Yes.
Not aware you can buy them separately in any format.
Bruce
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There are two separate double vinyls at 49.99€ a piece ie. ~100€ for both mixes. A box set at 150€ to be released later.
So what’s the vinyl issue like girl & boys - decent pressing etc?
I am still considering myself which one to buy. If someone already has taken a plunge I would like to know too.
I read a few reviews where they said that it was difficult to tell a difference between the two, so if you only buy one, you won’t know what you may, or may not be missing.
I was in a similar conundrum, but went for the bright side as a site had/has that one on offer as a pre-order.
Sorry not to be more definitive for you, though I am sure someone will voice an opinion if they have both versions.
Gave it a good listen last night but yeah… this. Struck me as the definition of well-recorded; tastefully played; often important or interesting subjects but… just dull.
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I’ve had 2 good listens from start to finish and love it. Not sure if I prefer the bright or dark side as there’s really not much between them.
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What’s interesting is that Tidal has released each of the tracks, as they came out in MQA, but now not the full Album.
Also in the download format the Dark Side/Bright Side mixes are together but as different Volumes, so is presented as 1 Album with single artwork, but the physical formats are 2 different versions.
To match the physical, I have separated the I/O release into the 2 versions with the different artwork for each. Have ordered the Bright side Mixes on Vinyl.
I don’t know why Bandcamp do this; but the ALAC download is 24/48, so I have to download the 24/96 FLAC and convert to ALAC.
Nevermind a few pennies saved, and many thanks for confirming the Hi-Res availability.
I am listening to the dark side mix via Qobuz and enjoying the songs. It is more relaxed than my favourite Gabriel albums 4:security and So. Qobuz offering is 24/96 FLAC.
Just bought this from an old school bricks ‘n’ mortar joint (Fopp’s, in Cambridge). Based on the description on the orange band, I’m not entirely sure which version I’ve got!
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Both
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You can’t buy one or the other on cd; it’s both, or both plus the “atmos” mix on Blu-ray.
At first I thought “wow that’s cheap on vinyl!” and then saw the hand for scale.
Still can’t decide which one: this is rough trade so add p&p
Plus the £120 box set due out next year.
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Gave it another listen this afternoon and it struck me that it has no songs. Two aspects to that I think.
1 - It has that thing which artists of a certain age have where they effectively sample themselves. Hard to hear, for example, the verses of Road To Joy and not hear a darker almost minor key version of Sledgehammer. For some that makes it dull but for others it’s a comfort blanket. I always struggle however when people describe such things in glowing adjectives. It’s actually an indication you have creatively run your course.
2 - There is a huge amount of effort which goes into the production on an album like this. There is a focus on stuff like vocal textures. Even simple stuff like reverb tails on the treated piano on songs like So Much are incredibly tailored. The consequence of this is that the ear finds much to stimulate it from second to second. Not a criticism at all. I love stuff like that as much as the next person. It does mean though that it’s easy to confuse the shiny and new sounds with “songs”. There’s lots of production here but not much in the way of memorable melody or lyrics which jump out.
None of this helped by the running length. Few great albums run to over an hour. At best this was a decent eight track album. So, yeah, sticking with my original comment and those first four albums.
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I have spent more time with this again today, and it hasn’t worked it’s way into my affection either. Mike argues why he isn’t a fan; for me it is mostly beautifully arranged, played and even sung (his voice is as good as I have heard it). The problem for me is mainly the lyrics. It all feels terribly earnest but clunky. When your title track features the chorus line ‘stuff coming out, stuff going in, I’m just a part of everything’ I must admit I groan. Far from the only example either
The double mix format also annoys me, when I have listened three or four times and couldn’t confidently identify which side any version belongs to it seems unnecessary, and why should someone be forced to buy both?
Of course I have never forgiven PG for spending the entire video for ‘Don’t give up’ clutching Kate Bush. Bastard.
Trying to put that aside, whatever glowing reviews I read (‘his masterpiece’ seems to be the general conclusion) this is not for me
I know that other opinions here differ significantly! I also hope people respect that criticism with some justification or reasoning has a place on the thread.
Bruce
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Reading this & other places commenting on PG’s “i/o”, its seems to be a bit of a marmite album, although I do note most all the on-line ‘reviews’ are postive.
For me, I agree its beautifully arranged & played and yes his voice is as good as I have heard to, I suspect age brings limitations plus some mellowness + dropping half an octave & not attempting prog-rock volumes helps.
The double mix format did anoying me at first , but both are different & although I can live with both, I expect the Dark Mix (Disc2) will be the one most played.
I have to say the mixing and production of the whole album is excellent.
The pricing from various vendors seems all over the place for downloads and some CD’s (16/44) are higher than 24/96 downloads in some places. As for the vinyl packages … 
But you do get a double album for your bucks and it is a real double at 137mins which is 68.5mins per mix.
I’m happy with my 24/96 FLAC, I bought it from a US vendor and it arrived in my AmEx account today at £14.07
I’d agree with all of that @BruceW. It has all the components to make it something special but for me no songs. Your comment re: lyrics is interesting. I actually think nothing has changed there. He’s a long history of clunky. The difference I think was that it could often be disguised by fantastic, compelling music and that’s just not here.
Must say I struggle with the arguments put in by @Mike-B.
The two mix thing, for me, is s lovely illustration of creative death. Being unable to decide between mix a or mix b and which one shows the song off best when the real issue is that you can’t make a silk purse etc. An artist with a set of great songs simply doesn’t mess about with stuff like this. I’d argue there’s a reason he’s gone years without original material. He’s struggling and these are some of the weakest songs he’s ever put out. Of course they then need to go out in their best clothes but he’s not even sure what that looks like. I flicked between the mixes repeatedly but ended up concluding that neither version was especially compelling and the issue wasn’t arrangement or nuance. It was just lack of memorable melody.
I always think the VFM thing is a very odd argument indeed. 1 hour 20 is overlong by any standards even if the music were exceptional. Give me 42 minutes of the new Sufjan Steven’s album over this any day of the week. Music which “plays itself”; doesn’t literally exhaust you and demands repetition.
Length doesn’t equal VFM or quality or anything we should measure music by. Give me the 29 minutes of It’s A Shame About Ray over any portentous epic any day.
I can’t remember the last time I went to HMV (or any physical music store) to buy a new album as soon as it came out. I’ve been playing bright and dark mixes a lot over the last few days and I do like this album. There are some beautiful tracks in here. I can’t decide between the mixes. He’s always been an experimenter though so I’m not surprised he’s done something different. It definitely feels like one of his albums though.
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