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Howard Jones in Surround Sound via new CD+blu-ray editions of Human’s Lib and Dream into Action

5.1 mixes • New stereo mixes • Selected Atmos

By Paul Sinclair

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78

CD+Blu-ray sets of HoJo’s first two albums • Pre-order from the SDE shop

Next month, sees the release of Howard Jones‘ first two albums Human’s Lib and Dream into Action as special CD+blu-ray editions with new 5.1 mixes, brand new stereo mixes and selected Atmos Mixes.

5.1 Surround Sound Mixes and 2024 New Stereo Mixes of both albums have been created from the original multi-track master tapes by the original album engineer of both albums, Stephen W Tayler. These include five bonus tracks across both albums: ‘Always Asking Questions’, ‘New Song (Farmyard Version)’ and ‘China Dance’ (for Human’s Lib) and Bounce Right Back and Like to Get to Know You Well for Dream into Action.

Additionally, Bob Clearmountain has created Dolby Atmos Mixes of a few songs (not the whole albums). These are:

  • What Is Love? (on Human’s Lib)
  • New Song (Farmyard Version) (on Human’s Lib)
  • Hide And Seek (on Human’s Lib)
  • Things Can Only Get Better (on Dream into Action)
  • Like To Get To Know You Well (on Dream into Action)

Each blu-ray (region-free) contains the albums + bonus tracks in 5.1 surround and new stereo at 96/24 and these CD+blu-ray editions are packaged as a digipak and contain brand new interviews with Howard Jones and Stephen W Tayler in conversation with Anil Prasad discussing the 5.1 and new stereo mixes.

Human’s Lib and Dream into Action are released on 31 May 2024 via Cherry Red and can be pre-ordered via the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below. There’s a cost-saving bundle available with both products.

Tracklisting

Human’s Lib Howard Jones / CD+Blu-ray

    • Blu-ray
      5.1 Surround Sound Mix and 96/24 LPCM 2024 New Stereo Mix
      1. Conditioning
      2. What Is Love?
      3. Pearl In The Shell
      4. Hide And Seek
      5. Hunt The Self
      6. New Song
      7. Don’t Always Look At The Rain
      8. >Equality
      9. Natural
      10. Human’s Lib
      11. Always Asking Questions
      12. New Song (Farmyard Version)
      13. China Dance
      Dolby Atmos Mixes:
      1. What Is Love?
      2. New Song (Farmyard Version)
      3. Hide And Seek
    • CD
      2024 New Stereo Mix
      1. Conditioning
      2. What Is Love?
      3. Pearl In The Shell
      4. Hide And Seek
      5. Hunt The Self
      6. New Song
      7. Don’t Always Look At The Rain
      8. Equality
      9. Natural
      10. Human’s Lib
      11. Always Asking Questions
      12. New Song (Farmyard Version)
      13. China Dance

Tracklisting

Dream into Action Howard Jones / CD+Blu-ray

    • Blu-ray
      5.1 Surround Sound Mix and 96/24 LPCM 2024 New Stereo Mix
      1. Things Can Only Get Better
      2. Life In One Day
      3. Dream Into Action
      4. No One Is To Blame
      5. Look Mama
      6. Assault And Battery
      7. Automaton
      8. Is There A Difference?
      9. Elegy
      10. Specialty
      11. Why Look For The Key
      12. Hunger For The Flesh
      13. Bounce Right Back
      14. Like To Get To Know You Well
      Dolby Atmos Mixes:
      1. Things Can Only Get Better
      2. Like To Get To Know You Well
    • CD
      2024 New Stereo Mix
      1. Things Can Only Get Better
      2. Life In One Day
      3. Dream Into Action
      4. No One Is To Blame
      5. Look Mama
      6. Assault And Battery
      7. Automaton
      8. Is There A Difference?
      9. Elegy
      10. Specialty
      11. Why Look For The Key
      12. Hunger For The Flesh
      13. Bounce Right Back
      14. Like To Get To Know You Well

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78 Comments

78 thoughts on “Howard Jones in Surround Sound via new CD+blu-ray editions of Human’s Lib and Dream into Action”

  1. My copies of both albums just arrived and my first thought on listening was: Wow!! The sound is superb and I really love what Stephen Taylor has done in terms of the subtle changes in the way that some of the songs end and segue into other songs. The accompanying videos to the songs really complement the music as well. If anyone is a fan of Jones and has held off purchasing these Blu-ray versions, I strongly urge you to take the plunge and pick them up. Quite simply, they are superb.

  2. Listening to Human’s Lib Blu-Ray right now, and I’m of two minds. I’m thoroughly enjoying the surround mix but it also makes me long for a 5.1/Atmos mix of the actual original album. Kinda like watching the updated Star Wars trilogy. It’s one thing to remix an album (technically all 5.1 mixes are “remixes” of stereo ones, non?) but it’s another to change song lengths, have all the songs flow into each other, etc.

  3. Having now received and listened to this release it’s disappointing to find the only tracks that have dynamic mastering are the 3 Atmos tracks.

    The rest of the Blu Ray (yes even the 5.1 mix) and the CD are ruined by excessive compression.

    I’ll never understand why we are still getting such poor mastering on Blu Ray. It’s completely unnecessary on CD too.

    Until the dynamic range data is published in advance it makes buying these Blu Ray releases an expensive and often wasteful lottery.

  4. Just received this back from Cherry Red….

    This is exactly what Stephen W Taylor said about the 2024 stereo remaster:

    Hi, Can I ask for some information on the 2024 stereo remaster of Howard Jones Humans Lib on the forthcoming Blu Ray.

    This is not a remaster but a completely new mix, so comparison to the original mix is irrelevant.

    My question is with regard to the mastering of the new stereo mix on the Blu Ray.

    I think there are three possible answers here:
    1) Flat transfer (no mastering)
    2) Dynamic mastering without excessive hard limiting
    3) Loud and excessively limited

    When these mixes were made there was equalisation and compression on the mix buss – as I have always done.

    On the original mixes I always had some compression using the SSL internal mix buss compressor or dbx 160 external compressors. This was never about loudness, but about the sound and effect on the overall mix. Compression adds character.

    For the new releases I compiled my new mixes in sequence and ‘premastered’ them to make it all work in context. Subtle adjustments for continuity.

    Final mastering was handled independently just to have a second set of ears for the overall picture and quality control – very little was changed.

    This is meant to sound powerful as well as dynamic, but it was never about loudness. It is as intended for this new context.

    1. Interesting to read, but the final result has involved far more compression than the original CD release and is noticeably louder too.

      By the end of the CD and Blu Ray I had ear fatigue.

      Not sure if it was ruined by the independent final mastering, but someone has made this an unpleasantly loud release.

        1. Same here, Paul. These blu-ray discs sound fine to my ears. Also, I don’t understand ear fatigue; I’ve never experienced it myself (and I listened to these blu-ray discs through twice each this afternoon) – maybe it only affects certain individuals.

      1. They vary – some are very similar to the originals, others have extended endings, and there are instruments that were hidden in the original mixes that have been brought to the fore. I like them. Mark S, a regular commenter of re-releases on here, also commented on this in last week’s Out This Week post (I tried using the comment link for it, but without success).

  6. Why do they have to do this unnecessary BR/CD compilation? Otherwise they won’t be able to sell their remaining CDs? There is no other reasonable explanation for this.

    1. According to some of the comments below, this is a new crossfaded/bridged mix of the album, so the content was not available previously (so no unsold old CD stock).

      1. Correct – this is a brand new 2024 mix of the album by Stephen W Tayler who was the original engineer on the album. So new unheard mixes of every track that have never been released until now.

  7. With the Wham! releases and now Howard Jones, it gives me hope you will also be releasing Nik Kershaw’s Human Racing and The Riddle on later this year to coincide blu-ray

    2. Now that Cherry Red has dipped their toe into releasing surround blu-ray audio discs with these two Howard Jones titles, if sales are successful I suspect they would want to keep any NK surround releases for themselves.

  8. Great release. No issue with it not being a stand-alone – £2 more than the usual blu-ray to include the cd. Also pleased to see 5.1 prioritised after the Soft Cell / Wham Atmos only releases. Sprinkling of Atmos tracks is a ‘bonus’ (but in truth it is quite an odd approach). And 5.1 will still sound great on your Atmos systems anyway ?

  9. As an owner of all the Deluxe editions, I am glad to see affordable physical copies I can pop in without the worry of damaging the now very expensive and very OOP first two albums on CD.

  10. I am thrilled, thrilled, that these albums are released in Surround!
    I love HoJo’s music, and when Paul mentioned three months ago that we can expect surround mixes from HoJo, I jumped with excitement.
    HL and DIA have, for those of you who say that “we can just buy the CD”, these are remixed versions, and the songs are merged into each other to make it a more united experience.
    The Blu-Rays have films that Mr Tyler made for HoJo’s live shows. So it will be a new experience, and I can’t wait to get the CDs in my mailbox. :)
    (And if they re-release them with Dolby Atmos, like Pink Floyd did with Animals 2018, I’ll happily buy them again.)

    1. Paul’s tracklist or commentary above doesn’t mention that the Blu Rays have films on them…may i ask where you get this information from? (Hoping that it’s true!)

      1. As there are Cherry Red releases, and the description on the Cherry Red website also has no mention of any video content, I doubt there is any.

          1. Ahhh, so you are referring to the visualiser content that displays while the songs play, not separate film/video content (which is the assumption I had leapt to when reading your comment). But it does seem strange that Mr Tayler states in this interview that each of the new album mixes are now one continuous track for the whole album, when neither the Cherry Red listing nor Paul (presumably using a press release for his info) specifically mentions it.

    1. It presents a new stereo mix (apparently crossfaded or bridged) to create a new continuous experience of the album, and the Blu-rays offer the stereo in 96/24, a 5.1 mix, plus 5 tracks in Atmos. So every thing about this is new.

      1. To be fair John,

        it’s not better when you type ‘hojo upcoming releases’ into the search mask.

        Lots of results, many to do with computer games, some with tea, race horses or japanese actors but, at least not on the first pages with results, none so far concerning the musician Howard Jones or music by him.

      2. Not to mention Duran Duran! :D (well, the American pronunciation at least)

        Imagine getting an email from Paul, saying he’s got some deluxe DuDu in the pipeline…

  13. The problem here is that you can see the groundwork for yet another batch of reissues – next time the full albums in Atmos. How many times can we go to the well for the same titles? That’s a rhetorical question – I know other artists have far surpassed Howard’s count. Enthusiasts enjoy, really! I might sit this series out however.

    2. Same boat halffull, same boat.

      I have all of my surround sound discs ready to go and still don’t have the set up to play them on.

      I am looking at a Sonos Arc as I already have two Sonos Era 300 speakers in my office. But the bloody internet says there might be an Arc 2 coming this year so I am still dithering waiting for something that might, or might not come and might or might not be any better than what is already out there.

  15. Howard was there at the beginning for me. And he’s still on the radio. I don’t need this. For those who are looking for something positive in your life, and you haven’t heard this music yet, I think you should buy this.

  16. I’ve bought Human’s Lib for the 24/96 2024 stereo mixes, I just hope it is mastered dynamically….. let’s see.

    Would have liked a 24/96 flat transfer of the original mix though.

    1. Good to see SWT involved with the 5.1 mixes – frustrating though that the whole albums weren’t done in Atmos. Maybe that’ll be next year.

      SWT is now set up for Atmos by all accounts, so it could happen, I guess. Though to be honest I’d rather he had a crack at some other artists such as Nik Kershaw (coming soon to Cherry Red), Moody Blues (which he has already done in 5.1), Brand X (who he engineered), and Chris de Burgh (ditto),

      And I’m being completing serious about the CdB btw – The Getaway is a GOOD album…..

  18. I think people are being a tad harsh. At least we are getting physical discs, a new hi-res stereo mix, hi-res 5.1 mix, and an interview, in addition to the Atmos tracks.

    Stephen W Taylor said on the Multichannel disc FB group that he did the 5.1 mixes a couple of years ago before he got setup and experience producing Atmos mixes. After they were done, Howard invited Bob Clearmountain to take a listen and Bob offered to make some Atmos mixes. These are those. It doesn’t sound like all the album tracks were mixed in Atmos.

    So, I am grateful for at least getting the albums in 96/24 5.1. If the Atmos sounds fabulous maybe Cherry Red, Howard and Bob can conjure up another Blu-Ray reissue with stereo, 5.1, Atmos, instrumentals, and a flat transfer of the original album mix. Producing a Blu-ray is a big step for Cherry Red and Howard.

    This will be the fourth time I have purchased these albums on CD but I am looking forward to it as it was the basis for the new 5.1. With many artists, I have said the only way I will buy the album again is if a blu-ray with a multichannel mix is reissued. These are two and I am buying them!

    2. I agree. What’s wrong with a 5.1 mix? Jethro Tull for instance have only 5.1 mixes in their box sets of earlier albums and not on Blu-ray. Those releases don’t get this negativity. Like Atmos is now the only surround mix that counts. I also love quad mixes of the 70’s. I don’t have the Howard Jones albums (I know the singles) but this triggers me to get them.

    3. To each his own, but I think the criticisms are valid. There is no way to release a 5.1 mix except on a physical disc – so I don’t believe that deserves any credit. As far as Atmos – it’s not a big deal, IMO, to release only 5.1 or only Atmos, but to only release some tracks in Atmos? That’s ridiculous. Finally, why bundle this with the CD? These have already been released on CD, why not just release a standalone blu-ray and reduce the cost to the consumer?

        1. I wasn’t aware of that. I have never seen a 5.1 release on there – videos, but not straight music. When I search it, I do see some releases that are listed in the title as 5.1, though they show as Lossless, not surround.

          1. They are impossible to find, if you don’t know about them. Bill Withers’ Just As I Am is in 5.1 (at least it was, the last time I checked).

          2. Yes – you are right. On the Wither’s album it’s listed as “Dolby Audio” instead of “Dolby Atmos.” I tried to do some digging about the differences but couldn’t find much – look like it’s been around on there for a few years. Probably eclipsed by Atmos, I suppose.

      2. Not perused the Immersive Audio Album website then? You can purchase 5.1 and Atmos downloads from there. Some stuff has never had a physical release, Bruce Soord’s first solo album, for example.

  19. Tidal has the five Dolby Atmos tracks on their site under the title ‘Celebrating Together (The 40th Anniversary EP)’. It also includes a sixth track ‘The Prisoner’ from 1989. It could be an indication that ‘Cross That Line’ may get released as well in 5.1.

  20. Not sure who screwed this up, Cherry Red, Howard Jones or both. What a terrible job. Atrocious really.

    -Who thought it was a good idea to release this in regular 5.1 when the current standard clearly is Atmos?

    -What’s the point of having 3 songs in Atmos and the rest in regular 5.1? Lazy? Cheap? I’ll never understand.

    -They only include the CD so they can charge more money. Obviously everybody who orders this blu-ray already has it on CD once, if not multiple times.

    -No instrumentals. Shame.
    I guess when Paul is not involved, this is what happens. I wish this was a SDE exclusive then you know it’s done right.

    I have so many Howard Jones re-issues, this really should have been a bullseye release for me to blindly get it. It’s not. Far from it.

    1. I definitely agree it’s slightly odd what they’ve done here, but the 5.1 mixes should still sound great. Thanks for the vote of confidence though! : )

    1. I used to feel that way but with modern equipment, Blu-rays are easy to use and can be easily hooked up to hi-fi system and TV. Sticking with older formats means you are missing a lot of music on Blu-ray, DVD-A, and DVD-V. They could not have put the interview and Atmos mixes on a SACD. Why would they put out two discs when one serves most customers?

          1. And I only have a 4K projector (with a finite lamp life, that I try not to eat into if I can help it), which is a pain to fire up and warm down every time I want to navigate a menu.

        2. And that folks is the very simple reason why Blu-ray audio never had a chance at replacing the CD, or at least becoming an attractive format for the mainstream consumer.

          That, and the fact the major labels hated that blu-rays were ‘too good.’ I still remember when Universal started releasing some of the classic Verve jazz titles years ago and they only gave you the original 8-10 track album on a format that could fit hours of material. They just didn’t want to give you value and magnificent sound for any price.

          Such a shame, as blu-ray audio should have been the future for all music listeners.

  22. Well certainly the 2018 Cherry Red Deluxe reissue has a pretty exhaustive tracklisting, so this is what it is – simply 2 (and a bit) new mixes (5.1 and stereo – plus a smattering of Atmos) . If you care about the depth & breadth of content rather than hearing it in new ways then the 2018 deluxe is more for you

    Nonetheless – whenever they re-release Human’s Lib it reminds me of the brassneck the WEA design team had in totally ripping off the front cover layout from Joy Division’s closer!

    2. This is for the multichannel enthusiast. Cherry Red have likely exhausted the stereo vaults with their previous releases. I commend them for moving into multichannel.

      As for the cover of Human’s Lib, it has a black and white panel with a white background. That’s the only similarity I can see. I doubt they thought let’s copy the Closer artwork and make some mods.

      1. black and white panel with a white background – yes

        BUT also the black and white panel is the exact same size and in the exact same place
        and the writing is in a near identical font and also in the exact same place
        and then finally we have the thin black square border framing the whole thing

        apart from that it’s probably just coincidence haha

  23. If they had included the original mixes of the albums in stereo at 96/24 I would have gone for these. As it stands, I honestly don’t know.

  25. 1. Why bother with the CD at all?
    2. Why not do the entire thing in Atmos?
    3. And if you’re only going to do a couple of Atmos tracks, why would you not do the album version of “New Song”?

    This really feels like a missed opportunity. Would rather have clamshell versions of the big OOP box sets (minus the vinyl, of course) than these.

    1. See my post above. There was no intention of only having a few Atmos tracks. It came together by happenstance.

      The CD at least gives a disc that people can easily rip to a computer, iPod, or phone.

      1. It just feels rushed and a bit thoughtless. You’re right in the sense that a 5.1 and remastered stereo release is better than nothing, but if you’ve got Bob Clearmountain on speed-dial, why not get him to Atmos the whole thing? And I still don’t understand doing the Farmyard version of “New Song” in Atmos and not the album version – that makes no sense at all.

        Both of these albums were reissued just six years ago, and no one was clamoring for this right this second. They could have spent another couple of months on them, completed the Atmos work, and the product would feel more complete and “correct.” This feels like a product they’re going to update again in a few years’ time, so why pony up for this one?

        As for the CD, I would guess that the number of people who want a digital version for their computer who don’t already have a version they ripped from an earlier CD release AND don’t subscribe to a streaming service (where you can hear the album whenever you want) is vanishingly small.

  26. Seems its only Howard Jones that keeps Cherry Red afloat. How many campaigns? I would have or might have pushed the button if it had been done like Paul’s series, but nah bit half arsed and cheap packaging galore.

    1. And Suede. Don’t forget you can now buy the Super-duper Ultra Exclusive Special Edition of Dog Man Star just in case you missed any of the previous monthly ‘new’ editions…

      I won’t be getting this but if it truly is selling big for Cherry Red then I am all for it if it means they keep releasing more niche stuff like the excellent sets by McCarthy, Chapterhouse or the brilliant C86 series.

  27. Great albums, but what a half hearted effort. 5 Atmos mixes over two albums? They’d have been better waiting a year and doing the lot properly. What were they thinking?

  28. I have to admit some initial surprise. “Why is this article touting a 5.1 mix when I have that on the last batch of Cherry Red releases?” I thought. Now I’m cherry red in the face realizing those releases didn’t have a 5.1 mix. Still I’m not sure I would hit the PURCHASE button. Why on earth would they only create Atmos mixes for 5 songs? And no Atmos mix for the Phil Collins produced version of “No One Is To Blame”? I might wait for a Cherry Red sale…

    1. If I am correct this album (Dream Into Action) does not contain any version of the Phil Collins-produced hit single. The only No One Is To Blame track on DIA is the original 3:30 version. I’d love to hear the version with Phil Collins on it in 5.1 and/or Atmos but it’s not on this blu ray.

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