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Bitches Brew: Quadraphonic SACD Hybrid


Late

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The Japanese market is once again reissuing Bitches Brew, this time with quadraphonic sound. I guess this means 4-channel surround? I didn't know it had been recorded with more than two channels, but earlier vinyl releases seem to show otherwise. The reissue in question appears to be a hybrid SACD release.

 

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1 hour ago, Late said:

 I didn't know it had been recorded with more than two channels, but earlier vinyl releases seem to show otherwise. 

It would have been recorded on multi-track, meaning likely 8 or 16 tracks at that time, and then mixed to stereo and, presumably, quad.  I would assume they are using the quad mix made for the original LP. 

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So according to CD Japan's description this Multi Hybrid SACD will also feature the latest stereo mastering in both SACD and CD layers. Still, I am willing to bet this won't sound as good as the recent stellar MFSL Hybrid SACD mastering of the original stereo mix. At ¥5500 you would be better of buying the MFSL, unless you have deep pockets, a surround system, and are getting this primarily for the Quadraphonic mix.

Edited by erwbol
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  • 2 months later...

I listened to this last night and I'm pretty happy with it. It definitely is an improvement over the 2 channel mix. Parts of this album have always sounded muddled to me. There's certainly a lot going on. Having it broken up into four channels does a lot to sort out the confusion in those sections. The balances help with that a lot too. They are absolutely perfect throughout the entire album. It's rare I hear a mix this complex and don't hear things I would have handled differently. But this one is perfect.

This mix was clearly not an afterthought or toss off. It's just as complex and worked out as the stereo mix. It's primarily a "four corners" quad mix. Individual instruments are assigned to individual channels. The drums are generally split between LR and RF. RR is guitar and LF is keyboards. Davis's horn is spread across the front. However, there are times where the instruments move around... for instance in one section the drums are playing a 4/4 beat and they move to a different channel for each bar. Davis's horn has two slapbacks and they are assigned to the two rear channels. So when he plays, the delay comes in on one rear channel and then the next. It's a very nice effect and it clears out his solos much better than the stereo version did. In some parts, the instruments and counter rhythms get pulled apart... for instance Davis's trumpet might have an element of aspiration that is reflected in one channel, but is EQed softer in another... one set of drums will be in the rear and the other set in the front. On any other album that would be distracting, but this record was made to be cut up and put back together like that.

The sub bass on this is pretty recessed. That may have been deliberate to facilitate the requirements of matrixed LP cutting. At the beginning of the first side, someone bumps a mike and there is a low frequency bump, but other than that, it sits comfortably above 80Hz. But there is one song on disc 2 that has some heavy lower bass. There might be some super audible noise on this SACD. When I put the album on, my dog left up spun around several times and ran out of the room. (She may just not like fusion...) There's audible tape hiss in one section and even a tiny bit of print though on the last track. They must not have stored this master tails out. But the noise is only in short sections and doesn't intrude. If you're a fan of the sound of tube amps, there's a lot of euphonic distortion on display here. They appear to be experimenting with running all kinds of instruments through guitar amps to create interesting effects. None of the instruments here sound real or are presented in a natural acoustic. It isn't that kind of album. So it isn't something you would consider "audiophile". But it more than makes up for that with the imaginative processing of the sound and the inspired post production for the multichannel mix.

Overall, it's a revelation to hear an iconic album like this presented in such a different way than I'm used to. The four corners and ping pong aren't approaches I normally prefer, but on this album, they suit the style. The price on this from Amazon.jp is quite high, but the packaging is very nice with a beautifully printed oversized gatefold sleeve and booklet in English and Japanese. The double album comes on two SACDs with the quad mix and a hybrid 2 channel layer. Worth getting.

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