Quit Dreaming - your Xmas present sorted

So I've had my Quit Dreaming box set for a week now, and after listening to it obsessively, daily, I wanted to share my thoughts.

For me, as for many others I suspect, the big pull here is the new remix of the original album, and the accompanying 5.1 surround version. This remix does NOT disappoint. It's everything I had hoped for and more. The instrument separation jumps at you, while Bill's playful, ironic, and heartfelt vocals shine through from beginning to ending. Everything is crisp and glossed up to shine, while the new subtle crossfading makes the entire album, varied as it is, feel like a complete, wrapped-up statement of purpose. I still don't care for "White Sound" in its odd position between side 1 and 2 of the original album--is it the last song on the first side or the new opening track on side 2?--but I'm grateful to have a new remix of that track, for reasons I'll spell out below. But the real surprise is the addition of "The World and His Wife" and "Dancing Music," which formerly had been given away as part of an "Acquitted By Mirror" EP but which now reveal themselves as obvious parts of these sessions, as the title of CD 3 indicates. I've always loved both tracks, the former in particular as it was slotted in place of "Do You Dream of Colour" on the old Enigma CD here in the US. (No worries: "Colour" and "A Kind of Loving" appeared on Vistamix here, so we Yanks didn't miss out on those two key tracks.). So couldn't be happier to have these new souped up versions of these songs.

As for the 5.1 mix, I'll just reemphasize everything I said above but 5.1 times more emphatically. The mix is furious, manic, swirling and immersive. That repeated steam sound throughout "False Alarms" now surges from the rear speakers with the band instruments pounding away in the fronts: a thrilling effect. And the Asian sounding rhythm track on "Life Runs Out Like Sand" is now broken up into its half dozen or so elements, which are placed aurally all around the listener. "A Kind of Loving" is even more energetic than ever, if that's possible. Amazing to realize that this is Bill on the drums.

As for Disc 2, the radio sessions at the end are deeply welcomed, Several of the tracks are brand new to most of us, while the session performances of more familiar tracks provide new insight into their instrumentation. I'm almost ready to say I prefer this version of "Rooms with Brittle Views" to the one we all know and love.

As for the generous helping of B-sides, they are all included in their original order, based on the single releases, and they sound just fine. But I confess I would have appreciated a remix of these tracks as well, such as we got on the Be Bop Deluxe, and in particular the Drastic Plastic, box sets, which included remixed versions of all the "Rest of" b-sides and session tracks. These tracks have not been remastered, as far as I can tell. There's no mention of remastering in the booklet. And they sound identical to the versions that appeared on the 2005 Quit Dreaming CD. That being said, I'm grateful to have the original mixes of "Ideal Homes" and "Instantly Yours," particularly in light of the stunning earlier versions of these tracks we got on the Red Noise box set remix.

As for the best version of these important tracks, I would recommend the US Enigma 2CD edition of The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything if you can find it. I know the recent download of this essential album is the UK 1 disc edition, which I've never heard, but I imagine that version contains the original UK mastering. That's what I believe we're getting on Disc 2 of the box set. I played these tracks alongside my Cocteau LP of Two-Fold and they matched up exactly. Comparatively, the mastering on that US Enigma Two-Fold CD is bright, detailed, and crisp. It remains my go-to way to experience this material, not just owing to the superior mastering but also because that track listing has been burned in my brain! But more than happy to have the new versions as well, in their original vinyl running order and mastering.

If anyone out there has both the US and the UK digital editions of The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything, I'd be interested to know if they also diverge in terms of mastering.

What’s on the Blu?

With the usual shipping from the UK to my little corner of North America, I project Christmas in July. Instead of lawnmowers, I hear sleigh bells.

Looks like they read the comments on here then.....

Cherry Reds response:

Thank you for your email and we understand your frustration. We sincerely apologise for this long delay. It is due to an issue in the manufacturing process, but we have been told stock will arrive in late April, ready for the May release date, therefore we are almost certain the 16th May will be the last date it is rescheduled.

We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Kind Regards

Cherry Red Records

Disappointing,

I have quit Dreaming !🎸🎶💿

Disappointing,

I have quit Dreaming !🎸🎶💿

Still waiting. Checked Cherry Red website and now seems 16 May is release date. Must be at least 3 delays now!

My wife ordered me this as my main Christmas present. Now it's going to be too late for being a birthday present. What is going on?

As my Cosmic Sonoluxe Sojourn has reached All The Fun Of the Fair I have concluded once the Sojourn ends perhaps it’ll be time to Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam anew.

I shall buy it most definitely,when it is released. I'd just prefer the money in my account than theirs. At least I'll get some farthings interest on it there. Until this lot ban that too.

I'm happy to wait indefinitely for this. We all have all the previous audio iterations available to us. We're mostly waiting for a sonic revelation via the new multi-track remix, which I fully anticipate will be amazing. Obviously, Cherry Red should be far more forthcoming about why their planning and/or supply chain has failed several times. We're the target audience; be frank with us.

Disappointed. Again. And Again.

Feels a bit farcical now, I have given up and gone for a refund

I'm going to hazard a guess here James,straight from the stock cupboard of all fob-off excuses, "Out of Our Hands".

Hope this helps.....

Any chance of an official comment here ?

stopped with pre-orders, put on sale when it is in stock, there will be no more problem, a seven month wait is too long, I asked for a refund

And…another delay, it’s now been pushed back to May 16th 2025. This means that it’s now over six months late, since it was originally an early December release, I think.

I've gone for a refund. Poor show.

Not Enough Emphasis on the Artwork And Booklet Which is outside the Esoteric Musical Remit

The Discs are in place the Musical part is done the artwork is far from being assimilated to the Discs

Contact Esoteric Records by Email to get the reason

It's got to be a Queue situation

The wait is going to be worthwhile 😂

Third time now they have put the release date back? Very incompetent from Cherry Red.

Just seen this latest notification. Can anyone tell 'us' exactly what the problem is?

I was so looking forward to listening before April!

Suspect it might just make it for Christmas 2025 - the date has been pushed back to 11th April. Amusingly, the delay e-mail specified “11th April 2025” just to indicate they’re hoping it may yet make it this year.

As many you might have noticed the due date for this box set has been pushed back yet again, to March 7. Unlike the other release date changes, which were all in the range of a month delay from the most recent date, this one represents only a week delay. That's cause for optimism, I would say, and I think I might have some further cause for optimism.

I regularly check Paul Sinclair's excellent site "SuperDeluxeEdition," and while reading the comments about some other release, someone noted that a Nik Kershaw reissue from Cherry Red was repeatedly bumped back--just like "Quit Dreaming." The poster revealed that he wrote them and was told that problem was due to "manufacturing delays." In the wake of the most recent release-date change for our Mayor, I wrote an email of my own, in which I also mentioned the Nik Kershaw release. Here's their response:

"Thanks for your email. It is due to manufacturing delays and also last minute changes. For both releases, these are now the finalised dates."

"Finalised" sounds positive to me. Fingers crossed.

Unfortunately, according to The Mandalorian, this is the way…

My wife ordered me this as my main Christmas present and tells me she had an alert from Burning Shed that release date has been pushed back again, to 28 February.

Delayed now until the end of February. Wee bit miffed as they took my money only the other day.

Still, hopefully it will be worth it.

and another POV

Sometime ago managed to digitize the vinyl output (7 and 12 inches) from 1979 to 1995. Here is that listed by recordlabel and lenght. My two cents ;-)

THIS Is exciting News indeed this is a very much timeless piece of The Bill Nelson Canon what it took what was percieved initially to deliver to the public was immense and to have the project receive positive outcome on the release was Bill's mettle to continue the 1971 philosophy which tied all of us to Bill self belief spirit

This release overlooked by an amazing human from Esoteric Mark Powell and his incredible Wife Partner Vikki

I cannot say enough about this release

Its a beautiful time to be alive!!

Ordered yesterday. I look forward to listening to this one. I love to listen to the old stuff as contra to my current listening, (ambient / drone). A mixture does you the world of good!

😎✨

And Bill played every instrument!

A blu ray disc as well 😀

Wonderful! Can't wait!

Great news! Ordered.

This is everything I hoped for: Multi-track remixes that include World and His Wife and Dancing Music, all the singles material brought into some kind of sonic uniformity (more robust than Two-Fold, I expect - but from what sources?), plus the radio sessions. Unclear why "Dream Car Romantics (in Death's Garage Antics)" is excluded, but that's okay. Ordered and optimistic.

Very pumped about this, even though I knew it was coming. But the track listing is generous and more than I could have hoped for. I'm also excited that this probably, almost assuredly, means we'll get "The Love That Wirls" next. I imagine that will include "Savage Gestures" among the many bonus tracks, since I think most if not all of those instrumental tracks hailed from the "Whirls" recording sessions, but it makes me wonder if "Chimera" will get lost in the shuffle. It was the third release of the 2005 Mercury reissue CDs but is only an EP so I can't imagine it getting its own boxset.

Wow…worth it for Banal (extended mix) alone - the 12” I presume…great news.

I can't wait for Christmas. I can't Quit Dreaming about this great album and 5.1 ...... SUPER SOUND

No brainer! Ordered! 😎

Ordered