larstangmark
Group: Members
Posts: 1759
Joined: Mar. 2005 |
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Posted: May 31 2023, 07:16 |
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| Quote (shenry @ May 31 2023, 04:47) | Okay I've now listened to it.
I think Tubular Bells is an album that's crying out to be listened to in surround sound. As there is a lack of vocals there is no actual "centre" to the sound, so it very much suits an immersive experience with the listener in the centre. (As does much of Mike's other work).
The Dolby Atmos mix by David Kosten is absolutely suberb for its stated intention: it basically painstakingly copies the original 1973 mix but spreads it around you so it... em ... surrounds you. (No other way to put it  ). Thankfully it doesn't try to do anything flashy (Tubular Bells doesn't need that) so maybe it's a hard sell on that score as people seem to expect bells-and-whistles remixes these days. Probably best that it was kept to a limited edition release for the true nerds like me.
Is it better than Mike's own 2009 surround mix? Yes, I think that was too shiny and flashy. Still good, but just sounded a bit too much like the album had been given a turbo engine when it didn't need it.
Is it better than Phil Newell's 1975 surround (quad) mix for the Boxed album? No, I don't think it is. My personal preference for the definitive TB mix is Phil's, as he gave it a sensitive polish.
Plus, the David Kosten mix has one glaring fault which almost ruins the whole thing. On the bagpipe guitar section on Part Two, there's a really cringeworthy bit where Mike's bass is behind the beat for about thirty seconds or so. And I don't mean in an almost-noticeable way: I mean it's a full half-step out, and playing well out of sync with all the other instruments.
What's all that about? Did David Kosten accidentally slide one of the audio files out of sync when he was mixing it? Or was that always there on the multitracks but has never come to light before? I feel it must be the latter: when I listen to every other mix I don't think there's any bass guitar at that point, and the kettle drums (which ARE in sync) are carrying the bass sound.
So my theory is that every other mixer and remixer has noticed the out of sync bass guitar at that point and faded it down. Whether this is true and David Kosten didn't notice, or whether it was a technical error caused by his mixing software, it's a very unfortunate mistake. And it means I can't fully enjoy this new mix I'm afraid!
Still, overall a nicely designed package and good to have multiple TB mixes on a nice Bluray. |
It's the kind of thing that happens when you don't have time or patience to listen the whole thing through one last time before you send off the tapes/files.
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"There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste"
Mark E Smith
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