Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome To The Pleasuredome – 40th Anniversary Review Deluxe Box Set with Atmos Blu-ray and Release from 1984, CD, vinyl..

[Jean.Francois]

hello,
Welcome to the Pleasuredome, released in 1984 and produced by Trevor Horn, is the first album by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, a double opus blending synthpop, funk, and rock, marked by ambitious and provocative production.

To mark its 40th anniversary, the album has been given a major reissue, including a deluxe box set featuring 7 CDs and a Dolby Atmos Blu-ray mixed by Steven Wilson, now widely recognized as a leading figure in Atmos mixing, as well as a new vinyl edition crafted from his fresh stereo remix.

For this review, 16 versions were compared, including cassette, vinyl, CD, and Blu-ray editions, spanning from 1984 to 2025.

The good news for those who want to listen to the original version is that it remains available on CD, vinyl, cassette, and even on streaming platforms, while preserving its original dynamic range, an important point (as shown by the waveform of the 1984 Tidal version below).

Regarding the version included in the 40th Anniversary box set, its dynamic range is reduced, with DR11 compared to DR14 for the original version. However, the Tidal Super Deluxe version corresponding to this box set is the most compressed, with a DR9 (as illustrated by the waveform below).

As for Steven Wilson’s new stereo mix, it offers a more modern tonal balance with more pronounced bass (see the spectra below), but this comes at the expense of high-frequency detail, which is one of the defining characteristics of the album’s original sound.

Steven Wilson delivers a new reference Dolby Atmos mix for this Frankie Goes To Hollywood album. The mix makes perfect use of spatialization and the immersive potential of the format, with sounds distributed throughout the entire space and subtle movement of certain instruments. Everything remains coherent and true to the spirit of the original music. A truly immersive experience to discover when listening on a multichannel Dolby Atmos system.

I invite you to listen to the different samples so you can form your own opinion. This will allow everyone to find the version that suits them best, whether they prefer a more contemporary-sounding remix or the album’s original sound, available across various formats.

You can also find the full analysis (including all graphs and measurements) HERE (link).



Enjoy the listening.
Jean-François

 

[Descartes]

hello,
Welcome to the Pleasuredome, released in 1984 and produced by Trevor Horn, is the first album by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, a double opus blending synthpop, funk, and rock, marked by ambitious and provocative production.
View attachment 490933

To mark its 40th anniversary, the album has been given a major reissue, including a deluxe box set featuring 7 CDs and a Dolby Atmos Blu-ray mixed by Steven Wilson, now widely recognized as a leading figure in Atmos mixing, as well as a new vinyl edition crafted from his fresh stereo remix.

For this review, 16 versions were compared, including cassette, vinyl, CD, and Blu-ray editions, spanning from 1984 to 2025.

The good news for those who want to listen to the original version is that it remains available on CD, vinyl, cassette, and even on streaming platforms, while preserving its original dynamic range, an important point (as shown by the waveform of the 1984 Tidal version below).
View attachment 490928


Regarding the version included in the 40th Anniversary box set, its dynamic range is reduced, with DR11 compared to DR14 for the original version. However, the Tidal Super Deluxe version corresponding to this box set is the most compressed, with a DR9 (as illustrated by the waveform below).
View attachment 490929


As for Steven Wilson’s new stereo mix, it offers a more modern tonal balance with more pronounced bass (see the spectra below), but this comes at the expense of high-frequency detail, which is one of the defining characteristics of the album’s original sound.
View attachment 490931


Steven Wilson delivers a new reference Dolby Atmos mix for this Frankie Goes To Hollywood album. The mix makes perfect use of spatialization and the immersive potential of the format, with sounds distributed throughout the entire space and subtle movement of certain instruments. Everything remains coherent and true to the spirit of the original music. A truly immersive experience to discover when listening on a multichannel Dolby Atmos system.
View attachment 490932


I invite you to listen to the different samples so you can form your own opinion. This will allow everyone to find the version that suits them best, whether they prefer a more contemporary-sounding remix or the album’s original sound, available across various formats.

You can also find the full analysis (including all graphs and measurements) HERE (link).



Enjoy the listening.
Jean-François

Thank you still awaiting to review my copy!

 

[BJL]

A couple of points --

the blu ray was, and may still be, available singly from the SDE shop, for those not interested in the multiple disc package. The SDE blu ray has exclusive content, a 25 minute stereo "supernova" mix of Pleasure Dome, also done by Steve Wilson.

the Atmos stream on the blu ray (streaming as well?) is true Atmos; it is not rendered to a 7.1.4 channel locked stream, as is sometimes the case. If you have greater than 7.1.4, the Atmos stream will take advantage of the additional positions for greater positional accuracy and some additional fine detail. The quality of mix, in my opinion, is as Jean-Francois states in his review, Steve Wilson has outdone himself, whatever you may feel about the music, this is demo quality Atmos, up there with Yello Point & Touch, and a very few others.