Lou Reed - Chicago, Illinois[WXRT-FM 1978]

Lou Reed had just released "Street Hassle" when he and the band were recorded at Chicagos' Park West for WXRT by Ken Rasek on 14 April 1978. This show has been heavily circulated, but this is the first time a decode of the original quadraphonic broadcast has been shared. Lou and the band rip through both classics and new songs here, including fantastic takes of "Coney Island Baby", "Street Hassle" and "Leave Me Alone".
Source: SQ encoded FM broadcast

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Faces - San Bernadino, California[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1975]

In March of 1975, Faces were on the first leg of what would be their final tour of the United States. Their previous tour and resulting live record "Coast to Coast" had been criticized somewhat for not being completely together, and on this final tour the band were wanting to set the record straight. When introducing new bass player Tetsu Yamauchi, Rod credits him as "making us all play better". While this show maintains the loose party vibe they are known for, the performances are inspired and effortless. Rod is truly one of the best rock singers to ever front a band, and Faces were a fantastic band, no question.

This King Biscuit show first broadcast on 11 May 1975 features Faces recorded on 7 March 1975 at the Swing Auditorium on San Bernadino, California and comes complete with the original ads, including one for Lee "Europa Jean Suits", which couldn't have been anything other than a big mistake.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reels

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Average White Band - Pittsburg, Pennsylvania Kiss - Cleveland, Ohio[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1975]

This split King Biscuit show first broadcast on 9 November 1975 highlights both Average White Band and Kiss, and includes the original announcements and advertisements.

Average White Band was at the height of their popularity, touring in support of their 3rd record "Cut the Cake", and this performance captured at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on 16 September 1975 features their new drummer/legend Steve Ferrone. Original drummer Robbie MacIntosh had died suddenly a year previous, and the bands future was in question until Steve helped the band recover from their tragic loss and move forward.

Kiss had just released their breakthrough album "Kiss Alive", and the tracks recorded here at the Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio on 21 June 1975 were taken from the same shows that were recorded for the official release. Not only did "Kiss Alive" save Kiss' career, it also saved their record label "Casablanca" which was on the verge of collapse.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reels

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Genesis - Hammersmith, London[British Biscuit 1976]

Spot the temp!

Recorded for the British Biscuit radio show for broadcast on 15 August 1976, this show was captured on 10 June 1976 at the Hammersmith Odeon during the band's debut shows in England with Phil Collins as lead singer. Bill Bruford adds his trademark drumming to this show, with plenty of contributions from Phil as well. This conversion includes the original announcements and advertisements.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reels

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Yes - Boston, Massachusetts[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1974]

Far from being slowed up by the departure of Rick Wakeman, Yes enlisted Patrick Moraz and went full speed ahead into the creation of "Relayer". Easily one of the most popular King Biscuit broadcasts, this show was recorded early in the "Relayer" tour when the band rolled into Boston. Compared to the meticulous, layered presentation of the studio versions, the album's tracks are presented in a much more physical fashion here. The show MVP award goes to Alan White, who is incredible from start to finish.

This performance was recorded at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on 11 December 1974 and first broadcast in SQ quadraphonic on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on 12 January 1975.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reel

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Jimmy Cliff - Chicago, Illinois[WXRT-FM 1978]

Jimmy Cliff was touring with the Roots Radic in support of his 12th album "Give Thanks" when they performed at Chicagos' Park West on 11 November 1978. They deliver a wonderfully gritty and powerful performance, with all the rough edges intact.

This broadcast from WXRT in Chicago has been heavily circulated over the years, yet one piece of information that got lost in the shuffle is that this show was mixed in compatible quadraphonic sound by broadcast legend Ken Rasek. This is the third mix of his to be featured on this blog, and hopefully not the last.
Source: 2015 FM broadcast

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Argent - Venue Uncertain[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1974]

In May of 1974, Argent was touring in support of "Nexus", their final album with Russ Ballard, who would leave the band shortly after the tour was finished. "Nexus" showed the band moving into longer songs and more adventurous arrangements. Bassist Jim Rodford and drummer Bob Henrit later went on to play with the Kinks. Russ Ballard enjoyed success as a solo artist and songwriter, while Rod Argent has been very busy in recent years with solo work as well as reunions with both Argent and The Zombies.

This performance was first broadcast in SQ quadraphonic on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on 11 August 1974 as part of a double bill with a Mott The Hoople performance. The KBFH documentation credits this performance to the Palace Theater in New York on 7 November 1973. However, the tracks featured are audibly identical to tracks that appeared on the "Encore: Live In Concert" album which is credited to have been recorded at three venues in the UK: the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, the City Hall in St Albans and the Top Rank in Swansea.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast CD

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Mott The Hoople - New York, New York[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1974]

Mott the Hoople were headlining when they toured across America in the spring of 1974, yet only a few months later Ian Hunter had left the band to work with Mick Ronson. The recordings in this broadcast were later used alongside recordings made in London for the "Live" album, which came out in November 1974 albeit with added recording and no quad mixes.

The performance was recorded on 9 May 1974 at the Uris Theater in New York City, and was first broadcast in SQ quadraphonic on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on 11 August 1974 as part of a double bill with an Argent performance.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast CD

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Gentle Giant - New York, New York[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1975]

This short 15 minute set captures Gentle Giant at their chaotic best. Their music is matched by one of the more unusual 4 channel mixes you will ever hear from a live broadcast. This mix bears almost no resemblance to the commercial CD release, which is stereo only. At the time of this show, Gentle Giant was touring in support of "The Power And The Glory".

The performance was recorded on 18 January 1975 at the Academy of Music in New York City, which despite it's impressive name was a former cinema built in 1927, and was first broadcast in SQ quadraphonic on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on 28 September 1975 as part of a double bill with an Aerosmith performance.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reels

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Graham Parker & The Rumour - Chicago, Illinois[WXRT-FM 1979]

"Live Sparks" was originally issued by Arista as a radio station promo LP to accompany "Squeezing Out Sparks" which was released in March 1979. The promo album featured tracks produced by WXRT Chicago and KSAN San Francisco. Although Graham Parker's official site indicates all the tracks were recorded recorded at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington on 24 June 1979, the CD insert states the WXRT produced tracks were recorded at the Park West, Chicago on 28 April 1979. In 1996, the recordings were included as bonus tracks on the CD re-issue with nine of the eleven tracks being SQ encoded.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded CD

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Chicago - Louisville, Kentucky[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1974]

In June of 1974, Chicago was touring in support of Chicago VII. Despite being a double album with a lot of adventurous, fusion based material, it was still hugely successful. They still had radio friendly singles, and had also established themselves as one of the top draws in America.

The performance was recorded on 12 June 1974 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky and was first broadcast in SQ quadraphonic on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on 27 October 1974. This conversion includes the original announcements and advertisements.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reels

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Genesis - Finsbury Park, London[British Biscuit 1977]

Spot the new guy!

Genesis' 1977 tour in support of their second post-Gabriel release was the last tour with guitarist Steve Hackett prior to his departure, and the first with Chester Thompson as their touring drummer. One of the most popular Genesis live recordings, it captures the band on the second night of their tour-opening three-night run at the historic Rainbow Theatre on 2 January 1977, and was broadcast in SQ quadraphonic under the British Biscuit banner on 20 March 1977. This conversion includes the original announcements and advertisements.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reels

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Santana - San Diego, California[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1974]

The sixth in a series of new decodes of live recordings quad encoded for radio broadcast.

In July 1974, Santana was touring in support for Welcome, their fifth release. There had been a good deal of personnel changes in the previous year. However, original members Mike Shrieve, David Brown and Jose Areas as well as new addition Armando Peraza are all on board for this show which features lots of instrumental stretches, recorded at the Balboa Stadium in San Diego on 28 July 1974 for broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour show on 13 October 1974.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded CD

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Talking Heads - Chicago, Illinois[WXRT-FM 1978]

The fifth in a series of new decodes of live recordings quad encoded for radio broadcast.

Talking Heads captured at the Park West in Chicago on 28 August 1978 and broadcast on 15 October 1978 as part of the UnConcert series on WXRT-FM. A late player in the format, WXRT-FM may have broadcast several shows in quadraphonic.

The source of this recording can best be described as "low fidelity". However, as there does not appear to have been any previous quadraphonic presentation of this show, this conversion is presented here because of its historical importance.
Source: Post-FM SQ encoded CD

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Deep Purple - Kilburn, London[BBC Pop Spectacular 1974]

The fourth in a series of new decodes of live recordings quad encoded for radio broadcast.

By May of 1974, Deep Purple was midway through touring in support of Burn, the first release of the Mark III line-up featuring David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. The band had made the jump from theatres to arenas in the US, and was playing bigger theatres in Europe. On 22nd May 1974, they were playing the 4,000 capacity Gaumont State Theatre, in Kilburn, London. The show was recorded by the BBC with six songs originally broadcast on 6 June 1974 in SQ quadraphonic sound.

The official releases of this concert as Live in London (some including the seventh and final song of the show, a thirty-plus minute rendition of Space Truckin') are only in stereo, and this conversion comes from a BBC Transcription Service broadcast disc.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded LP

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Emerson Lake & Palmer - Wheeling, West Virginia[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1977]

The third in a series of new decodes of live recordings quad encoded for radio broadcast.

This recording captures ELP in the latter part of what would be their last tour for many years. Eventually breaking up in 1979, the band would not reform until the 1990s. Despite having let go of the full orchestra they started the tour with, the band's trio performances didn't disappoint as this recording shows.

The ten selections featured here were first broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour show on 18 December 1977. The performance is generally credited as being recorded on 12 November 1977 at the recently opened Wheeling Civic Center in West Virginia, although the second KBFH broadcast in 1978 suggested the selections came from a combination of that show and another performance on 20 November 1977 at the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis, Tenessee, with some sources citing just the latter venue. Both of those shows were recorded and are available in their entirety at the Wofgang's Vault site.

Whatever the source, these are different performances than those officially released on the Emerson Lake and Palmer in Concert (aka Works Live) album that were recorded with the orchestra earlier on the same tour.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded CD

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Blue Öyster Cult - Long Island, New York[King Biscuit Flower Hour 1975]

The second in a series of new decodes of live recordings quad encoded for radio broadcast.

Blue Öyster Cult was touring in support of their fourth record, the live album “On Your Feet or on Your Knees” when this performance was recorded for the King Biscuit show. Their unique blend of metal and occasional prog made them a concert favorite across America and Europe during the 70’s and 80’s, and their music has been hugely influential on modern metal. They are still touring to this day.

This conversion features fours songs recorded on 17 May 1975 at the Island Music Center in Commack on Long Island, New York and broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour show on 8 June 1975 as part of a double bill with a Black Oak Arkansas performance recorded at a different venue.
Source: Pre-FM SQ encoded broadcast reel

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 24/48

Procol Harum - Golders Green, London [BBC Radio One - The Concert Programme 1974]

The first in a series of new decodes of live recordings quad encoded for radio broadcast.

Procol Harum are an English rock band formed in 1967, notable for their baroque and classical influences as well as for having a non-performing official band member, lyricist Keith Reid.

On 30 March 1974, Radio One's The Concert Programme broadcast the nine songs featured here out of the total of eleven recorded by the BBC on 22 March 1974 at The Golders Green Hippodrome in London.
Source: Post-FM SQ encoded CD

Converted to: DVD-A PCM 16/48 & 16/48 FLAC

The O'Jays - Ship Ahoy[SACD rear channel configuration corrected]

The eighth album by Philly soulsters The O'Jays is an interesting blend of the romantic with the politically and socially conscious.

Although it was "tweaked" for 5.1 surround, the SACD was based on the original quadraphonic release. From repeated listening to the mix as presented on the SACD it appeared that like the SACD release of Deep Purple's Machine Head the rear channels of the original quadraphonic mix had been reversed. This channel reversal was most evident in the opening sound effects on Track 2 and the bass guitar on Track 5 which when properly aligned travels in a circle.

This conversion has been "untweaked" back to the original four channels with the rear channels as presented on the SACD swapped over to restore the original quadraphonic mix configuration.
Source: SACD

Converted to: DVD-A MLP 24/88.2, DVD-V DTS 24/48 & Dolby Digital 24/48

The O'Jays - Ship Ahoy[Original SACD channel configuration]

The eighth album by Philly soulsters The O'Jays is an interesting blend of the romantic with the politically and socially conscious.

Although it was "tweaked" for 5.1 surround, the SACD was based on the original quadraphonic release. From repeated listening to the mix as presented on the SACD it appeared that like the SACD release of Deep Purple's Machine Head the rear channels of the original quadraphonic mix had been reversed. This channel reversal was most evident in the opening sound effects on Track 2 and the bass guitar on Track 5 which when properly aligned travels in a circle.

This conversion has been "untweaked" back to the original four channels with the rear channel configuration as originally released on the SACD.
Note: This is the same conversion that was originally posted in November 2014 and has not been changed.

Source: SACD

Converted to: DVD-A MLP 24/88.2, DVD-V DTS 24/48 & Dolby Digital 24/48