Surrounded On Sundays - 5.1/quad reviews and summaries

The Band - The Band

It's a 10. Probably the finest non prog, non jazz 5.1 blu ray I own. How many albums are more 'brown' than this? None, none more brown. Should've come with the lyrics though.

 

Well OK then - I ordered the two BaM.

 

Nice! Any info on Annals of My Glass House by Birdsong at Morning? Looks like 4CDs and a concert DVD. Thanks!

 

America - Homecoming

A 9 out of 10. Decent album, great 5.1 mix. One of those albums which has been forgotten over the decades since. I still say their best is the debut, but this may be next in line.

 

I'll Second This.

These releases are awesome. In the US you can order them from birdsongatmorning.com

Great music and value. Both albums also come with Alan Williams talking about each song.

Highly recommended!

sam

 

The DVD is an early concert. Not the greatest resolution or sound. Probably just thrown in as a bonus. 4 CDs with around 30 minutes of music each. Nice covers of Dreaming by Blondie and Matte Kudasai by King Crimson. Not as consistent as the recent 2 releases.

Interesting that their debut was a box set.

sam

 

Thanks! Good prices on their website. Cheaper than Deep Discount. I ordered both CD/BR sets and the 4Cd/DVD box set.

 

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Birdsong At Morning albums, but I'll stop just short of offering you a money back guarantee

I look forward to a review.

 

Eric Clapton – Slowhand. Probably my favorite Clapton solo album, and the mix is excellent. After you get past “Cocaine”, it is more laid back than most Clapton albums. One of the first SACDs and surround discs I ever got. It was a bargain then, and it still is. (2/3)

Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! I don’t think this is a bad album, but it’s not one of the better Tull albums; and I play it hardly ever for that reason. “Salamander” is a very good song though. The TV mix does come with video, which was reason enough to review it on the video thread. However, the version I ripped to my hard drive is the Quad. That’s mainly because I figure I’ll get out the disc if I’m going to play the TV show, but I also figure that with the charm of a discrete four channel mix, the Quad version is plenty adequate for those very few other occasions where I want to play the album. (1/3)

Pineapple Thief - Your Wildnerness. This is the album where Gavin Harrison became a group member. He filled in the drum tracks after Your Wilderness was otherwise completed, and then also played on the subsequent tour. He participated as a regular member on both the two subsequent albums, including the one coming in September. Every song from Your Wilderness is also on the Where We Stood concert video, and I think I generally like those versions better (see my review on the video thread). But the studio versions are a little smoother and less edgy than the live versions. The studio surround mix also has a little more going on in the back. As has been said elsewhere by me and others, the Where We Stood bluray is a great deal. (2/3)

 

Two Lane Highway / If The Shoe Fits


Studio albums by Pure Prairie League
Released June 1975 and Jan 1976
Recorded December 18, 1974 – January 23, 1975
Genre Country rock
Length 32:10 and 33:34
Label RCA Records
Producer John Boylan

Two Lane Highway is the third album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). The line-up of the band was drastically changed from their previous albums. It was the first album without founding member Craig Fuller, who was the primary songwriter, and vocalist, on their two previous LP's.

If the Shoe Fits is the fourth studio album by American country rock band Pure Prairie League, released in 1976

Personnel
Pure Prairie League
George Ed Powell - guitar, vocals
Larry Goshorn - guitar, vocals
John David Call - steel guitar, banjo, dobro, vocals
Michael Connor - keyboards
Michael Reilly - bass, vocals
Billy Hinds - drums

Additional personnel listed for Two Lane Highway only
Chet Atkins - guitar
Vincent DeRosa - French horn
Don Felder - mandolin
Johnny Gimble - fiddle, violin
Emmylou Harris - vocals
Steven Edney - vocals, congas
John Rotella - clarinet, keyboards
Sid Sharp - concertmaster

Track listing
Two Lane Highway
1. "Two Lane Highway" (Goshorn) - 4:04
2. "Kentucky Moonshine" (Goshorn) - 2:30
3. "Runner" (Powell) - 2:39
4. "Memories" (Goshorn, Richard Palmer) - 2:52
5. "Kansas City Southern" (Gene Clark) - 2:55
6. "Harvest" (Goshorn) - 3:36
7. "Sister's Keeper" (Powell) - 3:45
8. "Just Can't Believe It" (Goshorn, Reilly) - 2:21
9. "Give Us a Rise" (Hinds, Powell) - 2:27
10. "I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle" (Nick Gravenites) - 2:09
11. "Pickin' to Beat the Devil" (Tom McGrail) - 2:52

If the Shoe Fits
1. "That'll Be the Day" (Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
2. "I Can Only Think of You" (L Goshorn, Reilly)
3. "Sun Shone Lightly" (Tim Goshorn)
4. "Long Cold Winter" (L Goshorn, Powell, Reilly)
5. "Lucille Crawfield" (Powell)
6. "Gimme Another Chance" (L Goshorn)
7. "Aren't You Mine" (Hinds, Powell)
8. "You Are So Near to Me" (Powell)
9. "Out in the Street" (L Goshorn)
10. "Goin' Home" (L Goshorn)

_______

Both albums were reissued in 2017 on hybrid Super Audio CD by Dutton Vocalion. This edition was remastered from the original master tapes and contains both the original stereo and quadraphonic mixes. The cover looks like this:



It’s a twofer for £11.99.

5.1 mix by ?

Two Lane Highway
"Two Lane Highway"
Starts with lead vocals, drums, bass, and guitar in front. Then keyboards rear right, another guitar rear left, and different backing vocals in rear left and right. Piano solo jumps around from speaker to speaker. Guitar solo stays rear left.

"Kentucky Moonshine"
The first song sounded like it might be an Eagles song, but this one is more bluegrassy. Starts with guitar right front, lead vocals in front, then bass and drums in front. Clarinet and backing vocals in the rear. Guitar rear left.

"Runner"
Pretty much same mix as the first song - starts with guitar rea left, then keyboards rear right, everything else in front. Strings and French horn in rear. Maybe a bit of the dobro in front.

"Memories"
Dobro rear left, keyboards rear right, backing vocals in rear, and the usual in front. Mandolin rear right.

"Kansas City Southern"
No keyboards, guitar imitating locomotive whistle and backing vocals spread in rear. Very cool actually

"Harvest"
Two guitars in front. Rear pretty much silent until backing vocals crop up, then guitar left rear, keyboards right rear. Another Eagly song.

"Sister's Keeper"
I think I can call it the standard mix at this point – it’s the dobro rear left. Plus strings in the rear.

"Just Can't Believe It"
Still the dobro rear left, Emmy Lou Harris vocals left front.

"Give Us a Rise"
Starts out all in front again, backing vocals break the ice in rear. Dobro mixed across in rear; no keyboards.

"I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle"
Standard mix with dobro rear left. Dobro briefly gives way to fiddle.

"Pickin' to Beat the Devil"
Keyboards mixed across in rear, with a solo – plus background vocals but no guitar in back.

If the Shoe Fits
"That'll Be the Day"
The mix here seems to be considerably less discrete. In fact, I’m inclined to say it’s just reverb in the back. Really disappoint, especially since the first one was really good.

"I Can Only Think of You"
More of the same, but a guitar solo breaks out left rear towards the end.

"Sun Shone Lightly"
The dobro seems heavier rear right, but it’s not discrete. Guitar solo seems to be right front and right rear.

"Long Cold Winter"
Besides the mix being a disappointment, the album isn’t nearly as good either. The songs aren’t as good and there are no guest musicians. Seems to be a much lower budget production. Listening to the rest of this is going to be a long cold winter.

"Lucille Crawfield"
I dare say this has keyboards predominantly in the back, but that could be my imagination desperately trying to pick something out. I like the song anyway.

"Gimme Another Chance"
Wait a minute – we’ve got guitar rear right and the horns in the rear. Also a sax in front – no credits for that either.

"Aren't You Mine"
Pretty much just reverb, bit the dobro predominates in the rear.

"You Are So Near to Me"
I think there’s a little more dobro in the back on this one too.

"Out in the Street"
Starts out dobro, and it’s definitely heavier in the back. Keyboards too.

"Goin' Home"
Keyboards in the back.
____

I figured out how to rip SACDs in 2017, which led to an SACD buying spree. This is one of those I got back then. I‘ve never been PPL fan, never had one of their albums, but I had friends who liked them 40 years ago. Sold for the low low price of 12 quid. I didn’t realize until last summer that it had quad mixes on it.

As it turns out, I liked the first album a lot, and not just because it has a really nice surround mix. It definitely fills a 70’s country rock surround niche for me. The second album was a disappointment after the first. The mix isn’t as discrete, and I just don’t like the songs as much. However, once I adapted, I found it to be at least a little immersive.

The DV disc is supposed to be a twofer, but for me most of the value is in Two Lane Highway.

Two Lane Highway (2/3)
If the Shoe Fits (1/2)

 

The Soft Parade

Studio album by
the Doors
Released July 18, 1969
Recorded 1968–1969
Studio Elektra Sound West, Hollywood, California
Genre Psychedelic rock jazz fusion blues rock art rock
Length 33:50
Label Elektra
Producer Paul A. Rothchild

The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on July 18, 1969, by Elektra Records. Most of the album was recorded following a grueling tour during which the band was left with little time to compose new material. Producer Paul A. Rothchild recommended a total departure from the Doors' first three albums: develop a fuller sound by incorporating brass and string arrangements provided by Paul Harris. Lead singer Jim Morrison, who was dealing with personal issues and focusing more on his poetry, was less involved in the songwriting process, leaving guitarist Robby Krieger to increase his own creative output.

The album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200, but it failed to retain audiences in the UK and other European countries that their previous album, Waiting for the Sun, had succeeded in engaging. Three preceding singles, "Touch Me", "Wishful Sinful", and "Tell All the People", were included on The Soft Parade, with the former becoming another Top 10 hit for the Doors. Another single, "Runnin' Blue", also followed the album's distribution. Upon release, The Soft Parade was denounced by both music critics and the band's underground music scene followers, who viewed the album as the Doors' trending into popular music. Over time, historians have reassessed the album and its critical standing has slightly improved, but it is still widely considered the group's weakest effort with Morrison.

• Jim Morrison – vocals
• Ray Manzarek – keyboards
• Robby Krieger – guitar, chorus vocal on "Runnin' Blue"
• John Densmore – drums

Additional musicians

• Harvey Brooks – bass guitar
• Doug Lubahn – bass guitar
• Paul Harris – orchestral arrangements
• Curtis Amy – sax solos
• George Bohanan – trombone solo
• Champ Webb – English horn solo
• Jesse McReynolds – mandolin on "Runnin' Blue"
• Reinol Andino – conga

Technical

• Paul A. Rothchild – production
• Bruce Botnick – engineering
• Joel Brodsky – photography
• Edgar Bernstein – photography
• Peter Schaumann – inside illustration
• William S. Harvey – art direction and design

1. "Tell All the People" Robby Krieger 3:21
2. "Touch Me" Krieger 3:12
3. "Shaman's Blues" Jim Morrison 4:49
4. "Do It" Morrison, Krieger 3:08
5. "Easy Ride" Morrison 2:43
6. "Wild Child" Morrison 2:36
7. "Runnin' Blue" Krieger 2:27
8. "Wishful Sinful" Krieger 2:58
9. "The Soft Parade" Morrison 8:36
------------------------------------------------
So far we have looked at Strange Days, Waiting For The Sun, L.A. Woman and the Quad release The Best Of The Doors.

The Doors are a great band, and in reality this is probably the lesser of the original band's releases, that certainly doesn't mean it is a bad album though. Just, Touch Me and the title track make the album worth having and there are some other great songs on here as well. This is one of those albums by a band, that sits and the bench waiting for a turn, and when it comes in to play it does everything that is required of it. It is just that the other players in the game have a little higher profile, and better stats .... for want of a better way of putting it.

It is kind of pleasing to read that Waiting For The Sun was such a big album for the band, because it has always been a favourite of mine, but the problem with that, for the band, was following it up. With Waiting For The Sun the band became something of a name in England and Europe and generally increased their marquee value quite substantially. 1968 was the year that changed things up for Morrison, he was actually on the brink of quitting the band, drinking heavily, suffering from anxiety, and wanting to spend more time playing with poetry and film making.
Everything was going very well for the band, but as is often the case, the figurehead of the band was somewhat struggling with his public persona, and his natural tendencies. In early 69 Morrison started moving closer to the edge, as his drinking got more and more heavy he started to lose a little self control and discipline - showing up to sessions drunk, late for sessions, late for gigs, and just generally struggling to be the frontman and leader in the public eye.
The Doors went to play their first gigs outside the US at the Roundhouse in London and then went on to perform in Europe with an instance of Morrison collapsing on stage at one show due to some pills he had taken.
When the band got back to the US, Morrison's experiments in crowd control moved a little too close to the edge .... The incidents with fans and police started to increase, and by the time we get to March 1 1969 all these things came to a crescendo while the band were playing at the Dinner Key Auditorium, in Coconut Grove, Miami.
Jim was drunk and left 12,000 people crammed into a 7000 person venue, waiting for an hour. Due to him witnessing some things by a group of folks he knew called the Living Theatre, Jim was trying some new crowd manipulation techniques .... shifting between statements like "Is anybody here gonna come up here and love my ass" to the other extreme "Your all a bunch of f'n idiots. What are you gonna do about it" .... He was provoking the crowd to stimulate a response, this is why the authorities were always keeping an eye on the band, this was Morrison's game.....
Anyway it all starts to get a little hazy after that, but reports suggest that the crowd was in a crazed frenzy and some of the footage available around the place reflects that with people running up onto the stage, police surrounding the stage, on it, not next to it..... Some guy runs onto the stage and pours champagne over Jim, and he took his shirt off, and said "Lets see a little skin, lets get naked". Some reports suggest that this is what happened, people started taking their clothes off in the crowd.... then this is where it gets really hazy ... At this point Morrison held the shirt that he had taken off in front of his groin and made gesticulations with his other hand, and so begins the saga of the indecent exposure charge. Ray Manzarek claims it was a mass hallucination to this day, but Morrison was pursued through the courts, found guilty and was sentenced to six months in jail with hard labour and a $500 fine. Morrison remained pending an appeal, but died before any of this could be resolved .... the thing is though the stigma attached to this little piece of rock and roll history stayed with him the rest of his days. I believe his move to Paris was to escape the constant problem that this show caused him. All the band members are to this day convinced that Morrison did not expose himself ......
Anyway it was in the aftermath of this crescendo of incidents that Soft Parade came out, and it was during all this time that it was being recorded. Morrison was not quite awol, but Krieger had to pick up the slack with the writing, and so to some degree the formula or chemistry wasn't quite the same.

The Perception box
available from about $244 at amazon https://www.amazon.com/Perception-6CD-6DVD-Boxset-Doors/dp/B000ILYYJE
available from about $93 at discogs The Doors - Perception
available on ebay from about $89 The Doors Perception box | eBay
Just keep your eyes open if you go through ebay, and make sure you get the correct item if you are interested. There are some sets that are just the cd's. Whenever buying any second hand box type sets, also make sure that the seller hasn't given the item a good price because they have taken the surround disc out... this is more common than makes sense to em.

The Soft Parade cd/dvd-a
on discogs from about $13 The Doors - The Soft Parade
there is also an sacd released in 2013 available from about $25 on discogs The Doors - The Soft Parade
the cd/dvd-a is available on ebay from about $32 The Doors soft Parade dvd audio in Music CDs | eBay

the sacd is still available new from acoustic sounds for $30 The Doors-The Soft Parade-Hybrid Multichannel SACD|Acoustic Sounds
also available at The Doors Store for $29.99 Soft Parade [SACD]

5.1 mixing, production and mastering by Bruce Botnick

It is much too long since I listened to this album, as I say when the band has albums of the calibre of the Debut, Strange Days, Waiting For The Sun, Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman, it makes it more difficult for this, also excellent album to get its nose in. So I know this album really very well, but I have no memory of the 5.1
So here we go......

Tell All The People
We open with a horn arrangement that surrounds us nicely.
A nice sounding bass up front. Piano just left of front left. Morrison's vocal in the centre channel.
We have the horn augmentation coming in with nice punctuation through the song.
This is a nice immersive mix, and works well with a nice balanced soundstage.

Touch Me
The drums and organ come in up front with the classic intro.
We get strings and horns, and the full bug on this track.
The strings and horns give us most of our rear channel action, but there are nice little keyboard parts that come in also.
The sax lead break is in the right rear, and as we swell to the crescendo the soundfield fills to the punchy finish.

Shaman's Blues
It sounds like the bass guitar and organ together in the left side, with the guitar on the right side.
Densmore plays some really nice drums on here. Overshadowed by the mythical Morrison the band seem to often to be overlooked as to how good they actually were.
The mix here works very well with the organ and guitar balancing each other well in the sides, the bass ends up in front, and it is interesting that it started on the left.
This is a really good song too. In light of how great the band's catalog is, it is easy to forget how solid some of these tracks are.
To some degree I prefer the horn and string free tracks on here .... I like the augmented stuff but I think it wasn't quite in character for the band

Do It
A floating organ chord on the right side.
We get an extended intro on this track.
As the song builds the organ kind of gets a bit in each side.
The drums also get a little more space here with cymbals in the rears.
This mix works well, but it isn't a highlight, but it is also a lesser Doors track.

Easy Ride
Again nice cymbals in the rear.
We get some organ in the sides, also a rhythm guitar left side, lead guitar up front, handclaps right side.
A good but not great song.

Wild Child
For a good while this was my favourite track on the album, probably thanks to the Doors vhs collection I had.
We get some organ in the left side, the guitar is sort of between the centre and right rear.... and it seems to be in the centre on occasion too.
Again the drums get some space.

Runnin' Blue
Organ just left of front left.
When Robbie comes in with his vocals we get a kind of bluegrass thing and the instruments spread around us.
Also we get some horn section work also that spreads around the rears.
The guitar is towards to right side.
This is an unusual track but I reckon it works well, and the mix is good.

Wishful Sinful
Guitar box and drums up front, and we get the strings filling in the rears, and as it normally is, it is very effective.
This is a really good song also, and kind of reflects the bands style on the debut album, except for the strings and horn arrangements.
This track works very well in surround.

The Soft Parade
Here the band return to the extended style of the tracks that closed their first two albums, and it works really well as a track for me.
We open with the keys either side of us, and Morrison singing in the centre.
Then we move into Morrison's petition the Lord with prayer section.
Then the song proper starts.
We get keys on either side, that create nice counterpoint in the surround channels.
Then we move into the sort of psychedelic jazz section. Robbie's guitar is on the right, and Ray is on the left.
Then we move into the poppy, dancing keyboard section.
Then the monk bought lunch, and we move into the groovy section. Morrison's studio adlibs move to different spots across the front, and Ray is playing on our left.
We move into the soft parade section.
Bass up front nicely.
The organ seems to be across the back.
This is groovy, trippy stuff.
The drums again have good width.
This is an unusual song and to some degree mix, but it is immersive and in context it works very well.

Revisiting this album after an absence, this is a lesser Doors album, but they didn't make any bad albums in my opinion. This album lulls a little in the middle, but the songs being a little different also give it a certain amount of interest.
The mix is solid throughout, but again slightly less so in the middle of the album.
Personally I think any Doors fan would want and enjoy this 5.1 mix. I think the first three and last three mixes are really very good, and in the middle there it is good. Overall this is probably worth getting, and the thing is a Doors fan is probably going to like and want this. If you aren't a Doors fan the mix probably isn't going to blow your mind enough to make you one.
I am pleased I have this, because frankly I love The Doors and this is still a good album and mix.

 

Was enjoying Elton's Honkey Chatteu until the new puppy crapped on the carpet upstairs and proceeded to chewing up the newly laid sod in the backyard. Killed the vibe, to say the least, and the system is shut off for the day.

Anyone want a 4 month old bloodhound?

 

lol.... it'll come good. Puppies will be puppies. There's always next week
All the Elton sacd's are excellent.

 

Not sure how we will go today folks. I only got to bed at 3am, and I am a little hungover. Hopefully I can get to Jeff Beck today also, but I am very behind.

 

Too much alcohol...smoke more pot lol

 

I wish I could, but I get p tested for work .....

 

Ok lets see if I can do this .....

Rough and Ready


Studio album by
The Jeff Beck Group
Released 25 October 1971
Recorded April–July 1971 at Island Studios, London
Genre Jazz fusion
Length 36:48
Label Epic
Producer Jeff Beck

Rough and Ready is the third album by The Jeff Beck Group and the first of two by the second Jeff Beck Group. Released in 1971, it featured more of a jazz, soul and R&B edge to counter Beck's lead guitar. As a songwriter, Beck contributed more pieces to Rough and Ready than he had before, or ever would again. Beck enlisted Bobby Tench as vocalist and it is also the first time keyboardist Max Middleton is heard. Other members of this line up are drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Clive Chaman.

• Jeff Beck – guitars, bass guitar and production
• Bobby Tench – vocals and rhythm guitar
• Max Middleton – piano and keyboards
• Clive Chaman – bass guitar
• Cozy Powell – drums

1. "Got the Feeling" Jeff Beck 4:46
2. "Situation" Beck 5:26
3. "Short Business" Beck 2:34
4. "Max's Tune - On original United States releases, this track is titled "Raynes Park Blues" and credited to Beck; subsequent pressings are titled and credited as here." Max Middleton 8:24
5. "I've Been Used" Beck 3:40
6. "New Ways / Train Train" Beck 5:52
7. "Jody" Beck, Brian Short 6:06
Total length: 36:48
----------------------------------------------------
The Jeff Beck Group came punching into the music scene as, essentially, a precursor to Led Zeppelin. Of course Page and Beck had connections through the Yardbirds, Page actually suggesting Beck to take Clapton's place in the band, and at one stage Page and Beck were in the Yardbirds together.
Essentially the idea initially was a heavy blues band, with a rawkus singer pounding it out ... these bunch of bands that came out during this period are the fathers of the hard rock and heavy metal scenes that sprung up from these early days of fat punching drums and guitars with a singer hollering in a manner that was somewhat reflective of Little Richard's (generally) wonderfully harsh and cutting vocals, than Elvis Presley's (generally) smooth and quite beautiful vocals. Obviously there are all sorts of variations, and it is unfair to generalise Little Richard and Elvis that way, because both were much more flexible than that statement may suggest, but I am trying to paint a picture here.

Truth came out in August 1968, recorded 14-26 May 1968. Led Zeppelin came out in January 69, and was recorded in Sept/oct 1968. Both bands could be seen as following on from Cream, Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge and several other bands that had started exploring this new heavy blues, and as is always the case it is a slow progression of inspiration. I don't really buy into the idea that one band generally creates a new genre, or whatever, anybody that cares about music, keeps their ear to the floor for what is going on, constantly looking for inspiration to put their spin on new ideas.
In 69 Beckola came out and the band seemed to be doing pretty well.

Jeff Beck is the kind of musician that has itchy feet, and always wants to be on the move, and so just prior to the Woodstock Festival Beck broke up the band, which he says he now regrets, but this was an importntt couple of albums, and introduced the world to a young belter of a singer named Rod Stewart, who went on to get a solo recording contract, and then join the breakdown of the Small Faces, in the band Faces, and he ran a concurrent career as a solo artist and member of Faces, with rather remarkable success.

Anyway, Beck then put together a new version of the Jeff Beck Group, and as would become common during Jeff's distinguished career, they changed direction, and the new material would move further and further away from the rock/blues/hard rock direction.... Beck would move into fusion, and in the early eighties some pop..... he really was a wandering soul trying whatever he felt drawn to. To some degree I think it is the wandering spirit and musical diversity that left him not getting the front page spectacle "best guitarist" tag that many of his contemporaries have done over the decades... These days most level headed observers consider him among the greats, and deservedly so. I am not one that actually believes in a best, in the music field, so among the greats is an ideal terminology for me.

When this album came out, Christgau slammed it as pretentious .... pot - kettle anyone lol... Stephen Davis found it to be "fine piece of work from a man who wasn't really expected to come back. Beck is back, and in pretty good shape too."

and this pretty much goes to show how Beck confounded the critics by following his own muse and not merely succumbing to the trends and popularity contest nature of seventies rock music.

This sacd is available at
Acoustic sounds $49.98 Jeff Beck Group-Rough And Ready-Hybrid Multichannel SACD|Acoustic Sounds
Amazon $53.95 https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Ready-Hybrid-SACD-JEFF-GROUP/dp/B01N02N6SS
Disocgs from about $42 Jeff Beck Group - Rough And Ready
Elusive Disc for $54.99 Jeff Beck Group Rough & Ready Hybrid Multi-Channel & Stereo Japanese Import SACD
Walmart $50.63 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Jeff-Beck-Rough-Ready-Hybrid-SACD/412283229
Cd Japan $46.73 Jeff Beck Group Japan Original Multi-ch Hybrid Edition of "Rough And Ready"

This is in the same vain as the Santana Lotus, Miles Davis Bitches Brew and Live Evil sets, and of course The Jeff Beck Wired, Beck Bogart and Appice etc. It is a 7" pack that is decked out really nicely, generally the quality of the product and mastering of these sets seems pretty high, but of course the Japanese sets always sell on the high side, and when they go out of print, generally only get higher.
This is still available, but a couple of stores were noting the amount of copies left, which often means it is running on the low side.



Quadrophonic remix engineer Don Young
Mastered by Jack Ashkinazy

I have had this one for a while now, but haven't had a chance to listen to it. I will be familiar with some of the songs because of my Beckology box set, but I have never heard this album yet.

Got The Feeling
Really nice straight away.
Drums, bass and vocals up front.
Rhythm guitars either side rears.
There is percussion or a drum kit in the left rear also.
We have some very cool alternating guitar rhythm strikes alternating sides.
Hand claps right rear.
This track has the sound and feel of a modern mix, but with no inhibitions about just using all the channels.
Keyboard solo up front.
The song itself is a really cool beat driven track, that has a bit of funk, and R&B in its veins .
Really enjoyable immersive mix that packs a wallop with great sound.
We get a lead guitar up front as well.

Situation
Hats and riff guitar left rear, piano right side.
Another lead guitar left side.
Again this comes out full formed and excellent.
Again we get a kind of R&B/soul/rock thing going on.
Now we have pianos counterpointing each other either side rears.
Beck cited up the guitar front right, with a strong signal to the right side.
Again beautifully immersive, and an excellent sounding track.
They seem to have done a great job here with the mix and sound.
Middleton takes an electric piano lead up front, slightly right.
Again the drums and bass form a solid rhythm section up front.
Personally I think the vocalist does a good job, contrary to Christgai's opinion

Short Business
A guitar tripod opens front, and rears.
Then we burst into an ascending chord pattern ....
This track is really busy musically.
Guitars either side rears, keys up front.
Slide lead up front.
This track is a boiling hot soup, certainly immersive, and just everything going on at the same time.

Max's Tune
We get a melody guitar right rear.
Drums nicely spread across the front.
Bass sounding excellent again up front. We do have sub assist, a natural warm roundness accentuating rather than overwhelming.
Keys are on the left side.
This track is more mellow, and is working on atmospherics. The drums playing patterns more than a beat, and the piano and guitar laying melodic lines with plenty of space.
Then about 3 minutes in we get a beat come in, for about a minute.
We break to a reflective section that mas the piano and drums holding fort with accents from the guitar.
This is a more stripped back arrangement, but the piano and guitar work well for the surround involvement.
Another keyboard comes in up front.
Slightly less full on musically and mix-wise, but still a very worthwhile exercise.
This leans towards a sort of fusion style and works very well.

I've Been Used
Gtr up front, counter rhythm guitar in rears.
We bounce into a beat.
Keys up front.
Another effective mix.
This album has a lot more layers in the recording than I expected.
Another immersive mix with movement and lots of parts filling out the soundfield.

New Ways/TrainTrain
The drums are sort of all around us, and flanged I believe.
This is a very cool track, and was on Beckology.
Guitar left rear, and front, and right.
The drums seem to kind of move on occasion.
This is a much more seventies quad mix. Not a bad thing, just different to the rest of the album.
We break down to an instrumental break drums front left and right rear, and the guitar front right and left rear.
This mix is somewhat unusual, but still engaging and immersive.
Another breakdown with percussion in all channels and lead guitar up front.

Jody
Piano across the front, a really nice sweet melodic piano.
A beat comes in, the drums back up front.
The piano seems to fill the room.
A couple of lead guitars, playing a melody and counter melody come in.
We have a series of key or mode changes.
Then we move into a kind of swinging shuffle kind of thing.
We shift again into a different feel.
Piano right side. Gtr left rear and front.
We have I think an acoustic rhythm across the middle.
Piano right side, electric piano left side and front.
To a fade.

I sincerely think that Jeff Beck fans will really like this. we have a very interesting album that blends a lot of styles and genres and presents them in the form of songs.
There are bits of Funk, R&B, Rock, some Fusion, whatever. There are all sorts of flavours on the palette here, and it works pretty well.
The mix is really very good. The first two tracks could easily sit alongside the best general soundstage set ups of the modern era. The third track is very immersive and very good, but it is such a dense piece of work that it is just everywhere doing everything, or so it seems with layers of instruments creating an interesting musical soup.
Max's Tune is probably somewhat less of a complete immersive experience as it is a nice balanced instrumental focusing on Max on the left and Jeff on the right. We get a few feel changes, and a lot of great melodic playing.
I would honestly imagine that a surround fan, particularly those interested in the seventies quad mixes would be interested in this disc. It sounds really well done to me.

 

Reference to the albums

Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic
Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare
Alan Parsons Project - Tales Of Mystery and Imagination
Alan Parsons Project - Eye In The Sky
Alan Parsons Project - Ammonia Avenue
Alison Krauss and Union Station - New Favourite
Allman Brothers Band - Live At Fillmore East
Allman Brother Band - Eat a Peach
Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here thanks @riskylogic
Anathema - Weather Systems thanks @riskylogic
Anderson, Ian - Homo Erraticus
Anderson, Ian - TAAB 2
Argent - In Deep thanks @riskylogic
Ayreon - The Source thanks @riskylogic

Band - Music From Big Pink ... I did this twice ... must occasionally sleep lol
Barclay James Harvest - GoneTo Earth
Bass Communion - Loss thanks @riskylogic
Beach Boys - Sunflower
Beach Boys - Surf's Up
The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album)
The Beatles - Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Be Bop Deluxe - Futurama
Be Bop Deluxe - Sunburst Finish
Beck, Jeff (group) Rough and Ready
Beck, Jeff - Blow By Blow
Beck, Jeff - Wired
Beethoven - 3rd Symphony Eroica
Beethoven - 5th Concerto (Emporer) - Barenboim/Rubenstein
Bjork - Vespertine
Bjork - Medulla
Blackfield - IV thanks @riskylogic
Blackfield - V thanks @riskylogic
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Blood Sweat and Tears - Blood Sweat And Tears
Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties
Blue Oyster Cult - Agents Of Fortune
Bowie, David - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
Bowie, David - Young Americans
Bowie, David - Station To Station
Bowie, David - Stage
Browne, Jackson - Running On Empty
Bruce- Jack - Shadows In The Air thanks @riskylogic
Bruford - Feels Good To Me thanks @riskylogic
Buddy Miles Express - Booger Bear thanks @riskylogic

Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink thanks @riskylogic
Charles, Ray - Ray Sings, Basie Swings
Clapton, Eric - Give Me Strength The 74/75 Recordings
Clapton, Eric - Slowhand
Clapton, Eric - Reptile
Clapton, Eric - Back Home
Cobham, Billy - Spectrum
Cobham, Billy - Spectrum (Quad) thanks @-dave--wave-
Coltrane, Alice/Santana, Carlos - Illuminations

Davis, Miles - Sketches Of Spain
Davis, Miles - In A Silent Way
Davis, Miles - Bitches Brew
Davis, Miles - Live Evil
Davis, Miles - Tutu
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Deep Purple - Stormbringer
Dekker, Desmond - Anthology thanks @riskylogic
Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward
Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
Depeche Mode - Violator
Depeche Mode - Delta Machine
Derek and the Dominos - Layla and other assorted love songs
Derringer, Rick - All American Boy and Spring Fever thanks @riskylogic
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
Doobie Brothers - The Captain And Me
Doors - Strange Days
Doors - Waiting For The Sun
Doors - The Soft Parade
Doors - LA Woman
Doors - Best Of thanks @riskylogic
Drake, Nick - A Treasury
Dream Theater - Distance Over Time
Dukes Of Stratosphear - Psurroundabout Ride
Dylan, Bob - Blonde On Blonde
Dylan, Bob - Slow Train Coming

Eagles - Hotel California
ELO - debut album
Emerson Lake And Palmer - Tarkus
Emerson Lake And Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery

Fagen, Donald - The Nightfly
Fahl, Mary - From The Dark Side Of The Moon thanks @riskylogic
Ferry, Bryan - Boys and Girls
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (1975)
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Foreigner - Foreigner
Franklin, Aretha - best of

Gabriel, Peter - Up
Gallagher, Rory - Big Guns (Best Of)
Gaye, Marvin - Lets Get It On
Genesis - Overview of all thanks @MikeF63
Genesis - Foxtrot
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Genesis - And Then There Were Three
Genesis - Duke
Gentle Giant - Three Piece Suite
Gentle Giant - The Power and The Glory
Gentle Giant - Interview
Gilmour, Dave - On An Island
Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead
Guns And Roses - Appetite For Destruction

Hackett, Steve - Voyage Of The Acolyte thanks @riskylogic
Hackett, Steve - Broken Skies, Outspread Wings thanks @riskylogic
Hackett, Steve - At The Edge Of Light
Hancock, Herbie - Sextant
Hendrix, Jimi - Electric Ladyland

Inxs - Kick
Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death

Jeff Beck Group - Rough And Ready
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
Jethro Tull - A Passion Play/ Chateau d'Herouville
Jethro Tull - Minstrel In The Gallery
Jethro Tull - Too Old To Rock and Roll ...
Jethro Tull - Stormwatch
Jethro Tull - TAAB 2 thanks @riskylogic
Joel, Billy - The Stranger
John, Elton - Elton John
John, Elton - Madman Across The Water
John , Elton - Honky Chateau
Johnson, Eric - Ah Via Musicom

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - The Traveller
King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King 40th and 50th
King Crimson Islands
King Crimson - Red
King Crimson - Beat
King Crimson - Thrak
King Crimson - The Power To Believe
Knopfler, Mark - Sailing To Philadelphia
Knopfler, Mark - Shangri La
Kooper, Al (with Bloomfield and Stills) Super Sessions
Kraftwerk - 3d Catalogue - Man Machine

Led Zeppelin - Song Remains The Same
Lennon, John - Imagine, Ultimate Edition
Living Colour - Collideoscope
Love And Rockets - Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven thanks @riskylogic
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Southern Surroundings

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire
Manheim Steamroller - Fresh Aire 8 thanks @riskylogic
Marillion - Script For A Jester's Tear
Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
Marillion - Afraid Of Sunlight
Marley, Bob - Legend
Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell
Monk, Thelonius - Supreme Jazz
Moody Blues - Days Of Future Passed
Moody Blues - In Search Of The Lost Chord
Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance
Moody Blues - Seventh Sojourn
Morrison, Van - Moondance
Mussorgsky, Modeste - Carlo Ponti - Pictures At An Exhibition+
Mozart - 40th Symphony
Mozart - Rene Jacobs - Le Nozze Di Figaro (The Marriage Of Figaro)

Nektar - Journey To The Centre of The Eye Thanks @riskylogic
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
No Man - Schoolyard Ghosts Thanks @riskylogic

Oldfield, Mike - Ommadawn
Oldfield, Mike - Five Miles Out
Oldfield, Mike - Crises thanks @Sordel 's overview
Oldfield, Mike - Return To Ommadawn thanks @riskylogic
Opeth - Deliverance / Damnation thanks @riskylogic
Opeth - Pale Communion
Opeth - In Cauda Venenum

Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day
Pineapple Thief - Dissolution
Pineapple Thief - Your Wilderness and 8 Years Later
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell
Pixies - Doolittle thanks @Galactus2
Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream
Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (deluxe version 1) - Update on fixed copy
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing thanks @riskylogic
Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
Presley, Elvis - 30 #1 hits
Pure Prairie League - Two Lane Highway/If The Shoe Fits thanks @riskylogic

Queen - A Night At The Opera
Queensryche - Tribe thanks @riskylogic

REM - Green
REM - Automatic For The People
REM - Monster
REM - Around The Sun thanks @riskylogic
Renaissance - Turn Of The Cards thanks @riskylogic
Return to Forever - Musicmagic thanks @riskylogic
Rich, Charlie Behind Closed Doors
Riverside - Love, Fear And The Time Machine thanks @riskylogic
Riverside - Wasteland
Roxy Music - Roxy Music
Roxy Music - Avalon
Rundgren, Todd - Liars - Thanks @riskylogic
Rush - Fly By Night
Rush - 2112
Rush - A Farewell To Kings (Wilson version)
Rush - Hemispheres
Rush - Moving Pictures
Rush - Signals

Santana - Abraxas
Santana, Carlos - Miles, Buddy - Live thanks @riskylogic
Santana - Lotus
Shankar & Gingger - One In A Million thanks @riskylogic
Sly And The Family Stone - Greatest Hits
Soord, Bruce - All This Will Be Yours
Squire, Chris - Fish Out Of Water
Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle
Storm Corrosion (Wilson and Åkerfeldt) thanks @riskylogic

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker - Neeme Jarvi
Talking Heads - Fear Of Music
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues
Talking Heads - Naked
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Taylor, James - JT
Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair
Temple Of The Dog - Temple Of The Dog
Thomas, Michael Tilson - Orff, Beethoven, Gershwin - Carmina Burana, An American In Paris, Rhapsody In Blue + more
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Damn The Torpedoes
Tomita - Firebird
Townsend, Devin - Empath
Townshend, Pete/Lane, Ronnie - Rough Mix
T Rex - Electric Warrior

Uk - Night After Night
Uriah Heep - Gold From The Byron Era

Velvet Underground - Re-Loaded

Wakeman, Rick - Six Wives Of Henry The Eighth
Waters, Roger - Amused to Death
Wayne, Jeff - War Of The Worlds
Weather Report - Tale Spinnin'
Who - Tommy
Who - Quadrophenia
Wilson, Steven - The Raven That Refused To Sing
Wilson, Steven - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Wilson, Steven - To The Bone
Wings - Band On The Run
Wishbone Ash - Bare Bones thanks @riskylogic

XTC - Drums And Wires
XTC - The Black Sea
XTC - Oranges and Lemons

Yes - The Yes Album
Yes - Close To The Edge
Yes - Tale Of Topographic Oceans
Young, Neil - Harvest
Young, Neil - Greendale thanks @riskylogic

Zappa - Quaudiophiliac

 

I'm afraid that is all have in me this week ... too taxing for a sleepy headed hangover lol.

Next week will be a little different......

Due to the Silverline conundrum, I am going to look at a few of their releases.

We did look at the Iron Maiden Dance Of Death earlier in the thread, and I think that is all we have really looked at.... actually I think @riskylogic looked at a silverline release also ... Queensryche?
Anyway, Silverline were notorious for taking stereo and mono masters, and "remastering" them for surround. Essentially giving us sound in all channels, but not discrete sound, more like a weird 5 speaker stereo type surround sound.
This week I will be getting The Church Forget Yourself, A Silverline release, and I will also go through at least one of my Motorhead albums, probably Ace Of Spades, Donovan's Fairytale, and if time permits, some others also.
I honestly can't tell you what the results will be, but it will be a bit different. I seriously doubt that we will get any "wow, you must get this album" reviews, but they are out there, there are some good albums on their listings, and perhaps some of them are good, I don't really remember to be honest, but rather than leaving all of these til we get near the end of the line, I want to have a look at them, and get them looked at before they are all we have left.

Hope everyone is cool with that. It may be a slightly different format, because some of these are clearly not remixed for 5.1, so it may end up being a quick observational overview of what it sounds like, rather than an attempt to track by track it.... but lets see how it turns out .

Cheers
Mark

 

Out of the first 4 DV sacds I bought I rated this one the highest of the four...yeah its country...but it does rock

 

I've done six silverlines so far, still have one to go. Dekker, Desmond - Anthology is an example of a 5.1 made from a mono master - most of the tracks are the same thing coming out of all five speakers. A few tracks at the end are stereo.

 

Cheers. I knew you had done some... heck I may have done more than one.... it is hard to keep track after doing this for over a year

 

The Silverline Motorhead Ace Of Spades is a true 5.1 and has decent fidelity.

 

Cool.
It has been a while since I listened to it. We have been doing this for over a year, and with Sunday being my only free day, if I don't get to listen to it on Sunday I don't get to listen to it

I'm looking forward to a revisit. I want to try and separate the wheat from the chaff with some of the Silverline releases, and I may cover them over two Sundays, but I don't like to make a decision like that too far ahead. So we'll see how we go next Sunday and take it from there.

 

Beck, Jeff - Rough and Ready. In the summer of 1973 I scored a Pioneer SQ quad receiver, four Marantz speakers to go with it, and the quad LP of this album.



It's one of my favorite Jeff Beck albums, mainly because of "Situation". Man do I love that song. So last summer I broke the $30 lid off my surround purchases and picked it up. The lid stayed off for a while but I've largely managed to get it back on, Goats Head Soup notwithstanding. Anyway, I'm very glad to have it in quad again - the mix is more discrete than my SQ LP was. "Situation" sounds better than ever, and so does the rest of the album. (3/3)

I'll be taking a tour of the midwest over the next two week (visiting inlaws), so my next review won't be until sometime next month. I expect the new Kansas album to be waiting for me when I get back.