Emerson, Lake & Palmer Album: “Brain Salad Surgery [Deluxe Edition]”

I'm not going to talk about whether I like ELP or their music or this album other than I really liked this LP as a kid and was happy to bump into a "Re-Mastered" CD version of it.

However, I have to say that the sound is about the worst re-mastered CD I've heard to date. Most noticable on my system is that the precussion parts have been severely obliterated - the cymbals are mostly missing and when noticable sound unreal - not at all like the LP - and most of the rest of the drum kit is noticably muted. Levels are inconsistent within single tracks and from track to track. Karn-evil 9 part 1 seems to have grossly filtered, muted, and muffled. The other reviewer's comment about low pass filtering seems accurate. This CD seems to have lost much of the realism and clarity of the LP.

What a disappointment.

Brain Salad Surgery, ELP's 1973 crowning achievement. There is a lot to like about this record. The music of course, which was highly innovative for that era. The interesting and thought provoking cover art. Even the title of the album was innovative. In the short span of four years and five albums, Emerson Lake and Palmer truly pushed the envelope of early progressive classical/rock fusion to another level. In fact they took it right to the top of mainstream music on both sides of the Atlantic.

As much as I've enjoyed the other Shout! Factory re-issues, I have to agree with some of the other reviewers and say this time, they fumbled the ball. The games not a total loss, there are some high-lights. I commend the fact that Shout tried to recreate the original style opening cover art. But why on earth did they crop the artwork so bad? (see my thumbnail photo). That is the actual view on the front cover. P. Jackson's photo gives a good example of how it is designed to open, but does not show the mis-alignment of the outer cover with the inner photo. The inner circle is supposed to lay exactly over the photo beneath it. Notice how high up the skull's eye sockets are? They don't match the woman's face underneath. Also, see the letters ELP at the bottom. They are virtually cut in half! This is how badly the cover is cropped. I have an original album, and this is not how it's supposed to be. The inclusion of a replica of the original poster is nice. But, again, the cover art is cropped and it's not printed on all sides as was the original poster. The booklet is great. Interesting liner notes and good photos of the band on stage from that era.

Now let's get to the most important part: the Sound of the Music. As Noel Pratt points out, there are some problems with the mastering. At approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds into Jerusalem the volume level jumps up dramatically. About 10 decibels in just a few seconds. It's as if someone in the control room noticed how low the level was and tried too quickly to run it up to the correct level. If it was done slowly over the course of 30 seconds or so things would have been much better. I think this is just a bad case of the producer trying to make this re-issue more dynamic than previous renditions. My suggestion would be to skip track one and record the alternate mix of Jerusalem provided here as a bonus track (#9). And as far as the complaints about "muffled" sound. I agree...somewhat. In a close comparison of this re-issue with the former Rhino issue from `96, there is major difference. The Shout issue has a more prominent bottom-end. The problem is it's not isolated to the bass or kick drum, it's an over-all increase in the entire low-end spectrum, even effecting the vocals. The impression is the vocals getting slightly "buried" in the murkiness and sounding a little more distant. The Rhino issue has a much cleaner and crisper sound. Note that this comparison took place on a pair of high-quality head-phones that allow every little nuance to be heard. If one is comparing sound on various speaker systems it can be a very different and subjective comparison to the human ear. For instance, If you played this Shout re-issue in a car with a stock stereo system, you may want the extended bottom-end compensating for the lack of, due to poor quality speakers.

Now I'm glad I picked up a copy of Rhinos `96 re-issue of Brain Salad Surgery at a used record store (it's currently out of print). I liked the 3-D cover that changes as you tilt it from the Skull shot to the Female face. I actually bought it because I thought it would be a collector's item. Now I think I prefer the sound on it to any thing else that's been put out so far.

Maybe, just maybe, some record company will finally create the Definitive Remastered Expanded Deluxe version with all the possible bonus tracks available, and get all the newest most creative packaging avialable to bring it all together for the Grang Finale of this most deserving Masterpiece. Until then...

Be warned! While this import sounds amazing, it's not the same mix as the album we all know and love. "Jerusalem" and "Benny The Bouncer" feature completely different vocals from Greg Lake.

Whilst I agree with our friend in Las Vegas, that the classification of this item as a DVD is somewhat confusing, I think the problem is confusion of what DVD-Audio really is!

There is video, but ironically, it is not accessilbe from a DVD-Video Player, rather you require a DVD-Audio player.

The irony is that the DVD-V player can access the Audio tracks, but not the Video, as the Video track is not in the conventional DVD-V format. A DVD-Audio player is required to see the Video!

I do not have a DVD-A player, but enjoyed the 5.1 mix of this classic album to the full!

My dog, who was in the room at the time, did not enjoy it quite as much! The precise and realistic placement of moog whistles flying around my sound room was too much for him and he kept turning to locate the source of the sounds! He far prefers plain stereo!

The bass on "Still.... You Turn Me On" has always been impressive (I have 2 CD versions [original and remaster]) but with the DD5.1 mix, it is more controlled and actually less overpowering.

I hope to add an Active Sub soon, but in the interim, directing bass at my LF, RF, LS and RS [all B&W 602 series 2] seems to be more than sufficient to create a real rumble.

Karn Evil 9 is just brilliant!

For comparison with a more traditional interpretation of Toccata (and Fugue in D Minor), get the Fantasia DVD:

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but Keith Emerson's work is still superb.

Yes, I'd like to see the video too, but plan to wait and see if DVD-A as a format actually takes off before comitting to more equipment!

After hearing this in album and cd form over 1,000 times I really did not expect any suprises. Boy was I wrong.20 seconds into the first song the hair on the back of my neck was standing up.Every instrument is much more defined,cleaner sounding and realistic. My only complaint on the remix is Carl Palmers aggressive timpini solo on Toccata the volume is to low.Other than that it`s perfect. Well thought out with great effects but not over done. It sounds like they re-recorded Greg Lakes voice for the first 45 seconds or so of Jerusalem.Why? I have no idea but it sounds great. I listened to this with a standard DVD player in 5.1 surrond sound. What it sounds like on the new DVD audio players I have no idea.Also I could not play the video part of the disk with my standard DVD player.Still this disk is worth twice the money you pay for it. If you allready own it on cd buy again in this format. I promiss you will not be dissapointed.