I know this won't really be revelatory to many given that the King Japan quad LPs are well known amongst collectors, but when I was trying to get to the bottom of the (then mysterious) quad reels that King released I started putting together a spreadsheet of all of their quad LPs for myself just so I had a full idea of the scope of what they released. King was (and is) one of the largest labels in Japan, and in addition to their own domestic product, much like their competitor JVC (aka Japanese RCA) they also manufactured and distributed quad product for a myriad of US and European labels.
I thought I'd share my findings here, for a few reasons. The main one is just from a historical perspective, I found it interesting to see the label's entire quad output collated in one place. But also, I wanted to make it easier for people searching for this stuff to be able to find it. Rather than just take all of what's known about these albums at face value, over the last 2 years or so by searching through discogs and QQ listings, ebay and Yahoo! japanese auction listings, I laid eyes on images of every single release in this series and did my own independent verification that the information we have about them is right.
My research led to a couple of interesting (well, depending on how much you care about this obscure nonsense) findings.
One is that some of the catalog numbers listed in @Mark Anderson 's (glorious) quad discographies (and elsewhere online) are occasionally incorrect - some of these albums have a bracketed letter in their catalog number that indicate what label they're licensed from, and most quad listings of these albums don't reflect that. For example Tom Jones' Body and Soul is usually listed as "4D-12" but its actual catalog number is "4D (L)-12" - there are several other albums like this.
The other is with their series of about 40 QS releases of Japanese artists domestic market in the "4K" series. Of everything listed below, these were the hardest ones to track down information about, due to the fact that the catalog numbers are short, and with the proliferation of 4K televisions, searching for one of them brings back so many unrelated results (for example, google "4K-8" and you get 833,000 of them) that it's basically impossible to find what you're looking for. I also noticed as I did start to track these LPs down that the majority of the album covers were entirely in Japanese with no English writing at all, which presents problems in the era of the Google search. To further complicate things, it appears that all of the English translations of these artist and album names that circulate now seem to stem from a 3-page advertisement that Sansui ran in the March 30th 1974 issue of Billboard (pages 35-37 if you want to look at it) entitled "The Complete Works of QS 4-Channel Stereo" which purported to list everything released in QS worldwide. While these translations are half-decent in terms of conveying the meaning of a title, a lot of them aren't exact - imagine if you were searching for Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon but it had been translated as Rose Froid Light-absent Perspective of the Lunar Object. That's the kind of thing we're dealing with here. So, like I did with my Crown Japan discography, for Japanese artists and/or album titles in this list, I've included the Japanese kanji along with my own translation of the text, which is about 95% Google Translate and 5% small adjustments based on my gut instinct. For anyone searching for these albums, I suggest you just plug the Japanese characters into Google along with maybe the catalog number as well.
A&M/Ode QS LPs
London Records QS LPs
ABC / Barclay Command / Project 3 / Vanguard QS LPs
Vanguard Classical QS LPs
A&M/Ode / Barclay / CTI / London (and subsidiaries) / Project 3 / Vanguard / United Artists CD-4 LPs
King Japanese Market QS LPs
QS and CD-4 Sampler LPs and EPs (NAS = 12" LP / NDS = 7" EP)
I thought I'd share my findings here, for a few reasons. The main one is just from a historical perspective, I found it interesting to see the label's entire quad output collated in one place. But also, I wanted to make it easier for people searching for this stuff to be able to find it. Rather than just take all of what's known about these albums at face value, over the last 2 years or so by searching through discogs and QQ listings, ebay and Yahoo! japanese auction listings, I laid eyes on images of every single release in this series and did my own independent verification that the information we have about them is right.
My research led to a couple of interesting (well, depending on how much you care about this obscure nonsense) findings.
One is that some of the catalog numbers listed in @Mark Anderson 's (glorious) quad discographies (and elsewhere online) are occasionally incorrect - some of these albums have a bracketed letter in their catalog number that indicate what label they're licensed from, and most quad listings of these albums don't reflect that. For example Tom Jones' Body and Soul is usually listed as "4D-12" but its actual catalog number is "4D (L)-12" - there are several other albums like this.
The other is with their series of about 40 QS releases of Japanese artists domestic market in the "4K" series. Of everything listed below, these were the hardest ones to track down information about, due to the fact that the catalog numbers are short, and with the proliferation of 4K televisions, searching for one of them brings back so many unrelated results (for example, google "4K-8" and you get 833,000 of them) that it's basically impossible to find what you're looking for. I also noticed as I did start to track these LPs down that the majority of the album covers were entirely in Japanese with no English writing at all, which presents problems in the era of the Google search. To further complicate things, it appears that all of the English translations of these artist and album names that circulate now seem to stem from a 3-page advertisement that Sansui ran in the March 30th 1974 issue of Billboard (pages 35-37 if you want to look at it) entitled "The Complete Works of QS 4-Channel Stereo" which purported to list everything released in QS worldwide. While these translations are half-decent in terms of conveying the meaning of a title, a lot of them aren't exact - imagine if you were searching for Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon but it had been translated as Rose Froid Light-absent Perspective of the Lunar Object. That's the kind of thing we're dealing with here. So, like I did with my Crown Japan discography, for Japanese artists and/or album titles in this list, I've included the Japanese kanji along with my own translation of the text, which is about 95% Google Translate and 5% small adjustments based on my gut instinct. For anyone searching for these albums, I suggest you just plug the Japanese characters into Google along with maybe the catalog number as well.
A&M/Ode QS LPs
| CATALOG # | ARTIST | TITLE | ORIGINAL LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4A-1 | Burt Bacharach | Live In Japan | A&M |
| 4A-2 | Carole King | Music | Ode |
| 4A-3 | Joan Baez | Come From The Shadows | A&M |
London Records QS LPs
| CATALOG # | ARTIST | TITLE | ORIGINAL LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4L-1 | Werner Muller | Live In Tokyo | London |
| 4L(J)-2 | Stomu Yamash'ta | Red Buddha | London |
ABC / Barclay Command / Project 3 / Vanguard QS LPs
| CATALOG # | ARTIST | TITLE | ORIGINAL LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4R-1 | Enoch Light | Electronic Music | Project 3 |
| 4R-2 | Buffy Sainte-Marie | Illuminations | Vanguard |
| 4R-3 | Various Artists | This Is The 4 Channel Stereo Record ４チャンネル・ステレオ・レコードのすべて | Vanguard |
| 4R-4 | Enoch Light | Permissive Polyphonics (obi says "Challenge To 4-Channel" in Japanese) | Project 3 |
| 4R-5 | Joan Baez | David's Album | Vanguard |
| 4R-6 | Enoch Light | Spanish Strings | Project 3 |
| 4R-7 | Enoch Light | Big Band Hits of the 30's (obi says "Golden Swing Era" in Japanese) | Project 3 |
| 4R-8 | B.B. King | Live In Japan | ABC |
| 4R-9 | Ray Charles Singers | Sunrise, Sunset (alternate title for 'Love Me with All Your Heart') | Command |
| 4R-10 | Count Basie | Broadway Basie's…Way | Command |
| 4R-11 | Doc Severinsen | Golden Trumpet Sounds (alternate title for 'Fever') | Command |
| 4R-12 | Larry Coryell | At The Village Gate | Vanguard |
| 4R-13/14 | Joan Baez | Blessed Are… (2 LP) | Vanguard |
| 4R-15 | Country Joe & The Fish | The Life & Times Of… | Vanguard |
| 4R-16 | Charles Aznavour | Live In Japan | Barclay |
| 4R-17 | Enoch Light | Brass Spectacular | Project 3 |
| 4R-18 | Enoch Light | Brass Menagerie 1973 | Project 3 |
| 4R-19 | Worlds Greatest Jazzband | Extra! | Project 3 |
| 4R-20 | Buffy Sainte-Marie | Moonshot | Vanguard |
| 4R-21 | Enoch Light | Golden Movie Hits! | Project 3 |
| 4R-22 | Stelvio Cipriani Orchestra | Cipriani Screen Mood | King |
| 4R-23 | Eddie Barclay Grand Orchestra | Grand Orchestra Symphonique | Barclay |
| 4R-24 | Raymond Lefevre Orchestra | Live In Japan | Barclay |
| 4R-25 | Phil Bodner | Brass Ring | Project 3 |
| _ | _ | _ | _ |
| 4PS-1 | Enoch Light | "This Is 4 Channel Stereo!!" Vol. 1 (33rpm 7" EP) これが４チャンネル・ステレオだ!! Vol.1 | Vanguard |
| 4PS-2 | Various Artists | "This Is 4 Channel Stereo!!" Vol. 2 (33rpm 7" EP) これが４チャンネル・ステレオだ!! Vol.2 | Vanguard |
Vanguard Classical QS LPs
| CATALOG # | CONDUCTOR / ORCHESTRA | COMPOSER / WORK | ORIGINAL LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4R-5001~2 | Abravanel / Utah Symphony Orchestra | Berlioz: Requiem | Vanguard |
| 4R-5003 | Stokowski / American Symphony Orchestra | Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F Minor | Vanguard |
| 4R-5004 | English Chamber Orchestra | Handel: Messiah (Highlights) | Vanguard |
| 4R-5005~6 | Abravanel / Utah Symphony Orchestra | Mahler: Symphony No. 3 | Vanguard |
| 4R-5007 | English Chamber Orchestra | Mozart: Divertimento | Vanguard |
| 4R-5008 | Somary / English Chamber Orchestra | The Great Young Trumpet | Vanguard |
A&M/Ode / Barclay / CTI / London (and subsidiaries) / Project 3 / Vanguard / United Artists CD-4 LPs
| CATALOG # | ARTIST | TITLE | ORIGINAL LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4D-1 | The Carpenters | Now & Then | A&M |
| 4D-2 | Carole King | Tapestry | Ode |
| 4D-3 | Rick Wakeman | The 6 Wives Of Henry VIII | A&M |
| 4D-4 | Quincy Jones | You've Got It Bad, Girl | A&M |
| 4D-5 | Raymond Lefevre Orchestra | In Concert | Riviera |
| 4D-6 | Deodato | Deodato 2 | CTI |
| 4D-7 | Joan Baez | Hits/Greatest & Others | Vanguard |
| 4D-8 | Enoch Light | Brass Menagerie | Project 3 |
| 4D-9 | Carole King | Fantasy | Ode |
| 4D-10 | Quincy Jones | Body Heat | A&M |
| 4D-11 | Rick Wakeman | Journey To The Center Of The Earth | A&M |
| 4D(L)-12 | Tom Jones | The Body And Soul Of Tom Jones | Parrot |
| 4D(L)-13 | Moody Blues | Seventh Sojourn | Decca |
| 4D-14 | Gilbert O'Sullivan | I'm A Writer, Not A Fighter | MAM |
| 4D(L)-15 | Engelbert Humperdinck | My Love | Parrot |
| 4D(L)-16 | Norman Candler Orchestra | Moonlight Party | Decca |
| 4D-17 | Mantovani | An Evening With Mantovani | London |
| 4D-18 | Werner Mueller Orchestra | Relax Music Learn To Love | London |
| 4D-19 | Airto | Fingers | CTI |
| 4D-20 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4D-21 | Charles Aznavour | Live In Japan | Barclay |
| 4D-22 | The Carpenters | The Singles 1969-1973 | A&M |
| 4D-23 | Gilbert O'Sullivan | Back To Front | MAM |
| 4D-24/25 | Engelbert Humperdinck | Live In Japan (2 LP) | London |
| 4D-26 | Ronnie Aldrich | Romantic Pianos | London |
| 4D-27 | Moody Blues | Every Good Boy Deserves Favour | Decca |
| 4D-28/29 | Shirley Bassey | Live In Japan (2 LP) | United Artists |
King Japanese Market QS LPs
| CATALOG # | ARTIST | TITLE | ORIGINAL LABEL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4K-1 | Akira Fuse 布施明 | A. Fuse Live In Nissei Theater 日生劇場の布施明 | King |
| 4K-2 | The Peanuts ザ・ピーナッツ | Brilliant Francis Lai Sound 「華麗なるフランシスレイサウンド」ザ、ピーナッツ最新映画主題歌を歌う | King |
| 4K-3 | Leon Pops レオン・ポップス | Latest Movie Themes 華麗なる最新映画主題曲集 | King |
| 4K-4 | Takeshi Terauchi 寺内タケシ | One Man Show 寺内タケシの一人舞台 | King |
| 4K-5 | Various Artists | Popular Hit Songs ヒット歌謡曲 | King |
| 4K-6 | Leon Pops レオン・ポップス | Young Folk Songs ヤング民謡 | King |
| 4K-7 | Leon Grand Orchestra レオングランドオーケストラ | Aquarius - Musicals Hit Tunes 輝く星座 ミュージカル名曲集 | King |
| 4K-8 | Various Artists | 4 Channel Stereo Demonstration 4チャンネル・ステレオ・デモンストレーション | King |
| 4K-9 | Leon Pops レオン・ポップス | Impact of Latin Fiesta 衝撃のラテン フィエスタ | King |
| 4K (L)-10 | The Greenwich Strings グリジッジ ストリングス | Mamy Blue - Best Pops 12 "マミー・ブルー " ベスト・ポップス12 | London |
| 4K-11 | Takeshi Terauchi and Blue Jeans 寺内タケシとブルー・ジーンズ | Zenjo 禅定 | King |
| 4K-12 | Feather Tones フェザー トーンズ | Bacharach Meet The Beatles バカラックがビートルズに逢った時 | King |
| 4K-13 | Naohiko Terajima and Rhythm Chansonnet 寺島尚彦とリズムシャンソンネッ | Je t'aime トジュ・テーム | King |
| 4K-14 | Tokyo Academy Mixed Choir 東京アカデミー混声合唱団 | Japanese Songs - Big Chorus Demonstration 日本のうたによるコーラス・ビッグ・デモンストレーション | King |
| 4K-15 | Chieko Baisho 倍賞千恵子 | Chieko Baisho Recital 倍賞千恵子リサイタル | King |
| 4K-16 | Hiroshi Ishimaru Conducting Tamae Koh & The Symphonic Stereo Strings 石丸寛, 高珠恵, シンフォニック・ステレオ・ストリングス | String Spectacular - 100 Strings ストリング・スペクタクラー・100人のストリングス | King |
| 4K-17 | Tokyo Cuban Boys, Conductor: Tadaaki Misago 東京キューバン・ボーイズ, 見砂直照 | Espana Cani エスパニヤ・カーニ | King |
| 4K-18 | Minoru Muraoka 村岡実 | The Shakuhahi A Go Go Around The World 尺八一本世界歩き | King |
| 4K-19 | Tokyo Boys and Girls Choir 東京少年少女合唱隊 | Japanese Poetry 日本の詩 | King |
| 4K-20 | Love Live Life | Love Will Make a Better You | King |
| 4K-21 | Takeshi Terauchi and his Electric Guys 寺内タケシとすばらしいエレキ野郎達 | Lost in the Midsummer Sea 真夏の海をぶっとばせ！！ | King |
| 4K (L)-22 | The Greenwich Strings グリニッジ・ストリングス | The Music Plays: The Best Pops 14, Vol. 2 夕映えのニ人 / べスト・ボッブス14 Vol. 2 | London |
| 4K-23 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K (D.H)-24 | Chieko Baisho 倍賞千恵子 | Disneyworld's Fun Fairy ディズニーの楽しいおとぎの世界 | Disneyland |
| 4K-25 | Peggy Hayama ペギー葉山 | Home ふるさと | King |
| 4K-26 | The Violets ザ・ヴァイオレッツ | The Violets World of Love ザ・ヴァイオレッツのうたう 愛の世界 | King |
| 4K (L)-27 | Greenwich Strings グリニッジ・ストリングス | Top Hits 14 - Mother of Mine トップ・ヒット14 - ママに捧げる詩 | London |
| 4K-28 | Leon Pops レオン・ポップス | The Godfather / Screen Themes Best 12 | King |
| 4K-29 | New Killers ニュー･キラーズ | I Want to be Loved by the Sun 太陽に愛されたい | King |
| 4K-30 | Akira Fuse | Message For - / "Love You Beloved" | King |
| 4K-31 | Takeshi Terauchi and Blue Jeans 寺内タケシとブルー・ジーンズ | Rashomon 羅生門 | King |
| 4K-32 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-33 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-34 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K (D.H)-35 | Disney Grand Orchestra ディズニー・グランド・オーケストラ | Disneyland Parade ディズニー大行進 | Disneyland |
| 4K-36 | Takeshi Terauchi & His Blue Jeans | Electric Songs Without Electric Songs 歌のないエレキ歌謡曲 | King |
| 4K-37 | Leon Pops レオン・ポップス | Masterpiece Anthology of Memories おもいでの名画・名曲集 | King |
| 4K-38 | The Peanuts ザ・ピーナッツ | The Peanuts On Stage ザ・ピーナッツ・オン・ステージ | King |
| 4K-39 | Kazuo Fukuda / Leon Grand Orchestra / Singers Three 福田一雄 / レオングランドオーケストラ / シンガーズスリー | Holiday In China 一个假期在中国 | King |
| 4K-40 | Takeshi Terauchi and Blue Jeans 寺内タケシとブルー・ジーンズ | Popular Electric Hit Songs 歌のないエレキ歌謡曲 | King |
| 4K-41 | Chiakara Ueda & The Caravan 上田 力＆ザ・キャラバン | Rock Impulse / Amazing 4 Channel Sounds ロック・インパルス／驚異の4チャンネルサウンズ | King |
| 4K-42 | Leon Pops Orchestra | Impressive 4 Channel Sound European Movie Music Masterpieces Collection 感動の４チャンネル・サウンド ヨーロッパ映画音楽名曲集 | King |
| 4K-43 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-44 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-45 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-46 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-47 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-48 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-49 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K-50 | <Unknown / Unreleased> | ||
| 4K (H)-51 | Definitive Nursery Rhyme Classics Complete Works 決定盤童謡名曲全集 | Hill of Tangerine Blossoms みかんの花咲く丘 | King |
| _ | |||
| 4SS (H)-1 | <Unknown> | 4 Channel Stereo Documentary <Sound Effects> (7" 33rpm EP) ４チャンネル・ステレオ・ドキュメンタリー <効果音> | King |
| 4SS-2 | Akira Fuse / 布施 明 | Akira Fuse Hit 4 (7" 33rpm EP) 布施明ヒット4 | King |
QS and CD-4 Sampler LPs and EPs (NAS = 12" LP / NDS = 7" EP)
| CATALOG # | MANUFACTURER / LABEL | TITLE | FORMAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAS-215 | Sanyo | OTTO 4 Channel Quadsonic Stereo Record | RM |
| NAS-225 | Sanyo | OTTO GP Series Quadsonic Stereo Record, 4 Channel Stereo | RM |
| NAS-230 | Sanyo | OTTO 4 Channel Quadsonic Stereo Record | RM |
| NAS-237 | Sharp | Optonica 4 Channel Record | RM |
| NAS-240 | Technics | Technics 4 Channel Record | RM |
| NAS-290 | Technics | Technics 4 Channel Stereo | RM |
| NAS-320 | Diatone | New Rock, New Folk | RM |
| NAS-330 | Diatone | Diatone 4 Channel Sound | RM |
| NAS-340 | Sanyo | OTTO 4 Channel Quadsonic Stereo Record, Vol. 4 | RM |
| NAS-342 | Lo-D HL-40 | 4CH Demonstration | RM |
| NAS-345 | Sansui | Enoch Light & Sansui QS Sound | RM |
| _ | |||
| NAS-501 | King | CD-4 Demonstration - Discrete 4 Channel Stereo | CD-4 |
| NAS-507 | London | CD-4 Demonstrations | CD-4 |
| _ | |||
| NDS-127 | Sanyo | OTTO Quadsonic Stereo Record - 4 Channel Stereo | RM |
| NDS-157 | Diatone | Diatone 4 Channel Test Record | RM |
| NDS-160 | Diatone | Diatone 4 Channel Sound | RM |
| NDS-161 | Diatone | Diatone 4 Channel Sound | RM |
| NDS-162 | Diatone | Diatone 4 Channel Sound | RM |
| NDS-173 | Chi-Boro | Chi-Boro Record | RM |
| NDS-175 | Sanyo | OTTO 4 Channel Stereo Record | RM |
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