Don't get hung up on the occasional use of dated-sounding production. Sure, there may be a few moments where this 1998 album sounds somewhat like a product of the late 1980s, but I feel that Brian Wilson manages to make it sound "timeless".
And, no, it may not be the lost treasure we've all come to love in "Smile", but it surely puts a grin on my face. I've had "Imagination" on DTS-CD for maybe a couple of weeks now and I'm warming up to it nicely. The songs, like most Beach Boys tunes of old, are catchy and put me in a good mood. Proof: Just before writing this review, I was starting to feel a little "blue". Nothing out of the ordinary, I know. But as someone who once suffered from fairly severe depression, I'd prefer not to travel too far down that path. Brian Wilson's music, even the simple and rarely praised pop songs found here, has the power to help change the road I'm on. Thank you, Brian.
Thank you, too, to all those who worked hard so many years ago to bring this album to the public in 5.1 surround sound. It was a mistake that I never bothered to buy this release until now. Although it is only in the lossy compression format, DTS, the sound quality is actually quite decent and has an airy feel. The mix is also up to my somewhat audiophile standards. Vocals are placed into the main left/right speakers whilst the center channel speaker serves only to provide light instrumentation and percussion. The rears do a most capable job of blending harmonized vocals with those found up front and they also provide additional touches of light instrumentation. The whole thing, while definitely a discrete surround mix, feels very ambient if not quite majestic. It's not gimmicky and, much like the album itself, it's not worth second guessing.
It's just a pure delight. Imagine that!
