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familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: June 09 2010, 05:48 Quote (Matt @ June 09 2010, 04:36) Interestingly the boxed mix *isn't* now available in the new releases which to be honest I find a bit disappointing as it is still my favourite. Acht well, can't have everything (I want, I want ) It's my favourite too, but hey, you can have everything - you already have the Boxed mix! Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: June 09 2010, 05:53 Quote (Alan D @ June 09 2010, 05:10) 1. My official Hergest CD, issued in 2000 ('remastered' ). I suppose I must have bought it about then, when I hurled my vinyl 'Boxed' overboard. The only other date on this CD is 1974. I can't find any mention of 1976 anywhere. However I also have: 2. An unofficial home-made CD I put together from somewhere which purports to have the original 74 mix (and the Orchestral Hergest) on it. This is very different to the official CD (it seems often quite rough and crude by comparison), so I presume that even though it doesn't say so on the tin, my 2000-issue CD really is the 'Boxed' mix. Does that sound right? (The hypothesis, I mean  -  not the mix! ) 1. It doesn't mention that it's the 1976 Boxed mix, but rest assured that it is. 2. I sent you that.  It's a vinyl dub of the original mix, plus the orchestral HR.  So, yes, the CD is the Boxed mix, and one man's "rough and crude" is another man's "as it should be".  (Having said that, the Boxed mix is my favourite, but that's not to say I don't want all the different versions, because I do.) Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 09 2010, 09:11 Quote (familyjules @ June 09 2010, 10:53) 1. It doesn't mention that it's the 1976 Boxed mix, but rest assured that it is. I rest assured. Excellent. The universe is ticking along as it should. Quote I sent you that. I'm not so sure ... my goodness, is my memory breaking up? It might be. I thought I'd got them both from an amazing website, years ago, from where I downloaded  a whole mass of stuff - concerts and so on. [Pause] In fact, I've just checked my MO backup CD which has a whole stack of those live bootlegs still in mp3 format, and there among 'em is Hergest original and orchestral. But maybe you did send them to me, and I subsequently backed them up on that disc. It's possible. Gosh. There's this little hole that has suddenly appeared in my life, and I can't remember whether you're in it or not Jules. Spooky. Well, look - if you did send it, thanks very much for being so kind. If you didn't, then for Pete's sake stop wasting my time with all this nonsense. Quote So, yes, the CD is the Boxed mix, and one man's "rough and crude" is another man's "as it should be". Yep. My introduction to Hergest was through 'Boxed', which was the only form in which I ever had those early albums on vinyl; and so I never heard the original for years and years until you sent (or did not send) it to me. So for me, the 'boxed' version has always seemed to be the real thing. It's to do with psychology and stuff, don't you think? Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 09 2010, 09:15 Quote (familyjules @ June 09 2010, 10:47) Yes.  Yes, yes, yes.  Yes.  Yes.  And yes. I hereby award you your 'Positive Thinking' Badge. Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: June 09 2010, 09:45 Quote (Alan D @ June 09 2010, 09:11) Well, look - if you did send it, thanks very much for being so kind. If you didn't, then for Pete's sake stop wasting my time with all this nonsense. My introduction to Hergest was through 'Boxed', which was the only form in which I ever had those early albums on vinyl; and so I never heard the original for years and years until you sent (or did not send) it to me. So for me, the 'boxed' version has always seemed to be the real thing. It's to do with psychology and stuff, don't you think? In response to the first point above I reply "heh heh". In response to the second point I reply as follows.  I mostly agree that music fans tend to like the first version they hear of a song or a piece.  But that's not always the case, just usually.  HR is an exception for me - I had the original mix on vinyl and didn't care much for it.  It was the Boxed mix that hooked me many years later.  Now this might be because I was then old enough to 'get' the music that my younger self wasn't attuned to.  Or it might be because I much prefer the Boxed mix.  Who can say.....? Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

Dude Group: Members Posts: 73 Joined: June 2003 Posted: June 09 2010, 15:19 When I heard the excerpt of the new 2010 mix of HG on the iTunes store a couple of days ago I was blown away by the crisp bright sound, and immediately ordered the deluxe edition. I was hoping to hear a mix that was close to the boxed mix we all seem to love, but with better sound quality. Well, as far as sound is concerned the new mix doesn't disappoint. But sadly Mike acts as if the boxed mix never existed, and goes back to the original 1974 mix and demo as a reference. The boxed mix was an example of 'less is more' - gone were the snare drums and a lot of the trumpet stuff, and sometimes only the chords play along. But with the new mix, all the instruments from the original are back - and that loud mandolin coming in suddenly (at ± 12 min.) finds it's roots in the demo, and is truly a mistake IMO. Part two is a lot closer to the boxed mix in that it puts the choir more to the foreground than in the original mix. Plus it adds all the variations to the loud guitar part that were missing from the boxed mix (the only flaw in that version, a case were 'less is more' made that whole guitar part much too repetitive IMO). So on the whole it's not a bad new mix, but as far as the first 8 or so minutes go, I prefer the Boxed mix. That guitar coming in at 5.40 is one of the most hauntingly beautiful moments Mike ever came up with, and it's sadly missing from the new version. (actually I think the guitar is still there, but it's hardly audible because of the trumpet). -------------- Fortunately I've been adhering to a pretty strict drug regimen to keep my mind limber. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 09 2010, 15:42 Quote (familyjules @ June 09 2010, 14:45) HR is an exception for me - I had the original mix on vinyl and didn't care much for it.  It was the Boxed mix that hooked me many years later.  Now this might be because I was then old enough to 'get' the music that my younger self wasn't attuned to.  Or it might be because I much prefer the Boxed mix.  Who can say.....? Who indeed. I can remember though, the first time I heard HR I thought, 'Wow. This is Vaughan Williams on guitars!', and forever after, HR was stuck in a particular kind of 'English pastoral' groove - I expected a certain kind of delicate pastoral mysticism from it. The opening of part 2, for instance, was just 'it', through and through, very subtle and nuanced - the same sort of thing that Elgar meant when he was conducting one of his pieces and asked the orchestra to play it like it was something they might hear down by the river bank. The original mix seemed further away from all that. I don't say that means it's not as good - I just mean that it doesn't meet my preconceptions as well as the stick-in-the-mud part of me wants it to. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 09 2010, 15:46 Quote (Dude @ June 09 2010, 20:19) But sadly Mike acts as if the boxed mix never existed, and goes back to the original 1974 mix and demo as a reference. The boxed mix was an example of 'less is more' - gone were the snare drums and a lot of the trumpet stuff, and sometimes only the chords play along. But with the new mix, all the instruments from the original are back - and that loud mandolin coming in suddenly (at ± 12 min.) finds it's roots in the demo, and is truly a mistake IMO. Interesting comments, and thanks for them. Gives me a touch of the wobbles about how I'm going to respond to this, though, when my copy arrives. (My Amazon account carries a stern warning telling me I can no longer change my mind as they're preparing it for dispatch. Oo-er.) Back to top

sparrow Group: Members Posts: 24 Joined: June 2010 Posted: June 09 2010, 19:26 I only knew the box mix for many years..so it's nice to get the original 74 mix and a new 2010 mix in one set.  The new mix is wonderful IMO...and very well done.  The original mix is good too but I prefer the new one. Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: June 10 2010, 04:24 OK, my Hergest Ridge arrived at last.  The 2010 remix is quite similar to the original 1974 mix (also included) as opposed to the Boxed remix from 1976 (which remains my favourite of the three mixes).  In a way this is a bit of a shame, because you get two quite similar mixes in one set, whereas the most noticeably different mix is only available elsewhere, and, I fear, may soon be deleted. In some passages I prefer the 2010 mix to the 1974 one.  The girls' voices are more upfront (though not as upfront as they are on the Boxed mix), and the guitars have greater dynamics.  But then Mike spoils it by not taking greater care with the details - there's an audible bit of talking during a vocal section, and some of the transitions are clumsy - you can detect that the thing was mixed in stages and then stitched together. The demo version is closer to the Boxed mix - more stripped down.  But although the structure is pretty much identical to the finished record, the dynamics are lacking, and it's of little interest outside of being a historical curiosity. The new cover looks nice from a distance, but up close the superimposition of the glider looks amateurish.  Shame. So all-in-all, I enjoyed listening to it, but it turns out that I have a favourite version of Hergest Ridge, and it isn't on the 'deluxe' set. Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: June 10 2010, 09:06 Quote (Dude @ June 09 2010, 15:19) that loud mandolin coming in suddenly (at ± 12 min.) finds it's roots in the demo, and is truly a mistake IMO. Dude; - Well, I'm glad you've said that. I think it's a mistake too, so much so I wondered if it was part of a joke - Mike's humour or prankishness. At this section I want to hear the bass riff, not *loud*, da da da da da da da da da da..... -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

3Wheeler Group: Members Posts: 828 Joined: Aug. 2007 Posted: June 10 2010, 09:33 Maybe the Whole Boxed Album Set will be Reissued and Hergest Ridge gets yet another remix !! ... -------------- We're Flying Aeroflot, We've Got Reservations. Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1759 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: June 10 2010, 09:38 Quote (3Wheeler @ June 10 2010, 09:33) Maybe the Whole Boxed Album will be Reissued and Hergest Ridge gets yet another remix !! ... The Boxed Deluxe Edition? I imagine 12 CDs, four framed photos, a 260-page hardcover book. Highlights: -The "lost version" of Speak (thou you only say farewell) with rougher vocal. -Tubular Bells, boxed-remix but without the alternative Sailor's Hornpipe. A must-have! -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: June 10 2010, 13:03 Quote (familyjules @ June 10 2010, 09:24) it turns out that I have a favourite version of Hergest Ridge, and it isn't on the 'deluxe' set. Jules Well, my copy is winging its way through the postal system as we speak, and I fully expect it to arrive before Christmas (ever the optimist). But reading your thoughts here Jules, as a fellow devotee of the 'Boxed' version, I find myself feeling a bit uneasy about the experience that lies ahead of me. I might yet end up wishing that I'd bought that half a Handel opera instead. But enough of these misgivings. The Open Mind is the attitude to adopt, right? Bring it on. Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: June 11 2010, 04:27 Quote (Alan D @ June 10 2010, 13:03) But reading your thoughts here Jules, as a fellow devotee of the 'Boxed' version, I find myself feeling a bit uneasy about the experience that lies ahead of me. I might yet end up wishing that I'd bought that half a Handel opera instead. But enough of these misgivings. The Open Mind is the attitude to adopt, right? Bring it on. Yes indeed, you may not agree with my thoughts. And even if you do, I must stress that it's still fascinating to hear all the differences, even if, like me, you still end up preferring the Boxed mix. Or, alternatively, trade it in for a deluxe version of Ommadawn.   Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

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