Vienna 40th Anniversary

A very good pressing (like all the other half-speed masters I've listened to). If you like Ultravox, and value the importance of good vinyl, then you won't regret buying this.

I’m no die-hard fan of Ultravox but I do like collector’s sets that put albums into their context and offer a 5.1 remix. So, I’m probably more objective than many commenting here. The set comes in a robust album sized box and contains two attractive gatefold albums: one has the six discs contained within the inner gatefold and the other has the content where traditionally the vinyl discs would be. The first is fine but the second really hasn’t much. There is an envelope with some images which I thought was a ‘so what?’ inclusion. The other has a large booklet mainly focusing on the lyrics. There is a short introduction by Midge Ure but that’s it. I would have preferred far more content about the band and the album.The music content is extensive. There are five CDs: two with the album – original mix and new one; 2 of assorted recordings and one with a live recording. This coverage is really impressive. The DVD contains a new 5.1 mix in DTS 94/24 by the guru of surround sound, Steven Wilson. It would have been better to have included a blu ray to offer full HD sound or a DVD Audio track on this DVD for audiophiles. I find listening to Steven Wilson’s remixes quite frustrating as he has such a good understanding of multi-channel and mixes albums so fantastically, that I get annoyed that others so often screw up surround mixes with ‘restrained’ front centred mixes. (Imagine what Steven Wilson would have done with disappointing 5.1 remixes such as “Sgt Pepper” or the utterly useless 5.1 remix of “Imagine”.) It’s a joy to hear how he as opened up the sound and allows us to experience it in a new thrilling way with constantly enveloping sound rather than the very sparse use of surrounds favoured by inferior engineers. Of the album itself, I don’t think this is any masterpiece. There some very good tracks on it, but it’s rather inconsistent and some of it is rather dull I find. I’m sure fans will disagree.Overall, this is a really good package and costs half the price of the recent Stones release of “Goats Head Soup” (with a grossly inferior 5.1 remix) even though it won’t sell in nearly such quantities. So, it’s great to see customers not being ripped off in addition to a key album being given this treatment. Although I would definitely not score the album itself five stars, I think that the overall package and its pricing deserve a top five stars.

I bought this mainly for the 5.1 mix, and yes it's a disappointment the full 24/96 5.1 mix isn't on the DVD, but I presume this was (a) because this would have required a bit/data rate that DVD just cannot handle (i.e. it would buffer or pause as it tried to keep up), and (b) the Powers That Be who conceived this release decided that a Blu-ray (which COULD happily keep up) was not cost effective. Fair enough; maybe they thought that only hi-fi freaks (audiophiles) would notice the difference between the DTS 5.1 mix and a full uncompressed 5.1 mix...Anyway, the surround mix is rather good and, at times, even understated. OK so Ultravox's music is pretty dense and wide-sounding at the same time anyway, but opening up the sound to envelope the whole room works (most of the time; the occasional backing vocals a tad too loud in the rears aside) and it is well worth hearing.A word or three on the presentation of this box set. In a word; unexpected. I expected a CD-sized package with the discs in their cardboard sleeves and a little CD booklet. What I got (and yes, I had seen the images at the top of this page, but obviously they hadn't sunk into my limited collection of elderly brain cells) was an LP-sized box (CD in photos to prove size - and yes, it IS a 5" CD!) with what looked like two double-LP sleeves in it; one containing the discs in their carboard sleeves, and the other with some photos in a thin card envelope in one half, and (a highlight) an excellent 12" book with track notes, more photos and lyrics for all tracks, along with full credits.I will investigate the Steven Wilson mixes, along with the live stuff and rarities (a lot of which, slightly naughty this, came with the 2008 CD release of Vienna (which I have), in the fullness of time, but my final words concern the price - although a good quality package it's simply about £10-15 too expensive. I could only justify buying this because I got a very generous birthday voucher, otherwise I would have had to pass. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I bought it, but the price should be lower so more can enjoy this Classic Album/slice of nostalgia, therby justifying the (very probably not-inconsiderable) costs of making this project, resulting in a smaller return/profit per unit but more units sold, therefore (maybe) resulting in bigger profits (over time) and more happy punters. I'm not an account or economist, but that's how it seems to me, a simple layman.