This one is an 8 for me.
First off, I've loved this album since it came out. Content couldn't be better IMO. This album came out at a time when I really had no interest in modern popular rock music. Whereas there were a few other artists that had great songs, I'd buy their album and find most everything besides the single to be a disappointment. This was not the case with Seal.
To be fair, I don't have an Atmos setup, so I listened to the Atmos mix in 5.1. I also listened to the 5.1 mix separately, which I can only assume was the one previously released (which somehow I missed before).
Atmos mix: From the opening of The Beginning, I thought, "YES!!" This is a great way to hear this album. The mix is certainly immersive with all channels active. Soon I started wishing the vocals were more in the FL and FR channels instead of the center channel (though maybe this works better on an Atmos setup). Then after some time, I started getting a little fatigued by apparent compression in the mix. My room for 5.1 listening is pretty dead, so mixes have to be on the bright side or too compressed for medium-to-high volumes to bug me. I wouldn't say the compression was awful, but the mix was noticeably not dynamic in places where it should be. "Deep Water", for example, starts off with an acoustic bit, and when the band comes in, it should be louder. But it really isn't. There are other places where parts that had bigger bass or were louder seemed to be toned down in this mix (why is "Killer" not as 'heavy' sounding as before??). Overall, it's a neat alternate listen, but I had some nitpicks about Horn's choices here (overdoing reverb on lead vocals, as one example). What I really wanted was something that took the elements in the more common stereo mix and made them fully immersive. Instead, there are parts that are just a little too alternate for me. That said, I'll certainly return to it, despite these minor complaints.
I found the 5.1 mix less preferable compared with the Atmos. I didn't make as many mental notes on that one, I'm afraid.
Still, don't get me wrong, given the price, I'm happy enough with this release. Seal's later and softer more adult-contemporary style isn't really my thing, but after - oh my! - 30+ years, I still love this album.
(Although I can't imagine sellers getting that kind of $$ for the DVD now that this has been released.)
