5.1 Doors

I'm not really a Doors fan. However, I do own Perception, the boxed set of the Doors collection remixed in 5.1 surround sound on DVD-Audio.

So why, if I don't care that much for Morrison and company, do I own their entire studio collection in a boxed set? Because I really, really like surround sound and DVD-Audio, and I appreciate well-mixed 5.1 surround sound even when the music doesn't particularly appeal to me.

Odd thing, though: as I've listened to this set over and over, I've really grown to appreciate the music itself. The DVD-A mix almost convinces you that you're in a studio with the group as they're putting together the tracks for their albums; you hear each instrument with amazing clarity, and the vocal nuances are simply amazing. Jim Morrison's vocals are growing on me, but it's the amazing work by keyboard player Ray Manzarek that's really wowing me. The Doors sound is as much his creation as it is Morrison's, and these discs make that very clear.

I keep wishing that some of my personal favorites--Crosby, Stills, & Nash or The Beatles (besides Love) or The Rolling Stones or Donovan or Iron Butterfly or Enya or Loreena McKennitt--would re-offer their catalog in 5.1 surround sound. The format wars between DVD-A and SACD, which resulted in neither achieving the "critical mass" needed for format success, pretty much render that impossible, but I'll keep hoping. After all, they did it with the Doors!...

And if you haven't heard 5.1 surround sound music, you really should give it a try... although I'll warn you that it's going to make you very dissatisfied with those mere stereo recordings you currently own...