A Curious Issue With The Isley Brothers' 3+3 Q8

[sjcorne]

I received a new/sealed copy of this tape from Discogs about a month ago. Was quite a bit cheaper than what the SACD goes for lately.

Finally got a chance to work on some conversions yesterday, so I tore off the plastic, repaired the pad/splice, and popped the tape in. Imagine my shock when I hear Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" coming out of my speakers. I then switched to program 2 and heard "El Condor Pasa".

I isolated the front and back pairs and can confirm that it is most definitely the discrete quad mix of Bridge Over Troubled Water. I have three theories as to what happened:
a) Someone took the S&G tape, put it in the Isley shell, and re-sealed it (why, I don't know).
b) Someone dubbed S&G over the Isley tape, and re-sealed it (again, why??)
c) Columbia actually printed a batch of S&G tapes in Isley shells (unlikely, but who knows).

I didn't pay a lot for it (was around $40 for this and Steely Dan's Can't Buy A Thrill), and it came from an international seller, so it's probably not worth the hassle to return. The Steely tape plays perfectly.

 

[JonUrban]

Sounds like a factory error to me. At least it wasn't Jim Nabors!

 

[sjcorne]

Sounds like a factory error to me. At least it wasn't Jim Nabors!

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. The plastic covering seemed pretty legitimate. It had even slightly yellowed!

I figure the BOTW tape is worth at least $20. I wonder how many other misprints of this title there are?

 

[4-earredwonder]

Sounds like a factory error to me. At least it wasn't Jim Nabors!

GOLL ~ EEEE!

 

[JonUrban]

Poor Jim. Good singer, really.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Poor Jim. Good singer, really.

That he was, Jon....possessing a voice almost operatic in quality ... but sadly he'll he etched in our memories as bumblin' Gomer Pyle!

 

[MrSmithers]

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. The plastic covering seemed pretty legitimate. It had even slightly yellowed!

I figure the BOTW tape is worth at least $20. I wonder how many other misprints of this title there are?

Maybe it'll have some 'collectability value' if it was a misprint?! Still a bit of a pain in the arse though... Yeah I suppose it could have been worse In terms of substitute albums?

 

[4-earredwonder]

Maybe it'll have some 'collectability value' if it was a misprint?! Still a bit of a pain in the arse though... Yeah I suppose it could have been worse In terms of substitute albums?

Speaking of, Master Smithers, Will SONY Japan ever release Bridge Over Troubled Waters as a Premium 4.0 SACD in their classy 7" packaging? [if you recall...it was abruptly canceled]!

 

[MrSmithers]

Speaking of, Master Smithers, Will CDJapan ever release Bridge Over Troubled Waters as a Premium 4.0 SACD in their classy 7" packaging? [if you recall...it was abruptly canceled]!

I do hope so! They really are cool in that packaging.... And very strange how it got pulled at the last minute?! I have been lucky enough to hear the quad but an official release is what's required. Maybe it'll randomly turn up on another printed SACD one day?!

 

[fredblue]

you realise what you've got there! its the previously unreleased Isley Brothers tribute album to Simon & Garfunkel!

featuring such tracks as..

• Who's That Baby Driver,
• Sunshine (Bye Bye Love),
• The Highways Of My Life Over Troubled Water..

and many more!

 

[J. PUPSTER]

you realise what you've got there! its the previously unreleased Isley Brothers tribute album to Simon & Garfunkel!

featuring such tracks as..

• Who's That Baby Driver,
• Sunshine (Bye Bye Love),
• The Highways Of My Life Over Troubled Water..

and many more!

I do love the rotating car sounds on the Q8 of "Baby Driver"; also in the movie of the same name!

 

[fredblue]

I do love the rotating car sounds on the Q8 of "Baby Driver"; also in the movie of the same name!

getting serious for a second, i'm sad sj's tape turned up a dud, not least because when i saw he had acquired the 3+3 Q8 i was happy for him but also i hoped he might analyse it and get to the bottom of whether or not Sony had futzed with the channel balances on the SACD

 

[J. PUPSTER]

getting serious for a second, i'm sad sj's tape turned up a dud, not least because when i saw he had acquired the 3+3 Q8 i was happy for him but also i hoped he might analyse it and get to the bottom of whether or not Sony had futzed with the channel balances on the SACD

Right! - I always get a kick out of Jonathan's work here, he's really great at it And what's the deal with the balances?

 

[fredblue]

Right! - I always get a kick out of Jonathan's work here, he's really great at it And what's the deal with the balances?

oh i dunno exactly Mr.Pup, i think it was steelydave reckoned they were out of whack somehow, it was a while ago now

 

[Lute]

That he was, Jon....possessing a voice almost operatic in quality ... but sadly he'll he etched in our memories as bumblin' Gomer Pyle!

Always a Hoosier at heart!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Always a Hoosier at heart!

GOLL~EEEE, Brett ... thanks for the memories!

 

[MrSmithers]

oh i dunno exactly Mr.Pup, i think it was steelydave reckoned they were out of whack somehow, it was a while ago now

Here's a link on it... The 'adventures.' series is great info!

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...-engineer-vol-3-the-isley-brothers-3-3.18701/

 

[sjcorne]

oh i dunno exactly Mr.Pup, i think it was steelydave reckoned they were out of whack somehow, it was a while ago now

Yeah, Dave analyzed it and found that it was sourced from a 44.1/16 master AND that Sony screwed up the channel balances when converting it to 5.1.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...-engineer-vol-3-the-isley-brothers-3-3.18701/
LOL, just noticed Smithers beat me to it.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Yeah, Dave analyzed it and found that it was sourced from a 44.1/16 master AND that Sony screwed up the channel balances when converting it to 5.1.

https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...-engineer-vol-3-the-isley-brothers-3-3.18701/
LOL, just noticed Smithers beat me to it.

Are you sure it was 16 bit, Jonathan? According to SD's analysis it was 24 bit....unless I'm misinterpreting the specs.

Number of tracks: 9
Official DR value: DR11

Samplerate: 88200 Hz
Channels: 5
Bits per sample: 24
Bitrate: 5514 kbps
Codec: FLAC
=========

 

[markshan]

I'll take C and add that the seller wouldn't have had any way to know. That is the risk of NOS, IMHO. When I sell a used recording, I can play grade it.

Heck, some folks might actually pay more for the oddity.