HiRez Poll Friends Of Distinction, The - GRAZIN', REAL FRIENDS, HIGHLY DISTINCT & WHATEVER [SACD]

[sjcorne]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2022 Multichannel SACD from Dutton Vocalion containing four(!) albums from The Friends Of Distinction.
This Multichannel SACD features the first official release of the original Quadraphonic mixes since the 1970s!
The Quadraphonic mix of "Grazin'" is also available to stream in Dolby Audio via Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/grazin/305781875
GRAZIN'
LP LSP-4149 (1969) STEREO/PQ8-1443 QUADRAPHONIC

1 GRAZING IN THE GRASS (Hou; Elston)
2 I’VE NEVER FOUND A GIRL (TO LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO) (Jones; Floyd; Isbell)
3 I REALLY HOPE YOU DO (Poree; Peters)
4 SWEET YOUNG THING LIKE YOU (Ervin)
5 GOING IN CIRCLES (Poree; Peters)
6 ELI’S COMIN’ (Nyro)
7 HELP YOURSELF TO ALL MY LOVIN’ (English; Barkan; Ross)
8 BABY I COULD BE SO GOOD AT LOVING YOU (Clifford)
9 AND I LOVE HIM (Lennon; McCartney)
10 PEACEFUL (Rankin)
11 LONESOME MOOD (Porter)

REAL FRIENDS
LP LSP-4313 (1970) STEREO/PQ8-1555 QUADRAPHONIC

12 LOVE OR LET ME BE LONELY (Scarborough; Peters; Poree)
13 LADY MAE (Poree; Peters)
14 IT DON’T MATTER TO ME (Gates)
15 MY MIND IS A CAMERA (Poree; Peters)
16 OUT IN THE COUNTRY (Peters)
17 ANY WAY YOU WANT ME (Griffin; Royer)
18 CRAZY MARY (Poree; Peters)
19 JUST A LITTLE LOVIN’ (Mann; Weil)
20 LONG TIME COMIN’ MY WAY (Elston; Evans)
21 ON & ON (Poree; Peters)

HIGHLY DISTINCT
LP LSP-4212 (1969) STEREO/PQ8-1489 QUADRAPHONIC

1 IMPRESSIONS – DIALOGUE
2 IT’S JUST A GAME, LOVE (Jones; Shelby) from the film “The Split”
3 WE GOT A GOOD THING GOIN’ (Hutchison)
4 WORKIN’ ON A GROOVY THING (Sedaka; Atkins)
5 IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD (Reynolds)
6 IT’S SUNDAY (Baxter)
7 WHY DID I LOSE YOU (D’Errico; Atkins)
8 LIGHT MY FIRE (Morrison; Manzarek; Krieger; Densmore)
9 THIS GENERATION (Peay)
10 LET YOURSELF GO (Hutchison)

WHATEVER
LP LSP-4408 (1970) STEREO/PQ8-1622 QUADRAPHONIC

11 YOU AND I (Poree; Peters)
12 NEW MOTHER NATURE (Cummings)
13 SOULFUL ANTHEM (Bryant)
14 TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE (Sedaka; Greenfield)
15 PEOPLE TALKIN’AND SAYIN’ NOTHIN’ (Classon; Williams)
16 CHECK IT OUT (Butler; Osborne)
17 DIDN’T WE (Webb)
18 GREAT DAY (Love; Evans)
19 WILLA FAYE (Poree; Peters)
20 BRING US A BETTER DAY (Hurley; Wilkins)

Remastered from the original analogue tapes by Michael J Dutton

Multi-Channel/Stereo
All tracks available in stereo and multi-channel

SACD
These Hybrid CDs can be played on any standard CD player

2CDSML8577





Pre-release thread for all shipping/ordering queries and non-poll related posts:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...-september-2022-surround-sound-sacds-3.32846/

 

[4-earredwonder]

Another totally unexpected GIFT from the Wizard of Watford. Four superbly remastered DISCRETE 4 corner QUAD albums on two SACDs! A bit dated but nonetheless DELIGHTFUL!

A lot of covers uniquely performed in the Friends of Distinction style.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I voted 10

 

[par4ken]

Years ago I picked up the Q8 of "Greatest Hits" in a cut-out bin. I had purchased it only because it was quad. Upon playing it I immediately recognized "Grazing In The Grass" and a couple of other tracks. I thought that it was great! At some point I picked up a Q8 copy of "Whatever" as well. I always liked their version of "New Mother Nature", in fact as much as that of The Guess Who's original version!

This collection (box set really) as expected isn't as distilled as a "greatest hits" or "best of" set would be and as such contains a fair bit of filler. "Whatever" is the exception with every track a winner.

Yes they do sound a lot like "The Fifth Dimension". Yes the lyrics are dated, They like to use every once hip sixties saying buzzword cliché, (however you would like to refer to the language used). In a way that is part of the charm!

Very good surround wise. I would rate the albums "Grazin'" an 8, "Real Friends and Highly Distinct" a 7, "Whatever" a 9 or 10. Giving a total for the entire package an 8.

​

 

[gvl_guy]

I never like writing a bad review, but.....
Let's start with the positive. The mastering is unbelievable. Wow. Crystal clear vocals, instrumentation, etc. It's like you're in the room with them. The 4 channel mix is superb, like you're in the middle of the room with them. That being said....
I never knew just how not pleasant their harmonies we're at times. Exceptionally dissonant sometimes. I noticed it especially with some of the female singers (which I know they switched out over the years.) But there were times where the harmonies were way off. Maybe they did well back then because we all listened to AM radio for their songs? Not sure.
Still. Their hits like Grazing in the Grass and Love or Let Me Be Lonely were nice to hear in crystal clear sound.
Production, thanks to DV is a 10, but I had to give this a 5 overall. I'm glad I bought it, I'm glad I listened to it, but it will be one of those discs that are in my collection and will likely never listen to again.

 

[ar surround]

Production, thanks to DV is a 10, but I had to give this a 5 overall. I'm glad I bought it, I'm glad I listened to it, but it will be one of those discs that are in my collection and will likely never listen to again.

I've also got a number of one-and-done multichannel discs in my collection. What I've generally found is, if I rip them to the hard drive, I like listening to a song or two from them on occasion. I'll do a "deep cut" session where I listen to a track from this-album-and-that-album that I usually never bother with. I find these sessions to be very enjoyable...I never fret over the thought of slogging through a whole album of material for which I have little interest.

 

[Jason]

The fact that these quad mixes have been unheard for roughly half a century, and are now available remastered in high-definition is miraculous. A real gift. I had never heard of the group before, and while other people have mentioned the cover versions and poor harmonies, I found every album to be refreshingly out-of-the-ordinary and inventive.

One thing that has really surprised me though is that certain quad mixes use different arrangements compared to the stereo versions! Take, for example, My Mind is a Camera and Any Way You Want Me, both from the Real Friends album.

My Mind is a Camera has a completely different ending in quad than in stereo (the latter fades out the vocals and leaves just the horns and sleigh bells). And Any Way You Want Me in quad starts without the many horn stabs that the stereo version has (and I prefer).

Is this a common occurence in quad mixes? It's the first time I've encountered this. I can understand certain elements in quad mixes becoming more noticeable because of the separation of the mix, but here we're talking about a completely different arrangement of part of the song...

 

[Freedesignfan]

I enjoyed listening to this collection by FOD. Rich music arrangements, solid originals
and covers. It gets a strong 8 from me.

 

[Q-Eight]

Is this a common occurence in quad mixes? It's the first time I've encountered this. I can understand certain elements in quad mixes becoming more noticeable because of the separation of the mix, but here we're talking about a completely different arrangement of part of the song...

Alternate mixes from stereo counterparts? Heck yes, they ABOUND in the world of Quadraphonics! On early titles like this, chances are the fellow who mixed the stereo cuts was NOT the same guy who mixed the Quad cuts. Therefore, unless the original mixer/producer left detailed notes in the tape box, or the dude making the Quad mix referenced the stereo tracks before tackling the Quad remix; there could be significant differences! That is half the fun in the world of Quad.

 

[jaybird100]

I never like writing a bad review, but.....
Let's start with the positive. The mastering is unbelievable. Wow. Crystal clear vocals, instrumentation, etc. It's like you're in the room with them. The 4 channel mix is superb, like you're in the middle of the room with them. That being said....
I never knew just how not pleasant their harmonies we're at times. Exceptionally dissonant sometimes. I noticed it especially with some of the female singers (which I know they switched out over the years.) But there were times where the harmonies were way off. Maybe they did well back then because we all listened to AM radio for their songs? Not sure.
Still. Their hits like Grazing in the Grass and Love or Let Me Be Lonely were nice to hear in crystal clear sound.
Production, thanks to DV is a 10, but I had to give this a 5 overall. I'm glad I bought it, I'm glad I listened to it, but it will be one of those discs that are in my collection and will likely never listen to again.

My one beef with the quad mix of "Love or Let Me Be Lonely" has to do with the background singers, for the most part, being buried in the chorus. Now you hear 'em, now you don't. In the stereo mix, they're always there. Who mixed that track, anyway? (Rhetorical question...)

 

[ar surround]

There is probably a single album's worth of songs I like in this set. It's very variable. I give it a 6 overall, but it was cheap and therefore worth it just for Grazin In The Grass and Love Or Let Me Be Lonely.

BTW, as I had suspected there is something wrong with the channel assignments on Grazin In The Grass on the AF The Collection release. That matter has been corrected on this DV quad.