Carpenters Close to You Q8

[Xdevo1973]

I received the Q8 version of the tried and true Carpenters Close to You album. I must say I was disappointed. The front channels are regular stereo and the back channels are just out of phase mono! I wonder why they did that. It's not even fake derived quad, just phasy mono in the back. I guess 1970 was the first year of the Q8 and they studio really didn't care too much about a quad mix.

 

[sjcorne]

I received the Q8 version of the tried and true Carpenters Close to You album. I must say I was disappointed. The front channels are regular stereo and the back channels are just out of phase mono! I wonder why they did that. It's not even fake derived quad, just phasy mono in the back. I guess 1970 was the first year of the Q8 and they studio really didn't care too much about a quad mix.

That kind of mix is unfortunately common on A&M Q8s.

I can tell you that the Singles 1969-73 and Now & Then albums are definitely real quad and they're great mixes...

 

[Q-Eight]

While I will concede that the A&M Q8's are not known for being a discrete party - and yes, several of them are faked; I do not believe Close to You to be phony. For instance, during "We've only just begun" there is a tambourine in Front Right only. The rears favor drums, piano and horns, but no electric keyboard. It's more like the rears feature the live studio instruments while the front hard corners feature the overdubbed instruments. I can't really tell what's going on with the vocals, but they do sound a bit phasey.

My Quadscilloscope does show that the rear channels are not quite mono. Either the left and right are as you say; out of phase, or there is some stereo echo/ambiance going on.

Certainly not the best of Quad by any stretch - I believe they were trying to emulate the stereo mixes on this one.