I do, cheers.
I think my fav remix of Wilson has to be Too Old To Rock N Roll, Too Young Too Die by Jethro Tull. The original was good, but Wilson manage to make it a sublime masterful work of art.
Just that small bit of music at the end by YES and Tull even apart from comparing mixes, reminds one of how incredibly good bands were back then. I'm not able even with headphones to hear enough difference or should I say improvement over the original to justify the effort and though I understand what he was aiming for, not yet convinced that it makes for a better listening experience in the end. Maybe just for those with high end equipment who will buy new copies of albums they already own for something to do. Update! Hold on! Just listened to Yours Is No Disgrace as remixed by Wilson on TH-cam th-cam.com/video/r0_J_1EnSVE/w-d-xo.html And now I see what the difference is and oh wow! Dang it! Now I know what I want for my birthday! (September) and
Haha, I kind of hate it too. It's supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek, this channel is always going to focus on analyzing progressive music, and not actually trying to figure out if something is 'prog' or not. Thank you for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Is it Prog? It’s all good great job with the content, enjoyed it a lot, I discovered prog when I was 10 years old, that was 50 years ago, I truly appreciate a young person’s perspective
His Jethro Tull remixes are excellent, especially the early stuff which was quite muddy on the originals, he brought so much clarity to them. Some of his KC remixes had the same effect - Lizard, Islands and Starless in particular. However his Yes remixes don't quite do it for me, maybe it makes me a bit of a pleb but I much prefer the LOUD mixes of my favourites Close to the Edge and Relayer. In any case I appreciate all SW's work.
![Porcupine Tree - Deadwing [Documentary]](/img/n.gif)
I loved his Gentle Giant remixes
Ja też.
The original Octopus sounds better to me.
@@leon9021 I am so glad I have the old vinyl with the die cut/jarred octopus cover, but if I can find the Dean cover release or if one you would care to give me yours well… I can dream. Some cd’s sound great, other ones not so much and still other’s are horrible. I am not referring to the Giant cd’s and lp’s I have, they all get played and sound sweet.
@@Claytone-Records The UK releases are even better probably.
@@leon9021 I have a couple imports: Free Hand, Glass House and Three Friends. They certainly don’t sound bad : ). I don’t currently have any of the Wilson mixes and probably won’t bother unless I happen upon them in a discount shop. I occasionally find a bit of treasure in those places.
Those old classic prog albums would still sound great even through a transistor radio full blast.
True !
That was how we heard them originally in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Roundabout and America by Yes and Knots by Gentle Giant were beamed from another planet.
In Steven’s Yes remixes I marvel at how Jon Anderson sounds like he’s singing right in front of you. But then scratch my head at why Chris Squire’s bass, which was always in your face on the original mixes, sometimes seems to disappear into the background. His mix of Topographic Oceans is a masterpiece though....it clears away the sonic muck and lets the symphonic beauty of the music shine.
Steven's 5.1 mix on Topographic Oceans is simply fantastic. The album used to be in my TOP5 Yes albums - now it's possibly THE favourite.
Yoooo my thoughts exactly. I’m glad the vid mentioned CTTE, which i found to be unlistenable bc Squire was buried. The whole remix was just off. Tales though, fire
I liked the Relayer remix, Alan's drums sound a lot better to my ears, and he put some air in the mix.
@@anttipikkusaari4855 I so agree....now it finally sounds like Yes’ greatest work.
@@MichaelVLang I agree.....the remix of Relayer sounds more like a live band is playing
I have always been fans of bands like Kansas, Styx, Pink Floyd, Yes, and Asia, but just recently did I declare myself a hardcore prog fan. I would love to see more reviews on different bands, maybe even some obscure ones as well.
Check Out Bent Knew and Knifeworld
You probably have heard of that obscure band, Genesis... well, maybe you have heard the song Invisible Touch, ok then, roll way backwards in time if you haven't already, and start at the "first" album, Trespass (they don't count the previous effort as an album...more as a "this and that" experiment in high school). For me, the songs by Genesis, moving forward from Trespass and the albums onward (Phil Collins and Steve Hackett join on the "second" LP, Nursery Cryme), are the kind of Prog that folks can like without having to embrace being really patient and more or less bored waiting for the song to move forward and get on with it. Each song, short or long, changes up at a pace that keeps me interested til the very end. I would include them in your exploration while keep enjoying those other masters like Floyd, Yes, Asia, oh and Jethro Tull, (they have a wonderful action based music, no endless noodling -just pleasant to the ear), oh and try Audience (House on the Hill -give it time to learn to love his vocal delivery). Anywho, hope you like!
I love his remixes especially the surround mixes he does and your right he does bring the musicians into your own living room. The middle section of Close To The Edge sounds like I was literally in a Cathedral with Wakeman playing the organ it blew my brains out dude ... Great! job and I have subscribed.
Oh yeah, the organ part there is really awesome in 5.1. I feel like it makes whatever room you're in feel 10x the size with the reverb and everything. And thank you! Glad to have ya here.
@@progrock No problem and it totally immerses the whole experience and brought tears of joy streaming down my face. I've never heard that album sound so good in my life until I got Wilson's mix of it.
SW's remasters are so good, they sound like the originals with a better tech. His mixes have never screwed the original mix, he has an excellent ear.
He kinda screwed up a bit on his remixes for Songs from the Wood. normally, I ADORE his work on Jethro Tull's albums (see my comment above); on the title track "Songs from the Wood," though, his "reboot" gets intrusive. I'm surprised Ian Anderson signed off on it, as I feel Wilson's overt tinkering hurts the song. That's the only case I can think of, though. And thank ALL the gods that Wilson trimmed the wankery from "Moonchild" on The Court of the Crimson King.
@@satyrosphilbrucato9140 I've not heard that remix though I'm very fond of the original especially the title track which has lived in my head since it came out.
@@direnova6284 Absolutely. Both the song and the album provided my gateway drug to Celtic rock and modern Paganism during my pre-adolescence in the mid 1970s.
Very informative and clearly articulated. Well done and thanks.
Hey ! I just got this video by the algorithm, nice work man !
I didn't know I needed this in deepth Prog analysis, but now I want MORE!
New subscriber here, cheers.
Long life the Prog.
One of the best things about him is all the bonus material that he adds to the remixes.
Wilson is a goddamned wizard. His Tull remixes are like entirely new albums made from the original recordings - bringing out new and unexpected levels of nuance and mastery. Aqualung (which to me always sounded, even on vinyl, like it was recorded through a pillow) is an especially striking example, one that got my to consider Steven Wilson remixes as the definitive versions of the albums in question.
I gave Stormwatch a listen the other day and was blown away by Steven’s work on the remix. Absolutely brilliant job he did.
I’m glad people find enjoyment from his remixes but I 100% respectfully disagree I’ve found the majority of them to be more miss than hit unfortunately. =(
Tull's records have always had decent sound quality, give him some Rainbow material. Although deluxe editions sound pretty cool, however 80's records are not covered.
DrunkenHearted k
And I bought ALL of them! Well worth it!
Honestly I need to listen to the rest of his remixes cause I really loved his Chicago II remix. Sounds so much better than the original
We needed a channel like this. Keep up the good content!
The greatest thing about the Jethro Tull re-releases is the previously unreleased “associated recordings”. Tull has already released massive collections of bonus tracks over the years and it blows my mind that Wilson could still scrape up additional tracks and make them sound so amazing. The A Passion Play remix includes only one extra verse(which seems insignificant when compared to the other albums that had multiple new tracks) but that one extra verse is like a whole new world. Hearing Ian Anderson’s 1973 vocals for the first time again was priceless. Needless to say, I’m a Tull superfan. I couldn’t ask for more from these re-releases.
Agreed!!! Quite possibly the best reissues in the history of rock!! Massive Tull fanatic here too. I wish he'd continue with Broadsword - Dot Com! And put together the different remixes of the songs on Living in the Past and put it out as a separate book/ box release. 🔥✌
@dan cussin , Night Cap is great, CD 1 is the Chateau D' Isaster tapes as they called the sessions, gives u a glimpse of the unreleased double album, real gems on it. The 2nd is unreleased tracks from 75 to the 80s which also have many killer tracks
@dan cussin nightcap is totally amazing! Great collection of rare stuff... a Passion Play was remixed by Wilson a few years back! Absolutely magical mix!!!
"A" is an absolute romper of an album. Utterly brilliant!! I'm not into the image etc, but the songs and the sound on that album... holy mother of god!
What really impressed me with his Gentile Giant remixes is how raw he made them sound. Like The House, The Street, The Room. It was definitely written to be punchy, and Derek Shulman, who would go on to promote punk acts probably loved the sort of punky punch Wilson managed to put into it. It was obviously recognizable, but almost a new version, And it's amazing how appropriate that punch is to the song, using the power vocals of Derek as opposed too Kerry Minear's gentler tone.
Respectfully, it's actually "Starless and Bible Black," not "Starless." "Starless" is a song. Great video--thank you!
You're right! Thanks for the correction.
You are correct, however "Starless" does happen to be the title of the KC boxset containing all recordings from the "SABB" era including the SW remixes.
The best, makes them sound better not compressing the hell out of them
But he also remixed Starless and the rest of Red
Incredible doumentary. Thanks!
Absolutely brilliant! And I learned a lot. Thank you. 😊
Great work man, keep up the good work!
you should do an episode about PFM, an italian prog rock band
Bdms too.
Very good review. I've been listening to some of the prog remixes on Tidal. I was really impressed with A Passion Play. The Memory Bank is one in particular that benefited from Wilson's MQA recording. The bass lines are very well articulated and it is an incredible jam session- Barlow and Hammond's work together are just phenomenal and was lost in the original album mix. Listened to some ELP From the Beginning and the harmonic richness and separation/acoustic space are very impressive sonically. As said in this video, an audiophile's dream!
The only thing that changes in the audio by changing the sample rate is the max frequency that can be represented digitally. 44.1 kHz already covers every frequency above 20 kHz (which is generally the limit of the human ear), so those who say that 96 kHz sounds better are just wrong. We as human cannot perceive the difference between two high-enough sample rates.
The only reason to use a higher sample rate is for some audio effects which might have unwanted side effects in the audible range.
Hope this clarifies enough the sample rate debate.
edit: the other thing that a higher sample rate allows is slowing down the audio (keeping the same frequencies) without noticeable artifacts.
Great video! Thank you. I've been a fan of Steven for a long time. I hope you can go more in depth in the future and also do some videos on his history.
I enjoyed this. As a recording engineer myself, Wilson's remixes have been and continue to be of interest to me. While I like some more than others, Wilson's thoughtful approach gives me a chance to hear this classic music in a new way. Thanks for the video.
This was very enjoyable and I really dig most of SWs remixes. Subscribed!
I first discovered Porcupine Tree around 2004 2005, then I became a fan of it by discovering what it did with 5.1 mixes in high definition. From that moment on, i try to find everything related to him and his remixes. I was lucky to see him live several times and reaffirm that he is a true genius.
Hey Steven,I'm waiting for "Time And A Word" and "Going For The One" remixes.
I'm waiting for Yes' debut.
The tracks likely don’t exist anymore
I uploaded the 2012 ELP remasters done by SW on my youtube channel years ago. Used to constantly get comments about people complaining it was too quiet
Awesome, I was lucky enough to come to Steve Wilson through a producer friend.
I became a big fan of Porcupine Tree and saw them three times live, at a local club prices...pinch me!
The last time Robert Fripp as solo artist opened, well I knew that Mr Wilson was on another level.
Eventually, I discovered his remixes....wow Steve has a real talent for everything he does,
but it's nice to hear his remaster of Aqua Lung. Love your channel
Thanks, that was very interesting. I remember how amazed I was to hear - for the first time - the spanish guitar that Steve Howe doubles on his solo section in Sound Chaser. There are so many little gems like that sprinkled through Wilson’s mixes.
I share the sentiment of a lot of people here in that I generally much prefer the original mix compared to the remix, but I do appreciate the effort that goes into remixing.
His jethro tull remixes are fire
Excellent work, thanks!
Thank you!
Such excellent insights... looking forward to more of these !
Wow dude awesome video. Subbed. Hope to see more from you and I’ll recommend this vid to my prog buddies
And Steven got to work with Fripp himself!! What a lucky guy
Thanks for recommending! It really helps.
I remember hearing a Chicago song Wilson had remixed. Terry Kath, who was an absolutely GREAT guitar player, went from amazing to sublime. His guitar always sounded "fuzzy" to me and I just assumed that was his style. The clarity was unreal.
I have heard Wilson talk about the loss of range on many albums and why he hates MP3 as a format.
Well, excellent video! It is really hard to find someone on youtube talking an digging into the Steven Wilsons work, especially the remixes!
But anyway, I love prog and I´m pleased to find your channel, new subscriber here!
Also, I´m a really big fan of Genesis, and the new remixes are... well... pretty bad. It pisses me off a little because this modern techniques of mixing can improve a lot these classic albums, so one of my dreams is that Steven is gonna remix all Genesis albums, but is unlikely, he only remixes the albums to mean a lot to him, the perfect example is with ELP, being Tarkus his last remix because he didn't feel connected t the music the way other bands do (King Crimson, Yes)
Excellent analysis! I really enjoyed your video and the depth you brought to it. Bravo!
Enjoyed the video very much, well done! Very glad someone nowadays can make channels dedicated only to prog.
Digitizing at 24 bit/96KHz is standard for archival audio. Doing anything less than that would be considered malpractice. Higher than that is generally considered overkill.
Your channel is so good please make more videos
Very well done. I learned a lot. Thank you!!
Thank you! Much appreciated.
Very cool video...thanks for the upload. I would like to see videos from groups such as Happy the Man, PFM, Triumvirant, Nektar, and Camel.
Greetings from Memphis, Tennessee...
Camel is definitely on the 'coming soon' list, and I'll keep those others in mind - I'm glad you liked it man! I appreciate ya.
Thanks. An in deep analysis will be great
Please please make more videos like this!!
Thank you for an informative essay on remixing.
Great video, I still haven’t heard it but I know he recently did a remaster of Jethro Tull’s “Stormwatch” 40th anniversary complete with extended and bonus tracks. Jethro Tull is my favorite band of all time, and while I enjoy the charm of the original mixes, it’s always nice to hear slightly different versions of the songs I’ve always loved. I love the wonderful sound of prog rock, remixed or not.
I think Stormwatch is one of his better efforts (the best being Aqualung). For example, the bass levels (not the styles!) of the two players (IA and John Glascock) sound more "evened up" to me.
Geoff CB - The bass on his mix has more low end and sits better in the mix. The annoying high pitch hum on his remix of “Home” is a shame though. The vocals on the original mix are really muffled so maybe his EQ to clear them up brought that out.
@@Cpayne30 I'll have to check out "Home" - I was more intent on listening to the intro, where the original is distorted.
Geoff CB - The hum comes in when the vocals start, hard to miss it. Shame because the rest of it sounds fantastic. It was a muddy album in the first place.
I'm only going off the stereo mixes, by the way. I don't listen in 5.1.
@@Cpayne30 I have homework! I listen to the mixes in 5.1 ditigal and the stereo with a hi-end vinyl setup.
It is good to have a choice of the old and the new. Anyway, LP's were originally mixed and mastered for LP release to the general public not for CD release. CD's and 24bit 96k didn't exist back in the early 1970s. Also 44.1k was only chosen as it was the sampling rate that fitted in with US Sony 'U' matic video tape machines as digital was first developed. The original world agreement (for broadcast and as a format) was for 48k. Sadly as so many early 44.1k recordings already existed - 44.1k was chosen for CD's format. I was lucky to have the first fully digital system in 1989... that is from microphone through to digital mastering format. It was made by AMS in Burnley UK and was based on their AudioFile and Logic 1 mixing desk. My Logic 1 was the prototype. The computing power was limited in 1989 so 24bit 96k was not really practical to begin with. Fortunately for us all time and technology have moved on allowing creatives and genius such as Steven Wilson to bring out detail never before heard. Is it better than the original... no... it is just another version to enjoy. Thank you Steven and all the bands for working so hard to show us a different take.
Very good point about the loudness war and over compressing.
Great video dude!
Thanks for this insight! I’ve been seeing SW remix pop up on my favorite prog bands on Rhapsody and wondered what the story was. Looking forward to listening more deeply. Prog RULES!!
I listen to both the originals as well as the remixes of albums, as I think both are equally valid.
great video, i'd love to see more :)
I really appreciated this presentation. I love Wilson's Tull mixes. I had no idea he'd done so many. the only mix that didn't work for me was Chicago II. Can't say why. I've tried listening to it several times but I keep returning to the original. His mix of Topographic Oceans really shows the recording to be as great many say it is. I also ran out and picked up In the Court of the Crimson King after listening to this. It's stellar. Will be interesting to compare to Fripp's own remix.
This video is great. Lots of research.
awesome video mate!
AH MAN! I just listened to gates of delirium Steven Wilson remix, and he took out one of my favorite parts. In part 2, the largely instrumental bit, sometimes you can hear applause in the background even though it's not a live recording. I love that so much, but it's clearly not very authentic so I see why Steven Wilson took that out. Still that applause added a lot of energy to that section.
Nice channel - glad i found you.
Such an awesome video. It is very entertaining
Premiata Forneria Marconi with Peter Sinfield: Photos of Ghosts & The World Became The World !
More Steven Wilson stuff would be great.
I really dig these vids man! Very well researched and edited- thank you for making them.
Thank you! I appreciate the support man.
I love this yt algorithm, great content.
Thanks god this man has a lot of good taste.
Aqualung sounds great and he puts one of my favorite Tull song on,
Life' s a long song.
Really interesting. Thanks.
Nice video. Have you try want to speak a little bit about Canterbury scene? I'm so into this type of music very much especially unknown/underrated classic prog bands.
Great suggestion! Something I don't know that much about really, so I'd definitely enjoy the research.
I had no clue that all those albums were remastered by one guy. I went digging when I saw that the “Thick as a Brick” 50th was going to be another version of his 2012 remix.
I have the itcotck by King Crimson and it's a great Remix and the DVD and CDs have great features like live songs, singles, and both the original and remixed album versions and it's like a criterion edition of a rock album.
please, more comparison clips. lots more.
Is It Prog? Interested to see your take on All Them Witches
Agree that he should have redone Genesis - wish he’d do Gilmour live at Gdańsk as there is an orchestra buried in the mix somewhere in which was in many ways for me the ultimate Pink Floyd gig!
There is a blue ray version of "Selling England by the Pound" that sounds excellent. , even though it wasn't done by Steve Wilson
SW's best remixes are XTC, Gentle Giant, and Chicago II.
*I understand that I say 'remaster' several times throughout, when I should have said 'remix'. hope the misstep isn't too cringe inducing for all the audiophiles out there! I'll try to be more careful with my scripts in the future.
No Prob. We know what you are talking about. Great Video! Cheers!
When i hear "remix", I automatically think he's turned them into dance tracks. Remaster is fine :-)
@@psychodelian remix and remaster are two completely different things. What Steven Wilson has done is to remix. Calling it remaster is just plain wrong!
Christopher Bride No
Right. I forgot how elite and snobtastic us progheads tend to be!
He clipped a tiny bit out of "Thick As A Brick" early on "side 2". I know the original quite well and it bothers me. How such a mistake can go uncorrected and unnoticed saddens me.
Very damn cool! I really enjoyed this. Thanks! Before this, he was just a name to me, though one rising in the mixing and prog world. Now I/we know better.
Great video!
great content ... keep up man
Thanks for this analysis, especially for the sound comparsion between original and remix. Finally I found the justification for rebuying them all. At the moment the only albums I have which were produced by Mr. Wilson are two of Opeth (and all of Porcupine Tree - if he produced them at all, too lazy to check). This will change...
I'm happy with my old vinyl versions. The way the music was meant to be heard. No need to mess with them at all.
Sorry, but I have to disagree. I do not think the artists wanted hissing, pops, crackles, skips, etc. to accompany their music, and that's exactly what you end up with over time with vinyl. Vinyl served its purpose back in the day, but once you hear the music in crystal clear clarity, especially when properly mixed, ....now THAT'S the way it was meant to be heard!
@@achoo4079 You obviously did not live through the 70 s got stoned and drunk with your buddies in your parent's basement freaking out to Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd etc. You're probably one of those eggheads with a $10,000 stereo system that takes up half your house.
@@iananderson7883 I happen to be 69 years old so, yeah, I was there in the 70s, in the 60s, in the 50s.... I spent most of my youth purchasing and worshiping vinyl and have accumulated close to 5,000 albums in my lifetime, which I still own. And yeah, I spent countless hours hanging with my buddies, getting high, going to concerts and discovering all kinds of new music, which I purchased on vinyl as that was the only choice back then. Unfortunately most of those vinyl albums sound like crap now because they got played to death and worn out. I embraced the digital age of music because I could finally replace my vinyl collection with a more convenient medium that would last for many years without compromising the quality of the sound. I am entitled to my opinion of vinyl vs. digital and I don't feel you have the right to insult me for that. I certainly made no offensive remarks toward you in my first post, I merely expressed my opinion. If you don't agree, I respect that....you have every right to do so. But you don't have to be rude about it.
@@achoo4079 I guess I was a wee bit out of line and I apologize. But c'mon these Steve Wilson whatever they are sound nothing like what we heard even on a new album back in 1970 whatever. The guy didn't live through it. I find it's only these young people who are just getting into 70 s music specifically progrock who appreciate his "work". I dunno. I'm just glad that I grew up during the glorious 70 s.
Cheers.
@@iananderson7883 Well, to each his own, but as founder and leader of Porcupine Tree I think Steven Wilson has proven himself quite knowledgeable of what prog is all about. And most, if not all, of his remixes have received encouragement, approval and praise from the original artists. Personally I find his remixes a revelation for the most part, mainly due to the advances in recording technology over the decades which allow the original music to be freshened up and heard more cleanly and clearly. But that is just my opinion. I know many people besides yourself that swear by the original vinyl and I can appreciate where they're coming from. Fortunately we have plenty of choices these days --- hell, some newer releases are even available in cassette format now! Go figure....
I appreciate the apology and also your taste in music ("Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd etc"). As for that $10,000 stereo system....LOL....I wish!!!
Add Nektar's - Recycled to your mix! Thank you for prog musical introspection!
@Ken Ward Actually.... no :) just thought, what a shame if overlooked by my fellow progger!
You earned a suscriber, cheers. :)
Steven Wilson...Can you please remix Return to Forever catalogue! I never enjoyed ELP until you tweaked it.
The graphics illustrating 16 v 24 bit are misleading. 16 bit does not divide the vertical axis into 16 divisions, but 2^16 divisions (65,536). Likewise 24-bit audio has a vertical resolution of one part in 16,777,216.
Thanks for the deeper analysis! That is a great way of explaining it.
@@progrock On a similar note, the graph showing the reconstructed waveform at 4:41 is incorrect. It is a common fallacy that the digital signal has those flat tops; it's simply not true. Otherwise, thanks for the video; I look forward to more!
great great video mate
I still long for the day he mixes Genesis Albums ):
Unfortunately I doubt it. I just watched him pair up on a Podcast and it's distressing how much time he spends dismissing Genesis -especially Supper's Ready, while the other guest shows his admiration of the band. Steven just can't help himself and just keeps shooting the poor guy down. Not sure what's up but Genesis is likely not on his re-working list. Maybe it's because they have already been re-mixed a couple of times in a few different ways. Disappointing. Unfortunately, now when I think of him I only hear the person on that podcast very full of himself.
YES! you make an important point about the 1970's studio medium producing sonic blending via tape roll-over- an effect which musicians worked around. Thuss the 2015 YES ALBUM mix can seem musically unstable. eg, with 'Yours Is No Disgrace' the main melody line absolutely dissolves into the dissonance of the 11th-chord vocal textures, which being pushed forward favor the harmonic structure. These remixes are acts of revelations at times
If only he'd done the Genesis remixes.
THANK YOU
I have no idea what Tony Banks sees in Nick Davis' idiotic hackery. The 76-82 boxset is atrocious, particularly bad on Wind & Wuthering, taking such a delicate, feminine album and pumping it with steroids.
@@silverwheel You AND I have no idea what Tony Banks sees in Nick Davis remastering. It's S-U-C-K-S!!! Thanks a lot, Tony!!!
@@silverwheel I believe Banks wanted to make them sound modern. Big mistake. I bought Nursery Cryme on CD and I wept at how they'd butchered Musical Box and ended up with a real listening fatigue headache. I do, however, like what he did with Trespass as it lifted Gabriel's vocal from under the blanket it'd been under before - sounds good on vinyl btw. Also liked And Then There Were Three, but the rest are an abomination.
Yep. Bought them all and now they are collecting dust on a shelf.
@silverwheel I didn't mind tracks like "11th Earl" so much, but "Inside and Out" was a botched abortion. HIDEOUS. I was so happy to find out that the vinyl repressings of "Pigeon" featured the original mix.
nice work
SW stereo separation is from another planet. He is the king of prog, no doubt
I'm hoping Steven gets to do Hall Of The Mountain Grill by Hawkwind as he did a fantastic job with Warrior On The Edge Of Time!!!
that would be good , always thought the 1996 hall of remaster was a bit dull compared to the vinyl version and your right the warrior remaster is awesome !
He mixed the grunt out of “Mr. Class and Quality” by Gentle Giant. I can never forgive him for that.
I would so love to hear him do the first five Kansas albums
So are all his remixes done in 24/96khz or just the 5.1 mixes?
Let me bring you love from the fields..
Fascinating!
I'd love for him to do Davis Sancious's "True Stories" and maybe "The Bridge" but nothing else as I like the originals and I'm not sure if you'd consider it Prog/Rock. I do, cheers.
I think my fav remix of Wilson has to be Too Old To Rock N Roll, Too Young Too Die by Jethro Tull. The original was good, but Wilson manage to make it a sublime masterful work of art.
Just that small bit of music at the end by YES and Tull even apart from comparing mixes, reminds one of how incredibly good bands were back then. I'm not able even with headphones to hear enough difference or should I say improvement over the original to justify the effort and though I understand what he was aiming for, not yet convinced that it makes for a better listening experience in the end. Maybe just for those with high end equipment who will buy new copies of albums they already own for something to do. Update! Hold on! Just listened to Yours Is No Disgrace as remixed by Wilson on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/r0_J_1EnSVE/w-d-xo.html
And now I see what the difference is and oh wow! Dang it! Now I know what I want for my birthday! (September)
and
Great video, I hate the question is it prog? it has become the dumbest question in social media. With that said great video.
Haha, I kind of hate it too. It's supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek, this channel is always going to focus on analyzing progressive music, and not actually trying to figure out if something is 'prog' or not. Thank you for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Is it Prog? It’s all good great job with the content, enjoyed it a lot, I discovered prog when I was 10 years old, that was 50 years ago, I truly appreciate a young person’s perspective
thanks for this
His Jethro Tull remixes are excellent, especially the early stuff which was quite muddy on the originals, he brought so much clarity to them. Some of his KC remixes had the same effect - Lizard, Islands and Starless in particular. However his Yes remixes don't quite do it for me, maybe it makes me a bit of a pleb but I much prefer the LOUD mixes of my favourites Close to the Edge and Relayer. In any case I appreciate all SW's work.