Is it fair to compare a mix to a previous mix? I dunno, but there's no
way not to, we do not live in a vacuum. I don't know how I'd feel if
the previous 5.1 mix didn't exist. But, I do know that listening to
this mix didn't give me the same feeling as listening to the previous
one. My 2000 dvd-a has gotten many plays over the years, most drives
from Maine to Jersey involved throwing that disc in the car dvd player
for a spin...always an enjoyable listen while flying down I-495. Always
a great disc to pull out when demonstrating my system. One of my first
dvd-audio purchases, and probably the best. I was quite sad at how
underwhelming the ELP and Tarkus 5.1 mixes were for me, and now
this.....we didn't need another 5.1 mix of it, and it is just not as
good. But the real question is, what was he thinking mixing the bass
that high in Karn Evil 9 3rd impression? It just sounds wrong. And
it's all that more puzzling when finding it wasn't mixed that high in
the new stereo mix. I don't get it. I am certainly familiar with
focusing on a certain part and being blind to it sticking out too much
when in the process of mixing.....but that's why you step away and come
back, that's why you play it for other people for feedback, that's why
there are so many opportunities in the process for someone to notice,
hey, this is wrong, you need to fix that. Anyone and everyone that
listened to this mix before it was released has failed us all miserably
by not doing their duty to point out the obvious, that the bass is too
loud and sticks out like a sore thumb. The best way I can describe it
is that it has been transformed into a bass solo (with band and vocal
accompaniment). It might not bury everything else, it may not hide
everything else, and it may be a great bass sound. But it sticks out,
and sounds obviously wrong.
With the underwhelming mix, with it standing in the shadow of a great
mix, and with the obvious inexcusable mixing error that went unfixed, I
see no way I can rate this any higher than a 4. The sonics and content
may be good....but the bad mix drags it down that much.
Also....secondary stuff I normally don't care about, but, I guess I had a
more critical eye on this package with the disappointment in the way it
was marketed, and the content after listening. For the price, the
package was....well....cheap. Grab an original vinyl copy, put it next
to this.....wow, they look completely different. They completely missed
it when reproducing the artwork. I've never cared that much or paid
that much attention to artwork reproduction, but, I think when putting
together a deluxe package at a premium price, the details ought to be
paid attention to. In this case, they were overlooked. The cover
doesn't recreate the same cut to open, the color is off, the
reproduction is mediocre at best, the discs are in cheap cardboard
sleeves kept in slots in the cover, disc 5 is just carelessly thrown
into the album cover, and the poster isn't even folded properly so the
faces appear through the opening. Why in the hell couldn't they even
fold the poster properly? Is that really that difficult to do?
It's a super deluxe cluster fuck.
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