Just got the new surround version of Talking Heads "Fear of Music" album. It's been one of my favorite records for 25 years, so a surround version is right up my street. First listening is very positive, Jerry Harrison has done a pretty decent job on the surround mix. It's fairly subtle, but not boring. Most songs sound almost exactly like their stereo counterparts, but nicely spread out to fill the space. In particular he does some nice things with the guitars in place, it works. On the other hand, in a couple of places, most noticeably "Electric Guitar", Harrison just can't duplicate Brian Eno's unique production style, leading to it sounding pretty damn weird if you know the original well as I do. That's a minor issue though to be honest. The other big drawback is of course the lack of a DTS track on the disc - if you're listening to it on a normal DVD player there's just Dolby which kind of sucks.

Still highly recommended if you're into surround though. I want to pick up a bunch of the other discs over the next weeks as well, reviews as I get them. Can't wait to hear how "Remain in Light" sounds...

Update: after listening to this a second time I can now confirm that "Life During Wartime" in surround is officially one of the greatest things ever put on a record. I have spoken, and it is so.