artist: Jeff Trott This title is currently unavailable on Amazon.com. album: Dig Up The Astroturf format: DVD-Audio label: DTS Entertainment release year: 2002 performance: 6 sound 7 reviewed by: Richard Elen I first encountered Jeff Trott in collaboration with Karl Wallinger (World Party) many years ago. Perhaps it was even earlier, if this is the same Jeff Trott who was in a band called The Lifers in the early '80s. Since then, he has become rather well-known as a BMI award-winning songwriter and collaborator on several hits with a number of top artists, notably Tears for Fears and Sheryl Crow.

artist: Toy Matinee album: Toy Matinee format: DVD-Audio label: DTS Entertainment release year: 2001 performance: 9 sound 9.5 reviewed by: Richard Elen Toy Matinee is unquestionably my favorite rock surround demo. I already reviewed this album in its DTS CD incarnation. It’s just incredible, with truly wonderful playing, much deeper lyrics than you’ll find on even the above-average rock album, and great performances all round, especially from the late Kevin Gilbert on guitar and vocals, and Patrick Leonard (Madonna’s erstwhile producer) on keyboards. They’re joined by Brian McLeod on drums without a beat out of place, Tim Pierce on other guitars and Guy Pratt with a tremendously solid, tight bass sound. And then there’s Julian Lennon on backing vocals on a couple of tracks.

artist: Bjork function popUp(URL,NAME) { amznwin=window.open(URL,NAME,'location=yes,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,toolbar=yes,resizable=yes,width=380,height=450,screenX=10,screenY=10,top=10,left=10'); amznwin.focus();} document.open(); document.write(""); document.close(); album: Vespertine format: DVD-Audio label: Elektra release year: 2002 performance: 8 sound 8 reviewed by: Jerry Del Colliano In a musical world where executives place a premium on artists who sound just like other hit artists, Iceland’s Bjork sounds like no one else you have ever heard. Bjork broke on to the pop music scene in the late 1980s as the frontwoman for the pop act The Sugarcubes, who had a few moderately successful tunes, especially on college radio, including the song “hit.” In the early 1990’s Bjork made her break from The Sugarcubes with her album Debut, where she captured more widespread MTV success, got significant U.S. radio airplay and commanded attention with her stunning, almost Eskimo-like looks and out-there vocals. Bjork was so different than the pop divas of the time that if you paid any attention to the music scene at all, you had to notice and admire her.

artist: Various Artists This title is currently unavailable from Amazon.com. album: Awaken (DVD-A) format: DVD-Audio label: Electromatrix Records release year: 2001 performance: 8 sound 8 reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh Bringing together street culture with the most cutting edge technology, Awaken is a more than just a disc with some high resolution techno music and cool cover art. Techo DJs and producers bring the sounds and some of the most talented graffiti artists such as Los Angeles’ KOFIE provide the visual stimulation on this DVD-Audio disc mixed in 5.1 surround sound. Techno music and DVD-Audio surround sound make such a natural fit I’m amazed there aren’t already a handful of titles like Awaken already on the music scene.

artist: Foreigner   album: 4 format: DVD-Audio label: Warner Music Group/Rhino/Atlantic Records release year: 2001 performance: 8 sound 7 reviewed by: Richard Elen From a strong opening in the late Seventies with their debut album "Foreigner" and follow-up "Double Vision", Foreigner’s third release in 1979, "Head Games", was rather an anticlimax for many. It was a difficult time for the band too, but the 1981 release "4" was to take the band to a higher level, including several strong songs, including "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "Urgent". If you like the band, this album is without doubt their best-known, and you will want to check out the surround remixes on this disc.