While 2013 has largely been occupied by a world tour in support of his recent (Kscope, 2013), Steven Wilson has, as he said he would in his 2012 interview, certainly kept up with the run of stereo and surround sound remix projects that have turned into a significant sideline to his own musical career. Since becoming involved with King Crimson's 40th Anniversary Series, beginning with the release of (1970), (1969) and (1975)all issued by DGM Live in 2009 in addition to surround mixes of his own recordings as a solo artist and with Porcupine Tree, Wilson has built a reputation for renovating albums from other classic groups including Hawkwind, Caravan, Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, as well as providing stereo and/or surround sound mixes for contemporary groups like Opeth, Anathema and KTU.
But if it appears that Wilson's tastes run strictly along progressive, space rock and psychedelic lines, a recent batch of remix/reissues, all released in the fall of 2013, demonstrate a broader purview. Yes, Wilson has provided a new stereo and surround sound mix for ' progressive rock epic Close to the Edge (Atlantic, 1972)the first of a number of planned reissues from the group's glory daysbut he's also been stepping back in the Jethro Tull catalog, in this case to Benefit, a time when Ian Anderson's group was making progressive music by dictionary definition to be sure, but not progressive rock as many people define it. The same might even be said of XTC, a British group that first entered the world during the emergence of New Wave but, by the time the early '80s had rolled around, was beyond definition other, perhaps, than a kind of music that could be called intelligent pop music. It certainly possessed elements of progression but, again, was not what most would call progressive rock. Nonsuch (Virgin, 1992) represented, however, the ongoing progression of remaining members Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory in their approach to songwriting and production, but the more cemented definition that progressive rock had, by that time, largelyand sadly assumed most certainly did not apply. There are those who find Wilson's remixes sterile, who feel that his taking the original analog multi-tracks and digitizing them into his computer, and from there creating his new mixes, sucks the life out of the music. To each their own, but reading a variety of bulletin boards, one conclusion might be that this is, in at least some cases, a combination of personal bias (analog good; digital bad) and the feeling that what was originally released was what the artists wanted to be released and therefore should be considered sacrosanct.
The truth, however, is much different in at least some cases, as it turns out a variety of factors often forced bands to either rush through mixes or have them done by less than adequate engineers or on less than adequate equipment. That, in almost every case, Wilson has done his work with either the approval of the original artists or, as is the case with the Crimson reissues, the involvement of the original artists would suggest otherwise. What is undeniable, like them or not, is that Wilson's new mixes create much greater transparency in the instrumental layers, revealing previously unheard detail.
There's a more expansive feel to his stereo mixes, a broader soundscape, while his surround mixes create a real feeling of being inside the music, without resorting to gimmickry of any kind. In fact, comparing Wilson's mixes to the originalsalmost all of his reissued work includes the original mixes, sometimes even flat transfers from vinyl so it's possible to compare, at least as closely as possible, original pressings with his revised versionsreveal a respect and reverence for the original mix while, at the same time, looking to improve upon it. Yes, it's a controversial issue; some see his work as valuable, others as nothing more than a money grab. Looking at most of these artists, the number of expected sales and the state of the industry today, it should be realized that nobody is getting rich off these reissues. Instead, Wilson is trying to refresh some classic recordings that mean a lot to him, with technology that was simply unavailable at the time. Like them or not, that's the listener's choice; but for those who feel less than proprietary about the music, any reissue with which Wilson has been associated has ultimately revealed more about the music. Star Wars Lightsaber Duels Wii Iso. If that isn't validation enough for this work, it's hard to imagine what is.
