Off-Topic Posts from the Chicago Quadio Thread

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If Rhino or whoever issues such a Streisand set in hi-res, surround or whatever then it is fine with me. Barbra Streisand is recognized as a great talent, but I would not buy a box set because her music is not of interest to me.

My concern at this point with surround products is that a major marketing error kills the whole program. In my mind, Rhino's release of the Aretha Franklin Quadio, coming on the heels of C.T.A., was such an error. actually cares about surround sound. To make matters worse, Bob Vosgien hyped about how great the next Quadio was going to be and then dropped the Aretha bomb. While I am sure that many were happy with the Aretha release, another Chicago or Doobies Quadio would have made more sense as a second title. A boutique company such as Audio Fidelity may have been OK with the Aretha sales results, but not a label like Rhino which is owned by a major, Warner.

So whatever anyone releases in surround, let's hope that they do their homework first to ensure at least acceptable sales results.

I think YOU missed the boat concerning the Aretha Franklin Quadio Release. If you've NEVER heard it....perhaps you should. It's FANTASTIC. Ok, it's NOT CTA but not many albums are. Rhino/Warner has always been erratic regarding their surround releases. They prematurely pulled the plug on DVD~A and failed to release MANY choice pre~announced titles like the Cars, Madonna, Sinatra, CSNY, Neil Young's After The Gold Rush to name a few and then sporadically released a few RBCD/DVD~A combos and then announced Stephen Stills first album as an MLP DVD~A and then cancelled....and then SILENCE [Oh, yeah, Moondance on BD~A]. And then they release TUSK and the upcoming Mirage in LOSSY DTS and out of the blue comes the fabulous Chicago Quadio boxset with NO fanfare.

Whatever Rhino/Warner releases henceforth will probably be another CRAZY surprise because one thing about them....they're HARDLY consistent. And Aretha didn't kill the QUADIO program. Rhino just lost interest (as per their usual).

And where is Neil Young's Archives, Volume II ....... on PONO, which, BTW, is on life support.....or close to it.
 
...
...and sure, Barbra is a legend but her sufficient sales in quadio box would be assured only on condition if HiRez Surround instantly will become domain of ladies.
I can't say what I want to say because this forum has rules. But it is two words beginning with F. I have been a huge Barbra fan since the 60s. I am not a lady and I am not gay. If they release anything in surround by her I will be first in line to buy it. One of the greatest female singers of all time.
 
I can not understand all the hate for the Aretha around here. A great release by a true legend. Surely more commercial than Let It Snow. Or Blue Oyster Cult.
 
I can't say what I want to say because this forum has rules. But it is two words beginning with F. I have been a huge Barbra fan since the 60s. I am not a lady and I am not gay. If they release anything in surround by her I will be first in line to buy it. One of the greatest female singers of all time.

Well, if you can't say it, I will: FUCKIN' "A"

A TRUE DIVA
 
Can I express my opinion?

I Love Barbra Streisand, give me some Barbra Streisand in Quad, I want Barbra Streisand in surround.....

This is coming from an heterosexual Cuban-American, descendant of Antonio Montana (Scarface), and he said:

"You know what's coming to me?, the world Chico... and everything in it"
:cool::D:):):)

Regards,
 
Can I express my opinion?

I Love Barbra Streisand, give me some Barbra Streisand in Quad, I want Barbra Streisand in surround.....

This is coming from an heterosexual Cuban-American, descendant of Antonio Montana (Scarface), and he said:

"You know what's coming to me?, the world Chico... and everything in it"
:cool::D:):):)

Regards,

"SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE QUADIO BOX OF BARBRA STREISAND RECORDS, YOU FOCKING COCK-A-ROACH....!!!"

:smack: :nuke :flame :kaboom :spot

Ah, I must go and watch Scarface, it's been too long..
 
"Evergreen" is one of my favourite songs of all-time, beautifully performed by Ms. Streisand, impeccably arranged and written by the master craftsman of songwriting himself; Paul Williams. Give it another listen without prejudice, it's a stunner in my book.

I just can't abide the image of "love, soft as an easy chair..." So boring! My love is anything but soft, my friend! Sometimes rough and tumble!
 
Rhino/Warner has always been erratic regarding their surround releases. They prematurely pulled the plug on DVD~A and failed to release MANY choice pre~announced titles like the Cars, Madonna, Sinatra, CSNY, Neil Young's After The Gold Rush to name a few and then sporadically released a few RBCD/DVD~A combos and then announced Stephen Stills first album as an MLP DVD~A and then cancelled....and then SILENCE [Oh, yeah, Moondance on BD~A]. And then they release TUSK and the upcoming Mirage in LOSSY DTS and out of the blue comes the fabulous Chicago Quadio boxset with NO fanfare.

Whatever Rhino/Warner releases henceforth will probably be another CRAZY surprise because one thing about them....they're HARDLY consistent. And Aretha didn't kill the QUADIO program. Rhino just lost interest (as per their usual).

If there's one thing I have learned over the past year or so, it's that the labels themselves are not directly responsible for the erratic use of different formats for different releases, but it really all comes down to who is managing and producing each release.
Both this box set and the "Moondance" set (with Blu-Ray) lists Steve Woolard as the producer, so did he make the call to use Blu-Ray for both of these releases? Probably so. Warner Music/Rhino probably don't care about the nitty gritty details as long as it comes in close to budget and close to their designated timeframe for when they would like to release it.
Now I don't know who was responsible for overseeing the "Tusk" box set, but if it's someone else (not Steve Woolard), that could explain the use of DVD-V instead of Blu-Ray. Some care about Blu-Ray for high-res everything and some don't.

I've also seen a pattern throughout all of the recent Universal DVD-A/V releases from late 2014 onwards (encompassing the Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, and Rick Wakeman releases). The same guy was in charge of all of those reissues. Coincidence? I think not… ;)
 
I think YOU missed the boat concerning the Aretha Franklin Quadio Release. If you've NEVER heard it....perhaps you should. It's FANTASTIC. Ok, it's NOT CTA but not many albums are...And Aretha didn't kill the QUADIO program. Rhino just lost interest (as per their usual)...

Apparently, that ship has not yet sailed:

http://www.rhino.com/product/the-best-of-aretha-franklin-quadraphonic-mix-handmade

Still time to buy Aretha Franklin's Quadio based on 4-earredwonder's recommendation. It is lossy DTS, however. While I loved the original C.T.A. Quadio, it always sounded harsh to my ears at higher volume levels while the Blu-ray Quadio does not suffer from that ailment.
 
I agree that the Aretha Franlin release was great, I don't think it killed the Quadio program. Too bad those early Quadio's were done in DTS and not DVD-A. I think that the DVD-A format was considered all but dead by the time CTA and Aretha were released, that considered it's surprising that they were released at all.

As for a Streisand Quadio set, I think that it would have to have great appeal outside the surround sound community to do well. I really only ever liked "Stony End" (the single not the album). I do own a few Streisand SQ LP's that I bought only because they were Quad but have seldom played them. I could not justify shelling out a lot of money essentially for for one track. With Blu-ray audio they can put so much on one disc. The Yes Blu-rays are a great example of that. Put enough features to appeal to a wider audience.

The Chicago set is great, however compared to the Yes Blu-rays, they could of added even more. I don't want my comments to be taken as criticism of the Chicago Quadio set, just thoughts about how it could of been made even more fantastic, I've been spoiled by the Yes Blu-ray releases. I would of liked the SQ mix as well as the stereo (few would need this but it does at least serve as an alternate mix). No linear PCM, just DTS HD (which should sound just as good anyway). With the Chicago set perhaps they could of included the 5.1 mixes that were done as well (although IMHO they pale in comparison to the original Quad), also no vinyl needle drop. My point is that with the more features you add the set would appeal to more people all for different reasons.

It was smart to release Chicago as one deluxe set, had it been released as separate discs, they would not do as well. I for one love the early stuff, especially CTA, my interest faded after Chicago V. I did purchase the other Quads LP's except for "Greatest Hit's", simply because they were in Quad. I know that others prefer the soft rock, pop sound of the latter releases, so the set has something for everyone.

I would love to see a Santana set, and perhaps an Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, Rick Derringer super deluxe set!
 
Unless the suggested artist has catalog albums that can be accessed by Rhino, it's moot to be in this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
As I posted over in the other thread in response to Ryan (apologies, just seen it would be better here! :eek: )

Rather than a set of all one band or artist (so long as Warner/Rhino still have access to these Quads.. i.e. Warner still hold the Quad master tapes and retain the rights)
Rhino could do Quadio sets on a theme, maybe along the lines of..

1.) Soul/R&B Quadio set comprising of:
Average White Band, Donny Hathaway, Graham Central Station, Herbie Mann, Spinners, Roberta Flack (11 x Quad album set)..

2.) Hard Rock Quadio set comprising:
Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Black Oak Arkansas, Deep Purple, Focus, Souther Hillman Furay Band, James Gang (11 x Quad album set)..

3.) Rock & Pop Quadio set incl.
Beaver & Krause, Bette Midler, Bread/David Gates, Dionne Warwick, Tony Orlando & Dawn, New Seekers, Seals & Croft (15 x Quad album set)..

4.) Jazz, Big Band & Crooners Quadio set including:
Alice Coltrane, Fats Domino, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Frank Sinatra, Modern Jazz Quartet (12 x Quad album set)..

5.) Prog & Experimental Quadio set including:
Absolute Elsewhere, Deaf School, Kraftwerk, Passport, Stardrive (Robert Mason), Frank Zappa (7 x Quad album set)..

6.) Country,Folk & Singer/Songwriter Quadio set including..
Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Maria Muldaur, Jackson Browne, Randy Newman, Ralph McTell, Carly Simon, James Taylor (17 x Quad album set)..
 
Unless the suggested artist has catalog albums that can be accessed by Rhino, it's moot to be in this thread.

OK, forgive me to do this but I have no idea where else to do this. Happy 4th of July to all our American fellow members! Oh, and to the good folks at Rhino too. :D
 
I would love to see a Santana set, and perhaps an Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, Rick Derringer super deluxe set!

All of what you are requesting is under the control of Sony, not Warner/Rhino, so unless Sony licenses out releases from these artists to Audio Fidelity or actually releases these titles themselves, it's a very moot request.
 
Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago

Finally was able to see this last night when it played on CNN.
Quite a trip down memory lane, well worth a look.
Candid discussions of Terry Kath's tragic demise, Danny Seraphine's firing...
Happy that Danny participated in the interviews, as opposed to Cetera and Guercio.

Enjoyed Joe Mantegna's story how his band got emergency calls to replace them mid-gig when club owners fired them for doing original material and refusing to play covers.

A few good stories about the excesses of the Caribou Ranch days.
Young guys with whirlwind success and too much money...
Reminded how Guercio took 51%, leaving the seven members to divide the remaining 49.

Surreal to see the old clips as Cetera porked out, then became a buff gym rat with that god-awful headband.
Confirmed they did nothing of interest to me after the time frame of the Quadio box.
 
Confirmed they did nothing of interest to me after the time frame of the Quadio box.

I like a lot of what Chicago did up to and including "Chicago 17" (with "Hard Habit to Break" and "You're the Inspiration").
After that album was released (and Cetera left), they went downhill from there very quickly, and I had honestly forgotten that they had recorded that completely awful 80s version of "25 or 6 to 4". What were they thinking?!
Overall, it was a very good documentary, and I learned a lot about the band that I did not know before, especially when it came to the firing of Danny Seraphine, and yes, I was very disappointed that Peter Cetera declined to be interviewed for the film, but hey, now he only has himself to blame if he does not like how things appeared in the film.

I hope the film is released on Blu-Ray very soon! :)
 
Regarding CTA, it's all about context during that time...yes, there is a LOT of BS&T (I am not very well versed on BS&T's discography but I've heard enough to ...opine)
BUT
BS&T did not have the great advantage of having so many great singers in the group; especially the soaring harmonies by some guy called Peter Cetera,
AND
they did not have a guitar player that even Hendrix said played better than he did (whether he was joking or not is up to debate, but, if he said it , he must have been extremely impressed)

Chicago does NOT sound like BS+T. If you want to find something even remotely in the middle it would be LIGHTHOUSE from Canada. Makes me cringe when people compare Chicago to BS+T just because of the Horns. BLASPHEMY!! LOL

I also think they sound somewhat similar, but its just the presence of the horns that give that impression. Beyond that, Chicago albums seem to have more of a rock edge to them when compared with BS&T. Chicago also tends to be more political. BS&T makes me think of a jazz band with rock influences. Chicago reminds me of a rock band with horns, just as they have often described themselves. This only applies to the material before Hot Streets. After that the idea of Chicago being a serious rock band went down hill quickly.

Apples and oranges.
They did, however, share a producer in James William Guercio (who worked on recording BS&T and CTA simultaneously.)
Horn bands never completely fell out of favor in the midwest, Guercio produced hit records by The Buckinghams in '67.

Both recorded for Columbia, which in those years had the most money and by far the biggest publicity organization.
So, the two bands got lumped together.

BS&T played mostly covers, where Chicago was all originals.
(Except for Winwood's "I'm A Man" on CTA. Co-incidentally, Traffic's "Smiling Phases" was on BS&T.)

BS&T started out as an Al Kooper vanity super-group project using New York studio cats.
After one record, they kicked out their founder and recruited Canadian David Clayton-Thomas to sing.

I happened to visit the Bay area in August '68 and saw a poster for BS&T at the Fillmore West.
Age 14, I talked my cousin into taking me to see (I thought) my hero (from the Super Session record) Al Kooper with his band.

They were the warm-up for Eric Burdon & The New Animals, and to my shock and horror, when they took the stage, no Al.
(In those pre-internet days, music news traveled slowly.)

Clayton-Thomas turned me off a bit in those shaggy hippie days.
He had greasy slicked-back hair and a bit of a paunch, looked more like a truck driver than my image of a rock star.
His vocal style and stage presence had a rather Vegas lounge vibe that was out of sync with the time and place.

I remember some of the musicians reading off music stands, never seen at a rock concert.
They played most of the material from the self-titled second album. (Not yet released.)
I was impressed with their chops, they had some good tunes, Clayton-Thomas' voice grew on me after I got used to it.
But after an hour, I was more than ready for Burdon's hippie phase material and a good psychedelic light show.

Their album went on to go quad platinum and win a Grammy, and got huge airplay on commercial AM radio.
I was lucky enough to see them as unknowns.

***

The double Chicago Transit Authority album didn't come out until six months or so later, in the summer of '69. (Think Woodstock)
As mentioned in the posts above, they had a harder sound, three accomplished vocalists, one of whom was also a killer guitarist.

Chicago came up together as a midwest covers "show band" (the real version of the jokey Blues Brothers) who could play soul music and hard rock with equal skill and enthusiasm.
(The horn players simply picked up percussion instruments and turned Terry Kath loose. "I'm A Man", whew!)

I've always thought Peter Cetera didn't get enough credit for his killer bass guitar work on those early records, with Seraphine on drums they were a kick-ass rhythm section.

The first record didn't have AM friendly hit singles, but was more suited to the "underground" FM format.
As noted above (and in the recent documentary), they had an "anti-establishment" political vibe in tune with the times.
Most apparent on the anti-war material on CTA, but also "When All The Laughter Dies in Sorrow" on III and "Dialog" on V.
I was struck looking through the Quadio album covers by the recurrent theme of being chased by the cops.

I saw Chicago in concert in '71, after III came out.
I remember them as the more impressive live act of the two.


A couple of other great horn bands I recall from those days:
  • Sons of Champlin - from the Bay Area. Bill Champlin went on to play in Chicago for, like, 30 years.
  • Chase - Bill Chase died in 1974 in a small plane crash, not far from where Buddy Holly went down

Below are my program from the 1971 Chicago tour (with Quadio covers) and my flyer for the BS&T Fillmore West show.
Great memories.
 

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