HiRez Poll R.E.O. Speedwagon - LOST IN A DREAM & THIS TIME WE MEAN IT [SACD]

[sjcorne]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2022 Multichannel SACD from Dutton Vocalion containing two albums from R.E.O. Speedwagon.
This Multichannel SACD features the first official release of the original Quadraphonic mixes since the 1970s!

LOST IN A DREAM
LP PE 32948 (1974) STEREO/PEQ 32948 QUADRAPHONIC
1 GIVE ME A RIDE (ROLLER COASTER) (Murphy)
2 THROW THE CHAINS AWAY (Richrath)
3 SKY BLUES (Doughty)
4 YOU CAN FLY (Murphy)
5 LOST IN A DREAM (Murphy; Hall)
6 DOWN BY THE DAM (Richrath)
7 DO YOUR BEST (Murphy)
8 WILD AS THE WESTERN WIND (Richrath)
9 THEY’RE ON THE ROAD (Richrath)
10 I’M FEELING GOOD (Doughty; Murphy)

Mike Murphy (vocals), (guitar) [1, 3, 5, 7, 9], (organ) [10]
Gary Richrath (guitar), (acoustic guitar) [1], (vocals) [8], (background vocals) [9]
Gregg Philbin (bass) [1-3, 5-10], (background vocals) [3, 5, 8, 10]
Neal Doughty (piano) [1-3, 6-8], (organ) [4, 9], (synthesizer) [4, 6, 8], (electric piano) [5], (bass) [10]
Alan Gratzer (drums), (background vocals) [3, 5, 8, 10]
Sly Stone (bass, piano, guitar) [4]

Recorded at Wally Heider Recording, Hollywood; Record Plant, Sausalito and Los Angeles
Recording engineer: Mike Stone
Production and sound: Bill Halverson

THIS TIME WE MEAN IT
LP PE 33338 (1975) STEREO/PEQ 33338 QUADRAPHONIC
11 REELIN’ (Murphy)
12 HEADED FOR A FALL (Richrath)
13 RIVER OF LIFE (Murphy)
14 OUT OF CONTROL (Henley; Frey; Nixon)
15 YOU BETTER REALIZE (Murphy)
16 GAMBLER (Richrath)
17 CANDALERA (Richrath)
18 LIES (Murphy)
19 DANCE (Richrath)
20 DREAM WEAVER (Richrath)

Mike Murphy (vocals) [11-18, 20], (background vocals) [19], (piano) [11, 15, 20], (guitar) [12, 14, 16], (lead guitar) [13, 18], (clavinet) [15], (organ) [19]
Gary Richrath (guitar) [11, 13, 15-17, 20], (lead guitar) [12, 14, 18-19], (background vocals) [14]
Neal Doughty (organ) [11, 15, 18, 20], (piano) [12-14, 16-17, 19]
Gregg Philbin (bass)
Alan Gratzer (drums), (percussion) [15, 18], (background vocals) [11, 14, 16-17]

Recorded at Criteria Studios, Miami, 1–7 March 1975
Recording engineer: Allan Blazek
Assistant recording engineer: Alex Sadkin
Mixed at Record Plant, Los Angeles
Assistant mix engineer: Don Wood
Quadraphonic sound and remix supervision: Harold J. Kleiner
Quadraphonic remix engineer: Don Young
Producer: Allan Blazek
Executive producer: Bill Szymczyk

Remastered from the original analogue tapes by Michael J Dutton

Multi-Channel/Stereo
All tracks available in stereo and multi-channel

SACD
This Hybrid CD can be played on any standard CD player

CDSML 8575

 

[fetchmybeer]

I had not heard these albums until yesterday and let them play in the background, giving only a few the critical surround sound ear. I rather like the tunes. Just pretty solid 70s rock. From what I could tell, the mix is pretty crisp. It did seem like the rear channels were pretty loud at times, and on a few songs the vocals were a bit buried, but I don't know how they compare to the stereo mix since I'm unfamiliar with the material.

 

[ar surround]

I'm giving this two album set a low-ish 7. The music is good and the fidelity is excellent. There are some very good tunes on Lost In A Dream, although it is not as consistent as This Time We Mean It which really grabbed me from start to finish.

The problem is the quadraphonic mix, especially on the Lost In A Dream. It is what @J. PUPSTER calls a "three legged stool." I know that SQ matrix considerations were paramount back then, but Lost In A Dream is essentially a mono center in the front with everything else thrown into the rears, including all of the backing vocals. This Time We Mean It is better as there is some spread of the percussion which makes a huge difference; and the song Dream Weaver has some occasional action in the front left and right speakers. However, all of the backing vocals are also in the rears.

If I were to remix it, I'd probably put the backing vocals in the fronts for some diversity.

Regardless, this is yet another recommended purchase from DV.

 

[sjcorne]

The drum kit isn’t in stereo across the fronts throughout the first album?

 

[ar surround]

The drum kit isn’t in stereo across the fronts throughout the first album?

If you listen to the fronts with headphones, it is perceived as narrow stereo. However, on some songs the drums are also in the rears which does not help. On Give Me A Ride, the piano is definitely a narrow stereo spread in the fronts, but it gets buried in the mix.







Reelin' from the second album has a more effective stereo spread across the fronts: