Nektar - A Tab In The Ocean Remaster

[sspsandy]

I got an opportunity to screen an advance copy of this disc, which is scheduled to be released April 12. :banana: I've only listened to it once, and am already impressed by the improvement in sonics over both the lp releases and the Bellaphon cd. The remaster is much clearer, and has deeper bass and cleaner highs. :sun The remaster is taken from the original master tape, the lps and the cd were several generations removed. It contains the original 1972 stereo mix and the 1976 remix done by Larry Fast and Mo Moore which is in quad. The quad mix is much more defined than the US lp. Listening to the 2 versions through the Tate makes for an interesting side by side comparison. Will post more after I've heard it a few times. :brew

 

[sspsandy]

The opening part of this recording, which is the sound of ocean waves swooshing around you, sets the tone for the whole disc. The concept of A Tab In The Ocean is realized in this quad mix by the sense that the sounds are swirling around you, as if you were floating out in the ocean with sounds echoing on all sides. Larry Fast, as well as Nektar, were artists whose lps were quad only releases, both the 1st two Synergy lps, and RTF and DTE by Nektar, which were unmaked SQ lps in the US. Since the Synergy albums were QS, I suspect this one is as well, but it decodes beautifully through a Tate in SQ mode. This quad mix is reminiscent of the SQ lps of Tubular Bells or Atom Heart Mother, a lot of overdubs, multiple tracking, and use of electronic sound. The drums come at you from different speakers, creating a 3D effect, where there are chorale vocal harmonys, the different voices distinctly come out of all 4 speakers, and where the guitar is double tracked the complementary tracks come out of the rear speakers in harmony with the tracks coming out of the fronts. By the time you reach the last two tracks on the album, Cryin' in the Dark/King of Twighlight, there is a phase shifting effect added to the guitar which swirls all around you through all the speakers, gradually building up the a crescendo at the very end. An added bonus is that the remaster is 24 bit, so the clarity and range is superb. One complaint I always has with the US passport lp was that it had a rather thin, trebly sound compared to the earlier stereo lp. That has been rectified here, the bass is deep, loud, and clear. I would be curious to know how this mix sounds through a Variomatrix set on QS mode. Hats off to Nektar on this one, a real quad gem from a group of early quad pioneers, quietly released in a high resolution disc for the long time quad afficianatos to appreciate. It's an excellent rock 'n' roll album too, really kicks it out. :spot :spot :spot :spot :spot

 

[texquad]

Will this title also be coming as a SACD too! I want to get it but, if it's coming on SACD I might wait.

 

[sspsandy]

At present the only titles scheduled fo SACD are Journey To The Center Of The Eye, and Remember The Future. There is talk of Down To Earth possibly being an SACD as well. The others wil most likely depend on how well the band does, how well the titles sell, etc.

 

[texquad]

Well, I ordered the RTF SACD and ATITO. Anybody need a re-mastered copy of RTF?

 

[sspsandy]

Tex, send me a private message, I''l take that RTF off your hands. One thing you may wish to know, however. Nektar has severed their relationship with Bellaphon, the remaster you have was produced in very limited quantities and is now out of print. All of the remasters put out last year will be reissued by Eclectic Discs, so they are all now rare collector items. Since Nektar is in a resurgence, and there is a void where Pink Floyd once was, chances are that these will become quite valuable.

 

[klausschultze]

Hey guys, I have all the early Nektar albums, but didn't know they were issued in Quad? Which were the unmarked quad versions? Thanks, Nat

 

[sspsandy]

Both Remember the Future and Down To Earth were only released as SQ quadraphonic pressings, even if they are marked stereo. The 1976 U.S. Passport Records version of Tab In The Ocean is an unmarked quad. I'm trying to find out about Recycled, since Larry Fast had a hand in remixing that one as well. And Journey To The Center Of The Eye decodes nicely in SQ even though it is definately a stereo mix. :sun

 

[klausschultze]

Amazing! How many other bands from that era had unmarked quad records?

 

[bmoura]

Both Remember the Future and Down To Earth were only released as SQ quadraphonic pressings, even if they are marked stereo. The 1976 U.S. Passport Records version of Tab In The Ocean is an unmarked quad. I'm trying to find out about Recycled, since Larry Fast had a hand in remixing that one as well. And Journey To The Center Of The Eye decodes nicely in SQ even though it is definately a stereo mix. :sun

Actually the U.S. versions were said to be QS while the German releases are shown as SQ. See the online version of the Quad Incorporated catalog at http://personal.riverusers.com/~manderso/quaddisc/quadpn.htm for a look.

 

[sspsandy]

I have both the German Bellaphon SQ lp of Remember The Future as well as the American Passport lp marked stereo, so I compared them, decoding them through a Tate II. Brian is right, the mixes are different. It would make sense since QS was a free decoding scheme as long as it was labeled RM or stereo, so the U.S. album wouldn't scare away the non quad people, those with QS systems would get the quad mix, and people with SQ would attempt to get the German Bellaphon import, resulting perhaps in extra albums sold. The story is that when Nektar was on tour in 1972, they rented a Lincoln with a quad system, and listened to a Tomita quad recording. They were so impressed that they decided to release their music in quad. The fact that they've adopted SACD multichannel demontrates that they are still big fans of surround music.

 

[KevinD9052]

Next time I drive by a BB I will pick this disk up and run it through my Variomatrix and Tate. I assume it kept it's QS encoding so I'm hoping it will sound as great as I remember it from the LP days.

 

[sspsandy]

The remastered disc has both the original German mix, and the US QS mix. It sounds way better than the lp. I have the original lp, and the sound quality of the new CD blows it away.

 

[texquad]

For sspsandy,
From Rolling Stone Online 5-14-04:
"Three albums by Seventies prog rockers NEKTAR will be reissued later this month. The group is planning a U.S. tour for September"

 

[Cai Campbell]

Larry Fast, as well as Nektar, were artists whose lps were quad only releases, both the 1st two Synergy lps, and RTF and DTE by Nektar, which were unmaked SQ lps in the US. Since the Synergy albums were QS, I suspect this one is as well, but it decodes beautifully through a Tate in SQ mode.

Actually, only the first Synergy Album, "Electronic Realizations for Rock Opera" was a quad release. The second Synergy album, "Sequencer" was never mixed for quad. I confirmed this with Larry Fast himself, who was kind enough to answer my inquiry by e-mail.

You can also confirm the information on his website:

http://synergy-emusic.com/sequencer.html

"The Quad phenomenon had died down a lot since 'Electronic Realizations' and due to the compromises in sound quality and dynamic range I decided to opt for a conventional stereo mix."

 

[texquad]

I was under the impression that Nektar's "Tab" was a stereo mix. Where did sspsandy get the information that it was a quad mix?

 

[sspsandy]

I stated the second Synergy release as quad before checking, my mistake. Although the 1st one was quad only (QS I believe). As to the info on the US version of Tab, it was confirmed by Mo Moore of Nektar himself, who worked with Larry Fast on the remix, I posted it here about a year ago with a link. As to whether it is in fact a quad remix, the test is hearing it through a decoder. It decodes way better than the 1st UK version, and sounds as good as most of the quad lps I own. Admittedly 1976 was a little late in the quad game, however Nektar were firmly committed to quad, and there's some evidence that even Recycled, their last album also from 1976, is a quad only release. Since it also appears that all the unmarked US releases of Nektars lps were in fact QS, as opposed to the German lps which were marked SQ, it could explain some of the confusion. The remasters of Both Tab and Recycled sound great through the Tate, especially the original Geoof Emerick mix of Recycled, and the US mix of Tab.