Obscured by Clouds 2016 Remix - What Was the Point?

[theaussiefloydian]

OK so the 2019 mix of A Momentary Lapse of Reason makes sense. There is an actual goal there - to de-80's it and get it closer to what it would have sounded like if all three members at the time had actually recorded it together as opposed to the manner in which it was recorded. No problem with that, totally down for it.
What I don't understand was why The Early Years came with a remix of Obscured by Clouds. To my ear there's nothing wrong with the mix that was released in 1972, and I never heard anyone ask for a new mix. It would have kind of made sense if that box came with a new stereo mix of Piper for example - I can't say I'm fond of the way that album is mixed in stereo - but why Obscured by Clouds? Did I miss something there?

[Kerry King]

It's your ears. We don't all hear the same.

What's the point of most remixes? It starts with an M and it's the title of the first track on side 2 of the vinyl version of dsotm.

[theaussiefloydian]

What's the point of most remixes? It starts with an M and it's the title of the first track on side 2 of the vinyl version of dsotm.

Fair enough. But they wouldn't do something unless there was a demand for it, if I understand my economics right. And as far as I know there was no demand for a remix of ObC.
And in defence of the counterpoint of the Beatles remixes, which is admittedly a good counterpoint. It is well known that most Beatles fans dislike the stereo mixes so the remixes exist to appease said fans, I think. I know I prefer the remix of Sgt. Peppers to the original 67 stereo mix

[FreeFour]

Maybe Roger thought there was still some Sibilance on the 2nd pressing.....

[Kerry King]

And in defence of the counterpoint of the Beatles remixes, which is admittedly a good counterpoint. It is well known that most Beatles fans dislike the stereo mixes so the remixes exist to appease said fans, I think. I know I prefer the remix of Sgt. Peppers to the original 67 stereo mix

Some remixes are definitely more worthwhile than others.

Maybe Roger thought there was still some Sibilance on the 2nd pressing.....

He does have an extremely overactive imagination.

[Nooma Sheen]

I dunno,when I’ve heard something hundreds of times,a
new way of hearing it isn’t a bad thing. I was very pleasantly surprised by the ObC remix. Very hi-def sounding, interestingly
so for such a “live” sounding record.
ObC to me is PF as 70’s rock band, like DSotM with no sound effects or guest musicians. The remix gives it a very fresh perspective like it was just recorded. I still love the original but I sure would like to have the remixes of this and MLOR on vinyl.

[mabewa]

Haven't heard it, but this discussion is actually making me a bit curious to check it out. I think it's one of their most overlooked albums, for what that's worth.

[Ummagumma14]

I am just listening to this for the first time. The Animals remix was really cool, I could see all the albums getting a fresh remix. What do you think of the Obscured by Clouds 2016 remix? Would love a vinyl version.

The whole Pink Floyd story is fascinating from Syd, to Rick being removed then added back, to the final legal meeting on the Astoria with Roger, there could be an awesome TV series.

[theaussiefloydian]

I am just listening to this for the first time. The Animals remix was really cool, I could see all the albums getting a fresh remix. What do you think of the Obscured by Clouds 2016 remix? Would love a vinyl version.

I've never made it all the way through the ObC remix to be honest. I always found myself getting a headache whenever I tried to listen to it, and I'm not sure why.
And in terms of remixes, I would kill to hear a brand new stereo mix of Piper. The stereo mix of that LP is actually pretty bloody awful in places (looking at you, finale of Interstellar Overdrive), so that would be fun to hear.

[tapeoplarry]

Who are the people who "demand" any remix or remaster? If a band or artist has a desire to remix or remaster some of their work, then they can. But honestly, I think it's rare that any artist gives a poop about what fans "demand" from them. Like management (both teams) hired a person to do surveys or read these forums to see what fans wanted remixed? Preposterous.

As some who has overseen remasters and such (Elliott Smith) I can guarantee you none of the input is ever fan-sourced. And the comments most make afterwards are usually preposterous as well. OMG.

[DarkSideFreak]

The point was that they needed material from 1972 to release on CD - since all the subsets of The Early Years follow the formula of a CD and 1 or 2 DVDs, which are also mirrored on one BD.

They didn't want to use anything related to DSOTM, probably because they wanted to save that for whatever might be coming for the 50th anniversary, and that limited options by quite a bit.

[tapeoplarry]

As someone who does archive mixes for clients (Melanie, Poison Idea, Elliott Smith, Pavement) and restoration work, I'm always excited to hear a new take on a classic album's mix (Animals 2018 was something else) and to hear new elements that might have been buried in the mix, or to give the mix more power, dynamics and depth. It's obvious that the mixing (and tracking) for Obscured By Clouds was done in a rush, and then the band was back to DSOTM work (especially by Pink Floyd standards). Frequency-wise, the original version has a softness to the sounds that I always thought was okay but kind of murky. Andy Jackson's mix for The Early Years' version might be a bit too trebly around 10 kHz on the drums/cymbals, but I do like the clarity added to the vocals and other instruments. The real answer is probably, "Why not?"

Another thing to note is that The Early Years makes a definite point to stop right before DSOTM (despite the '74 version of "Echoes"!) and that makes a lot of sense, plus it's good to look at these sets (Early, Later) as picking up the pieces around the Immersive box sets. As a Floyd fan since the late 70s, I never thought we'd see this much archive material released EVER, so I'm just grateful for it all.