Quad LP/Tape Poll Sly & The Family Stone: Greatest Hits [SQ/Q8]

[Quad Linda]

Welsome to QQ, superid!

IMHO, Quad is the best way to listen to this album. Any Quad record will play fine on a stereo setup. A matrix Quad album like this SQ pressing has no carrier, like a CD-4/Quadradisc record, so it is no more prone to wear than a stereo LP. Although I've not heard the remastered CD of this, I have heard the original CD & LP. The Quad is light years beyond those, and likely comparable, if not better, than the 2007 remastered CD. BTW: I have all the tracks from the 2007 remasters on the 2007 box set.

I need a little help from my new friends. I just buy a quadraphonic version of this album, but I don't have a quadraphonic system. It's my first quadraphonic album and the doubt is: 1. It's safe to play the record on a stereo system (I'm using a Numark TT1610 with original stylus + Sansui 551) without damage? 2. I will lost some audio information or this format is better than the last real stereo 2007 version? Thanx a lot!

 

[Q-Eight]

I just checked my copy of the LP, I've got the 2A/1C version. It's funny, when I run it through the SQ on my Pioneer 9900, for the most part the placements are nearly spot on to the Q8. Funny though how anything what's supposed to be solely in the rear can also be heard in front center.

But this new Sanyo I picked up ..... I think there's something funny with the SQ system on it. It must have some blend circuits or something because it was putting sly mostly in the center front, background vocals in BR drums in FR..... it was strange to say the least. I had to double check the deadwax on the LP to see which version I had. The Sanyo is much more discrete than the Pioneer, but the Sanyo's placement is all over the place. If the Pioneer had some way of eliminating the front center information, it'd sound pretty good.

 

[Quad Linda]

I believe the decoders in both pieces are non-logic SQ.

I just checked my copy of the LP, I've got the 2A/1C version. It's funny, when I run it through the SQ on my Pioneer 9900, for the most part the placements are nearly spot on to the Q8. Funny though how anything what's supposed to be solely in the rear can also be heard in front center.

But this new Sanyo I picked up ..... I think there's something funny with the SQ system on it. It must have some blend circuits or something because it was putting sly mostly in the center front, background vocals in BR drums in FR..... it was strange to say the least. I had to double check the deadwax on the LP to see which version I had. The Sanyo is much more discrete than the Pioneer, but the Sanyo's placement is all over the place. If the Pioneer had some way of eliminating the front center information, it'd sound pretty good.

 

[Q8]

I gave this an 8. It would have gotten dinged down to a 7 had this not been Sly and the Family Stone. Big fan of the material, not too big a fan of the mix. And I even have the "aggressive mix". The mix is okay. Its just underwhelming considering the great music they had to work with.

 

[bmoura]

It's excellent - particularly the version on Quad Reel Tape. Wow !

 

[Q8]

I must say. The I Wanna Take You Higher really is awesome. Like someone else here, I heard it on one of the SQ samplers and made it a top priority to get. That song is a good quad advertisement, no wonder its on so many of the samplers. Sometimes I think the Columbia quads let me down because I like ping-pong vocals too much. Especially ping-ponging lead vocals. If I had been mixing these albums, the lead vocals would have been all over the place

 

[Q-Eight]

I wanna take you higher could really benefit from vocals walking around the room. Especially the "Beat is getting stronger --- music getting longer too --- music still a-flashin' me" portion. Bop that FR, BR, BL and Sly either front center or FL. My biggest problem with that song is - I've been told by those in-the-know that it was supposedly a 16-track tape. If it was, I'm not so sure the Quad version comes from a 16-track - possibly a subbed mix - I'm not 100% sure. What bothers me the most is the almost missing organ. If you listen to the stereo cut, the organ is very prominent. However, in the Quad, it is virtually missing. By virtually, I mean listen very closely to the FL channel. There are certain parts of the song where you get some drum track bleed in that channel. If you listen to that bleed-through, you can hear what sounds like an organ being played along with the drums. Now, I'm no Sly expert, but I was told that around this era they would record the basic tracks live (bass, drums, rhythm guitar, etc) all together in the studio onto a multitrack. Later, they'd come in and add horns, percussion, vocals, etc. I do believe the organ part IS on the multitrack simply for whatever reason, the Quad remix engineer chose to use the piano track instead. My ears do not detect a piano on the stereo cut.

 

[Q8]

I wanna take you higher could really benefit from vocals walking around the room. Especially the "Beat is getting stronger --- music getting longer too --- music still a-flashin' me" portion. Bop that FR, BR, BL and Sly either front center or FL.

Amen. When you listen to that in quad the first time, you expect the engineer to do something along those lines with that part. It's a disspointing missed opportunity. Its frustrating when an engineer doesn't do what you feel the music lends itself to do. It still is still an interesting enough mix that redeems itself in other ways.

 

[Doug G.]

Hey, I just noticed that the track listing in post #1 has "Dance To The Music" and "You Can Make It If You Try" mixed up as to their location on the record. At least according to my SQ record.

We can't have that.



BTW, for the record, my copy is the drum roll mix.

Doug

 

[leevitalone1]

Will never forget the jukebox label of a Sly record in it- Thank you falletenme be mice elf again. True story!

 

[EMB]

Hey, I just noticed that the track listing in post #1 has "Dance To The Music" and "You Can Make It If You Try" mixed up as to their location on the record. At least according to my SQ record.

We can't have that.

But we have, for many years....surprised no one including moi noticed until now. It's fixed, and BTW, I absentmindedly used the Q8 track listing rather than the vinyl.

ED

 

[EMB]

Thought I'd bump this one up, for comparison to the recent SACD.


ED

 

[fredblue]

Hello,

I have two copies of this title on SQ vinyl that I dug out for a listen "Hot Fun In The Summertime" seemed appropropriate. Anyway, I never noticed this before but these are two different pressings where different stampers were used as I soon found out by checking the runout grooves. What got me curious is that the cymbal crash and 360 degree panning on the intro of "Stand" was missing on the copy I put on. It started with a cold vocal of "Stand!". The copy with the cymbal crash and drum roll has a more aggressive overall quad sound and mix to it on the rest of the album as well.

The two different versions are as follows:

The preferred aggressive mix: Side 1 runout reads PQ AL-30325-2A
Side 2 runout reads PQ BL-30325-1C


The less aggressive mix: Side 1 runout reads PQ AL-30325-1A
Side 2 runout reads PQ BL-30325-1A

These are not different #'s where one is scratched out and another added which seems to happen to denote a different run or subsequent pressing from the same stampers. In this case they are original different #'s on all four sides.

Sure is curious, does anyone know the story behind this?

This is very interesting.. I just pulled out my SQ LP of this one and found that
Side 1 is the aggressive mix and Side 2 is the less aggressive mix..!!! :yikes

Side 1 = PQ AL-30325-2A
Side 2 = PQ BL-30325-1A

 

[Franklin]

What's on the SACD? Aggressive or less aggressive? How does the SQ decode, Adam?

 

[fredblue]

What's on the SACD? Aggressive or less aggressive? How does the SQ decode, Adam?

Stand is the one with the 360 drum roll, so aggressive I guess but I've not done any proper comparison.
The SQ decodes v.well through the Surround Master (SQ Vinyl chip modded unit) but then that little box is particularly good at approximating the 4-corner type mixes and round the room pans so it's good on this disc.. never gonna trouble the SACD or Q8 for separation but it does a very respectable job imho.

EDIT: I had the SACD on again earlier and am just playing the Surround Master decode of the SQ now and do you know what (without being able to do an A-B) there doesn't seem to be a lot in it, the LP does sound really great (the sleeve is knackered but the disc inside must have been hardly played!) and surprisingly it pans out pretty similarly.. over the Christmas holidays I will crank up the 'puter and have a look at the 4-track stems of Stand on the SACD and compare to the SM decoded 4-tracks of the SQ version of Stand for fits and giggles and get back to you with findingggggssss..

 

[steelydave]

I think this confirms there are definitely two different mixes of this album.

Jim Reeves was only at Columbia until 1971 so presumably him and Don Young did the first mix, and it was recalled for some unknown reason (complaints? didn't decode well on early non-logic decoders? band unhappy?) and then Al Lawrence and Larry Keyes did the second mix.

I had a brief listen to the SACD and the Mike Robin reel and they both appear to be the 'drum roll mix' which I assume is the Al Lawrence/Larry Keyes mix as that's what's credited on the SACD.

It would be nice if everyone who has these albums could chime in with their deadwax info, and list which remix team is credited with the pressing they have. That way we can figure out how many different pressing variants there are of this album.

I wonder if the two different mixes exist on Q8 as well?

 

[ArmyOfQuad]

The Mike Robin reel doesn't have the drum roll. My conversion added the drum roll back in from a Q8.

 

[surroundophile]

I have the Lawrence/Keyes version. Vinyl says PQ AL 30325-2A (side 1) and PQ BL 30325-1A (side 2) .

 

[proufo]

Mine is:

Jim Reeves
Don Young

Side A: PQ-AL-30325-2A
Side B: PQ-BL-30325-1C

 

[Larry Geller]

Will never forget the jukebox label of a Sly record in it- Thank you falletenme be mice elf again. True story!

That is the actual title of the song, as printed on the 45 label & picture sleeve.