The ones i like the LEAST : Gentle Giant Octopus, Yes Close to the Edge and Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick, I prefer the Original Mix of all these 3 (I could also include the first 2 Jethro`s cause they sound too modern to be from that time) OUTSIDE of this the rest of his remixes are stellar !!!!!!!!!!!
Somehow, I did not pick up on the storm watch album when first released, and I recall buying the thick as a brick, first edition, English LP back in the day. The storm watch box set is absolutely astounding both in sound quality and the presence of the lengthy Netherlands concert. Plus the song subject matter is consistently so haunting. First time I am checking out your Tull talk. Good stuff, keep going.
Really appreciate you honest & passionate review of these wonderful box sets! My goodness, I still have a few in shrink as I haven’t made time to listen to them. That said, it makes it easier for me to know which next JT set to go to. Yes, really look forward to your “live” review for the same reasons…. Cheers
Thanks Ian for the video. Major Tull fan as well, although I don't have all of the box sets, ( do plan on purchasing them whenever I can afford it). I do not have the Aqualung box set, but I do however, have the 40th Anniversary 2 disc set which I think is incredible. The sound is a huge difference from the original. I don't own a great stereo system, but I have great stereo headphones for my cd player which is good enough for me. I'm partially deaf in my right ear so I couldn't possibly hear all the sounds that you do. Anyway, thanks again for the great video. Love Jethro Tull and look forward to your upcoming videos.
Great comments Ian! Steve really respects the original mix, I love almost all his remixes. I am still mad at myself for not getting the Heavy Horses box when it came out. That is my personal favorite Tull Album.
Very fine ranking. Appreciate the ranking of Stormwatch. I always felt that it was very underrated in the Tull catalog. SFTW is the coolest packaging of the boxes!😊
I gave up my surround music system 14 years ago for an upgraded two channel rig, so I've never heard the surround remixes you are reviewing. I have heard the stereo remixes, and I agree that Aqualung is the best of the bunch. It doesn't matter which format or issue of the original stereo mix you hear (I have the Classic Records 45 RPM box set which is regarded among the best of the audiophile pressings), the bottom end is non-existent on all of the "rock" songs only to magically appear intact on the acoustic numbers. Wilson has restored the bottom end on the heavier numbers which gives a better overall feel when listening to the entire album. By contrast, the remix of "Thick as a Brick" sounds almost exactly like the original.
I hate saying JT is my favorite band because I don't like having a single favorite but there is no artists catalog that I have bought every and any release and version of with as much excitement just to hear it [again]. I love this video. I don't think I have ever heard a better approach to reviewing these box sets. Your style and articulation are unmatched on the YT channels. I am wondering if you have any information on the potential "Crest of a Knave" release and if there is more material from the "Living in the Past" time period reservoir. After all we have the Christmas album coming these would seem to be more welcomed. I guess a lot of that has to do with what is available. Thank you so much.
aw, thanks ! I don't have any info on any upcoming releases, no insider connections etc. I'm just a big fanboy and I've loved Tull since before I was able to speak, :-) Perhaps that's a story for another day... I think that a LiTP box has been hinted at in A New Day Magazine; presumably the Carnegie Hall 1970 show would be included as an extra. I doubt there would be much in the way of 'studio outtakes' since LiTP is effectively already an outtakes and b sides collection, but hey ! Who knows ? I never expected we'd get the "Bursting Out" soundchecks, nor did I expect to get the 1982 ish demos on the "Broadsword" set. Anything can happen. As always, if you wanna see them continue - best thing you can do is support it with your wallet. I'd order the "Christmas Album" so the bean counters see it's viable to continue; at this point my grail is "Roots to Branches" so I'm hoping they get to it sooner or later. 2025 will be the 30th anniversary after all !!! Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching !
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout Thank you for the response. I too am a fan boy. I remember first hearing "Benefit" on 8Track from an older friend's uncle and have been on the band wagon ever since. That was the US version with "Teacher". I am guessing that you are in England as I am in the US. Prog/Rock is a buried genre here. I rely on YT and PROG magazine and sellers notifications to learn about releases. Yes, I pre-ordered the Christmas album. I missed ordering "Too Old.." upon release and paid four times as much as it was priced to get a new copy. I am not making that blunder again. Thank have and enjoy.
I would love to come to your shed and listen to some of your mix comparisons for myself. I have been remiss in shelling out for many of the Wilson boxes, and not having a proper sound system hooked up at present (working on my own shed studio here on Copperas Mountain) my reactions would honestly be revelatory.
Man, another great topic for a video! I love all these remixes. I just wish he would also release a modern-sounding remix instead of just a cleanup of the existing mix.
Also, fully agree with your thoughts on Passion Play. Incredible album. Did you see my video where I played the whole thing live with my father's band?
@@MakeWeirdMusic thanks ! I can’t take too much credit for this one, my audience has been asking for it. 😂 That’s an interesting take on the modern-sounding mix! I’m not sure I agree, I think one of the strengths of Wilson’s approach is he doesn’t try to modernize it too much. Some people already accuse him of that, which is a critique I don’t agree with in the slightest. That thing about the live APP rings a bell, but I’m not sure if I saw it or not. Feel free to link it if you’d like!
I wish Rhino would re-release the Steven Wilson "Minstrel In The Gallery" album on vinyl. It is ridiculous how much that is going for now and there is no reason not to press more copies.
I liked the totally different mix on This Was, and I would argue for me it is the best mix, because it is the most different. I don't in general prefer the Steve Wilson remixes to the originals. I think my OMR of Thick As A Brick sound better than anything else I've heard so far. This Was was on that I got and digitized and put in my playlist and then promptly forgot about because I just assumed Ive heard it so many times before I don't bother to go through it. Then one day I was out hiking and it came up random and I was like - something is wrong with my iPhone, then I started to enjoy it, and it was really funny in a way it kind of back-refined the Jethro Tull style to let the songs be maybe less conservatively mixed compared to when they cam out. So on the basis of just the remix, this I think is the best.
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout But it is hardly my favorite album which is odd that the mix work can change the nature of a whole album, and SW succeeds a little at that.
side 1 of taab is extremely well paced, but side 2 drops off until tales of your life. Inversely, passion play side 1 is slow going until memory bank, and side 2 is phenomenal! They balance each other out well!
I quite disagree, because as you say, all of S. Wilson's remixes are very good, but if, as you say, you want to give advice to co-consumers who buy this material with effort, I cannot separate it from the musical quality. of each job. One thing is inseparable from the other, IMO. My ranking: 1.Thick 2. Minstrel 3. Songs 4. Aqualung 5. A passion 6. Benefit 7. Heavy Horses 8. Stand-Up 9. Sormwatch 10. Broadsword 11. Warchild
For me I've never been convinced that these types of releases are really worth the money. I don't have surround sound but you can always adjust the treble/bass etc on your system and crank the volume to overcome any perceived shortcomings on what you already have. That said I did get the Broadsword boxset cos it's my favourite JT album and it is a good overall package. But, if you compare the new mix with say the 2005 remaster, IMO the 2005 album sounds better. I would therefore agree that the album didn't really need remixing. What could be good is a remix of Underwraps to include real drums.
I've been noticing more and more people who feel compelled to critique new releases but lack basic audio knowledge or don't even understand the difference between a remix and a remaster, as if things are devolving. And this post is a prize winner.
But Broadsword isn't a new release nor are any of the others on the list. It's record companies cashing in again by repackaging and re-selling something that in terms of the sound quality on most domestic audio systems, is not that different from previous versions of the album.
I disagree. I have a couple of CD versions and the SW issue is massively different and makes it into a much better album. This guy is totally right in the video.
The three album run of Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses and Stormwatch always struck me as being a seasonal trilogy with Songs From The Wood being the spring/summer album, Heavy Horses being the fall album and Stormwatch the winter album.
I don't have a favourite, they were limited by the quality of the original recording tapes. I suppose Aqualung is the one were the most improvement can be heard, along with This Was. Benefit and Stand Up are probably my favourite albums but everything up to Stormwatch is excellent. A and Broardsword are good but not quite up to previous standards as far as music goes but the box sets are still excellent. Personally, I'm finished now with these sets. They are all brilliant but as far as future sets go, the original albums aren't that good. Under Wraps is an absolutely terrible album. Crest of a Knave is Tull doing Dire Straits, I can't stand them I'm afraid and after that they just slowly get worse and worse. A once great band slowly turning into something resembling mediocrity, sometimes even worse, it's a very sad demise. That's just my opinion though. I absolutely love the albums up to and including Stormwatch and cherish these box sets.
the limitation of the tapes is something I constantly ran up against with this video, and ultimately it affected my ranking. Something HAD to be my least favorite. But in listening for enjoyment, there are no least favorites. I love them all.
So funny to hear someone so strident like they can make proclaimations for everyone else. Personally I think Under Wraps is brilliant musically, and lyrically. There is so much complex texture and rythym to that album. Roots To Branches is another amazing one, not to mention RocFlote. People I hear who name a cut-off point past which they will not accept another Tull album crack me up - like it is some admirable strength of character, when it is mostly prejudice or closed-mindedness. I see that Ian Anderson is no doubt a musical and possible other forms of genius. He is a very odd person, compared to the norm, even compared to the outliers, he pretty unique shall we say. But there is a touch of genius in all his music and albums, and he give a lot of thought to all of them, so it's in there for us to find if we care to look. Tull music is an acquired taste, but so if the way of looking at new Tull albums. They are a lot of fun when you listen for it.
@@justgivemethetruth well, it’s just for fun and we like what we like. The first and only Tull show I ever saw was “Roots to Branches” tour and I would buy a deluxe version of that (with the 5 extra tracks + a good live show) in a heartbeat. I’m also fond of “Crest of a Knave” and would buy an “Under Wraps” set especially if a live performance were included.
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout Starting with Passion Play I used to see Tull every time they came around for decades, and used to buy anything they came out with, including bootlegs and other odd things, but enough is enough ... you'd have to be about as rich as Ian to afford all the stuff he comes out with these days.
That muddy veil will finally be lifted when there is audiophile remaster of original mix from damaged tape with silent gaps in the middle of songs. Ultimate clarity won't happen until Giles Martin remix with artificial intelligence at five times the price and questionable bonus content and no original mix. A man can dream.
Don't forget this is just for fun ! All of these mixes are great, and worth owning. What is your favorite Wilson Tull mix, and why?
The ones i like the LEAST : Gentle Giant Octopus, Yes Close to the Edge and Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick, I prefer the Original Mix of all these 3 (I could also include the first 2 Jethro`s cause they sound too modern to be from that time) OUTSIDE of this the rest of his remixes are stellar !!!!!!!!!!!
would love to hear your thoughts on the Paris '75 show mix in a live ranking video!
@@riggedyouupvr9616 Was it the complete show ?!! I read they werent shure in the boxset......any updates ??!
@@riggedyouupvr9616oh yes, I have a lot to say about that one
@@Z-ebinteresting you listed Octopus, since about half of the multitrack tapes weren’t available and upmixes had to be used
Great honest reviews! keep those videos coming!🎸🎵
Somehow, I did not pick up on the storm watch album when first released, and I recall buying the thick as a brick, first edition, English LP back in the day. The storm watch box set is absolutely astounding both in sound quality and the presence of the lengthy Netherlands concert. Plus the song subject matter is consistently so haunting. First time I am checking out your Tull talk. Good stuff, keep going.
Nice to see Passion Play and Stormwatch up there !!!! Looking forward to the LIVE ranking !
Thanks, Ian! I'm a long-time Tull fan, and I really appreciate your deep, nuanced insights.
I'm patiently waiting for the "Under Wraps" Steven Wilson Remix Box Set. Thank you for sharing these treasures pieces of music.
Really appreciate you honest & passionate review of these wonderful box sets! My goodness, I still have a few in shrink as I haven’t made time to listen to them. That said, it makes it easier for me to know which next JT set to go to. Yes, really look forward to your “live” review for the same reasons…. Cheers
Thanks Ian for the video. Major Tull fan as well, although I don't have all of the box sets, ( do plan on purchasing them whenever I can afford it). I do not have the Aqualung box set, but I do however, have the 40th Anniversary 2 disc set which I think is incredible. The sound is a huge difference from the original. I don't own a great stereo system, but I have great stereo headphones for my cd player which is good enough for me. I'm partially deaf in my right ear so I couldn't possibly hear all the sounds that you do. Anyway, thanks again for the great video. Love Jethro Tull and look forward to your upcoming videos.
Great comments Ian! Steve really respects the original mix, I love almost all his remixes. I am still mad at myself for not getting the Heavy Horses box when it came out. That is my personal favorite Tull Album.
Very fine ranking. Appreciate the ranking of Stormwatch. I always felt that it was very underrated in the Tull catalog. SFTW is the coolest packaging of the boxes!😊
I gave up my surround music system 14 years ago for an upgraded two channel rig, so I've never heard the surround remixes you are reviewing. I have heard the stereo remixes, and I agree that Aqualung is the best of the bunch. It doesn't matter which format or issue of the original stereo mix you hear (I have the Classic Records 45 RPM box set which is regarded among the best of the audiophile pressings), the bottom end is non-existent on all of the "rock" songs only to magically appear intact on the acoustic numbers. Wilson has restored the bottom end on the heavier numbers which gives a better overall feel when listening to the entire album. By contrast, the remix of "Thick as a Brick" sounds almost exactly like the original.
I hate saying JT is my favorite band because I don't like having a single favorite but there is no artists catalog that I have bought every and any release and version of with as much excitement just to hear it [again]. I love this video. I don't think I have ever heard a better approach to reviewing these box sets. Your style and articulation are unmatched on the YT channels. I am wondering if you have any information on the potential "Crest of a Knave" release and if there is more material from the "Living in the Past" time period reservoir. After all we have the Christmas album coming these would seem to be more welcomed. I guess a lot of that has to do with what is available. Thank you so much.
aw, thanks ! I don't have any info on any upcoming releases, no insider connections etc. I'm just a big fanboy and I've loved Tull since before I was able to speak, :-) Perhaps that's a story for another day...
I think that a LiTP box has been hinted at in A New Day Magazine; presumably the Carnegie Hall 1970 show would be included as an extra. I doubt there would be much in the way of 'studio outtakes' since LiTP is effectively already an outtakes and b sides collection, but hey ! Who knows ? I never expected we'd get the "Bursting Out" soundchecks, nor did I expect to get the 1982 ish demos on the "Broadsword" set. Anything can happen.
As always, if you wanna see them continue - best thing you can do is support it with your wallet. I'd order the "Christmas Album" so the bean counters see it's viable to continue; at this point my grail is "Roots to Branches" so I'm hoping they get to it sooner or later. 2025 will be the 30th anniversary after all !!!
Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching !
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout Thank you for the response. I too am a fan boy. I remember first hearing "Benefit" on 8Track from an older friend's uncle and have been on the band wagon ever since. That was the US version with "Teacher". I am guessing that you are in England as I am in the US. Prog/Rock is a buried genre here. I rely on YT and PROG magazine and sellers notifications to learn about releases. Yes, I pre-ordered the Christmas album. I missed ordering "Too Old.." upon release and paid four times as much as it was priced to get a new copy. I am not making that blunder again. Thank have and enjoy.
For me Aqualung was a HUGE listening upgrade. It was noticeable even from car speakers to me. Nice review, Ian! I agree with most all of it.
@@Phlakaton88 thanks ! I might change my opinion on a few of em tomorrow but I definitely was thinking of you when choosing my number 1
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout The clarity and punch was evident. Have a good un!
Great video man agree 100%
I would love to come to your shed and listen to some of your mix comparisons for myself. I have been remiss in shelling out for many of the Wilson boxes, and not having a proper sound system hooked up at present (working on my own shed studio here on Copperas Mountain) my reactions would honestly be revelatory.
BTW the Aqualung bluray, is astounding!!!!
Man, another great topic for a video! I love all these remixes. I just wish he would also release a modern-sounding remix instead of just a cleanup of the existing mix.
Also, fully agree with your thoughts on Passion Play. Incredible album. Did you see my video where I played the whole thing live with my father's band?
@@MakeWeirdMusic thanks ! I can’t take too much credit for this one, my audience has been asking for it. 😂
That’s an interesting take on the modern-sounding mix! I’m not sure I agree, I think one of the strengths of Wilson’s approach is he doesn’t try to modernize it too much. Some people already accuse him of that, which is a critique I don’t agree with in the slightest.
That thing about the live APP rings a bell, but I’m not sure if I saw it or not. Feel free to link it if you’d like!
I agree about Too Old !!!!
Wonderful and most accurate overview... I agree with most of this... what is the large Stand Up shelf backdrop ?
@@jean-davidcaillouet8142 check my description
Hey Ian. Great video. Cheers
I wish Rhino would re-release the Steven Wilson "Minstrel In The Gallery" album on vinyl. It is ridiculous how much that is going for now and there is no reason not to press more copies.
I liked the totally different mix on This Was, and I would argue for me it is the best mix, because it is the most different. I don't in general prefer the Steve Wilson remixes to the originals. I think my OMR of Thick As A Brick sound better than anything else I've heard so far.
This Was was on that I got and digitized and put in my playlist and then promptly forgot about because I just assumed Ive heard it so many times before I don't bother to go through it. Then one day I was out hiking and it came up random and I was like - something is wrong with my iPhone, then I started to enjoy it, and it was really funny in a way it kind of back-refined the Jethro Tull style to let the songs be maybe less conservatively mixed compared to when they cam out. So on the basis of just the remix, this I think is the best.
Really interesting - thanks for sharing
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout
But it is hardly my favorite album which is odd that the mix work can change the nature of a whole album, and SW succeeds a little at that.
Really hope they reissue (too old...) Thats the only one I'm missing.
@@jamesgray4627 hands down one of my favorite mixes, some days my favorite
Hi, I'm a big Jethro Tull fan, too.
Do you mainly cover CD's or do you spin vinyl too? Thx
@@jamiesomerville8196 mostly CDs but I do have a turntable and a small record collection
side 1 of taab is extremely well paced, but side 2 drops off until tales of your life. Inversely, passion play side 1 is slow going until memory bank, and side 2 is phenomenal! They balance each other out well!
@@riggedyouupvr9616 well said, yeah.
What are your thoughts on Gentle Giant?
@@terrywilliams7827 we did an extensive video on them, you can check it out here
ua-cam.com/video/UQHEzXv-adM/v-deo.htmlsi=DrrhazTUOdyLtSWt
I quite disagree, because as you say, all of S. Wilson's remixes are very good, but if, as you say, you want to give advice to co-consumers who buy this material with effort, I cannot separate it from the musical quality. of each job. One thing is inseparable from the other, IMO.
My ranking:
1.Thick
2. Minstrel
3. Songs
4. Aqualung
5. A passion
6. Benefit
7. Heavy Horses
8. Stand-Up
9. Sormwatch
10. Broadsword
11. Warchild
For me I've never been convinced that these types of releases are really worth the money. I don't have surround sound but you can always adjust the treble/bass etc on your system and crank the volume to overcome any perceived shortcomings on what you already have. That said I did get the Broadsword boxset cos it's my favourite JT album and it is a good overall package. But, if you compare the new mix with say the 2005 remaster, IMO the 2005 album sounds better. I would therefore agree that the album didn't really need remixing. What could be good is a remix of Underwraps to include real drums.
I've been noticing more and more people who feel compelled to critique new releases but lack basic audio knowledge or don't even understand the difference between a remix and a remaster, as if things are devolving. And this post is a prize winner.
But Broadsword isn't a new release nor are any of the others on the list. It's record companies cashing in again by repackaging and re-selling something that in terms of the sound quality on most domestic audio systems, is not that different from previous versions of the album.
@@peteblanchard5696 Thank you for sharing your non-expertise.
@@johnnyb8250he has a point; where he goes wrong is that you can't compare stereo to surround sound. They're two different animals.
Putting Too Old that high, when it doesn't even have a proper remix, is lunacy.
@@NP-ip3nj my list 😊
I disagree. I have a couple of CD versions and the SW issue is massively different and makes it into a much better album. This guy is totally right in the video.
@@paulatB2B yup, I always liked TOtRNR but the re-recorded version makes it one of my favorite Tull records
The three album run of Songs From The Wood, Heavy Horses and Stormwatch always struck me as being a seasonal trilogy with Songs From The Wood being the spring/summer album, Heavy Horses being the fall album and Stormwatch the winter album.
SFTW is the fall album (just look at the cover) and HH is the spring album.
I don't have a favourite, they were limited by the quality of the original recording tapes. I suppose Aqualung is the one were the most improvement can be heard, along with This Was. Benefit and Stand Up are probably my favourite albums but everything up to Stormwatch is excellent. A and Broardsword are good but not quite up to previous standards as far as music goes but the box sets are still excellent. Personally, I'm finished now with these sets. They are all brilliant but as far as future sets go, the original albums aren't that good.
Under Wraps is an absolutely terrible album. Crest of a Knave is Tull doing Dire Straits, I can't stand them I'm afraid and after that they just slowly get worse and worse. A once great band slowly turning into something resembling mediocrity, sometimes even worse, it's a very sad demise. That's just my opinion though.
I absolutely love the albums up to and including Stormwatch and cherish these box sets.
the limitation of the tapes is something I constantly ran up against with this video, and ultimately it affected my ranking. Something HAD to be my least favorite. But in listening for enjoyment, there are no least favorites. I love them all.
So funny to hear someone so strident like they can make proclaimations for everyone else.
Personally I think Under Wraps is brilliant musically, and lyrically. There is so much complex texture and rythym to that album.
Roots To Branches is another amazing one, not to mention RocFlote. People I hear who name a cut-off point past which they will not accept another Tull album crack me up - like it is some admirable strength of character, when it is mostly prejudice or closed-mindedness. I see that Ian Anderson is no doubt a musical and possible other forms of genius.
He is a very odd person, compared to the norm, even compared to the outliers, he pretty unique shall we say.
But there is a touch of genius in all his music and albums, and he give a lot of thought to all of them, so it's in there for us to find if we care to look.
Tull music is an acquired taste, but so if the way of looking at new Tull albums.
They are a lot of fun when you listen for it.
@@justgivemethetruth well, it’s just for fun and we like what we like. The first and only Tull show I ever saw was “Roots to Branches” tour and I would buy a deluxe version of that (with the 5 extra tracks + a good live show) in a heartbeat. I’m also fond of “Crest of a Knave” and would buy an “Under Wraps” set especially if a live performance were included.
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout Starting with Passion Play I used to see Tull every time they came around for decades, and used to buy anything they came out with, including bootlegs and other odd things, but enough is enough ... you'd have to be about as rich as Ian to afford all the stuff he comes out with these days.
@@justgivemethetruth these CD/DVD boxes are relatively affordable but I passed on the $300 solo albums vinyl set in August.
From my listening of the Steven Wilson Jethro Tull remixes, I find them to be disappointing. The sound is muddy. The sound lacks clarity.
That muddy veil will finally be lifted when there is audiophile remaster of original mix from damaged tape with silent gaps in the middle of songs.
Ultimate clarity won't happen until Giles Martin remix with artificial intelligence at five times the price and questionable bonus content and no original mix.
A man can dream.