Yesterday I was neck deep in Peter Gabriel’s third album when word came through the channels that ABC★★★ “The Lexicon Of Love” was getting another chance for fans of optical discs who might not have been moved by the recently announced “Lexicon” LP box. As today I am left with a very short lunch hour to write in after my errands, we’ll take a look at this, because I was assuming that it would be sold out by now and all of this would be moot.
It’s another Surround Sound redux by Steven Wilson; the man who apparently outsources all of his sleeping. Judging by his productivity. The fine minds at Superdeluxeedition.com won me over early on with their superb curation of the first album by It’s Immaterial in DLX RM form, but in the recent era, they have been turning their attention to Blu-Ray DLX RMS of classic album in high-res packages with all of the bells and whistles. As coming on August 4th, 2023, the “Lexicon Of Love” Blu-Ray will be jam packed with high-res audio delights and nary a frame of video. Here’s what’s in store:
- The Lexicon of Love – Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos Mix
- The Lexicon of Love – Steven Wilson DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix (96/24)
- The Lexicon of Love – Steven Wilson Stereo Mix in hi-res audio (96/24)
- The Lexicon of Love – Steven Wilson Instrumental mix in hi-res stereo (96/24)
- The Lexicon of Love – Original 1982 mix in hi-res stereo 96/24
So we get five different versions of “The Lexicon Of Love.” The original Trevor Horn mix, and four new Steven Wilson remixes. Dolby Atmos. A DTS HD 5.1 mix in 96/24! Usually, on DVDs, DTS is in compressed format! I had no idea about DTS HD until now! And of course the new Wilson 2.0 remix made as a result of the surround mixes. But this time we also get an instrumental Wilson mix as a cherry on top. Given his success at working on Ultravox sessions as produced by Conny Plank, I won’t dismiss out of hand the notion of Wilson taking on the production that made the giant known as Trevor Horn.
So many readers at PPM will want this. Many have already bought one and have been discussing on adjacent postings! There’s just 5000 copies for pre-sale right now so if this is whispering in your ear, it’s the usual sensibly priced £23.00 edition from our friends at Superdeluxeedition.com. Act now or regret later. If I weren’t in maximum saving mode right now I’d certainly have hit that button myself!
-30-
![Record Shopping Road Trip: Cob Records [Porthmadog, Wales]](https://i0.wp.com/postpunkmonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cob-welsh.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
![Record Shopping Road Trip: Visiting Liverpool + 81 Renshaw Records [Liverpool, England]](https://i0.wp.com/postpunkmonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/liv-81-renshaw.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
![Record Shopping Road Trip: 58th Mega Record & CD Fair [Brabanthallen in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands] [part 2]](https://i0.wp.com/postpunkmonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/rw-icehouse-floppy.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
![Chris Cross: 1952-2024 [part 1]](https://i0.wp.com/postpunkmonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/chris-cross-waehrend-auftritts-ultravox-leipzig-ja.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Post-Punk Monk 
*pushes nerd glasses up nose*
well actualllllllly….
DTS-HD is still *compressed*, it’s just not *lossy*. It’s like FLAC vs MP3. Both are compressed, but the former is lossless.
DTS-HD is a channel format (7.1) vs Atmos which is an object format. In theory if you have overhead speakers you’ll get more from the Atmos mix. (Assuming Mr Wilson used them)
LikeLiked by 1 person
jsd – I can’t afford any of this technology! Hell, I only got a Blu-Ray player from the courtesies of a reader! And my tiny home barely had room for compromised 5.1.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Get it on itunes for $10.99
LikeLike
eric alver – Welcome to the comments! With so many regular commenters emailing me directly on its merits, I folded and bought the Blu-Ray. It arrived yesterday through the magic of Paypal pay-in-4, which allows me to roll such purchases into the normal household budget without too much guilt. Now all I need is the time to play it on the living room system.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ENJOY; ENJOY; ENJOY !!!!! I still love Martin Fry and ABC. I was very fortunate to get to see them in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA) as part of a ‘Best of the ’80’s’ tour led by Belinda Carlisle … in 2016
LikeLiked by 1 person
eric alver – You are a better man then I am. I was going to see that tour in 2016 when it came a few hours away but then Heaven 17 were out and replaced with Culture Club and then ABC was the only act left on the bill that I didn’t dislike, so there went my one change to see Fry in action. A pity since I think his three albums that he’s done since the early 90s were excellent.
LikeLike
I ORDERED IT YESTERDAY….
I CANNOT WAIT TO HEAR THIS!!
and also Peter Gabriel 3 4ever….
xr o b
LikeLiked by 2 people
rObPReusS- You straddle the breadth of the last two posts like a colossus, sir! Pray tell, when is Mr. Wilson remixing “Arias + Synohonies” into Dolby Atmos??? Who do we have to pay?
LikeLike
hi Jim! the new Poison Arrow EP is a nice teaser for the whole album- did you ever notice the opening of ‘Poison Arrow’ and how the drum machine handclaps are VAGUELY reminiscent of our Spoons tune ‘Nova Heart’?!! It’s a total coincidence too- i checked the timelines and we recorded in January ’82 so there’s no way our producer heard ABC before we went in the studio…
i guess it was the magic of the Roland TR-808- brand new and in the air!! xr
LikeLike
Rob Preuss – Wikipedia lists its UK release as February of 1982, so The Mighty Punter is absolved of any mischief by the Power of the Interwebs invested within me! You have to chalk it up to the seductive qualities of the Holy 808! If you could only have one drum machine, that’s the one you want to have in your corner. So much more character than the overrated Linn. I recall hearing “Poison Arrow” get saturation play as an import on my local college radio station. It was mesmerizing! I could HARDLY WAIT for “The Lexicon of Love” to get released that summer and when it dropped, I was on it like white on rice! It’s an album so great, it feels almost wrong that it was released in 1982; the year of The Ebb. It’s of a piece with the numerous 1981 classics.
LikeLike
Interesting.
If you search Amazon they have mp3 listings for the Steven Wilson mixes of the album and the instrumental version of the album up, track by track but no consolidated listing to buy them all at one shot.
THEN the plot thickens.
They have digital only re-releases of two of the expanded versions of the albums from years back with bonus tracks (but sadly no pdf of the liner notes):
Alphabet City
Skyscraping
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tim – I looked at iTunes. All of that is there as well.
This you can buy all 20 tracks of for an $11.99 album package. I wonder why a-la-carte only a *m*z*n? I had no idea about the “One Day [inst. with real strings] on the “Alphabet City DLX RM! I got all of the DLX RMs through “How To Be A Zillionaire” and missed the rest! Weird that iTunes has “Skyscraping” as the latest ABC★★★ album! Neither “Traffic” nor “LOL II” [?!?!] are available there! Though you can get the recent live album.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazon is often very un-user friendly for searching out these things, especially prior to the actual release date. I suspect once we’re about a week out one will find a link that enables an effortless purchase of the whole thing.
Amazon also has the UP deluxe version but it is not tagged as such.
The One Day instrumental is very nice, I aleady years ago used that to make my own extended version of the song, one of my favorites from Alphabet City.
The Second Disc is reporting on the vinyl deluxe set and their write up includes this tantalizing nugget that I have read nowhere else:
“The lead-up to the box’s release will also be accompanied by a set of digital releases covering the three singles and respective remixes/B-sides as well as Wilson’s new stereo and instrumental mixes.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
hi tim,
the first of three EP’s is now up.
Poison Arrow EP is now available on all major streaming platforms! This is the first of three EPs leading up to the release of The Lexicon of Love 40th Anniversary Edition. It contains new versions of ‘Poison Arrow’, including an updated 2022 mix not previously available to stream!
Tracklist:
‘Poison Arrow’ – Steven Wilson Stereo Mix 2022
‘Poison Arrow’ – Live at Hammersmith Oden London 1982
‘Poison Arrow’ – Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix 2022
and there is a contest to win a ticket to a screening of mantrap
in August with martin fry. now that would be cool. but you
have to travel to england to see it.
later
|| | ||| | |
ne gative 1
LikeLiked by 1 person
negative1ne – Yep, I got that email too, but streaming only, so it’s irrelevant to my ears. I was always shocked 41 years ago that “Poison Arrow” wasn’t number one on every possible chart! There’s few Pop songs with such boundless vitality. It’s like the Apollonian ideal of a Pop song.
LikeLike
Thanks for the tip, -1.
PPM, it’s not only streaming, I see over on Amazon you can purchase it and I suspect the iTunes store is the same.
I’m gonna pass on this for now as I have the SDE blu-ray on order which has the same tracks (aside from the live one which I believe that I have already).
LikeLike
I think the release does address my ponderings about other content from that era being Steven Wilson-ized, on the Poison Arrow release we have no:
Remix
Theme From Mantrap
Theme From Mantrap (Instrumental)
All native to the original 12”.
Which would translate to me as no Steven Wilsonization of
Look of Love Part 2 (DAMN!)
Look of Love Part 3
and depending on what single #3 is
Overture
LikeLike
Tim – With your penchant for mixing this must represent a golden era for you. I would like to get into mixing as opposed to just restoration but that is at least a full couple of weekends where there’s nothing pressing. An impossibility for me.
LikeLike
Yeah I would be lying if I didn’t say I have some ideas once I get my hands on that BR. Same with TFF The Hurting. And all the Ultravox.
I need more free time….
LikeLike
Also…..kinda ticked that SW didn’t do a re-master of the Theme From Mantrap.
It’s krept back into a lot of releases as canon, like if you buy your standard Lexicon of Love now from Amazon as mp3 it’s 11 tracks now with TFMT added.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tim – Funny. He did all of the Ultravox B-sides on those projects. Blame the producer of the reissue!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No love for Overture, either.
I wonder if the source material for Overture and Theme for Mantrap is MIA.
And the 2nd disc writeup speaks of the three singles being re-marketed…..there were four. I suspect All of My Heart is going to be the one not included in that campaign.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tim – I say that “Tears Are Not Enough” in the Steve Brown production will be the one neglected. No Trevor Horn. I still maintain that they should have re-issued it in the Horn production! It would be insanity to miss out on “All Of My Heart,” the best song on the album!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ordered, of course. Sadly the shipping is a bit pricey, but at least I can sample it on iTunes before I get the actual package.
With traditional CD s going the way of the 8-track for no explainable reason besides “stupid hipsters (shrug)”*, I think I’m okay if they format survives as Blu-Ray, since much more room is available for remixes, bonus material and et cetera ephemera.
LikeLike
* I should make clear that I bear no ill will whatsoever to vinyl-favouring serious record collectors, I am just mad that this shift to a more-easily-damaged and way-overpriced format has endangered the acquisition of pristine analog and digital formats that are much likely to last for the remainder of my life … and beyond … at reasonable prices, especially in the “used” market (which left the actual product unaffected in any material way, unlike “used” vinyl).
I love the vinyl I have, even though I literally have no way to play any of it!
LikeLike
The prices that I see being charged for vinyl are IMO untethered from reality.
That’s my beef with it. Git your music on your format of choice but the price gouging….
LikeLiked by 1 person
SOLD! There are a few – and I mean, a few – preorders that I shell out for without question: anything from Bryan Ferry, Vangelis (especially Blade Runner related), Bowie (around the Let’s Dance period including The Hunger), and ABC’s The Lexicon of Love. Although the latter hasn’t had any real news since CD edition, its sequel was an immediate purchase of mine. I still own my original vinyl of The Lexicon of Love, just can’t say ‘mint condition’ as it has its 40 years of playing miles!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Lucky me I kept my LP’s and Singles mostly so I can’t be trapped into buying the same Music over and over again – at least not in this case.
Any opinons on the various compilations from ABC btw. ? I have only ‘Absolutely’ but for me it’s a near perfect Best Of.
LikeLiked by 1 person
slur – I still have everything too, but who knows for how long. The culling is upon us. I liked the Netherlands compilation on three discs because it covered the entire Polygram era while having a disc of mixes and unreleased tracks.
Plus…silver sharkskin suits! I want one!!! I tried forever to get a vintage sharkskin suit in the 90s, but most of the high-rollers who could pop for such threads in the 50s were squat, dumpy guys! Far smaller than my 6’3″ frame.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That one is — or was — dollar for dollar the best one out there.
It’s long out of print.
ABC comps have some of the all time weirdest track selections, espeically mutlidisc ones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tim – I see it’s going for serious two figures on Discogs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a superior comp, I suspect what drives the price is that original edit of Viva Love. I wish they would re-release the original mixes as a single. I remember reading about it in Billboard back around the time of Abracadabra I think it was and being hugely geeked about it and I wasn’t even a Brothers in Rhythm fan back then (have since learned that they often are a sign of the kind of sonic catnip that I prefer). I stalked my favorite stores and kept reading the dance single gossip column in Billboard for probably a year before I gave up hope.
The Japanese box set that came out in the very early 90s was a real missed opportunity for a great ABC retrospective; when it came out it seemed like we wouldn’t hear from them again soon and both the track selection and what goes where on that one is a real head scratcher.
Now we have services that enable us to make our own playlist of official tracks so it’s largely moot. I made my own ABC Musical Encycopdiea play list a couple years back (and am still working on Swing Out, Mr. Fry, my uber mix marriage of ABC and Swing Out Sister) and, for example, my ABC playlist uses a Dreamtime mix of Look Of Love that I bookended with Avenue A and Avenue Z.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I could get “Blame” and the other cut on the US 1998 comp, but “Viva Love” was only here! That drove my decision to get the pricier import.
LikeLiked by 1 person
hi mr monk,
‘viva love’ brothers in rhythm edit also appeared digitally on the expanded digital release of abracadabra in high resolution audio.
(along with some other exclusives)
later
| || || | ||
n egative1
LikeLike
slur – I still have everything too, but who knows for how long. The culling is upon us. I liked the Netherlands compilation on three discs because it covered the entire Polygram era while having a disc of mixes and unreleased tracks.
Plus…silver sharkskin suits! I want one!!! I tried forever to get a vintage sharkskin suit in the 90s, but most of the high-rollers who could pop for such threads in the 50s were squat, dumpy guys! Far smaller than my 6’3″ frame.
LikeLike
Just received my Steven Wilson remixed Bluray and am loving it, especially the instrumental (no vox) mix of the whole album! The only thing missing for me is the fact that the restored 4K ‘Man Trap’ is not a part of this set! Like you, PPM, I too have my mint condition Laserdisc with all its film grain and dust specs glory! We at least know it now exists and will hope they sell it separately soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
René: I did break down and order it [it was still available!] after the chorus of hosannas I’ve been hearing from the commenters. It may arrive by next week, I suspect. Good on yer, son, for having the Laserdisc of “Mantrap!” Now here’s the kicker…do you still have a working Laserdisc player? [raises hand]
LikeLike
Oh, yeah! my Pioneer CLD-S201 which also doubles as my CD player (smaller tray pops out) in my home studio/cave/office. I also have a dedicated 4:3 monitor for the myriad of video albums and concerts I have on Laserdisc – many of which never saw the light of day as DVD or Blurays!
LikeLiked by 1 person
René – The man knows his model number! You’re a better man than I am, sir! I have an industrial model (with RS-232 port) designed for interactive kiosk use. Made in Oct. 1996 so it has been a sturdy unit we’ve used for 19 years now! Also with the small CD tray and a better CD player than the DVD or Blu-Ray units which have CD playback as an afterthought. They stink on live albums or segued tracks and always seem to clip off a partial second of music at the start of every track!
LikeLike
Pingback: 2023: The Year In Buying Music [part 4] | Post-Punk Monk