Emerson Lake & Palmer

Great for gift

The product is in very good condition and I'm very happy listening to this master piece.

This Deluxe Edition re-master by Steve Wilson released in 2012 as a 3-disc set should not be confused with previous CD releases and re-masters. As described in the details, the 3-disc set contains a re-release of the original album as released in 1970. What first drew my attention to this release was the 5.1 DVD-Audio re-mix / re-master.Having now had the time to listen to all three discs, I'll not bore you with more accolades for the musicians, rather, I'm offering a critical review of the new previously un-released re-mixes by Steve Wilson in the traditional LPCM 44.1/16 format and in the DVD-Audio 5.1 MLP format.With respect to disc 1, I can't discern any improvement over the Polygram re-master which I already owned.Disc 2 is also a LPCM format CD with re-mastered tracks from the original album AND additional tracks containing alternate mixes from the original recording sessions. Be aware, however, that the first two movements from The Three Fates, Clotho (organ solo) and Lachesis (piano solo), are omitted from the re-master, leaving only the third movement Atropos. Also, Tank is omitted from the re-master. However, 2 previously unreleased (and, in my opinion, less interesting) tracks were inserted in the place of the omitted tracks AND 4 alternate mixes were added including alternate mixes of Take a Pebble, Knife Edge, and 2 alternate mixes of Lucky Man, for a total of 12 tracks on this disc. That said, you can certainly hear the difference in the re-master: way less distortion and much quieter background. Well worth it just to hear a much "cleaner" recording of the original album albeit sans the missing tracks. The addition of the previously unreleased material was a nice touch.Disc 3 is the most interesting (to me anyway) and the ultimate purpose of this set of recordings. Basically the same re-masters (and same track omissions) and additional previously unreleased mixes on Disc 2, but re-mixed into 5.1 surround using the MLP 48k/24bit multi-channel encoding method used for DVD-Audio recordings (a lossless method of 'packing' digital audio without using lossy compression). There is no question (in my mind anyway) that DVD-Audio is the ultimate format for multi-track audio recordings...at least re-issues of digitally re-mastered analog recordings.Bear in mind you will need a multi-format disc player that supports DVD-Audio discs in order to play the DVD-A tracks (not to be confused with DVD-Video) and a 5.1 channel audio system to fully enjoy this disc.

First of all, I do Not understand why "Bob" from Los Angeles feels the need to give this ELP offering a 1 star rating, just because ELP's catalog has been remastered numerous times. I don't care how many different labels remaster and distribute their music. What does that matter? Why does he think that fans must now "dutifully purchase these newly remastered editions?"If you own early 1990 first edition Atlantic releases, and you are satisfied with them, then that's the end of the story. No one is trying to force you to buy something, just entice you purchase their product. I have an old version of ELP's Live "Welcome Back My Friends..." on Atlantic records and it's fine. Sounds just like my original 3-LP set, just in a more convenient package.I also own The Atlantic Years, a two disc compilation of ELP tacks which came out in 1992. This past year I started researching ELP and noticed one of my favorite re-issue companies, Rhino Records, had released all of ELP's original albums. As I looked at all the track listings, I realized there was a lot of Emerson, Lake and Palmer music that I did not own and had not heard before. I thought about picking up these individual discs, but just never got around to it. Now, the Rhino Remasters are over 10 years old. Recording and Production Technology continues to evolve, so when I noticed these new Shout! Factory re-issues, and read some of the rave reviews about the quality, I decided now was the time.I purchased the debut Emerson Lake and Palmer album. First of all, it's a bargain price at only $11. I compared some of the tracks to my Atlantic Years cd. The Shout! version was definately more dynamic, with the loudest parts of the songs just peaking at -0- Db on the VU meters of my Denon Digital CD Recorder (the older Atlantic version only reached the -4 mark). Admittedly, the Shout! disc had slightly more analog tape hiss, but a much crisper high end. You would only notice the hiss in the absolute quietest passages in a quiet setting. Bass response was good, not "boomy", nice and flat over-all frequency response across the entire sound spectrum.I have already decided to purchase all the Shout! Factory versions. Even though it's not listed yet on Amazon's site, an advertisement included in my disc shows they are planning to offer Brain Salad Surgery and the Live Welcome Back My Friends, to the Show that Never Ends also.