HiRez Poll Jefferson Starship - RED OCTOPUS [Blu-Ray Audio]

[rusinurbe]

An album I had on CD back in the early days of CD and just never got into the album eventually got rid of the CD. Quadio and time for a reappraisal, 20 to 25 years probably since I last listened to the album. Pleasantly surprised at how much I like the album my musical tastes certainly have broadened over the years. Probably the most modern sounding of the Quad mixes, sounds great the surround mix won't set the world on fire but does reward close listening I think.

Now did Jefferson Airplane do and Quad mixes ?

 

[par4ken]

As I mentioned a number of times I was a huge "Airplane" fan but never big on "Starship". Jefferson Starship was too pop or MOR oriented for my taste. Miracles was typical mid seventies AM radio fodder, I would have completely ignored them if not for Quad!

That being said, I did purchase the quad reel along with "Spitfire", latter adding "Dragonfly" as well. Having a limited number of quad reels I did listen to this and Spitfire quit a bit so the tracks are all very familiar to me. In addition I made myself an SQ encoded cassette tape from the reels.

This release is a sonic upgrade from the Sterotape reel but still retains a bit of that midbass emphasis that to me adds a slight muddyness to the sound. Surround wise the recording is very good indeed.

I would have expected this to be released as a box set with at least "Spitfire" and "Dragonfly" but I'm not complaining. Perhaps they will release Spitfire next, I think that it is a stronger album!

I'm voting 8.

 

[key_wiz]

I'm in a minority here it seems, maybe due to age, but I much prefer JS to JA. The earlier incarnation was just boring hippie music to me and "White Rabbit" is one of the most excruciatingly awful songs ever recorded, IMO. Grace Slick's voice always leaned towards fingernails-on-the-chalkboard to me even in the best of her records.

But I fell in love with Marty Balin's sweet voice and the beautiful ballad "Miracles" when I was 14 year old kid and was fascinated by the production and all the layerings of guitars and vocals. I bought the single and then later having heard the full version on FM radio with all the 'dirty' lyrics the young lad in me rushed out to buy the album.

I played the album quite a bit for a while there but I'm certain I haven't revisited it since probably 1978 or so.

So how does this new release hold up?

Side One has some nice nostalgia for me. While there's a bit of a dated 70s feel to it overall, the songs are stronger than I remember and the performances good. Even Grace's voice doesn't grate on me too much here.

Side Two I must have not played much at all because other than "Play On Love" the rest of the disc isn't clicking too many memory cells. And probably for good reason as the rest of the tracks are filler/crap. Probably the smartest thing Paul Kantner ever did was to turn the band over to musicians who could better keep it sounding contemporary. His contributions to the album are dated sounding and weak even by mid-70s standards. And he probably never should have been a lead vocalist in ANY era.

The fidelity of the disc is solid considering the time period and the quad mix surprisingly good.

Fidelity=9
Surround Mix=8
Material=7 (5 decent songs 1 pt each. 4 crap songs 0 pts each. 2 points for "Miracles")
Extra Point for Rhino's always good packaging and attention to all the original details of the artwork and packaging which make me smile and feel happy.

Overall score=8

 

[jimfisheye]

I've tried a few times to get into some of these JS albums. Probably because of the quad mixes. I love some of the J Airplane albums and especially Blows Against The Empire. This Red Octopus album really nails the vibe and sound of 1970s AM radio. I hate it!

Mastering sounds really on point though!

 

[par4ken]

Now did Jefferson Airplane do and Quad mixes ?

Volunteers and The Worst Of Jefferson Airplane

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[Wagonmaster_91]

And "Bark".

 

[Todd 987]

I'm a complete virgin, listening to this release for the very first time.
Must have missed it due to my Bay City Rollers stage !!

It has a sweet harmonious feel to it. Like the band were really enjoying themselves getting into the groove.
And I think it's aged well with nice tunes.

The mix is superb

A Slick 10

A complete virgin. Oh no.

 

[Todd 987]

9 Always liked this album a lot. Couple of great tunes, couple of weaker tunes. A big band, lots of vocal interplay, made for a quad mix. Great listen.

 

[Jim.olga]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this new reissue of the classic Jefferson Starship album "Red Octopus".
This new Blu-Ray audio release is part of Rhino Records' Quadio series and marks the first time that the original 1970s Quadraphonic mix has been properly remastered and reissued on a high-res disc format.

I held out getting Red Octopus after reading some of the reviews but I'm really glad I added it to my collection. I think the mix is great. It sounds very contemporary. Plus, the quad version is crystal clear. I'd say this ranks right up there with the three it was issued with!

 

[Goona]

9 for me not as good as War but a good listen

 

[Rhinojack]

Unfortunately, when I tried to play my copy, my Oppo 105 would not output video, so I couldn’t see the menus. Something is making my Oppo blank out video, just from BDs. Its menus are fine, and DVDs are fine. Leaving it unplugged overnight - that usually helped.

Unfortunately, when I tried to play my copy, my Oppo 105 would not output video, so I couldn’t see the menus. Something is making my Oppo blank out video, just from BDs. Its menus are fine, and DVDs are fine. Leaving it unplugged overnight - that usually helped.

I have a Oppo BDP-103d Darbee edition and I don’t even turn on the TV, automatically starts playing ATMOS or 5.1 or Quad. Maybe your settings?

 

[barfle]

I have a Oppo BDP-103d Darbee edition and I don’t even turn on the TV, automatically starts playing ATMOS or 5.1 or Quad. Maybe your settings?

No, it's not settings. But I don't know yet what it is. Occasionally, I find that the blanking of blu-ray video follows some event that seems like it could have caused the problem, but then it happens when my original cause wasn't there.

Since I posted that remark, I've been able to play the disc fine. If I lose output, I unplug the Oppo overnight and everything is just peachy. For a while.

 

[quicksrt]

I was able to give this a 9 even with three songs that are not really up to par imo.
The reason for this higher rating is due to the quad mix being more clear, cleaner and opened up than the stereo. So I gave it a point just for that real improvement. Sometimes with quad a particular instrument or vocal track is not as loud as it was in stereo or the balance is just slightly off somewhere. With this album I hear everything to perfection, balanced and detailed so nicely.