Quad LP/Tape Poll Redbone: Message From A Drum [SQ/Q8]

[EMB]

Epic EQ/MAQ 30815, from early '72.

Side 1:

1. Message From A Drum
2. Niji Trance
3. The Sun Never Shines On The Lonely
4. Maxsplivitz
5. Emotions
6. Jerico

Side 2:

1. The Witch Queen of New Orleans
2. When You Got Trouble
3. Perico
4. Fate
5. One Monkey

ED

 

[winopener]

That's something that made me wonder why Sony didn't put a bit more effort on the MCH market with the SACD; back in the 70s there were many quad releases such as this one - that basically has a good hit single, another decent single and few other moments - that one do wonder why they mixed in quad this title and not something else. OK, it may be that in USA this was a HUGE hit - but not here.
BTW, nice pop album but not something that i listen frequently. I like more the "sugar sugar" quad.

 

[EMB]

It is too bad that more bubblegum didn't make it to quad, eh?

Redbone was a decent, not oustanding band..."Witch Queen" got equal play on AM and FM, and almost made the national top twenty. But i'm afraid only the mono 45 version really does the song justice; the stereo and quad mixes aren't quite as unnerving as the single mix, which is fairly wild. The album isn't all that strong, though it sure is different from other rock you would have heard back then. It was a logical SQ choice at the time, though.

ED

 

[Bob Squires Jr]

I actually kinda liked Redbone... one of those closet pleasures you don't talk about!
The title track for MFD wasn't too bad either.
Potlatch and Wovoka might have been cool quads.

I still wonder why there was no Bowie, Zeppelin or Yes in quad...
RCA & WEA... the CD-4 kings.
As for Columbia, it would have been cool to see a Dr Hook album as well!

 

[EMB]

I still wonder why there was no Bowie, Zeppelin or Yes in quad...
RCA & WEA... the CD-4 kings.
As for Columbia, it would have been cool to see a Dr Hook album as well!

Only the Zep situation is NOT a mystery: Jimmy Page was approached but, at the time, wasn't interested(and, obviously, wouldn't trust the job to anyone else). That was also the case when DVD-A came out, although as we know, he DID remix live material.

The others? Your guess is as good as mine....


ED

 

[Ge Someone]

Redbone ..."Witch Queen" got equal play on AM and FM, and almost made the national top twenty.

"Witch Queen (Marie, Marie)" was a reasonable hit over here, but not as big as "Wounded Knee" which was a big number one hit in my country at the time.

 

[EMB]

That one didn't get much airplay beyond some FM stations, and no AM airplay to speak of, simply too controversial for mainstream radio. I have a promo copy, and odds are not that many stock copies were pressed. A bold statement, but not one radio was ready to embrace.

"Come And Get Your Love" was Redbone's one big hit, but a bit more pop than they generally did. Took a few edits and mixes to get the single version that did well...

ED

 

[Eggplant]

This is an album for those of you that don't like SQ.
The quad album, properly decoded, could actually make you think you're listening to a discrete tape. Witch Queen is great, and the rest of the album makes a pretty good quad listen.

A candidate for The Greatest Quad Release Mystery of All Time is this:
Why was this album (containing the minor hit Witch Queen), and the hitless Bearded Dreams Through Turquoise Eyes, which sold about three copies, chosen for quad, while Wovoka which contained the monster top five Come and Get Your Love, was passed over? And Wovoka came out dead smack in the heart of quad in 1974!

The only thing I can figure is that Epic was so disappointed with sales of Bearded that they had no advance hope for Wovoka, and when Love took off, it was too late. The record business is never about today's product -- it's all about the next release. When a title unexpectedly takes off, unless it's a runaway the label prefers to concentrate on the next release, which they tell themselves will be even better -- though it almost never is.

Don't have sales figures for that album, but it's also possible the single did well but the album didn't.

 

[Quad Linda]

On my 10 favorite Quads list. Great mix. Pat, Lolly & co. PERCOLATIN'. Have owned 5 copies of this, incl. SQ & Q8.

Why didn't Wovoka come out in Quad? It was two albums after this one and right before Beaded Dreams. My guess is that Message didn't sell hugely, so no Quads for the next two. Wovoka w/Come and Get Your Love came out in '73, but hit big in early '74. By that time, Beaded Dreams was already recorded, so Columbia ordered a Quad mix of that. It's all conjecture, except that it was a lost opportunity to promote both Redbone & Quad.

Linda
Witch Queen of Chicago

This is an album for those of you that don't like SQ.
The quad album, properly decoded, could actually make you think you're listening to a discrete tape. Witch Queen is great, and the rest of the album makes a pretty good quad listen.

A candidate for The Greatest Quad Release Mystery of All Time is this:
Why was this album (containing the minor hit Witch Queen), and the hitless Bearded Dreams Through Turquoise Eyes, which sold about three copies, chosen for quad, while Wovoka which contained the monster top five Come and Get Your Love, was passed over? And Wovoka came out dead smack in the heart of quad in 1974!

The only thing I can figure is that Epic was so disappointed with sales of Bearded that they had no advance hope for Wovoka, and when Love took off, it was too late. The record business is never about today's product -- it's all about the next release. When a title unexpectedly takes off, unless it's a runaway the label prefers to concentrate on the next release, which they tell themselves will be even better -- though it almost never is.

Don't have sales figures for that album, but it's also possible the single did well but the album didn't.

 

[Quad Linda]

 

[inquadwetrust]

View attachment 5645

Just listening to the Q4 transfer of this - it's a very sunny afternoon in London and this fits the mood just right. Great quad mix and a solid album that I wouldn't have heard without the quad habit. 10

 

[Eggplant]

Just listening to the Q4 transfer of this

Are you sure?

Not aware of any Quad reel release of this anywhere -- not even an unofficial Mike Walt Robin one.

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

It's a Robin reel.

 

[Q-Eight]

I'm always amazed at how different a song can sound - being mixed by different people.

The mono single omits the introduction and the harmony vocal and mixes the string section up quite prominent. Having all the vocals centered helps focus everything.

The stereo LP cut features the "Marie-Marie" part bopping left to right, uses the harmony vocal, a lot more echo and the strings are not as prominent as the mono.

The Quad, I'm afraid to say, is a very poor mix. Vocals all over the place, bass stuck in back left (when it REALLY needs to be front center as this is a very bass-centric song).

If this LP were to be re-released in a modern format, I would say a remix would be in order just to give the mixes a little more logic. The mixes on Beaded Dreams are a lot better.

 

[Quad Linda]

There is a radically different 2 ch mix of Witch Queen on the CBS compilation, Rock Artifacts Vol. 1. It his much more of the eerie bow against guitar strings whines, including an extended ending.

 

[inquadwetrust]

Quad Linda, Q-Eight, AoQ and eggplant - I'm a mere sapling in your veritable giant sequoia quad forest. Your varied knowledge and opinions are amazing and I'm very grateful for your insight.

Feed me Seymour!

 

[Quad Linda]

Quad Linda, Q-Eight, AoQ and eggplant - I'm a mere sapling in your veritable giant sequoia quad forest. Your varied knowledge and opinions are amazing and I'm very grateful for your insight.

Feed me Seymour!

 

[Eggplant]

Why didn't Wovoka come out in Quad? It was two albums after this one and right before Beaded Dreams. My guess is that Message didn't sell hugely, so no Quads for the next two. Wovoka w/Come and Get Your Love came out in '73, but hit big in early '74. By that time, Beaded Dreams was already recorded, so Columbia ordered a Quad mix of that.

Well there you go.

I'd thought Beaded came before Wovoka, because Come and Get Your Love hit in 1974. But it actually was released in 1973, before Beaded. That explains it: by 1974, Wovoka was too far past its expiration date for a quad release.

Beaded must have sold very poorly. It's one of those CBS post-hit releases, like Michael Murphy's Swans Against the Sun for which you can barely find proof of existence on the internet.

I do have Rock Artifacts Volumes I and II, and was very impressed by the care and quality that went into them over 20 years ago when compilation CD's were often made with whatever tape was available. CBS masters were always the hardest to get; even Rhino couldn't touch them and usually had to use LP masters, as they did for Wild Cherry's Play that Funky Music. Mastering wizard Bill Inglot told me over the phone once that "CBS is fucked to deal with."

The stereo mix of Witch Queen is interesting, and I haven't A/B'd, but I probably lean toward the quad here.

To Q8 -- I'm not aware of any case where CBS created unique mono mixes for their 45's, as they were all stereo from 1970's on. Some promo singles DID have mono sides, but I don't think they are separate mixes. I could be wrong; if I am, I've got a LOT of future collecting to do.

 

[Q-Eight]

Message LP was released in late '71. Columbia had only started making a few stereo 45's in May of '69 according to some sources. Even then, the releases were sporadic at best. I don't think they made the transition to ONLY stereo 45's until well into '72.... maybe even later. There were still many dedicated mono mixes done in the '70-'71 period.

 

[Eggplant]

Message LP was released in late '71. There were still many dedicated mono mixes done in the '70-'71 period.

Interesting .... I'll take your word as that was a year or two before my time.
Any way you could post a rip of your mono single of Witch Queen?
It's fun to compare quad/stereo/mono. I've done it with Grass Roots.

On a distantly related note, I know of at least one CBS single from the same period with a unique stereo mix: 1972's Brandy by Looking Glass. The single mix, featuring slightly different instrumentation, is found on Rock Artifacts Volume 2 -- and only there, AFAIK.