180 Gram Vinyl Records

To attempt to categorise Carlos Santana’s music is, for the prophets of rock music, rather like dancing on the edge of a volcano. While the New York Times acclaimed the band as a reincarnation of Dizzy Gillespie’s Cuban-jazz bigband from the end of the Forties, the specialist magazine Rolling Stone spoke of a »methadrine trip without visions«. Organ-player Gregg Rolie offered a very simple explanation of the origins of the highly differentiated sound colouring and the throb and chirp of the Afro-Cuban polyrhythms: he succinctly remarked that each member of the multi-cultural band "just played the music which he had grown up with".

Just how thrilling this sounds is already evident from the first number on the disc, with its sounds of nature, twisted rhythms, and little snatches of melody, which – as in several other titles – remains spellbinding even without the fascinating drive of Santana’s lead-sound. Of course there is plenty of solo material on the guitar which manifests itself in exuberant improvisations with a fusion of rock, salsa and jazz elements. When listening to this well-oiled rhythm machine, one quite rightly gets the impression that this unique band has stretched itself to its limits, and it is not by mere coincidence that they split up shortly afterwards. What has remained is one of the most powerful Santana records ever made.

Musicians:

• Carlos Santana (guitar, percussion)
• Hadley Caliman (saxophone)
• Gregg Rolie (organ, piano)
• Wendy Haas (piano)
• Tom Coster (electric piano)
• Neal Schon (guitar)
• Douglas Rauch (guitar, bass)
• Tom Rutley (bass)
• Mike Shrieve (drums)
• Jose Chepito Areas, Armando Peraza (percussion)

Recording: February and May 1972
Production: Carlos Santana and Michael Shrieve

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

This studio recording from 1954, a self-titled album recorded for EmArcy, was later reissued as Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown to denote the involvement of one of the top trumpeters of the day. Like a gifted actress, Sarah Vaughan always made the lyrics come alive, whether it be on poignant ballads or buoyant pop novelties. She combined exquisite elegance, impressive range, and an effortless delivery. Vaughan 'played' her voice with a musical creativity, as if it were a 'real' instrument, and on this album, she is matched with musicians of equally high quality. The band includes Brown on trumpet, Herbie Mann on flute, and Paul Quinichette on tenor, each of whom have plenty of space for solos (most of the songs are close to the five-minute mark). Vocally, the singer is arguably at the zenith of her career here, pausing and lingering over notes on the standards "April In Paris", "Jim", and "Lullaby Of Birdland". As touching as she is, however, Brown almost equals her with his solos, displaying his incredible bop virtuosity in a restrained setting without sacrificing either the simple feeling of his notes or the extraordinary flair of his choices. Quinichette’s solos are also magnificent, his feathery tone nearly a perfect match for Vaughan’s voice. Ironically, neither Brown, Quinichette nor Mann appear on the album’s highlight, "Embraceable You", which Vaughan performs with close accompaniment from the rhythm section. She expertly captured the mood of any tune, and on this album, one of her jazziest, the soloists seem keenly aware of her presence.

In whichever incarnation it’s reissued, Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown is one of the most important jazz-meets-vocal sessions ever recorded.

Musicians:

• Sarah Vaughan (vocal)
• Clifford Brown (trumpet)
• Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone)
• Herbie Mann (flute)
• Jimmy Jones (piano)
• Joe Benjamin (bass)
• Roy Haynes (drums)

Recording: December 1954

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday are rightly considered today as two of the most influential jazz singers – and the third in this famous line-up is Sarah Lois Vaughan (*1924), fondly known as “Sassy”. Right at the beginning of her career, Sassy sang (and also played the piano!) in the orchestras led by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstein, but in 1945 she started on a career as a soloist in the main. Her recordings of predominantly slow, popular ballads – made over the five years (1949-1954) that she recorded for Columbia Records – resulted in her breakthrough. Sarah Vaughan had reached stardom. During her Mercury years (1954-1959), her fame grew and she had well and truly “arrived”. But she was a woman with two souls: on the one hand she worked with such full-blooded jazz musicians as Clifford Brown and Cannonball Adderley, and on the other hand she continued to record highly successful albums with “easy-listening” orchestras, such as Sassy, recorded in 1956 with Hal Mooney and his orchestra. Easy listening, however, certainly is not to be put on a par with shallowness, as is well proved by Mooney’s laid-back, tasteful arrangements which allow Sarah Vaughan once more to demonstrate just how capable she is of expressing the contrasting moods and varying atmospheres of each and every song. The range of her now fully mature voice, with its truly instrumental flexibility and versatility, will never cease to amaze.

Musicians:

• Sarah Vaughan (voc)
• Hal Mooney and his Orchestra

Recording: April 1956

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

This is Schubert’s longest symphony, and its music has been described as heavenly. The symphony is typically and specifically Schubertian in its form, occupying a position in the history of music between Beethoven, Bruckner and Mahler – right on the threshold which separates classicism from romanticism.

It is hard to say if Josef Krips ever succeeded in making a finer recording. The presentation has a direct, unforced spontaneity, confirming that Krips had an intuitive understanding of Schubert’s compositions. The orchestra plays with dynamic vivacity without ever sounding aggressive. The interpretation of the two final movements is delightful in its airy exhilaration: swaying in a dance-like rhythm, tripping lightly through virtually every key there is, and in between, in the Scherzo, the gravity of the trio. The Finale, again, is merry in character with triplets rushing past, and the listener revels in every single repetition as the magnificence of this work reveals itself.

The inspired orchestra does full justice to the music and renders an interpretation in the Viennese tradition at its very best. This recording simply cannot be surpassed in terms of performance or sound quality – it is a must not only for the lover of Schubert’s music.

Musicians:

• London Symphony Orchestra
• Josef Krips (conductor)

Recording: May 1958 at Kingsway Hall in London by Kenneth E. Wilkinson
Production: Erik Smith

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

In the summer of 1819, Franz Schubert stayed in the Austrian town of Steyr where he began work on the composition of the five-movement Piano Quintet in A major, op. 114 (D 667) which was commissioned by the cellist Sylvester Paumgartner. The work was completed in the autumn and soon achieved great popularity under the name of Trout Quintet, which it owes to the Andantino fourth movement – a set of variations on the song of the same name. The work has remained highly popular right up to the present day and so it comes as no surprise to find this highly praised recording, made with such renowned artists as the pianist Clifford Curzon, the violinist Willi Boskovsky and other members of the Vienna Octet, being released once again.

The ensembles refreshing performance reflects the sparkling lightness and virtuosity of the work. The well-balanced recording with its full tone certainly deserves a place in every music lovers collection.

Musicians:

• Sir Clifford Curzon and Members of the Vienna Octet

Recording: October 1957 at Sofiensaal, Vienna by James Brown
Production: Erik Smith

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Needless to say, this quality blend, delivered in its natural cover(ing), really ought to be covered by the Drug Offences Act, for the longer one listens to the music, the greater the danger of becoming hopelessly addicted to it. Perhaps it would be wise to consult your physician or dancing tutor or record dealer! Full enjoyment is however guaranteed.

Recording: July 1966 at Sunset Sound Studios, Los Angeles by Bruce Botnick
Production: Herb Alpert

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

One of the best and most significant piano jazz trios is at last available once again on vinyl! What a cause for celebration - just put the LP on the turntable of your high-end altar, give the tube-amplifier time to warm up, lower the 12”- tone arm, settle yourself in your favourite armchair and have a feast with Bill Evans, Monty Budwig and Shelly Manne. Naturally one can get an idea of sorts of the musical quality of this recording on a compact hi-fi set, but to enjoy to the full the wonderfully sure performance of these three jazz greats, the sensitively placed chords of Bill Evans, the swish of the Shelly Manne’s rhythm brush and the wonderfully solid bass playing of Monty Budwig, one really ought to resort to the very best equipment.

An opportunity to hear these three musicians playing together is extremely rare since they were each contractually bound to three different recording companies. It is thanks to producer Creed Taylor that this fascinating recording by the trio (all of whom are no longer among us) came about. Full of concentration and dedication, the three musicians delve deep into the themes of these evergreens (ranging from Gordon Jenkins’s “Goodbye” to the Irish ballad “Danny Boy”), taking up the musical ideas and developing them with complete assuredness, as though in their sleep.

This LP re-release has an extremely attractive gatefold cover, making it a real feast for both eyes and ears!

Musicians:

• Bill Evans (piano)
• Monty Budwig (bass)
• Shelly Manne (drums)

Recording: August 1962 in New York City
Production: Creed Taylor

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music was and still remains his aesthetic ambiguity, the likes of which is almost impossible to find in modern music. The Fifth Symphony in particular is regarded as an excellent example of how, during Stalin’s regime, Shostakovich outwardly remained true to the regulations concerning art while still managing not to forfeit his own artistic freedom and identity. Conceived in a classical vein, the work is filled with powerful motion and Russian song, even going almost as far as late-Romantic transfiguration. But this idyll is deceptive. Again and again the apparent harmony is disrupted by biting sarcasm: the spirited main theme of the first movement soon stiffens into a march-like farce, while in the untroubled second movement a shrill motif in the winds tears apart the cheerful mood.

Skrowacziewski amalgamates the contrasting tender sweetness of the violins and the violence of the attacking wind instruments in his precise and sparing interpretation, which is free of sugary expression and forced dynamics. His well-balanced conducting, combined with the wonderfully transparent recorded sound creates an ideal basis for identifying all the details which Shostakovich composed 'between the lines of the staff'.

Recording: March 1961 at Northrop Memorial Auditorium, Minneapolis, USA, by C.R. Fine and Robert Eberenz
Production: Wilma Cozart Fine

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

"The violin had got me completely under its spell; for ten years it was my greatest wish to become a great violin virtuoso …", confessed Finland’s national composer Jean Sibelius in later years. Although he began a career as a violin virtuoso too late, as a composer he profited enormously from his intimate knowledge of the instrument and the possibilities it offered. This is particularly apparent in his Violin Concerto with its wonderful synthesis of virtuosic expression and technical bravura, its classical symphonic form, its outward effects and inner substance. This late-Romantic, brilliantly coloured work is certainly one of the most rewarding for every soloist. A specialist in the field of 19th-century bravura pieces and master of an effortless technique and suppleness, the great American violinist Ruggiero Ricci certainly possessed all the requirements for a brilliant performance of this concerto. And Øivin Fjeldstad is the perfect partner for Ricci in more ways than one in this wonderfully lively recording: thanks to his training as both a conductor and a violinist, he ensures a perfect balance between soloist and orchestra; and as a Norwegian he is, of course, completely au fait with Scandinavian repertoire, and guarantees – both here and in other recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra – a truly nordic touch.

Musicians:

• Ruggiero Ricci (violin)
• London Symphony Orchestra
• Øivin Fjeldstad (conductor)

Recording: February 1958 at Kingsway Hall, London by Cyril Windebank
Production: John Culshaw

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

The biography of Sonny Boy Williamson is something of an enigma, even to ardent blues fans. Indeed, he isn’t even the 'real' Williamson; a shrewd businessman simply gave singer-mouth harpist Aleck 'Rice' Miller the name after the 1948 murder of popular blues artist John Lee Williamson. Still, Miller/Williamson’s remarkable career literally bridged Robert Johnson and Eric Clapton, both his music and life embodying a free-wheeling, hard-living lifestyle that became something of a rock and blues cliché. After considerable local radio success in the Delta, Miller/Williamson ended up at Chicago’s Chess Records in the mid-1950s, where all but one of these tracks originated in the early ‘60s. But by the time Chess originally issued this ill-timed collection (belatedly compiled to cash in on a waning ‘60s folk boom), Williamson was six months dead.

Listen and it’s not hard to hear why a generation or two of blues-smitten rockers held him especially dear, be it the Allman Brothers (the original "One Way Out", with longtime partner Robert Lockwood Jr. supplying the familiar guitar licks) or Led Zeppelin (a lugubrious, boogied-up take of Willie Dixon’s "Bring It On Home"). Punctuated by harp blasts that could turn from sharply staccato to lyrically wrenching, Williamson’s leathery voice muses over his being "Too Young To Die" or "Too Old To Think" with the self-deprecating indifference that became a trademark. Though these tracks are the cream of his last years, they’re more boozy celebration than elegy.

Musicians:

• Sonny Boy Williamson (vocal, harmonica)
• Otis Spann, Lafayette Leake (piano)
• Lafayette Leake, Billy Emerson (organ)
• Robert Jr. Lockwood, Eddie King Milton, Matt Murphy, Luther Tucker (guitar)
• Willie Dixon, Milton Rector (bass)
• Fred Below, Al Duncan, Odie Payne (drums)

Recording: 1957 - 1964 in Chicago
Production: Marshall Chess

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

It might be hard to believe – but this album bubbles and seethes from the very first minute on, even though the piano stool is empty! Tried and tested from their time with John Coltrane, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones drive the trio to the heights of their powers. Sometimes Elvin Jones appears to have four hands and four feet, while Jimmy Garrison treats the bass as though it were an oversize guitar. Right from the start the throbbing beat is forced upon Sonny Rollins’s tenor saxophone. And he takes it up with a vengeance!

"East Broadway Run Down" begins as a blues and continues in a free vein, with free forms and free modes of expression. Rollins even blows just into his mouthpiece detached from the tube and bell before plunging into a frenzied duet with Garrison. Every single of the 1235 seconds on this disc are an important part of jazz history, written on 9 May 1966.

The importance of this recording becomes further evident when one listens to the outstanding sound quality of this LP version of "East Broadway Run Down". Although produced more than 40 years ago, this album is quite rightly treasured by collectors.

Musicians:

• Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone)
• Freddie Hubbard
• Jimmy Garrison (bass)
• Elvin Jones (drums)

Recording: May 1966 at Rudy Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., USA, by Rudy van Gelder
Production: Bob Thiele

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

The Stan Getz LPs “Jazz Samba” for small ensemble and the classic Focus for big band were surprisingly big sellers - so it is no wonder that Verve producer Creed Taylor, himself an arranger and fan of light, airy strings, put the two components together. The young Gary McFarland took melancholy Brazilian themes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto and Luiz Bonfa, wrote four songs himself and combined the lightfootedness of the bossa nova with the cool, toned-down emotions so typical for Stan Getz’s sound in the Sixties.

Verve gathered together the best musicians for the studio recording: Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer and Jim Hall were there to produce a carpet of sound over which Stan Getz could float. At the beginning of the Sixties Stan was, of course, at the very top of his form as far as sound perfection goes. After ‘apprenticeship’ with swing bands in the mid-Forties and ‘further training’ with classical small ensembles in the Fifties, he found his ideal source of the art of improvisation: Brazilian music with its songlike, simple themes, Latin-American rhythms, and melodic intervals. And these brought him acclaim, fame and money.

The original gatefold sleeve with a drawing by Olga Albizu was the object of many a collector’s desire. Now, 40 years later, both LP and cover are available once again in excellent sound and print quality.

Musicians:

• Stan Getz (tenor saxophone)
• Gary McFarland (arranger, conductor)

Recording: August 1962 in New York City by George Kneurr and Frank Laico
Production: Creed Taylor

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

When Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd surprised the Americans with their first samba recording they did not imagine that this was to be their biggest success together. With such titles such as “Desafinado“ and “One Note Samba“, Brazilian pop music stormed the borders. So popular was the music that voices cried for more – and the VERVE producers satisfied the fans with Jazz Samba Encore. The music contained in this album delved somewhat deeper into the heart of Brazilian melodies. Bonfa and Jobim, the composers and famous guitarists, picked up their instruments and both they and their soloists, – Maria Toledo in particular proves herself a maestra of her country‘s music –, proceeded to delight their fans with their seemingly effortless music-making. Although he was not Brazilian and only later became a samba expert, Stan Getz fits amazingly well into this ensemble. His full tenor voice even in the upper regions and his rippling legato are wholly characteristic of his art. A delightful sound and natural rhythm – above all, rhythm! – make this record a “must” for every party.

Musicians:

• Stan Getz (tenor saxophone)
• Luiz Bonfa (guitar)
• Antonio Carlos Jobim (guitar, piano)
• Maria Toldeo (vocal)
• George Duvivier, Don Payne, and Tommy Williams (bass)
• Paulo Ferreira, Dave Bailey, and Jose Carlos (drums)

Recording: February 1963 in New York City by Val Valentin
Production: Creed Taylor

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

A certain measure of scepticism is generally advisable whenever one hears a record being hailed as a “milestone in music history”. But with the present album, Jazz Samba, an exception should – indeed must – be made. This recording by the tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and the guitarist Charlie Byrd with his classical leanings not only rocketed straight to the very top of the American charts but also triggered off the craze for “bossa-nova” jazz. The fascination of this musical style lies primarily in its amalgamation of Latin America’s hot-blooded folk music with the “cool” jazz of the late Fifties.

This album contains a wealth of pieces, each one full of pulsating rhythm, and opens with the smash hit Desafinado which, once heard, is never to be forgotten. But the other numbers too, from the dashing O pato to the melancholy and Spanish “Samba triste”, have long become classics.

The recording engineers have taken care to capture the remarkable brilliance of these hits and it only remains to be said that this disc guarantees the very best sound quality and is an invaluable addition to the repertoire.

Musicians:

• Stan Getz (tenor saxophone)
• Charlie Byrd (guitar)
• Keter Betts (bass)
• Gene Byrd (bass, guitar)
• Buddy Deppenschmidt and Bill Reichenbach (drums)

Recording: February 1962 at the Pierce Hall, All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C. by Ed Green
Production: Creed Taylor

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Stan Getz’s fifth bossa nova LP was not a great sales success in the Sixties. The compositions were not at fault, nor was the somewhat forceful tone of the saxophone. More likely it was because the critics no longer regarded “New Wave” as new, and maybe they (unjustly) missed the melancholia of Astrud Gilberto’s singing on this album.

Yet the voice of Brazilian singer Laurindo Almeida is full of spontaneity and inspiration, it is assured, full of freedom and expressiveness, which is not often found in such an amalgamation of jazz and Brazilian drive.

What is more, Laurindo Almeida composed the musically strongest number on this compilation and added to that he is also a virtuoso classical guitar player. Stan Getz performs highly expressive solos, but remains jazzy and favours long drawn out improvisations. The recordings are all enhanced by the five-man percussion group which lends the numbers their unique character and special drive. This is not an LP to be ignored. It belongs in everyone’s collection, no matter whether in the jazz- or world-music section.

Musicians:

• Stan Getz (tenor saxophone)
• Laurindo Almeida (guitar)
• George Duvivier (bass)
• Jose Soorez (drums, percussion)
• Dave Bailey, Edison Machado (drums)
• Luiz Parga, Jose Paulo (percussion)

Recording: March 1963 at Webster Hall, New York City, by Val Valentin
Production: Creed Taylor

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Schumann rapidly composed his Cello Concerto in only two weeks during an extremely productive creative phase. Its first performance was quite another story. Although the piece was written "first and foremost for this beautiful instrument", so Schumann, no cellist showed any desire to perform the work in concert. Initially the cellist Robert BockmЯhl from Frankfurt had shown interest in the piece, but then declined to play it after Schumann had refused to comply with his wishes for certain changes. This led to the unfortunate fact that Schumann did not live to see the work’s premiere. Things went quite differently with Edouard Lalo, who described himself as a self-taught composer; an excellent cellist himself, Lalo could be sure that his work would be heard in the concert hall.

Both works are connected by the pioneering attempt to establish the cello as a solo instrument in concert life in the 19th century. Right from the fifth bar of the Schumann concerto Janos Starker is able to display his mastership in the expansive main theme. He enjoys to the full the opportunities to explore the instrument’s range of tone and expression, and this he does with clarity and a full tone. In the Lalo too he demonstrates his absolute virtuosity: in the lyrical passages he delights us with a melting cantabile, in the Saltarello finale he demonstrates his perspicacity and fills the triumphant writing with elegance and tonal resonance. Luckily this music has found its way to one of today’s most outstanding cellists.

Recording: July 1962 at Watford Town Hall, United Kingdom, by C. Robert Fine
Production: Wilma Cozart-Fine and Harold Lawrence

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Two names in particular spring to mind in connection with Steely Dan: Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The two men discovered while at college at the end of the Sixties that they shared musical tastes, although they played in different bands. They subsequently formed a songwriter duo before making their breakthrough in 1972 under the name Steely Dan (a name which came from William Burrough’s novel The Naked Lunch) with their debut album Can’t Buy A Thrill. This LP remained for over a year in the Billboard charts, and the single taken from the album, Do It Again, leapt into the Top Ten. This was just the beginning of an extraordinarily successful career which lasted until the temporary disbandment of the group in 1981 (a brand new album entitled Two Against Nature has appeared since then). Every one of their seven studio albums was crowned with a Gold or Platinum Disc.

Can’t Buy A Thrill is not as “polished” as later albums, such as Aja or Gaucho for example, but their inimitable mixture of melodic rock, shot through with soul, jazzy rhythms and ambitious instrumental solos made Fagen and Becker stand out from all the others right from the very start (just compare them with the Eagles or the Doobie Brothers!). Apart from the now “classical” songs such as Dirty Work, Midnight Cruiser, Reelin’ The Years and of course the unforgettable Do It Again, it goes without saying that all the others titles are endowed with all those qualities which make Steely Dan so unique.

Musicians:

• Walter Becker (bass, vocal)
• Donald Fagen, David Palmer (keyboard, vocal)
• Snooky Young (fluegel horn)
• Jerome Richardson (saxophone)
• Jeff Baxter, Elliott Randall (guitar)
• Denny Dias (guitar, sitar)
• Victor Feldman (keyboard, percussion)
• Jim Hodder (drums, percussion, vocal)

Recording: 1972 at The Village Recorder, Los Angeles CA., USA, by Roger Nichols and Tim Weston
Production: Gary Katz

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Ernest Ansermet’s long friendship with Igor Stravinsky enabled him to witness the birth of some of the composer’s most important creations. This proved to be of incalculable worth in his interpretation of the works he premiered for Stravinsksy.

Here Ansermet directs the OSR in a performance of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. It is the composer’s first major ballet, brought him world fame and continues to gain in popularity to this day. The story – which combines the motifs of several Russian fairy tales with a magic Firebird, a vanishing castle, an evil magician, and a hero who saves the maiden – inspired Stravinsky to write some of his most fascinating and mysterious music.

The OSR is fully equal to its fine reputation. Ernest Ansermet’s competence as an interpreter is evident throughout.

Acoustically, this pressing offers advantages over the original. Here the orchestra resonates with a full, natural and mellow sound that blossoms into a veritable garden of tonality extending around and behind the loudspeakers. This new edition of Stravinsky’s The Firebird is a true stereophonic delight.

Musicians:

• Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
• Ernest Ansermet (conductor)

Recording date and venue: May 1955 at Victoria Hall, Geneva by Roy Wallace
Production: James Walker

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Even before Pink Floyd’s thrust their musical message of protest, the mechano-hit The Wall, under the noses of the establishment and the established, the melancholic songs of the group Supertramp had long found their way into the hearts of the young who had been shaken by one crisis after the other.

The LP with its surrealistic, chilling cover and eye-raising title was a success all over the world and even the sternest critics showered it with praise. “Their music just floods the senses; it is as though someone has put on all the good pop records of the 60s and 70s at the same time”, lamented the music magazine SOUNDS helplessly – totally fascinated by their sound.

Crime Of The Century provided plenty of fodder for the hit charts and radio DJs. And even today, the balladesque collage School with its bloodcurdling harmonica introduction, the pearl-like Rhodes piano chords in the rocking Bloody well right, and the childlike, mocking Dreamer are the epitome of the pop cult of the Seventies. The recording quality of this disc is excellent, and what is more – it has been judged the very best album that the English quintet ever produced. Celebrate the record’s 25th birthday with a fantastic vinyl re-release fresh from the press.

Recording: February - June 1974 at Trident, Ramport Studios and Scorpio Sound, London by Ken Scott and John Jansen
Production: Ken Scott and Supertramp

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

EMI made the recording in both stereo and quadraphonic, an early attempt at surround sound for the now defunct SQ vinyl format. HiQ has used the superior balance of the stereo master tapes.

"If anyone still has a lingering suspicion that a former Hollywood film composer and jazz pianist might compromise on musical standards, let him hear this... with superb recording which allows for inner clarity in a rich texture, with fine discipline and sharp rhythmic pointing (sforzandos meticulously observed), the musical qualities are reinforced... this is a record to satisfy the most discriminating..." - Edward Greenfield, Gramophone, July 1973.

Features:
180g Audiophile Vinyl
Cut from original stereo EMI Master Tapes at EMI's Abbey Road Studios
Original album artwork

Musicians: London Symphony Orchestra Andre Previn

This title is not eligible for discount.

Track Listing:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
1. 1812 Overture, Op. 49
2. March Slave, Op. 31
3. Romeo & Juliet - Fantasy Overture

Although he has lived in the USA since 1929 and even took on American citizenship in 1942, Nathan Milstein is often referred to as perhaps the last “Russian” among all Russian violinists due to his art of playing – which is governed wholly by intellect. This does not mean that Milstein plays in an academic or cool manner; his art is thoughtful and controlled – in the very best sense of the meaning. And this should certainly not be equated with “deliberateness”. On the contrary. Milstein’s tremendous virtuosity, particularly in the fiendishly difficult final movements of Tchaikovsky’s and Mendelssohn’s concertos, takes both works to new heights. Although never a forceful presence since he employs relatively little vibrato and thus achieves a slender tone, Milstein’s playing is filled with amazing assertion and luminance, and is quite fascinating for its extraordinary purity. And this is precisely what enhances his interpretation of these two great classical concertos, lending them a legendary grace, a feeling of rightness – that there is no other way. The Vienna Philharmonic with their great tradition provide support of the first order, and Claudio Abbado proves once again that he is a more than circumspect master of the baton.

This record was part of the 3-LP Set “The Conductors“ and is now available again.

Musicians:

• Nathan Milstein (violin)
• Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Claudio Abbado (conductor)

Recording: September 1972 and March 1973 at Musikvereinssaal, Vienna by Günter Hermanns
Production: Rainer Brock

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Allegro Moderato
Canzonetta Andante
Finale Allegro Vivacissimo

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Minor, Op. 64

Allegro molto Apassionato
Andante
Allegretto non troppo - allegro molto vivace

When the evenings grow longer, the autumn leaves begin to fall and Jack Frost calls during the night, then it is time to conjure up the magic world of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker while relaxing in front of a crackling fire.

In this double album you will hear the delightfully varied ballet music in its entirety and not just the usual highlights. Each and every one of the highly individual numbers, be it a dance, a march or a waltz, is enchanting with its ever varying orchestral colouring, here merry and impudent and tripping along lightly without a care in the world, there sturdy and vigourous, even coarse.

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, led by its conductor of many years standing, Ernest Ansermet, is very much at home in Russian repertoire and masters the occasional immense difficulties of the score with bravado. The DECCA team has once again proved its worth and leaves any nuts which still need to be cracked to the hi-fi equipment – the airy strings, the delicate triangles, the thrill of cymbals clashing, and the wooden clack of the castanets. And if, by an amazing coincidence, the heating should fail when you are listening to this record, there is no reason to worry – this music is guaranteed to warm the cockels of your heart and keep Jack Frost from the door.

Musicians:

• Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
• Ernest Ansermet (conductor)

Recording: October / November 1958 at Victoria Hall, Geneva by Roy Wallace
Production: James Walker

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Made during the pioneering days of stereo technology when everyone was vying for a piece of the cake, it is hard to believe that this absolutely top-notch recording of Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique“ has never been brought to the ears of music lovers until today. And it is even more unbelievable since it was made by a first-class orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Ferenc Fricsay. The reasons for the non-release are a matter of speculation because those responsible have kept them under their hat.

Not even the man behind the microphone, Werner Wolf, can recall making this recording – although a yellowed recording protocol discloses carefully noted details about the recording venue and date. No wonder that the tapes never got made into records. It is not with a little pride and much joyful anticipation that the announcement can be made: the record is spinning on the turntable at last!

And at long last a gap in Fricsay’s repertoire can be closed. Specially recommended: listen to the wonderful clarity of the upper strings which is preserved even in the softest passages.

This record was part of the 3-LP Set “The Conductors“ and is now available again.

Musicians:

• Radio-Symphony-Orchestra Berlin
• Ferenc Fricsay (conductor)

Recording: 17-19 and 22 September 1959 at Jesus-Christus Kirche, Berlin, by Günter
Hermanns and Werner Wolf / Production: Otto Gerdes

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Here is a true delight for all ballet fans and music-lovers. This recording of what is probably Tchaikovsky’s most popular ballet, Swan Lake, by Ernest Ansermet and his orchestra in a masterly performance is now available as a new pressing in vinyl. The Russian composer’s first ballet is offered here on a double LP and although not a complete recording, this compilation (with a minimum of cuts) certainly comprises the most beautiful and expressive scenes, losing nothing in the process.

“Ballet specialist“ Ansermet and his wonderfully balanced Orchestre de la Suisse Romande offer here a recording which you’ll want to hear again and again for it captures both the tragic moments of the fairy tale and the festive dance scenes. The precise winds in, for example No. 4, provide a marked contrast to the lively and exciting tutti (No. 5), while the gentle woodwinds blend charmingly with the dreamlike cantilena of the strings (No. 11). The various characteristics of the festive national dances (Polkas, Mazurkas, Hungarian Dance etc.) are performed with temperament, verve and rhythm, but it is the waltzes with their sweet dreaminess which invite the listener most of all to put on their dancing shoes and join in the dance.

Musicians:

• Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
• Ernest Ansermet (conductor)

Recording: October/November 1958 at Victoria Hall, Geneva by Roy Wallace
Production: James Walker

Format: 2LPs 33rpm / gatefold sleeve, booklet

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Recordings of Tchaikovsky’s late symphonies with the Leningrad Philharmonic under Mravinskij were a legend even in the days of mono recording technique. It comes as no surprise therefore to learn that Tchaikovsky fans were overjoyed when these three great symphonies were released at last on the Yellow Label in top hi-fi quality at the beginning of the Sixties. Masterful performances, as thrilling as live recordings, now became available – recordings which were far superior to all others on the market. Even when the purported ‘miracle’ of digital recording technique began to take over and industrial record production had become a matter of course, Mravinsky’s recordings were still available in a 2CD set. There are reasons enough to re-release the Fifth Symphony as an individual LP, without going into lengthy discussions about which of Tchaikovsky’s late symphonies is the most important. Those who treasure a mono version or a Mravinsky recording from an unknown source in their collection are now given the opportunity to compare their version with the present re-release. All others can congratulate themselves on possessing a milestone recording, a true work of reference, for no other Mravinskij sounds better than this one.

Musicians:

• The Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra
• Jewgenij Mrawinskij (conductor)

Recording: November 1960 at Musikverein Großer Saal, Vienna, by Harald Baudis
Production: Karl-Heinz Schneider

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

With his film "The Graduate", which was crowned with an Oscar and five Golden Globes, director Mike Nichols created far more than just the story of the erotic initiation of the college graduate Benjamin. Not only the scenario but also the production modalities were revolutionary. For the very first time the crusted morals of the American upper class were attacked by means of film, an Alfa Romeo – a European car - was advertised most effectively, and a soundtrack was put together from already existent, successful pop numbers. No words are really necessary about the music, since numbers such as "Sound Of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson" and "Scarborough Fair" have entered into the annals of musical culture ever since they were used in the film. It is astounding to note how seamlessly the various works fit snugly into the film’s context, as though they had been specially written for the scenes.

This soundtrack is a monument to Dustin Hoffman, who played his first big role in the film, and it catapulted Simon & Garfunkel right to the top of the list of ballad singers. But it also recalls to memory the peppy, instrumental insertion numbers by Dave Grusin, who virtually fell into oblivion after all the hype about this provocative movie.

Musicians:

• Paul Simon (guitar, vocal)
• Art Garfunkel (vocal)
• Dave Grusin

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Anyone who gives the dull name “Four” to their rock album must either be very sure of success or already have resigned. The group Toto may well have experienced such extremes as there was an enormous cleft between their amazing financial success and the crushing negative opinions voiced by the critics. Billboard criticised the superficial lyrics as being void of any sort of emotional weight while the Los Angeles Times aimed their fire at the musicians themselves, slamming them as dubious artists with a commercialised mentality.

To this Toto struck back with their fourth album, which was an unparalleled success and brought them six Grammy awards. For a whole ten months "Africa" reigned at Number 1 on the charts and together with the super-hit "Rosanna" the two smash hits were a constant presence, backed up by a collection of impressive rock classics. A trip to the record shop is all that is needed to prove that this is unlikely to change in the near future. The bright red cover with its depiction of a sword will catch your eye, as though saying: It’s got to be the Fourth!

Musicians:

• Steve Porcaro, David Paich (keyboard, vocal)
• Steve Lukather (guitar, vocal)
• Bobby Kimball (vocal)
• David Hungate (bass)
• Jeff Porcaro (drums, percussion)

Recording: 1982 at Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, by David Leonard, Peggy McCreary & Terry Christian and Record One, Los Angeles, by Jamie Ledner, Niko Bolas & Lon LeMaster
Production: Toto

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Sales figures of the first two LPs for World Pacific Records were minimal at the time when Wes Montgomery’s first band was a purely family affair called “The Montgomery Brothers”. From California, Wes travelled eastwards, and the Riverside label produced his first jazz recordings. But it was with the label Verve and Creed Taylor, who had risen to the position of producer, with whom he made his true success story.

Let’s talk money! Creed Taylor left Verve and took several musicians with him, including Montgomery. The CTI-Concept with strings, flutes and oboes led to ‘easy-listening jazz’ - but in Wes Montgomery’s case it was sheer delight. Film themes, bossa nova and themes from the world of pop created a mixture that forced one to concentrate on the fine nuances and rhythmic detail of this new concept. Flights of double octaves, finely chiselled rhythms, blockchords, and a highly individual sound which has yet to be equalled are especially effective in well-known pop songs such as “I Say A Little Prayer” (just try this number to whet your appetite!) and in the blues composition “Goin’ On To Detroit”.

Pecunia non olet! Let’s hope that Wes Montgomery, maestro of the strong thumb (so called because he played without the use of a plectrum), was able to thoroughly enjoy spending his advance payment for his last official release before his untimely death after a heart attack in his home town of Indianapolis on 15 June1968 at the age of only 43.

Musicians:

• Wes Montgomery (guitar)
• Herbie Hancock (piano)
• Ron Carter (bass)
• Grady Tate (drums)
• Bobby Rosengarden, Ray Barretto (percussion)
• Mike Mainieri (vibraphone)
• and strings

Recording: December 1967 and January 1968 at Van Gelder’s Recording Studio, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., by Rudy Van Gelder
Production: Creed Taylor

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

An American jazz critic once said that Wes Montgomery was the “best thing that could happen to a guitar”. Grand words, one might say, quickly racking one’s brains to come up with other great names. But after only a few minutes of listening to this live recording made in 1965 at the Half Note in New York, you will forget your brain-storming and concentrate on the unfussed performance of this brilliant guitarist and the superb Wynton Kelly Trio.

The very first number of this album, which despite its tongue-in-cheek title No Blues is full of the spirit of black jazz, makes plain Montgomery’s unique talents. Highly polished arching melodies, sharply dissonant chordal runs and free improvisation displaying brilliant technique are the characteristics of this wizard of the “semi-acoustic” guitar. The quartet’s thrilling mixture of Blues, Latin and Soul is as fresh, modern and compelling as it was 30 years ago. This is music which gets down to the nitty-gritty, is always cool and straight with no fuss or frills getting in the way: the message comes over clearly – and it makes the blood surge through one’s veins! The almost tangible atmosphere of the recording venue and the pure sound quality further enhance this collector’s item and guarantee a jazz happening of the very highest order.

Musicians:

• Wes Montgomery (guitar)
• Wynton Kelly (piano)
• Paul Chambers (bass)
• Jimmy Cobb (drums)

Recording: June 1965 at the Half Note, New York City by Rudy Van Gelder
Production: Creed Taylor

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

The legendary Buzzcocks from Manchester released this seminal album in 1979 and it remains one of the most important and best records of the punk era. Pete Shelley's romantic ''Ever Fallen In Love?'' maintains its status as one of the great pop hits with his wail of a voice, a great melody, and a wall of blazing guitars.

Track Listing:
1. Orgasm Addict
2. What Do I Get?
3. I Don't Mind
4. Love You More
5. Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)?
6. Promises
7. Everybody's Happy Nowadays
8. Harmony In My Head
9. Whatever Happened To...?
10. Oh Shit
11. Autonomy
12. Noise Annoys
13. Just Lust
14. Lipstick
15. Why Can't I Touch It?
16. Something's Gone Wrong Again

This title is not eligible for discount.

Track Listing:
1. Cool Struttin'
2. Blue Minor
3. Sippin' At Bells
4. Deep Night

The mid-fifties was an astonishing period for the saxophone genius and of all of his great work in this era, A Night At The Village Vanguard and Saxophone Colossus remain his crowning achievements. With just bass (Wilbur Ware) and drums (Elvin Jones) in support here, Rollins creates tenor saxophone improvisations of incredible beauty and inexhaustible creativity. A Night At The Village Vanguard features an extremely gifted threesome, with each musician seeming to invent new ways to swing, without a note or a musical opportunity wasted. Now available on Limited Edition 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. Old Devil Moon
2. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
3. Striver's Row
4. Sunnymoon for Two
5. A Night in Tunisia
6. I Can't Get Started

Trumpeter/composer Kenny Dorham's Jazz Prophets with legendary tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose lasted less than a year, making this Blue Note live session all the more important. The group was also Bobby Timmons's launch into the jazz major league. On this occasion, producer Alfred Lion added Kenny Burrell to the group as guest artist; Burrell had recently arrived in New York and signed with Blue Note. Recorded live at the Cafe Bohemia in New York City on May 31, 1956. Now on the fine Limited Edition 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. K.D.'s Blues (Alternate Take)
2. Autumn In New York (Alternate Take)
3. Monaco (Alternate Take)
4. N.Y. Theme
5. K.D.'s Blues
6. Hill's Edge
7. A Night In Tunisia
8. Who Cares? (Alternate Take)
9. Royal Roost
10. Mexico City
11. 'Round About Midnight
12. Monaco
13. Who Cares?
14. My Heart Stood Still
15. Riffin'
16. Mexico City (Alternate Take)
17. The Prophet

1956's Jutta Hipp With Zoot Sims finds the German jazz pianist partnered with tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims on a six-track recording by a quintet lineup fleshed out by trumpeter Jerry Lloyd, bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik and drummer Ed Thigpen, playing some fine piano-driven hard bop on Down Home and Violets For Your Furs. Now available on the smooth sounding Limited Edition 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. Just Blues
2. Violets For Your Furs
3. Down Home
4. Almost Like Being In Love
5. Wee Dot
6. Too Close For Comfort

Who better than the perennially hip Jackie McLean to title an album Swing Swang Swingin? That's exactly what you get with this bopping set of standards for Blue Note from 1959. McLean's soulful alto wail is primed on this session which also features classic performances from Walter Bishop Jr., Jimmy Garrison and stalwart Art Taylor. From the deep swing of What's New to the bouncing mambo/swing take of Cole Porter's I Love You, this is the very definition of great jazz in the classic tradition. Available here on Limited Edition 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. What's New
2. Let's Face The Music And Dance
3. Stablemates
4. I Remember You
5. I Love You
6. I'll Take Romance
7. 116th And Lenox

During his stint with Miles Davis, Mobley's four Blue Note sessions with bandmates Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers are considered his finest and most lyrical work. Grant Green and Philly Joe Jones complete the line up on this gem. Mobley's sound falls halfway between the big, heavy sound of Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane and the lighter, airier tones of Stan Getz and Zoot Sims. On this approachable 1961 effort, Mobley is at his most voluble, blending blues and bop into graceful and lucid lines. Jones is particularly perky on drums, Kelly his usual funky and quick-witted self on piano and guitarist Green the perfect complement to Mobley. Two delightful mid-tempo standards The Best Things in Life Are Free and Three Coins in the Fountain add to the joyful mood. Now here on Limited Edition 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. Workout
2. Uh Huh
3. Smokin'
4. The Best Things In Life Are Free
5. Greasin' Easy
6. Three Coins In The Fountain

The vast majority of the trumpet kings of jazz never strayed from their original instrument and with good reason and results. But as history tells us, experimentation is inevitable. A few found their voice with the mellower flugelhorn (such as Art Farmer, Clark Terry, Thad Jones) or the smaller cornet (including Bix Beiderbecke, King Oliver, Rex Stewart). On too rare of occasion, the pocket trumpet, measuring only nine inches in length, was taken up by the likes of Don Cherry, Ted Curson and for this 1959 Donald Byrd release entitled Fuego. Personally writing all six of the original compositions for this album, Byrd then gathered a tight band of New York monsters, most notably Jackie McLean whose alto brought balance to the unique high timbre of Byrds minute horn. The great Duke Pearsons piano fills in admirably as does the highly underrated bass playing of Doug Watkins. Lex Humphries holds it altogether with his impeccable timekeeping. Here on Limited Edtion 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. Fuego
2. Bup A Loup
3. Funky Mama
4. Low Life
5. Lament
6. Amen

Duke Jordan established his credentials as a pianist during 1947-48 when he was Charlie Parkers pianist. His composing skills did not emerge until the arrival of hard bop in the mid fifties. His 1960 release Flight To Jordan was his first full album as a leader and features the distinctive front line of Stanley Turrentine and Dizzy Reece. Added to the albums six great Jordan compositions are another original and a trio version of I Should Care.

Track Listing:
1. Flight To Jordan
2. Star Bright
3. Squawkin'
4. Deacon Joe
5. Split Quick
6. Si-Joya
7. Diamond Stud
8. I Should Care

This title is not eligible for discount.

Track Listing:
1. Good Ole Soul
2. Up Tight's Creek
3. Theme For Doris
4. True Blue
5. Miss Hazel
6. Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You
7. True Blue (Alternate Take)
8. Good Ole Soul

A consummate pianist/composer, Kenny Drew made his first LP as a leader for Blue Note in 1953. In the ensuing years, he contributed to many great sessions including the John Coltrane classic Blue Train. This 1960 quintet date with the cream of Blue Note's stable at the time; Freddie Hubbard, Hank Mobley, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes, represents some of his finest work as a pianist and as a writer. Here on this fine Limited Edition 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. Undercurrent
2. Funk-Cosity
3. Lion's Den
4. The Pot's On
5. Groovin' The Blues
6. Ballade

Johnny Griffin is one of the fastest, sharpest tenor saxophonists to emerge in the fertile 1950s. His third and final Blue Note recording is one of a handful that sported a cover illustration by the then struggling artist Andy Warhol. The quartet date with Sonny Clark and Paul Chambers is a relaxed, mature affair that ranges from the gospel-flavored title tune to a beautiful I'm Glad There Is You and an up-tempo It's You or No One. Added to the original album is I Remember You, a bonus track from the session. Better than ever on this Limited Edition 180g Japanese Import LP!

Track Listing:
1. The Congregation
2. Latin Quarter
3. I'm Glad There Is You
4. Main Spring
5. It's You Or No One
6. I Remember You

Looking for something 'different?' Then EXPERIENCE the 23-minute title track, which has reedman, Sonny Fortune, playing flute, bassist, Calvin Hill, playing reeds, and drummer Alphonse Mouzon employing a variety of percussion effects. If all this isn't enough, on 'Valley of Life,' Tyner picks up a kyoto and produces a gentle, hypnotic impressionistic sketch, aided again by Fortune on flute. On Sahara, the musicians weren't afraid to wail spontaneously, yet Tyner maintains a clear focus on the effort and in doing so expanded the very definition of jazz itself. Mission accomplished.

Personnel: McCoy Tyner (piano, koto, flute, percussion); Sonny Fortune (soprano & alto saxophones, flute); Alphonse Mouzon (trumpet, reeds, drums, percussion); Calvin Hill (reeds, bass, percussion). Recorded at Decca Recording Studios, New York, New York in January 1972.

The albums spare, hyper-realistic approach stood as a proud contrast (and still does) to the overly polished, studio-slick blues, pop, and rock efforts mainlined out of high-tech studios. Recorded in just seven hours with an ambisonic microphone, Whites Off Earth Now!! is one of the most acoustically resplendent and dynamically rich records ever cut. The Canadian bands intentional attempt to reclaim purity has made WOEN a cult classic and audiophile favorite.

Comprised of three siblings and a bassist friend, Cowboy Junkies stuck to songs that they had been playing live since 1985 when it came time to solidify their existence with an actual album. They favored potent standards such as Robert Johnsons Me and the Devil Blues and Crossroads, John Lee Hookers Decoration Day and Forgive Me, Bruce Springsteens State Trooper, and Big Joe Williams Baby Please Dont Go. In the Junkies hands, these tunes take on newfound ethereal power and riveting danger. Sung in a hushed lullaby voice by singer Margo Timmins, lyrical meanings change and emotional chills increase. Subtle illusions of calmness hold steady, but droning guitars and short bursts of bruised feedback generate a tension that drives these songs into our subconscious.

Disgusted with what they rightly perceived as the contrived, overly processed sound of 80s recordings, the group agreed to let producer/engineer Peter Moore experiment with an unconventional recording technique. The decision proved a stroke of genius. Set up in an uncomfortably hot garage padded with carpets and materials to dampen echoes, the foursome gathered around a single Caltrec Ambisonic Microphonethe quartet recorded direct-to-two-track. The results are magical, the natural and unimpeded sound that audiophiles dream about.

Mastered from the original tapes by Mobile Fidelity, this numbered limited-edition 180-gram LP captures every last finite detail and note. Microdynamics and sonic cues abound. The sticking together of Timmins lips from the heat and sweat right before she begins to sing on both Johnson tunes; the sound of drummer Pete Timmins putting his sticks down at the end of Ill Never Get Out of These Blues Alive; myriad creaks, shuffles, and vibrations. What was a stunning headphone record is now an unreal stereo experience. This is what in-the-room presence is all about; albums dont get more realistic-sounding. The sense of space is staggering.

Track Listing:
1. Shining Moon
2. State Trooper
3. Me And The Devil
4. Decoration Day
5. Baby Please Don't Go
6. I'll Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive
7. Take Me
8. Forgive Me
9. Crossroads

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

I have my two new Blue Note LPs here and as I sit writing this I am listening to the Dexter Gordon, WOW!sitting here listening to this wonderful music, just clean, no background noise, a black background, like the studio that they recorded this in, it is wonderful. The instruments coming out of the sound stage positioned as they were recorded, this is a real treat. Miller Steel, Acoustic Sounds customer

...these first five Acoustic Sounds Blue Note re-issues are pure bop genius...The best news is that Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman were keen enough to do nothing more than gently clean up the masters, bringing us even closer to the hard bop edge. The 45 rpm pressings that I received were all super quiet with every last drop of resolution from the master tapes. I had almost forgotten just how good Paul Chambers and Phil Joe were together as the backbone of these groups. I've always loved this music but I didn't remember it sounding this good! Hank Mobley offers us some brilliant sax bits on one of Kenny Dorham's finest recordings, Whistle Stop and Dexter Gordon's performance blew me away as well. The biggest surprise were the Lee Morgan records. I suggest turning these up loud, since they possess unlimited energy and some hooks that will knock you out. Amazing! Just a small warning: Once you start playing these Blue Note recordings you will be hooked. The good news is that Acoustic Sounds is working on at least 20 more of these jazz gems. So make sure your turntable has a setting for 45 rpm, clean your stylus occassionally, and get ready to be transported to nirvana. - Dan Babineau, Tone Audio, No. 14 2008, www.tonepublications.com

I have just listened, in succession, to my mono and early stereo versions of each LP. I have purchased other similar reissues over the years, but find the engineering and pressing of this 45rpm/180 series to be superior to all to others. This is particularly since I find many new releases to be of inferior quality or handling during manufacture, despite being re-engineered and of heavier vinyl. Barry Paulson, Acoustic Sounds customer

Dexter Gordon connects immediately with the sublime rhythm section of Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones on this, his second Blue Note album. The material ranges from Drew originals to pieces from Gordon's score for the Los Angeles production of The Connection to stunning performances of the standards The End Of A Love Affair and Smile.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Soul Sister
Modal Mood
I Want More
The End of a Love Affair
Clear the Dex
Ernie's Tune
Smile
Landslide

How do these new deluxe re-issues stack up to the alternatives? Not surprisingly, the big difference comes from the 45-RPM cutting. The faster cutting speed creates greater dynamic range and the sense of more air around the instruments, which stand out in better relief and give that you-are-there feel. The tradeoff requires you to flip the record twice as often, a small price to pay for this level of enhanced realism. These new issues maintain that timbral accuracy and at the same time bring out the piano sound like never before, for the first time Blue Note re-issues sound right. Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi+, Issue 57

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their hands. Back home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent me. I hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

...these first five Acoustic Sounds Blue Note re-issues are pure bop genius...The best news is that Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman were keen enough to do nothing more than gently clean up the masters, bringing us even closer to the hard bop edge. The 45 rpm pressings that I received were all super quiet with every last drop of resolution from the master tapes. I had almost forgotten just how good Paul Chambers and Phil Joe were together as the backbone of these groups. I've always loved this music but I didn't remember it sounding this good! Hank Mobley offers us some brilliant sax bits on one of Kenny Dorham's finest recordings, Whistle Stop and Dexter Gordon's performance blew me away as well. The biggest surprise were the Lee Morgan records. I suggest turning these up loud, since they possess unlimited energy and some hooks that will knock you out. Amazing! Just a small warning: Once you start playing these Blue Note recordings you will be hooked. The good news is that Acoustic Sounds is working on at least 20 more of these jazz gems. So make sure your turntable has a setting for 45 rpm, clean your stylus occassionally, and get ready to be transported to nirvana. - Dan Babineau, Tone Audio, No. 14 2008, www.tonepublications.com

This album is unique within Lee Morgan's vast and rich Blue Note discography. With then current employer Art Blakey, band mate Bobby Timmons on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, the trumpeter abandons time constraints and stretches out on four, soulful, hard-bop compositions (the first and the last are by Cal Massey). These hard bop masters are constantly inspired by Blakey's explosive grooves.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
These Are Soulful Days
The Lion and the Wolf
Midtown Blues
Nakatini Suite

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their hands. Back home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent me. I hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

...these first five Acoustic Sounds Blue Note re-issues are pure bop genius...The best news is that Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman were keen enough to do nothing more than gently clean up the masters, bringing us even closer to the hard bop edge. The 45 rpm pressings that I received were all super quiet with every last drop of resolution from the master tapes. I had almost forgotten just how good Paul Chambers and Phil Joe were together as the backbone of these groups. I've always loved this music but I didn't remember it sounding this good! Hank Mobley offers us some brilliant sax bits on one of Kenny Dorham's finest recordings, Whistle Stop and Dexter Gordon's performance blew me away as well. The biggest surprise were the Lee Morgan records. I suggest turning these up loud, since they possess unlimited energy and some hooks that will knock you out. Amazing! Just a small warning: Once you start playing these Blue Note recordings you will be hooked. The good news is that Acoustic Sounds is working on at least 20 more of these jazz gems. So make sure your turntable has a setting for 45 rpm, clean your stylus occassionally, and get ready to be transported to nirvana. - Dan Babineau, Tone Audio, No. 14 2008, www.tonepublications.com

Rightfully considered one of Kenny Dorham's best, this album features great originals and great trumpet playing. The superb cast consists of Hank Mobley, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. The title tune and Philly Twist are often heard, but the entire album represents a great composing achievement for KD.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
'Philly' Twist
Buffalo
Sunset
Whistle Stop
Sunrise In Mexico
Windmill
Dorham's Epitaph

"As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their hands. Back home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent me. I hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

A dedicated disciple of Charlie Parker, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson focused his energies on the bluesier aspects of his hero's playing and rendered it with a sweeter edge that fashioned him a viable career for decades. His work for Blue Note showed his impressive mastery of the bop style.

This title is not eligible for discount.

Track Listing:
Here 'Tis
Watusi Jump
Walk With Me
A Foggy Day
Cool Blues

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

Two weeks after Ike Quebec recorded his comeback album Heavy Soul for Blue Note, he was back at the Van Gelder Studio with the same band (Freddie Roach, Milt Hinton and Al Harewood), making a second album. The confidence paid off because It Might As Well Be Spring is every bit the classic the first album proved to be. Quebec's big-toned, vulnerable tenor playing is a thing to behold, as his heart-stopping version of the title tune, Lover Man and Willow Weep For Me attest. Easy Don't Hurt is one of his blues masterpieces.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
It Might as Well Be Spring
A Light Reprieve
Easy - Don't Hurt
Lover Man
Ol' Man River
Willow Weep for Me

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

Tokyo Blues, a quintessential mid-'60s Blue Note session, is Horace Silver's tribute to the Japanese people who have long supported his funky, Latin-flavored modern jazz. American jazz has always been wildly popular in Japan, and this album is Silver's homage to the many fans that he has encountered on various triumphant tours of the island nation. While Silver's trademark funky Latin/swing is at the forefront, the inspiration of eastern delights is clearly evident in all aspects of this grooving date.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Too Much Shake
Sayonara Blues
The Tokyo Blues
Cherry Blossom
Ah! So

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

John Patton, Grant Green and Ben Dixon were introduced to Blue Note by Lou Donaldson and quickly became the quintessential rhythm section for Blue Note's funkier session. They came together for this, John Patton's first album, with two of the label's tenor saxophonists Fred Jackson and Harold Vick. The double tenors and organ trio make an unbeatable combination for some soulful, swinging music. The title tune and The Silver Meter were radio hits that remain among the most popular of Patton's recorded performances.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
The Silver Meter
I'll Never Be Free
Spiffy Diffy
Along Came John
Gee Gee
Pig Foots

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

Lou Donaldson's undisputed masterpiece, Blues Walk, marks the point where the altoist began to decisively modify his heavy Charlie Parker influence and add a smoky, bluesy flavor of his own. The material is still firmly in the bebop style, and the mellower moments aren't as sleepy as some of Donaldson's subsequent work, so the album sounds vital and distinctive even as it slows down and loosens things up. What elevates Blues Walk to classic status is its inviting warmth. Donaldson's sweetly singing horn is melodic throughout the six selections, making even his most advanced ideas sound utterly good-natured and accessible. The easy-swinging title cut is arguably Donaldson's signature tune even above his late-'60s soul-jazz hits, and his other two originals, Play Ray and Callin' All Cats, are in largely the same vein.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Blues Walk Move
The Masquerade Is Over
Play Ray
Autumn Nocturne
Callin' All Cats

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

Paul Chambers' first album features an amazing lineup of John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Horace Silver and Philly Joe Jones. A classic Blue Note session of what might be considered cerebral jazz.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Omicron
Whims Of Chambers
Nita
We Six
Dear Ann
Tale Of The Fingers
Just For The Love

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

J.J. Johnson shared the front line with his tenor master for an exceptional session that features a unique reworking of Poor Butterfly and a great original Why Don't I. Horace Silver is the pianist, but Thelonious Monk replaces him on Reflections and both pianists alternate throughout a stunning version of Misterioso.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Why Don't I
Wail March
Misterioso
Reflections
You Stepped Out of a Dream
Poor Butterfly

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

Hank Mobley was a perfect artist for Blue Note in the 1960s. On this LP, which is a straight reissue of the 1965 session, Mobley is joined by trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Billy Higgins (a typically remarkable Blue Note lineup) for the infectious title cut, three other lesser-known but superior originals, plus Wayne Shorter's Venus Di Mildew.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
A Caddy For Daddy
The Morning After
Venus Di Mildew
Ace Deuce Trey
3rd Time Around

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

...these first five Acoustic Sounds Blue Note re-issues are pure bop genius...The best news is that Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman were keen enough to do nothing more than gently clean up the masters, bringing us even closer to the hard bop edge. The 45 rpm pressings that I received were all super quiet with every last drop of resolution from the master tapes. I had almost forgotten just how good Paul Chambers and Phil Joe were together as the backbone of these groups. I've always loved this music but I didn't remember it sounding this good! Hank Mobley offers us some brilliant sax bits on one of Kenny Dorham's finest recordings, Whistle Stop and Dexter Gordon's performance blew me away as well. The biggest surprise were the Lee Morgan records. I suggest turning these up loud, since they possess unlimited energy and some hooks that will knock you out. Amazing! Just a small warning: Once you start playing these Blue Note recordings you will be hooked. The good news is that Acoustic Sounds is working on at least 20 more of these jazz gems. So make sure your turntable has a setting for 45 rpm, clean your stylus occassionally, and get ready to be transported to nirvana. - Dan Babineau, Tone Audio, No. 14 2008, www.tonepublications.com

In terms of composition, leadership and playing, this is probably Jackie McLean's greatest album, culled from two different sessions, separated by 20 months. A sextet session with Tina Brooks and Blue Mitchell.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Quadrangle
Blues Inn
Fidel
Appointment in Ghana
A Ballad for Doll
Isle of Java
Street Singer
Melonae's Dance
Medina [*]

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

The Three Sounds were part of the trio explosion. Begun in 1956 in Benton Harbor, Michigan as the Four Sounds and consisting of Gene Harris on piano, Andrew Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy on drums (the saxophonist was dropped by the time the group moved to Washington, D.C. in 1957), the Sounds eventually migrated to New York City where they were discovered by Lou Donaldson. After a single record for Riverside with Nat Adderley, the Three Sounds signed an exclusive contract with Alfred Lion on Blue Note Records. Over the course of five years, the Sounds released nine LPs and appeared on albums by Lou Donaldson and Stanley Turrentine.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Besame Mucho
Angel Eyes
Time After Time
Love Walked In
I Could Write a Book
Jinne Lou
Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You
Falling in Love With Love

...As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their hands. Back home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent me. I hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. --Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

Green Street, recorded on April 1, 1961, was Grant Green's second Blue Note album as a leader and remains one of the finest albums of his prolific Blue Note output. Supported by just Ben Tucker's bass and Dave Bailey's drums, the guitarist seems inspired by the absence of any other chordal instrument. His harmonic and interpretive imagination is in high gear on this unique masterpiece in his discography.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
No. 1 Green Street
'Round About Midnight
Grant's Dimensions
Green With Envy
Alone Together

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

This program of sultry, minor key music with a Brazilian tinge seems inspired by Ike Quebec, who was suffering from advanced cancer that would claim his life three months later. But here is big-toned, impassioned tenor is in tact. Quebec's take on the bossa nova craze that explored that year (1962) is more muscular than Stan Getz's and doesn't rely on the familiar Jobim and Gilberto songs of the day. He and Kenny Burrell solo on the sly, subtle rhythms of Wendell Marshall, Willie Bobo and Garvin Masseaux.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Loie
Lloro Tu Despedida
Goin' Home
Me 'N You
Liebestraum
Shu Shu
Blue Samba
Favela
Linda Flor

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their handsBack home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent meI hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

Page One introduced the jazz world to the unusually mature and original young tenor saxophonist, Joe Henderson. Recorda Me and Blue Bossa have become jazz classics for their mix of Brazilian rhythms with Hard Bop muscle.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Blue Bossa
La Mesha
Homestretch
Recorda Me
Jinrikisha
Out of the Night

As much as I'd love to relay all kinds of anecdotes about the challenges Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray encounter during the mastering sessions, I witness none. These boys know the sound of the facility and the Van Gelder masters like the backs of their hands. Back home a month later, I unpack some test pressings Chad Kassem has sent me. I hear the most realistic-sounding drums ever reproduced by my system. It's as though I'm sitting at the point of creation, experiencing the same high that brought such gifted musicians together as one. Steve Hoffman, Kevin Gray, Chad Kassem, and Don MacInnis have done Rudy Van Gelder and his Blue Note artists proud. Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile, April 2008

In Hootin' 'N Tootin', the listener is afforded the opportunity of hearing numbers of a famous orchestra noted for its smart arrangements along the rhythm and blues influence. The moods expressed are in the down home and down to Earth groove. Under the leadership of Fred Jackson, tenor sax, the listener is propelled into the world of the new truth.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
1. Dippin' in the Bag
2. Southern Exposure
3. Preach Brother
4. Hootin' 'N Tootin'
5. Easin' on Down
6. That's Where It's At
7. Way Down Home

In Search of the Lost Chord is the album on which the Moody Blues discovered drugs and mysticism as a basis for songwriting and came up with a compelling psychedelic creation, filled with songs about Timothy Leary and the astral plane and other psychedelic-era concerns. They dumped the orchestra this time out in favor of Mike Pinder's Mellotron, which was a more than adequate substitute, and the rest of the band joined in with flutes, sitar, tablas, and cellos, the playing of which was mostly learned on the spot. The whole album was one big experiment to see how far the group could go with any instruments they could find, thus making this album a rather close cousin to the Beatles' records of the same era. It is all beautiful and elegant, and 'Legend of a Mind''s chorus about 'Timothy Leary's dead/Oh, no he's outside, looking in' ended up anticipating reality; upon his death in 1996, Leary was cremated and launched into space on a privately owned satellite, with the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (another '60s pop culture icon) and other well-heeled clients.

Track Listing:
1. Departure
2. Ride My See-Saw
3. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume
4. House Of Four Doors
5. Legend Of A Mind
6. House Of Four Doors (Part 2)
7. Voices In The Sky
8. The Best Way To Travel
9. Visions Of Paradise
10. The Actor
11. The Word
12. Om

Originally released in June of 1996, Becks second major label album, Odelay, was his chance to prove that he was no one-hit wonder. His major label debut, Mellow Gold, had produced the hit single Loser, but there was a sense he hadnt quite won over everyone and it was hard to tell exactly who Beck was. Was he joking? Was he serious? Was he simply some sort of beat-poet novelty act? With Odelay, he enlisted the Dust Brothers, most famous at this point for being behind the boards for the Beastie Boys 1989 sonic-collage opus Pauls Boutique. Together they crafted a classic. In honor of it's 10th Anniversary it is now being released in this incredible Deluxe Edition 180 gram 4LP Box Set which includes a 24 page booklet! An absolute must have for any Beck fan!

This title is not eligible for discount

Track Listing:
1. Devil's Haircut
2. Hotwax
3. Lord Only Knows
4. The New Pollution
5. Derelict
6. Novacane
7. Jack-Ass
8. Where It's At
9. Minus
10. Sissyneck
11. Readymade
12. High 5 (Rock The Catskills)
13. Ramshackle
14. Deadweight [Soundtrack]
15. Inferno*
16. Gold Chains*
17. Where It's At [U.N.K.L.E. Remix]
18. Richard's Hairpiece [Aphex Twin Remix Of Devil's Haircut]
19. American Wasteland [Mickey P.Remix Of Devil's Haircut]
20. Clock
21. Thunder Peel
22. Electric Music And The Summer People
23. Lemonade
24. Sa-5
25. Feather In Your Cap
26. Erase The Sun
27. .000.000
28. Brother
29. Devil Got My Woman
30. Trouble All My Days
31. Strange Invitation
32. Burro

*Previously Unreleased

Gossip - Live In Liverpool includes a DVD-V of the concert, lensed by documentary filmmaker and music video director Lance Bangs (Sonic Youth, Green Day, R.E.M., Death Cab For Cutie, Kanye West, Pavement, Mike Watt and more). Also includes a limited edition 18 x 24 poster.

Gossip released its first full-length collection of songs, That's Not What I Heard, in January of 2001 and its successor, Arkansas Heat, in 2002 after touring with the White Stripes and Sleater-Kinney. Gossip reached a threshold of transcendence with its last studio collection, 2006's Standing In The Way Of Control, which shot to #1 on the UK indie albums chart. The album's title track became a UK hit in its own right after becoming the unofficial theme music for the popular British television teen drama, Skins. Standing In The Way Of Control charted on Billboard's European Top 100 Albums and European Hot 100 Singles charts. The single has sold more than 150,000 copies in the UK.

Track Listing:
LP

1. Eyes Open
2. Yr Mangled Heart
3. Swing Low
4. Are You That Somebody?
5. Fire / Sign
6. Coal To Diamonds
7. Jealous Girls
8. Keeping You Alive
9. Dont Make Waves
10. Yesterdays News
11. Standing in The Way Of Control
12. Listen Up
13. Careless Whisper

DVD

1. Eyes Open
2. Yr Mangled Heart
3.Fire / Sign
4.Careless Whisper
5. Coal To Diamonds
6. Jealous Girls
7. Swing Low
8. Are You That Somebody ?
9. Keeping You Alive
10. Dont Make Waves
11. Yesterdays News
12. Standing In The Way Of Control
13.Listen Up

Musicians:

• John Lewis (piano)
• Bill Perkins (tenor saxophone)
• Jim Hall (guitar)
• Percy Heath (bass)
• Chico Hamilton (drums)

Recording: February 1956
Production: Richard Bock

About Pure Pleasure

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

The record features ten gothic country-pop road songs by Stephin Merritt. The Charm of the Highway Strip continues to be one of The Magnetic FieldÆs most popular records and is one of the best selling releases in the Merge catalog. Look for other Magnetic Fields titles in the Merge vinyl reissue series later this year!

Track Listing:
1. Lonely Highway
2. Long Vermont Roads
3. Born On A Train
4. I Have The Moon
5. Two Characters In Search Of A Country Song
6. Crowd Of Drifters
7. Fear Of Trains
8. When The Open Road Is Closing In
9. Sunset City
10. Dust Bowl

Friday Music proudly preserves this classic as a remastered pristine 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl release complete with the original graphics, a poly lined record sleeve and album cover sleeve. Remastered with all of the sonic resonance that you have come to expect from Friday Music and Joe Reagoso (Deep Purple, David Lee Roth, Johnny Winter, The Doobie Brothers.

Track Listing:
1. Riverside
2. Sandman
3. Three Roses
4. Children
5. A Horse With No Name
6. Here
7. I Need You
8. Rainy Day
9. Never Found The Time
10. Clarice
11. Donkey Jaw
12. Pigeon Song

Warner Brothers went back to the original analog tapes and had this record cut by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Grey for this RTI pressed release and we can tell you that after hearing the test-pressings... You Cannot Find a Better Copy of Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon ANYWHERE!

Track Listing:
1. Love Has Brought Me Around
2. You've Got A Friend
3. Places In My Past
4. Riding On A Railroad
5. Soldiers
6. Mud Slide Slim
7. Hey Mister, That's Me Up On The Jukebox
8. You Can Close Your Eyes
9. Machine Gun Kelly
10. Long Ago And Far Away
11. Let Me Ride
12. Highway Song
13. Isn't It Nice To Be Home Again

This LP was cut by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Grey from the original tapes and the sound is stellar!

Track Listing:
1. Thunderbird Bird
2. Jailhouse Rock
3. Backdoor Medley:
4. Backdoor Love Affair
5. Mellow Down Easy
6. Backdoor
7. Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings
8. Blue Jean Blues
9. Balinese
10. Mexican Blackbird
11. Heard It On The X
12. Tush

Jonathan Meiburg's bold, soaring voice, occasionally falsetto, still anchors the songs, which broaden his pastoral pro-folk chaotic celestial mindbend into new realms. Beyond the continuing touchstones of late Talk Talk, Nico and John Cale, there are now allusions to Van Morrison and hints of Joni Mitchell. All this is set in a newly lush sonic gorgeousness of harp, strings and woodwinds atop the magnificent rhythm section of Thor Harris and Kim Burke. This LP version comes on 180g Vinyl in a Stoughton gatefold jacket and includes MP3s and a bonus track.

?Ç£Frontman Jonathan Meiburg has the finest voice of anyone making music today and his songs are absolutely magical.?Ç¥ - NPR

Track Listing:
1. On The Death Of The Waters
2. Rooks
3. Leviathan, Bound
4. Home Life
5. Lost Boys
6. Century Eyes
7. I Was A Cloud
8. South Col
9. The Snow Leopard
10.The Hunter's Star

The word “gospel” comes from the Bible – but it also describes Christian music which has been influenced by jazz and the blues. Gospel, says Mahalia Jackson, is a joyful cry of praise to the Lord. Her deep soulfulness, the passion of her Christian conviction and a belief in the power of her music led to her breakthrough in the USA, where she appeared at Carnegie Hall, and took her to Europe where she performed in the Vatican. It did not, however, though many had wished it so, lead her to jazz, blues and rock ’n’ roll. The public’s wide acceptance of her music proved her right in pursuing her spiritual path unerringly, although some critical listeners claimed to have spotted commercial undertones in her inimitable, highly expressive singing.

This live recording from the Newport Festival certainly cannot be accused of having been made for commercial reasons because it by no means reflects the common clichés of gospel singing. Fortunately there is no rhythm group, no chorus and no clapping of hands, and what is more: one misses nothing. Mahalia’s soft, raucous voice retains its volume and warmth in moments of drama as well as in whispered passages. In this performance she is accompanied only by a piano or occasionally a Hammond organ with a cloud of chords. This pure, authentic musical experience lets one forget all about style and trends and leads to the belief that gospel is a credo.

Musicians:

• Mahalia Jackson (vocal)
• Mildred Falls (piano)
• Lilton Mitchell (organ)
• Tommy Bryant (bass)

Recording: July 1958 live at the Newport Jazz Festival

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Stravinsky Ballets Dorati Included Works:

Mercury SR90216 Stravinsky: Petrouchka/Dorati/The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Petrushka was born of Stravinsky’s vision of a long-haired musician hammering indiscriminately at the piano keys and engaging in a furious contest with the orchestra answering with vehement protests and acoustic fisticuffs. As was the case with The Rite of Spring and The Firebird, Sergei Diaghilev and his Russian ballet had their share in ensuring that the “burlesque” in the four scenes would be suitable for the stage.

The clown-doll Petrushka revels in his spiteful teasing and pranks at the Shrovetide fair. The orchestra contributes swirling dance figures, blaring brass and scurrying strings to his high-spirited clownery but then the Moor enters and dances with the Ballerina, arousing jealousy in Petrushka. Although the clown-doll does not survive this bitter-sweet story, he triumphs at the end, his ghost mocking the crowd at the fair.

This highly inventive music combines folksong, popular music and the waltz, all bounded together by exhilating rhythms which are often taken to thunderous extremes. With its outstanding sound, this recording is a must-have in any Stravinsky collection.

Mercury SR90226 Stravinsky: The Firebird/Dorati/The London Symphony Orchestra. The Firebird can almost be described as a work of fate, since it is not only the first of several ballets that Stravinsky wrote for Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes but also marks his international breakthrough as a composer. In comparison with his other earlier stage works, the ecstatic, sharply contoured Rite of Spring for example, The Firebird, with its melodic character, is a far gentler work altogether. There are unmistakable reminiscences of the musical language of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky as well as snatches of late-Romantic harmonies; all this lends the music the charm of the Russian tradition.

In his performance, Dorati chooses the golden mean in that he has his ensemble produce a highly colorful but by no means glaring sound. Thus the listener is given the opportunity to follow the development of the finely chiselled motifs which are so characteristic of this early composition. Happily, the chamber-music-like transparency is preserved even in the loud, more exposed passages and the sound leaves the loudspeakers with a sprightly, athletic tread.

Mercury SR90253 Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring/Dorati/The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. While he was finishing the score of The Firebird, the idea came to Stravinsky for a pagan, ritual scenario. The background history of Le Sacre du printemps is well known: while the modernists praised the work, the conservative public thought they were being hoaxed. The reason for their irritation and the scandalous fiasco of the premiere is still audible to this day. Stravinsky carries the aggressive, hammering rhythms to the extreme, casting them in atonal harmonies which feed on the alternation between a red-hot and a mild mixture, as Stravinsky put it.

Dorati urges on his ensemble with robust tempi, and the orchestra is quick to respond to all the refinements of the tightly knit movement. It appears to cope effortlessly with the extremes of contrast and manages to amalgamate the rhythmic excesses with the tenderness of the numerous tiny motifs and figures which seem to sprout like flowers out of hard rock. The excellent recording technique captures both the extreme loudness and the finely pulsating tones, resulting in a sound in which no detail goes unheard. The listener can be sure that this Stravinsky deserves the rating excellent both for the interpretation and for the sound.

Format: 3LPs 33rpm / slipcase, booklet

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Import

Along with the Stooges, the New York Dolls were largely responsible for pioneering the sound and attitude of punk, and this, their self-titled debut, is one of the founding documents of post-'60s rock. Outrageous, shambolic and bursting with energy, the Dolls borrowed from the amped-up, bluesy swagger of the Rolling Stones, the pop confections of Phil Spector, and the campy theatrics that would flower with the glam movement, yet brought it all together with a visceral impact that recalled the jolt of early rock & roll. Now available here on 180g Import LP.

Track Listing:
Side 1
Personality Crisis
Looking For a Kiss
Vietnamese baby
Lonely Planet Boy
Frankenstein (Orig.)

Side 2
Trash
Bad Girl
Subway Train
Pills
Private World
Jet Boy

Musicians:

• Keb’ Mo’ (vocal, guitar, harmonica, banjo)
• Tommy Eyre (keyboards)
• James 'Hutch' Hutchinson (bass)
• Laval Belle, Quentin Dennard (drums)
• Tony Draunagel (percussion)

Recording: 1994 at Red Zone Studios (Burbank, CA.) by Joe McGrath and at Penguin Recording (Los Angeles) by John Strother
Production: John Porter

About Pure Pleasure

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Musicians:

• Charley Musselwhite (harmonica, vocal)
• Harvey Mandel (guitar)
• Barry Goldberg (piano, organ)
• Bob Anderson (bass)
• Fred Below Jr. (drums)

Production: Samuel Charters

About Pure Pleasure

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

She is backed here by several of the very best of '70s Nashville session musicians (pickers). Some folks think of Nashville sidemen as inevitably bound up with Country Music. While this is not counter-country, it fits much more into folk – as the names Dylan and Baez rightly connote.

"One Too Many Mornings" is too often overlooked among Dylan's compositions, and this is among the best renditions I've heard. The full-length, unhurried treatment "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowland" is spell-binding and satisfying. Perhaps my favorite, though, is the subtle and poignant "Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather". Dylan's lyrical genius is fully manifest, in his gorgeous melody and Joan Baez's a wonderful performance. For many of us who listened both then and recently, this pristine work inevitably reminds us how much has aged in the decades since this earlier era – also recaptured so vividly in Dylan's own Chronicles. These are timely works, both for reminiscence and to introduce newbies to the non-acid experiences that stirred an earlier generation. But regardless of any social import, this is simply beautiful poetry and music.

Musicians:

• Joan Baez (guitar, vocal)
• Fred Carter (mandolin)
• Hargus 'Pig' Robbins (keyboards)
• Stephen Stills, Pete Drake, Harold Rugg (guitar)
• Tommy Jackson, Johnny Gimble (violin)

Recording: 1968 by Selby Cofeen
Production: Maynard Solomon

Format: 2LPs 33rpm / gatefold sleeve

About Pure Pleasure

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Born with the unwieldy handle of Overton Lemons, Lewis hit the Big Easy in his mid-teens, armed with a big, booming voice and some guitar skills. He played clubs in the French Quarter, often with pianist Tuts Washington (and sometimes billed as 'Smiling' Lewis).

As the New Orleans R&B sound developed rapidly during the early '50s, so did Lewis. He scored his first national hit in 1952 with "The Bells Are Ringing", but enjoyed his biggest sales in 1955 with the exultant "I Hear You Knocking" (its immortal piano solo courtesy of Huey Smith). Here's where that alleged bad luck rears its head - pop chanteuse Gale Storm swiped his thunder for any pop crossover possibilities with her ludicrous whitewashed cover of the plaintive ballad.

Musicians:

• Smiley Lewis (guitar, vocal)

Recording: At Cosimo's (New Orleans)
Production: Dave Bartholomew

About Pure Pleasure

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Import

The Material Girl's 1998 return to pop after a four-year hiatus. Sonically, this the most adventurous Madonna record ever made. It is also the most mature and restrained album, which makes it extremely accessible.

Track Listing:
1. Drowned World/Substitute for Love
2. Swim
3. Ray of Light
4. Candy Perfume Girl
5. Skin
6. Nothing Really Matters
7. Sky Fits Heaven
8. Shanti/Ashtangi
9. Frozen
10. Power of Goodbye
11. To Have and Not to Hold
12. Little Star
13. Mer Girl

Track Listing:
1. Warped
2. Aeroplane
3. Deep Kick
4. My Friends
5. Coffee Shop
6. Pea
7. One Big Mob
8. Walkabout
9. Tearjerker
10. One Hot Minute
11. Falling Into Grace
12. Shallow Be Thy Game
13. Transcending

Live At The Apollo left no doubt in anyone's mind that James Brown was a live, dynamic performer without peers and that his talent could come across just as strongly on tape as in person. It was a watershed album, both for the 'hardest working man in show business' and for the burgeoning soul music movement. Reissued here on Vinyl LP by Universal Records.

Track Listing:
1. I'll Go Crazy
2. Try Me
3. Think
4. I Don't Mind
5. Lost Someone
6. Medley: Please Please Please, You've Got The Power, I Found Someone, Why Do You Do Me, I Want You So Bad, I Love You, Yes I Do, Why Does Everything Happen To Me, Bewildered
7. Please Don't Go
8. Night Train

The fact that Alive! is arguably Kiss' best album reinforces the fact that they are as much performers as they are musicians. Alive!, originally released in 1975, is a stone cold metal classic and don't worry they're all here: Deuce, Strutter, Hotter than Hell, Black Diamond, 100,000 Years, and Rock and Roll All Nite. Reissued here on Vinyl LP by Universal Records.

Track Listing:
1. Deuce
2. Strutter
3. Got To Choose
4. Hotter Than Hell
5. Firehouse
6. Nothin' To Lose
7. C'mon And Love Me
8. Parasite
9. She
10. Watchin' You
11. 100,000 Years
12. Black Diamond
13. Rock Bottom
14. Cold Gin
15. Rock And Roll All Nite
16. Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll

Side B:
1. All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side)
2. Wind Of Change
3. Baby, I Love Your Way 
4. I Wanna Go To The Sun

Side C:
1. Penny For Your Thoughts
2. (I'll Give You) Money
3. Shine On
4. Jumping Jack Flash

Side D:
1. Lines On My Face
2. Do You Feel Like We Do

Marc Cohn (born July 5, 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a sophisticated singer-songwriter, famous for his song 'Walking in Memphis' from his self titled debut. The album is masterfully produced and features brilliantly crafted musical arrangements that perfectly accentuate Marc's soulful, rich baritone timbre and graceful, contemplative piano performances - all tastefully brought to full and exceptional sonic fruition via the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab proprietary G.A.I.N. (Greater Ambient Information Network 2) mastering process. Songwritng styles vary from the Memphis/Elvis/Graceland mythic imagery of the hit single to the seemingly Springsteen inspired writing of 'Silver Thunderbird'.

*In 1992 Marc Cohn won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist

*In 1993 Marc Cohn won an achievement award from VH1.

Track Listing:
1. Walking in Memphis
2. Ghost Train
3. Silver Thunderbird
4. Dig Down Deep
5. Walk on Water
6. Miles Away
7. Saving the Best for Last
8. Strangers in a Car
9. Twenty-Nine Ways to My Baby's Door
10. Perfect Love
11. True Companion

Portishead's album debut is a brilliant, surprisingly natural synthesis of claustrophobic spy soundtracks, dark breakbeats inspired by frontman Geoff Barrow's love of hip-hop, and a vocalist (Beth Gibbons) in the classic confessional singer/songwriter mold.Better than any album before it, Dummy merged the pinpoint-precise productions of the dance world with pop hallmarks like great songwriting and excellent vocal performances.

Track Listing:
Mysterons
Sour Times
Strangers
It Could Be Sweet
Wandering Star
Numb
Roads
Pedestal
Biscuit
Glory Box

As Patterson Hood says about the songs on the album, Stylistically, they run the gamut from old-timey sounding country to a heavy R&B influence. Some songs that are quieter than any we've ever recorded and some that rock harder than anything we've ever done. In the end it's still all Rock and Roll (which is why that will always be the description of choice to us when describing our music in stylistic terms).

Drive-By Truckers are one of the most unique recording artists and live bands in popular music today. The Truckers write about people, places and situations like no one else, and have build an amazing worldwide audience in the process.

Track Listing:
1. Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife
2. 3 Dimes Down
3. The Righteous Path
4. I'm Sorry Huston
5. Perfect Timing
6. Daddy Needs A Drink
7. Self Destructive Zones
8. Bob
9. Home Field Advantage
10. The Opening Act
11. Lisa's Birthday
12. That Man I Shot
13. The Purgatory Line
14. The Home Front
15. Checkout Time In Vegas
16. You And Your Crystal Meth
17. Goode's Field Road
18. Ghost To Most
19. Monument Valley

Teenage Londoner with the voice of a Motown Diva. - Q

Track Listing:
1. Daydreamer
2. Best For Last
3. Chasing Pavements
4. Cold Shoulder
5. Crazy For You
6. Melt My Heart To Stone
7. First Love
8. Right As Rain
9. Make You Feel My Love
10. My Same
11. Tired
12. Hometown Glory

This title is not eligible for discount.

Track Listing:
1. I See Your Face Before Me (9:56)
2. If There is Someone Lovelier Than You (9:19)
3. Little Melonae (14:03)
4. Rise 'N' Shine (7:14)

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
1. Lookin' for A Reason
2. Take It Like A Friend
3. Need Someone To Hold
4. Tearin' Up The Country
5. Someday Never Comes
6. What Are You Gonna Do
7. Sail Away
8. Hello Mary Lou
9. Door To Door
10. Sweet Hitch-Hiker

Theme From Shaft (Side 1) The undisputed anthem for what would be called Blaxploitation, Theme From Shaft is as popular and well-known as the movie it supported. The song opens with the ever-recognizable wah-wah, funked-up guitar chords, and we're quickly treated to Isaac Hayes' soul-drenched lyrics convincing ANYONE that this guy Shaft is one bad mother�shut your mouth. The song oozes with the cool confidence that made the character Shaft one of the relative first Black film heroes.

Theme From Shaft earned Hayes his only Number One pop single in late 1971, winning an Oscar for Best Song, and helping him become the first Black composer to win an Oscar for Best Score.

Soulsville (Side 1) Another one of Isaac Hayes' biggest hits, Soulsville provides the contrast of a down-tempo ballad outlining the plight of life in the ghetto. It's an emotional tale of poverty, drugs, desperation and faith.

Do Your Thing (Side 2) Pure funk. This nearly 20-minute jam demonstrates just how potent the Stax houseband, The Bar-Kays, could be. They establish a groove in which you can comfortably loose yourself. After Theme From Shaft, this was the most popular hit from the Shaft movie soundtrack. It climbed to Number Three on the Billboard chart, a remarkable feat for such a long, mostly-instrumental song.

Analogue Productions introduced test pressings from their Stax Records reissue at the June 2003 Home Entertainment Expo in San Francisco. Among the exhibitors to show off their wares using these yet-to-be-released 45s was Richard Vandersteen of Vandersteen Audio.

This title is not eligible for any discounts.

Track Listing:
Side 1
1. Theme From Shaft
2. Soulsville

Side 2
1. Do Your Thing

"The beauty of Jaguar Love is how they manage to compose songs so intentionally vicious, strange and manic, and yet totally hook-driven." Seattle Times

Track Listing:
1. Highways Of Gold
2. Bats Over The Pacific Ocean
3. Jaguar Pirates
4. Georgia
5. Vagabond Ballroom
6. Humans Evolve Into Skyscrapers
7. Antoine And Birdskull
8. Bonetrees And A Broken Heart
9. The Man With The Plastic Suns
10. My Organ Sounds Like...

A rush of everything you ever liked about indie songwriters: substantial songwriting, crystalline vocals, sumptuously simple pop...you have to love an artist who reminds you of everyone but defies comparison. - NY Time Out

Track Listing:
1. The Church And The River
2. Always In Your Mind
3. Daylight Out
4. Valley Road 86
5. Here With Me
6. Credit In The Cost
7. Highway Miles
8. Landmine
9. Days Become Months
10. End Of The Hall
11. Xmas Party
12. Next To Mine

In February of this year Amy Winehouse became the first ever female British singer to win 5 Grammy Awards. Five years earlier, in October of 2003 she released this, her stunning debut album, Frank which brilliantly fuses soul with jazz, hip hop, reggae and Latin flavors, all topped off with her distinctive soul-jazz vocals. Frank achieved fantastic critical and commercial acclaim, won an Ivor Novello award and was nominated for 2 Brit awards as well as the Mercury Prize. Here on Limited Edition 180g Import Vinyl!

Track Listing:
1. Stronger Than Me
2. You Sent Me Flying
3. Cherry
4. Fuck Me Pumps
5. I Heard Love Is Blind
6. Moody's Mood for Love
7. (There Is) No Greater Love
8. In My Bed
9. Take the Box
10. October Song
11. What Is It About Men
12. Help Yourself
13. Amy Amy Amy

Suzanne Vega never wanted to write songs for the radio nor did she want to see her songs stamped as 'women’s music'. And yet her late debut album from the mid-80s blows a breath of fresh air into the dusty folk movement, bringing new ideas to the expression of subjective emotions. She trod in the footsteps of a great number of singers who wanted to share their thoughts with others, performing in small venues in Greenwich Village until at last A&M gave her a contract. Co-producer Lenny Kaye, formerly a guitarist in Patti Smith’s band and a highly experienced musician, stood by the New York lady with the cool, melancholy timbre. No wonder then that the support band offers a handmade, rocking sound, which backs up the vocal mixture of singing and speaking here and there in minimalistic fashion. Thanks to the resulting simplicity of the sound, her lyrics – short statements, poetic reports and psychogramme – take on a remarkable clarity and intensity. It is at this point that one realises that these musical poems demand concentrated listening and are therefore not really suitable for radio but for a quite corner at home.

Musicians:

• Suzanne Vega (guitar, vocal)
• Steve Abbaddo (guitar, vocal, synclavier)
• Frank Christian, Jon Gordon (guitar)
• Mark Isham, C.P. Roth (synthesizer)
• Darol Anger (violin)
• Maxine Neuman (cello)
• Paul Dugan (bass)
• Sue Evans (drums, percussion)

Recording: January - March 1985 at Celestial Sound Studios, New York, by Steve Addabbo
Production: Ronald K. Fierstein

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Often copied, but successfully? When it comes to J. J. Cale, this question could well be answered with an emphatic 'yes' – were it not for the equally talented Johnny Cash, John Mayall and Deep Purple, who all contributed to the well-earned recognition of Cale’s genial songs. Even the smash hit "Cocaine" was written by Cale, although it is closely identified with Eric Clapton – Cale’s name fading into oblivion in comparison.

The present recording gives one an idea of how one of the most covered composer’s music originally sounded. Cale lends the mixture of styles – blues, rockabilly and country – his highly individual, understated and succint art of song. He is frequently characterized as being 'laid back', likes to sing slightly off-beat, and is accompanied by a well-equipped band which creates an ultra-cool sound. Cale is particularly committed to giving his songs sophisticated instrumentation, he doesn’t produce a new record for the market all too often, and is well-known for his dislike of stardeom. What better reasons to bring up from the annals this undercover artist’s debut album, polish it up and just enjoy the music.

Musicians:

• J.J. Cale (guitar, vocal)
• Ed Colis (harmonica)
• David Briggs (piano, organ)
• Bob Wilson (piano)
• Weldon Myrick (guitar)
• Walter Haynes (dobro)
• Carl Radle, Norbert Putnam (bass)
• Karl Himmel, Chuck Browning (drums)

Recording: September 1970 at Moss Ross Studio, Nashville, by James Long and October 1970 / June 1971 at Bradley's Barn, Mt. Juliet (Tennessee, USA), by Joe Mills and Jim Williamson
Production: Audie Ashworth

About Speakers Corner

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Speakers Corner all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existant tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasise that Speakers Corner Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We have one digital recording in our catalogue (Alan Parsons / Eye In The Sky“), but even in this particular case we used the analogue tapes for cutting.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects – excluding the exception above – and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

1. Calling All Skeletons
2. Help Me
3. In Vein
4. Over and Out
5. I Found Away
6. Do You Wanna Know?

Side B

1. Live Young, Die Fast
2. Love Love Kiss Kiss
3. Lost & Rendered
4. Ruin It
5. Into the Night

Musicians:

• Sergio Mendes (synthesizer, piano, vocal, arranger)
• Erykah Badu, Pharoahe Monch, Justin Timberlake (vocal)
• will.i.am (bass, percussion, p, arranger, vocal)
• Steve Tavaglione (saxophone)
• Stevie Wonder (harpsichord)
• Paulinho Braga (drums)

Production: Will.I.Am and Sergio Mendes

About Pure Pleasure

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

Bored with his role as John Lennon in the musical Beatlemania in February of 1980, Marshall Crenshaw decided to try his hand at songwriting. By August of that year, he was playing his songs at gigs around Manhattan with his drummer brother, Robert and bassist Chris Donato. After singer Robert Gordon recorded three of his tunes, Crenshaw was signed by Warner Brothers and this, his self titled debut album was released in 1982. It was immediately lauded as a pop masterpiece and Crenshaw was recognized as a first-rate songwriter, singer and guitarist. Gems like Someday, Someway, She Can't Dance and Not for Me, all remain timeless classics that add up to one of the finest debuts of its day. Now here on Mobilie Fidelity Numbered Limited Edition 180g Vinyl!

Track Listing:
1. There She Goes Again
2. Someday, Someway
3. Girls
4. I'll Do Anything
5. Rockin' Around in N.Y.C.
6. Usual Thing, The
7. She Can't Dance
8. Cynical Girl
9. Mary Anne
10. Soldier of Love
11. Not For Me
12. Brand New Lover

The introduction of A Perfect Circle on Mer de Noms (Sea of Names in French) was that of a side project of Tool. Over the development of the project and certainly leading into the present, the strength of the A Perfect Circle brand has shifted the balance from a so called side project to a band in their own right. The powerful combination of Maynard James Keenan's aching voice and Billy Howerdel's accomplished songs and production skills has helped A Perfect Circle become one of the premier lifestyle bands and a major success in the rock and alternative rock formats.

Track Listing:
1. The Hollow
2. Magdalena
3. Rose
4. Judith
5. Orestes
6. 3 Libras
7. Sleeping Beauty
8. Thomas
9. Renholder
10. Thinking Of You
11. Brena
12. Over

The groundbreaking Pet Sounds is undoubtedly The Beach Boys' most acclaimed album and arguably the most influential pop record of all time. This was the album that took the group and music in general to a another level, both in terms of composition and production. Layers of music tracks stacked upon incredible vocal harmonies helped create a rich sound full of depth and pure emotion.

A Rush of Blood to the Head is a soulful, exhilarating journey, moving from the cathartic rock of Politik to the hushed tones of Green Eyes without once breaking its mesmerizing momentum. Singer Chris Martin takes his voice on soaring flights, reaching places only Jeff Buckley previously dared to go. And the music is nearly flawless, as heartfelt and emotionally liberated as you can get.

Track Listing:
1. Politik
2. In My Place
3. God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
4. The Scientist
5. Clocks
6. Daylight
7. Green Eyes
8. Warning Sign
9. A Whisper
10. A Rush Of Blood To The Head
11. Amsterdam

Following the breakup of the Experience, Jimi Hendrix took a sabbatical in Woodstock, New York, hooked up with bassist Billy Cox and began jamming with a wide variety of musicians, including R&B drummer Buddy Miles. He had become self-conscious about his image as a showman and rocker and about the limitations of thrashing through the same repertoire night after night. Band Of Gypsys was Hendrix's attempt to redefine himself, and in a way heralded his return to the ethos of the blues and R&B, a return assisted by a powerhouse, groove-oriented rhythm section. Band Of Gypsys was certainly different from Hendrix's work with the Experience, but rivals it in terms of scope, vision and beauty.

Track Listing:

1. Who Knows
2. Machine Gun
3. Changes
4. Power To Love
5. Message To Love
6. We Gotta Live Together

R.E.M.'s 1987 album Docment was the Georgia quartet's commercial breakthrough driven by the hit singles The One I Love and It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine). It was the first to be produced by Scott Litt who would go on to produce every R.E.M. album for the next decade. Featuring Michael Stipes increasingly political lyrics and distinctive vocals, combined with Peter Buck's elegantly twisted guitar lines and the superb rhythm section of Mike Mills and Bill Berry, Document showcases a band at the top of their game.

Track Listing:
1. Finest Worksong
2. Welcome To The Occupation
3. Exhuming McCarthy
4. Disturbance At The Heron House
5. Strange
6. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
7. The One I Love
8. Fireplace
9. Lightnin, Hopkins
10. King Of Birds
11. Oddfellows Local

Radiohead's 2003 release Hail To The Theif borrows equally from OK Computer's epic progressive rock and Kid A's skittering electronic theatrics while using eloquent metaphors and complicated arrangements to express the uncertainty, fear and anger arising from the 2000 U.S. presidential election and a post-9/11 world. The occasional hard-grooving funk rhythm and crazed rock guitar riff keeps even the airiest sentiments well anchored though, making Hail To The Theif as well balanced as it is progressive.

Track Listing:
1. 2+2=5
2. Sit Down. Stand Up
3. Sail To The Moon
4. Backdrifts
5. Go To Sleep
6. Where I End And You Begin
7. We Suck Young Blood
8. The Gloaming
9. There There
10. I Will
11. A Punchup At A Wedding
12. Myxomatosis
13. Scatterbrain
14. A Wolf At The Door

Granted classic album status almost immediately upon its release in 1997, OK Computer transformed Radiohead from a highly promising rock act into The Most Important Band in the World, a label the band has been burdened by ever since. Combining elements of bombastic prog rock with alternating time signatures and traditional pop songwriting, OK Computer was an artistic departure from the sound of the band's previous efforts and it was the first true sign of the band's restless ambition.

Track Listing:
1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For A Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up The Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. Tourist

While Radiohead saw its stock rising, it wasn't until their artisic breakthrough, The Bends that the band really began to be realized for their soaring aspirations. Displaying a far more expansive approach than its predecessor, The Bends marries such ambitious and often challenging, instrumental soundscapes to songs that are at their cores hauntingly melodic and accessible. It's one of the most essential albums of the '90s and a spectacular indicator of further greatness to come.

Track Listing:
1. Planet Telex
2. The Bends
3. High and Dry
4. Fake Plastic Trees
5. Bones
6. (Nice Dream)
7. Just
8. My Iron Lung
9. Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was
10. Black Star
11. Sulk
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)

The Velvet Underground's self-titled third album was in many ways the debut of a new band as John Cale had departed by this time and was replaced by Doug Yule. Cale's more experimental style was replaced by Sterling Morrison's eloquent guitar accompaniment which allowed the human side of Lou Reed's songwriting to emerge like never before. Unobstructed by walls of sonic noise, Reed's insight and genius really shines here.

Track Listing:
1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning To See The Light
7. I'm Set Free
8. That's The Story Of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours

For their second release and first out of the shadow of Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground stripped production values down to a minimum and turned out a primitive rock & roll masterpiece. Under its distorted and abrasive sound are some of Lou Reed's greatest songs including the title track and Here She Comes Now and the album went on to become a major influence on punk and experimental rock.

Track Listing:
1. White Light/White Heat
2. The Gift
3. Lady Godiva's Operation
4. Here She Comes Now
5. I Heard Her Call My Name
6. Sister Ray

Back in 2008 with the reissue of the classic debut album from 1967 on 180g gatefold vinyl. At Warhol's insistence, Nico sang with the band on three songs of their debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. The album was recorded primarily in Scepter Studios in NYC. The album cover was famous for its Warhol design: a bright yellow banana with 'Peel slowly and see' printed near a perforated tab. Those who did remove the banana skin found a pink, peeled banana beneath. This gimmick would later be repeated on the cover of one of several Velvet Underground boxed sets, also titled Peel Slowly and See, released in 1995.