When it comes to new surround-sound mixes, one name has become closely associated with the format: Steven Wilson. Keeper of the progressive-rock flame and frontman for Porcupine Tree, Wilson has in recent years created definitive 5.1 remixes for artists like King Crimson, Yes, XTC, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, and Jethro Tull. It was recently announced that Wilson would be extending his talents to an upcoming reissue from (non-prog!) rock band Tears for Fears, and we can also confirm that he is continuing his work with the catalogues of Yes and Jethro Tull. On November 4, Wilson’s new surround and stereo remixes will be featured on CD/DVD-A and CD/BD editions of Yes’ 1974 album Relayer, and on November 17, he will revisit another 1974 prog classic, Jethro Tull’s WarChild.

The upcoming Relayer arrives on the heels of other recent Yes reissues of The Yes Album and Close to the Edge. Relayer was the seventh studio album from Yes, and the band’s only studio album featuring keyboardist Patrick Moraz; he joined in August ’74 following Rick Wakeman’s departure to pursue a solo career. With just three lengthy tracks, Yes upped the free-form jazz quotient on Relayer without sacrificing the band’s accessibility. Relayer proved to be a Top 5 success on both sides of the Atlantic, earning a Gold certification in the United States. The Panegyric reissues, available in CD/DVD-A and CD/BD iterations, will both feature Wilson’s new stereo and surround mixes as well as a host of bonus material. As in the past, the Blu-ray editions will feature additional music not present on the DVD-A.

Contents are as follows:

The region-free NTSC DVD-Audio disc includes:

• The original album mixed in high resolution 5.1 surround from original multi-track sources.
• New album mix and original album mix (flat transfer) in high resolution stereo
• Alternate album presentation comprising demos and studio run-throughs

The region-free Blu-ray Audio disc includes:

• 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround (24bit/96khz) mixed from the original multi-channel recordings.
• New stereo album mix in DTS-HD Master Audio (24bit/96khz).
• Original album mix in a DTS-HD Master Audio flat transfers from the original master tape source (24bit/192khz)
• Needledrop of an original UK vinyl A1/B1 pressing transferred in 24bit/96khz audio.
• Exclusive instrumental versions of all new mixes in DTS-HD Master Audio stereo (24bit/96khz).
• More audio extras in high-resolution stereo, including demos and studio run-throughs of album tracks making for an alternative version of Relayer.
• Additional BD-exclusive demo/studio run-throughs, full album instrumental mixes, a full album needledrop of an original UK A1/B1 vinyl pressing, singles edits, live tracks and needledrops of the banded tracks from the original US vinyl promo album.

As on The Yes Album and Close to the Edge, the CD (included in both versions) features Wilson’s new stereo mix. It also adds two single edits. In all packages, Sid Smith provides new liner notes and original artwork elements are also preserved.

After the jump: details on Wilson's deluxe WarChild plus track listings and pre-order links for both titles!

As with Relayer, Jethro Tull’s WarChild was the seventh album from the band, at that time featuring Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evans, Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond and Barrie Barlow. It was originally devised as a double-LP set to accompany a film project, but when plans for the movie were scuttled, the band salvaged parts of its potential score as a ten-song, single-LP album. Other tracks were drawn from writing sessions for a never-released follow-up to 1972’s Thick as a Brick; another song dated as far back as the sessions for 1971’s Aqualung. (Both of those albums, along with WarChild’s immediate precursor A Passion Play, have already been released in expanded and remixed form.) Upon its release in October 1974, WarChild reached a peak of No. 2 in the United States and No. 14 in the band’s native United Kingdom.

The Chrysalis Records/Parlophone/Rhino reissue of WarChild features 2 CDs and 2 DVDs in a hardcover book format similar to that utilized for the reissues of Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play. It contains:

• The original album and bonus tracks (three previously unreleased), remixed in 5.1 surround and stereo by Steven Wilson
• 10 orchestral pieces (nine previously unreleased) written for the proposed film’s soundtrack, four of which are remixed in 5.1 surround and stereo by Steven Wilson
• Flat transfers of the original LP mix at 96/24, and the original quadrophonic mix (with 2 bonus tracks) in 4.0.
• “The Third Hoorah” promo footage, and footage from a January 1974 photo session/press conference where the WarChild project was announced.

The box is housed within a 80-page book featuring an extensive article on the preparation and recording of the album, a film script synopsis, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson, plus rare and previously unseen photographs. In addition, the new stereo remix of WarChild will also be released on single CD and digitally on November 17.

You can pre-order both titles below!

Yes, Relayer (Atlantic SD 18122, 1974 – reissued Panegyric, 2014)

CD/DVD-A: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

CD – Original Album/New Stereo Mixes:

1. Gates of Delirium (22:55)
2. Sound Chaser (9:25)
3. To Be Over (9:08)
4. Soon (Single Edit) (4:18)
5. Sound Chaser (Single Edit) (3:13)

See above for additional information on DVD and BD contents.

Jethro Tull, Warchild: 40th Anniversary Edition (Chrysalis CHR 1067, 1974 – reissued Chrysalis/Parlophone/Rhino, 2014) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1:

1. WarChild
2. Queen and Country
3. Ladies
4. Back-door Angels
5. SeaLion
6. Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day
7. Bungle in the Jungle
8. Only Solitaire
9. The Third Hoorah
10. Two Fingers

CD 2 - The Second Act: Associated Recordings (Tracks 1-11)/WarChild Orchestral Recordings (Tracks 12-21)

1. Paradise Steakhouse
2. Saturation
3. Good Godmother*
4. SeaLion II
5. Quartet
6. WarChild II*
7. Tomorrow Was Today*
8. Glory Row
9. March, The Mad Scientist
10. Rainbow Blues
11. Pan Dance
12. The Orchestral WarChild Theme*
13. The Third Hoorah (Orchestral Version)*
14. Mime Sequence*
15. Field Dance (Conway Hall Version)*
16. Waltz Of The Angels (Conway Hall Version)
17. The Beach (Part I) (Morgan Master Recording)*
18. The Beach (Part II) (Morgan Master Recording)*
19. Waltz Of The Angels (Morgan Demo Recording)*
20. The Beach (Morgan Demo Recording)*
21. Field Dance (Morgan Demo Recording)*

(*) denotes previously unreleased track

DVD 1 (Audio & Video):

Contains:

• WarChild remixed to 5.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital surround sound and 96/24 PCM stereo.
• A flat transfer from the original 1974 LP master at 96/24 PCM stereo.
• A flat transfer of the original 1974 Quad LP (with additionally Glory Row & March, The Mad Scientist) at 5.1 (4.0) DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital surround sound.
• Video clips of a Montreux photo session and press conference on 11th January 1974 and The Third Hoorah promo footage with remixed stereo audio.

DVD 2 (Audio-Only):

Contains:

• An additional eleven group recordings from the WarChild sessions and later, including 3 previously unreleased tracks, and 4 orchestral recordings from the WarChild sessions mixed to 5.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital surround sound and 96/24 PCM stereo.
• Six additional orchestral recordings (five previously unreleased) mixed by Robin Black in 1974, now in 96/24 PCM stereo.