Mitchell, Joni: Court and Spark [CD-4/Q8]

[Ed Bishop]

Probably the best known and most commercial of her albums, from 1974, Asylum EQ-1001.

Side 1:

1. Court And Spark
2. Help Me
3. Free Man In Paris
4. People's Parties
5. The Same Situation


Side 2:

1. Car On A Hill
2. Down To You
3. Just Like This Train
4. Raised On Robberty
5. Trouble Child
6. Twisted



ED

[ChristopherLees]

Probably the best known and most commercial of her albums, from 1974, Asylum EQ-1001.

Side 1:

1. Court And Spark
2. Help Me
3. Free Man In Paris
4. People's Parties
5. The Same Situation
6. Car On A Hill

Side 2:

1. Down To You
2. Just Like This Train
3. Raised On Robbery
4. Trouble Child
5. Twisted


ED

Er... with the lp.... Car on a hill ...is the first track on side 2.

An edit piece was forgotten with the quad release, on the normal stereo version "People's Parties" and "The Same Situation" are joined together...
on the quad version this doesn't happen....apart from that I quite like this quad mix...once you find a good Q8 or a quiet Cd-4....and the music is some of Joni's best...

[Ed Bishop]

Fixed...ya happy now?

My entire Quad/multi collection will soon be coming Down South with me..in the meantime, pretty much have to go by memory. Thanks for the correction!

ED

[Q-Eight]

I quite liked this album. Wasn't really familiar with much of Joni's work, but Raised on Robbery was a staple of the only AM-radio station back in my home town when I was growing up. Kinda disappointed to hear on the Quad version that they didn't include all her vocal harmonies - they only left in the harmonies for the intro.

Good seperation through-out the album. Really surprised to hear the ))Stereo(( drums in the rear: Kicker & High hat in the left and Snare & TomToms in the right. Wish they did that on more quad stuff!

For the mix, I give it a 9! Very well done, but pretty static.

[JonUrban]

This album is one of the joys of the quadraphonic era, her most commercial LP and the one with the most songs non-fans would know.

I recently received a nice conversion that a friend did, and have listened to this now a few times recently, and can say while the surround mix is decent, I have always felt that it could be better. As stated above by Q-Eight, the song "Raised on Robbery" has so much potential for an enveloping surround mix, a la "Seven Bridges Road" from Hell Freezes Over, but it's not.

I would have loved to hear Joni's harmonies on this LP split up like that.

Still, the material alone is so good that you can't kill this one. Should have been one of the first DVD-Audios from WB/Rhino. Plus, there's Cheech & Chong there to boot!

Gotta give it a 9.

PS - Speaking of Cheech & Chong: Now there would have been a few killer quad LPs, no?

[winopener]

Ehm... who are these Cheech & Chong?

[JonUrban]

Dave? Dave's not here.................................

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheech_and_Chong

[ChristopherLees]

PS - Speaking of Cheech & Chong: Now there would have been a few killer quad LPs, no?

"Championship Wrestling" in surround sound would be interesting.....

[Ed Bishop]

PS - Speaking of Cheech & Chong: Now there would have been a few killer quad LPs, no?

Killer is right..they were awful enough in stereo! Did like "Earache My Eye," and to a lesser degree, "Basketball Jones," if only for the session roster, and a few funny lines...

ED

[Bob Romano]

This is an album I have listened to over and over and I never get tired of it. The quad mix is beautiful and full and strange at the same time because of the drums being in the rears. "Same Situation" gives me chills every time. This is one to cherish. A 10 from me all around.

[neil wilkes]

I only just got given a transfer of this, and I think the word that best describes it is quite simply "Sublime".
It's a beautiful record, the mix is as close to perfect as I have heard in Quad too.
I can't think of anything bad to say about it - and the *only* reason I give a 9 instead of a 10 is because it's matrix Quad as opposed to discrete.

Highly recommended.

[winopener]

Matrix????
cd4 or q8 doesn't sound as matrix systems to me....

[neil wilkes]

I stand corrected - and am very stupid.
It's from a Quadradisc.
Time to take myself outside, kick myself in the rear end & similar

[Doug G.]

I am finally writing something here although I voted a long time ago.

I love Joni and I love this album. Therefore, I love this album in CD-4!

Doug

[ress4278]

One of the better CD-4's I own. Sounds great sonically and keeps it interesting in 4 channel. How does the Q8 sound in comparison?

[winopener]

Both cd4 and Q8 sounds excellent.

[leevitalone1]

This album is one of the joys of the quadraphonic era, her most commercial LP and the one with the most songs non-fans would know.

I recently received a nice conversion that a friend did, and have listened to this now a few times recently, and can say while the surround mix is decent, I have always felt that it could be better. As stated above by Q-Eight, the song "Raised on Robbery" has so much potential for an enveloping surround mix, a la "Seven Bridges Road" from Hell Freezes Over, but it's not.

I would have loved to hear Joni's harmonies on this LP split up like that.

Still, the material alone is so good that you can't kill this one. Should have been one of the first DVD-Audios from WB/Rhino. Plus, there's Cheech & Chong there to boot!

Gotta give it a 9.

PS - Speaking of Cheech & Chong: Now there would have been a few killer quad LPs, no?

cheech and chong //david crosby/graham nash/jose feliciano/tom scott/joe sample/larry carlton/ect.

[Bidkat]

One of the few five-star mixes of the quad era.

If there were such a thing as "audiophile" quad, this mix might have qualified.
The same great care taken with the original recording seems to have been applied to this mix, which is strikingly faithful to the stereo. The engineer took pains to get signature sounds, like the unforgettable opening drum hits of "Help Me", just right.

There are very few albums of popular music which are 1) critically acclaimed, 2) classic (i.e., lasting), 3) well-recorded, 4) original or avant-garde, yet 5) commercially successful. Steely Dan's Aja is one, as is Court and Spark. They're in sparse company.

Now for the bad news: every CD-4 copy I've heard of this is unlistenable. Sorry, but for such a delicate recording I simply can't stand the noise and distortion. I recommend either trying the Q8 conversion, or . . . the stereo CD, through DPLII or Tate.

[leevitalone1]

Mixwise, one of the few five-star mixes of the quad era.

If there were such a thing as "audiophile" quad, this mix might have qualified.
The same great care taken with the original recording seems to have been applied to this mix, which is strikingly faithful to the stereo. The engineer took pains to get signature sounds, like the unforgettable opening drum hits of "Help Me", just right.

There are very few albums of popular music which are 1) critically acclaimed, 2) classic (i.e., lasting), 3) well-recorded, 4) original or avant-garde, yet 5) commercially successful. Steely Dan's Aja is one, as is Court and Spark. They're in sparse company.

Now for the bad news: every CD-4 copy I've heard of this is unlistenable. Sorry, but for such a delicate recording I simply can't stand the noise and distortion. I recommend either trying the Q8 conversion, or . . . the stereo CD, through DPLII or Tate.

for stereo they did this in hdcd too.

[THX1136]

Great album and well done on Q8. I liked Hissing too - almost as good for me.

[Doug G.]

I agree. I like both those albums equally.

[Quad Linda]

This is hot. The CD-4 was eagerly awaited in the day, and rightly so. I think it's all been said by others here. If you like Quad, and like the music from the Quad era, YOU NEED THIS!!

[THX1136]

A note: when I did the conversion of my Q8 of this there were phase issues - probably the head on my player being wacked - with the tracks. After nudging a few samples - ooh wee did it sound good!

[inquadwetrust]

This is hot. The CD-4 was eagerly awaited in the day, and rightly so. I think it's all been said by others here. If you like Quad, and like the music from the Quad era, YOU NEED THIS!!

I'm just home from a long business trip in Las Vegas and this album is the perfect jet lag cure. Free Man In Paris is one of the greatest quad tracks ever and the whole album is extraordinary from start to finish. Pure unadulterated emotion that pours from every speaker and carries you higher and higher on the beautiful sonics.

[leevitalone1]

It would be nice if this was put on sacd or BD. One of my all time favs. I have had this in almost every form, but quad. I obtained a mc copy a few yrs ago and it has been put in the case for the HDCD copy I have.