The group in the control room (Photo Credit, Mark Kenyon - Editor)
The party of five were shown back into the control room of the farm, Nick introduced himself and his assistant Tom, who had gathered five chairs for the party and Nick made sure everyone was sat comfortably and he leaned over and clicked a button on the mouse to one of the computers and then Blood On The Rooftops began to play. Now bear in mind that these are the new remixes that many fans are gnashing there teeth waiting for and the lucky winners were in for a treat having a private preview.
Steve Hackett’s acoustic guitar has never sounded this good before, especially during the heavier parts of this song when the lyrics and also the percussion are at there loudest, adding to this was Tony’s synthesiser at its boldest, Steve’s acoustic work was still perfectly audible, plus this version of the song was not lacking bass like the Definitive Edition Remaster of 1994.
The look on the parties faces were of surprise, with a whole gamut of emotions when the final notes faded there was a pregnant pause and then Nick asked anybody did they have any questions which was followed by a stunned silence. Nick suggested to the party that they swap seating positions to gain a different perspective of the next track.
Behind the lines started it was like an artic wind blasting through the room, it was after all a very hot day. This gave a fresher feel to this classic each strike on a cymbal or the high hat can be heard with such alarming clarity you’d have thought Phil was in the drum booth at The Farm. Tony’s Yamaha CP70 piano can clearly be heard throughout the entire track, Along with Phil on hand percussion which sounded like a pair of Conga’s.
Photo Credit, Mark Kenyon - Editor
When this track ended Nick again looked around the room to see if there were any questions and he started the next track Dancing with the Moonlit Knight.
Dear lord, Peter’s voice on this was so clear that you thought he was in the vocal booth of the farm. Steve’s electrifying work setting the scene, Phil’s drumming and high hat work perfectly audible the grand finale part of the song “There’s a fat old lady outside the saloon “was loud, powerful and clear you could hear every note, and every beat. The bass on this alone was travelling through everyone’s feet.
Nick asks if anyone has any questions. (Photo Credit, Mark Kenyon - Editor)
With lots of beaming smiles, glazed eyes from memories and times past, Nick selected the final treat for the party.
Dreaming While You Sleep from the beat box/drum machine start you knew you were in for a life changing experience, All of the sound effects mysteriously hidden or occluded from our ears on the original release come to life on here, Phil’s vocal effects, Tony’s percussive effects on the keyboard setting the scene of a rainy night throughout the song, Mike’s searing guitar and bass work, the bass pedals on this are immense.
As the final notes faded away, the party were still in awe of what they had just experienced, Nick asked again if there were any questions, back came a few one of which everyone asked was WHEN will these be released.
Nick explained that he will have finished all of the studio albums by July; he will then need to make any adjustments via recalls which should take him through to October. Nick also said he would like these items to be released soon also, but Nick did not have any idea of when and how they would be available to the public.
Dale Newman and Steve Jones (Photo Credit, Mark Kenyon - Editor)
Nick and Tom had a busy day, and everyone said there goodbyes and thank you’s on the way out I said good bye to Dale Newman, when I spotted Steve “Pudding “Jones reminiscing with him, I shook his hand and introduced myself to him. Steve was Phil’s original drum technician (After Andy Mackrill) and he has risen the ranks to touring stage manager and now the role of production manager.