Features

Pink Floyd / Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Edition / FIRST LISTEN

By Paul Sinclair

Comments

106

Pink Floyd / Dark Side of the Moon / Immersions Box Set
We listen to some previously unreleased tracks from the forthcoming Immersion Edition box sets

Superdeluxeedition were treated to an exclusive preview of Pink Floyd’s forthcoming Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall Immersion box sets last week.

We headed down to Astoria, David Gilmour’s amazing boat house studio in South West London, and met with both Andy Jackson (Floyd recording engineer since 1982) and Phil Taylor (Studio Manager and sometime Gilmour guitar tech) to talk about, and most importantly listen to, the newly remastered material, including Shine On You Crazy Diamond in hi-res surround sound, an early version of Another Brick in the Wall, and Money live from 1974.

Astoria is a very impressive 100-year old vessel, built originally by impresario Fred Karno (he discovered Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel) to be “the best houseboat on the Thames”. It has a top deck designed to house a 90 piece orchestra! Gilmour has owned it since 1986 and turned it into a state of the art recording studio, while maintaining all the original features and interior furnishings. Most of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell and his recent solo album On An Island were recorded on the boat. Many artists have recorded at Astoria including Muse, Jeff Beck, Ian Brown and Ringo Starr.

In a fascinating Q&A session with Andy Jackson, we learnt some interesting facts about some of Pink Floyd’s most famous recordings:

• During the Dark Side of the Moon sessions, the band literally ran out of tracks on the 2″ 16-track machine they were working with. The drums had to be copied across and mixed down to a 24-track machine, so all issues of Dark Side of the Moon have had second generation drums until James Guthrie’s 2003 remaster where he laboriously tracked down the original 16-track tapes and sourced the drums from the original tapes.
• When recording the Dark Side of the Moon live concerts, their were various technical problems, including the kick-drum being mic’d up incorrectly, meaning that non of that drum was recorded on tape. However spill from other mics picked it up slightly, and engineers were able to accurately recreate the kick-drum for the remastered live recordings.
• During the research period for the reissues, the original tapes of the famous Dark Side of the Moon “interviews” were found including – amongst many others – Paul and Linda McCartney’s voices and Wings’ Guitarist Henry McCullough, whose “I don’t know; I was really drunk at the time” can be heard at the end of Money. Since the engineers now had access to the original isolated tapes we can apparently look forward to a DVD ‘Easter egg’ which will make use of some of this audio!
• The original working title for Dark Side of the Moon was Eclipse and The Great Gig in the Sky had the working title of  “the religious section”, while On The Run was known as “the travel section”. These fitted in with the ‘big’ themes of the album money, time etc.

After tea and biscuits and our tour of the boat, we settled in our chair behind the massive mixing desk, right in the middle of state of the art 5.1 monitoring speakers. Andy Jackson pressed ‘play’ on the BluRay player and we heard an amazing selection of tracks which will all be released on the forthcoming box sets. Below is a summary of what we heard, where the tracks can be found on the forthcoming releases and a brief description of the audio/video.

Time (5.1 Surround)
Available on Disc 3 and 5 of forthcoming Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Edition

Although previously available on the Dark Side of the Moon SACD this track nonetheless sounded incredible played from a BluRay disc, booming out through the 5.1 control room speakers of Gimour’s studio. Those clocks never fail to get you.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond Screen Film (5.1 Surround)
Available on Disc 4 and 5 of forthcoming Wish You Were Here Immersion Edition

Since the 5.1 Wish You Were Here mix is the stuff of legend, this was always going to be a highlight. The combination of seeing the cleaned up Screen Films and hearing Shine on You Crazy Diamond in Surround Sound was incredible! The 5.1 mix is amazing with full use of rears and centre channels.

The Great Gig in the Sky (Original 1972 Mix)
Available on Disc 6 of forthcoming Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Edition

An early version without any of the familiar vocals. A man’s voice shouting from a megaphone is heard instead and this version is quite heavy on the Hammond Organ. The structure is very much intact.

Wish You Were Here featuring Stephane Grappelli (previously unreleased)
Available on Disc 2 of forthcoming Wish You Were Here Immersion and Experience Editions

An early version of the track with the violinist Stephane Grappelli who was recording in the same studio at the time. The violin comes in after the line “And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage” and plays for a few minutes with a folky twang. An interesting experiment, but ultimately the band chose to go in a different direction, which to these ears was the right choice.

Welcome to the Machine Screen Film (5.1 Surround)
Available on Disc 4 and 5 of forthcoming Wish You Were Here Immersion Edition

This amazing in 5.1. The first acoustic guitar chimes in on the front speakers, the second on the rear right and third on the rear left. It’s a very busy surround mix and works brilliantly with the animated film which looks very clean.

Money (Live at Wembley 1974 – previously unreleased)
Available on Disc 2 of forthcoming Dark Side of the Moon Immersion and Experience Editions

Dark Side of the Moon Live is available as disc 2 on the cheaper Experience Edition as well as on the Immersion Edition. This rendition of Money sounds excellent with lots of clarity and quite accurately recreates the studio version.

Another Brick in the Wall (Part One) “Work in Progress”
Available on Disc 3 or 4 of forthcoming The Wall Immersion Edition

Some lyrical changes in this early version. Fascinating to hear the song in development. Still quite full sounding not really a demo in any way.

Careful with That Axe Eugene (Video) (Live from Brighton Dome 1972)
Available on Disc 4 and 5 of forthcoming Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Edition

Footage is cleaned up incredibly well. Gilmour looks as cool as ever, while Waters looks quite manic.

Comfortably Numb (from Is There Anybody Out There: The Wall Live)
Available on Disc 6 of forthcoming The Wall Immersion Edition

Released before of course,  but this 2011 remaster sounds better than ever.

We left wanting to hear more, but will have to wait patiently for September when Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here are released in all their multitude of configurations. The Wall of course will not be out until February 2012.

Before we left, Andy Jackson suggested a follow-up session to cover any further questions. This is your opportunity. If any Floyd fans out there have any questions around these reissues then please leave as a comment at the end of this post and we will collate them and try to put as many as we can to Andy and issue an update at a later stage.

Order The Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Box by clicking here.


SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

Related Content

106 Comments

106 thoughts on “Pink Floyd / Dark Side of the Moon Immersion Edition / FIRST LISTEN”

  1. Pingback: Pink Floyd update: “Oh by the way, which one’s Pink?” « superdeluxeedition

    1. This is a message for everyone – We are hoping to provide some answers to as many questions as possible in the next 7-10 days. Unfortunately EMI are not being particularly forthcoming, but we shall see.

      What we have been told is that heavyweight vinyl pressings of remastered Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall will be released at the same time as the immersion and discovery editions, but it will be album only and none of the bonus tracks will appear on vinyl. The packaging will replicate the original packaging and their will also be a code to download 320KBPS MP3s. I don’t know whether lossless will also be offered.

      More info soon!

  3. Hello,
    and thank you for this opportunity to relay questions through your good self, to guys in the know (hopefully), when it comes to all things Floyd – recording wise.
    I was a bit baffled by some of the questions posed by other contributors, and this reiterates what Deck Sexton queried in his comment regarding exactly what quad mix, hires, center channel, etc, refer to. And i say this because i have listened to Floyds music for so many years now, that i feel i know these particular proposed enhanced releases well enough to enjoy them with just the current basic cd format i have.
    Now having said that, when i did first get my compact disc copy of `The Dark Side Of The Moon`, it was only on that occasion that i realised that the snap, crackle, pop on my previous vinyl version, was not actually part of the recording. I jest of course, because i guess i will be intrigued to hear the different mixes in the overdue but very welcome and exciting enhanced album packages.
    I would also like to support what Jon Kirsch said regarding bootlegs and fans desire to extend their fascination with the band by indulging in the unofficial availability of recordings – be it outtakes or live shows. Thus i would like to back Marc Ross`s suggestion of a `Bootlegging The Bootleggers` compilation of clips from the `In The Flesh Animals` tour, to create a visual record of those shows, and along with a hopeful live album recording of a complete show. The `Animals` tour certainly comes through from the comments posted, as the most anxious for fans to be rewarded with live material.
    Anyway – enough of my prattling – im assuming that these three scheduled releases -` The Dark Side Of The Moon`, `Wish You Were Here`, and `The Wall` – are the first chosen (before the whole of the back catalogue is re-packaged and enhanced in similar ways), because of the popularity and enormous success these albums have had, and thus my own comments id like you to relay to Andy and Paul are as follows;

    – Possible additions to early-Floyd packages could include `The Man Suite`, `Moonhead`, and live BBC sessions including recordings of `Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun`, `Careful With That Axe, Eugene`, and `A Saucerful Of Secrets.`

    – Possible additions to pre-`Dark Side`releases could include the two unreleased versions of `Love Scene` from the `Zabrieskie Point` sessions, and again BBC live sessions featuring `Atom Heart Mother`, `One Of These Days`, and `Echoes`.

    – Post `The Wall` album releases could include `The Division Bell` jam outtakes, and an album of ambient music recorded during the `Division Bell` sessions that was almost released called `The Big Spliff`.

    Now alot of comments and requests from fans could be interpreted as being just a little self-indulgent, and that er, includes me – but after waiting and hoping and wondering what goodies have been hidden away in the EMI vault for so many years, and seeing other artists release Box-Sets with unreleased tracks, well finally it looks like these proposed packages can satisfy current fans, and provide a legacy for the further enhancement and promotion of The Pink Floyds music, for generations of new fans to discover and enjoy. Here here to that!
    My apologies for my contribution in being just a little overlong – but i hope it has made for an interesting read.

    Regards,
    Michael

  5. As we are all Pink Floyd fanatics, it’s great to read all these articles relating to the 3 “Immersion” box sets that are due at various stages. I for one can’t wait to purchase all 3 when the “Time” arrives. Having a browse through the web-site “Brain Damage” my initial reaction was DSOTM 6 discs WYWH 5or 6 discs {can’t get any better than that my god, gobsmacked, mammoth}
    and The Wall 7 discs in various sound formats, the way i look at the extras on each disc will no doubt be of stunning quality. I have just recently bought a brand new set of speakers, a Denon av surround sound receiver and with HDMI cables and thick video cables, the sound is amazing and extremely loud and crystal clear, it’s like having a rock concert in your own living room, recently bought Apocalypse Now 3 disc bluray can you imagine the sound of the helicopters & The Doors in 5.1 dts!! With DSOTM when it first came the sound was mind blowing. To now have that album on bluray will be out of this world, and WYWH in 5.1, mouthwatering!! Let’s hope the Wall is similar if not gee 7 discs hmm, and this one cracks me up 3 marbles inclusive, is that included in all 3? Bring it on!!

  6. Thanks for the great information and all the great questions above too :-)

    I have the Beatles Mono Box Set and it’s fantastic, compared to anything I have including Stereo remixed vinyl. I read reports of other recent and even forthcoming remasters being “compressed for loudness”. Given the information you already have, it seems unlikely they would be so foolish as to kill the dynamic range, and I pray that the sound will be as good as the Beatles Mono versions, but perhaps the questions to pose are something like these:

    1. What was the mission in terms of audio quality and how and when to make changes? Was the goal a) to be wholly authentic to the original at all costs, b) to remix / remaster as though it was a new project and ‘how would we do this today and for today’s listening equipment’, or c) some other set of goals or approaches?

    2. What should we expect to sound different, and why?

    3. If a tough decision had to be made, for example a trade-off or compromise, who made the call?

    As a default I think I will get the Box set as I want to hear every album.

    I left my vinyl versions back in the UK a long time ago and have never managed to move them to the states (yet) :-(

    Julian

  7. My question is, why is the blu ray content duplicated on 2 DVDs in the immersion sets of WYWH and DSOTM? Seems to just add unnecessary cost and heft to the package. For instance Dark Side is 6 discs for $130 on Amazon, but it’s really 4 discs of unique content if you disregard the worthless DVDs which comes out to $32.50 per disc. I’m not willing to pay that and I’m sure I’m not alone – looks like the 2 disc versions for me, but I’ll miss all the bluray stuff.

    1. HI Andy – BluRay is still in it’s infancy as an AUDIO format, so for the surround options they had to offer on DVD as well. BUT these days to target the widest audience the DVD audio content is not hi-res, so Bluray IS needed in that respect.

      You could argue that two versions of the immersion editions should have been created – a DVD version and a Bluray version (a bit like the recent ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ reissue by Springsteen). However I think the price wouldn’t have been any cheaper and logistically trickier.

      They probably had a fair idea what they wanted to charge with these immersion editions from the very beginning – it’s just pure marketing. The actual cost of producing the discs is tiny, so adding an extra couple of discs is no big deal, but you are right it gives them the justification to charge a high price.

      What does everyone else think?

      1. Hi Paul, thanks again for the Q&A and the follow up from Andy. For me, the DVDs could have been left out. But as you said, the Immersion sets with DVD or BD would have been better. People could choose, depending on their hardware. Or release the BDs as standalone. I would have probably bought the box anyway, but there are people who just want the BDs.

  8. Have any overdubs been done and if yes how did they get round David’s “Black Strat” being changed in it’s makeup over the years?

    Not on this line, but any chance of asking David if he has considered asking Rick’s heirs for Rick’s demos he did on what would have been his next solo album; combining their musical ideas and releasing a Gilmour/Wright album in support of Cancer Research.

  9. Have any overdubs been done and if yes how did they get round David’s “Black Strat” being changed in it’s makeup over the years?

    Not on this line, but any chance of asking David if he has considered asking Rick’s heirs for Rick’s demos he did on what would have been his next solo album; combining their musical ideas and releasing a Gilmour/Wrigth album in support of Cancer Research.

  10. Hi,

    I read an interview to Mr. Waters about a year or two ago, where he mentioned a complete footage from “the wall” tour concert (era 80-81) will be released at some point. Is it true? If so, will it be released any time soon? I think it would be an appropriate time to do it, given the current world tour where he’s redoing the show and the reissues to come.

  11. The question I have is:
    Will something happen towards their solo efforts? After Rick’s sad passing, I understand he was working on new material. Would possible bonus tracks on a “The Division Bell” Immersion set, include Mr Gilmour playing on some of the “Broken China” tracks. As I’ve read, these were in the end withheld.

    “The Four Yorkshire man!”
    It’s been a long time coming, this stuff to come out. Not quite sure what actually changed the bands mind! (“last ditch attempt to do a physical release” sounds a bit weak as a reason for issuing this lot.)
    I recently met Nick at a Queen Exhibition in London. Maybe he thought “We should do the same”!
    However there’s ton’s of complaints about the Queen releases(Not raiding the archive enough… etc…)!
    But my god both bands have laid down some of the most stunning pieces of music and visual stimulae.
    As somebody mentioned above Pink Floyd are sonic masters when it comes to their releases!
    They wouldn’t stick out any old crap.
    I think we as fans, although bloody frustrating at times this has been, we have liked this….the self-editing thing!

    I hope they get some very good coverage. With no cheap and nasty ITV1 “Band Wagon” programmes aired. Where closet fans turn up, like Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan talking about the band(Blurghhhh!). It makes you wonder where some of these “so-called Fans” have been! I’ve liked the band since 1987. I’ve been collecting ever since. Some of the visual things I’ve seen over the years has been totally stunning and so inspiring! “And you try tell the youth of today about how bloody great they are, and they won’t bloody believe you!”

    Best wishes,

    Grumpy Rob:)
    (p.s. Well done on your scoop, Mr Sinclair!)

    1. Hey ‘Grumpy’ Rob – thanks for your comments. Made me chuckle – are you saying you don’t want a Pink Floyd ‘night’ on X-Factor :-) Queen have been tinkering with their output for years and the latest reissues seem very half-hearted to me. At least apart from the anniversary editions of DSOTM Pink Floyd haven’t really done that. Makes these editions all the more special. They really do care about the sonics. As Andy said to me, if someone listens to a Pink Floyd record after Green Day, they are going to expect to have to turn up the volume, because the Pink Floyd don’t ‘do’ loudness, brickwalling, squashing the dynamic range etc.

      EMI have come in for so much flak recently with long time artists fleeing the nest (e.g Macca, Kate Bush) my feeling is that they made Pink Floyd an offer they couldn’t refuse. Not saying money was the main motivator here, but it can’t hurt.

      Also they are all of a certain age and with Rick gone they were reminded of their own mortality. May as well be custodians of their own legacy while they are still here.

  12. Can’t wait for the whole collection to be issued – I too would like to hear the Quad versions of Atom Heart Mother – and Meddle if they too will be made available PLEASE!!. To hear a quad version of Echoes would satisfy my thirst – first time I heard it was Liverpool 73, and I have been hooked ever since. The quad versions previously released of WYWH an DSOTM are brilliant – the way they were meant to be heard – so to have them all released with the added extras will be just the best ever. And again – Quad Division Bell /Pulse would be nice too – but I am too greedy.

  13. This has been mentioned a couple of times, but please ask them if there will be Immersion editions of Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Saucerful of Secrets. I would be most interested in the outtakes and unreleased material from that era.

  14. Looks like from previous comments, one of the most popular releases would be a 5.1 mix of The Wall, unedited and featuring the original running order.

    The Wall would have to be the most suitable album for a surround mix with all its effects and dynamics.

    You can add me to the list of fans awaiting this release along with an album of rarities. There are a number of tracks missing from the current reissues that are freely available on bootleg. It would be good to collect these, especially single edits and mixes in CD quality.

    If the current reissues are supposed to be the final CD releases ever, then they’ve missed their chance to collect all that’s available together. And as the immersion sets are aimed at die-hard fans, there’s no reason to leave anything off.

  15. Didn’t go thru all the emails so sorry if this was asked – but when will the vinyl versions of the Immersion sets be available. Really don’t want to buy two sets but may have to if the wait is too long :)

  16. Thanks for this excellent article and great preview of what is still to come!

    My question would be if The Wall will finally be released as it should have been in the beginning? It would be fantastic to finally hear “What shall wd do no” in the right place for instance.

    Thanks again and let’s hope some of our questions will be answered once and for all :D

  17. For me the real gems would be The Great Gig In The Sky with Malcolm Muggeridge voice-over as per the Tour 72 bootleg and the Jimmy Young tape used to introduce the 74 tour as featured on the Tour 74 cassette version but not the vinyl release.

  18. Can I be the one to ask what is probably a silly question…
    I know what 5.1 is but what exactly is a quad mix, hi res,The center channel etc
    Like do you hear the different instruments more clearly ?
    I have no experience with audio so i am just wondering what people are talking about.
    Thanks for getting all the info for us :-)
    I will be purchasing the immersion box sets.

    1. Hi Deck – Quad mix is effectively 4.0 In other words the same as 5.1 minus the center channel and the subwoofer. Two speakers and the front and two at the back. The Quad mixes are effectively early primitive surround mixes. The reason they are of interest is that the final mix is unique and may have elements not in the normal mix. I’d be surprised if anyone claimed the quad mixes were ‘better’ than the modern 5.1 mixes done by James Guthrie, but they are definitely nice-to-haves. Paul

      2. As one who has heard both the DSOTM Guthrie 5.whatever and Parsons 4.excellent, I can say with assurance that while “surround sound” is spacious, the 1970’s discrete quad is the only true immersion worthy of discussion.

        Yea a few gimmicks (the dropping coins there, the NCR over there, ripping paper on that side, etc. and the “us and them” around and around) made it to the Q8 and later, to the third generation 2″ master downconverted to DTS, but there is true art in the rushed Parsons mix, and a restrained “isn’t this where we [already] came in” on the stained glass twenty-first century polycarbonate.

        Oh yea, also, and there’s a fantastic Q8-spooled-onto-a-custom-made-4-channel-RtoR of WWYH around and mindbending; another true immersion out there now. yes, homemade but authentic, and I’m waiting to see how good it is compared to how good it was.

        And “The Wall” in 5.1 or 7.1 or 13.2, or ambisonic – of course it’s possible, but let’s save that for next x-mas, boy. Gotta keep riding that that gravy train…

  19. Thanks for the brilliant article!

    1) Will the Wembley show’s recording include Shine on You Crazy Diamond?
    (If I remember well there was a first half of the show and it sounded great and was different SoYcD of course and I just loved that?)

    2) Is any release from ’77 In The Flesh / Animals Tour possible? (as others asked too)

    Thank you very much!

    1. It sounds like the first half of the show will be on the WYWH Immersion release. I understood that the BBC did not record this part of the concert but from comments on this forum it seems that a full recording exists. The BBC recording is nice but sounds a bit dry. The recordings on the upcoming release are labeled as “2011 remix” so we can only hope they sound polished. We may be in for a treat – Raving and Drooling is a positively evil sounding early verson of Sheep.

      As for an In The Flesh live recording, Wolfgangsvault.com has part of the Oakland ’77 show available for streaming. This sounds like the Animal Instincts bootleg, the band would not release it in this form, I’m sure. There is also a Berlin recording but this is not quite up to standard either.

  20. It seems like most of what is going to be on Blu-Ray will be remastered at 24 bit/ 96k. Will anything be remastered at 24 bit/192k and 24 bit/352k ? And, would there be any benefit for them (Andy & James) to remaster this material in 32 bit?

  21. If anyone has already asked this above forgive me (didn’t scroll through all the comments)….

    Are these new reissues of these three albums merely the beginning of an extensive, long-term campaign to upgrade ALL of the Floyd catalog, or are they an end in themselves (being, as they are the three biggest-selling and most popular Floyd albums, the least risky in commercial marketplace terms)?

    Make no mistake, I’m salivating for these releases. But I would truly hope to finally see the vaults emptied and the bad quality bootlegs left in the dust. Andy Mabbett from The Amazing Pudding and many other Floyd collectors and archivists have lengthy lists available of the material that has never been officially released (as I do–and I have my own ideas on how it can be organized!), though I’m sure Mr. Jackson is as aware of all this material as everyone else!

    But I’m talking about the Atom Heart and Meddle quad mixes; the mono Saucerful; all the early singles and b-sides in their various mixes and edits; the version of “Interstellar Overdrive” that was axed from Ummagumma; all the early BBC sessions; the early demoes like King Bee and Lucy Leave; the “Let’s Roll Another One” version of Candy & A Currant Bun; the various Piper and Saucerful outtakes; the FULL Zabriskie Point score; the alternate versions of More & Obscured by Clouds (including “Seabirds”); “Have You Got It Yet”; Snowy White’s solo bridge version of “Pigs On The Wing”; “The Heroes Return Part 2”; stray tracks that HAVE appeared like “Biding My Time” and “Embryo”; the music for “The Committe” and the Moon Landing; maybe even stuff like David Gilmour’s Jokers Wild EP; and of course, top of the list, the absolute holy grail–“Scream Thy Last Scream” and “Vegetable Man”, still shamefully unreleased (officially) more than 40 years after their recording, both gems of Barrett brilliance–and as recently as 2000, D. Gilmour said he wouldn’t object to them being put out, but then he and the band have consistently resisted every attempt to do so!

    All right so that’s a super long list, but you get the idea. There’s PLENTY of cool stuff in the vault–that’s just the stuff we KNOW about, which has all been available on bootlegs of varying quality (from listenable to awful) for decades. But it’d be nice to have it in a shiny, official release, wouldn’t it?

  22. Hello, great piece of work guys, I’m looking forward even more to the Immersion sets release.

    I would like to think there is enough material available to have a second round of Immersion set releases even without a significant amount of visual material. If you could tease any information out of Andy and Phil in any follow up session, I’d certainly be grateful!!

    Atom Heart Mother – there are plenty of live recordings (both official and bootleg), BBC sessions (especially John Peel sessions) and most importantly a live film from the KQED studios in San Fransisco, widely available as a bootleg.

    Meddle – again plenty of live recordings, BBC sessions and studio outtakes are available on bootlegs and a proper re-master of the ORIGINAL “Live in Pompeii” film without any of that BBC “Universe” rubbish would make a great set.

    Animals – This set would present a problem as there is scant live footage of the band. However, there is a plethora of footage shot by the fans available on the internet which could be set to a live recording a la the “Bootlegging the Bootleggers” feature on the Pulse DVD. Speaking of live recordings, two of the best are from the Oakland Coliseum and from Montreal and would require a modicum of work to get them up to standard. There is also a bootleg of an alternative incomplete mix of Animals doing the rounds which could also be used.

    There is also sufficient material available to do immersion sets for ASFOS, MLOR and the Division Bell.

  23. Since the Beatles have released the Mono Box set two years ago, are there any plans to release a Pink Floyd Quad Box set? For example these albums:

    Atom Heart Mother
    Meddle
    Dark Side of the Moon
    Wish You Were Here

    And are you planning to extend the Relics compilation to feature Syd’s unreleased material and the Floyd’s singles as well?

    1. As I mentioned above somewhere, I really like the idea of a massively extended “Relics” boxset – or audio BluRay – with all the early rarities.

  25. Hello

    thanks for the interesting news.

    I’m also happy with the planned vinyl editions of Dark Side, WYWH and The Wall.

    Is there any chance that the other, remastered albums will also be pressed on vinyl again?

    Of course not as expanded as the experience/immersion editions, just the ‘basic’ studio albums…

    The last years, you can see that vinyl LP’s are again popular. A lot of albums from various artists are pressed again (sometimes as limited editions).

    Thanks in advance to let me (and others) know.

    Jasper

  26. I know Bowie and Eno released multi-track versions of one or two songs when they had an anniversary of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and spoace oddity. I think something like that for a floyd track or two would be cool.

    1. I could see them doing this with ‘Money’ to promote the reissue. Bowie has done Space Oddity and recently Golden Years in the form of iphone apps. On the other hand they may wish to preserve ‘the magic’ and not bother!

  27. Pingback: Pink Floyd UPDATE / Andy Jackson Q&A on Immersion Editions « superdeluxeedition
  28. Pingback: Pink Floyd UPDATE / Andy Jackson Q&A / Immersion Editions « superdeluxeedition

  29. Great post!

    I’ve got a question. Will any of the material in these sets be released individually (aside from the Wish You Were Here SACD)? I’m assuming “Is There Anybody Out There: The Wall Live” would be, am I correct? What about any of the previously unreleased material?

    1. Thanks Daniel – I personally very much doubt it. There wouldn’t be much incentive to buy the big immersion boxes if anyone thought elements from these sets might come out individually. I suppose it could happen a few years down the line when the boxes are out of print…

  30. I am so jelous, to tell the truth! Its like someone getting to get their christmas presents early…

    My question is: It has been rumoured for a long time that there existed the “Wall” tour footage of the concert in full. There exists a very low quality version, one version with very low quality sound, the other synced with ITAOT 1980-’81. There have also been rumours that their is a very pure, clear version that exists. is this version to be released?

  31. Will there be “Immersion” editions of all the studio albums? Or perhaps a “Relics” boxset, collecting all the rarities from 1965-71? Or even an audio-only Relics Bluray, with hundreds of tracks, where the listener can play the original albums in order or whatever combination of outtakes they wish…
    And will we see an official release of the BBC sessions?

    1. Hi PK – lots of questions there – still waiting to hear from EMI regarding many questions, keep checking back here for updates! P

  32. Wonderful article; my appetite has been appropriately whetted for this monumental release. It’s a good thing I have two months to earn the money I’m about to drop on these Immersion sets!

    My question is this — what do the actual engineers think of bootleg recordings? When it comes to Floyd fans, we consume everything from the band that we can, and when record companies don’t have the time or interest to release the material that fans are itching for, is it really such a bad thing to get our fix through some less-than-stellar illegal audio recordings? That’s just a matter of opinion of course.

    I guess an alternative, easier-to-answer question would be whether or not BBC recordings of the Barrett years will ever find their way onto official releases. Those are some of the only live renditions of Piper and Saucerful tracks! I prefer my Floyd psychedelic personally, and it would be a crime for those tapes to not be available for sale.

    Thanks Paul! Keep up the good work. And get me in on opportunities like these.

  33. Hi,

    Andy Jackson did not used the center channel on the 5.1 “dark side of the moon” mix. The only exception is during “us&them” with the saxophone if i remember correctly.
    What was the idea with “whish you were here” mix. Did he changed his “strategy” ???

    1. Andy did not perform the 5.1 mixes on either release, it was James Guthrie. As the mixe for DSotM was approved by the band, an obvious assumption is that they preferred a more subtle/discreet use of the center channel.

  34. It has been a well known fact that every gig on the Animals tour was recorded on a Nak. From what I’ve been reading recently I don’t think that band would authorize a stereo soundboard recording for a release (the 74 Wembley show was recorded on 2 24-track tape machines I believe). Let’s hope that at least one of the Animals shows were recorded in the same way so that a proper mix can be done.

    And I found out the answer to my own question last week… unfortunately no live Animals tapes have been examined yet… I don’t think that James or Andy were even given any yet either…

    … but it still can’t hurt to ask ; )

  35. there is currently an Uncut Pink Floyd special magazine on sale which reprints old features from the music press.One from Melody Maker 23.03.1977, mentions the setting up of the Wembley shows, where the journalist ‘ sat behind Roger Waters as he supervised lighting rehearsals ……..Brian Humphries ran a tape of the Dortmund Floyd concert-the second in the European series’

    So looks like Animals tour soundboard recordings do exist…..

  37. Seeing as how there’s a box set slated for release on the “Discovery” versions of the albums, will there be a set for the “Experience” versions, assuming every album will get a double disk treatment?

    For someone wanting to hear the albums remastered, the box set seems like a logical choice, but purchasing the same album twice (as is the case with the Big Three albums) is a bit redundant.

    Thanks though!

  38. Hi there,

    Do you think “Live at Pompeii” be released on Blu-ray sometime soon? The DVD is out of print, not to mention it lacks a surround sound mix. Also, for the strangest reason, nearly every NTSC release of “Pompeii” (even the DVD) plays 4% faster than it should, because it appears transcoding was done from a PAL source (so let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again!). And please release the 1974 Cut – I think we can all agree that that’s the best version of the film.

    So if a Blu-ray release of “Pompeii” is ever considered, get it damn right!

    Thanks.

    -Sam

    1. I just wanted to comment that PF, an an organization, had nothing to do with the release of Live at Pompeii on video (save Storm designing the menus and packaging and Mark Fenwick helping to organize the project as a producer), they don’t own the rights to the film; so this is an inquiry better directed to Adrian Maben.

  39. Very interesting read, thank you! There are two things I have been wondering about these reissues:

    First, the press release for the reissue campaigns mentions that the albums will be made available in “an array of digital formats”. I’d like to know more about those — in particular, will all the audio content in the Immersion sets also be made available as downloads? (Those gigantic physical boxes are impressive for sure but they would also add to my already significant storage problems.)

    Second, looking at the picture above, resting against what I think is the photo book there is a small card — does that card have a download code on it, and if so, what exactly do you get download?

  40. Paul,
    I enjoyed your article, your enjoyment of this assignment was obvious, if you need anybody to help you take notes next time…..It is probably worth restating there is a great unmet but also untapped demand for high resolution multi-channel audio out there. Pink Floyd have made history in so many ways, if they could bring much of their back catalogue (at the very least Animals and The Wall on top of existing DSOTM and WYWH, anything post Roger leaving I suspect may be awkward) to high resolution 5.1 they will forever be the heroes of audiophiles and new converts to this format.

    Peter

    1. Hi Peter – yes you have to hand it to them. Doing a new 5.1 SACD for WYWH in 2011 is impressive – probably only Pink Floyd could make that happen.

      Having said that I think any further hi-res 5.1 will probably be restricted to BluRay but we shall see…

  41. The book in the “Shine On” box mentions that “Meddle” was mixed for quad, though that mix has never been issued. It would be great if they could unearth it!

    “Atom Heart Mother” definitely did get a quad release, so it would be nice to have that reissued as well.

    And, as others have mentioned, “Animals” even got as far as getting a catalog number, but not even a promo copy has ever surfaced.

    1. I’m sure these Quad mixes will get released IF they do an immersion type set for these albums. Will certainly ask the question though!

  45. I can hardly wait for the DSOTM and WYWH Immersion sets.

    Any chance of a release for the quadraphonic mixes of Animals and Atom Heart Mother?

    A 5.1 mix of The Wall would go down rather well too…

  46. Great stuff guys. What a treat to head to Astoria, let alone hear the new material!

    My question is about the possibility of a Momentary Lapse of Reason remix for an Immersion box set. David Gilmour has mentioned before his interest in “mixing the 80s out of it”.

    cheers
    Ben.

  47. Thanks for this article. It already answers a number of questions I had.

    Most of what I wanted to ask has already been asked multiple times, but I’m gonna go ahead anyway.

    1. Put me down for another one wanting to know if there’s any live Animals tour recordings in existence.

    2. Another one that’s already been asked but I also want to know if there are any plans to release the studio version of What Shall We Do Now? If they’re in the market for suggestions, I would very much like to see that included on The Wall set. The live version has been available for a while, but it’s a shame that the only place the studio version is available is in the movie.

    3. On a similar note, any chance of any extended versions of songs from The Wall? In addition to What Shall We Do Now not making the final version a number of songs were cut down in order to fit on 2 LPs. (the first verse from The Show Must Go On…I believe a piano intro for The Thin Ice, etc)

    4. You may be able to answer this yourself, and in a way it looks like you already did in response to a previous question, but is it safe to assume that the 1974 concert comes from a different source than the bootleg of the BBC broadcast that has been bootlegged for years? Did the BBC and the band each do their own recordings of that show?

    Thank you very much!

  49. Hi Guys!!!
    Please, let’s not forget about The Delicate Sound of Thunder concert video…
    I has been forgotten for a long time now!
    Do they remember it still exists?
    I had to download a LaserDisc version!!!
    Please, try to send this question…
    Thaks

  50. Great article. I have been checking all over for updates on these releases.

    My first question is for you. Did the Blu-Ray version of (DSOTM) sound the same or superior to the SACD version?

    I am interested in Animals, Meddle, and Division Bell in 24bit/96k or 192k on Blu-Ray Audio.

    I am also wondering will they release PULSE on Blu-Ray? I know about the whole video thing…….but , DTS-HD Master Audio would be awesome.

    Thanks,
    Mark

    1. Hi Mark – the BluRay did sound better than the SACD but then I’m sure that’s because I was listening to it on state of the art 5.1 monitoring speakers in David Gilmours control room!! Probably hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of kit!!

      It’s probably not an exaggeration to say that the quality of the playback set-up was as good as anything else on the planet.

      Andy Jackson made it clear that there was no limits in their striving for the absolute best in sound quality in monitoring and recording systems.

      Thanks for your other questions..

      1. Yes Paul, those ATC monitors aren’t cheap you know (we’re talking five figures a set)! Do they still have the big Neve console there at Astoria?

  51. Thanks much for doing this Paul. My question for Andy or James is if they are familiar with the “John Latham” and “In the Beechwoods” recordings that date from the 1967 at De Lane Lea sessions. My hope is these tapes will appear on a Piper or Saucerful ‘Immersion’ set in the future.

    Cheers,
    Chris

  52. Hi Paul,

    Thanks again for your efforts to communicate our questions.
    Please let Andy and Phil know that we are very grateful for their efforts on this huge project. Many Pink Floyd fans have been waiting a long time for these releases and I’m sure we will treasure these sets like nothing else in our collections.

    I must plead however that it would be a crime if hi res audio versions were not released. Pink Floyd more than any other band has always made sound quality a huge emphasis. These sets could be a watershed moment for audio to finally be championed again, especially considering that almost all downloaded versions of music (including P.F.) are only available in far LESS than C.D. quality. E.M.I. and other companies would certainly gain to benefit if a Hi-Res renaissance could be kindled with this historic release.

    1. Hi Gregg – agree with your sentiments but at the moment it’s looking like just 5.1 stuff in hi-res… stay in touch with this blog since I will post updates here!

  53. I’ll add a vote for two questions mentioned a couple times before:

    1) Will we get a live recording from the Animals’ tour?

    2) Can we please get the quad mix of the Animals album?

    P.S. Thanks for the preview. Very informative, and it must have been an amazing experience!

  54. Hi Paul!

    Kudos for the great article. What an amazing opportunity, sitting down with Andy Jackson and Phil Taylor.

    Most of my questions have been asked before: why no hi-res quad mixes, will the “Animals” quad mix see the light of day, will there be a 5.1 mix of “The Wall”?

    Two more:

    1. Will the quad mix of “Atom Heart Mother” be released?
    2. Will the song “What shall we do now?” be released on CD at some point?

    Thanks!
    Matthias.

  55. Hello Paul, thank you for the preview of these great box sets. Looking forward to the reply of EMI regarding the 5.1 Wall mix and hi res quads.

    My suggestion would be to drop the “Is there anybody out there” from the Wall Immersion box and put a hi res Wall 5.1 in. The ITABOT can be released as part of a Wall Live box, including the Earl’s Court video footage.

    About other albums, Meddle, Animals and The Division Bell sets would be awesome, especially with 5.1 mixes. They are all made for that! Perhaps Andy can give some more info about future releases.

    Thanks again for the insight.
    Kind regards,
    Robert

    1. Thanks Robert. Your Wall suggestion is fair enough, although given that it’s 7 discs they should be able to do both ITAOT and 5.1. There has to be a specific reason for no 5.1 The Wall. I suggested to Andy that it might be to do with budget since DSOTM and WYWH were already ‘in the can’ so to speak, but The Wall would have to be done from scratch. He smiled at me and said there would be no budgetary issues! So that’s from the horses mouth. If they want to do a 5.1 of The Wall the budget would have been there.

  56. Thanks Paul,
    For your quick response and for conveying our hopes for these great Box sets coming up. We also very much appreciate your understanding and advocating for us. At least the Quad mixes are now getting an Official release.

    Perhaps Andy will get a chance to listen to them more closely when he’s free and do let him know about the Quad “Animals” mix. It should be there somewhere. It was given a catalog # back right before its original 1970s release, but never saw the light of day. I saw PF on that Animals tour in Oakland, California and the live Quad mix was awesome with the Animal sounds and music. If the mix exists, that would be great.

    I’ll be personally buying DSOTM and WYWH Immersion Box sets and “Animals” if one gets a release.

    Again, thank you very much for your help,

    Jim White OQG

  57. I would echo the same comments as others:

    “Why don’t the Immersion sets include all of the audio in hi resolution on the Blu-Ray discs? Especially the quad mixes.”

    And: “And I really hope for a 5.1 mix of The Wall.”

    Sorry, but I won’t buy The Wall without a 5.1 mix. I already own it.

    Also, please release to us the unreleased legendary Quadraphonic “Animals” mix! Perhaps an Immersion Box? Or a whole box set dedicated to all the Pink Floyd surround mixes still not released. Thanks.

    1. If there is an unreleased Quad mix of Animals then it’s probably quite likely to see a release, since they have chosen to release both Quad mixes of DSOTM and WYWH. Although as things stand, hi-res versions of the quad mixes aren’t looking too likely…

      There doesn’t seem to be much interest in the Quad mixes, other than “they are historical, lets put them out”. I say this because Andy confessed he hadn’t even heard the DSOTM quad mix and that was a title he was very involved with in terms of the reissue!

  58. I got many questions for Andy. If I may, here they are:

    1) Why isn’t the 5.1 mix of The Wall not being included in the Immersion Box?

    2) Why the quad mixes are not available in high-resolution?

    3) There’s a rumour that the Floyd in their prime (1972-1980) didn’t record any show at all, and they had to go through the BBC archives to find this 1974 recording. Is it true?

    4) About the Wembley shows: Echoes was played too. Is it going to be included in another set?

    5) Will there be Immersion sets for other album? Like Meddle or Animals for example ?

    6) Do they know if any concert film footage (apart from this two tracks from Brighton) exists from the seventies?

    That’s all for me. Thanks for this great article! Kepp up the good work!

    1. Hi Geoffroy thanks for your questions – I know 3 is not true because Andy told me that they recorded the Dark Side of the Moon concert using 2 x 24 track machines (with crossover/overlap). Your questions 1 and 2 are the most common and I’ve already put those to EMI since Andy didn’t know why 5.1 wasn’t in The Wall box. I will endeavour to get answers for your other questions…

  59. Wow! lucky you, I love to be on that boathouse.

    Not sure what’s been recorded over the years as far as live shows, my dream would come true if the band releases any 1977 Animals, 1971 (with Fat Old Sun) and 1972 pre-dark side full concert.

    thank you
    deb

  60. Excellent post (you lucky dog, you! ; )

    My question about the current releases echoes a previous one. Why isn’t the 5.1 mix of The Wall not being included in the Immersion Box? I’m assuming that the contents listed on Amazon and such were simply not finalized at the time and the official Floyd website lists the contents as “More info and details coming soon.”

    My other question is to simply ask Andy if he or James have listened to any live Animals recordings. Don’t even ask about an Animals Immersion Box. Keep it simple and just ask about the recording because if you ask about the Immersion you’ll probably just get an IDK ; )

    Thanks!
    Ron

  61. Hi Wonderful article and a wonderful project. Let me start by saying that I’m very much looking forward to this project.

    1) I have heard that there is very little/ close to zero proffesional concert footage of the band available in their “golden age” between 1973 and 1980. Can you confirm this? And does any high quality sound recordings excist from the 1977 In The Flesh tour? This must be an excellent way to hear 2 albums performed live by the 4 piece line-up with Snowy White.

    2) And I will join in on the previous question: Why don’t the Immersion sets include all of the audio in hi resolution on the Blu-Ray discs? Especially the quad mixes.

    There are a LOT of people wondering why.

  62. Hey! This post is awesome! So glad you got to hear parts of WYWH in 5.1!

    Ask Andy if there will be more Immersion Boxsets in the future with 5.1. Any specific albums planned?

    Also, ask if the WYWH SACD will have the Storm artwork featured in his book, and how many copies plan on being made for Acoustic Sounds?

    Thanks! :)

    1. Thanks Ryan – to be honest some of those questions might be more for EMI – I will see if I can get some answers for you! P

  63. Thanks you so much for this opportunity!

    A question I know a lot of people have been asking.

    Why don’t the Immersion sets include all of the audio in hi resolution on the Blu-Ray discs? Especially the quad mixes.

    It would be a real shame if this is indeed the last big physical release and we don’t get all of the audio in hi-rez. I know it has been a reason why a lot of folk won’t be purchasing.

    Thank you!

  64. Are there additional sets planned for the rest of their catalog, or are they waiting to see how well the first 3 sets sell? And I really hope for a 5.1 mix of The Wall. It would be great if they include the ‘promo’ versions of Young Lust and Run Like Hell, which do not have any sound effects in the mix.

    Thank you

  65. I have a couple inquiries for Andy; if you’re allowing one per person I’d prefer the first one be selected. Thank you for this opportunity (and thank you Andy!)

    1) Andy, if you wouldn’t find sharing an anecdote regarding Mr. Guthrie’s perfect echoic memory (or something equally awe-inspiring), I’d be most appreciative (just as an aside I already know about the from-memory mix of Ambrosia’s “Ice Age”).

    2) My other inquiry (if allowed) is in regards to the division of labor on this massive project. How did the two of you coordinate your efforts given the logistics of being an ocean (and several time zones) apart?

    cheers,
    Julie

      1. Thanks Paul! I had a thought that perhaps “logistics” should be changed to “potential logistical difficulties” in regards to the reference of James and Andy residing on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Leave a Reply