I agree with you on every aspect. I’ll always keep the disc (i bought the cds along with the blu-ray)but i cant envisage listening to the remix very often.
Prefer the original mix by far. It loses something, in my ears, to clearly hear the vocals
I liked it. It was a nice way of seeing what the producer envisioned for the album. It really sounded different in having Michael’s vocals more in the forefront. Had a more of a live record feel to it, which is what later wound up being New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
Crush with Eyeliner sounded a bit more like a glam rock song than it did on the album version.
King of Comedy sounded much more mechanical. The backing vocal was certainly interesting in certain parts. I can actually hear Michael’s ‘money money’ rambling.
I like the extended part of I Dont Sleep I Dream. I was so used to the sudden drop on the album version.
The different vocal take on Strange Currencies makes for more of a demo version but it sounds like it has more emotion to it.
Bang and Blame sounds a bit rough with the new mix but it brings out a bit more of what I could hear on the 2005 5.1 DTS mix.
Let Me In sounds more somber but a slightly more emotional take, similar to what they did with it live in 2008.
Overall, it almost felt like a brand new R.E.M. album of sorts. I wish they had done a similar thing with New Adventures in Hi-Fi , where they could have just put the soundcheck versions together in the album track listing order. That would have been fun.
I thought it was great. “Kenneth” is the only reworking that fell really flat for me. Crush with Eyeliner (love that new start!), King of Comedy, I Don’t Sleep, Bang and Blame, Let Me in, and You I play more than the originals now; though they are probably benefiting from novelty. “You” was really opened up for me by Scott’s interventions.
It was interesting to hear, particular the greater clarity in Michaels vocals. His voice lost a little range and sweetness, getting gravelly as he got older (don’t think thats controversial, its natural). I can personally hear the subtle change starting on New Adventures and always wondered if it had started with Monster, masked by the effects and distortion. The remix finally answered that and he definitely still has that full sweetness in his voice like on Automatic to my ears.
So yeah, i found that really interesting and glad it was done. That said, there’s not a single track that I prefer to the original. Very simply, Scott took out a lot of the elements that make Monster what it is so it’s not a version i revisit.
excluding the tremolo guitar from “WTFK”'s chorus was a serious mistake.
the doubled vocals on “Crush with eyeliner” and more emphasis on the arpeggio were really interesting in a sort of alternate universe. I wouldn’t trade the original for it, but I love hearing it. It’s a much richer sound.
Monster has always been one of my favorites, and “King of comedy” has always been my least favorite in the album. That being said, I think my favorite part of the whole album is the female “ooooh, yeaah” backing vocals. On the other hand, the ending on this remix is atrocious.
I like the extended “I don’t sleep I dream”.
the tape hiss all along is inexcusable.
the alternate vocal take on “Strange currencies” is… well, it’s a lot more emotional and it’s beautiful, but I think I got the original so ingrained that it’s difficult to accept the change. I like it a lot, tho.
I honestly prefer the new “You” and “Circus envy” over the originals. Also, the new “Let me in” with the guitar more to the background, but… where is the organ? Why that pesky misplaced tambourine?
My guess regarding the tape hiss and the occasional track bleed is that there was no budget to properly clean this up/master it. I also suspect that’s why the NAIHF reissue was so paltry.
Haven’t listened to it for a while, but I remember really liking Crush With Eyeliner. The absence of the tremolo on Kenneth and the organ on Let Me In is rubbish.
Overall, I like it. And I like having it. But the original mix is way better.
We have a while to wait and they may not be as interested by the time it comes around, but Around the Sun 25th Anniversary could be incredibly interesting with Monster setting a remix precedent. It’s the only album i could potentially see the band wanting to tinker with. I’ve always got the impression when they’ve spoken about it that it was the sound of the album that was less than perfect rather than the songs.
I can’t imagine the original album sales of anything after the first Warner contract will justify the budget of hiring someone to remix the latter albums. As much as they could benefit from it…
I’d def like to hear a different production, or even an absence of production lol, as i did quite enjoy the ATS cuts that i heard live on the accompanying tour (tho, i was only at two dates).
Have to agree on the audio quality, it seriously brought down the potential of this rivaling the original mix for me. I could speculate all day, but I just wish they made some official excuse as to why so many of the tapes they used sound like they weren’t being kept very well over 25 years.
On its own merits of creativity and “what-ifs” on Scott Litt’s part though, I found it interesting. I think flying in all those elements from alternate takes gave it an edge of historical appeal for me and with how much it’s stripped things down too, I personally prefer to see it as a behind-the-scenes/deconstruction of the album rather than a redo.
The original is still the primary version in my mind, but this new mix has clearly done its job of making the album much more accessible for plenty of fans, so I can’t really knock its reputation. Different strokes in the end.
I heart the remixes! The vocals seem to be more clearer and less buried in the mix and it feels a little more pop. But I also heart the original mix, too!
The most appealing part of “…Kenneth?” Was the ending, “I couldn’t understand” I call that one of those aurally pleasing bits in a song. I don’t know what it is about that small point, but…to me it’s practically a perfect pitch moment.
I enjoy the remixes but I don’t think they hold a candle to the original mixes. To me the remixes are less polished, like work in progress versions rather than final versions but that’s just me.
This has all probably already been expressed in so many words, but I listened to the much-maligned remix yesterday.
While not a complete throwaway, and probably a version I may even revisit within a few years (or less), it seems somewhat pointless to me. The remix strips the balls and swagger and “punkiness” from the original 1995 release and turns it into a “sanitized” version.
The tape hiss would not be down to limitations in the reissue budget. In a studio environment there are always tools to deal with this at any budget level. Rather, the issue is with the source material. Michael recorded Monster’s vocals through an SM58 on an unisolated sound stage, rather than in the traditional condenser mic/ iso booth way. There is major noise bleed on the lead vocal tracks. It was unnoticeable on the original mix due to the buried nature of the vocal mix, but the issue becomes obvious with the remix’s more forward vocal mix
I Don’t Sleep, I Dream - love the balance and overall remix, gives the song the density it always needed. And LOVE the extended outro.
You - another mid paced song that didn’t really fit Monster’s shrill trebly mix. The extra weight again make for a much better vibe for the song
Crush With Eyeliner - neck and neck with the original. I love the arpeggios.
The bad -
King of Comedy- this is the weirdest part of the whole project. I’m still convinced there was some kind of encoding error in the remix. It sounds out of phase and totally mono. I am actually one of the few defenders of the original’s sardonic disco vibe. This remix is literally an atrocity
Kenneth - taking out the tremolo and the final emotional refrains of “I couldn’t understand!” completely strip away the song’s character and emotional essence. Bizarre decision
Everything else - enjoyable as an alternative reality thing, but Monster’s character is stripped away in the reimagined version. The buzzsaw, trebly obnoxious sound was a big part of the album’s personality. The remix sounds fuller and more balanced, sure, but also more bland and lumpen.
Overall I enjoy hearing albums remixed as it really fascinates me to hear a set of songs recontextualised to a modern mix - The Beatles and the Replacements to name a couple have been all over this idea the last few years, and I enjoy the results usually. Monster is no exception, but without it’s cultural time stamps it is robbed of much of it’s magic