I think I've only reviewed recordings in high-res formats before, so I'm not sure whether to apply the same standards here or to handicap. But I had the good fortune of listening to an amazing conversion, so I might rate the sonics a little higher than some of the folks above. Still some tape hiss, but no wrinkles or speed issues, and the frequency range is impressive for a Q8. Good DR, no oversaturation, and the converter seems to have fixed whatever balance or azimuth issues were bothering other people. So: 8 for fidelity.
Content: Oh, Man! Track after track of feel-good, funkified soul, interspersed with a few more laid-back cuts and some sanctified gospel, including one of the handful of convincing reimaginings of “Blackbird” I can name. You can't argue with Preston's vocals or keys. Add some f
abulous guitar by George Johnson and solid bass by Louis Johnson (yep--the Brothers Johnson), and a horn section anchored by Tom Scott, and...well...you get an absolute 10 there.
As for the mix: I
guess this is set-it-and-forget-it, but it never gets boring. “Phantom center-of-the-room” lead vocals (well, perceptually they’re front-and-center, but technically they’re in all four corners; same goes for piano, organ, and harpsichord[!], plus strings on a couple of tracks; flip the emphasis for horns). Drums right-rear, bass left-rear, lead guitar right-front (sometimes diagonally panned), rhythm-guitar left-front. Harmony & backing vocals mostly in the rears but often scattered around the room, depending upon the arrangement and the number of voices. And as
@JonUrban &
@sjcorne mention: the harmonica answers the Musical Question “Will It Go Round In Circles?” Totally works for me: 9.
That comes out to a 9. I wish there were
more Preston quads!