Thick As a Brick [40th Anniversary Special Edition] [CD+DVD, Special Edition]

I finally got my box set in the mail and excitedly put on the DVD in 5.1, the reason I got this for. I am happy with the mix overall and feel the album is an improvement in suround sound. However I had a few thoughts that something wasn't quite right with the sound on the first few minutes of the disc between 2:32 and 3:02 there is a problem with the audio on the 5.1 portion of the DVD. It is a slight delay or pause that is noticeable on 3 occasions. I am very disappointed this was not picked up and 1000s of fans who spent a lot of money on this set will also be disappointed about the problem that's on their DVD.
As a package this is well done, the booklet is great with a lot of pics and info on the sessions.
No bonus material is included which is probably the biggest let-down I have with this set.
The CD sounds great and is a definitive improvement on the old master.
If you have the patience wait until the DVD is fixed up before buying this box set.

Aditional info: 5-2-2013
Just received a replacement DVD after waiting 3 months. I am very happy to say the sound on the 5.1 mix is far superior to the one I reveiwed here originally, however I am sticking to my original review above to show the contempt EMI showed me in their lack of care regarding my initial problems with my DVD.

Firstly let me say that I'm not going to review the music - this is a Tull classic, and I'm assuming anyone who has come to this page knows it well enough (if not, just buy this anyway). Instead I want to talk about the package itself, here released in a "40th Anniversary" edition.

I have bought Thick as a Brick many times - on vinyl, Mini LP, several CD versions etc. I hesitated to buy it again, but boy am I glad I pre-ordered this. The music comes in a hard cover book format (roughly the size of a paperback book). The newspaper from the original vinyl release is reproduced in a large format (so it's readable!) In this format the newspaper is 40 pages long (that's a page for every year of release). They used the original textured paper for this section, which is a nice addition.

Next up is the "Colour Supplement". This is printed on high-quality glossy paper stock, and is full of pictures I've certainly never seen before. It has various sections including: 11 page article by Dom Lawson; 6 page article with Robin Black (producer); 6 page article with Eric Brooks (tour manager); 8 page interview with Ian Anderson, Jeffrey Hammond, and Martin Barre from 1997; 18 page section of pictures "On Tour", and the lyrics in Italian and German (no English though).

There are two discs - the first is the newly remixed version in stereo. Then we have a DVD that includes a 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital Surround mix. Also we get the new stereo mix in 96/24 PCM, along with the original 1972 stereo mix also in 96/24 PCM. As a bonus (!) we get a 1972 radio ad.

Steve Wilson - who did a fantastic job of Aqualung recently - is back to do this new remix. The quality is just - well the only word I can think of is "obscene". Someone pay this guy to revisit the entire Tull catalog. I'd gladly buy every one all over again.

My final thought here is this release is such a credit to all involved. Talk about being put together with love, care, and attention. This is worth ten stars, let alone five. I expected a lot, and got even more. What a release. Thanks to all that had a hand in putting this out. Fantastic!

OK where to start, I hated Jethro Tull, some of my mates kept raving about it and I just didn't get it. One of my friends big brothers had the original vinyl release, with the newspaper. So I started reading the newspaper one day. Eventually I started listening to the album...then I got to see Tull live (twice...that's a lot down here in South Africa, as everyone seems to come here once). So this was may way into Tull.

I had the cd , but it's not the same is it, I mean the cover is tiny, the detail is lost. Then someone comes up with this idea, and Steven Wilson gets involved in the mix and you have something special again.

Good effort with the newspaper in a book - brings back the old excitement like the day I first bought home close to the edge and opened the gatefold sleeve.

As for the 5.1 mix, I loved it. Some people put real love and effort into this. To me it was like listening to an album on headphones in the 70's, when I was but a lad, and according to my daughter dinosaurs ruled the earth. The detail of the music was all around me and the magic was there - to read the lyrics and book while listening to the surround sound mix was special.

This was one of my special albums. It was obviously one of Steven Wilson's special albums. Seriously I don't feel ripped off, just glad I bought this.

Thanks to everyone who was involved in getting this out.