Back in January 2024, we forecasted two-dozen new immersive releases likely to materialize before the year’s end. Though some of our predictions ultimately came to pass–such as the deluxe box sets of Yes’ Fragile and Ultravox's Lament–others proved elusive. But one thing is for certain: 2024 marked yet another strong showing for immersive music, with both physical and digital releases continuing at a breakneck pace until the very end of the fourth quarter.
2025 looks to continue that momentum, as a number of forthcoming immersive titles both old and new have already been announced. As always, it's great fun to theorize which classic albums celebrating 30th, 40th, and 50th anniversaries might end up being reissued with new 5.1 surround sound or Dolby Atmos remixes.
In the article below, we speculate on twenty-five upcoming immersive releases likely to hit shelves before 2025 is out.
Artist: Riverside
Title: Live ID. (2025)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: TBD (5.1 Surround Sound)
Release Date: 1/24/2025
Riverside, the acclaimed Polish progressive rock band, is set to release their definitive live album Live ID. via InsideOut Music in January 2025. Recorded in June 2024 at COS Torwar in Warsaw, this album captures a pivotal performance from their ID.Entity tour. The tracklist features 12 songs spanning over 110 minutes, showcasing both classic hits and recent material. Live ID. will be available in multiple formats, including a 2CD/Blu-Ray edition with a 5.1 surround sound mix.
Artist: Bryan Ferry
Title: Retrospective (1973-2023)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Bob Clearmountain & Rhett Davies (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 1/31/2025
Bryan Ferry's Retrospective collects all the biggest hits from the Roxy Music frontman’s solo catalog, including classics like "Let's Stick Together" (1976), "Slave To Love" (1985), and "Kiss and Tell" (1987). A Dolby Atmos version of the compilation quietly appeared on streaming services earlier this year, remixed in the immersive format by Bob Clearmountain and Rhett Davies (who received a Grammy nomination this year for their incredible work on the Atmos remix of Roxy Music's Avalon). A Blu-Ray Audio edition is set to follow on January 31, available exclusively via SuperDeluxeEdition.com. Note that Clearmountain and Davies have also reportedly completed an Atmos mix of the entire Boys and Girls (1985) LP, which should hopefully become available in time for that album's 40th anniversary in June 2025.
Artist: Gary Kemp
Title: This Destination (2025)
Format: Streaming
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 1/31/2025
British singer/songwriter and Spandau Ballet founding member Gary Kemp is set to release his third solo album, This Destination, this January through East West Records. In addition to the usual CD and vinyl editions, a Dolby Atmos mix–created by none other than Steven Wilson–is set to become available via streaming services. Two pre-release singles, "Keep Your Head Up" and "This Destination, are already up on Apple Music in spatial audio.
Artist: Simple Minds
Title: New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84 (1982) & Sparkle In The Rain (1984)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Bob Clearmountain (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 2/7/2025
Simple Minds‘ classic 1982 album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and its chart-topping follow up, 1984’s Sparkle in the Rain, will be reissued simultaneously as #32 and #33 in SuperDeluxeEdition.com's 'Surround Series' of exclusive Blu-Ray Audio discs. Both discs contain brand-new Dolby Atmos mixes from Bob Clearmountain alongside the prior 5.1 versions created by Ronald Prent (New Gold Dream) and Steven Wilson (Sparkle In The Rain).
Artist: A Bad Think
Title: Watch Your Mind (2025)
Format: Digital Download
Immersive Mix By: Dave Way (Dolby Atmos & Auro-3D)
Release Date: 3/7/2025
A Bad Think is a project driven by the one-man wonder and many talents of Michael Marquart. The talented drummer, guitarist, keyboard player, singer and producer has played with A Flock of Seagulls and the Canadian super-group Alias, but it’s the music he makes with his solo project that’s closest to his heart. Mixed in spatial audio by Dave Way and produced by Marquart himself, his next release is entitled Watch Your Mind. The 48-khz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD/Atmos and 96-khz/24-bit Auro-3D immersive mixes will be exclusively available as high-resolution digital downloads through IAA's online shop.
Artist: Steven Wilson
Title: The Overview (2025)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (5.1 Surround Sound & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 3/14/2025
Steven Wilson’s much-anticipated eighth studio album, The Overview, is set for release in early 2025. Tantalizing few details have been revealed about the album this far, aside from the fact that it’s space-themed and features just two side-long pieces. As with its predecessor, 2023’s The Harmony Codex, we suspect that a variety of physical editions will be made available–including a standalone Blu-Ray disc with 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mixes, as well as a more elaborate multi-disc deluxe edition.
Artist: Genesis
Title: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Bob Mackenzie (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: 3/28/2025
In Genesis’ incredible body of work, 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is a landmark record–perhaps best remembered as their last to feature original frontman Peter Gabriel. The new 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition is the album's definitive compendium, crafted with input from all the band members involved in the record. The five-disc box set features an audio-only Blu-Ray disc containing a brand-new Dolby Atmos remix of the album created by Bob Mackenzie at Real World Studios.
Artist: Van Der Graaf Generator
Title: World Record (1976)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Stephen W Tayler (5.1 Surround Sound)
Release Date: 3/28/2025
Originally released in October 1976, World Record was the last album to be recorded by Van Der Graaf Generator's most famous lineup of Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton, David Jackson and Guy Evans until their reunion in 2005. Recorded at Rockfield Studios in May 1976, the album featured such material as "Wondering," "A Place to Survive," "When She Comes," and the long piece "Meurglys III, The Songwriter’s Guild." This new 2CD/Blu-Ray deluxe edition features a remastered version of the original album mix alongside stunning new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes from Stephen W Tayler.
Artist: Gentle Giant
Title: Playing The Fool: The Complete Live Experience (1977)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Dan Bornemark (5.1 Surround Sound & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: Spring 2025
Gentle Giant's acclaimed reissue campaign is set to continue in Spring 2025 with the band's seminal 1977 double live album Playing The Fool, which captured these incredible musicians at the height of their musical powers between the releases of Interview (1976) and The Missing Piece (1977). Whereas past Gentle Giant CD/Blu-Ray editions have contained stereo and multichannel remixes from Steven Wilson, this time the task has fallen to longtime collaborator and superfan Dan Bornemark. In addition to the full original setlist, this definitive release also features three unreleased tracks: "Interview," "Timing," and Ray Shulman’s solo violin feature.
Artist: The Pineapple Thief
Title: Box Set #2 (2007-2014)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Bruce Soord (5.1 Surround Sound & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
One of our favorite releases of 2023 was The Pineapple Thief’s How Did We Find Our Way? 1999-2006 box set, covering the band's early years on the independent Cyclops label. In an interview with us earlier this year, frontman Bruce Soord confirmed he was set to begin work on a second box set containing new stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos mixes of 2007's What We Have Sown through 2014's Magnolia.
Artist: Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Title: Welcome To The Pleasuredome (1984)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
In an interview with John Darko at the Munich HiFi Show this past May, Steven Wilson confirmed that he'd completed a Dolby Atmos mix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's landmark 1984 debut album Welcome To The Pleasuredome. Produced by Trevor Horn, the album contains the hit singles "Relax," "Two Tribes," and "The Power of Love." Though October 2024 marked the album's 40th anniversary, we're hopeful that the Atmos mix will arrive via streaming services or Blu-Ray disc sometime in 2025.
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Title: Fleetwood Mac (1975)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Chris James (Dolby Atmos), Ken Caillat & Claus Trelby (5.1)
Release Date: TBD
Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album, their first to feature Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, celebrates its 50th anniversary in July 1975. Given that it’s successor–1977’s Rumours–already received a Blu-Ray release in last Spring as part of Rhino’s new Atmos series, it seems safe to assume that a similar reissue will follow for the self-titled album. Such a release would likely include Ken Caillat & Claus Trelby’s 5.1 surround mix (released on DVD in 2018 as part of a larger Super Deluxe Edition) as well as the new Chris James Dolby Atmos mix that quietly appeared on streaming services in 2022.
Artist: The Who
Title: Who Are You (1978)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
In a recent interview with SuperDeluxeEdition.com’s Paul Sinclair, The Who’s Pete Townshend revealed that Steven Wilson had recently completed an immersive mix of Who Are You (1978)–the band’s final studio release featuring powerhouse drummer Keith Moon. It seems reasonable to assume that the Atmos mix will be released on Blu-Ray disc as part of a lavish multi-disc deluxe edition, similar to 2023’s massive Who’s Next / Life House box set.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Wish You Were Here (1975)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: James Guthrie (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Now that Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and Animals (1977) have both been re-released as standalone Blu-Ray Audio discs with new Dolby Atmos mixes, it stands to reason that the next release in this series will be 1975’s Wish You Were Here–arriving just in time for it’s 50th anniversary in 2025. Assuming they follow the template of the previous reissues, the Blu-Ray will likely include James Guthrie’s 5.1 surround mix (first released as part of the ‘Immersion’ box set in 2011) as well as a brand-new Dolby Atmos mix. It would be great to see Brian Humphries’ original 1975 quadraphonic mix included as well, but that seems unlikely as Alan Parsons' revered four-channel mix of Dark Side was not featured on the 2023 Blu-Ray.
Artist: Yes
Title: Close To The Edge (1972)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
In a recent episode of The Album Years podcast, Steven Wilson let it slip that he just finished a Dolby Atmos mix of Yes' 1972 epic Close To The Edge (which he'd previously remixed in both stereo and 5.1 surround for the 2013 Panegyric CD/DVD-A and CD/Blu-Ray reissues). It's safe to assume that the new release will follow the same format as the recent Super Deluxe Editions of The Yes Album (1971) and Fragile (1972), containing vinyl, CDs, and a Blu-Ray disc.
Artist: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Title: Southern Accents (1985)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Ryan Ulyate (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
One of our favorite reissues of 2024 was the three-disc deluxe edition of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Long After Dark (1982), containing a Blu-Ray Audio disc with Ryan Ulyate's Dolby Atmos remixes of the original 10-track LP and 11 bonus tracks taken from the same recording sessions. As such, we're hopeful that a similar package will follow in 2025 for its 1985 follow-up Southern Accents. After all, Ulyate already remixed "Don't Come Around Here No More" for the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Greatest Hits compilation in 2022.
Artist: The Grateful Dead
Title: Blues For Allah (1975)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
In an interview with us earlier this year, Steven Wilson confirmed that he'd completed one more Dolby Atmos remix from The Grateful Dead's back catalog: 1975's jazz-infused Blues For Allah, containing the fan-favorite opening medley of "Help On The Way," "Slipknot," and "Franklin's Tower." We're hopeful Rhino will see fit to issue Blu-Ray editions of this album as well as the already-released-to-streaming immersive versions of American Beauty (1970), Workingman's Dead (1970), and Europe '72 (1972).
Artist: Talking Heads
Title: More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Jerry Harrison & E.T. Thorngren (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Another great surprise in 2024 was the expanded Super Deluxe Edition of Talking Heads' classic 1977 debut, which offered up a stunning new Dolby Atmos remix from Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren alongside the duo's original 2005 5.1 surround mix done for the Brick box set. Harrison and Thorngren remixed the band's entire discography back in 2022, so it stands to reason that subsequent Super Deluxe reissues from the Talking Heads' back catalog–starting with 1978's More Songs About Buildings and Food–will also feature these immersive mixes in hi-res on Blu-Ray.
Artist: The Alan Parsons Project
Title: I, Robot (1977)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Alan Parsons (5.1 Surround Sound & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Following August 2024's Pyramid (1978) reissue, it stands to reason that its predecessor–1977's I, Robot–will be next in line to receive brand-new immersive mixes from founder/composer Alan Parsons. Featuring the hit single "Wouldn't Want to Be Like You," I, Robot capitalized on the growing public interest in science fiction during the late 1970s and ultimately became one of the group's best-selling albums. As with prior APP reissues, we expect a standalone Blu-Ray release will follow some months after the larger box set.
Artist: Tears For Fears
Title: Songs From The Big Chair (1985)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Steven Wilson (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Though Tears For Fears' 1985 smash already received new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes from Steven Wilson in 2014, it seems reasonable to expect that another reissue will materialize next year in time for the album's 40th anniversary. This could be the perfect opportunity for Wilson to revisit the original multitrack recordings in order to craft a brand-new Dolby Atmos mix, for release via streaming services as well as on Blu-Ray disc.
Artist: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
Title: One Size Fits All (1975)
Format: Blu-Ray
Immersive Mix By: Karma Auger & Erich Gobel (5.1 Surround Sound & Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Following 2024's expansive Apostrophe reissue–which not only contained new 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos mixes by Karma Auger & Erich Gobel, but also Frank Zappa’s original quadraphonic mix–it seems reasonable to speculate that the next title in the series will be 1975's One Size Fits All, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this coming June. One Size Fits All features several fan-favorite Zappa compositions, including the nearly nine-minute epic "Inca Roads."
Artist: Kraftwerk
Title: Autobahn (1974)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: TBD (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk are set to embark on a lengthy North American tour this coming Spring, in celebration of their landmark fourth album Autobahn's 50th anniversary. An expansive reissue has been teased for early 2025, containing the band's first ever picture disc and a Dolby Atmos mix taken from the original 16-track master tapes. Such a release could also contain the original four-channel quadraphonic mix, which was released only via 8-track cartridge in 1975.
Artist: Queen
Title: A Night At The Opera (1975)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: TBD (Dolby Atmos), Elliot Scheiner (5.1 Surround Sound)
Release Date: TBD
Queen's 1975 magnum opus, featuring some of the band's biggest hits like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "You're My Best Friends," celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Though the album was already remixed in 5.1 surround sound by Elliot Scheiner and Brian May more than two decade ago, it will be interesting to see if the band opts to green-light a new immersive mix in 2025. After all, Queen' self-titled debut album did just receive new remixes in both stereo and Dolby Atmos.
Artist: Dire Straits
Title: Brothers In Arms (1985)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: Guy Fletcher (Dolby Atmos), Chuck Ainlay (5.1 Surround Sound)
Release Date: TBD
Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, one of the definitive albums of the CD era, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025. This title seems like a natural candidate for Rhino's Atmos Blu-Ray program, as such a release could contain both Chuck Ainlay's 5.1 surround mix (released on SACD and DVD-A in 2005) and Guy Fletcher's new Dolby Atmos remix (exclusive to streaming services).
Artist: Propaganda
Title: A Secret Wish (1985)
Format: TBD
Immersive Mix By: TBD (Dolby Atmos)
Release Date: TBD
Given that the original producing team of Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson have both embraced spatial audio, we're hopeful that Propaganda's classic debut LP will be revisited in the immersive format for its 40th anniversary next year. Though Horn and Lipson have both proven to be adapt spatial mixers–Horn did the 5.1 & Atmos mixes for his 2023 studio album Echoes: Ancient & Modern, while Lipson did the same for xPropaganda's The Heart is Strange in 2022–the job could just as easily be delegated to an outside specialist like Steven Wilson (who did the Atmos mix of ABC's The Lexicon of Love, another Horn production) or David Kosten (who's worked on '80s classics such as Paul Young's No Parlez and The Thompson Twins' Into The Gap).
(Top Photo - MSM Studios)
