This New Zealand band were primarily 2-hit wonders in America. Their self-titled 1986 debut, "Crowded House", has been remixed into 96 kHz 24-bit surround sound on this DVD-Audio release. The disc contains the videos to both hit songs: "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong". (An enjoyable treat to watch even today.) Unfortunately, the videos are only available in stereo. But such bonuses aren't the main reason for buying a DVD-Audio disc. So, then, how is the sound quality of the 11 album tracks? Well... It's an enjoyable disc, but it's not without flaws. To me, things sound a little harsh overall. And the surround mix? It's discrete. Mostly it works, but on "Don't Dream It's Over", I think it was a bad idea to place the backing vocals exclusively in the surrounds and the main vocals exclusively in the front center channel. (They're trying for a sort of call-and-answer type of thing, but it comes off a bit disjointed.) Another thing I'm not crazy about---and this affects all the tracks---is the fact Neil Finn's vocals are almost exclusively in the center channel. Worse, that's all there is in the center! There is no other instrumentation at all. Oddly enough, the vocals don't sound overly narrow or trapped in the center. So it's listenable. However, I feel the sonics would have benefitted from having the vocals spread out more.
