Best Doobie Brothers SACD Edition?

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

fredblue

Surroundophile Extraordinaire
QQ Supporter
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
28,745
Location
London, England
That compilation was never released in any surround sound format.
I think we were all hoping that there was an unreleased Quadraphonic mix of "Takin' It To The Streets" in the vaults, but that myth was busted last year by Steve (aka ForagingRhino)

as disappointing as it was to have it confirmed the Doobies' Quads stop with "Stampede", its a happy accident the "Takin' It To The Streets" album gives such an excellent surround effect thru things like PLII Music and the Involve mode of the Surround Master. its really impressive and immersive - and if we didn't now know better/otherwise, i'd cry "stealth QS encoded Quad!" - its that good! :eek:

".. when things get stale,
you get on a boat and sail
to.. Quadio..." :phones
 
Minute by Minute and (especially) Living on the Fault Line work out well that way, too.

tbh i don't remember too much about Fault Line other than Little Darlin', in all fairness i may be missing out on a gem it's been years since i last played it i need to give it another go (got the perfect excuse to try running it thru some surround processing now!) and Minute By Minute's a really nice album.. but i really love Takin' It.. its more than just a transition album, its got grit, its got hits, its the TITTS..!! :love:
 
Right there with you on Taking It. On Fault Line, I love "You're Made That Way" and "Chinatown" (in spite of its corny orientalism), and the title track may be the genuinely jazziest thing they ever recorded. Skunk Baxter really stretches out on all three of those tunes, as does Victor Feldman on "LOTFL."
 
Last edited:
tbh i don't remember too much about Fault Line other than Little Darlin', in all fairness i may be missing out on a gem it's been years since i last played it i need to give it another go (got the perfect excuse to try running it thru some surround processing now!) and Minute By Minute's a really nice album.. but i really love Takin' It.. its more than just a transition album, its got grit, its got hits, its the TITTS..!! :love:
You are missing out on a gem, IMO. The public wasn’t quite yet ready for the full on McDonald Doobies sound they fully embraced with Minute by Minute, so the album was largely ignored at the time. But that sound is fully realized on Fault Line and there are a ton of great tracks on it. “You’re Made That Way”, “Echoes of Love”, “Nothin’ But a Heartache” and their version of “You Belong To Me” all probably would have been hits if included on the following album.

Well worth the couple of bucks this CD can be had for. Which sounds very good, BTW.
 
You are missing out on a gem, IMO. The public wasn’t quite yet ready for the full on McDonald Doobies sound they fully embraced with Minute by Minute, so the album was largely ignored at the time. But that sound is fully realized on Fault Line and there are a ton of great tracks on it. “You’re Made That Way”, “Echoes of Love”, “Nothin’ But a Heartache” and their version of “You Belong To Me” all probably would have been hits if included on the following album.

Well worth the couple of bucks this CD can be had for. Which sounds very good, BTW.

oh yes!!! how could i forget "Echoes Of Love" and "You're Made That Way"!!! great tracks!! definitely losing what's left of me Pink Floyd marbles! o_O:giggle::LOL:
 
I have been watching this discussion about Fault Line and realized I didn't have a copy....so first I checked out the DR and it was excellent...and I wondered if there were any hi rez offerings...and to my surprise there was one...not surround...but on SACD...but what bothers me about this one wasn't the price...but the fact that it was remastered in 2016 or 2017...and newer mastering jobs raise a red flag with me..UNLESS I know who worked on it...and this was an unknown...it appears that discogs listed the original team...so IMO it's an unknown..without further research... but for some of you that LOVE the metrics...this one has what I consider an overkill....24/192....now you are probably wondering how I know that it is 24/192...well I probably shouldn't post this vendor...because I wouldn't buy from him...but anyway...if you look at his pictures...the second one shows the back and reveals the 24/192

So I opted for the CD version and can't wait to hear this "gem" which I have never heard...thanks to all for bringing this one to my attention(y)
 
I have been watching this discussion about Fault Line and realized I didn't have a copy....so first I checked out the DR and it was excellent...and I wondered if there were any hi rez offerings...and to my surprise there was one...not surround...but on SACD...but what bothers me about this one wasn't the price...but the fact that it was remastered in 2016 or 2017...and newer mastering jobs raise a red flag with me..UNLESS I know who worked on it...and this was an unknown...it appears that discogs listed the original team...so IMO it's an unknown..without further research... but for some of you that LOVE the metrics...this one has what I consider an overkill....24/192....now you are probably wondering how I know that it is 24/192...well I probably shouldn't post this vendor...because I wouldn't buy from him...but anyway...if you look at his pictures...the second one shows the back and reveals the 24/192

So I opted for the CD version and can't wait to hear this "gem" which I have never heard...thanks to all for bringing this one to my attention(y)

My notes from when I was researching the McDonald-era DBs albums a few months ago say that the 2017 Japanese RMs were based on the “widely criticized” 2016 RMs available as 24/192 DLs, which are reportedly bricked and bass-heavy. (A commenter on the Hoffman forums implied they had 3-5 dB of DR compression.) Consensus seemed to be that the original 1988 US CD issue sounds best, with the Japanese 2006 remastered CD and the 2009 remastered SHM-CD close seconds. Hope you like it! Among my very favorite DBs albums...
 
I have been watching this discussion about Fault Line and realized I didn't have a copy....so first I checked out the DR and it was excellent...and I wondered if there were any hi rez offerings...and to my surprise there was one...not surround...but on SACD...but what bothers me about this one wasn't the price...but the fact that it was remastered in 2016 or 2017...and newer mastering jobs raise a red flag with me.

I find that the Mobile Fidelity SACDs of a portion of the Doobie Brothers catalog sound much better than the later SACD remastered series from Warner Japan.
That seems to be the consensus on the Steve Hoffman forum as well.
 
I find that the Mobile Fidelity SACDs of a portion of the Doobie Brothers catalog sound much better than the later SACD remastered series from Warner Japan.
That seems to be the consensus on the Steve Hoffman forum as well.

That was my impression too: MoFi SACDs through Takin' It (which, as Adam reminded us, is where MoFi stopped), then 1988 US RBCD for Fault Line and 2005 AF HDCD for MBM. One Step Closer just doesn't sound great no matter how you cut it, but again the original 1988 CD is probably best.
 
Last edited:
That was my impression too: MoFi SACDs through Takin' It (which, as Adam reminded us, is where MoFi stopped), then 1988 US RBCD for Fault Line and 2005 AF HDCD for MBM. Closer to You just doesn't sound great no matter how you cut it, but again the original 1988 CD is probably best.

I thought MoFi's Takin' It and Toulouse Street were both excellent SACDs(y)
 
Evidently, I have some listeneing to do (again.)

I've owned most of the releases of each album:
Toulouse - 2ch LP CD-4, US CD & MoFi SACD
Capitain - Q8, CD-4, Nautilus 1/2 speed LP, US CD and DVD-A.
Vices - 2ch LP, CD-4, UD CD and MoFi SACD
Stampede - CD-4, US CD
Takin' It - (3) US 2chLP, US CD, MoFi SACD
Fault Line - 2ch LP, US CD (88), & Japan SACD
Minute - 2ch LP, 1/2 speed Nautilus LP, German CD, & Japan SACD

I didn't buy the MoFi SACD of Stampede, nor the Japan SACD's of One Step & Farewell Tour. IMHO, they all have a good track or two.

Takin' It is my fave album of theirs. I had 3 copies of the US LP and all were noisy as hell. The US CD sounded good and NO 'surface" NOISE like the vinyl. Although the MoFi SACD sounds far from bad, I stated in another thread that I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps I need to a/b it to my CD again.

Fault Line is perhaps the most overlooked of their great albums. All of LP side 1 is very good to stellar. GET IT! Other than the title track, You Belong to Me and Little Darlin, I've listened to this album woefully few times. I've played the Japan SACD several times and it sounds good. Several tracks I overlooked have grown on me. I have yet to a/b it to my WB 88 CD.

Toulouse - The MoFi SACD sounds very good to me. On the other hand, every pressing/mastering I've owned of this sounds good. Title track is haunting!
 
Back
Top