The BBC Session 6 tracks were remixed by Tony Wilson for the Alan Freeman show as part of the BBC's quadraphonic broadcasting experiments in the second half of 1977. These mixes were in quadraphonic sound, encoded into sterero using Matrix H (a bit like Dolby Surround or SQ quad). All existing releases of Session 6 have been checked and found to be the standard stereo mix so do not decode.
I have a contact that can decode Matrix H back to quadraphonic, but to do this we need the Tony Wilson / Alan Freeman mix. Does anyone have either an off air recording from the Alan Freeman show or a copy of these masters?
This is one of only two items of Queen in legacy 1970s quad formats so this stuff would be good to find.
pittrek · Member since
That's interesting, I didn't know this.
OwenSmith · Member since
Not many people do know this, which might explain why getting hold of a recording of the correct Matrix H encoded broadcast is proving so hard. My contact in the quadraphonic world has recently been put in touch with Tony Wilson the mixing engineer so we should be able to check the facts. But he hasn't said he has a copy, which is a shame.
brians wig · Member since
Nice bit of detective work, Owen :)
The Real Wizard · Member since
Brilliant work, again !
There are so many copies of this floating around. I've come across no less than a dozen, and it's possible that one of them may be from the quad version. Is there any audible difference while just listening in stereo?
I recall the Golders Green, once decoded, brought out the lead vocal quite a bit more, as it's buried in its original state, as we all know now..
OwenSmith · Member since
I claim no credit for the research on this, all the information about the Alan Freeman Matrix H broadcasts came from a chap known as Oxford Dickie (OD for short) in quadraphonic audio circles on the net. He's the one who has developed computer processes to decode Matrix H (and many other matrix quadraphonic formats).
Unfortunately we have no information on any audible differences when listening in stereo. OD had to attempt a decode of the existing shares of this to find that they weren't Matrix H. That's the complete 4 track share from Jon Stuart a few years ago (mini disc copy of the masters), then the two tracks from the 2011 remasters CD disc 2, and finally We Will Rock You from the KBFH compilation CD someone shared recently (I bought the CD online to see if it mentioned Matrix H or quad but it didn't).
I guess the obvious way to tell would be if Alan Freeman is heard as the DJ on the recording.
The Real Wizard · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]OwenSmith wrote:[/b]
I guess the obvious way to tell would be if Alan Freeman is heard as the DJ on the recording.[/QUOTE]
Hmm, has anyone ever heard a copy of this ? I haven't.
Barry Durex · Member since
A CD you may want to seek out is Royal Rarities (CD 1) It mentions the ''Alan Freeman sessions'' in the track listings.
Barry Durex · Member since
You may also want to check the King Biscuit version of WWRY as I'm told it is the definitive version from session 6. This doesn't mean it's from the Alan Freeman broadcast of course, but you never know!
The Real Wizard · Member since
All these versions have the fake audience dubbed in.
Hard to know which broadcast is which, especially when they end up on bootlegs like this.
But thanks for the input, condom dude !
Barry Durex · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
All these versions have the fake audience dubbed in.[/QUOTE]
Are you saying the Alan Freeman broadcast could not have had the audience dubbing? Also, the King Biscuit version of WWRY I mentioned does not have any audience dubbed. Looking through some old posts it looks like owenSmith has this version, so has probably had his contact check it for quad already. Here's a link to that version if anyone wants it.http://www.mediafire.com/download/q09awgj1km1x5cq/We+Will+Rock+You+%28King+Biscuit+Flower+Hour+-+Best+of+The+Best%29.flac
The Real Wizard · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Barry Durex wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
All these versions have the fake audience dubbed in.[/QUOTE]
Are you saying the Alan Freeman broadcast could not have had the audience dubbing?
[/QUOTE]
No idea. But at least we're taking a stab at trying to figure out which version is which.
Thanks for posting that file. So now we know the KBFH version doesn't have the panned audience. When was that one broadcast?
And the next question is, who came up with the bright idea to add the noise - bootleggers or people in the radio world?
bootLuca · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
And the next question is, who came up with the bright idea to add the noise - bootleggers or people in the radio world?[/QUOTE]
I think radio world because there is a promotional CD of the 1988 (so before the cd bootleg market) called "King Biscuit Flower Hour Kansas\Queen" released for the DIR Radio Network that includes the BBC sessions with the audience overdubbed.
Barry Durex · Member since
That`s right, strangely only WWRY from KBFH has surfaced without the audience dubbed. The other tracks have the dubbed audience on them. There is also some dodgy explanation on how the narrative during WWRY came about, but I suspect this was also dubbed. A radio station would be the prime suspect for all the dubbing in my opinion. It`s possible it started on BBC broadcast and perhaps that was the Alan Freeman one.
The Real Wizard · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]bootLuca wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
And the next question is, who came up with the bright idea to add the noise - bootleggers or people in the radio world?[/QUOTE]
I think radio world because there is a promotional CD of the 1988 (so before the cd bootleg market) called "King Biscuit Flower Hour Kansas\Queen" released for the DIR Radio Network that includes the BBC sessions with the audience overdubbed.[/QUOTE]
Fascinating - thanks for that !
But this is from 1988. Already in 1978 there were LP bootlegs with the audience added in..
