Tears For Fears’ “Songs for a Nervous Planet” is their first official live album, released on October 25, 2024. This album includes not only live recordings from their “The Tipping Point Tour”, but also four new studio tracks. Recorded at Sterling Sound Studio with mastering engineer Ted Jensen , the album features live performances of iconic songs such as “Shout”, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Mad World”, as well as fan favorites from their latest studio album “The Tipping Point”.
A limited SDE Blu-ray audio edition contains Steven Wilson’s mixed versions in stereo, 5.1 and Dolby Atmos, in addition to the original stereo version.
After the blu-ray of The Pineapple Thief “It Leads To This”, which featured a track with less dynamic compression than the CD and streaming versions, the blu-ray of this Tears For Fears album offers two stereo versions in addition to the 5.1 and Dolby Atmos TrueHD versions.
The original mix with its DR6, but above all Steven Wilson’s mix with its DR12. The difference between these two versions is impressive, and I invite you to listen to the extracts for your own comparison. The review will be completed soon with the vinyl versions.

Other Tears For Fears albums reviewed:

For this review, you will find 8 versions tested: Streaming stereo and Dolby Atmos, blu-ray with Stereo, Steve Wilson stereo mix, Dolby Atmos TrueHD, DTS HDMA 5.1, vinyl records 3LP, 2LP.

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.

The album is composed of 22 tracks:

For this review, you will find 6 versions tested: Streaming stereo and Dolby Atmos, blu-ray with Stereo, Steve Wilson stereo mix, Dolby Atmos TrueHD, DTS HDMA 5.1.

Below you will find the description of the different editions, as well as the measurements of each edition in the following chapters.

The album is composed of 22 tracks:

1. Say Goodbye To Mum And Dad
2. The Girl That I Call Home
3. Emily Said
4. Astronaut
5. No Small Thing (Live From Franklin, TN)*
6. The Tipping Point (Live From Franklin, TN)
7. Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)
8. Secret World (Live From Franklin, TN)*
9. Sowing The Seeds Of Love (Live From Franklin, TN)
10. Long, Long, Long Time (Live From Franklin, TN)*
11. Break The Man (Live From Franklin, TN)
12. My Demons (Live From Franklin, TN)*
13. Rivers Of Mercy (Live From Franklin, TN)*
14. Mad World (Live From Franklin, TN)
15. Suffer The Children (Live From Franklin, TN)*
16. Woman In Chains (Live From Franklin, TN)
17. Badmana’s Song (Live From Franklin, TN)
18. Pale Shelter (Live From Franklin, TN)
19. Break It Down Again (Live From Franklin, TN)
20. Head Over Heels (Live From Franklin, TN)
21. Change (Live From Franklin, TN)
22. Shout (Live From Franklin, TN)

*not included in the Vinyl record double LP.

Summary, scoring and Samples

Ed 1: Tidal MAX – 2024

Presentation

This is the Tidal Deluxe Max presented in FLAC 24 bits 44.1 kHz.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR6

The TIDAL max 24 bits 44.1 kHz shows a low dynamic range confirmed with DR6.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises to 22 kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above this frequency (white arrow) due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency.

Synthesis and listening

The Tidal Max version is based on the dynamically compressed master like the basic stereo blu-ray version, but here we find a more muffled version than Steven Wilson’s stereo version.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●oooo (1)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●ooo (2)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 24 bits 44.1 kHz:

Ed 2: Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2024

Presentation

This is the Tidal Dolby Atmos presented in Dolby Digital Plus or AC-4 (link).

Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The Tidal Dolby Atmos shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR13.

The spectrogram of the Tidal Dolby Atmos track downmixed in 7.1 is limited to 20kHz (yellow arrow) with no signal above (white arrow). This limitation is due to Dolby Digital Plus encoding, which is a lossy encoder that limits bandwidth to optimize data size for a bit rate of 768 kbits/s.

Synthesis and listening

The Dolby Atmos version in Dolby digital Plus streaming format is inferior in terms of rendering finesse and spatial precision to the Dolby Atmos version on Blu-ray, which is encoded in Lossless Dolby Digital TrueHD format.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●●●o (8.6)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 7.1 Dolby Atmos (Downmixed in 7.1) :

The sample is in 7.1 wav format, if you can not play the sample in your navigator, you can save it, right button menu and “Save Audio As…” and play it with an external player.

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :

Ed 3: Bluray Steven Wilson Stereo Mix – 2024

Presentation

This is the PCM track of the Steven Wilson mix presented in PCM 24 bits 96 kHz of the bluray (SDE ref:888072652293). 4 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, one 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR12

The waveform of the bluray Steven Wilson stereo Mix track shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR12., better than the standard mix (DR6). Presented in 24 bits 96 kHz.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal up to 30 kHz (white arrow) .

Synthesis and listening

This is the ideal configuration for those who appreciate the musical quality of having the stereo version without dynamics compression. More clarity, finesse and detail in this stereo version. Thanks to Steven Wilson for proposing this version. This principle should serve as a reference for all music productions!

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 4: Bluray stereo – 2024

Presentation

This is the PCM track presented in PCM 24 bits 96 kHz of the bluray (SDE ref:888072652293). 4 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, one 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR6

The waveform of the bluray stereo track shows a low dynamic range confirmed with DR6, like the Tidal MAX. Presented in 24 bits 96 kHz.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with little signal above 30 kHz (white arrow) .

Synthesis and listening

Just listening to the excerpts shows the impact of dynamics compression, with a lack of dynamics, precision and spatial representation. Forget this version, and opt for Steven Wilson’s stereo version!

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●oooo (1)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Restitution: ●●ooo (2)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 5: Bluray DTS HDMA 5.1 – 2024

Presentation

This is the DTS HDMA track presented in 5.1 24 bits 96 kHz of the bluray (SDE ref:888072652293). 4 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, one 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track.

Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR12

The bluray DTS HDMA 5.1 shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR12. Presented in 24 bits 96 kHz.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal up to 30 kHz (white arrow) .

Synthesis and listening

Always present in Steven Wilson’s mixes, the 5.1 version is an extension of the very successful stereo version, bringing a beautiful sptialization and a very fine restitution with the lossless DTS HDMA format in 24-bit 96 kHz.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Spatialization: ●●●●o (3.7)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 5.1 24 bits 96 kHz:

The sample is in 5.1 wav format, if you can not play the sample in your navigator, you can save it, right button menu and “Save Audio As…” and play it with an external player.

Ed 6: Bluray Dolby Atmos Atmos – 2024

Presentation

Ths is the Dolby Atmos track resented in Dolby Digital TrueHD (lossless) of the bluray (SDE ref:888072652293). 4 audio tracks are available on this blu-ray, two stereo tracks, one 5.1 track and one Dolby Digital Atmos TrueHD track.

Below the spatialization for all tracks. Click on the images to zoom in.

Waveform and Spectrum: DR13

The bluray Dolby Atmos shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR13.

The spectrogram of the Atmos downmixed in 7.1 version of blu-ray shows that the signal goes down to 24 kHz (yellow arrow) and that there is no signal above this frequency (white arrow), due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency used.

Synthesis and listening

Very fine spatialization, immersing us totally in the concert, with spatialization effects on the music, as on the Tipping Point.
The new tracks make greater use of spatialization, as on “The Girl That I Call Home”, which begins by moving us around in space before filling the entire sound space. Lateral backing vocals are also featured.
Dolby Atmos in TrueHD is much more precise in terms of sonic finesse and spatialization than the Tidal Dolby Atmos version (or other Amazon and Apple streaming versions).

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●●o (4)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●o (4)
• Spatialization: ●●●●●●●●oo (8.4)
• Restitution: ●●●●o (4)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 7.1 Dolby Atmos (Downmixed in 7.1) :

The sample is in 7.1 wav format, if you can not play the sample in your navigator, you can save it, right button menu and “Save Audio As…” and play it with an external player.

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” Dolby Atmos (Downmixed 2.0) :

Ed 7: Vinyl Record 3 LP Blueberry Cream – 2024

Presentation

The vinyl record is composed of 3 LP in 33.33 rpm color Blueberry Cream , the vinyl record containing the all 22 tracks (ref:888072636095).

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the vinyl record shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record’s operating principle.

Synthesis and listening

The vinyl version is somewhere between the stereo version and Steven Wilson’s stereo version. It’s more pleasant to listen to than the stereo version (despite the fact that the pressing is almost certainly based on the dynamically compressed stereo version), with a slightly wider sound opening and a clearer sonic rendering. But it remains inferior to the Steven Wilson stereo version in terms of spatialization.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3.5)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 24 bits 96 kHz:

Ed 8: Vinyl Record 2 LP – 2024

Presentation

The vinyl record is composed of 3 LP in 33.33 rpm color Blueberry Cream , the vinyl record containing only 16 of 22 tracks (ref:888072635333).

Waveform and Spectrum: DR11

The waveform of the vinyl record shows a good dynamic range confirmed with DR11.

The spectrogram shows that the signal rises above 20 kHz (yellow arrow) with signal above this frequency (white arrow) containing musical information and distortion due to the vinyl record’s operating principle.

Synthesis and listening

Sound rendering is similar to the 3LP edition.

Rating:

• Dynamic: ●●●oo (3.5)
• Bandwidth: ●●●●● (5)
• Surface noise: ●●●●o (4)
• Restitution: ●●●oo (3.5)

Sample : “Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)” 24 bits 96 kHz:

While we’re waiting to try out vinyl, bluray is the reference medium for all those who want maximum quality in any stereo format, 5.1 or Dolby Atmos, without the use of lossy compression. This is an example that should become more widespread, offering 2 stereo versions, with or without dynamic range compression. An audiophile approach that we’d like to see extended to all modern productions.

Updated with the vinyl records:
The vinyl discs (in 2LP or 3LP versions) provide a more pleasant listening experience than the stereo editions, but remain inferior in terms of spatialization and dynamics to Steven Wilson’s stereo version, which is only available on the bluray.

Dynamic Range measurements and spectra are shown below.

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Measurements

Dynamic Range comparaisons

Dynamic represents the ability to reproduce a wide range of sounds from the softest to the loudest. The target is to compare the dynamics of the music and not of the media (CD, digital files or vinyl).

The graph below compares the waveforms of the original and Steven Wilson’s stereo mixes. The visual difference also has a strong impact on the rendering, as can be seen when listening to the extracts.

For our 8 editions reviewed have obtained the following Dynamic Range (DR) :

	Tidal MAX – 2024	Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2024	Bluray Steven Wilson Stereo Mix – 2024	Bluray stereo – 2024	Bluray DTS HDMA 5.1 – 2024	Bluray Dolby Atmos Atmos – 2024	Vinyl Record 3 LP Blueberry Cream – 2024	Vinyl Record 2 LP – 2024
Global	DR6	DR13	DR12	DR6	DR12	DR13	DR11	DR11
Min	DR5	DR12	DR11	DR5	DR10	DR12	DR9	DR10
Max	DR8	DR14	DR13	DR8	DR14	DR14	DR12	DR12
Say Goodbye To Mum And Dad	DR5	DR12	DR11	DR5	DR10	DR12	DR10	DR10
The Girl That I Call Home	DR6	DR13	DR11	DR6	DR12	DR12	DR10	DR11
Emily Said	DR5	DR13	DR11	DR5	DR12	DR13	DR10	DR10
Astronaut	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR6	DR13	DR12	DR11	DR11
No Small Thing (Live From Franklin, TN)*	DR6	DR13	DR12	DR6	DR12	DR13	DR11
The Tipping Point (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR6	DR14	DR13	DR6	DR13	DR14	DR11	DR11
Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR7	DR13	DR13	DR7	DR13	DR13	DR11	DR11
Secret World (Live From Franklin, TN)*	DR6	DR13	DR12	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR11
Sowing The Seeds Of Love (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR7	DR14	DR13	DR7	DR13	DR14	DR11	DR11
Long, Long, Long Time (Live From Franklin, TN)*	DR6	DR12	DR12	DR6	DR12	DR12	DR10
Break The Man (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR7	DR14	DR12	DR7	DR13	DR14	DR11	DR11
My Demons (Live From Franklin, TN)*	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR11
Rivers Of Mercy (Live From Franklin, TN)*	DR5	DR13	DR12	DR5	DR12	DR13	DR10
Mad World (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR7	DR13	DR13	DR7	DR12	DR13	DR11	DR11
Suffer The Children (Live From Franklin, TN)*	DR6	DR12	DR11	DR6	DR12	DR12	DR9
Woman In Chains (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR5	DR13	DR12	DR5	DR12	DR13	DR10	DR10
Badman’s Song (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR6	DR13	DR12	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR11	DR11
Pale Shelter (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR8	DR13	DR13	DR8	DR14	DR13	DR12	DR12
Break It Down Again (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR6	DR14	DR13	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR11	DR11
Head Over Heels (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR6	DR13	DR12	DR6	DR12	DR13	DR11	DR11
Change (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR7	DR14	DR13	DR7	DR13	DR14	DR11	DR11
Shout (Live From Franklin, TN)	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR6	DR13	DR13	DR11	DR11

As a reminder, the scale goes from 0 to more 20, but the dynamics are considered good from 12, quite good between 10 and 11, and deteriorate below 10.

Spectrum comparisons

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Tidal MAX – 2024 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Bluray stereo – 2024 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap perfectly. The yellow arrow shows the cutoff of the Tidal version at 22 kHz, due to the 44.1 kHz sampling frequency used.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Tidal Dolby Atmos – 2024.
The spectrum of Tidal’s Dolby Atmos version decoded in 7.1 shows that all channels are used. The LFE channel is filtered at 120 Hz ( green arrow). The white arrow indicates the high-frequency limit at 20 kHz due to Dolby Digital Plus encoding. The yellow arrow indicates the high-frequency limit at 24 kHz due to encoding at the 48 kHz sampling frequency used.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Bluray Steven Wilson Stereo Mix – 2024 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Bluray stereo – 2024 (blue curve).The two spectra are superimposed, with deviations at the bottom of the spectrum (green zone) of up to 2 dB less between 60 and 200 Hz for Steven Wilson’s mix.

The graph below represents the spectrum of the Bluray Dolby Atmos Atmos – 2024.
The spectrum of Blu-ray Dolby Atmos TrueHD version decoded in 7.1 shows that all channels are used except the LFE channel for this song. The yellow arrow indicates the high-frequency limit at 24 kHz due to the 48 kHz sampling frequency used. The bass channel is filtered at 120 Hz ( green arrow).

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Vinyl Record 2 LP – 2024 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Vinyl Record 3 LP Blueberry Cream – 2024 (blue curve).The two spectra are perfectly superimposed, with a small difference above 14 kHz (yellow zone) that will produce almost no discrepancy when listening.

The graph below compares the spectrum of the Vinyl Record 3 LP Blueberry Cream – 2024 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Bluray stereo – 2024 (blue curve).The two spectra overlap perfectly up to 14 kHz, with an increase in level above this frequency (yellow zone) of over 5 dB for the vinyl record, bringing a higher treble level.

Detail of the ratings :

• Dynamic :
  1. Significant dynamic compression, DR less than 7
  2. Compression of the present dynamics, DR between 7 and 9.
  3. Correct piece DR >=10
  4. No dynamic compression (DR >12), dynamic rendering
  5. No dynamic compression, high DR and very dynamic sound rendering
• Spectrum :
  1. Spectrum cut and less than 15 khz
  2. Spectrum cut at 15 khz
  3. Spectrum not conforming to the original and cut (not HD) or original but limited bandwidth (but less than 20 kHz)
  4. Spectrum conforming to the original (but not HD)
  5. Spectrum conforming to the original with HD resolution (higher than 24kHz)
• Surface noise (only for vinyl):
  1. Continuous audible noise
  2. Audible surface noise except on passages with a high level of noise
  3. Reduced surface noise, barely audible on low level crossings
  4. Low surface noise, very good quality
  5. Very low surface noise, no defects, almost inaudible on the quiet passages (exceptional disc)
• Spatialization :
  • Between 0 and 5 for 5.1 or 7.1 channels configuration
  • Between 0 and 10 for Atmos configuration (7.1.4)
  • For more information on spatialization, you can read the article describing this parameter here.
• Restitution :
  1. Low quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  2. Average quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments.
  3. Quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Good record.
  4. High quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Very high level disc.
  5. Maximum quality of the restitution mixing dynamics, clarity, separation of voices and instruments. Exceptional disc.

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