Yet another Quad review

        I was kind of fearful of disappointment after reading some of these
reviews as I was forced to wait for a copy of Quad to actually hit the
racks. Here locally, no one had a copy of it until SAT. Then low and behold
10 copies showed up in the local Best Buy rack. I purchased it, and brought
the set home directly. I cranked up my mid-line no frills Sony stereo, put
on the headphones and prepared to scrutinize the 80 min of music on offer.
        I was pleasantly surprised. Aside from a few warbly bits here or
there and a bad fade out on the second disc, nothing that I was fearful of
appeared here. None of the flat spots or other studio noise mentioned was
present... at least not in anyway that detracted from what I was listening
for. From the first listen, the openness and the forcefulness of the drums
and the bass were the biggest change giving it an updated feel and allowing
us to hear more of Keith and John's work (and as a fan of John that's one
thing I listen for first!). Some places seemed to go for their great stage
'roaring' sound where all the instruments and voices blend into one huge
single sound. That effect was successful most of the time, yet there were
some spots where it seemed to get a bit ragged and chaotic. But over all, I
say it's a great set. Definitely a two thumbs up must have. Not as a
dramatic a change as Tommy was, but definitely superior in many ways to the
original mix.
        Some thoughts:
        1. I understand not wanting to violate the artistic presentation of
Quad, but no extra liner notes? How cheap can you get? 
        2. THE PRICE!!! I got price quotes as high as $33 on this set. As it
was, Best Buy was selling it for $27. This should have been a $19 set -
particularly with no extra tracks or liner notes!!! Forget the parts of the
remix you don't like... the price is the truly bad part of this package!
        3. A lot of folks are talking about re-mixing as if was the same as,
or is as 'easy' as, remastering. Mixing down to a master tape from
multi-track tapes is a tedious, laborious, time consuming process that
should only be inflicted on the worst of criminals. Having been in a couple
of bands that have recorded material, I can tell you, it is a deceptively
hard process where you could literally spend days on one song. Blend in a
project as ambitious as Quad with 4 major egos, and you could easily have a
blood bath on your hands in the mix down studio. If you have no idea what
goes on in a studio, check out "The Making of Pump" by Aerosmith, "A Year
and a Half in the Life of Metallica - Pt 1" and "YesStory - A Retrospective"
to get an idea of what studio life for a major band is all about. If you've
ever spent the time in a studio doing the nitty gritty work, you know its a
lot more work than just 'making the guys louder'... still though... no extra
liner notes... guys c'mon!!
        eddie, assemble the equipment! Time for a second listen! presley