I've looked forward to this release since it was announced and for the most part it delivers. The virtues of the music have been described by others, and the documentary on the DVD captures the excitement of this too short-lived phenomenon of the early 80s. But despite my love for the albums I can only give it 4 stars because of the mistakes made by Mute and I am not going to discuss the flimsy container of the boxed set.
First, unlike the DM remasters the CDs were not hybrid SACD/CDs. To hear the 5.1 mixes one has to use the DVD in the set, switch on the TV and work through the menus to find the 5.1 mixes (Dolby digital or DTS). While playing the songs from the DVD the screen graphic is static, and does not tell you which song is playing or provide lyrics which are in the CD booklets. One might as well switch off the TV and save energy. SACDs would have provided a higher resolution 5.1 mix and would have saved switching on the TV.
Second, the stereo PCM mix on the DVD does not play through the digital out of my DVD/CD/SACD/DVD-Audio player like the 5.1 mixes. This perplexed me but I eventually found out that all mixes play through the analog output (which I use for SACD and DVD-Audio, again raising the question of why there's no SACD version). I suppose if I just want to hear the stereo version I'll just pop in the CD.
Third, on the DVD version of You and Me Both, Nobody's Diary consistently starts off wobbly on both 5.1 mixes, and skipping to Happy People one hears the last moments of the outro to Anyone before Happy People kicks in.
Last, and perhaps most egregious, the mix of Too Pieces on the DVD 5.1 versions of Upstairs at Eric's are missing the full bass of the beat and the lower frequency synth phrases that counterpoint Ms. Moyet's vocals during the verses. This was one of my favourite parts of the song and it is missing in the 5.1 versions. Aarggh! I would also add that the DTS mix comes across as rather shrill compared to the Dolby Digital.
So, while trying to do justice to one of the best acts to come out of the early 80s, Mute didn't cross their 'T's and dot their 'I's and have provided a product that could have been incredible, but again the consumer has to be satisfied with something less. Considering the premium one pays for the boxed set's extra CD and DVD, it would have been nice if it was done well, but as I have noted above, it has flaws. I am also concerned that this set represents the abandonment of SACD by Mute, which would be a shame as, in my opinion, it is the superior of the advanced formats for audio.
