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Steven Wilson band - The raven that refused to sing (and other stories)

13K views 171 replies 36 participants last post by  marcuslaw 
#1 ·
The prolific Mr. Wilson has a new album in the making with his solo work band. Does he ever sleep? The first track is twelve minutes long and there are others nearly as long. Hope that it continues in the KC-influenced vein that was the brilliant GAYD. Interesting that he got Alan Parsons to engineer this. Is he trying to incorporate DSOTM effects into it? He is the most interesting rock musician around today!


"The new album by Steven Wilson and band “The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other stories)” will be released on Kscope on 25th February.  The album was written between January-July and recorded in Los Angeles in September with Steven’s current band line up of Guthrie Govan – lead guitar, Nick Beggs – bass guitar, Marco Minnemann – drums, Adam Holzman – keyboards, Theo Travis – saxophone / flute and engineered by legendary producer/engineer Alan Parsons.


The 6 tracks on the album are based on stories of the supernatural and the deluxe 4 disc edition comes in the form of a 128 page hardback book containing lyrics and ghost stories, illustrated by Hajo Mueller. There will also be stand alone double vinyl, CD and Blu-Ray editions.  Pre-orders for the limited deluxe edition will start soon, while the tour to promote the album starts on 1st March in Europe, and will continue throughout the rest of the year visiting many other countries, with many dates yet to be announced.


Track listing:

1.  Luminol (12.10)

2.  Drive Home (7.37)

3.  The Holy Drinker (10.13)

4.  The Pin Drop (5.03)

5.  The Watchmaker (11.43)

6.  The Raven that Refused to Sing (7.57)"
 
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#52 ·
I have listened to the BD a few times and it does leave me wanting. Drive Home and The Watchmaker are brilliant, and the overall SQ is superb as always, but some of the other tracks seemed overwrought and derivative - playing for the sake of showboating, the sort that eventually gave prog a bad name. I didn't hear as much Crimson as I did Return To Forever. My views may evolve with further listening, but at the moment I prefer Grace For Drowning and the "balanced" (contribution-wise) original music that was Porcupine Tree from Lightbulb Sun through Fear of a Blank Planet.
 
#53 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23111021


I'm going to give it a few more spins to see if it grows on me.

Bill-


Have you had a chance to give this another audition? I'm curious to hear whether or not it's grown on you a bit. I've given it a few critical listens and still feel the SQ and mix are outstanding throughout, although I'm not necessarily blown away by every track.
 
#54 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by holt7153  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23134969


Bill-


Have you had a chance to give this another audition? I'm curious to hear whether or not it's grown on you a bit. I've given it a few critical listens and still feel the SQ and mix are outstanding throughout, although I'm not necessarily blown away by every track.

Hey Steve,


No I haven't but I'll be giving The Raven another spin tomorrow. If I recall there is a 5.1 LPCM audio option which I'll try if available. I have listened to DTS-MA only so far. I'll post my thoughts once I listen to it straight thru.


Bill
 
#55 ·
I just finished playing The Raven BR and I have to say it is definitely growing on me
. I listened to the 96/24 LPCM track and it sounded excellent. It seemed to be better than the DTS-MA track but I'm sure that is all in my head
.


Bill
 
#56 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23135814


I just finished playing The Raven BR and I have to say it is definitely growing on me
. I listened to the 96/24 LPCM track and it sounded excellent. It seemed to be better than the DTS-MA track but I'm sure that is all in my head
.


Bill

No, it is probably not only in your head. Several people prefer the LPCM to the DTS-MA track. Actually, the Sound and Vision Mag review recommends to listen to the LPCM track.
 
#58 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by warp2600  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/50_50#post_23137224

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23135814


I just finished playing The Raven BR and I have to say it is definitely growing on me
. I listened to the 96/24 LPCM track and it sounded excellent. It seemed to be better than the DTS-MA track but I'm sure that is all in my head
.


Bill

No, it is probably not only in your head. Several people prefer the LPCM to the DTS-MA track. Actually, the Sound and Vision Mag review recommends to listen to the LPCM track.
The S&V review doesn't actually compare them, just says the LPCM is great and "the way to go". If the dts-MA track comes from the same master, it's not possible for it to be different since dts-MA produces an output that is exactly the same, bit-for-bit, as the input.
 
#59 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BIslander  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23137330


The S&V review doesn't actually compare them, just says the LPCM is great and "the way to go". If the dts-MA track comes from the same master, it's not possible for it to be different since dts-MA produces an output that is exactly the same, bit-for-bit, as the input.

Could there be a difference due to where the audio is processed? I could be totally wrong but isn't the LPCM mix processed at the source (Oppo 103 for me)? I also thought the DTS-MA mix is processed at the processor (4311 for me). So if my thoughts are correct could there be a SQ difference due to one component doing a better job processing the signal? Or maybe I'm totally wrong and it doesn't matter where the processing is done.


Bill
 
#60 ·
That could be true when using MCH analog from the player. But, not with digital. When the player decodes, it sends the resulting PCM to the receiver for processing. So, with digital, the processing happens in the receiver regardless of where the decoding is done.
 
#61 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by warp2600  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23137224


No, it is probably not only in your head. Several people prefer the LPCM to the DTS-MA track. Actually, the Sound and Vision Mag review recommends to listen to the LPCM track.
I've read that too,and was scratching my head. S&V supposed to be a technical magazine,then it writes something foolish. Both tracks exactly the same as they are both Lpcm.Yes if You prefer one over the other it's in your head indeed.
 
#62 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23137900


Could there be a difference due to where the audio is processed? I could be totally wrong but isn't the LPCM mix processed at the source (Oppo 103 for me)? I also thought the DTS-MA mix is processed at the processor (4311 for me). So if my thoughts are correct could there be a SQ difference due to one component doing a better job processing the signal? Or maybe I'm totally wrong and it doesn't matter where the processing is done.


Bill
It's not really a processing like say decoding the lossy DTS tracks then converting it to PCM, in this case the DTS HD MA is nothing more but zip file cover,no matter where the decompression takes place the result will be the same since all it is just to reveal the content which is the original lpcm track. There is no DTS HD MA mix,the same goes to Dolby true HD and MLP as well.
 
#63 ·
The below is a post from a thread over at Bluray.com from BIslander. It is an excellent explanation of LPCM and lossless codecs for those that are as technically challenged as myself
. Sometimes I need an explanation like this for me to wrap my head around it
. Thanks to BIslander and thehun for your input as I found it very helpful. So as I thought the SQ differences I was "hearing" were all in my head.

PCM is the original soundtrack. PCM is the digital format used throughout the entertainment industry. That's how movie soundtracks are recorded. CDs, too. Receivers, pre-pros, disc players, DACs, and nearly all of the audio equipment we use is designed to process PCM and convert into analog signals that drive speakers.


So, why do we have codecs such as DD 5.1, DTS, TrueHD, and dts-MA? Just one reason - to save space. PCM takes up a lot of space, so much space that a 5.1 PCM soundtrack cannot fit on a film or DVD. Dolby and DTS developed data compression codecs that work pretty much like zip files in order to squeeze large PCM tracks into smaller packages. You can't "play" a DD 5.1 or dts-MA track anymore than you can read a document that has been zipped up. You have to decode the track first, turning it back into PCM, so that your audio system can process it to produce sound.


TrueHD and dts-MA are lossless codecs, meaning the decoded output is identical to the input. You feed the original PCM track into the encoder, which compresses it to save space. Your playback system decodes (decompresses) it back into PCM, restoring everything that was taken out so that it is bit for bit identical to the original.


Bottom line: there is no quality difference between the 5.1 PCM track and the losslessly compressed dts-MA version. It's rare to find discs that offer both these days since nearly all players and AVRs can decode the lossless tracks.


http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=209091


Bill
 
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#64 ·
Is there a way of ripping the 96/24 5.1 LPCM track from the BRD and then burning it on a DVD-A? I have read something about DVD Extractor or something like that but I am not sure about the burning part. I use software called Burn on my mac mini to burn my HDtrack stereo flac files onto dvd-r in dvd-a format but I have never burned surround sound files. Do they fit on a dvd-r without compression or is it necessary to encode into MLP first?
 
#65 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by warp2600  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/60#post_23141301


Is there a way of ripping the 96/24 5.1 LPCM track from the BRD and then burning it on a DVD-A? I have read something about DVD Extractor or something like that but I am not sure about the burning part. I use software called Burn on my mac mini to burn my HDtrack stereo flac files onto dvd-r in dvd-a format but I have never burned surround sound files. Do they fit on a dvd-r without compression or is it necessary to encode into MLP first?

Ripping the LPCM tracks from the BD should be easier than the DTS-HD MA tracks. DVD Audio Extractor should be able to handle the task although I haven't specifically used it to rip LPCM from a BD. Where DVD Audio Extractor falls short is ripping DTS-HD MA encoded tracks because it only extracts the DTS core. For DTS-HD MA, eac3to is a better option to preserve the full DTS-HD.


Assuming DVD Audio Extractor rips the LPCM tracks (which i believe it will), you could then burn them to a DVD-R disc. I use ImgBurn for most disc burning, however, you will almost certainly not be able to fit them onto a DVD disc without compression. Authoring the files to DVD-A with MLP would be an option. You would need special DVD-A authoring software such as Cirlinca or DiscWelder to perform this task.


There isn't any easy way to just burn the MCH files to a DVD disc without compression or special software that I'm aware of, unless you spread the files over multiple discs. Alternatively, you can play the LPCM files with a software player or a universal player like an Oppo, and you wouldn't need to burn the files to a disc at all.
 
#66 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/50_50#post_23139699


So as I thought the SQ differences I was "hearing" were all in my head.
Glad that old post at blu-ray.com helped.


There are a couple of reasons why two tracks might sound different, though. First, if they came from different masters. Not likely for a new release, but still possible. Second, your AVR processes the two types differently because you set up different listening modes for PCM and DTS-HD.
 
#67 ·
This is a question about the packaging. A label was attached to my Blu-ray Edition which reads: "Featuring 5.1 mixes, 24-bit stereo, studio documentary, galleries & 40 page booklet."


The booklet inside was 8 pages long with lyrics and recording credits. Is there supposed to be another booklet? Did I get the wrong booklet? Did the label make a mistake with the number of pages in the booklet?


Thanks.
 
#71 ·
I'm currently listening to The Raven BR again and it really is growing on me
. The 5.1 SQ is excellent and the music is as well.


Bill
 
#73 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/60#post_23235747


I'm currently listening to The Raven BR again and it really is growing on me
. The 5.1 SQ is excellent and the music is as well.


Bill
Quote:
Originally Posted by bfreedma  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/60#post_23237069


Slightly OT, but Steven Wilson is touring North America now. I caught the Philadelphia show and was very impressed - well worth attending if the band is playing near you.


I've yet to get this disc and had previously considered trying to do a roadtrip to catch SW band live on this tour. Will not be able to make a live show, but really need to go ahead and order this release. Thanks guys for posting the positive impressions, listening to PT's "Lightbulb Sun" as I type this...
 
#74 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/60#post_23235747


I'm currently listening to The Raven BR again and it really is growing on me
. The 5.1 SQ is excellent and the music is as well.


Bill

+1 Yes, have played several times and agree!

Quote:
Originally Posted by bfreedma  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/60#post_23237069


Slightly OT, but Steven Wilson is touring North America now. I caught the Philadelphia show and was very impressed - well worth attending if the band is playing near you.

Going May 4 at the Fillmore!


PS oops, thats the Stone Foxes on the 4th, Wilson's on the 9th!
 
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