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    Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra – Debussy: La Mer (The Sea) / Ibert: Port Of Call

    58,00 

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    Winner of a Gruvy Award, chosen by AnalogPlanet's editor, Michael Fremer, for vinyl records that are musically and sonically outstanding and are also well mastered and pressed. http://www.analogplanet.com/content/gruvy-awards "These are the best vinyl releases of RCA LPs I've yet heard." — Jonathan Valin, executive editor, The Absolute Sound Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony perform Debussy: La Mer and Ibert: Ports Of Call. Recorded in 1958.

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    The Crickets/Buddy Holly – Buddy Holly

    58,00 

    Includes 19% MwSt DE
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    "...this reissue sourced from the original analog tapes still in superb condition and cut by Kevin Gray is by far the best sounding edition ever. Lubbock, Texas born Buddy Holly was 21 when he recorded this collection that includes 'I'm Gonna Love You Too,' 'Peggy Sue,' 'Everyday,' 'Words of Love' and a few other originals and covers including Leiber and Stoller's 'You're So Square' and Fats Domino's 'Valley of Tears.' ...The gatefold 'Tip-on' packaging features an 'outtake' cover photo inside and an iconic black and white shot of Buddy and The Crickets under which is a Graham Nash (The Hollies) quote. I think Chad Kassem got it from Graham when he was in town to play a gig and got a tour of the QRP pressing plant. (This is) a must for everyone who collect American rock'n'roll...or any kind of music for that matter." — Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. To read Fremer's full review, click here. "Issued in 1958, with Coral and Brunswick getting as much out of Buddy Holly as possible by releasing a solo LP alongside a Crickets LP, it's an eponymous 12-track masterpiece with enough classics to have established the Texan rock pioneer as a genius. In fact, it's the same crew that compromised The Crickets, so "Words of Love," "Peggy Sue," "I'm Gonna Love You Too," "Rave On!" and the rest, are as much group efforts as the songs on its companion, The Chirpin' Crickets. Recorded in glorious mono, this superlative edition holds its own against my 50-year-old U.S. pressing, with only the oft-reprinted cover photo showing its age. The biggest surprise is that 60-year-old tapes can still yield such peerless sound quality." — Sound Quality = 90% - Ken Kessler, HiFi News, December 2017, Album Choice of the month! "...the choice to purchase these Analogue Productions reissues boils down two considerations: whether you want the music configured as it was first released and whether these LPs sufficiently improve on the sound of earlier releases. ... Analogue Productions presents the original running order and artwork, and the covers, from Stoughton Printing, are first-rate. If all of that doesn't have you reaching for your wallet, then the improvement in sound should. Kevin Gray's remastering breathes new life into the music, enhancing tonality, dynamics and retrieval of inner detail. The sound of these reissues easily outstrips that of any prior releases." — Sound = 4/5; Music = 5/5 - Dennis Davis, The Audio Beat, April 28, 2017 Read the entire review here. Rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly produced some of the most distinctive and influential music of his era. Three months after the release of The Chirping Crickets came this self-titled 1958 classic, Buddy's last album released prior to the plane crash in Iowa that struck him down in 1959 at age 22. What has Analogue Productions done to kick this classic album up a notch? For starters, our version features stellar remastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original analog master tapes. Followed by state-of-the-art plating and pressing on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world's finest-sounding LPs. Stoughton Printing provides a sturdy old-style tip-on gatefold jacket with added photos to round out the package. Born on Sept. 7, 1936 in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy Holly was well-versed in several music styles and was a seasoned performer by age 16. When Buddy Holly & the Crickets broke through nationally in 1957, they were marketed by Decca Records as two different acts whose records were released on two different Decca subsidiaries — Brunswick for Crickets records, Coral for Holly records. But there was no real musical distinction between the two, except perhaps that the "Crickets" sides had more prominent backup vocals. This reissue marks the debut album credited to Buddy Holly. It features Holly's Top Ten single "Peggy Sue" plus several songs that have turned out to be standards: "I'm Gonna Love You Too," "Listen to Me," "Everyday," "Words of Love," and "Rave On."  

    • Pioneer of rock 'n' roll in his solo album debut!
    • Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original analog master tapes!
    • Plating and 180-gram vinyl pressing by Quality Record Pressings!
    • Old-style tip-on gatefold jacket from Stoughton Printing
     

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    Duke Ellington – Masterpieces By Ellington (Mono)

    58,00 

    Includes 19% MwSt DE
    Additional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.

    "Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes, the record was plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. The depth and space when those rich chromatic harmonies create a wide and well-defined soundscape, the timbre of the orchestra as a whole as well as individual instruments, and the thick, wooden sound of Wendell Marshall's bass are among the aural pleasures provided when you drop a needle on this platter; expect goose bumps." — Music = 5/5; Sonics = 4.5/5 - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, May-June 2015. "I chose the CD reissue of this album as one of my R2D4s for 2012, but now from Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions comes this QRP LP, and it's an occasion for popping corks. Released in 1950, this was Ellington's first LP, and he used the new medium to stretch out four of his biggest hits. The arrangements are jaw-droppingly gorgeous and the sound just slightly less so. Recorded by Fred Plaut, who later miked Kind of Blue and other Columbia classics, it has the dynamics, depth, and in-your-face tonal realism of a modern (mono) audiophile thumper. Among the best jazz albums ever. How about a 45rpm pressing, Chad?" — Fred Kaplan, for Stereophile - "Records To Die For" - February 2015. "Among the first recordings arranged and produced to take advantage of the LP's longer playing time, this album was released in 1950 on Columbia Records' classical imprint, Masterworks, with a whimsical cover by Stan Fraydas (author of Hoppy, the Curious Kangaroo) that's reproduced for this edition. (Columbia soon replaced it with an image more "modern" and more mundane.)... Freed from the 78rpm single's three-minute constraint, Ellington could score and record concert-length arrangements similar to those enjoyed by his concert audiences. Three of the four selections, including 'Mood Indigo' and 'Sophisticated Lady,' are familiar Ellington classics stretched and elasticized to luxurious effect. The harmonically saturated, transparent mono sound is astonishing for any era of recording. It's sure to leave you swooning, and wondering how and why recorded sound has since gone so far south." — Michael Fremer, for Stereophile - "Records To Die For" - February 2015. "I have recently been obsessed with Masterpieces by Ellington, one of the best records I have ever heard in terms of music and production. I can now see Ellington in full technicolor glory!" — Colleen ‘Cosmo' Murphy, Classic Album Sundays "Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions, in conjunction with Ryan Smith of Sterling Sound mastering studio have produced an LP that equals and in some way exceeds the sound of a pristine original pressing properly equalized. The perfectly quiet vinyl and exemplary packaging add up to one of the best reissues of the century." Recording = 10/10; Music = 10/10 - Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +, Issue 120 "This new re-issue slays my vintage copy in every way. Every dimension of the recording was much better...dynamics, harmonics, frequency response, detail, jump...all just leaped out at me! The recording sounded like it had been made that morning...absolutely fresh-sounding. No veiling. No roll-off. In fact, it's so good that it doesn't matter that this is a mono recording! Listen to it on a great turntable...you'll hear mono that fools you into thinking that it's not mono. Just wait until you hear Yvonne Lanauze sing, "Mood Indigo" amigos, after a long instrumental build-up...she'll take you there! ... The pressing itself was impeccable: flat, and free of noise, tics and pops...a genuine masterpiece of the pressing-plant arts. The Hyperion OCL, the finest cartridge that I've ever heard, revealed how superbly these grooves were carved! Commendable, reference-grade analog...very, very close to master tape sound. Very damned close! Kissing cousins close! Hell, maybe even closer than that. In fact, I now consider the Analogue Productions re-issue of Masterpieces by Ellington to be one of the very finest Jazz records ever released. (Sorry Miles! Move over, Kind of Blue!)." — David W. Robinson, editor-in-chief, Positive Feedback Online. "Most highly recommended (the record is now on the QRP presses). It's one of my 'Records to Die For' in the February 2015 Stereophile. You won't have to die to get a copy. $30 will do and it's well worth the money. A true classic both musically and sonically and a historical work of art you can now own." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 11/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the whole review here. "The best album ever made by Duke Ellington, which is to say, one of the best albums in jazz — is also one of his least known. ... now, a leading audiophile record label, Analogue Productions of Salina, Kansas, has brought it out on pristine vinyl (it’s also, despite its vintage, one of the best-sounding jazz albums ever), and the time has come to take notice. ...  the new, remastered Analogue Productions LP, which is to the CD as a high-def television is to a circa-1980 Trinitron. Played on a good sound system, it’s a sonic time machine, hurling you into Columbia’s 30th Street Studio with the Ellington orchestra. Horns sound brassy, drums smack, cymbals sizzle, you hear the air pass through the woodwinds. When saxophones play in harmony, the overtones bloom like a sonic bouquet; when the musicians take a quarter-note pause, you hear them breathe in." — Fred Kaplan, Slate, Dec. 9, 2014 Read the whole review here. Masterpieces By Ellington shines from an astonishingly brief period of history that gave the recording industry two of its greatest achievements — the introduction of magnetic tape recording and the 33 1/3 LP, or long-playing record. Four years. That's all it took to go from the discovery by Americans, of German advancements in the field of sound recording, to the marketing of tape decks in the U.S. by the Ampex company, to Columbia's unveiling of its 12” LP, and the first long-playing record to be sold to consumers. The four selections contained here catapulted the Maestro Ellington into the LP era, as the great composer/arranger/pianist and his matchless orchestra took full advantage of the possibilities afforded by magnetic tape recording and the still-new 33 1/3 RPM LP to, for the first time, capture uncut concert arrangements of their signature songs. Duke was joined for this album by a virtuoso supporting cast: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn (piano). Russell ProcopePaul GonzalvesJohnnie HodgesJimmy Hamilton (saxophone). Nelson Williams, Andrew FordHarold BakerRay NanceWilliam Anderson (trumpet). Quentin JacksonLawrence Brown, Tyree Glenn (trombone). Mercer Ellington (horn). Sonny Greer (drums). Wendell Marshall (bass). Yvonne Lanauze (vocals). This album wouldn't have been possible without a chain of events starting at the end of World War II. Recorded in December 1950, just five years after Germany fell to the Allies, revealing the Germans' advances in magnetic tape recording, Ellington's master work holds its wonder still today and the recording quality hands-down betters the sound of many modern-day albums. 1944-45: Magnetic tape for sound recording spread to America after an American soldier, Jack Mullin, serving with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the final months of WW II, received two suitcased-sized AEG 'Magnetophon' high-fidelity recorders and 50 reels of Farben recording tape that had fallen into American hands via the capture of a German radio station at Bad Nauheim. German engineers had perfected the technique of using Alternating Current bias — the addition of an inaudible high-fequency signal (from 40 to 150kHz) — to improve the sound quality of most audio recordings by reducing distortion and noise. 1947: Mullin became an American pioneer in the field of magnetic tape sound recording, after working to modify and improve the machines. He gave two demonstrations of the recorders at Radio Center in Hollywood in October 1947. A later demonstration for singer/entertainer Bing Crosby led to the use of magnetic tape for recording Crosby's radio programs. Crosby became the first star to use tape to pre-record radio broadcasts. 1948: Crosby invested $50,000 in local electronics firm, Ampex, and the tiny six-man concern soon became the world leader in the development of tape recording. Ampex revolutionized the radio and recording industry with its famous Model 200 tape deck, developed directly from Mullin's modified Magnetophones. Units marked serial No. 1 and 2 were delivered in April 1948 in time to record and edit the 27th Bing Crosby show of the 1947-48 season. A 200A at the time retailed for $4,000 — nearly as much as a standard single-family home. Crosby gave one of the first production tape decks to musician Les Paul, which led to Paul's invention of multitrack recording. The first production model 200A recorders are delivered to ABC and placed in service across the country. This marked the first widespread professional use of magnetic tape recording. Working with Mullin, Ampex rapidly developed 2-track stereo and then 3-track recorders. Mullin and Ampex developed a working monochrome videotape recorder by 1956. Here's where it gets really interesting, as The Duke and history made matchless audiophile magic. In 1950, two years into the LP era and the transition from disc to magnetic tape recording, Columbia Records got Duke Ellington and his orchestra into the studio to cut a long-playing record. The Columbia 30th Street Studio opened in 1949 and Masterpieces was one of the first recordings done in the studio! June 1948: Vinyl LPs had taken over as the standard for pressing records by the 1940s; in 1948 Columbia Records introduced its 12-inch Microgroove LP or Long Play record, which could hold at least 20 minutes per side. The first classical long-playing record, and the first 12" LP of any kind— catalog no. Columbia Masterworks Set ML 4001— was Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 64, played by violinist Nathan Milstein with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, conducted by Bruno Walter. December 19, 1950. Masterpieces by Ellington recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio. Released in 1951. Recording engineers Fred Plaut and Harold Chapman. Recorded on an Ampex 200, using 3M-111 magnetic tape running at 15 inches per second. (3M-111 tape was also introduced in 1948, the year the Model 200 debuted). The Columbia 30th Street Studio (CBS 30th Street Studio) nicknamed "The Church" was considered by some to be the best-sounding room in its time and others consider it to have been the greatest recording studio in history. Numerous recordings were made there in all genres, including Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (1959), Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story (Original Cast recording, 1957), Percy Faith's Theme from a Summer Place (1960) and Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979). The facility included both Columbia's "Studio C" and "Studio D." Columbia Records transformed the former church (the Adams-Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church, dedicated in 1875) into a recording studio in 1949. The studio had 100-foot high ceilings, a 100-foot floorspace to record, and the control room was on the second floor — a tight fit at 8x14 feet. It was later moved to the ground floor. Suddenly, for the first time in his career, Ellington was able to forgo the 3 minutes-and-change restrictions afforded by the short running time of the 78 RPM disc. He and his band rose to the occasion with extended (11-minute plus) 'uncut concert arrangements' of three of his signature songs — “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” with evocative vocals by Yvonne Lanauze, as well as “Solitude.” Masterpieces was also notable for the debut of the full-bodied, surprise-laden “The Tattooed Bride,” and for the swansongs of three Ellintonian giants of longstanding: drummer Sonny Greer, trombonist Lawrence Brown and alto saxist Johnny Hodges (the latter two would eventually return to the fold). Masterpieces is a revelation and a throwback to a golden recording age. So much history and so much luck combined make this album truly special. "Even in this august company, 'The Tattooed Bride' is a swinging virtuoso piece that, as everyone present must have known, couldn't possibly have been captured in this manner in any era before this session — this was also one of the last sessions to feature the classic Ellington lineup with Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown, and Sonny Greer, before their exodus altered the band's sound, and so it's a doubly precious piece (as is the whole album), among the last written specifically for this lineup." — AllMusic.com

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    Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Step

    88,00 

    Includes 19% MwSt DE
    Additional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.

    With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the '80s. Vaughan drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush and Hubert Sumlin and rock 'n' roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre. On 1989's In Step, Vaughan found his own songwriting voice, blending blues, soul, and rock in unique ways, and writing with startling emotional honesty. Yes, there are a few covers, all well chosen, but the heart of the album rests in the songs he co-wrote with Doyle Bramhall, the man who penned the Soul to Soul highlight "Change It." Fueled by a desire to make up for lost time and delight in his reawakened commitment to life and sobriety, Vaughan turned in what many consider his greatest artistic statement, an album ensconced in sweat, soul, determination, and not an ounce of filler. "Travis Walk" offers a heady rush of flat-picking, "The House is Rockin'" is full-tilt roots-boogie, "Let Me Love You Baby" and "Leave My Girl Alone" are sweet blues epiphanies, and the nine-minute instrumental "Riviera Paradise" is a truly soulful mix of blues and jazz. By now, just a year before his untimely death, Vaughan had also tamed his bawling voice into a rich instrument. In short, this 1989 session is Vaughan at his artistic peak. As we did with our vaunted box set reissues, Texas Hurricane, again Analogue Productions is bringing you the finest-sounding Stevie Ray Vaughan collections ever preserved on 180-gram vinyl. Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound cut the lacquers for the LPs using the ultimate VMS 80 cutting lathe. Gary Salstrom handled the plating and the vinyl was pressed of course at Quality Record Pressings. In Step remains one of the five greatest blues records of the past quarter century. There's not a link in this chain that wasn't absolute first-rate. The absolute best that money can buy. We're passionate about the blues AND Stevie Ray and the passion shows up here in spades.

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    Duke Ellington – Masterpieces By Ellington (Mono)

    88,00 

    Includes 19% MwSt DE
    Additional costs (e.g. for customs or taxes) may occur when shipping to non-EU countries.

    "...while the 33 was a startler, the new (45 RPM) version — spread out on two LPs, to accommodate the wider grooves — will leave you breathless. There's more sparkle to Ellington's piano, more wood in Wendell Marshall's bass, more breath and reed and romance in Johnny Hodges' alto sax, more force in Jimmy Hamilton's hard-blown clarinet. Each player in the horn sections sounds more distinct; I hear more of Duke's playing, underneath those sections, too. And soloists — palpable enough in 33 1/3 RPM — are holographic at 45. In short, the 45 lets us hear more of the music, more of the detail, more of the human presence; it transports us more completely back in time." — Fred Kaplan, Stereophile.com, June 17, 2017. Read the whole review here. Praise for our 33 1/3 version! Named a 2015 Record To Die For by Stereophile magazine. http://www.stereophile.com/content/2015-records-die-page-3 "Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes, the record was plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. The depth and space when those rich chromatic harmonies create a wide and well-defined soundscape, the timbre of the orchestra as a whole as well as individual instruments, and the thick, wooden sound of Wendell Marshall's bass are among the aural pleasures provided when you drop a needle on this platter; expect goose bumps." — Music = 5/5; Sonics = 4.5/5 - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, May-June 2015. "I chose the CD reissue of this album as one of my R2D4s for 2012, but now from Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions comes this QRP LP, and it's an occasion for popping corks. Released in 1950, this was Ellington's first LP, and he used the new medium to stretch out four of his biggest hits. The arrangements are jaw-droppingly gorgeous and the sound just slightly less so. Recorded by Fred Plaut, who later miked Kind of Blue and other Columbia classics, it has the dynamics, depth, and in-your-face tonal realism of a modern (mono) audiophile thumper. Among the best jazz albums ever. How about a 45rpm pressing, Chad?" — Fred Kaplan, for Stereophile - "Records To Die For" - February 2015. "Among the first recordings arranged and produced to take advantage of the LP's longer playing time, this album was released in 1950 on Columbia Records' classical imprint, Masterworks, with a whimsical cover by Stan Fraydas (author of Hoppy, the Curious Kangaroo) that's reproduced for this edition. (Columbia soon replaced it with an image more "modern" and more mundane.)... Freed from the 78rpm single's three-minute constraint, Ellington could score and record concert-length arrangements similar to those enjoyed by his concert audiences. Three of the four selections, including 'Mood Indigo' and 'Sophisticated Lady,' are familiar Ellington classics stretched and elasticized to luxurious effect. The harmonically saturated, transparent mono sound is astonishing for any era of recording. It's sure to leave you swooning, and wondering how and why recorded sound has since gone so far south." — Michael Fremer, for Stereophile - "Records To Die For" - February 2015. "I have recently been obsessed with Masterpieces by Ellington, one of the best records I have ever heard in terms of music and production. I can now see Ellington in full technicolor glory!" — Colleen ‘Cosmo' Murphy, Classic Album Sundays "Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions, in conjunction with Ryan Smith of Sterling Sound mastering studio have produced an LP that equals and in some way exceeds the sound of a pristine original pressing properly equalized. The perfectly quiet vinyl and exemplary packaging add up to one of the best reissues of the century." Recording = 10/10; Music = 10/10 - Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +, Issue 120 "This new re-issue slays my vintage copy in every way. Every dimension of the recording was much better...dynamics, harmonics, frequency response, detail, jump...all just leaped out at me! The recording sounded like it had been made that morning...absolutely fresh-sounding. No veiling. No roll-off. In fact, it's so good that it doesn't matter that this is a mono recording! Listen to it on a great turntable...you'll hear mono that fools you into thinking that it's not mono. Just wait until you hear Yvonne Lanauze sing, "Mood Indigo" amigos, after a long instrumental build-up...she'll take you there! ... The pressing itself was impeccable: flat, and free of noise, tics and pops...a genuine masterpiece of the pressing-plant arts. The Hyperion OCL, the finest cartridge that I've ever heard, revealed how superbly these grooves were carved! Commendable, reference-grade analog...very, very close to master tape sound. Very damned close! Kissing cousins close! Hell, maybe even closer than that. In fact, I now consider the Analogue Productions re-issue of Masterpieces by Ellington to be one of the very finest Jazz records ever released. (Sorry Miles! Move over, Kind of Blue!)." — David W. Robinson, editor-in-chief, Positive Feedback Online. "Most highly recommended (the record is now on the QRP presses). It's one of my 'Records to Die For' in the February 2015 Stereophile. You won't have to die to get a copy. $30 will do and it's well worth the money. A true classic both musically and sonically and a historical work of art you can now own." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 11/11 — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the whole review here. "The best album ever made by Duke Ellington, which is to say, one of the best albums in jazz — is also one of his least known. ... now, a leading audiophile record label, Analogue Productions of Salina, Kansas, has brought it out on pristine vinyl (it’s also, despite its vintage, one of the best-sounding jazz albums ever), and the time has come to take notice. ...  the new, remastered Analogue Productions LP, which is to the CD as a high-def television is to a circa-1980 Trinitron. Played on a good sound system, it’s a sonic time machine, hurling you into Columbia’s 30th Street Studio with the Ellington orchestra. Horns sound brassy, drums smack, cymbals sizzle, you hear the air pass through the woodwinds. When saxophones play in harmony, the overtones bloom like a sonic bouquet; when the musicians take a quarter-note pause, you hear them breathe in." — Fred Kaplan, Slate, Dec. 9, 2014 Read the whole review here. Masterpieces By Ellington shines from an astonishingly brief period of history that gave the recording industry two of its greatest achievements — the introduction of magnetic tape recording and the 33 1/3 LP, or long-playing record. Now with our 45 RPM release, the best-sounding version of this historic album gives listeners an even richer sonic experience. The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. Four years. That's all it took to go from the discovery by Americans, of German advancements in the field of sound recording, to the marketing of tape decks in the U.S. by the Ampex company, to Columbia's unveiling of its 12” LP, and the first long-playing record to be sold to consumers. The four selections contained here catapulted the Maestro Ellington into the LP era, as the great composer/arranger/pianist and his matchless orchestra took full advantage of the possibilities afforded by magnetic tape recording and the still-new 33 1/3 RPM LP to, for the first time, capture uncut concert arrangements of their signature songs. Duke was joined for this album by a virtuoso supporting cast: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn (piano). Russell ProcopePaul GonzalvesJohnnie HodgesJimmy Hamilton (saxophone). Nelson Williams, Andrew FordHarold BakerRay NanceWilliam Anderson (trumpet). Quentin JacksonLawrence Brown, Tyree Glenn (trombone). Mercer Ellington (horn). Sonny Greer (drums). Wendell Marshall (bass). Yvonne Lanauze (vocals). This album wouldn't have been possible without a chain of events starting at the end of World War II. Recorded in December 1950, just five years after Germany fell to the Allies, revealing the Germans' advances in magnetic tape recording, Ellington's master work holds its wonder still today and the recording quality hands-down betters the sound of many modern-day albums. 1944-45: Magnetic tape for sound recording spread to America after an American soldier, Jack Mullin, serving with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in the final months of WW II, received two suitcased-sized AEG 'Magnetophon' high-fidelity recorders and 50 reels of Farben recording tape that had fallen into American hands via the capture of a German radio station at Bad Nauheim. German engineers had perfected the technique of using Alternating Current bias — the addition of an inaudible high-fequency signal (from 40 to 150kHz) — to improve the sound quality of most audio recordings by reducing distortion and noise. 1947: Mullin became an American pioneer in the field of magnetic tape sound recording, after working to modify and improve the machines. He gave two demonstrations of the recorders at Radio Center in Hollywood in October 1947. A later demonstration for singer/entertainer Bing Crosby led to the use of magnetic tape for recording Crosby's radio programs. Crosby became the first star to use tape to pre-record radio broadcasts. 1948: Crosby invested $50,000 in local electronics firm, Ampex, and the tiny six-man concern soon became the world leader in the development of tape recording. Ampex revolutionized the radio and recording industry with its famous Model 200 tape deck, developed directly from Mullin's modified Magnetophones. Units marked serial No. 1 and 2 were delivered in April 1948 in time to record and edit the 27th Bing Crosby show of the 1947-48 season. A 200A at the time retailed for $4,000 — nearly as much as a standard single-family home. Crosby gave one of the first production tape decks to musician Les Paul, which led to Paul's invention of multitrack recording. The first production model 200A recorders are delivered to ABC and placed in service across the country. This marked the first widespread professional use of magnetic tape recording. Working with Mullin, Ampex rapidly developed 2-track stereo and then 3-track recorders. Mullin and Ampex developed a working monochrome videotape recorder by 1956. Here's where it gets really interesting, as The Duke and history made matchless audiophile magic. In 1950, two years into the LP era and the transition from disc to magnetic tape recording, Columbia Records got Duke Ellington and his orchestra into the studio to cut a long-playing record. The Columbia 30th Street Studio opened in 1949 and Masterpieces was one of the first recordings done in the studio! June 1948: Vinyl LPs had taken over as the standard for pressing records by the 1940s; in 1948 Columbia Records introduced its 12-inch Microgroove LP or Long Play record, which could hold at least 20 minutes per side. The first classical long-playing record, and the first 12" LP of any kind— catalog no. Columbia Masterworks Set ML 4001— was Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 64, played by violinist Nathan Milstein with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, conducted by Bruno Walter. December 19, 1950. Masterpieces by Ellington recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio. Released in 1951. Recording engineers Fred Plaut and Harold Chapman. Recorded on an Ampex 200, using 3M-111 magnetic tape running at 15 inches per second. (3M-111 tape was also introduced in 1948, the year the Model 200 debuted). The Columbia 30th Street Studio (CBS 30th Street Studio) nicknamed "The Church" was considered by some to be the best-sounding room in its time and others consider it to have been the greatest recording studio in history. Numerous recordings were made there in all genres, including Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (1959), Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story (Original Cast recording, 1957), Percy Faith's Theme from a Summer Place (1960) and Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979). The facility included both Columbia's "Studio C" and "Studio D." See historical photos from the heyday of the Columbia 30th Street Studio here. Columbia Records transformed the former church (the Adams-Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church, dedicated in 1875) into a recording studio in 1949. The studio had 100-foot high ceilings, a 100-foot floorspace to record, and the control room was on the second floor — a tight fit at 8x14 feet. It was later moved to the ground floor. Suddenly, for the first time in his career, Ellington was able to forgo the 3 minutes-and-change restrictions afforded by the short running time of the 78 RPM disc. He and his band rose to the occasion with extended (11-minute plus) 'uncut concert arrangements' of three of his signature songs — “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” with evocative vocals by Yvonne Lanauze, as well as “Solitude.” Masterpieces was also notable for the debut of the full-bodied, surprise-laden “The Tattooed Bride,” and for the swansongs of three Ellintonian giants of longstanding: drummer Sonny Greer, trombonist Lawrence Brown and alto saxist Johnny Hodges (the latter two would eventually return to the fold). Masterpieces is a revelation and a throwback to a golden recording age. So much history and so much luck combined make this album truly special. "Even in this august company, 'The Tattooed Bride' is a swinging virtuoso piece that, as everyone present must have known, couldn't possibly have been captured in this manner in any era before this session — this was also one of the last sessions to feature the classic Ellington lineup with Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown, and Sonny Greer, before their exodus altered the band's sound, and so it's a doubly precious piece (as is the whole album), among the last written specifically for this lineup." — AllMusic.com

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    Norah Jones – Come Away With Me

    92,00 

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    "The entire project from the songs to the superb recorded sound and packaging just reeks of good taste. And it couldn't have come cheaply. The label or someone made a major financial investment in an unknown's debut album. The investment paid off, as the album sold more than 26 million copies and won numerous awards. It wasn't that much of a risk, really. Jones' amalgam of jazz, country, folk and a touch of rock produced something new and highly attractive to a wide demographic. ... The records coming out of QRP are definitely living up to the pressing plant's early promise. This kind of drop dead black quiet is precisely what's required for Jones' music and QRP delivers it. Kevin Gray's mastering is equally superb." — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com, January 24, 2013. To read Fremer's full review, click here: http://tinyurl.com/bj8rkf7 "The original CD of Come Away With Me was never too bad on the ears, but (on the QRP pressing) the warmth and detail from the clean, flat vinyl shines through." — Review of the Norah Jones Vinyl Collection by Paul Sinclair, Superdeluxeedition.com The winner of eight 2003 Grammys, Come Away With Me was Norah Jones’ breakthrough triumph. Now Jones’ mellow, soul-and-country tinged music gets the richly-deserved Analogue Productions treatment on 180-gram, super-silent vinyl! Hits like the signature cut of this record "Don’t Know Why," have never sounded clearer and more sensual. Close your eyes and you’ll swear you’re sitting in the recording studio, watching the magic happen. Jones’ debut on Blue Note was immaculately produced by the great Arif Mardin. Jones, the the daughter of Ravi Shankar, is not quite a jazz singer, but she is joined by some highly regarded jazz talent: guitarists Adam Levy, Adam Rogers, Tony Scherr, Bill Frisell, and Kevin Breit; drummers Brian Blade, Dan Rieser, and Kenny Wolleson; organist Sam Yahel; accordionist Rob Burger; and violinist Jenny Scheinman. Her regular guitarist and bassist, Jesse Harris and Lee Alexander, respectively, play on every track and also serve as the chief songwriters. Both have a gift for melody, simple yet elegant progressions, and evocative lyrics. 2003 Grammy Winner ~ Record of the Year, Don't Know Why ~ Album of the Year, Come Away With Me ~ Song of the Year, Don't Know Why ~ Best New Artist, Norah Jones ~ Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Don't Know Why ~ Best Pop Vocal Album, Come Away With Me ~ Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, S. Husky Höskulds & Jay Newland, engineers ~ Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, Arif Mardin, producer

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    Miles Davis – Seven Steps To Heaven

    88,00 

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    “…The Analogue Productions sound is visceral and crisp in the best sense, and the quiet pressings ensure that no musical detail is even mildly obscured…with these 45rpm LPs, if your system is up to the task, you’ll hear boundless high-frequency reach and lavish dynamic nuance and harmonic delicacy.” – Marc Mickelson, The Audio Beat, December 2010 In 1963, Miles Davis was at a transitional point in his career, without a regular group and wondering what his future musical direction would be. At the time he recorded the music heard on this disc, he was in the process of forming a new band, as can be seen from the personnel: tenor saxophonist George Coleman, Victor Feldman (who turned down the job) and Herbie Hancock on pianos, bassist Ron Carter, and Frank Butler and Tony Williams on drums. Recorded at two separate sessions, this set is highlighted by the classic “Seven Steps To Heaven,” “Joshua” and slow passionate versions of “Basin Street Blues” and “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home.” Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound.

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    Sam Cooke – Night Beat

    88,00 

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    "...Thanks to Analogue Productions' 45-rpm reissue of Cooke's 1963 RCA album Night Beat he still speaks to us - eloquently. The sound is opulent; the songs excellent; the singing nonpareil; the mood, oh-so nostalgic." Music = 4.5/5; Sonics = 4/5 - Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, September 2010 "...The recording by Dave Hassinger is a masterpiece of immediacy, transparency and harmonic complexity...This is a big, juicy, wet and intoxicating recording comprised of richly drawn instruments, particularly Billy Preston's shimmering Hammond organ and Hal Blaine's woody percussion...A knockout of a reissue and essential." Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 - Michael Fremer, Musicangle "Whenever I think of Night Beat, I wonder how many records as perfect have been made since 1963. Listen anew to Sam Cooke's vocal honey on this Soul Blues album and I doubt you will come up with any worthy contenders...This 45 RPM issue was remastered at Sterling Sound and brings out the backing musicians including organist Billy Preston and guitarist Barney Kessel better than the ABKCO release, and makes it sound more like Sam was in the same room with the band. The definitive Night Beat." Recording = 10/10; Music = 10/10 - Dennis Davis, Hi-Fi+, Issue 69 Clearly Sam Cooke’s most intimate, most soulful and ultimately most real recording. This one has the feel of a private performance captured after hours when the audience had gone home and the singer was singing purely for the love of his songs. The performance put forth is simply straight from Cooke’s soul. His selection of songs include spiritual, bluesy ballads and gospel classics. Cooke owns these songs, making each interpretation all his own. This is warm music that’s easy to connect with. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound from the original three-track masters. Originally released in 1963.

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    Elvis Presley – Elvis is Back

    88,00 

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    “…His voice was in superb form, he was backed by the most sympathetic line-up in his career – including Scotty Moore, the Jordanaires, Hank Garland and DJ Fontana – and the repertoire included ‘Fever,’ ‘The Girl Of My Best Friend,’ ‘Reconsider Baby,’ ‘Such A Night.'” Sound Quality = 95% out of 100% – Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News, December 2010 “…This 45 RPM mastering by George Marino at Sterling Sound is astonishing. Yes, the double 45 RPM format is bound to yield a sonic improvement and I’d never bet against Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech, but this sounds so far superior in almost every way.” Music = 10/11; Sound = 10/11 – Michael Fremer, musicangle The ultra-hyped, hugely celebrated return of the King most certainly did not disappoint. Elvis Presley’s first full-length release after leaving the Army, aptly titled Elvis Is Back! was the answer to Elvis fans waiting anxiously for new material. Record label executives worried about whether he’d still be able to crank out the hits. Radio stations were dying for something new for their most requested playlist. It all combined to mount tremendous pressure on Elvis and all involved to deliver something that lived up to expectations. As it turned out, it was worthy of a giant yellow exclamation point on the front cover! Almost immediately after his service time had ended, Elvis entered the studio in March 1960 to record a batch of songs that would go on to become monumental worldwide hits. The singles “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and “It’s Now Or Never” created a tidal wave of excitement. And the LP tracks like “Fever,” “The Thrill Of Your Love,” “Dirty, Dirty Feeling” and “Like A Baby” confirmed that the King was still able to deliver a whole program worth of incomparable material. Listen to “Fever” at 45 RPM if you want to show someone what this hobby of yours is all about. Just vocals, bass and finger-snapping, it sounds so dark and haunting. It’s worth the price of admission for just this one track alone. While Presley’s records, in the eyes of some reviewers, yielded inconsistencies (mostly songs he recorded at the suggestion of others to appeal to a certain audience or tie-in with a film), there’s not one example of musical filler or a single forgettable performance on this 1960 gem. Until now, Elvis fans have satiated their desires with the prized DCC double LP edition (regularly commanding upwards of $200 on eBay) as well as the DCC gold disc (a rare find fetching $150 and more). Now no longer do you have to pay a premium to enjoy the magic of Presley’s voice, rhythms and foundation-paving melodies. Mastered by George Marino, the King’s best work has never sounded so intimate, detailed, present and alive. Images are true, tones are balanced, and the unbeatable warmth that only analog provides comes through unabated on every cut. Recorded over the course of two marathon sessions (one taking place in Hollywood and the other in Nashville), the sound is wonderfully natural and present. Every alluring shade, texture, and contour of Presley’s voice comes into your room with sheer transparency. Buy a copy and order another to keep sealed as an investment for when these sought-after platters go out of print. You won’t be sorry.

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    Harry Belafonte – Belafonte At Carnegie Hall

    88,00 

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    "Belafonte brought 'world' music to the masses, starting with 'Calypso.' ... By the time these two benefit concerts were performed on April 19th and 20th 1959, Belafonte had amassed a catalog of hits familiar to a wide swath of Americans. ... One can argue that originals are the best but not here. No way! Unlike the original pressings mastered from 2-track mix down from the 3-track original tape, Classic Records' reissue on both 33 1/3 and single-sided 45 RPM records and this new mastering are sourced directly from the 3-track tape. ... However, while I didn't think there was more to get from the tape than what Bernie Grundman got for Classic Records, I think Ryan K. Smith and the Sterling team have done just that, showcased by the utter black QRP backgrounds. ... it is among the greatest, if not the greatest live concert recordings ever made and Belafonte's and the orchestra's performances make it well-worth revisiting." Music = 10/11; Sound = 11/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. To read Fremer's full review, click here. AllMusic.com writes: "The grandaddy of all live albums, this double LP set captures the excitement of a Harry Belafonte concert at the height of his popularity. Sampled from two consecutive performances of identical material, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall was an anomaly at a time when only comedy albums were recorded outside of the studio environment. It wasn't the first live album ever made, but it was certainly the first to be a major financial and artistic success. It stayed on the best-selling album charts for over three years and remained in print until RCA discontinued pressing LPs." Well, wait no more if you haven't heard this marvelous record. We've gone all out for this deluxe reissue. Starting with premier mastering by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes. Then plating and presssing by Gary Salstrom and the crew at Quality Record Pressings, where the finest quality LPs in the world are pressed. But it doesn't stop there: We've enhanced the original studio photography and wrapped up the whole package in a deluxe "old-school" tip-on gatefold jacket from Stoughton Printing! Belafonte's mastery in front of an audience was never better displayed than here, a mastery that resulted in him becoming one of the most popular concert draws in history. Producer Bob Bollard and orchestra leader Bob Corman deftly integrated the 47-piece orchestra into the performance but knew when to lie back to let Belafonte sing, accompanied by a small combo of two guitars, bass, and percussion. The concert is divided in three sections: "Moods of the American Negro," "In the Caribbean," and "Around the World." All the hits are here: "Day O," "Jamaica Farewell," "Mama Look a Boo Boo," and others, plus calypso, folk songs, chain gang songs, spirituals, and songs from other lands, representing a veritable best-of package of Belafonte's first decade with RCA Victor. From the opening trumpet fanfare and brief orchestral overture to the epic 12-minute version of "Matilda" (which set a standard for audience participation), the album never lets up. It is exciting, poignant, thrilling, intimate, and at times, spontaneously hilarious. Have a seat, sip a beverage and enjoy!

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    Nils Lofgren – Acoustic Live

    88,00 

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    “Lofgren, no stranger to audiophiles, has standard recordings so good — the music, of course, warrants attention regardless of the sound quality — that ‘Keith Don’t Go’ has long been a show demo fave. This set from 1997, recorded when ‘unplugged’ was cool, is exactly what you’d want from a stellar guitarist with a distinctive voice, backed by piano and other guitars: an airy feel, a sense of space, all the requisite woodiness, the twang accounted for in a vivid manner that will make you wish you owned Quad ’57s.” — Sound Quality = 89% – Ken Kessler, HiFi News, August 2016 Guitarist and singer-songwriter Nils Lofgren in 1997 released a small treasure for longtime fans. Acoustic Live captures Lofgren alone in front of an appreciative audience, knocking out such favorites as “You,” “No Mercy” and “Keith Don’t Go,” plus six new songs. Even with the new songs, there are no real revelations, only a selection of little gems that will put a smile on your face as you listen. Yes, this is a digital recording. True to our company principles, Analogue Productions in almost all cases reissues recordings only where the analog master tape is available. However, there are rare exceptions that whether digitally recorded or otherwise, a recording is so outstanding it’s worthy of the highest quality vinyl reissue. Along with his work as a solo artist, Lofgren has marked more than 25 years as a member of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band as well as a former member of Crazy Horse and Grin. Lofgren joined Neil Young’s band in 1968 at age 17, playing piano on the album After the Gold Rush. Lofgren would maintain a close musical relationship with Young, appearing on his Tonight’s the Night album and tour among others. He was also briefly a member of Crazy Horse, appearing on their 1971 LP and contributing songs to their catalogue. From ’71 to ’74 Lofgren was active in Grin, the band he founded in ’69. Solo albums and tours followed every year through the 1970s as Lofgren established himself as a top guitarist and live performer earning the respect and acclaim of his peers. Bruce Springsteen made the call in 1984 and Lofgren joined the E-Street Band for the Born in the USA tour. Lofgren was an instant hit with Springsteens fans through his playing and vibrant on stage persona. Lofgren remains a stalwart of the E-Street Band to the present day. “Acoustic Live is an interesting and charming album from Nils Lofgren in 1997 as he follow on in the Unplugged tradition that became popular in the 1990s. It was actually recorded at The Barns Of Wolftrap, Vienna in Virginia on January 18th, 1997.” — bestlivealbums.com

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    Oscar Peterson – Night Train

    46,00 

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    5 stars Downbeat Magazine! — 4.5 stars AllMusic! This release presents the complete original album Night Train (Verve V6-538), one of the many masterpieces recorded by the classic Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen. Particularly focused on Duke Ellington compositions, this LP also features the earliest version of Peterson's own "Hymn to Freedom." Recorded Radio Recorders Studio, Hollywood, December 16, 1962

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    Harry Belafonte – Belafonte Sings The Blues

    58,00 

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    A favorite off the recommended list by The Absolute Sound magazine, and, as expressed in the liner notes, Harry Belafonte’s favorite recording. Belafonte has never before sung on records as he does in this album. He is freer, more earthy, more exultantly identified with his material than ever before. He has always communicated an often ferocious power as well as lyrical sensitivity, but in this collection he achieves a unity of emotional strength in and understanding of his material that marks an important stage in his evolution as an artist. Includes classic songs “Cotton Fields,” “God Bless’ The Child,” “Hallelujah I Love Her So.” Recorded in New York City in January and March 1958, and in Hollywood, California, in June 1958. As the liner notes by Nat Hentoff state, there is not much to say about the individual performances that is not entirely clear on hearing them. Truly a classic for discerning audiophiles, Belafonte Sings The Blues was the first Belafonte album recorded in stereo. The sound is incredible, and the dead-silent backgrounds of QRP 200-gram vinyl preserve every exquisite detail! This is one of Belafonte’s most satisfying set of performances.

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    Ben Webster – Gentle Ben

    88,00 

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    “The soundstage is intimate and inviting, Webster’s horn beautifully captured with sweet, rich overtornes, the bass liquid, chugging, and textured, piano and drums easy and natural. As with each title, the music emerges from QRP’s beautifully flat and wonderfully silent surfaces with that much more “there-ness.” Sonics = 4/5; Music = 3.5/5 — Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, January 2013

    “…Webster’s trademark sensual sound is on full display and, of course, he’s backed by Montoliu, an outstanding Spanish piano veteran who accompanied all the great jazz artists passing through Europe…This is one of the first releases by Analogue Productions pressed at their new in-house pressing plant Quality Record Pressings, and the record bears a close resemblance in appearance to records from Pallas – beautiful looking and perfectly quiet…The superb 200-gram LP comes in a rice paper sleeve and jacket of heavy cardboard…Highest Recommendation.” Recording = 10/10; Music = 8.5/10 — Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi+, Issue 81

    This recording was made 10 months before Ben Webster’s death in 1972. Webster, who had left the United States in 1965 to settle in Europe — first in Copenhagen and then in Amsterdam — was visiting fellow musician and friend Tete Montoliu in Barcelona. Webster and pianist Montoliu went back a ways, having played together regularly in Webster’s Copenhagen days. In fact, Montoliu cited Webster and Don Byas as his two chief musical influences. Webster and Montoliu understood each other deeply, and their comfort with on another is palpable in this recording. Their accompaniment of one another is seamless. On board with these two is Montoliu’s regular working trio-mates, Eric Peter on bass and Peer Wyboris on drums.

    There’s no shortage of Webster’s trademark breathy, fat tenor tone here. In fact, given the sparse arrangement, that rich, humid, giant sax blooms like on few other recordings. Highlights include “Ben’s Blues,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “The Man I Love” and “Don’t Blame Me.”

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    Various Artists – The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings

    125,00 

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    Celebrate the technical expertise of the world’s finest LP pressing plant — Quality Record Pressings — with the finest LP sampler ever assembled! The Wonderful Sounds Of Quality Record Pressings includes music handpicked by Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem and classical music tracks chosen by the team at Reference Recordings. Every song meets the criteria of excellent performance, perfect recording and flawless mastering. What better way to celebrate such a monumental anniversary for one of the absolute leading brands in analog high fidelity than with this to-die-for LP sampler? Contains most genres of music — blues, jazz, classical, R&B and female vocal. From now on, you’ll only need to carry one demo record around with you. Vinyl expert Michael Fremer, of The Tracking Angle and The Absolute Sound, gives you a track-by-track tour of the history and production of the songs on this special album. What separates our world-renowned Quality Record Pressings LPs from other manufacturers? Since Acoustic Sounds CEO Chad Kassem launched QRP in 2011, the focus has been on producing consistently virtually silent vinyl playing surfaces. The craft of pressing fine vinyl is perfected in such details. Such as plating lacquers within 24 hours of their arrival at the plant. Cut grooves are prone to change with temperature fluxuations, high humidity and time. The sooner that lacquers are plated, the better the fidelity of the final pressing. Other keys include using a proprietary silver spray formulation, made fresh daily. The result — more consistency in each LP. The ultimate sonic advantage.

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    Steppenwolf – Steppenwolf Gold: Their Great Hits (180 Gram)

    88,00 

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    “Perhaps the biggest surprise about this 1971 compilation, nearly a half-century after the band’s heyday, is not the quality of the music — that’s obvious — but the sonic impact. Most of us were introduced to this paradigm of gusty, semi-psychedelic rock via AM radio (or a certain hit road movie about two biker/hippies…), so few of us listened to ‘Born To Be Wild’ or ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ over good sound systems. But damn, the sound is solid, visceral, raunchy and detailed. John Kay’s snarl, a wall of guitars, those much-loved pedal effects and 11 sure-fire classics… This reissue is truly a fitting tribute to keyboardist Goldy McJohn, who passed away last August.” — Sound Quality: 85% — Ken Kessler, Hi Fi News, April 2018 Get your motor runnin’ baby — Steppenwolf’s Gold: Their Great Hits took its title literally. The towering rock album success rang in at No. 24 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and became certified gold for record sales in excess of 500,000 units by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) in April 1971. AllMusic praised the production and engineering of most of the tracks and called it a “nearly perfect” introduction to the band. Acoustic Sounds and Analogue Productions want to introduce you to the most sonically perfect version of this historic album you’ve ever heard on vinyl. Our 180-gram reissue was remastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Sound and plated and pressed by Gary Salstrom and his crew at Quality Record Pressings, makers of the world’s finest-sounding LPs. And now — we’ve upped the ante even more for true audiophile bliss — the 45 RPM 2LP version reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. Natural tonalities, superb balances, pristine clarity and more are all revealed. We’ve also added a 12″ full-color poster insert with the track list and additional vibrant artwork! The Canadian-American rock band, named for Hermann Hesse’s mystical novel, rocketed to worldwide fame after their third single “Born to Be Wild” dropped in 1968. The song and Steppenwolf’s version of Hoyt Axton’s “The Pusher” figured prominently in the 1969 counterculture cult film “Easy Rider,” and both show up on Gold’s track list. Two other singles on this stunning album compilation also cracked the Top 10 on the charts: “Magic Carpet Ride” and “Rock Me.” “Magic Carpet Ride” was released in 1968 on the album The Second. It was written by band members John Kay and Rushton Moreve, peaked at No. 3 in the U.S. and stayed on the charts for 16 weeks, longer than any other Steppenwolf song. You also get the Don Covay soul cover “Sookie, Sookie,” which got airplay on some soul stations nationwide, as well as rock ‘n’ roll radio. Gold also includes “Hey Lawdy Mama” the hit studio single from Steppenwolf Live. Steppenwolf enjoyed worldwide success from 1968 to 1972, when clashing personalities ultimately broke up the core group after a farewell concert in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day, 1972. Today, John Kay remains as the only original Steppenwolf member.

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