HiRez Poll Doobie Brothers, The - QUADIO [Blu-ray Audio]

[Scott65]

The remake of “Take Me in Your Arms“ was a decent sized hit.

I'd buy the album just for that track.

 

[ar surround]

I've made it through the entire Toulouse Street, some tracks played several times, and the first four tracks of The Captain and Me.

While listening to Toulouse Street, I had in front of me the notes for the EQ and level modifications I had made to the Q4 rip. I spent about two weeks on and off trying to get that Q4 rip to my liking. Well, I can say that I won't be making any mods to this Toulouse Street Quadio and the Q4 rip won't be taking up hard drive space anymore.

There is the occasional surprise when hearing familiar tunes in Quad, but I was definitely not expecting what came next: I've heard Long Train Running hundreds of times in stereo and 5.1 but this Quad mix simply has blown me away. The detail of the guitars is staggering, including the distortion of Johnston's lead guitar. Geez, the Elliot Scheiner 5.1 of this song has been a reference and demo track for me since it came out, but there are elements in that mix that are muffled compared to the Quadio. Yes, the Scheiner 5.1 sounds smoother and more refined, but this Quad mix of Long Train Running is just so damn exciting in comparison and will be my go-to from now on.

 

[musicmemorabiliashoppellc]

And you call that sufficient drum panning? Not even one full turn.
Gentle Giant Three piece suite halfway through the Nothing At All song, now that's a drum solo encirclement of epic proportions!

Not one good song on STAMPEED.....R U Joking?! How about "Take Me In Your Arms"

 

[Goona]

Listening to What was once vices this is one great album

 

[jhw59]

Listened with extreme pleasure to 3 of the 4 albums. A very rare 10 from me.

 

[oxenholme]

Superb! Truly superb. 10.

 

[ctoelle]

The fidelity for this box is through the roof! Hard to believe these are 40+ year old recordings.
Easy 10

 

[musicmemorabiliashoppellc]

Just finished listening to all 4 discs on my TV sound system.....why you ask.....because they don't allow MULTI-CHANNEL sound systems in JAIL!!!

I'm sure I'd give it a 10 though

 

[sperezmore]

10.

 

[DaverJ]

I gave it a 10 - love these albums, and the discrete quad (surround), sound quality, and mix presented here, for the most part*, is awesome.

*But one major gripe - I don't like lead vocals and main drums behind me, and this seems to pop up often in this set. But because this is based on the original, authentic 70s quad mixes, I give this gripe a pass.

Which leads me to a question that's been on my mind for you Quad experts. I had no access to anything Quad growing up, but became fascinated with surround in movies and, within the last half decade, in music. I'm wondering if there is a difference between the original concept of Quad in the 70s and modern day surround? I understand Quad in the 70s used the terms "Front left and right" and "Rear left and right", but because there was no screen (anchor) involved, was the front and rear focus arbitrary? In other words, was the purpose of Quad music in the 70s simply to have the music coming from all 4 corners of the room, and it didn't matter what was the front and what was the rear?

TL/DR - is there difference between historical "Quad" and modern-day "4-channel Surround"?

 

[TVB]

The sound can be described in one word... WONDERFUL. I voted 10. The Doobie bros made some incredible music during these years and these albums are on my list of all time favorite's. The jackets and quad sleeves really set these editions apart. I Love the quadradisc logos. I wish all of my quad discs used original quadraphonic notation's. The 4.0 on AF discs is just not as cool as "quadradisc" or "quadraphonic" and DV doesn't use any quad notations at all. The disc labels make the discs look like mini records to me. They are nostalgic and take me back in time when I was searching record store after record store looking for those rare quadradiscs and the excitement I felt when I found a large collection of them in a 2nd hand record shop. If I can get a few more sets like this, I might have to retire my cd 4 equipment

 

[jimfisheye]

I wasn't a huge fan and never owned any of these albums. Heard the hits pretty much everywhere. Cool feel good kind of stuff. Crack band. A little too straight for my tastes. I remember hearing the full albums here and there and thought they had it going on all the same. In hindsight, a good mix of pop with more interesting bits. So I could easily be missing something that someone more familiar might be listening for.

In short these masters are full fidelity with no major mistakes and no cheapness (ie lossy formats, volume war mastering, etc). Coming from the quad era as it were when some surround mixes could be very... experimental. These mixes are fully on point. Balances and separation taking full proper advantage of a multichannel system. As with many early quad surround mixes, there isn't really any use of creating 3D imaging. It's more 4 corner. But the arrangement is on point for that and again, a really full well balanced mix that makes good use of the 4 channels and extended dynamic range. There are only a small percentage of bands with mixes like this from this era and this is one of them.

If you had any of the encoded formats from back then or troubled tape copies... Those are a 1 and these masters are a 10. There's such a wide gap it's almost silly to compare them. That said, these Quadio series have a scooped eq signature sound. Listen to the first Rhino reissue of the 1st Chicago album in quad vs the later reissue in the Quadio box set. The 1st reissue sounds pristine. The Quadio box has everything mid scooped. This set has the same signature sound. On a scale of 1 to whatever for damage - again, this doesn't even come close to the mutilation of the early format releases! There's no decimal place left on that scale for critique! But these definitely got hit with an unfortunate mid scoop eq move in mastering that brings the cymbals and percussion into your face and gives the whole thing a flat sound. Still the best copies available by magnitudes. Not even close to the mutilation that is an average volume war CD. Nothing shrill or thin like those Beatles remixes. Correctable if someone cared to tinker.

 

[rusinurbe]

Just started on my set, just live that old school quad instrument placement 'rocking down the highway'

High marks marks for this set I think

 

[beerking]

10, 10 till we do it again.

This suburb box set sure gets the quad juices flowing.

Rhino, if you are watching and reading these positive poll comments, I hope you will release other quad box sets soon.
We ain't getting any younger!!

 

[privateuniverse]

So my history with The Doobie Brothers is similar to my history with Chicago. I started listening to the radio (both Top 40 and Album Rock) in 1975. Both bands were omnipresent. I thought both were decent, but didn't really love either of them. I was never motivated to purchase a Chicago LP back in the day and the only Doobie Brothers LPs I bought were from the McDonald era. But even those McDonald era albums were never faves. When the Chicago Quadio box came along I felt it would be worth voting with my wallet and supporting the program so I purchased a copy....and WOW! I found a lot of music I had never heard that I fell in love with. (Chicago VII has become a real favorite). The mixes and fidelity were also quite nice so it turned out to be a worthwhile purchase. My hopes were for a similar experience with the Doobies box.

When it arrived last week, I actually listened to the whole thing in one sitting. I was enjoying it, but wasn't blown away by it. I found everything to be good to very good, just not great. Decent 70's style quad mixes but I don't think they scale the heights that the Chicago mixes or many of the DV titles (like the Earth, Wind & Fire) do. Separation sometimes felt muddy, but there are other moments that were sublime, like the a cappella ending of "Black Water". Fidelity good, but not great, even for the time period. And as for the music, I didn't find as much to love here as I did with the Chicago set. There were a few standout tracks for me that I had never heard before like the title track from Toulouse Street. Stampede was the last one I listened to. When I put it on I was a little worried that Doobie fatigue might be setting in, but musically I found it to be the most enjoyable of the four. I was really enjoying "Sweet Maxine", "Texas "Lullaby", "I Cheat the Hangman" and "Take Me in Your Arms". And although pianist Bill Payne made appearances on the other albums, he is employed to a greater degree on Stampede. His performances are great and are a highlight of the set.

So I will dock one point each for content, fidelity and mix which makes it a 7. However, I think the Quadio program is such an awesome idea that I will give it a bonus point and give it an 8. (Hey Rhino, bring on Joni & Randy!)

 

[ar surround]

I heard those four albums by the Doobies, over and over again in the seventies, in quad, and today I don't have any more desire to hear them. I don't know if l will ever feel differently in the future.

On the other side of the spectrum, if I hear Toulouse Street a hundred more times in quad, it won't be enough.

 

[EricKalet]

On the other side of the spectrum, if I hear Toulouse Street a hundred more times in quad, it won't be enough.

I feel the same way about TCAM. Quad or 5.1! Their very best album, ever.

 

[ar surround]

If you had any of the encoded formats from back then or troubled tape copies... Those are a 1 and these masters are a 10. There's such a wide gap it's almost silly to compare them. That said, these Quadio series have a scooped eq signature sound. Listen to the first Rhino reissue of the 1st Chicago album in quad vs the later reissue in the Quadio box set. The 1st reissue sounds pristine. The Quadio box has everything mid scooped. This set has the same signature sound. On a scale of 1 to whatever for damage - again, this doesn't even come close to the mutilation of the early format releases! There's no decimal place left on that scale for critique! But these definitely got hit with an unfortunate mid scoop eq move in mastering that brings the cymbals and percussion into your face and gives the whole thing a flat sound. Still the best copies available by magnitudes. Not even close to the mutilation that is an average volume war CD. Nothing shrill or thin like those Beatles remixes. Correctable if someone cared to tinker.

That's interesting, Jim. I feel that the first issue of Chicago Transit Authority in DTS has a slight harshness to it compared to the subsequent Quadio Bluray. My nits about the CTA Quadio Bluray are somewhat excessive bass and somewhat muted vocals; but I still consider it easier on the ears than the first reissue.

I know what you mean by the mid scoop eq in mastering on this Doobies set, and I find that trying to adjust for it with tone controls or tilt equalization doesn't quite get me there...probably could use some mid-range adjustment using Audacity, but not worth the effort. This set is still a 10 compared to what came before.

 

[markshan]

I've only heard Captain so far (which is why I haven't voted yet) and was blown away by the fidelity. Hearing so many say it is the weak link in the set has me really looking forward to playing the rest.

 

[Matt Wilson]

Yeah, I went with 10 too. If nothing else, not only do they sound great and I want to encourage Rhino to do more of these quad boxes, but because of the price as well. Four albums for about 50 bucks? Sheeee-it. I'm used to paying over a hundred for one album in 5.1 in a huge, space-filling box set with extraneous vinyl, etc. etc. This can't be beat!