Suggestions for Dutton Vocalion Multichannel SACD Releases

[Soundfield]

A lot of people here seem to think DV are going to be able to undertake huge amounts of research into finding long lost (and frankly very niche) items. But it's not very likely - they are a very small company (Dun & Bradstreet profile says 5 employees at Watford).

 

[jefe1]

I'm sure Fredblue would volunteer to help them look but good point.
Noticing from above list there is another alleged Byrds quad existing. Enuf for a twofer.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

A lot of people here seem to think DV are going to be able to undertake huge amounts of research into finding long lost (and frankly very niche) items. But it's not very likely - they are a very small company (Dun & Bradstreet profile says 5 employees at Watford).

Boy your just a ball of fun these days , aren't you.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

While some of those are interesting finds.... outside the Edgar Winter titles and Canned Heat.... I don't see a lot there that's very commercial. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've been loving what we've got so far, but, I'd kinda like to see some more heavy hitters. We've got the Guess Who's, they've started the BTO's.... let's do what it takes to get Jerry Reed, Waylon Jennings, Jim Croce, The Eagles, Dolly Parton, Mike Nesmith.... dare I say *gasp* maybe even an ELVIS title? C'mon.... FTD has all but ignored the Elvis multichannel stuff.... let somebody have a crack at it! It's worth a phone call and starting a dialogue, right? Look at the track record of this program! It's unearthed some amazing stuff!
Maybe re-issue the Elton John titles? Complete the set by issuing the whole kaboodle!
I honestly wouldn't mind paying a little extra for some BIG NAME

artists.
oh..... and am I the only one who thinks we should go back to limiting the selection to maybe two titles to one disc or even a single title to one disc? I'm not a huge fan of the multi-disc sets when I'm really only going to play the multichannel disc. That's my only critique thus far.

"Unreleased Quads" are a saleable audio commodity , I would think , given the interest by QQ members of past unreleased quads . I'm Thinking....Jethro Tull , Gentle Giant , Gong , Billy Cobham , etc.

 

[Q-Eight]

"Unreleased Quads" are a saleable audio commodity , I would think , given the interest by QQ members of past unreleased quads . I'm Thinking....Jethro Tull , Gentle Giant , Gong , Billy Cobham , etc.

Unreleased Quads would sell, absolutely, and especially if they were from, say, The Eagles or Creedence Clearwater Revival. Jethro Tull, too would be another artist with mass appeal. But weird, obscure, "weren't even popular in their time" albums should not be the main focus. I guess I'm hoping that D-V somehow get the go -ahead for something big that makes headlines and puts them on everybody's radar. If D-V can get some real "street cred", maybe there will be more opportunity to get even more unreleased titles or dare I say.... Mr. Dutton gets the opportunity to remix a popular album with a terrible Quad mix or no Quad mix at all! He's gotten the go-ahead for other stuff!

Like, the Guess Who stuff was a pretty big deal. I'm pretty sure that opened the door for the BTO stuff. I've poked Mr. B. personally several times about the Quad mixes, so he WAS aware of them and was probably looking specifically for an outlet like D-V to get it done since his current label has no wants/needs/means to produce such media. I have not had the opportunity to shoot the breeze with him lately, but I have the sneaking suspicion that when I do, his response is going to be "THERE! Now will you quit bothering me about them?"

I just want GOOD things to happen, y'know? Getting big name stuff out there gets OTHER people interested, too. Even me stuck here in beautiful downtown Hickton, have persuaded a few folks to embrace multichannel, get a vintage amp and a modern DVD/SACD player and enjoy the music. If every one of us could convince two other people.... imagine the market then! Demand begets supply. Supply increases demand.

 

[steelydave]

I think maybe people have the wrong idea about what "vault searches" might entail. Like everything these days, it's done (for the most part) by computer - the major labels entrust their assets by and large to archival storage facilities like Iron Mountain who store, and then catalog and barcode each asset so it's available in a searchable database. So looking for quad masters doesn't mean D-V has to get their employees together to mount a Journey to the Center of the Earth-style expedition with ropes and torches to look through piles of old musty tapes, it means that they have to know what to search for, and what to ask about. The major labels hold literally millions of tapes between them - I saw it suggested in a Billboard article from the mid-'00s that Sony had 2 million assets and UMG had over 3 million - and with the attrition of institutional knowledge over the decades, there's no one there who you can just say "send me a list of all your quad tapes" because these companies simply have too much stuff for anyone to know that. So really, it's a situation where knowledge is power - you're much more likely to find an unreleased quad mix if you can search or ask for it by name, rather than trying to undertake some kind of search for all 4-channel tapes. Mike has been in the reissue business for well over 20 years so to say he's well-versed in the art of finding old tapes would be an understatement. I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I've also provided him with spreadsheets that cover the quad output of all the labels that D-V license from, both released and unreleased, so no stone is left unturned and he's very aware of the interest in unreleased quad mixes. Having said that, and not to pour too much cold water on things, but it's my (edumacated) opinion that a lot of the supposed "unreleased mixes" that get talked about here probably were never completed. I do think that there are some, but just because something was erroneously mentioned in a trade publication, catalog or PR release doesn't mean a mix exists.

 

[Quadwreck]

I wouldn't put Jethro Tull in the "unreleased quad" category, Ian's been very good to us.

 

[jhw59]

Steely Dan-quad mixes exist.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

I wouldn't put Jethro Tull in the "unreleased quad" category, Ian's been very good to us.

I agree , both Ian with Steven's interest in getting things done like issuing those previously unreleased quads are a wonderfully surprising bonus.

All I can say is keep up the good work , keep em coming .

 

[fizzywiggs41]

Unreleased Quads would sell, absolutely, and especially if they were from, say, The Eagles or Creedence Clearwater Revival. Jethro Tull, too would be another artist with mass appeal. But weird, obscure, "weren't even popular in their time" albums should not be the main focus. I guess I'm hoping that D-V somehow get the go -ahead for something big that makes headlines and puts them on everybody's radar. If D-V can get some real "street cred", maybe there will be more opportunity to get even more unreleased titles or dare I say.... Mr. Dutton gets the opportunity to remix a popular album with a terrible Quad mix or no Quad mix at all! He's gotten the go-ahead for other stuff!

Like, the Guess Who stuff was a pretty big deal. I'm pretty sure that opened the door for the BTO stuff. I've poked Mr. B. personally several times about the Quad mixes, so he WAS aware of them and was probably looking specifically for an outlet like D-V to get it done since his current label has no wants/needs/means to produce such media. I have not had the opportunity to shoot the breeze with him lately, but I have the sneaking suspicion that when I do, his response is going to be "THERE! Now will you quit bothering me about them?"

I just want GOOD things to happen, y'know? Getting big name stuff out there gets OTHER people interested, too. Even me stuck here in beautiful downtown Hickton, have persuaded a few folks to embrace multichannel, get a vintage amp and a modern DVD/SACD player and enjoy the music. If every one of us could convince two other people.... imagine the market then! Demand begets supply. Supply increases demand.

I dunno about The Eagles rumoured unreleased quads .
I believe Warner has them , so they would be off the table , for now.
Also I wouldn't be interested in any of them (sorry Jon).
I'm more of a Joe Walsh contributions fan , but do like :
The Eagles "One Of These Nights " quad album .

Also I could have have posted two rumoured unreleased quad "sure sellers" .

Such as : Simon And Garfunkle -Bookends , and Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run , but I think it would be pointless for DV to persue those for obvious reasons .


BTW -Did you get a definite (for existing quad mixes) from B.C. on The Guess Who's " So Long Bannatyne " and "Live At The Paramount" ?

 

[Q-Eight]

BTW -Did you get a definite (for existing quad mixes) from B.C. on The Guess Who's " So Long Bannatyne " and "Live At The Paramount" ?

Burton is not the easiest fellow to get in touch with at the best of times and I believe just has a publicist running his Social Media right now. I've not seen his personal account "online" for some time. So no, I've not had the opportunity to get a definitive answer directly from the horse. Not 100% sure if he'd know as it seems that the Quad mixes prior to "Road Food" with the exception of "Rockin' " were done well after the release of the stereo album (obviously); but they were mixed by RCA staffers and NOT the Guess Who's long-time engineer Brian Christian. Even "#10" is not clear on exactly who mixed it as the LP jacket doesn't have any "Quadraphonic Remix by" credits, it just mentions who did the stereo release.

Without Jack Richardson around anymore, I think the only way to get confirmation would be to ask Mr. Dutton to put in a specific request and see what comes back.

I'm trying to get in touch with Brian Christian as his son and a few friends frequent the Steve Hoffman board on occasion. Just playing the waiting game and email tag.

 

[erebus]

Any chance for BTO's Not Fragile?

 

[gvl_guy]

Have there been any "unreleased quad" mixes been eventually released over these later years? I'm not talking about new 5.1 type mixes. I'm talking about something old that was found and released as a SACD, DVDa, or Blu-ray. Just curious.

 

[jaybird100]

Steely Dan-quad mixes exist.

You have verification they weren't destroyed in the fire?

 

[quicksrt]

Have there been any "unreleased quad" mixes been eventually released over these later years? I'm not talking about new 5.1 type mixes. I'm talking about something old that was found and released as a SACD, DVDa, or Blu-ray. Just curious.

Yes, Audio Fidelity did a couple of previously unissued quad mixes to SACD. They were very well received.

 

[tlake6659]

Yes, Audio Fidelity did a couple of previously unissued quad mixes to SACD. They were very well received.

One I can remember is Billy Cobham Spectrum.

 

[Quadwreck]

Have there been any "unreleased quad" mixes been eventually released over these later years? I'm not talking about new 5.1 type mixes. I'm talking about something old that was found and released as a SACD, DVDa, or Blu-ray. Just curious.

Jethro Tull' s "Minstrel In The Gallery" and "Too Old To Rock & Roll...", plus a few songs mixed for quad before the decision not to release a quad "Songs From The Wood".

 

[quicksrt]

One I can remember is Billy Cobham Spectrum.

Laura Nyro as well got a quadraphonic debut of one of her classic albums on AF.

 

[Scott65]

Laura Nyro as well got a quadraphonic debut of one of her classic albums on AF.

both great discs.

 

[Q-Eight]

Have there been any "unreleased quad" mixes been eventually released over these later years? I'm not talking about new 5.1 type mixes. I'm talking about something old that was found and released as a SACD, DVDa, or Blu-ray. Just curious.

Unreleased then, but released now:
Laura Nyro - Eli & The 13th Confession on Audio Fidelity
Billy Cobham - Spectrum on Audio Fidelity
Paul Revere & The Raiders - Hard & Heavy with Marshmallow on Dutton Vocalion
Electric Light Orchestra - First Light on EMI (granted, this WAS released in very limited numbers outside the USA. Never issued on USA Q8 or SQ LP)

Unreleased then, but confirmed existence:
Edgar Winter's White Trash
Big Brother & the Holding Co. - Cheap Thrills
Johnny Winter - Self-titled Debut
Blood, Sweat & Tears - Child is Father to the Man