Behind Steven Wilson's Remixes (King Crimson, Jethro Tull, YES, Rush, Gentle Giant) - Is it Prog?
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- čas přidán 22. 04. 2020
- Over the last decade, Steven Wilson has been the premiere remixing engineer for classic progressive rock albums. The catalogs of King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Yes, Rush, Marillion, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, and Hawkwind have all been reinvigorated by Wilson, and there is no sign of him slowing down anytime soon.
So what goes into a remix of a classic album? How does he go about trying to breathe new life into a 40+-year-old album, while still retaining the essence of the music? And why is Steven Wilson the go-to for so many bands and record labels who are looking for something special for their anniversary release? We'll take a look into all that and more in this episode of "Is It Prog?"
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Sources
SW Discography
www.allmusic.com/artist/steve...
Loudness War
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudnes...
Audio Resolution
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_b...
• Music Technology 101: ...
• Digital Audio Explaine...
SW Interviews
www.sonicperspectives.com/int...
soundbard.com/total-5-1-mass-r...
jethrotull.proboards.com/thre...
• Steve Wilson - Ghostwr...
"Trains" Live - Porcupine Tree
• Porcupine Tree - Train...
Death Magnetic (Guitar Hero)
• Metallica: Death Magne...
Music by Yes and Jethro Tull.
Chiptune arrangements by "Is it Prog?" - Hudba
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 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.
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!
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
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
We needed a channel like this. Keep up the good content!
Such excellent insights... looking forward to more of these !
Very informative and clearly articulated. Well done and thanks.
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.
Absolutely brilliant! And I learned a lot. Thank you. 😊
Excellent analysis! I really enjoyed your video and the depth you brought to it. Bravo!
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.
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.
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.
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.
This was very enjoyable and I really dig most of SWs remixes. Subscribed!
One of the best things about him is all the bonus material that he adds to the remixes.
Excellent work, thanks!
Thank you!
Great video dude!
awesome video mate!
Incredible doumentary. Thanks!
Great video!
Very well done. I learned a lot. Thank you!!
Thank you! Much appreciated.
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.
great video, i'd love to see more :)
Great work man, keep up the good work!
Such an awesome video. It is very entertaining
great content ... keep up man
you should do an episode about PFM, an italian prog rock band
Bdms too.
Thank you for an informative essay on remixing.
Really interesting. Thanks.
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
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!
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.
great great video mate
Hey Steven,I'm waiting for "Time And A Word" and "Going For The One" remixes.
I'm waiting for Yes' debut.
thanks for this
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!
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.
This video is great. Lots of research.
Please please make more videos like this!!
Very good point about the loudness war and over compressing.
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!!
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. An in deep analysis will be great
Fascinating!
Your channel is so good please make more videos
Nice channel - glad i found you.
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.
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.
Premiata Forneria Marconi with Peter Sinfield: Photos of Ghosts & The World Became The World !
nice work
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.
I love this yt algorithm, great content.
You earned a suscriber, cheers. :)
muy buen video!!
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 really dig these vids man! Very well researched and edited- thank you for making them.
Thank you! I appreciate the support man.
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)
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.
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 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.
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.
He mixed the grunt out of “Mr. Class and Quality” by Gentle Giant. I can never forgive him for that.
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.
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.
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
More Steven Wilson stuff would be great.
I still long for the day he mixes Genesis Albums ):
SW's best remixes are XTC, Gentle Giant, and Chicago II.
I listen to both the originals as well as the remixes of albums, as I think both are equally valid.
Enjoyed the video very much, well done! Very glad someone nowadays can make channels dedicated only to prog.
So daam cool
His jethro tull remixes are fire
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.
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.
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.
*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!
SW remixes must be spectacular but I don't need them to appreciate the authentic sound of the 70s.
Salutations!
Steven's Topographic Oceans 5.1 mix could change your perspective ;-)
5.1!!!
What is the authentic sound of early 70s Yes? The rather dull flat studio recordings, or the live recordings on Yessongs, that really brought the music to life?
You talked like they gonna remove original one ,it’s plus win-win situation bro
Steve Underwood All the early pressings of the studio albums sound amazing (Fragile Atlantic UK Plum or Relayer UK Porky for example). Yessongs hasn’t been remixed by Wilson.
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.
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.
SW work on all these is admirable for the detail, skill and care, although almost inevitably some remain superior in their original form, because of the unique vibe and sound glue and punch.
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.
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 CZcams
czcams.com/video/r0_J_1EnSVE/video.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
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.
Let me bring you love from the fields..
I’ll subscribe for more tull content!
There will certainly be more to come!
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.
Bien gracias vivadon Perón.-
I really wish he’d have a crack at “Tormato”. It’s an album with some great tracks (and the tour was incredible) but a truly godawful muddy yet thin mix.
We did tormato and found several outtakes, the problem is they didn't realize when mixing that it was tracked with Dolby so the original make cents worth in sounding.
Tomato's fidelity is FANTASTIC compared with the horrible mix and mastering of Going For the One!! GTFO is fantastic music but the presentation (fidelity) sucks!!
@@ezcast4003 I have the original vinyl and cd of each. The vinyl wins.
@ezcast4003 That's the album I wish Steven remixed from Yes. I would love for him to take a crack at least with Turn Of The Century and Awaken, my 2 favorite tracks off of GFTO.
I demand more videos
I would so love to hear him do the first five Kansas albums
Stereo review magazine gives him lots of credit on his remasters and original music.
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!
In a remix you want to hear things you haven't heard before. In his remix of Jethro Tull's Passion Play, great parts that were always easy to hear are now buried in the mix.
And yet Wilson's Passion Play mix sounds far superior to my ears!
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 !
I know I'm in the minority, but I don't love his re-mixes. They are sonically superior but by emphasizing clarity he tends to pan instruments wider across the stereo spectrum and the new mixes lack punch because of it. I suppose this could be just my own problem, being a traditionalist I don't want anyone messing with the mixes I grew up with and loved. Remastering is great, but when you start remixing, you're messing with history. Close To The Edge, for instance, was already perfect. I understand the interest in hearing new mixes, but I found myself disappointed more often than not.
You don't have to like it or even buy it, but the original is still there and not going anywhere. That's the beauty of these releases.
Due to the popularity of SW the whole remix business is a marketing tool and it sells.
I couldn’t agree more. I don’t like his remixes. Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs used to do that back in the 80s and 90s; didn’t like theirs, either.
I'm not sure who remixed my favorite album Selling England By The Pound, but whoever it was took the 'magic' out of it.
Totally agree. I don't like these remixes either, but somehow everything mister wilson touches is sellable. His fans should stop for a moment and actually listen instead of collecting
I think one of the most infamous albums that was an example of the loudness war was "vapor trails" by Rush. It was so controversial(especially among Rush fans)that it needed to be remixed and remastered after numerous complaints(although the band themselves weren't satisfied with the initial version either apparently). SW had nothing to do with that one though. I only mention it because the loudness war was mentioned in this video.