Suggestions for Audio Fidelity Multichannel SACD Releases

[4-earredwonder]

Paul Simon (like Chicago) owns his own masters, hence why they were on Columbia originally and then moved to Warner Bros. Therefore he has all the say in what is or isn't released.

I think artists who even only own a portion of their catalogs have similar leverage, because the label doesn't want to risk pissing the artist off and having them move the part of their catalog they own to another label. Van Morrison is a perfect example - Warner owns his first three albums (Astral Weeks, Moondance, His Band And Street Choir) outright, and distributed all his (30+) albums after that (which are owned by Morrison) for decades. Despite owning those first three albums they never did special editions of them, and even shelved the DVD-A of Moondance in the name of keeping Van happy. It wasn't until Van took his back catalog to Polydor (UMG) in the late 90's and then later Sony and they'd decided that their bridges with him were well and truly burnt and finally put out the deluxe set of Moondance a few years ago (which earned a strongly worded rant from Morrison on his website in response) and expanded editions of Astral Weeks and Street Choir last year.

Labels are in the business of making money, and they're not going to risk losing access to a lucrative back catalog that they can sell (and re-sell) in perpetuity in whatever crappy new lossless format comes down the pipe in the name of selling a few thousand copies of a surround mix to a niche market.

Put in that context, steelydave, it really makes one truly appreciate how a small company like DTS Entertainment DID manage to release so many diverse and wonderful 5.1 albums back in the day: Paul McCartney, Allman Brothers, Queen, Sting, The Police, Poco, Steve Miller Band, Jeff Beck, Simple Minds, Bonnie Raitt, The Eagles, to name a few......in total, approximately 100 albums in DVD~A and DTS RBCD 5.1.

And you're right....most major artists DO own their catalogues and have final say and since they're not strapped for cash they see NO need to revisit them for remixing into 5.1....adopting that "been there, done that" stance, especially for a niche market..

So we are left with the 'scattered' crumbs that are still made available in dwindling numbers for 5.1 or 4.0 release.

So when is Warners going to remix Astral Weeks and Street Choir in 5.1 and REALLY further piss off Van the Man? After all, what do they have to lose? I personally didn't much care for the recent Van Morrison RBCD remasters of Astral Weeks nor Street Choir.

 

[bmoura]

I don't think it would be hard for AF to get the licensing for that album at all, but if they are so concerned about sales vs expenses, I doubt this is a title that would help them in that endeavor.

I'd say that you're probably right on both counts. It's an album that is probably findable and licensable.
But AF would have to be convinced of its sales potential. That would be a challenge.

 

[bmoura]

I know of one quite likely quad title.

Thanks to Thomas Mowery, we know Columbia Records provided Simon And Garfunkle's " Mrs.Robinson " in quad for use with the Scheiber Matrix Demo tape.

A first step would be the need to get a license to reissue that album from Simon and Garfunkel.

 

[rtbluray]

A first step would be the need to get a license to reissue that album from Simon and Garfunkel.

Which is something that will probably never happen as long as Paul Simon is opposed to reissues with surround sound, right?

 

[bmoura]

Which is something that will probably never happen as long as Paul Simon is opposed to reissues with surround sound, right?

Who can predict the future? For now, the search continues with other artists - not Simon and Garfunkel.

 

[0tto]

...

 

[0tto]

Who can predict the future? For now, the search continues with other artists - not Simon and Garfunkel.

glad to hear it.

As for unreleased Quad titles, so far there have been far more rumors and rumored titles than albums actually found that were mixed to Quad but unreleased.

how about titles, was announced but never got out?
Supertramp "Crime Of The Century"
ZZ Top "Fandango"
Eagles "Desperado"
or that only rumors as well?

 

[cupboy]

Who can predict the future? For now, the search continues with other artists - not Simon and Garfunkel.

What ever quad tapes there are for Simon & Garfunkel probably are in better shape than the worn-out stereo masters.

 

[hirez]

This is not a quad release request but a HiRez release request "Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films" it came out in the late last century and I still play it regularly. What a great compilation of interpretations!!!!

So many great interpretations, by contemporary artist back then, of timeless great Disney songs many of us grew up with. Los Lobos, Bonnie Riatt, and Buster Poindexter offer superb renditions.

 

[4-earredwonder]

This is not a quad release request but a HiRez release request "Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films" it came out in the late last century and I still play it regularly. What a great compilation of interpretations!!!!

So many great interpretations, by contemporary artist back then, of timeless great Disney songs many of us grew up with. Los Lobos, Bonnie Riatt, and Buster Poindexter offer superb renditions.

Hirez, this may be right up your alley: http://creamusic.net/uploads/posts/2013-02/1361817775_1361815686_folder.jpg

Wildly inventive and discrete in FULL MLP 5.1. Up until a few months ago it WAS affordable but even Amazon third party vendors are charging upwards of $100 + s/h. BUMMER!

 

[Eggplant]

This is not a quad release request but a HiRez release request

Then please keep it OUT of the surround threads, like this one.
Hard enough keeping straight which releases are actual surround vs not.
Quadraphonic Quad is a surround sound forum.

 

[jaybird100]

This is not a quad release request but a HiRez release request "Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films" it came out in the late last century and I still play it regularly. What a great compilation of interpretations!!!!

So many great interpretations, by contemporary artist back then, of timeless great Disney songs many of us grew up with. Los Lobos, Bonnie Riatt, and Buster Poindexter offer superb renditions.

I believe that was a Telarc release, and it may have been made available as an SACD. That's probably about as hi-rez as you'll get.

 

[4-earredwonder]

I believe that was a Telarc release, and it may have been made available as an SACD. That's probably about as hi-rez as you'll get.

Unfortunately, although Telarc released over 100 albums in surround, Stay Awake wasn't one of them.

 

[Q-Eight]

How about titles, was announced but never got out?
Supertramp "Crime Of The Century"
ZZ Top "Fandango"
Eagles "Desperado"
or that only rumors as well?

The Eagles have basically said "No", or at the very least have said "not now" to the release of their Quad stuff. To my knowledge, there has been no confirmation on whether or not the first two Eagles albums were every mixed in Quad. However, I'm inclined to believe they were.
ZZ Top has also replied to AF with a negatory, good buddy on releasing Quad mixes. Again, no confirmation on whether or not Fandango was mixed or whether or not the tapes still exist.

Crime of the Century may be the most difficult one to track down. First being on A&M, and not knowing if A&M kept any of their Quad tapes through the years, but secondly, A&M's catalog is controlled by UMG today and they don't seem to have much interest in Quad or multichannel to begin with. Joe Cocker "With a little help from my friends" SACD from Audio Fidelity was a title initially planned with a Quad layer, was abandoned when no Quad tape could be found. I suspect there never was a true discrete master (simply some sort of passive decoder) as the Q8 has absolutely no separation and even has audible turntable rumble and a couple clicks and pops here and there.

 

[jaybird100]

The Eagles have basically said "No", or at the very least have said "not now" to the release of their Quad stuff. To my knowledge, there has been no confirmation on whether or not the first two Eagles albums were every mixed in Quad. However, I'm inclined to believe they were.
ZZ Top has also replied to AF with a negatory, good buddy on releasing Quad mixes. Again, no confirmation on whether or not Fandango was mixed or whether or not the tapes still exist.

Crime of the Century may be the most difficult one to track down. First being on A&M, and not knowing if A&M kept any of their Quad tapes through the years, but secondly, A&M's catalog is controlled by UMG today and they don't seem to have much interest in Quad or multichannel to begin with. Joe Cocker "With a little help from my friends" SACD from Audio Fidelity was a title initially planned with a Quad layer, was abandoned when no Quad tape could be found. I suspect there never was a true discrete master (simply some sort of passive decoder) as the Q8 has absolutely no separation and even has audible turntable rumble and a couple clicks and pops here and there.

At least two Eagles albums were released as CD-4 LP's.

 

[bmoura]

What ever quad tapes there are for Simon & Garfunkel probably are in better shape than the worn-out stereo masters.

Without their agreement to reissue albums, it's a moot point either way.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Without their agreement to reissue albums, it's a moot point either way.

Brian, as far as you know, did AF ever consider releasing Art Garfunkel's two solo QUAD albums: Breakaway and Angel Clare or is Art also negatively opposed to QUAD releases, as well?

 

[bmoura]

Brian, as far as you know, did AF ever consider releasing Art Garfunkel's two solo QUAD albums: Breakaway and Angel Clare or is Art also negatively opposed to QUAD releases, as well?

The albums by Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon are unavailable for licensing as reissues.

 

[Eggplant]

Joe Cocker "With a little help from my friends" SACD from Audio Fidelity was a title initially planned with a Quad layer, was abandoned when no Quad tape could be found. I suspect there never was a true discrete master (simply some sort of passive decoder) as the Q8 has absolutely no separation and even has audible turntable rumble and a couple clicks and pops here and there.

That Q8 is a complete pile of dogsh*t. I always assumed it was just a cruddy mix done by some dopey engineer pressed into service who knew as much about mixing for surround as I know about knee surgery. But maybe it's actually fake. It's happened before. I'm going to give it a careful channel-by-channel listen. A few other A&M quads were pretty worthless, including -- unfortunately -- the hit-filled "A Song for You," so it's not a stretch.

Regarding unreleased quad masters, there's a big difference between a tape known to have existed and one that still exists AND has been located. There are many more of the former than the latter, either due to misplacement or loss (e.g., Carpenters) or the fact that so many were destroyed in late 1975. We're unlikely to come across photos or other evidence of the former, though it has happened (e.g., Sgt Pepper's SQ mix). In cases where a known engineer or record company suit has gone on record in print as having personally heard the mix, I consider that proof. There are many such cases.

 

[hirez]

Hirez, this may be right up your alley: http://creamusic.net/uploads/posts/2013-02/1361817775_1361815686_folder.jpg

Wildly inventive and discrete in FULL MLP 5.1. Up until a few months ago it WAS affordable but even Amazon third party vendors are charging upwards of $100 + s/h. BUMMER!

Already Have it and have enjoyed it, just not as much as Stay Awake..