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Billy Joel – Turnstiles Mofi SACD
Experience The Orchestral Sweep, Ravishing Poignancy Like Never Before
By 1976, Billy Joel had proven his merit as an auteur of California-based singer-songwriter pop-rock. On Turnstiles, the legend focuses his attention on more ambitious matters: Making an album whose scope and range dwarf that of his previous work, and shot his star into the stratosphere. Encompassing everything from urgent rock to soft pop and saloon fare, Turnstiles is a classic of major proportions. We have gone back to the original master tapes to present Joel's encompassing music the way it was always intended to be experienced: Intimate, detailed, expressive, warm. The record's widescreen sonics are at last properly cinematic, flush with colors, textures, and atmosphere.
The Young Rascals – Groovin’ – MoFi Mono SACD
Mastered From The Original Master Tapes For Supreme Sound
Simultaneously elevated and bypassed by the artistically prolific year in which it was released, the Young Rascals’ Groovin’ remains high-water mark of a collective Rolling Stone boldly proclaimed “the blackest white group of all” in 1970. Home to three Top 10 singles and a diverse array of pop music in step with the era’s exploratory creativity, the set belongs aside the Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band, Love’s Forever Changes, Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow, and 1967’s other pioneering recordings. Particularly now that it boasts definitive sonics.
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells – Going Back To Acoustic – Pure Pleasure Records 180g Vinyl
“…These classic songs are matched by an impeccable re-master of the kind of recording which constantly reminds me exactly just why I own a turntable. Fantastic transparency, a jaw dropping presentation of rough hewed vocal dynamic shifts and the kind of inner details that scream ‘intimacy’ recreates the atmospheric roots of the Deep South – making this a must own record from a sonic perspective as well.” Recording = 9.5/10; Music = 9/10 – Reuben Parry, Hi-Fi+, Issue 45
Johnny Winter – Johnny Winter – 180G Speakers Corner Vinyl
Sonny Clark Trio – Sonny Clark Trio (Blue Note Tone Poet) – Blue Note 180g Vinyl
Hank Mobley – A Caddy for Daddy – (Blue Note Tone Poet) – Blue Note 180g Vinyl
Oscar Peterson Trio with Milt Jackson – Very Tall – Verve Records 180g Vinyl
Scott Yanow of AllMusic says in his 4-Star review of Very Tall: “This first matchup on records between pianist Oscar Peterson and vibraphonist Milt Jackson was so logical that it is surprising it did not occur five years earlier. Originally recorded for Verve and three decades later reissued on this audiophile CD by Mobile Fidelity, the quartet set (which also includes bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen) swings as hard as one might expect. Highlights include ‘On Green Dolphin Street,’ ‘The Work Song,’ ‘John Brown’s Body’ (a jam on ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’) and ‘Reunion Blues.’ Fortunately O.P. and Bags would meet up on records many times in the future (particularly during their Pablo years) but this first effort is a particularly strong set.”
Robert Glasper – In My Element – Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g 2LP Vinyl
Robert Glasper’s 2005 Blue Note debut Canvas signaled the arrival of a singular new voice in jazz and his 2007 follow-up In My Element solidified his status as a rising star who was taking the music someplace new. Featuring bassist Vicente Archer & drummer Damion Reid, the album expanded the possibilities of where a modern jazz piano trio might go by delving further into his hip-hop & gospel roots.
This 2-LP Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition was mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
Jocelyn Smith – Pure And Natural – Berliner Meister Schallplatten 180g Vinyl
The musicians are absolute experts in their field: take first the legendary saxophonist Volker Schlott who was very famous in the Berlin jazz scene of the 70s and 80s when the city still belonged to the German Democratic Republic. And then you have the extremely versatile pianist Bene Apperdanier, who – as musical director of such talent-spotting TV programmes as “Star Search” and “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” (“Germany searches for a superstar”) – possesses a wealth of experience in music.
Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – The Songs of Bacharach & Costello – UMR 2LP Vinyl
The Songs of Bacharach & Costello, compiled by Elvis Costello, brings together all of the published songs that Costello has written with Burt Bacharach and celebrates the three decade songwriting partnership between them. This vinyl 2LP version includes the newly remastered album, Painted From Memory and six songs from Taken From Life, of which three are newly recorded compositions. The audio was remastered by Bob Ludwig from the original tapes.
Gerry Mulligan – Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster (Acoustic Sounds) 180g 1LP Gatefold Sleeve
This classic 1960 album by Mulligan, the Cool Jazz innovator, and Webster, the legendary Ellingtonian, is one for the ages. The tunes they recorded, from “Chelsea Bridge” to “Go Home”, are smooth, lush and emotional, driven along by a rhythm section of Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar and Mel Lewis that swings with just the right amount of bop.
Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
