Sound Chaser: Steven Wilson Revisits Yes, Jethro Tull In Stereo and Surround

When it comes to new surround-sound mixes, one name has become closely associated with the format: Steven Wilson. Keeper of the progressive-rock flame and frontman for Porcupine Tree, Wilson has in recent years created definitive 5.1 remixes for artists like King Crimson, Yes, XTC, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, and Jethro Tull. It was recently announced that Wilson would be extending his talents to an upcoming reissue from (non-prog!) rock band Tears for Fears, and we can also confirm that he is continuing his work with the catalogues of Yes and Jethro Tull. On November 4, Wilson’s new surround and stereo remixes will be featured on CD/DVD-A and CD/BD editions of Yes’ 1974 album Relayer, and on November 17, he will revisit another 1974 prog classic, Jethro Tull’s WarChild.

The upcoming Relayer arrives on the heels of other recent Yes reissues of The Yes Album and Close to the Edge. Relayer was the seventh studio album from Yes, and the band’s only studio album featuring keyboardist Patrick Moraz; he joined in August ’74 following Rick Wakeman’s departure to pursue a solo career. With just three lengthy tracks, Yes upped the free-form jazz quotient on Relayer without sacrificing the band’s accessibility. Relayer proved to be a Top 5 success on both sides of the Atlantic, earning a Gold certification in the United States. The Panegyric reissues, available in CD/DVD-A and CD/BD iterations, will both feature Wilson’s new stereo and surround mixes as well as a host of bonus material. As in the past, the Blu-ray editions will feature additional music not present on the DVD-A.

Contents are as follows:

The region-free NTSC DVD-Audio disc includes:

• The original album mixed in high resolution 5.1 surround from original multi-track sources.
• New album mix and original album mix (flat transfer) in high resolution stereo
• Alternate album presentation comprising demos and studio run-throughs

The region-free Blu-ray Audio disc includes:

• 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround (24bit/96khz) mixed from the original multi-channel recordings.
• New stereo album mix in DTS-HD Master Audio (24bit/96khz).
• Original album mix in a DTS-HD Master Audio flat transfers from the original master tape source (24bit/192khz)
• Needledrop of an original UK vinyl A1/B1 pressing transferred in 24bit/96khz audio.
• Exclusive instrumental versions of all new mixes in DTS-HD Master Audio stereo (24bit/96khz).
• More audio extras in high-resolution stereo, including demos and studio run-throughs of album tracks making for an alternative version of Relayer.
• Additional BD-exclusive demo/studio run-throughs, full album instrumental mixes, a full album needledrop of an original UK A1/B1 vinyl pressing, singles edits, live tracks and needledrops of the banded tracks from the original US vinyl promo album.

As on The Yes Album and Close to the Edge, the CD (included in both versions) features Wilson’s new stereo mix. It also adds two single edits. In all packages, Sid Smith provides new liner notes and original artwork elements are also preserved.

After the jump: details on Wilson’s deluxe WarChild plus track listings and pre-order links for both titles!

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Here’s Your “Vehicle,” Baby! Real Gone Expands Ides of March Debut

Never judge a book by its cover…or an album, for that matter.

In his illuminating new memoir Through the Eye of the Tiger, Jim Peterik writes of the moment he first bore witness to the cover artwork of his debut album with his band The Ides of March, 1970’s Vehicle: “When we saw it there was an audible gasp and then an ‘Oh shit! This stinks!’ We wondered out loud what some perverted ‘genius’ was thinking when on the cover of our life’s work he put an image of a naked baby doll abandoned carelessly in a field with an ominous black sedan lurking in the background…We were apoplectic.” Indeed, the offbeat cover– which Peterik recalls kept the album off the shelves at the retail chain Korvette’s due to its “tasteless” imagery – hardly calls to mind a hot, young Chicago band with a set of brassy, muscular pop-rock originals inspired by Blood, Sweat and Tears. Real Gone Music has restored to print the band’s first Warner Bros. album on a new, expanded reissue with four bonus tracks.

Jim Peterik (lead vocals/lead guitar), Larry Millas (keyboards/guitar/bass/vocals), Mike Borch (drums/percussion/vocals) and Bob Bergland (bass/saxophone/vocals) had, since 1965, been steadily working on their craft, first as The Shondels and then as The Ides of March. Recording for the Parrot label and playing venues from sock hops to clubs, the band developed its own sound from roots in Hollies and Kinks-inspired white R&B. Peterik was finding his own voice as a songwriter, too, honed from years of performing covers of songs by James Brown, The Beatles, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Traffic and the Buffalo Springfield. Joined by Ray Herr (guitar/bass/vocals), John Larson (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Chuck Soumar (trumpet/vocals), the band entered Chicago’s Columbia Studios to record an album of both originals and time-tested covers that had worked well onstage and fit into the “heavier” sound the band was cultivating.

The title track of Vehicle, of course, was destined to be the band’s calling card. With its indelible blast of brass offering up a killer riff, it was also the first major hit song for Peterik (No. 2 in the U.S.) who would go on to pen further anthems like “Eye of the Tiger” (No. 1, 1982) and “The Search is Over” (No. 4, 1985) for his later band Survivor. With crack support from Millas’ organ, Borch’s drums, and the three horns, Peterik channeled BS&T’s David Clayton-Thomas on the title track, tearing into its over-the-top, sexually-charged lyrics. He candidly admits in Richie Unterberger’s excellent liner notes that the Canadian soul man was his vocal “idol,” and appropriately enough, it was an American Idol that helped push “Vehicle” back into the spotlight in 2005. Though “Vehicle” had been covered previously by everybody from Shirley Bassey to Chet Baker, Bo Bice’s performance of the song catapulted it back into the popular culture and onto classic rock radio, where it remains today. “Vehicle” was one of four songs recorded by the Ides of March on the demo that was sent to Warner Bros.; the searing, similarly brass-infused “The Sky is Falling” from the same tape also made the cut for the album. (A third of the demo tracks, “Lead Me Home Gently” was released as a single and is also included here by Real Gone.)

But Vehicle, the album, isn’t a one-trick vehicle. The wealth of experience Peterik and the Ides had gained playing everybody else’s hits allowed them to create a group of diverse songs drawing on varied influences. While “Bald Medusa” traded in the same double entendre and horn-fuelled sound as “Vehicle,” “Factory Band” was an homage to Creedence Clearwater Revival. The Ides captured that band’s signature chooglin’ rhythm and Peterik traded his David Clayton-Thomas belt for a John Fogerty yelp without resorting to imitation.  The beautifully-arranged ballad “Home” has an early Neil Diamond feel crossed with The Righteous Brothers’ Goffin/King hit “I Can’t Make It Alone,” with sympathetic strings giving added lift to the yearning track. (The Ides of March once opened for Neil Diamond. In his book, Peterik recalls the solitary man advising him succinctly if sharply: “Next time, boys, only play your best material.” The Ides took the message to heart.) “One Woman Man” was released prior to Vehicle, the album, and was the Ides of March’s first single. It remains a mystery why the band didn’t catch fire with such a strong selection. Melding the rich harmonies of The Association with the Ides’ developing horn sound (and another memorable trumpet riff), it’s one of the strongest tracks on Vehicle.

Hit the jump for more!