Suggestions for Audio Fidelity Multichannel SACD Releases

[Q-Eight]

Hey Q-eight

Which Bowie release was mentioned by RCA?

Also of note 2 tracks on vol 2 are from Bannatyne so it may exist in whole or in part as a Quad mix gathering dust in RCA's vault.

Actually, three songs from Bannatyne made it to the Best Of #2: Sour Suite, Rain Dance & Life in the Bloodstream. It's also the only Guess Who album to not be released in Quad - so you may be right - it may have been mixed.

I recall an article in a 1975 edition of Billboard Magazine. It didn't name either album by title, but just said look for upcoming Quad material from RCA featuring John Denver and David Bowie.

Hopefully, this link will work: https://books.google.ca/books?id=Eh...4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=john denver quad&f=false

But by 1975, Poems, Prayers & Promises was a two-year old album and should've been released by then. So, that would be ruled out from the reference in the article. The David Bowie title never materialized so.... I can only assume we're talking two unreleased albums. John Denver's big one in '75 was "Rocky Mountain High" so that's what I always assumed it was. Your guess is as good as mine as to what the Bowie title was.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Not to change the subject slightly - but on the Quadraphonic "Best of Blood, Sweat and Tears" PCQ-31170 we have a few songs from BS&T 3 & 4, if I'm not mistaken.

Considering the sell out of the recent BS&T AF SACD's, might be a great idea to see if a complete Quadraphonic BS&T 3 and BS&T 4 exists and get releases out.

EDIT: "Hi-De-Ho" and "Lucretia MacEvil" from BS&T 3 and "Go Down Gamblin'" and "Lisa, Listen to Me" from BS&T 4 - both albums perhaps, perhaps, mixed to Quad but not released in Quadraphonic.

 

[JonUrban]

........ John Denver's big one in '75 was "Rocky Mountain High" so that's what I always assumed it was.......

That was the one announced (sort-of)

 

[fizzywiggs41]

Not to change the subject slightly - but on the Quadraphonic "Best of Blood, Sweat and Tears" PCQ-31170 we have a few songs from BS&T 3 & 4, if I'm not mistaken.

Considering the sell out of the recent BS&T AF SACD's, might be a great idea to see if a complete Quadraphonic BS&T 3 and BS&T 4 exists and get releases out.

EDIT: "Hi-De-Ho" and "Lucretia MacEvil" from BS&T 3 and "Go Down Gamblin'" and "Lisa, Listen to Me" from BS&T 4 - both albums perhaps, perhaps, mixed to Quad but not released in Quadraphonic.

Cool! Makes you wonder what else is yet to be discovered.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Cool! Makes you wonder what else is yet to be discovered.

Quadraphonic "Agents of Fortune" by Blue Oyster Cult and
Quadraphonic "Let It Flow" by Dave Mason SQ records exists or existed.

I won't go into the details here of why I bought and sold these records, but mention a little about what the mixes were. The Quad "Agents of Fortune" had Patti Smith's voice coming out of the Right Rear speaker where she speaks some poetry before the song "The Revenge of Vera Gemini." Very creepy and cool and the mix just builds and builds in intensity and drama. Completely blows away the 5.1 "paint by numbers" mix I own, but refuse to listen to. I also refuse to sell my SACD copy! But if only the Quad version could be found or even asked about.

Same with Quadraphonic "Let It Flow" by Dave Mason. That had a Great mix as well with Dave singing "So High" part in song made it seem that the vocals went L/R Front to L/R Back in a very tasteful way. I must say my feeling about those mixes as well as Aerosmith's "Rocks" was that the Columbia Quadraphonic mixing engineers were really coming into their own with a strong foundation of what to do and not for a particular mix. They listened to what the music was and were really just getting going on a strong base of knowledge and taste.

Quadraphonic was finally "coming into it's own" and surround as a legitimate form of music was already validated, along with other new forms of tech coming down soon. I suppose that's why CD's were invented with Quad also in mind at first but never implemented. Right when Quad should have put the "pedal to the metal," some faceless executive pulled the plug! Boo.. All that aside, we do now realize the value of preserving 20th century medium Tape/records for the 21st century and beyond. Multitrack tapes must be preserved as they too still have value of course.

So, yes, would be very, very interesting to explore the vaults and try to find what Else might not have been released or did not find a wider release first go around. Would also be great to talk to the mixing engineers who created these mixes and ask them as well.

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

I can't wait for the Aerosmith Quads to make their way onto an AF release. I'm with you, do not play the BOC Agents disc much anymore but would, very much, welcome the Quad version.

 

[corneredcat]

Really...I lust for some quality BOC...I'll have to see if I can find that one...

Oh man...who doesn't.....cow bell...cow bell.

LOL exactly! both BOC and Aerosmith...so much excellent material in just those two catalogs

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Here is my list for Columbia (not forgetting any possible unreleased Quads) in order. From the QQ label list for Columbia/Sony https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/Columbia.htm

CQ-30322 Janis Joplin/Pearl
PZQ-32481 Rick Derrenger/All American Boy
PCQ-34165 Aerosmith/Rocks
PCQ-32847 Aerosmith/Get Your Wings
PCQ-33479 Aerosmith/Toys in the Attic
CQ-30768 Raiders/Indian Reservation
CQ-30995 Simon & Garfunkel/Bridge Over Troubled Water

PCQ-33280 Earth, Wind & Fire/That's the Way of the World
PCQ-34241 Earth, Wind & Fire/Spirit
CQ-32194 Earth, Wind & Fire/Head to the Sky
Earth, Wind & Fire/Open Our Eyes - Coming in April, 2015.

PCQ-32017 Blue Oyster Cult/Tyranny & Mutation
PCQ-32858 Blue Oyster Cult/Secret Treaties

PZQ-33536 Isley Brothers/Heat is On
PZQ-33809 Isley Brothers/Harvest for a New World
PZQ-34432 Isley Brothers/Go For Your Guns
PZQ-33070 Isley Brothers/Live it Up
PZQ-32453 Isley Brothers/3+3

EQ-30325 Sly & the Family Stone/Greatest Hits
PCQ-32919 Neil Diamond/Serenade

PEQ-34462 Wild Cherry/Electrified Funk
GQ-30997 Miles Davis/Bitches Brew

CQ-30106 Ray Price/For the Good Times
PEQ-32247 Charlie Rich/Behind Closed Doors

PCQ-34178 B.T.Express/Energy to Burn
PZQ-33423 Rick Derrenger/Spring Fever
MQ-31018 Wendy Carlos/Switched On Bach

PCQ-32964 Santana 1 - (and all other Santana Quads)

PZQ-33808 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes/Wake Up
PZQ-32407 Harold Melvin & Blue Notes/Black & Blue
ZQ-32707 MFSB/Love is the Message
CQ-30801 Ten Years After/A Space in Time

PCQ-32212 Herbie Hancock/Sextant
PCQ-32965 Herbie Hancock/Thrust
PCQ-34280 Herbie Hancock/Secrets

PCQ-31721 Dave Mason/It's Like You Never Left
PCQ-33096 Dave Mason/Dave Mason
PCQ-33698 Dave Mason/Split Coconut

PCQ-32188 Johnny Winter/Still Alive and Well
PEQ-31584 Edgar Winter/They Only Come Out at Night
PEQ-32461 Edgar Winter/Shock Treatment
PZQ-33798 Edgar Winter/ w Rick Derringer/Edgar Winter Group

PEQ-33849 Jeff Beck/Wired
PEQ-34121 Ted Nugent/Free For All
CQ-31748 Loggins & Messina

PZQ-33807 O'Jays/Family Reunion
PZQ-34245 O'Jays/Message in the Music
PZQ-33150 O'Jays/Survival

 

[Franklin]

I'd like to see the Miles Davis and Simon & Garfunkel ones, and maybe some Isleys too.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

Yes, any one title I would be happy with. I just put the titles in post #370 there that I thought the Quad counterpart would sell - or because they might be interesting perhaps to folks. I left out the "Chicago" titles because another company is doing stereo only SACDs at this time. The "Barbra Streisand" titles should be of interest as well as any number of other titles/artists not listed from the Columbia vaults. And of course any unreleased Quadraphonic would give that extra push for selling out a title.

Now it's time to look at other lists.

EDIT: I would really love to have these: CQ-30106 Ray Price/For the Good Times and PEQ-32247 Charlie Rich/Behind Closed Doors.

Although at the time, these were not the type of music I necessarily listened to. The Charlie Rich has his 2 big hits "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl." Both got heavy rotation on AM Rock stations here in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. And did receive 3 Country Music Association awards for Best Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, and Single of the Year in 1973.

 

[JonUrban]

Oddly enough, the next (tentative) AF Columbia sourced quad SACD title is not on that list! (Don't ask, I can't tell)

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

Oh, Brother! I Really wish we can get on with these releases. You do realize that the demographics for older titles are all over the place? Everyone is not going to like everything. So, pick and choose the titles you'll listen to and let everyone else enjoy their choice in titles. There is a lot of classic titles out there for people to experience in more than two channels. Some which I discovered and grown to love and I'm sure others have felt the same. Just think how many more of the younger generation that can be converted to the classic sound, and in surround?!

 

[Q-Eight]

Just think how many more of the younger generation that can be converted to the classic sound, and in surround?!

That's the weird thing with my generation and especially with the younger crowd. Everybody I've demo'd Quad/5.1 stuff too thinks it's the cats' pajamas, but NOBODY.... NOBODY within my circle of influence has yet to even try to get into the surround game. My cousin and my best friend both love it, and they're those kinda guys with money to burn - they even both have cheapo 5.1 theatre systems!!

"Hey, you guys wanna support surround sound and buy these new discs that are coming out?"

"No."

Maybe it's because we're Canadian and part of being Canadian is being an apathetic twit? I really don't know. I even went out and bought a new(er) DVD player so I can play SACD and DVD-A at home now as opposed to just in the car(s). I spent a whopping $60. Nobody else can seem to be bothered.

The younger folks are even worse - they simply can't be bothered. They love it, but don't want to upset the status quo. The few that are even into stereo equipment simply want to make things loud. Quality or Surround sound? Why? Maybe it's because nobody wants to be a stand-out wierd-o like me?? I dunno.

Personally, I think AF found a little niche that it can exploit. Yes, we already have these albums. Will we buy them again in a modern format? Sure as shit will!

The other thing, and this is directed towards you, Otto is the licensing. Back in the 70's, many - if not most artists - had little to no control over what/when or how their music was used - unless they wrote it, of course. Many of those contracts are still in place, so it may take as little as $1000 for Audio Fidelity to be permitted access to old, pre-mixed Quadraphonic recordings.

Conversely, modern artists have clauses in their contracts that they retain full control over their catalog of both released and unreleased music and also have final say in usage, mixing, licensing, etc. Some artists may outright deny AF usage of an album. Some may ask an astronomical sum of money which is entirely their right. Some artists simply may never reply to a request by AF.

So, in the end it'll all come down to money. AF isn't going to pay a fortune for a new album. I'd be willing to bet half the reason their digging into the old Quad vault is that a) it's cheap, b) they're the ONLY ones doing it and c) they've discovered there IS a market for it. They wouldn't be doing it if it were expensive or if it would lose them money!

If you don't like what they're releasing, don't buy it.

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

Yes, but the fact of the matter is there are many that will be converts. If it wasn't for my love of music and my introduction to how good that music can sound on the best equipment, I would not be where I am now.

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

I wanted to add that listening for music so long now, the past several years, two channel music just does not seem right. Or, natural.

You know, I can have this conversation until the cows come home...LOL

 

[Q-Eight]

I wanted to add that listening for music so long now, the past several years, two channel music just does not seem right. Or, natural.

You know, I can have this conversation until the cows come home...LOL

Well, I hope others have better luck elsewhere. People around where I live are just so darned reluctant to accept change.

I agree with you about stereo seeming unnatural and flat. I have to have at least 4 speakers around me now just for music to be acceptable. Even when listening to a 2-channel mix, all I can think about is how I'd lay things out in a 4-channel mix. Eventually, I get fed up, stick in something in Quad and breathe a sigh of relief.

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

Isn't there something wrong with "The Who By Numbers" not being in surround? But I digress...

 

[keenly]

Blue Oyster Cult would be great!

 

[0tto]

Maybe it's because we're Canadian and part of being Canadian is being an apathetic twit? I really don't know. I even went out and bought a new(er) DVD player so I can play SACD and DVD-A at home now as opposed to just in the car(s). I spent a whopping $60. Nobody else can seem to be bothered.

The younger folks are even worse - they simply can't be bothered. They love it, but don't want to upset the status quo. The few that are even into stereo equipment simply want to make things loud. Quality or Surround sound? Why? Maybe it's because nobody wants to be a stand-out wierd-o like me?? I dunno.

Personally, I think AF found a little niche that it can exploit. Yes, we already have these albums. Will we buy them again in a modern format? Sure as shit will!

The other thing, and this is directed towards you, Otto is the licensing. Back in the 70's, many - if not most artists - had little to no control over what/when or how their music was used - unless they wrote it, of course. Many of those contracts are still in place, so it may take as little as $1000 for Audio Fidelity to be permitted access to old, pre-mixed Quadraphonic recordings.

Conversely, modern artists have clauses in their contracts that they retain full control over their catalog of both released and unreleased music and also have final say in usage, mixing, licensing, etc. Some artists may outright deny AF usage of an album. Some may ask an astronomical sum of money which is entirely their right. Some artists simply may never reply to a request by AF.

So, in the end it'll all come down to money. AF isn't going to pay a fortune for a new album. I'd be willing to bet half the reason their digging into the old Quad vault is that a) it's cheap, b) they're the ONLY ones doing it and c) they've discovered there IS a market for it. They wouldn't be doing it if it were expensive or if it would lose them money!

If you don't like what they're releasing, don't buy it.

well, what do you expect? Castlegar is a small community and that's says a lot.
Calgary is about 170 times bigger but proportion of people among general population, interested in advanced sound formats, perhaps very similar.
i guess in US or any other country is pretty much same. it's all depend on awareness, affordability and easiness of obtaining such material.
sometimes i see the young folks (visually i assume age somewhat between 20~30) , digs in vinyl at thrift stores. they answers that they gone for
vinyl because found it sounds better than CDs. but i cannot recall the case, even one knows about quadraphonic formats. albeit all knows about
surround, but mainly in regard to movies. SACD, DVDA for many sounds familiar but kind of like something abstract, from another world.
as for popularity of musical genres, first comes rock of 70s-80s, following new wave and disco. jazz is much less desirable and such acts like Belafonte,
John Denver, Frank Sinatra, etc., MFSB and similar "big band" on vinyl, seems ends their way in recycling or garbage cans.
as for licensing, well, no one would force AF pay more than they see reasonable. of course there are artists, in whom greed has won over willingness
to brings their works to wider audience. but not all like those one. beside Gilmore and Anderson there are many more others who will be glad to deal
with small independent audiophile label.
and it's obvious AF found their piece of pie, just it's really very small and conservative piece. if AF is happy with what they have reached - so be it.
but if they want to grow (which is natural to any commercial enterprise), they must consider surging interest to formats, they able to supply, move
to more diversified assortment and, as i mentioned above, go after the acts/titles, which even more stimulate this surge of interest.
after all, this nowaday growth isn't based on demographic portion of population which naturally become smaller and smaller in amounts.

 

[leahypc]

Oh, Brother! I Really wish we can get on with these releases. You do realize that the demographics for older titles are all over the place? Everyone is not going to like everything. So, pick and choose the titles you'll listen to and let everyone else enjoy their choice in titles. There is a lot of classic titles out there for people to experience in more than two channels. Some which I discovered and grown to love and I'm sure others have felt the same. Just think how many more of the younger generation that can be converted to the classic sound, and in surround?!

I think of it as just a practical matter that all the great music from 40-50+ years ago needs to be preserved for these releases first, before it's becomes too late. There are no doubt a lot of releases already that we won't get to see quads of because of tape deterioration, so the efforts need to happen from back to front, chronologically. Just my two cents, anyway.