Reviewing the dark side of the moon is surely an exercise in retreading ground so thoroughly distressed that no further imprint could be made upon it but, as with the WYWH Immersion box set, so much has been written on the web about the quality and price of the sets that it’s hard to see past the hyperbole and vitriol and actually find out about the quality and range of the content.
To get it out of the way, yes, the immersion box sets are expensive. Very expensive, if you like, but then put them in relation to your average night out on a Saturday and they start to come into perspective. Moreover these box sets, like any such luxury item, are not aimed at the casual fan – rare demos may enlighten and excite the long-time listener, but your basic Floyd fan, who owns perhaps three or four of the albums, is unlikely to want to own such completist delights – and that’s why you can also get the ‘discovery’ edition (the stand-alone album, re-mastered) and the ‘experience’ edition (the album, a live disc and better packaging) – both of which are far better options for anyone but the most committed. In short, griping about the price seems somewhat irrelevant as there are a variety of options available (and I’m sure if you are prepared to wait the price may come down for even the ‘immersion’ editions) and if you are committed to the Floyd in a big way then you’ll surely do without a restaurant meal for one month in order to sate your burning desire for new material.
Moving on to content, TDSOTM comes off best out of the three ‘immersion’ sets to be made available. Where ‘the wall’ proves to be woefully inadequate on new content and surround sound mixes and WYWH rather adequate, TDSOTM shines with enough bonus content to keep you busy for some time. Ignoring the various trinkets (another bone of contention) for the time being, the box contains no fewer than six discs – three audio CDs, two DVDs and a Bluray (which admittedly copies the content of the DVDs, but in higher resolution) – and there is no doubt that the content here has been generously arranged. CD one contains the re-mastered album; CD two a live reproduction of the entire album from Wembley (1974) newly mixed and mastered; and CD three, which is exclusive to this mighty set, the original Alan Parsons mix of the album and six bonus tracks drawn from demos, live renditions and the aborted ‘household objects’ project. In terms of audio, then, it is a veritable treasure trove and while CDs one and two are available in the aforementioned ‘experience’ edition, it is the remarkable third disc that will prove impossible to resist for the long-term fan. Then of course there are the DVDs, with DVD one featuring stereo, rare quad and surround sound mixes – a truly immersive audio experience; and DVD two featuring two live tracks (only two – but they make up nearly twenty minutes of music), a 25 minute documentary (originally released in 2003 to coincide with the SACD release from which the surround sound version is also taken) and 60 minutes of screen films taken from the band’s live shows complete with surround and stereo soundtrack. The Bluray compiles both DVDs onto one disc and supports its existence with higher resolution audio (96KHz/24 Bit) than its DVD counterpart.
The content, then, is generously apportioned with none of the sense of scraping the barrel that comes with Immersion box set of ‘the wall’ (no surround, no unreleased live concerts – just a rehash of ‘is there anybody out there’, although the demos might be cool for an occasional listen) and for many fans the inclusion of the rarely seen screen films, not to mention the much coveted early mix of the album will make this an essential purchase regardless of price (at time of press the best deal is via Zavvi.co.uk who are offering it at 79.95). Certainly there is a reassuring feeling of quality and care, with the 2011 mix of the 1974 concert faring well and the original mixes and demos not sounding too shoddy either. Meanwhile the quad and surround sound options are a simple and unmitigated delight offering up depth and clarity previously only imagined with sound effects flying around the room (particularly on ‘money’) and far greater separation between instruments. Indeed it is the 5.1 mixes that will be the biggest draw for most people, particularly as SACD players are still neither cheap nor easy to come by (although they have been incorporated now into some home cinema set ups) and as far as ‘immersion’ goes, pumping up the volume and letting the album wash over you has to be one of the best uses of 5.1 sound yet heard. The quad mix, too, has its merits with some instrumentation benefitting particularly, but it does not have the punch of its newer cousin.
Being an ‘Immersion’ set, there are also trinkets to enjoy and, as with WYWH, I have to be honest and say I kind of like the extra bits. For sure it is far from essential – but listening to the music whilst looking at rare and unpublished photos via the Jill Furmanovsky book, or flicking through yet more of Storm Thorgerson’s impressive art is indeed a pleasure; whilst the marbles (nicely designed as opposed to WYWH’s clear motif) , the scarf, the print and the tickets, anti-cigarette cards and so on all make for amusing things to look at and, like a Magpie guarding its treasures, I will be jealously watching my set to make sure that everything stays in its place. Moreover, the box itself, with its spot-varnish cover and alternate artwork is satisfyingly chunky and if EMI messed up badly with the CD spindles – yes the CDS do escape – as long as everything works then I’m happy, although one would like to think that somewhere at this very moment the responsible designer and quality controller who let that one through are being flogged mercilessly.
Overall, as with the other Immersion sets, you will know whether you want this or not simply by how far you are prepared to go to get previously unreleased Pink Floyd goodies. This is not something for the casual fan, nor was it meant to be. The trinkets are ephemera for sure, but they are also fun and there’s no doubting at all the quality of the audio portion of the set. A worthwhile, if flawed purchase that sheds greater light on one of the most enigmatic albums ever made.
