Quad LP/Tape Poll B.T. Express: Energy To Burn [SQ]

[sjcorne]

Energy To Burn was B.T. Express' first and only quad release, issued solely on SQ matrix-encoded LP in August 1976. Though the album was moderate success, peaking at #43 on the U.S. pop charts and #11 on R&B, it ultimately failed to recapture the success of 1974's gold-certified Do It ('Til You're Satisfied).

Columbia PCQ 34178 [SQ LP]
Discogs link: LP
Quadraphonic remix engineer: Larry Keyes
Quadraphonic sound supervision: Harold J. Kleiner

Side 1

1. Depend On Yourself
2. Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some More
3. Now That We Found Love
4. Energy To Burn

Side 2

1. Time Tunnel
2. Make Your Body Move
3. Herbs
4. Energy Level

 

[sjcorne]

It's a shame there wasn't also a Q8 release of this album, but the extreme four-corner directionality of the quad mix shines through even on the decoded SQ LP. I'd bet the real thing is so discrete that it's actually distracting, as if there are entirely different bands playing in the front and back channels.

The second track in particular ("Can't Stop Groovin' Now") makes for a great demo of how good matrixed quad can sound. Through a top-shelf decoder like the Surround Master or Fosgate 101A, you should be able to clearly hear a different instrument in each corner of the room: electric guitar in front left, strings in front right, sax in rear left, and percussion in rear right. "Depend On Yourself" has the whistle-like instrument (flute?) in the left rear and synth in the right rear, with the rhythm section upfront and all the vocals up the middle. The crazy oscillating synth in "Time Tunnel" is completely isolated in the left rear speaker.

The only track that doesn't really work for me is the slowed-down version of "Now That We Found Love", which is marred further by awful inner groove distortion on every conversion of this I've heard (including my own copy of the SQ LP).

 

[fredblue]

there's not a great deal i can add to Jonathan's critique, he has summed it up brilliantly, however i'll chip in to up the exposure because i believe this is a seriously overlooked gem. so much so i acquired 3 copies of the SQ to get the best sound possible!

it is totally unique in being a late-era CBS Quad with a seriously aggressive 4-corner mix!

we know of many such 4-corner mixes from the earlier days of Quad, where something totally discretely different was going on in each channel but by the time this one came out in '76, generally things had settled down into either having a band mix with the rhythm section up front (Young/Kleiner style, Kolotkin) or of the Bass in Left Rear/Drums in Right Rear fashion (Vincent/Bogert style) yet here we have instruments and vocals absolutely widely distributed out to the various channels -- its Amazing!!

i'll post back with more when time permits. for now, suffice to say its a "10" from me.