Demos: ELP in 5.1  This just may be the first in a series of
blogs on music that finds its way into demos I'm constantly
staging for loudspeaker and a/v receiver reviews. Hence the
subtitle: Demos. Music is the reason I became an audio critic in
the first place. In fact, I was a published music critic long
before I became a technology critic, starting in 1979, writing
for Spin and Trouser Press and editing the Trouser Press
Collectors' Magazine. Tech criticism turned out to be a better
way of earning a living but I still see it as an outgrowth of my
identity as a music (and movie) critic. As I note in my book:
"We master technology so that art can take precedence over
technology."  Art is in the eye of the beholder, as any fan of
Emerson, Lake & Palmer knows. Steven Wilson's fresh 5.1-channel
mixes of ELP's first two albums offer new glimpses of a band
that's been controversial since these two albums were released
about 40 years ago.  The keyboard-based trio has always sold
lots of albums but attracted mixed