Quad LP/Tape Poll Light, Enoch & The Light Brigade: Big Band Hits Of The Thirties [EV/SQ/CD-4/Q8/QR]

[sjcorne]

Big Band Hits Of The Thirties was one of the dozens of quad albums issued by Enoch Light’s Project 3 label throughout the 1970s. Featuring faithfully-arranged covers of big band standards like Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood” and “A String Of Pearls”, the album features appearances from regular Enoch Light collaborators such as Tony Mottola and Urbie Green.

Project 3 PR 5049 QD [EV-4 LP] PR 5049 SQ [SQ LP] PR 5049 CD4 [CD-4 LP] PRQ8 5049 [Q8] PR4C 5049 [QR]
Discogs links: Q8 / QR / LP

Side 1

1. Begin The Beguine
2. A String Of Pearls
3. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
4. Well, Git It
5. Woodchoppers Ball
6. One O'Clock Jump

Side 2

1. Moonlight Serenade
2. Let's Dance
3. In The Mood
4. Ciribiribin
5. Snowfall
6. South Rampart Street Parade
7. Take The A Train

 

[ar surround]

This one is a "knocks your socks off" quad. It is a very aggressive quad mix and the fidelity is excellent. There are a few tracks here that I was unfamiliar with until I got this set. I'm rating it a 9 overall. If Dutton Vocalion reissued it on SACD, I'm sure my vote would go up to 10.

 

[sjcorne]

I know Project 3 has a not-completely-undeserved reputation among quad collectors as an easy-listening/muzak label with 'ping-pong' style demonstration records, but this is definitely one of their best releases. You won't find any cheesy synths or vocals here.

The surround effect is about as good as it gets for big band, even more aggressive than those Gordon Goodwin DVD-A titles typically thought of as the gold standard for the genre. Different elements like sax, trumpet, and electric guitar are largely isolated at the corners, but there's just enough cross-channel reverb and signal bleed to make it sound more 'glued together' than some of the CBS quad titles from this era. Even the SQ LP decoded with an Surround Master or Fosgate Tate sounds very 'quaddy'.

I've managed to pick up all the variations and while the reel is my go-to nowadays, the SQ, CD-4, and Q8 are all good examples of their respective formats. My copy of the Q8 came in an RCA-style red shell (unlike the CBS-style grey shell shown above) and has amazing high-end response for a non-Dolby tape. The only version that doesn't sound great to me is the EV-4 LP, which has very little stereo separation in the rear speakers - this could be a shortcoming of how the Surround Master decodes EV-4, or it's a different quad mix altogether. SQ/CD-4/Q8/QR definitely use the same quad master.

 

[Doug G.]

I bought the double SQ album (also the second volume, which is just 2 channel stereo but still sounds great trough my SQ decoder) which includes this album and it is absolutely fabulous! It's the proverbial "you are there in front of the band in a large room".

Pretty much original arrangements and the mix is wonderful. Man, did they do a great job with SQ on this one. I'[ll have to watch for the CD-4 to compare.

10

Doug