Quad LP/Tape Poll Doobie Brothers: Stampede [CD-4/Q8/QR]

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Rate "Stampede"

  • 10: Great Sound, Great Mix, Great Content

    Votes: 4 25.0%
  • 9

    Votes: 4 25.0%
  • 8

    Votes: 5 31.3%
  • 7

    Votes: 2 12.5%
  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5

    Votes: 1 6.3%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Crap Sound, Crap Mix, Crap Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    16

EMB

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Since 2002/2003
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
4,101
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The Top 40 Radio of My Mind
Fourth and last Doobie quad, from 1975.

Side 1:

1. Sweet Maxine
2. Neal's Fandango
3. Texas Lullaby
4. Music Man
5. Slat Key Soquel Rag

Side 2:

1. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me)
2. I Cheat The Hangman
3. Precis
4. Rainy Day Crossroad Blues
5. I Been Workin' On You
6. Double Dealin' Four Flusher


ED :)
 
That may be a trick question but I've never seen nor heard of a "Takin' It To The Streets" quad and the Mark Anderson list doesn't indicate there was ever even a rumour of a quad mix for it, but I may be surprised...... John S.
 
TAKIN' may have been scheduled for release, but I've never seen a copy, and no one--including QQ--lists it, AFAIK.

As for STAMPEDE....a bit stronger than VICES, I thought, more memorable songs, almost feels like a kind of concept album. And credit where it's due: the cover of the old Motown gem "Take Me In Your Arms" was not only a deserved hit, but also one of the better Motown cover versions from anyone.

Quad mix gets an '8.'

ED :)
 
I Cheat The Hangman /precis...sounds great in quad...
i prefer vices as an lp to this one, but it's all good stuff....first full lp with jeff baxter.....he played on half of the vices lp...
and "stampede" is the last lp (for a long time) where tom johnston has an upfront lead role....after this michael mcdonald took over and Tom tended to fade away (although i still think that "Takin' It To The Streets" is an awesome lp )
 
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I Cheat The Hangman is probably my fave Doobie track followed closely by Another Park Another Sunday from "Vices.."

I love this mix and the album. I gave it a strong 8. Another album I converted to DVDA from the quad reel. Man this one has great bass!!
 
It's one of my faves, too...and was edited for 45 release, although it didn't do much business. Overall, a strong effort. And yes, fine dynamic range all around on your transfer, my good fellow...:)

ED :)
 
For a 1975 quad release, outstanding.

Take Me in Your Arms was a demo track for many years.
The last Doob hit featuring Tom Johnston's explosive vocals.
As mentioned, I Cheat the Hangman makes for very dramatic ear-cinema.
Other favorite tracks such as Neal's Fandango really come alive in surround.

Sonics of the mix are a little dated to my 21st century ears, particularly the plate reverb. If you can get past that, this is one of the best quad releases.

Make sure you get the Dolby QR version.
9++.
 
Just a fine album all the way around. Great quad mix, especially the tracks already mentioned.
 
I have a very soft spot for the 1970s Doobie Brothers. When I was in high school my buddies and I would come home after school and a few tokes later it was up to the room with the Best Of The Doobies, a strobe light, and twirling white ropes. Now, years later I have made my own Best of the Doobies Quad compilation. From Stampede I included:

Music Man
Slat Key Soquel Rag
Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me)
I Cheat The Hangman
Precis
Double Dealin' Four Flusher

Of the four Doobies quads, this one contributes the most tracks of any album, and I Cheat The Hangman is a long time go-to demo track for me. MOST people I play it for have never heard or even heard of this track.

Mine were all sourced from Tab conversions of the quad reels, and fidelity is generally excellent, although not as good as the SACD or DVD-A of The Captain And Me. Still, excellent for the time! If compared directly, bass is fuller and highs are crisper on the 5.1 version, but these quads do not sound shabby by any measure.

I gotta say this is at the top of my favorite quads list, and therefore I am going a full 10 on this. If you like the Doobies this is a must have experience!
 
Thanks for sharing - I can relate to the after school scenarios- such great great music! Would love to hear your Doobies comp.
 
Ah, a review from the mid-2017s I'm making. One of my favourite bands/albums from the 70s.

What were once reference are now basic tracks.

My review is from the quad reel version converted to SACD. Here's my take, song-by-song:

Sweet Maxine - song rocks out, but there is great clarity in spots and muffled background vocals in others.

Neal's Fandango - nice to have the staccato parts of the bass in the rears (what a great great bass player Tiran Porter is), overall better clarity and good discrete mix.

Texas Lullaby - good mix/clarity. Like the way the acoustic guitar fills in during the bridge.

Music Man - Great bass again and Baxter shines here. Nice counter-guitar in the rears.

Salt Key Sequel Rag - Always loved the beautifully melodic and intricate acoustic instrumental breaks the Doobs put into their LPs. The acoustic guitars dance around the sound field nicely in this one.

Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me) - A good presentation but again, the background vocals seem to be drowned out rather than being highlighted in a dedicated channel or something. Same with the plucking of the violins during the bridge.

I Cheat the Hangman - One of my all time favs. So many elements. The moodiness, the build, the crescendo, the strong percussion, the vocals, the lyrics,... The background vocals are very legible here in the quiet segments but not when mixed with other sources. A bit of volume suppression of the guitar fills though (much more pronounced in stereo mix).

Precis - Another musical palette cleanser while being a full display of guitar talent.

Rainy Day Crossroad Blues - Another strong bass from Tiran, The Doobies are masters of the bridge and/or multiple song movements within a track. Just after 2 minutes, the song completely changes to a polar opposite presentation, a beautiful acoustic segment complimenting the first part of the song but sounding totally different from it.

I Been Workin' On You - A fun bit of funkish rock. A great B-side if it wasn't one. Background vocals a bit more intelligible but again (theme?) the engineer could have been more playful with isolating them. That said, I like the guitar solos in the rear

Double Dealin' Four Flusher - My favourite of the rockers. Fast-paced to say the least. Should've been a single. Again, great musical break mid-song.

Bottom line, I love the content, but I understand how subjective that can be. Overall, for a quad release, for the reasons I mentioned above, I give it a strong 7.

Best.
 
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