OK. I've been delaying my reaction to the new mix, until my ears had become accustomed to the new interpretation.
Firstly I agree about the missing pitch-bend on Epitaph. It is way down in the mix, actually bought about by the lack of gradual build through this brief section. The level seems fixed at a high point rather than building to a crescendo. This is a pity, because I have to say I rather like this new version!
Overall, I have to say, there is a power and majesty to the recording that I hadn't noticed before on previous CD's. Bass and drums, to these ears are more dynamic. And modern signal processing, really shows Greg Lakes vocals off to a tee! His vocal on the aforementioned Epitaph has to be his finest ever. Also a quick mention about the new edit of Moonchild. There does now seem to be a flow to proceedings that was missing from the original, which was rather tedius at time IMHO.
What I'm struggling with, is only that I have, over the years, become so familiar every nuance of the original, I cannot yet get my head round listening to this hiss free, sparkly new version.
However, I have to say, I don't think I will be revisiting the original any time soon.
So far, the advantages of the new, outweigh the strengths of the new.
I don't like it. I love it! ![](\"https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn-cf.aol.com%2Fse%2Fsmi%2F0201e00db2%2F08&t=1572481662&sig=Baglar9r7ylc05bbNkecVA--~E\")
Andy K