savaytse66,
Welcome to QQ! I notice this was your first post, although you joined a while ago. I am a frequent lurker too
It was I who talked about how drastically different the 5.1 mix was from the stereo mix. I am continually surprised by how different the mixes are, and I listen to both fairly frequently since I, like you, really love the music. In one track, a completely different vocal track was chosen. In less severe cases, however, it is a different instrument that is made prominent, while other instruments are put in the background (like you mentioned). I believe Christer-Andre Cederberg mixed both the stereo and 5.1, but the liner notes don't say that explicitly. If it was Christer who did both, it is surprising that he would make such different mixing decisions. I guess he was trying to get creative with the 5.1 mix, but I think it was a mistake to change the feel of the song so much.
Regardless, it is a great album, and well worth the purchase.
While searching for more information about the upcoming ELP mixes by Jakko Jakszyk, I landed on this page, http://jakkomusic.com/surround.html and to my surprise it mentions that Jakko mixed Weather Systems in 5.1. As he is not mentioned in the credits, I sent him an email asking if his mix was used or not. No answer yet.
