Comments on: Pink Floyd – Creatures Of The Deep (Sigma 39)

By: DLee

DLee — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:30:50 +0000

Well, I was in fact slightly disappointed in Sigma’s new “Creatures”, but only slightly, as it’s still great to add to the Floyd collection, everything considered, and I certainly don’t have any complaints about anyone’s reviews here – except maybe my own. As for “Bovine Psychosis”, the only objectionable thing about it to me is it sounding somewhat tinny or shrill, but otherwise it sounds excellent, and the flaws/glitches seem to be much more subtle and/or less noticeable. It sounds much better to me than Gold Standard’s “Sing to Me Cymbaline”, which also had so much irritating distortion that I sure didn’t mind trading it away after obtaining Hypedup’s BP.

By: Plomerus

Plomerus — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:21:00 +0000

Hmm…the thing is I only have a CDR copy of “Bovine Psychosis” so I am not sure if I can really judge it properly – the transients resulting from copying and/or conversion to mp3 or other lossy formats make it impossible to truly suss out. What I can say is that I seem to recall it being more shrill (Sigma always tend to opt for a darker route than tiny when facing tape hiss or piercing high end), and the cuts/flaws were just as obvious. That being said, it could be that I’m thinking more of “Sing To Me Cymbaline” than “Bovine Psychosis” and I remember struggling through “A Saucerful Of Secrets” in that case due to the fidelity/distortions. Ultimately, this could come down to personal tastes as far as preferring one over the other. I do agree with you that it would’ve been nice if Sigma spliced in other sources to yield a more complete performance, but sonically that would be problematic (particularly if sourced from LP). I hope my review didn’t leave you feeling let down by Sigma 39 – I did my best to articulate the problems, just wasn’t comfortable endeavoring a direct comparison against “BP” because I don’t own an original copy. I’m still happy with Sigma 39, but of course if someday a more complete source surfaced, that would be preferable.

By: DLee

DLee — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:48:36 +0000

Anyone at all have any thoughts about Hypedup’s “Bovine Psychosis”, either negative or positive, and possibly how it compares to Sigma’s new “Creatures”? Plomerus, what don’t you like about BP? Thanks to anyone who could respond.

By: DLee

DLee — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:49:31 +0000

Mine, along with Sigma 38 (“Grote Zaal”), finally arrived a week ago (7 1/2 days ago), and after having had chances to listen to both of ‘em multiple times over the week, I certainly don’t regret cyber-ordering either, but I have to say that I’m actually slightly disappointed in “Creatures” (Sigma 39). Although the artwork is outstanding and it’s still an excellent release overall, what disappoints me most is the problem that occurs in ‘Careful w/ that Axe, Eugene’ from approx. 7:40 into it to approx. the 8:15 point, or slightly (a few seconds) beyond. Either Hypedup’s “Bovine Psychosis” doesn’t have such a problem in ‘Careful’ or it’s significantly more subtle & thus not as noticeable. And although “Bovine Psychosis” may sound slightly a bit too shrill much of the time, it doesn’t seem to have nearly as many flaws/glitches in terms of the unfortunate fluctuations, tape degradations, or dropouts. Disc 3 is a nice, useful addition for me mostly just because of the completeness of AHM, but I think I still prefer “Bovine Psychosis” overall. As is often the case, it’s probably mostly just a matter of personal preferences, but what I wish Sigma had actually done, if reasonably possible, is use essentially the same recording as that of “Bovine Psychosis” and implement their usual subtle-yet-effective remastering techniques on it for an upgraded improvement without the several flaws/gltiches, esp. the one in ‘Careful’, and also maybe perhaps even patch in the couple missing bits of AHM from the LP source (Disc 3) – even if the sonic characteristics are vastly different or considerably inferior, that would probably still tend to be my own personal preference. Anyone here not like Hypedup’s “Bovine Psychosis”? What don’t you like about BP, other than what I already mentioned about it?

By: Plomerus

Plomerus — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:09:18 +0000

Yeah, I kind of held my tongue regarding the Dead joke…basically, the truth is I never was a fan, and ironically, in my younger days I wasn’t really a Floyd fan either! I come from an underground metal background (along with a heavy dose of prog & of course the AOR that was on the radio at the time), and for the last 25 years have played nothing but metal personally (ala NWOBHM and Sabbath). The only Grateful Dead era that is even mildly of interest to me personally would be around the first 2 albums. But feel free to contribute a dozen reviews of your own on that front ;)

By: Careful Axeman Eugene

Careful Axeman Eugene — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:58:25 +0000

i was just sort of kidding around about the fact that there haven’t been any Grateful Dead reviews here, but i’m not complaining, as this is still a fantastic place with great contributors and members even if The Grateful Dead may not exactly be the most popular artist here.

By: gsparaco

gsparaco — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:00:20 +0000

“a dozen Grateful Dead reviews here before April ended”? What exactly do you mean?

By: Plomerus

Plomerus — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:17:46 +0000

:D Actually, if it sucked I’d certainly articulate that, but I knew the performance was amazing already – just needed someone to nurture the best possible sound from the available sources. I’d say Sigma succeeded.

By: Careful Axeman Eugene

Careful Axeman Eugene — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:40:19 +0000

i figured that the likelihood of Plomerus disliking this one was as likely as him or somebody like GSPARACO doing a dozen Grateful Dead reviews here before April ended!

By: Plomerus

Plomerus — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:37:03 +0000

Despite the usual recycling from past Sigma and Sirene releases, I really dig the treatment of the art on this one…particularly the back cover…it’s definitely era appropriate. Grote Zaal is a bit less striking, but again, I appreciate the steps forward in the graphic department lately – those recent Genesis titles on Virtuoso are AMAZING visually!

By: DLee

DLee — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:51:54 +0000

Many thanks for the comprehensively very thorough review – very much looking forward to the arrival of mine, as well as Sigma 38 (“Grote Zaal”). Would Plomerus, or possibly anyone else, care to share an opinion or judgment on the pieces of artwork? Thanks again if yes. I really like the front cover, at least.

By: LedMan

LedMan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:25:48 +0000

This is a very enjoyable release as far as performance and sound quality even for this “casual” Floyd collector who has really developed a appreciation for this great band and the many live sources that are available thanks to the many tapers who have shared their sources.

By: eric99

eric99 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:25:59 +0000

Glad I’m getting mine today!