6.8-Boxed: Material Boxed - HR
HR és l’àlbum amb més canvis. Mike el suavitza globalment, el sentit de “santuari emocional” es veu accentuat. Els sons sonen més individualitzats, els instruments orquestrals es milloren, es refinen; així com el baix i la guitarra de Mike. Els X? De william Murray s’elimina, però surt als crèdits igual. S’elimina part de la trompeta o se substitueix per guitarra i sintetitzador, com també les veus de The Martian Storm. També s’afegeixen elements, com la guitarra elèctrica o donant preeminència al cor.
HR va ser el més alterat, fins a tal punt que tota edició posterior de l’obra sempre serà aquest remix.
Remescla: A HR s’incorpora un nou cor.
[Nota meva: La lletra del cor pot ser una nova mostra de les virtuts de Clodagh Simmonds fent lletres sense sentit?]
HR – Circulen Boxeds amb HR Originals, hi ha una edició espanyola amb aquest mix i sense Sailor’s Hornpipe.
2.11 What are the differences on the Boxed remixes? (FAQS)
Hergest Ridge on early LPs is the original mix, some Hergest Ridge LPs pressed after 1976 and all the Hergest Ridge CDs contain the Boxed remix (see 2.12).
The original mix of Hergest Ridge is not rare at all. It can be found on around 90% of all Hergest Ridge LPs worldwide. The Boxed remix is available on very few LPs: I remember a US reissue and a French reissue - and of course the Boxed LP. But it has never been released on official CD - that's why people think it's rare. They don't have a record player and can't listen to old vinyl. That's all. The design of the Hergest Ridge LPs (title at the top or at the bottom) doesn't say anything about the version on the record. It seems to be totally random which version you get, e.g. there is a US reissue with the Boxed remix, but a later US reissue again has the original mix.
To add to the confusion, there is a Spanish edition of Boxed that contains the ORIGINAL Hergest Ridge, and Tubular Bells without The Sailor's Hornpipe (it finishes with the organ section).
2.12 Why isn't the original mix of Hergest Ridge available? (FAQS)
Mike instructed that the Boxed Remix should be the standard version for all future vinyl and CD issues.
According to the Boxed sleevenotes, Mike removed guitar parts that he had only inserted because he was worried that people might think it was too repetitive. At the time his view was that there was nothing wrong with repetition so long as it was something worth repeating. Now, we can argue whether Hergest Ridge is too repetitive or not, but the original mix fans should note that the parts that were deleted were only added for commercial reasons, not because Mike thought they should be there. Therefore, we should accept that the Boxed version is closer to Mike's vision.
I expect it was because the remix is so slimmed down, causing less problems with dynamic range, etc. I also expect the original has not been preserved because of a certain degree of apathy. Mike tends not to like albums which he associates with negative feelings - he's been dismissive of Amarok for much of the past ten years because it was such a commercial failure. The critical failure of HR is something he's frequently commented upon. I've always believed that Mike's remix of HR was a kind of response to the criticism - he tried to make it 'better'.
From a purely technical point of view, he succeeded, for the mix was no longer swamped beyond the limitations of the medium (at least, not as swamped), but the human ear and brain are wonderful instruments that can, with practice, edit out imperfections. The music is what is important, not the technical quality.
