Alright! I finally have time to write a review after several listens so here it is:
First off, I always knew that the opening of "The Endless Enigma" would be perfect surround material, and boy it sure is, especially in the back to front interplay between the piano and the congas! Like on other SW and Jakko mixes, Greg Lake's lead vocal is most prominent in the center with reflections spilling over to other channels, while Emerson's piano is the main focal point of the surround channels for this opening suite.
"From the Beginning" has always been my favorite of Greg Lake's songs for the band, and it's just as charming in surround as it ever was! Jakko made an interesting mixing decision by placing Lake's electric guitar solo in the surround channels, while Emerson's keyboard solo is in the front. I might have done it the other way around, but then again they didn't ask me to mix this…
Next we have "The Sheriff" featuring Carl Palmer's potty mouth! The drums (and especially the toms) are very forward on this track, with the toms rolling around in-between the front and surround channels. Emerson's honky-tonk piano is also a feature in surround, and look out for that gunshot!
Emerson is the main surround focus once again on "Hoedown" with his synthesizers circling around the room in a very appropriate manner. Throughout many times on this remix, Greg Lake's bass playing is brought further into focus than it was on the original album, and I especially love to hear what he's doing in the middle of "Hoedown".
Beginning side 2 is the epic title track "Trilogy", and once again, Emerson's piano is the focus of the surround channels, while Lake's voice is anchored in the center. My favorite moment on this track is the explosion into the full band with bass, drums, and Emerson's synthesizer stacks in full force! It sounds like there are few notes missing from the synth chord stacks when the full band enters, but I'd have to go back and check the original stereo mix with the new one to see if there is an audible difference. Emerson's synth leads also dance around all of the channels to great effect!
I'll leave "Living SUN" out of this review until more people have a chance to hear this remix. Don't want to spoil the myriad of surprises contained within this track.
And that leaves us with "Abaddon's Bolero". Like the opening of the album, this was an ELP track that was designed for surround. Layers upon layers of keyboards which can now be carefully extracted and given their own individual space as a part of the whole.
For those of you who are unsure about this release due to "Brain Salad Surgery", GET IT! There's no glaring errors on this one, and I think that Jakko has done a fine job keeping the original intent of the album while making it sound great for today's surround standards! I'm giving it a '10', no reservations whatsoever!
