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Post by Stormwatch on Sept 26, 2013 10:18:09 GMT -5
I have just been listening to an advance copy of the new Benefit set and thought I would write a full review here, but then thinking about it we have all heard the tracks from the album so know what to expect. So I will just say the sound quality of the album has been much improved on the 2013 Steven Wilson remixed Benefit. Sound is much brighter with each instrument coming out clearer then in the original release of the tracks overall a better dynamic range with little nuances coming through that were not audible in the original, Martins guitar comes through clean and powerful with Ian's vocal given a cleaner sound and all the bells and whistles coming through in the background. Overall the album now has a more dynamic range that the original 1970 release was lacking and once again Steven Wilson has done a fantastic job bringing new life to this album and I cannot wait to hear his remix of APP. Disc one features the complete album plus 5 additional tracks including the 2013 remix of teacher UK and US album version. The DVD sound is even better but I have not had a chance to listen to the surround version yet. Here are a few screen shots from the DVD
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Mttbsh
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Post by Mttbsh on Sept 26, 2013 13:44:10 GMT -5
Thanks Stormwatch for the review. As Benefit is one of my favorite albums by any band, getting Steve Wilson's remix is a no-brainer. I don't know how he manages to bring out all those subtleties that could never be heard before, but as he is a Tull fan I think it is a labor of love, I hope it makes him proud that he can get these amazing albums to sound as they should. Mono mix of Teacher and other extras? ehh. It's the album itself that I want to hear in all of its glory. If the new mix was just of To Cry You a Song, I would probably plunk down the cash.
Thanks again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2013 17:01:16 GMT -5
Steve
Thanks for the review and the sneak preview images. I really can't wait to hear this album. It's been am under-rated and forgotten part of the back catalogue for far too long.
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Heathcliffe
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Post by Heathcliffe on Sept 26, 2013 19:32:47 GMT -5
Great review. Thank you.
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Post by RT Tull Fan on Oct 14, 2013 11:32:23 GMT -5
Those screenshots are great! Thanks, stormwatch! Folks, whether you realize it or not, we have an opportunity to make these releases better now that the Tull catalogue has moved from EMI to WB/Rhino. WB have recently showed their willingness to take a gamble in the Blu-Ray audio market with their upcoming reissue of Van Morrison's "Moondance", so if Blu-Ray is good for Van, why can't it be good for Tull? Next year we have the release of "A Passion Play", and I want this release to be on Blu-Ray, so we can not only experience the stereo mixes in high-res but the 5.1 mixes too! So bottom line, BUY "BENEFIT" and "MOONDANCE"! And if any of you are "in-the-know" as it were with the Tull camp and their record label, let them know they have a new chance for more Blu-Ray releases for these Tull Collector's Editions! Aqualung remains the high-mark as the only Blu-Ray release, but it doesn't have to be the only one!
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Post by Geoff CB on Oct 19, 2013 19:42:31 GMT -5
Those screenshots are great! Thanks, stormwatch! Folks, whether you realize it or not, we have an opportunity to make these releases better now that the Tull catalogue has moved from EMI to WB/Rhino. WB have recently showed their willingness to take a gamble in the Blu-Ray audio market with their upcoming reissue of Van Morrison's "Moondance", so if Blu-Ray is good for Van, why can't it be good for Tull? Next year we have the release of "A Passion Play", and I want this release to be on Blu-Ray, so we can not only experience the stereo mixes in high-res but the 5.1 mixes too! So bottom line, BUY "BENEFIT" and "MOONDANCE"! And if any of you are "in-the-know" as it were with the Tull camp and their record label, let them know they have a new chance for more Blu-Ray releases for these Tull Collector's Editions! Aqualung remains the high-mark as the only Blu-Ray release, but it doesn't have to be the only one! Totally agree! And I'd like "the treatment" on Stand Up too!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2013 18:27:09 GMT -5
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GuyM
One of the Youngest of the Family
New DAMANEK album ON TRACK is now out!
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Post by GuyM on Oct 29, 2013 12:01:31 GMT -5
Loving the new BENEFIT Mixes. Listened last night to Disc 1 and they are fab. Heard the 5.1 mixes today and they are great too...shame about WITCHES PROMISE...but overall a real treat! Roll on APP!! (My fave)
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Post by Preston Platform on Oct 29, 2013 12:43:46 GMT -5
I totally agree Guy. The new mixes sound fantastic. The bands comments on each tune were interesting as well.
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Post by RT Tull Fan on Oct 29, 2013 23:01:42 GMT -5
This is another great reissue on the part of Steven Wilson, Ian Anderson, and the rest of the reissue team. Really curious to see tracks like "Sweet Dream" and "17" on both this reissue and the "Stand Up" Collector's Set a few years back, but now I see that they really reside more in the "Benefit" camp than with "Stand Up".
So based on when they were recorded and released, do "Living in the Past" and "Driving Song" belong more in the "Stand Up" era or with "Benefit"? I feel like it's definitely the former but you guys know much more than I do.
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Post by Preston Platform on Oct 30, 2013 4:24:02 GMT -5
just recieved these today, must admit to a real keeness to hear them. Away with wordsHope that you are enjoying them Pat ..interesting to hear your views on both
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Post by TM on Oct 30, 2013 20:02:02 GMT -5
I have to say that the Benefit remaster is brilliant! Hats off to Steve Wilson. Great job with this one!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2013 9:28:46 GMT -5
I have to say that the Benefit remaster is brilliant! Hats off to Steve Wilson. Great job with this one! It is excellent! The acoustics especially are a treat. After one listen I was pretty happy. Happier than I was with the Brick but I think Aqualung is in the lead for the best yet still. This one is close. I will give it some more listens though. I think Passion Play will have to be the best of them all. I love these releases!
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Post by TM on Oct 31, 2013 10:17:36 GMT -5
I have to say that the Benefit remaster is brilliant! Hats off to Steve Wilson. Great job with this one! It is excellent! The acoustics especially are a treat. After one listen I was pretty happy. Happier than I was with the Brick but I think Aqualung is in the lead for the best yet still. This one is close. I will give it some more listens though. I think Passion Play will have to be the best of them all. I love these releases! Funny, Aqualung I don't hear much difference. I'll have to try again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2013 13:26:06 GMT -5
It is excellent! The acoustics especially are a treat. After one listen I was pretty happy. Happier than I was with the Brick but I think Aqualung is in the lead for the best yet still. This one is close. I will give it some more listens though. I think Passion Play will have to be the best of them all. I love these releases! Funny, Aqualung I don't hear much difference. I'll have to try again. The acoustic songs on the 40th Aqualung (Aqualung, Cheap Day, Wondring Aloud, Mother Goose, Up to me, Slipstream, My God and so forth) were VERY noticeable and improved over all. The separation in the surround was amazing. I had trouble with the TAAB 5.1s but really look forward to Benefit should be here any minute! Darin
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2013 17:35:56 GMT -5
Funny, Aqualung I don't hear much difference. I'll have to try again. The acoustic songs on the 40th Aqualung (Aqualung, Cheap Day, Wondring Aloud, Mother Goose, Up to me, Slipstream, My God and so forth) were VERY noticeable and improved over all. The separation in the surround was amazing. I had trouble with the TAAB 5.1s but really look forward to Benefit should be here any minute! Darin Yes, The remasters sound very clean but the big differences are in the 5.1 mixes. I couldn't believe Aqualung when I heard it. Plus all the extra tracks/early versions My God + Wondering Aloud Again. I got spoiled. TAAB could have been great but the guitars were buried in the back somewhere when they should have been brought up.
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Post by Geoff CB on Nov 2, 2013 18:58:55 GMT -5
It is excellent! The acoustics especially are a treat. After one listen I was pretty happy. Happier than I was with the Brick but I think Aqualung is in the lead for the best yet still. This one is close. I will give it some more listens though. I think Passion Play will have to be the best of them all. I love these releases! Funny, Aqualung I don't hear much difference. I'll have to try again. The tracks are much better! Take that cloth out of your ears! ;D This, Passion Play, and a new album! Things are shaping up!
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Post by Geoff CB on Nov 4, 2013 3:10:44 GMT -5
Well, today I received the first of the collector's set in the post. The vinyl. So my first impressions are of the stereo mix. The cover is basically the same as the original, with an insert showing an early B&Wphoto of the band. Disappointing that there were no lyrics or other details, let alone any cardboard cutouts to stand up (that would have been a great idea!). The vinyl was heavyweight, clean and quiet. I first noticed more emphasis on the kick drum, but overall the drums and bass guitar are fairly low in the mix. They still sound better than the original. I think the big improvements are in Ian's voice, which is really clear, and the crispness of all guitars, especially the acoustic. More subtly, a lot of the song endings are slightly extended, or finish cleanly. I think the best improved are Nothing to Say (no more sibilance), Son (better dynamics after the acoustic part), for Michael Collins... (just sounds less busy in the chorus), and Inside. Why wasn't Inside ever picked for the single? Too long? With this mix, it sounds just so good, I didn't mind the repetition! The only slight qualm: on the vinyl, during Sossity the (I assume) tambourine has a little sibilance. Probably due to the high levels towards the inside groove. But listen to how the two guitars interplay in Sossity...man, this album was always under-rated! It sure will be interesting to hear the 5.1 mix! ** A footnote: I would have liked Teacher on this! **
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2013 15:53:19 GMT -5
I'm probably not best qualified to discuss the sonic qualities of the mix since tinnitus buggers up my total listening experience but for me the Benefit collectors edition is like seeing an old long lost, down on his luck, friend with a brand new set of clothes!
Thank you Steve Wilson, and let's hope this gets the album some greater recognition in the Tull back catalogue and the songs some stage time.
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Post by Geoff CB on Nov 5, 2013 9:14:06 GMT -5
I had another listen tonight, after giving the record a dip in anti-static cleaner, and I think it sounds even better. I was going to play a few songs, bur ended up listening to the whole lot!
Hope the digital version arrives soon!
Geoff
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Post by Geoff CB on Nov 7, 2013 9:29:16 GMT -5
The digital version arrived today, so I have listened to the 5.1 mixes. More simple mixes, but Steve Wilson explains that Benefit was recorded on 8 track only. Hence the drums being mixed down to mono on the multi-track, just as the Beatles were. At least they are placed near centre.
Most intriguing were the band comments about each song! For example, I like "Singing all day"! They don't! Shame that John Evans couldn't be available (or didn't want to?).
Will write further after more listening. Vinyl sounds a little better than the DTS 5.1. Haven't listened to the lossless stereo yet.
Geoff
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Post by Preston Platform on Nov 8, 2013 1:58:18 GMT -5
It is interesting to compare what Ian wrote about the tunes in the new booklet with what he said in 1970. Here is part of an interview from the NME cut and pasted from Andrew Jackson's excellent Tull Press site
'With You There To Help Me' is medium paced with Ian playing piano and a lunatic flute fading in and out between verses; linking with Martin's guitar for the lengthy fade out.
The flute was recorded backwards and I've double-tracked the vocals in harmony — it adds a totally new perspective to the voice. We'll be doing this on stage.
'Nothing To Say' is a fairly slow one that builds, with the chorus against a solid, spiralling guitar riff. Through it Martin plays a dreamy underlying guitar.
This is one for the journalists — written from a growing dislike for American 'rap' sessions where the Underground writers come up and say, "Well what do you want to talk about man?" I would rather talk about nothing.
'Alive And Well And Living In' is typical JT; verses over an insistent riff. Also a somewhat subdued flute and piano.
I must apologise for having a bad cold on this. This is a song for Jennie; it's a happy one. There are two things I write about — Jennie, and me, sometimes together.
'Son' is a fascinating, clever construction. More forceful ... gritty, growling guitar then nice graceful lines against the vocal, voice and guitar merging as one. Fades out and changes tempo mid-way through.
This is a dialogue between father and son, who at the end of the song turns out to be 30 years old. I play acoustic guitar. It's an amusing one that brings back, as it does for me, all the personal experiences one's dad passes on.
'For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me' gives Ian's friend Jeffrey his usual album credit. It grows from soft acoustic opening with nice fancy guitar parts and again uses tempo changes. Snatches of rippling piano too. A bit strange, and clever.
Michael Collins was one of the astronauts, the one who stayed in the ship while the others went down to the Moon. Jeffrey has a bird called Bananas! (Don't ask me what that has to do with it.) I watched the moon shot on TV in America. It was nice watching it; I half wished I was there. It's one of those things ... you think beforehand what a waste of money it is but when they are there and you're watching it is a great thing for mankind. Then when it's over you feel the same as before.
'To Cry You A Song' is a personal favourite; it certainly has the most naggingly, marvellous guitar riff that's lodged itself in my head. A long one at 6 mins 9. Ian and Martin are on guitars which weave in and out of each other to achieve something of a Cream-type liquidity. Praise too for Glenn's bass and Clive's drumming.
Martin gets a really good, malleable sound here. I think it's his best guitar to date and it's also one of the stage numbers we can reproduce just like the record.
'A Time For Everything' is one of the few where the flute plays a prominent role.
I wrote this on mandolin. It was some time ago in Malvern — Jennie and I went back there for our honeymoon — we played there and stayed in a hotel on the side of a hill. I went off on the hill to write the song. As luck would have it, it was one of the few occasions when I was pursued by fans. There I was, sitting down trying to take in the Donovan thing ... trees and sunshine and nature ... and there were half a dozen grubby little 13 year olds thrusting fag packets at me for autographs.
'Inside' is also the single and very commercial really too. It's nice and folksy and pleasant yet pushy with something of a Byrds feel, but still very much Jethro Tull.
You'll like this one: it's a sing-along and another mandolin track. We chose it as the single because while it's not typical of the other tracks ... it's a nice pleasant happy little song ... it doesn't imply any veering away from what we've done before.
'Play In Time' is back to forcefulness again after the prettiness; a hard driving riffy number that they did on stage last time in America. Glenn contributes a gutsy bass, with organ heavily featured too. Has a kind of hunting rhythm and distortion effects.
This is about songs I like singing ... like I was saying about writing about what I do. The fade out is like a nightmare at a fairground.
'Sossity: You're A Woman' is the last and most fascinating track, opening with acoustic guitar and churchy organ. Basically it's a vehicle for Martin and Ian on acoustics with lots of nice flecks of sounds like brushstrokes. It's very tasteful, very thoughtful, very cleverly bound together and possibly the best track.
I don't want to talk about the lyrics of this one. It's another stage number. We wanted to do an acoustic thing and Martin and I worked this one out in a hotel room in America
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Post by Geoff CB on Nov 8, 2013 7:53:23 GMT -5
Thanks, Preston! I think these comments are far better than the modern "grumpy old Ian" comments! I still can't get over how Grumpy Ian thinks "Singing All Day" is his worst effort!
I also didn't realise Inside was released as a single. Good choice, but we never heard it on radio here. Was it shortened?
Geoff
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2013 22:02:11 GMT -5
I've been listening to the new Benefit for about a week now, maybe twice a day at least. Its very nice. Great job by Wilson. Being from the US…I have been used to, and known by heart, the track list of the US album version. This is a different album! ;-) Try as I might over the years I just cannot prefer the raw loose and airy UK version of Teacher. The US version has that tight syncopated and punchy rhythm section and it has flute (!) One of my favorite instruments. That said listening to the new stereo mixes are great so crisp and there's acoustic guitars in there! I have re-born appreciation for most of the songs in here. I've always loved 3 or 4 tracks on Benefit but now Im loving the rest. I have had boots with the track 17 on them for years and have never been impressed, but I have grown to like it a lot same with Alive Well and Living in which I always knew only through LITP. I thought the opinions by the band members are great, I didn't agree with them all, but thats the beauty of being an audience member and not writing and recording those tunes….I got a kick out of Prestons post of the 1970 comments. What a difference 4 decades makes huh? Kind of a crack-up that none of the band enjoyed "Play in Time" I used to play that in a band. Overall just a great package, it's like a new album, making me wish this band is around to go see!…... shite. Thanks again Steven Wilson Now on to A Passion Play! (I understand the booklet is going to be very special ;-) ) Darin Cody
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Post by Geoff CB on Nov 12, 2013 20:07:25 GMT -5
I've been listening to the new Benefit for about a week now, maybe twice a day at least. Its very nice. Great job by Wilson. Being from the US…I have been used to, and known by heart, the track list of the US album version. This is a different album! ;-) Darin Cody Apart from the remastered CD, and the new remixed DVD/CD, I realised I now have 4 copies of Benefit on vinyl. (Remixed, Chrysalis and 2x Reprise) We in Australia, originally got the Reprise RS6400 version. pressed locally. So I always thought Teacher was a part of the album. The front cover was the same, but the back was cheapo B&W. Then, by about the Warchild Era, our label changed to Chrysalis. I bought the Chrysalis CHR1043, and discovered the different track listing. I actually prefer the Reprise listing, with Inside on Side1 and teacher on Side 2. But the Aussie pressed Benefit did not have great sound quality compared to the Chrysalis version. However, the new remix is certainly better. I just wish they could have put Teacher on the vinyl. Geoff
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