Art Garfunkel & Lynn Anderson in SACD Surround (Jan 2018)

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Me too. I bid over $100 multiple times for that Q8 a while ago (8 years) and got outbid at least 4 times until I finally got one - that was bad!
Was it in demand, or just rather rare on Q8? A little of both?
 
Was it in demand, or just rather rare on Q8? A little of both?

It's one of the later Columbia Q8's, so there were not that many of them. However, it turned out to be an album that I ended up liking a lot back in the '70s (although I really do not like "My Little Town"), but the variety of music styles and the quad mix on this album made me a fan. Plus it was a real-time release, so I never really heard it in stereo (except on the radio), so it was one of my favorite Columbia quads.

Needless to say, I will be very glad to get this SACD. I was hoping AF would be able to do this one a few years ago, but having it come form D-V along with his first quad album at the same time is great!!
 
Breakaway has more diagonal pans than any 'mixed for SQ' release that I know of - almost every track features one, and some of the tracks have pans on both diagonal axes.

Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years has a diagonal placement in every track as well. Same mixing team?
 
Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years has a diagonal placement in every track as well. Same mixing team?

It's certainly possible, but we'll never no for sure unless someone gets access to the quad master tape box because 'Still Crazy...' doesn't have a quad remix credit on the jacket. Bill Schnee is credited with the quad mix on Breakaway's sleeve (and mentioned in a news item in a Nov. '75 issue of Billboard as working on the Breakaway quad mix) but I could find no similar news about Still Crazy's quad mix being done. Obviously the quad mix of 'My Little Town' is the same on both LP's but that's no guarantee that the same person did both mixes, they could've dropped the one track on to both LP's, and Still Crazy was produced and by Phil Ramone, who has some other quad mixes to his credit. The quad mix of Breakaway was released in Jan '76, and Still Crazy's quad was released a month later in Feb. '76 so it's certainly possible that Schnee went to work on Still Crazy as soon as Breakaway was finished, but we'll never know for sure unfortunately.

Thank you as well for your compliments about my liner notes (and to the other people who said something nice too), they can be really challenging at times - especially when its an artist outside my sphere of knowledge like Garfunkel was for the most part. If you see periods where I'm not posting here much, it's probably because I'm sweating spinal fluid trying to figure out how to re-word a sentence so that it doesn't have four commas in it, or trying to fit 4,000 words of information in to a 2,500 word space. To reply to your earlier comment as well, it is difficult to hold my tongue when I know about something coming up (or I'm working on something) but by the same token I feel good about it too, because I feel like each quad license D-V secures is a victory of all quad enthusiasts, of which I'm absolutely one. Just for example, over the last 6 months or so I've seen both FredBlue and 4-earredwonder (the two biggest jerks on QQ :D ) both openly wishing for the Garfunkel quads on SACD, so it was nice for me having that knowledge that their wishes were going to be fulfilled soon - especially when I struggled at times with the writing, knowing that people were going to be really happy with the end product helped me get over the hump. Don't get me wrong, I know that my contribution is only a small part of what makes these releases great, but I'm immensely proud of it.

Someone upthread was mentioning that they didn't know 'My Little Town' was on Breakaway. It's actually on both Breakaway and Simon's 'Still Crazy', and was released as a joint Simon & Garfunkel single the same week as both albums. I talked about it a bit in the blog I wrote for D-V to promote these releases (and I go in to it in even more detail in the liner notes) but in a nutshell S&G had finally started reconciling by '74/'75, and initially Simon gave the song to Garfunkel to do as a solo track because he thought Angel Clare lacked 'bite'. Garfunkel (who never wanted S&G to break up in the first place) eventually convinced Simon to sing on the track with him, and I guess at some point Columbia realised that they were both working on solo albums and arranged to have them both come out the same week, with My Little Town as the sort of unifying single to promote both. The song also ushered in the warming in relations that eventually culminated in the Central Park concert in '81 too - they did a bunch of appearances together to promote the song in '75 including the 2nd ever episode of Saturday Night Live (which Simon hosted), as well as the CBS Records convention, and a bunch of Simon gigs in late '75 where Garfunkel joined him on the encores.

Regarding the Q8 of Breakaway, Jon is right that it's incredibly tough to find. It used to regularly go for in the $130 range on eBay, and while things have come down a bit in the last few years, I don't think I've seen it go for less than $75. So to be able to get it now in master tape quality for a fraction of the price is a massive victory I think. Being released in 1976, the Q8 of Breakaway was probably only in print for 2 years or so, and at the nadir of quad's popularity - compare that to the titles released in '72/'73 (8+ years in print) and they're all much easier to find. If you look at the Q8's that Columbia put out in '76 (Aerosmith Rocks, Chicago VIII & X, Jeff Beck Wired, Earth Wind & Fire Spirit, O'Jays Message in the Music etc.) I don't think there's a single one that's easy to find, unless you have $250 a tape to spend from some aftermarket profiteer.
 
Hooray! We get two Art Garfunkel quads (while Paul Simon still languishes in the world of two channel audio.)

I ordered the two Garfunkels plus the Mancini Pink Panther/Symphonic Soul. Came to a tad under $60 for all three including tracking. That's a lot cheaper than Amazon at $25 per album shipped.
 
Hooray! We get two Art Garfunkel quads (while Paul Simon still languishes in the world of two channel audio.)

Maybe Paul will get to hear about this reissue, when the "My Little Town" license clears? Maybe he will see the package and want to hear it and be blown away with what D/V have done by including the quad master mixes with stereo on one super digital disc. He could then have a revelation and want all of his old solo albums that have quad reissued on SACD with quad included - all this by seeing and hearing the two Art D/V discs. Him simply not wanting Art's albums to be given something really special that his albums are not getting.

This could be the beginning of something.
 
It's a quiet day at the Simon Mansion. Paul sits in a big chair, reading the New York Times. One of his assistants enters the room holding a Dutton-Vocalion SACD of Breakaway, beaming with excitement and wonder. He rushes over to Paul, who glares out from behind his newspaper.

"Mr. Simon, Mr. Simon. Look at this. It's from Dutton-Vocalion in England!"

He hands the SACD to Paul, who puts down his paper. He glances at the jewel box and see's the face of his old partner, and one time friend. He looks back at his assistant.

"Is this a joke? Is it April Fools Day? Are you really handing me an Art Garfunkel CD?" He now appears agitated and very annoyed and locks eyes with his assistant, who blurts out "It's an SACD with the stereo and quadraphonic mix of that album, including your My Little Town"

Paul looks back at the jewel case, stands up, and violently throws it across the room into a plaster wall where it shatters and falls to the floor in pieces. He sits back down and picks up his paper and begins reading again. The assistant runs to what remains of the SACD and picks it all up and scurries out of the room, humiliated.

Paul pauses, lowers his paper, and thinks to himself. "That guy has a lotta balls bringing me a Garfunkel CD." He then glances over to his audio system and sees his Oppo. "Did he say SACD? I think that thing plays those. Maybe I'll order one for myself, just to hear my song. No one has to know. What was that he said, Dutton-Vocalion? I'll have to Google that."

His Google search results: https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/
 
Paul pauses, lowers his paper, and thinks to himself. "That guy has a lotta balls bringing me a Garfunkel CD." He then glances over to his audio system and sees his Oppo. "Did he say SACD? I think that thing plays those. Maybe I'll order one for myself, just to hear my song. No one has to know. What was that he said, Dutton-Vocalion? I'll have to Google that."

This is easily the best porn I've read in ages!
 
It's a quiet day at the Simon Mansion. Paul sits in a big chair, reading the New York Times. One of his assistants enters the room holding a Dutton-Vocalion SACD of Breakaway, beaming with excitement and wonder. He rushes over to Paul, who glares out from behind his newspaper.

"Mr. Simon, Mr. Simon. Look at this. It's from Dutton-Vocalion in England!"

He hands the SACD to Paul, who puts down his paper. He glances at the jewel box and see's the face of his old partner, and one time friend. He looks back at his assistant.

"Is this a joke? Is it April Fools Day? Are you really handing me an Art Garfunkel CD?" He now appears agitated and very annoyed and locks eyes with his assistant, who blurts out "It's an SACD with the stereo and quadraphonic mix of that album, including your My Little Town"

Paul looks back at the jewel case, stands up, and violently throws it across the room into a plaster wall where it shatters and falls to the floor in pieces. He sits back down and picks up his paper and begins reading again. The assistant runs to what remains of the SACD and picks it all up and scurries out of the room, humiliated.

Paul pauses, lowers his paper, and thinks to himself. "That guy has a lotta balls bringing me a Garfunkel CD." He then glances over to his audio system and sees his Oppo. "Did he say SACD? I think that thing plays those. Maybe I'll order one for myself, just to hear my song. No one has to know. What was that he said, Dutton-Vocalion? I'll have to Google that."

His Google search results: https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/

And as Paul gets up to pop the Garfunkel SACD into his OPPO his stockinged pygmie feet catches a sliver of broken plastic from the SACD case and he goes slip, sliding away into his $150K Analogue Turntable set up which is presently playing a Test Pressing of MoFi's $100 45 rpm VINYL remaster of Bridge disrupting playback as he mumbles to himself.....'besides, NO ONE is shooting KODACHROME anymore and only nerds listen to music in surround.'

And yet across the Pond, Michael S. Dutton is smiling broadly as he knows with Garfunkel he has indeed scored "The Art of the Deal."
 
Hopefully Paul has neither the desire nor the legal ability to stop this release.

I recall the Sundazed CDs a few years ago of the early Moby Grape albums.
It seemed all was in order but they got yanked from the market anyway.
The loophole the rights holder used, IIRC, was the artwork even though the music was aproved
 
After much back and forth, I've FINALLY placed my first order for Dutton Vocalion Quad SACDs, mainly because the Garfunkel albums come the closest to what I actually listen to (other than classical). I bought all three January releases, because I know and like that "Rose Garden" song, and I also bought the Conniff disc of TV Themes, mainly for the nutty cover of the theme from S.W.A.T., which I can't get out of my head.

I was hoping to add the Levine Mahler release from Dutton Epoch, but for an extra £20, I decided to hold off, and maybe I will add it to the next batch of orders. It was already a bit of an expenditure at over £56 shipped, but hopefully, the discs are worth it, especially for me, who much prefers AC/DC and Iron Maiden to the likes of Hugo Montenegro and Ray Conniff. I almost bought the Rocket Man disc, but in the end, it was again more loopy than enjoyable, for me. Perhaps I will buy it during a sale, though.

I look forward to hearing all of these in glorious quadraphonic sound, and I hope we get more announcements closer to this kind of popular music in the future. :)
 
Look what's come today!

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Breakaway is stunningly good. There are some big names backing Garfunkel.

I've never knowingly heard any of it before. One of the highlights turned out to be Waters Of March - Águas de Março by Antonio Carlos Jobim. An interesting contrast between Garfunkel's version and that by Elis (Regina) & Tom (Jobim). Both are excellent with superb surround mixes.

Disney Girls is great too - ably helped by composer Bruce Johnston.

I can't see anybody being disappointed with it.
 
I managed to listen to Angel Clare today (uninterrupted by calls!). I don't know this album at all. So from a first listen, fidelity is good (you can tell this was well recorded in the first place, and well transferred to SACD), music is good, Art Garfunkel has a great voice, and the mix isn't bad, with a circularly panned bell at one point! steelydave's liner notes are great. All in all well worth it.
 
I have a question:

the mix Quad 4.0 of the song My Little Town of the album Simon's Still Crazy is exactly identical of album Garfunkel's Breakaway??
 
I have a question:

the mix Quad 4.0 of the song My Little Town of the album Simon's Still Crazy is exactly identical of album Garfunkel's Breakaway??

pretty sure they are, yes.

edit: i just checked and i made some notes on my phone before packing everything away because this was of particular interest to me since (i'm guessing thanks to the vagueries of the SQ matrix encode/decode process?) i found My Little Town on the SQ LPs of "Breakaway" & "Still Crazy.." to not totally match.. having since compared the Q8s of each album i'm sticking my neck out to say they are indeed the same.

the placements i noticed in both versions were:
piano, some percussion and harmonies rear left,
drum parts incl kick and horns rear right,
everything else up front.

one other observation i made at the time was the sound quality was crisper on my Q8 of "Breakaway" than "Still Crazy.." but that may just be my actual carts rather than any mastering difference i dunno.
 
I have a question:

the mix Quad 4.0 of the song My Little Town of the album Simon's Still Crazy is exactly identical of album Garfunkel's Breakaway??

Mario...I have a question...more of a statement...are you the greatest Simon & Garfunkel fan on this earth?..I say that because you joined this forum in 2011..and over the years you have posted 5 times...and all FIVE have been about S&G...sir I salute you for being a real life SUPER FAN:wave:bounce17:cool:
 
If my copy of Angel Clare doesn't look exactly like yours, I'll be really be disappointed. ;)

Little known Snood factoid - throwing some knowledge on ya'lls - that was indeed the original album cover art design on Clare, but was nixed at the last moment - Snood is happy to see Vocalion maintaining the high integrity of the actual originals. :banana::banana:

:bounce
 
That album cover on Breakaway always sort of freaked me out. You know....Art always looked so wholesome. lmao

There he is, sitting at a table with butts everywhere...couple of chicks on each arm...and a glass of whisky. :banana:

OK, might not be whisky....but my story sounds better that way. :chill
 
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