Mickey Hart

For years, former Grateful Dead avant-garde percussionist Mickey Hart has been releasing albums on the side that feature his inventive experimentation and demonstrating an array of disciplines that bonds rhythm and the soul by blending cultures and their instruments together in ways previously unheard. Also, Hart has been on the forefront of utilising Surround Sound technologies since the 1970s, and finally he has delved into the new and still untapped DVD audio realm, where albums can be remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound with a resolution that exceeds the tin canny harsh standard that is the compact disc. As a beginning vehicle, he has chosen select tracks from his acclaimed Planet Drum, Diga, Mystery Box and At The Edge albums, as well as the eerie "The Compound," a thudding and frightening piece he wrote for the soundtrack of Apocalypse Now. The format is highly suitable for Hart's work, as the increased resolution and spatiality suit the ultra-earthy nature that is inherent in his style of music making. One can also hear how the multi-instrumentalists were placed during the recording (the late, great Zakir Hussain is all over these tracks), and can get a better understanding of the dimension that involves human interaction, where chaos battles discipline and are always on the fringe of exploding. Also of interesting note is the inclusion of an unreleased piece penned for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which features a plethora of percussionists, one of who is the venerable Philip Glass.