HARLOW "LIVE IN QUAD" FANIA '74: 1ST Quadraphonic HEAR

$

30

ARTIST : LARRY HARLOW & ORQUESTA (with Justo Betancourt & Junior Gonzalez)

TITLE : LIVE IN QUAD

LABEL & RECORD #:   FANIA #472  (1974)

VINYL CONDITION: HEAR !! : NM.........Superficially Cleaned..No Noise! STEREO "QUAD COMPATIBLE" The Only LP That I Included 3 SOUND CLIP PLAYERS! Hear Well!

LABELS CONDITIONS: SEE SCAN : NM!

COVER CONDITION : SEE SCAN :ALMOST OR NM (Very Light Bumped Corners...A GEM!!!

REMARKS: REGARDING THE FANIA  LABEL CHANGE IN STYLE & COLOR:
1- The Famous Early "GOLD" Label Was Used Until 1968 when they changed to the "CLOUDS" label...the 1st pressings showed a more intense "orange/reddish" shade in the "clouds" then to the more familiar "not too intense orange shade...more grayish!"

2- The Palm Trees/ Forest Like Label Was Used In The Mid to last part of The 70s(around 1976/77) and so on. So do not expect to see a 1978 LP with the clouds label!! (Just Answering Some Buyers Questions Regarding the labels!!) 

A FANIA COLLECTORS CLASSIC!!!

This magnificent concert captured live at Sing Sing prison in upstate new York was the first and only quadraphonic recording ever made for Salsa.
While it would have been nice for this one to be re-released in a multi-channel format,stereo is what we got. At any rate it's still a formidable live set from the band. The remastering is loud but adequate. I had the original Quad LP back in '74 (THIS ONE!!!)  and other than it not being a 4 channel recording it still sounds pretty good. Musically the band couldn't sound better. Junior Gonzalez,Justo Betancourt and Adalberto Santiago share vocals and they are in top form with a very appreciative if captive audience. The brass is simply amazing and the rhythm section as off the hook. Excellent songs by the likes of Arsenio Rodriguez connect Harlow to the cuban bands that inspired him. This is one for the history books and highly recommended now. Viva Harlow!

COMPLETE REVIEW OF A HARD TO FIND CLASSIC!!!

Recorded live at Sing Sing on January 16, 1974, listeners of this album can quickly hear that the musicians came to play hard from the very first note. In a recent conversation, Harlow talked about this album being one of his best recordings and how the enthusiasm of the largely Latino audience positively affected the performance. This was the only Latin album recorded in the quadrophonic stereo format. The basic concept was similar to today’s surround-sound but the means of achieving the four channels of audio varied across formats. As good as true quad sounded, it was doomed by incompatibility and technical variations within formats. Harlow took advantage of the new technology, recording the album on location with an RCA 8-track unit and mixing the album by essentially spinning around in a suspended rattan chair that faced four speakers. The Fania sound was crafted by New York musicians who added a distinct musical sensibility and swing to Cuban son and other genres from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. In the process, they transformed the music into something new. “Live in Quad” provides an opportunity to hear this musical transformation, since most of the music at this concert consists of compositions by the iconic Cuban composer and tres player, Arsenio Rodríguez. In the 1950s, Harlow made several trips to Cuba where he befriended and followed Rodríguez. In New York, he was able to play with his hero and ultimately dedicated an entire album to this great tres player and composer. For Harlow, the overdubbed piano interacts with the live clavinet section, simulating the interaction of the tres and piano in Rodríguez’s records. This record sounds as exciting and fresh as it sounded 32 years ago.

“Señor Sereno”, a major hit for Harlow with Ismael Miranda, opens the album. Junior Gónzalez, who recorded Hommy with Harlow, provides his own take of the song. Personally, this particular performance epitomizes the Fania sound: great ensemble performance, swing, and energy.

A feature for González in Hommy, “Gracia Divina” builds in intensity with bursts of brilliant fills by Tony Jimenez throughout Harlow’s guajeo’s and the horn section’s powerful swing.

Harlow’s treatment of Compay Segundo’s “Mayarí” features the artful vocals of Justo Betancourt. Prior to this recording, Harlow and Betancourt’s association included several productions such as Pa Bravo Yo and Hommy. Dig Lewis Kahn’s violin solo and the subsequent charanga vibe of the tune!

“Jovenes Del Muelle” is another Cuban classic, here arranged by the great Barry Rogers. The arrangement and performance evoke the classic conjunto sound while sounding modern. The performance includes some great trombone solos, a short bass and piano conversation, and a tasty bass solo by Eddie Guagua Rivera.

To date, Harlow is probably best known for his rendition of “La Cartera”. This Sam Burtis arrangement is a lesson in craft. Note the influence of Lilí Martínez, Arsenio’s pianist and arranger, during Harlow’s solo. Some great trumpet solos are followed by another fine violin solo from Lewis Kahn.

“Tumba Y Bongo” was originally a feature for Rodríguez’s percussion section called Kila, Quique y Chocolate. This Mark Weinstein arrangement features an exciting back and forth between Pablo Rosario and Tony Jimenez. The crowd goes wild when Jimenez picks up the drum during his solo.

“Sueltala” serves as a showcase for Junior González’s vocal improvisations as well as offering exciting solos from Reinaldo Jorge and Nicky Marrero.

“Arsenio” is the title track from Harlow’s dramatic tribute album to his musical hero. Justo Betancourt adds his sabor matancero to the perfomance and Tony Jimenez turns in another great solo.

On “Descarga Final”, Harlow lets everyone in the band strut his stuff and the singers trade soneos in a friendly exchange. Guagua offers another impressive solo while the percussionists try to steal the show. Enjoy!

Credits:

Ralph Castrella – Trumpet

Charlie Miller – Trumpet

Júnior González – Maracas

Larry Harlow – Piano, Clavinet

Reynaldo Jorge – Trombone

Pablo “El Indio” Rosario – Bongo, Bell

Anthony “Tony” Jiménez – Congas

Nicky Marrero – Timbales

Eddie “Guagua” Rivera – Bass

Lewis Kahn – Trombone, Violín

Lead Vocals – Justo Betancourt, Junior Gonzalez

Chorus – Adalberto Santiago, Larry Harlow, Ralp Castrella

Master of Ceremony - Paco Navarro 

Producer – Larry Harlow

Engineer – Bernie Fox

Engineer Assistant – Randall Sheperd

Mixed – Good Vibration Studios, N. Y. C.

Recorded Live at Sing Sing, January 16, 1974.

Arrangements - Louie Cruz (“Señor Sereno,” “Gracia Divina”), Larry Harlow (“Mayari,” “Descarga Final”), Barry Rogers (“Jóvenes del Muelle”),Sam Burtis (“La Cartera”), Mark Weinstein (“Tumba y Bongo”), Charlie Camilleri (“Suéltala”), Bobby Valentín (“Arsenio”)

Original Album Photograph – Gary Mason

Metalgraphics Artwork From The Original Album– Charlie Rosario

   LP # 1 SIDE A :

   1. Señor Sereno - 5:20

   2. Gracia Divina - 5:12

   3. Mayari - 7:32

   LP # 1 SIDE B:
   1. Jovenes Del Muelle - 7:03

   2. La Cartera - 7:05

   1. Tumba y Bongó - 7:43

   2. Sueltala - 6:34

  LP # 2 SIDE B :

   1. Arsenio - 7:23

   2. Descarga Final  - 10:55

Musicians include:) MORE THAN $1500.00
Charlie Miller Trumpet
Larry Harlow Piano & clarinet, coro
Reinaldo Jorge Trombone
Pablo Rosario Bongo
Anthony Jiminez Conga
Nickie Marrero Timbales
Eddie (Guagua) Rivera Bass
Lewis Kahn Trombone & violin
Junior Gonzalez Lead vocals
Justo Betancourt Lead vocals
Ralph Castrella Coro
Adalberto Santiago Coro

WEB REMARKS: THE EXPERT FROM DESCARGA .COM MR. JOHN CHILD:

"For those of you too young to know, there was a quadrophonic fad in the early '70's. Recordings were mixed specially to get the most dimensional effect from four-speaker audio systems (my note: at the time I had one Pioneer Quad System, But not like m=now (eg: those mini but great Bose speakers we had to used the usual big, great spekers that were the "Ultimate" in sound!). Even without the novelty of quad, this recording was destined to become a classic — made certain by the intense and explosive vocals of Junior Gonzalez & Justo Betancourt."

1971....WHY I SPENT $1,300 in 70s money in a huge Pioneer System SOUND WAS GREAT!! BUT....

Quadrasonic) sound – the most-widely-used early term for what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are (wholly or in part) independent of one another. Quadraphonic audio was one of the earliest consumer offerings in surround sound. It was a commercial failure due to many technical problems, which were solved too late to save the technology from disaster. The format was more expensive than standard two-channel stereo. It also required extra speakers (mine was 4 reat Pioneer Speakers!!), and suffered from lack of a standard format for LP records. The rise of home theatre products in the late 1980s and early 1990s brought multi-channel recording formats back to the forefront, although in a completely different form. Quite a few quadraphonic recordings were made before its demise, and some of these recordings were later reissued on CD in Dolby Surround.

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RECORD OR COVER GRADED VG or LESS WILL BE "SOLD AS IS"

MINT: Unplayed, still sealed.
 

NM RECORDS: are shiny, with no visible defects, they might have one or 2 minor superficial scuff and they should play without any noise. Writing, stickers or other markings cannot appear on the label, nor can any “spindle marks” from someone trying to blindly put the record on the turntable. Major factory defects also must not be present; a record and label obviously pressed off center is not Near Mint. If played, it will do so with no surface noise. (NM records don’t have to be “never played”; a record used on an excellent turntable can remain NM after many plays if the disc is properly cared for.)

NM COVERS:

have no creases, ring wear or seam splits of any kind.

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may show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. Minor signs of handling are OK, too, such as telltale marks around the center hole, but repeated playing has not misshapen the hole. There may be some very light ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable.

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VG+ PICTURE SLEEVES:
might show some very light creasing where it is obvious that a record once resided (or still does reside). A VG+ picture sleeve might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the sleeve’s most vulnerable location. 

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They have more obvious flaws than their counterparts in better shape. They lack most of the original gloss found on factory-fresh records. Groove wear is evident on sight, as are light scratches deep enough to feel with a fingernail. When played, a VG record has surface noise, and some scratches  may be audible, especially in soft passages and during a song’s intro and ending. But the noise will not overpower the music otherwise. Minor writing, tape, or a sticker can detract from the label. Many collectors who have jukeboxes   will use VG records in them and not think twice. They remain a fine listening experience, just not the same as if it were in better shape.

VG COVERS and PICTURE SLEEVES:
will have many signs of human handling. Ring wear  in the middle or along the edges of the cover where the edge of a record would  reside, is obvious, though not overwhelming. Some more creases might be  visible. Seam splitting will be more obvious; it may appear on all three sides,  though it won’t be obvious upon looking. Someone might have written or stamped  a price tag on it, too.

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