By Livonia Ken (216.203.223.100 - 216.203.223.100) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 06:03 am:

The happy return of Bobby Eli had me in a Philly frame of mind, and a recent purchase of a DVD player that plays Super Audio CDs had me in a "feed the new monster" frame of mind, so I picked up the recent release of the O'Jays "Ship Ahoy" on SACD. If you have the gear for it, it is a very cool release. It includes both the original 2-channel stereo mix of the album and a repurposed surround sound version that is based on the original quadrophonic mix.

Both mixes have a nice analog-ish sound - not to mention the time machine aspect that transports you back to the quadrophonic era. Yeah, not technically a "Soulful Detroit" release, but definitely soulful.

Harry W - If you are reading this, are there any plans (you can talk about) for any Motown catalog releases on SACD? I noticed UMG is starting to release some Jazz and Blues titles. I imagine you are probably too far along on the "I Want You" Deluxe Edition, but a guy can dream, can't he?

Regards,
Ken

By David Meikle (213.122.106.138 - 213.122.106.138) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 07:52 am:

Hi Ken

I have that album stacked away somewhere. Must dig it out.

BTW all forms of Soul Music are welcomed on this forum.

Even The Beatles, if helpful!

By Ritchie (62.254.0.7 - 62.254.0.7) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 08:52 am:

Quadrophonic - good grief! I thought I'd never hear that word again! File under: "damp squibs of our time #245."

By Livonia Ken (136.2.1.153 - 136.2.1.153) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 01:03 pm:

Ritchie,
That's the beauty of this format! You get the novelty mix with the opening groove from "For the Love of Money" playing sequentially in all four corners of the room and such, and when the novelty wears off and you realize you only have two ears, you have the "real" stereo mix to listen to in an audiophile format as well. There's no buyers remorse like in the good old days for paying an extra $1 for the quad LP (or 8-track) and then realizing you often would rather just hear it in stereo.

Also, if you are the trainspotter type who likes to try to figure how something was recorded and mixed, you get a little more insight into the components of the mix when it's broken up like that.

I would just as soon most SACDs of catalog material be stereo (or mono) only, but when they do something that was mixed for quad back in the day, it's fun to hear it.

BTW, for the, ahem, golden age of quad, I was between the ages of 5 and 10 years old, but I remember friends' parents who had set-ups and then there was the system in my grandfather's Lincoln Mark V. You could listen to quadrophonic music, talk on the citizens band radio, and land a Navy fighter jet on the hood. They don'e make 'em like that anymore.

Regards,

Ken

By Ritchie (213.107.61.108 - 213.107.61.108) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 01:22 pm:

Ken

Yes, but I'm old enough to remember when it was a (non)going concern, which impressed in principle - and confused in reality. Maybe it might have stood a chance if there hadn't been so many different and incompatible "quad" systems. If CDs had followed the same example, Philips would have introduced the 5" disc, Sony 5 1/2 inches, and maybe RCA might have tried to win us over with the long-play 7" CD!

By Livonia Ken (136.2.1.153 - 136.2.1.153) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 01:37 pm:

That's the march of media progress, Ritchie ...VHS vs. Beta...LP vs. CD...Laserdisc vs. CED...DAT vs. minidisc vs. CD-R...Open DVD vs. DIVX DVD...and now playing at an audiophile dealer near you: SACD vs. DVD-Audio.

I could list more examples, but my eyes are beginning to roll back into my spinning head.

Regards,

By Ritchie (213.107.61.108 - 213.107.61.108) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 01:43 pm:

Yes, Ken - "Progress" - that's definitely one description! ;)

By Ian Vinyl Junkie W (213.122.44.226 - 213.122.44.226) on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 09:40 pm:

Do you mean they don't record on wax cylinders any more? Anybody want to buy a machine ... and a dog ... going cheap (well woof! actually).

By Livonia Ken (136.2.1.153 - 136.2.1.153) on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 01:08 pm:

Ian,

Is the dog used on a treadmill with a bone dangling in front of it to keep the wax cylinders spinning? I had one of those units, but I upgraded to a battery powered one last year.

Regards,
Ken

By Ian W (213.122.52.168 - 213.122.52.168) on Sunday, August 18, 2002 - 09:12 pm:

;-) Ken

But I always fancied one of those tiny portable turntables with headphones you sometimes see at record fairs. 'Discotron' or something like that. They are worth a bit of money now!

Ian