Ben Webster – See You at the Fair (Acoustic Sounds) 180g Vinyl LP Gatefold Sleeve
Ben Webster's final American recording was one of his greatest. At 55, the tenor saxophonist was still very much in his prime but considered out of style in the U.S. He would soon permanently move to Europe where he was better appreciated. Webster's tone has rarely sounded more beautiful than on "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay."
Jimmy Smith – Root Down (Verve Acoustic Sounds) 180g Vinyl LP
Root Down was Hammond B-3 jazz legend Jimmy Smith's 1972 live jazz album for Verve. Recorded in Los Angeles on February 8, 1972, it includes the title track, which was sampled by the Beastie Boys for their song "Root Down." The song peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Top Jazz Album charts.
Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve's Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Rhino Records 180G Vinyl LP
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"Black Sabbath's debut album is the birth of heavy metal as we now know it. Compatriots such as Blue Cheer, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple were already setting new standards for volume and heaviness in the realms of psychedelia, blues-rock, and prog rock. Yet of these metal pioneers, Sabbath are the only one whose sound today remains instantly recognizable as heavy metal, even after decades of evolution in the genre. Guitarist Tony Iommi's loss of two fingertips, which required him to play slower and to slacken the strings by tuning his guitar down, created Sabbath's signature style. These qualities set the band apart, but they weren't wholly why this debut album transcends its clear roots in blues-rock and psychedelia to become something more. Sabbath's genius was finding the hidden malevolence in the blues, and then bludgeoning the listener over the head with it." — AllMusic