Surround Music Awards 2004 - Part Three The Best Multichannel Reissue Award addresses a category that will play a critical role in the mass market penetration of surround music - re-purposing familiar material in a way that transforms the listening experience and causes fans to discover their favorite albums all over again. This year honor went to Elton John's classic 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' from Universal/UME/Chronicles. Greg Penny (right) who engineered the 5.1 mix, accepted the award from Crystal Method's Ken Jordan (center) and a frisky Leslie Lewis, Executive Director of the Producer and Engineer Wing of the Recording Academy.
The classical works of Gustav Mahler are natural candidates for surround, and it was hardly a surprise to hear the format used so effectively in the Kaplan/Vienna Philharmonic recording of 'Mahler's Symphony No.2'. Yet Howard Soraka (center) of Universal Music Group/eLabs still seemed stunned as he accepted the Best Orchestral Mix Award from multi-Grammy winning producer Don Was (left) and Playboy Magazine's 50th Anniversary Playmate of the Year turned-DJ Colleen Shannon. Was and Shannon also presented the Best Non-Orchestral Mix for Porcupine Tree's 'In Absentia' (DTS Entertainment), and the Horizon Award, welcoming the best newcomer to surround sound, to Hiromi for 'Brain' on Telarc.
Although surround music is most commonly associated with disc-based media (DVD, SACD, and DVD-Audio), it is also taking on an increasingly important role in broadcast programming. Mixing 'Concert for George' for Warner Brothers was new territory for Ryan Ulyate (center), whose background was entirely in two-channel - but he made up for lost time to capture two awards for Best Broadcast Live Performance and Best Standard resolution Title, the latter presented here by Peter Frampton (left) and Guitar Player magazine editor, Michael Molenda (right). In a nod to the other selling point of the SACD and DVD-Audio formats, Frampton and Molenda also awarded the Best Hi-Res Stereo-Only Program to Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith for 'Yo Miles! Sky Garden' on Cuneiform.
In the evening's only tie, the Best Made for Surround Title was shared by 'XXL' from Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band on Silverline and Larry Chernicoff's 'October' from Windy Planet Music. Bucking the trend away from acceptance speeches, Chernicoff [left] observed that "It isn't a question of who you know, but how you use the surround mix - because I don't know anybody!" Gordon Goodwin and engineer Gary Lux [right] opted for a more low-key stance, accepting their award with silent grace.
High Fidelity Review's Listener's Choice Award offers populist input amidst the honors conferred by recording industry professionals and journalists who decide the other Surround Music Award finalists. With literally tens of thousands of votes cast, our online reader's poll selected Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' as the title of choice among discriminating listeners. Engineer Greg Penny (shown) accepted the award presented by yours truly. © Philip Brandes 2004.

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