I know, old thread, but... I finally got my Disintegration remaster yesterday (damn Amazon, never pre-ordering anything from them again), and I don't seem to be very impressed.
I've only been casually listening to the whole 3 CD set, but first impressions aren't exactly enthusiastic. CD 1 (main album) sounds very clippy to me; bass is distorted and treble is very sibilant. I remember the original CD sounding smooth on all frequencies (maybe a little roll-off on treble but the liner notes did say it was mixed to be played loud), with nice dynamic range as well. When I have time I'll compare the two.
CD2 with all it's rehearsals and demos are quite an interesting listen, seeing how the songwriting progressed, but other than that, it will not do much for the casual listener. Don't expect high quality recordings either.
CD 3 (Entreat Plus) is more of a letdown; I was sooo looking forward to this one. I knew it was going to be remixed but the way it was done totally robs it of atmosphere from the original live recordings. Shame, because the live version of "Disintegration," "Prayers For Rain," "and "Last Dance" rocks. Nevertheless, having a complete live Disintegration set is very nice (I love "Plainsong" and "The Same Deep Water As You" live. I know for a fact these songs were not played in progressive order (even with other songs inbetween) during the Wembley shows but I feel having all 12 songs in progressive album order does paint a certain story or mood, even if they're live recordings.
Thankfully I have the original CDs of Disintegration and Entreat (plus all the US issued CD Maxi-Singles for that matter) that I'll never let go of. I just might have to make my own composite disc of the original 8 Entreat songs mixed in with the 4 other ones from the remaster.
