Quad LP/Tape Poll VARIOUS ARTISTS SAMPLER: WEA present 4 Ch Discrete Demo Quadradisc [CD-4]

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Rate this sampler

  • 9

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 7

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5: Rather mediocre

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2

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  • 1: Suck City in all regards

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    4

EMB

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Since 2002/2003
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Actual title: WARNER, ELEKTRA & ATLANTIC PRESENT CD-4 CHANNEL DISCRETE DEMONSTRATION QUADRADISC [PR 186/QMSP-1].


Side 1:

1. a. Left Channel Separation Adjustment Tone b. RightChannel Separation Adjustment Tone c. Channel Balancing Tone d. Channel Location Tones e. Carrier Level Adjustment Tone
2. Aretha Franklin: Rock Steady
3. Bread: Mother Freedom
4. Doobie Brothers: Dark-Eyed Cajun Woman
5. Stardrive featuring Bob Mason: Rushes


Side 2:

1. Carly Simon: Embrace Me, You Child
2. Seals & Crofts: Diamond Girl
3. Arlo Guthrie: Gypsy Davy
4. Bette Midler: Do You Want To Dance?
5. Spinners: Could It Be I'm Falling In Love



ED :)
 
I remember when I first got this LP. I found it in the cutouts back in the late '70s, early '80s. I was SO THRILLED. I can't remember if I had ever seen one before, but I'd heard about the rare demo "PR-186" from a flyer or catalog and always lusted for one.

Now you can find them fairly frequently on eBay, but back in the day, this was probably the rarest WEA Quadradisc, along with the short run Tubular Bells release on Virgin.
 
I honestly can't remember when I found a copy of this one (probably late '70s?). There is a sticker on it that says: Courtesy* of JVC HI-FI (*Handling Charge--$1.00), so it may have been (at first) a mail-order deal. And because the sampler begins with a five-part tone test for a quad setup, it might have been at the least mentioned if only in passing (one would think) in Stereo Review and other audiophile mags of the period (the copyright is 1973). And of course it was 'Not For Sale,' so 'not sold in stores,' though it might have been a demo also sent to hardware emporiums, explaining its temporary obscurity.

ED :)
 
Yes, Ed, it was a demo sent to hifi emporiums. Being a JVC dealer, we were sent several of these. I have one in my collection. The most curious choice here is Carly's Embrace Me. Couldn't they have found a better Carly track? Stardrive, Bread, Seals & Crofts, Arlo and Spinners were the only tracks here we ever demoed with.

Linda
I honestly can't remember when I found a copy of this one (probably late '70s?). There is a sticker on it that says: Courtesy* of JVC HI-FI (*Handling Charge--$1.00), so it may have been (at first) a mail-order deal. And because the sampler begins with a five-part tone test for a quad setup, it might have been at the least mentioned if only in passing (one would think) in Stereo Review and other audiophile mags of the period (the copyright is 1973). And of course it was 'Not For Sale,' so 'not sold in stores,' though it might have been a demo also sent to hardware emporiums, explaining its temporary obscurity.

ED :)
 
It's unfortunate that so few demo quads had any significant obscure or otherwise unreleased mixes (the only one I can think of is a QS sampler with snatches of tracks that were otherwise never released in quad). And if I'd had to choose one track from NO SECRETS to demo just to impress a listener, I'd probably have chosen "Night Owl" or the title track ("You're So Vain" might have been too obvious, but "Embrace Me" is just too downbeat, IMO).

ED :)
 
Can we post a photo, so the young folk know what to seek?
 
Here you go


$(KGrHqJ,!iIE2KSUm47)BNvfRS22uw~~0_3.JPG
 
Thanks for posting the photo. If I were to pick one item that epitomized the Quad era for me, this would be it. At that moment in '73, Quad was gaining momentum and had so much promise. For a time, we gave one of these to everyone who bought JVC CD-4. JVC was a couple miles from us, so getting more wasn't a problem. Our go-to demo albums for CD-4 were this, Stardrive, Doors and Best of Bread. Track 1 was a handy test track.

I was a wide-eyed kid who loved this stuff! It was my first job in the business. I got it by saying I was an audiophile. My boss figured if I knew the word, I must be one. He hired me as Assistant Manager. The proverbial kid in the candy store.

Linda
Lingering on Memory Lane
 
If there had ever been a poll to choose the best album cover ever to represent the whole quad era, this would have been it for me.

EDIT: Hehe, kinda the same thing Linda said, I guess, huh?

Doug
 
If there ever was a Quadradisc sampler worth having, this is definitely it. I found this in 2010 and played it as a stereo disc via SQ for years...until recently, where I finally got into the world of CD-4. The test tone tracks were great help setting up but the musical variety is the highlight on this album. Many songs I've heard before in regular stereo really come to life here than ever before and that's a good thing.
 
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