Vinyl Records

1971 Landmark Reaches New Audiophile Heights on UltraDisc One-Step Set

1/4" / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe

Of the countless accolades and analyses that surround Blue, no point is more significant than the fact that the 1971 Joni Mitchell album continues to become more popular, revered, referenced, and relevant with each passing day. Such vitality is not only extremely singular; it is the ultimate measure of great art and, in the context of Blue, indisputable proof of the record's accessibility, integrity, and timelessness. If the most brilliant and everlasting music seeks to find truths shared by all of humanity, Blue can be said to be universal doctrine.

All I Want
My Old Man
Little Green
Carey
Blue
California
This Flight Tonight
River
A Case of You
The Last Time I Saw Richard



Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 12,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set presents the landmark album with reference-grade detail, tonality, and directness. Marking the first time the beloved LP has received audiophile-quality treatment, it's one of six iconic 1970s Mitchell records Mobile Fidelity is reissuing on definitive-sounding vinyl and SACD sets.

Everything about Blue sounds more intimate, involving, and inescapable on this transparent pressing, which benefits from a virtually nonexistent noise floor and superior groove definition. Mitchell's voice, positioned front and center, and primarily accompanied by minimalist acoustic guitar, piano, and dulcimer playing, comes across clearly and prominently. Suspended notes and radiant chords double as question marks, commas, and phrases. The in-the-room presence and spatial dimensionality make absolute the full-range spectrum of introspective emotions — hurt and distress, self-awareness and joy, difficulty and uncertainty, warmth and desire — Mitchell navigates, queries, and contemplates throughout the record. The defenselessness the singer once spoke about is laid bare here like never before.

The packaging of the Blue UD1S set complements its distinguished status. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, both LPs come in special foil-stamped jackets with faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. This UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artifact for listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to engage themselves in everything involved with the album, including the unforgettable cover photograph of a ruminative Mitchell shot by Tim Considine.

Deemed the third Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone; universally celebrated by critics, fans, artists, and educators; and defined by a spell of disarmingly vulnerable songs that are at once confessional, intense, spare, honest, painful, hopeful, and exquisite, Blue charts love, spiritualism, independence, and loss like no record before or since. Widely considered the album that established the singer-songwriter template, the largely autobiographical LP changed everything shortly after its original release in June 1971. Amazingly, it continues to do so more than five decades later.

An incalculable influence on generations of artists, it stands as the through-line from Carole King, Elton John, James Taylor, Joan Armatrading, and Leonard Cohen to Patti Smith, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, and Rosanne Cash to 21st century contemporaries like Brandi Carlile, Taylor Swift, Sharon Van Etten, and Courtney Barnett. Teetering between agony and optimism, it is — to borrow a phrase from Mitchell's eternal "A Case of You" — a bottomless "box of paints."

The beauty of the stripped-down arrangements, intoxicating melodies, and Mitchell's wisdom on Blue didn't go unnoticed. Critical acclaim, coupled with the depth of the material and Mitchell's reputation, propelled the album into the Top 20 in the U.S. and Top 10 in the U.K. Yet while so much pop music diminishes with age, Blue has defied norms and headed in the opposite direction. Its 50th anniversary year witnessed an outpouring of tributes, reflections, and testimonials that helped frame the record's escalating importance and symbolism — apt in an age in which women have become the prominent trailblazers in rock, R&B, and hip-hop.

Perhaps most succinctly, in a 2021 article celebrating the LP, the Los Angeles Times declared: "In 1971, nothing sounded like Joni Mitchell's Blue. 50 years later, it's still a miracle." Nothing, indeed. Yet "miracle" suggests Blue partially owes to a divine agent or inexplicable circumstance. And though Mitchell's bracing conviction and forthright sincerity can appear otherworldly, her musical approach and lyrical storytelling is nothing if not personal and human. What we hear is pure truth — no matter how aching, complicated, or stark.

Much has been written about the circumstances that inspired the songs on Blue: Mitchell's romances; her time overseas; her disdain for celebrity; her lingering sense of loss at having given up her daughter for adoption; her treatment by the very same industry that her music made uncomfortable; her prolonged search for resolution. These situations and experiences pushed Mitchell to question everything — especially big-picture concepts that have always obsessed mankind: fulfillment, autonomy, love, honesty, being.

"I wanna make you feel free," Mitchell sings on the record-opening "All I Want." Mission accomplished. Blue is liberation — and the start of a freedom that continues to impact music, culture, and identity today.

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Presents Music's Hallmark Smoothness, Lushness, and Detail in Reference Sound
1/2" / 30 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe


The opening track to the Alan Parsons Project's Eye in the Sky remains the most recognized instrumental in sports – fanfare inseparably tied with introducing NBA legend Michael Jordan and his six-time world-champion Chicago Bulls mates before games, and still used by many teams as an energy-raising prelude. Indeed, the subdued grandiosity, cosmic bluster, and lights-out wonder of "Sirius" also sets the table for the band's smash 1982 album, whose hallmark smoothness, lushness, and balance reach epic heights on Mobile Fidelity's reissue.

Sirius
Eye in the Sky
Children of the Moon
Gemini
Silence and I
You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned
Psychobabble
Mammagamma
Step by Step
Old and Wise

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, and afforded the luxurious groove space of a 45RPM LP, this numbered version of Eye in the Sky features succulent warmth, magnificent balance, low-end heft, and see-through transparency that takes you into the studio with Parsons and creative partner Eric Woolfson at Abbey Road. Akin to Mobile Fidelity's meticulous restoration of Parsons and company's I Robot, this super-clean edition will test the full-range capabilities of the world's finest stereo systems. In sum, there's more information, more detail, more texture, more nuance – more of everything to be experienced.

Boasting front-to-back depth, concert-hall-level separation, realistic presence, and bang-on accuracy, Mobile Fidelity's edition of Eye in the Sky illustrates the lasting importance of perfectionist-minded engineering and recording techniques. Few works possess such a mesmerizing blend of reference-setting sonics and commercial acumen, facets that helped earn the set a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album – and, more than 35 years after its release, a Grammy for Best Immersive Audio Album for its surround format. Parsons' track record – he sat behind the boards for the Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon – speaks for itself. As do the performances throughout Eye in the Sky, which features Woolfson's exquisite songwriting and memorable lead vocals on the hit title track.

Bypassing the conceptual themes present on the group's other signature efforts, Eye in the Sky uses a string of seamless melodies, hooks, and mood to draw and hold listeners' attention. It survives as Parsons and Woolfson's pop triumph, full of exquisite songwriting, dreamy emotions, and soft edges that parallel an underlying orchestral scope and prog-derived drama. For example, the string- and brass-laden "Silence and I" alone qualifies as a rhapsodic symphony. Credit for the music's craft, cohesiveness, and accessibility also falls to Parsons and Woolfson's knack for recruiting session pros that translate their visions with unquestioned emotion – particularly, the assembly of star vocalists that include Elmer Gantry ("Psychobabble"), former Zombie frontman Colin Blunstone ("Old and Wise"), and soul singer Lenny Zakatek ("You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" and "Step by Step").

As with all Parsons releases, the arrangements proverbially dot every "i" and cross every "t." Each note seems perfectly placed, every sequence painstakingly considered. Not to mention the narratives to the surveillance-obsessed title track and pulsing "Psychobabble" carry more weight in the 21st century than they did in the early stages of the Reagan/Thatcher era. And, just as it begins, with an appropriate flourish announcing the catchiness that follows, the platinum-selling Eye on the Sky finishes with fitting sentimentality in the form of a spiraling, saxophone-led ballad ("Old and Wise") that could easily fit on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's World-Renowned Mastering System: Meticulous Production, Harmonies, and Tones in Lifelike Clarity
1/4" / 15 IPS analog copy to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe

The liner notes pioneering writer Ralph J. Gleason penned for the back cover of Simon and Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme ring as true now as they did upon the record's original release in 1966. He mused: "Today's popular music is in good shape indeed – at least the portion of it represented by this album. It has strength and it has beauty, it has lyricism, meaning and, above all, that quality of broad appeal which still retains form. And its music speaks for more than the moment. The songs in this album are songs for all time." Indeed, they are, and they can now be experienced in the highest fidelity they've ever enjoyed.

Scarborough Fair/Canticle
Patterns
Cloudy
Homeward Bound
The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
The Dangling Conversation
Flowers Never Bend in the Rainfall
A Simple Desultory Philippic
For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
A Poem on the Underground Wall
7 O'Clock News/Silent Night

Mobile Fidelity Numbered 180g LPs

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes with Mobile Fidelity's One-Step Process: Pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, Limited to 10,000 Copies

Janis Joplin wouldn't be denied on Pearl. The powerhouse vocalist had kicked her addictions, teamed with a stupendous band, and partnered with a producer who knew how to best showcase her voice on record. She came to the sessions with an armload of astonishing songs, and a burst of creative energy that mirrored her rejuvenated emotional state and undeniable spirit. You can hear it on every note of the 1971 record. Ranked #135 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Pearl sold more than four million copies and stands as the first female rock superstar's definitive studio work. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S 180g 45RPM 2LP box set presents the landmark effort like never before.

Move Over
Cry Baby
A Woman Left Lonely
Half Moon
Buried Alive In the Blues
My Baby
Me and Bobby McGee
Mercedes Benz
Trust Me
Get It While You Can

Mobile Fidelity Numbered 180g LPs
The Consummate Version of Tapestry: Deluxe Audiophile Pressing Limited to 10,000 Numbered Copies

Carole King's Tapestry is the rare record that plays in your head the moment its title, cover art, or songs are mentioned. Ranked the 25th Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, it is the singer-songwriter LP you'd bring to the proverbial desert island if you were limited to one choice. Renowned for its lifelike production, Tapestry sounds clearer, richer, and more emotional than ever courtesy of Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step reissue.

I Feel the Earth Move
So Far Away
It's Too Late
Home Again
Beautiful
Way over Yonder
You've Got a Friend
Where You Lead
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Smackwater Jack
Tapestry
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

The Ultimate Version of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Debut.
Mastered with Mobile Fidelity’s One-Step Process and Pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl: Couldn’t Stand the Weather UD1S 45RPM Box Set Is The Ultimate Version of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Debut
Lavish Packaging Includes Opulent Box and Special Foil-Stamped Jackets: Deluxe Audiophile Pressing Strictly Limited to 7,000 Numbered Copies.


TRACK LIST

Side 1:
1. Scuttle Buttin’
2. Couldn’t Stand The Weather
3. The Things (That) I Used to Do

Side 2:
4. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

Side 3:
1. Roughest Place in Town

Side 4:
1. Cold Shot
2. Honey Bee
3. Stang’s Swang

"LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith" - LaVern Baker (voc); Paul Quinichette (ts); Jerome Richardson (bs); Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green (tb); Buck Clayton (tp); Nat Pierce (p); Danny Barker (g); Wendell Marshall (b); Joe Marshall (dr); a.o.

?It was 1958 when a passably successful R&B singer entered the recording studio with an all-star band to tape a dozen songs from the global repertoire of a legendary blues vocalist. The old-fashioned style in LaVern Baker’s tribute to Bessie Smith might seem somewhat strange in the midst of popular R&B numbers and the growing productivity of the Motown hit machines, but it certainly found favour with the public. And for a very good reason too! Right from the very first number, "Gimme A Pigfoot", the snappy bass line conjures up the ballroom atmosphere of the Twenties. A bluesy dialogue with the trumpet ("Baby Doll", "I Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle"), alternating with robustly orchestrated swing rhythms ("On Revival Day"), and time and again cool, faltering blues ("Black Water Blues") guarantee great listening and entertainment. The great names in the band read like a Who Is Who of outstanding musicians – Nat Pierce, Buck Clayton, Paul Quinichette, Urbie Green and Jimmy Cleveland, all who crown the fantastic sound of their performance with relaxed and easy-going solos and finely balanced background playing that would hardly be more authentic on a live stage. And by the way, fans of traditional big-band swing will love this album too.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under http://www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: 1958 by Tom Dowd
Production: Nesuhi Ertegun

Mobile Fidelity Numbered 180g LPs
Reference-Level Detail, Depth, Soundstaging, Balance, and Presence: Communiqué Has Never Sounded Better
The performances on Dire Straits' Communiqué are so smooth and effortless, they were originally criticized for replicating the blueprints of the band's breakout debut. Time, however, has a way of changing perspectives and exposing the truth. More than 35 years after its original release in June 1979, Communiqué rightfully takes its place as the group's most underrated record – a nine-track set spiked with engaging storytelling, relaxed vibes, and deceiving simplicity.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP set of Communiqué elevates Dire Straits' sophomore album to an even higher plane. Recorded in the Bahamas by Muscle Shoals veterans Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler, the songs benefit from a laidback approach that makes guitarist/vocalist Mark Knopfler and company's stellar playing seem even more fluent – particularly when experienced on this collector's 45RPM version, on which the wider grooves allow for more detail retrieval and deeper musical insight.

Knopfler's mesmerizing guitar textures and composed vocals appear as if they're right in front of you, holding court amidst expansive soundstages and deep-black backgrounds. Details, imaging, and presence are on a level associated with the finest audiophile recordings. You'll be hard-pressed to find another LP with cleaner, pinpoint-accurate tones. Mobile Fidelity's LP also brings into transparent view Knopfler's seemingly perfect intricate lines as well as the simpatico accompaniment from his band mates. Whole, lively, and balanced, the bass and drums arrive with a solidity rarely heard on albums of this era. Communiqué has truly never sounded better.

Of course, the audiophile sonics mean little if the artistic content is lacking. Needless to say, Dire Straits' technical perfectionism and creative elan prevail throughout. Knopfler's penchant for sketching cynical characters is further developed on moody tracks like "Where Do You Think You're Going" and "News," while Wexler's presence at the boards ensures the band keeps the rhythms extra tight. The quartet's low-key blues and swampy, Southern-styled grooves turn every song into an exercise in understated virtuosity.

Refusing to give into excess, magnetic tunes such as "Lady Writer" and "Angel of Mercy" split a fine line between insinuating and insisting. The group shows off a combination of control, virtuosity, and tunefulness that harkens back to a rock n' roll's classic period while also pointing the way ahead. Need indisputable evidence of Dire Straits' compositional strengths? Cue up the closing "Follow Me Home" on this pressing and get lost amidst the peacefulness of the gentle surf and chirping crickets that frame the song. Heavenly.

Mobile Fidelity Numbered 180g LPs
Unsurpassed Spaciousness, Imaging, and Transparency: Mastered from the Original Tapes, Music Emerges With New Details and Tones
Love Over Gold is all about contrast, tension, and crafty composition. Dire Straits' fourth album finds the band continuing to evolve by welcoming increasingly bold arrangements and exploring moody variations. Parts edgy and sharp, and part seductive and relaxed, the five lengthy songs on Love Over Gold sprawl out like a long, winding road cutting through a pastoral landscape. The addition of a new rhythm guitarist, Hal Lindes, encourages deeper atmospheric interplay while the presence of engineer Neil Dorfsman – his first appearance in what would be a long string of collaborations with Mark Knopfler – ensures stunning sonic properties that now come to life like never before.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP version of Love Over Gold teems with superb balances, front-to-back soundstages, and crystalline purity. The dead-quiet surfaces and extra-wide grooves bring forward previously obscured details, extra information, and mastering-studio-quality transients. The distinctive textures of a host of instruments – marimbas, acoustic and electric guitars, vibes, synthesizers – further enhance the ambitiousness of the 1982 album.

On this audiophile pressing, everything Knopfler does seemingly turn to gold. Gearheads will hear the unique characteristics afforded by his use of a Mesa Boogie Mark II guitar amplifier (soon again employed on Brothers in Arms) and carefully chosen selection of Schecter Stratocasters, 1937 National steel guitar, and Ovation six- and twelve-string models. Reference-level separation and lifelike imaging place Knopfler and company in your room, while tube-like warmth, spaciousness, and airiness causes the music to breathe anew. This LP will be in your rotation for months.

It doesn't take long to realize Love Over Gold is like no other Dire Straits album – and a staunch proclamation of independence from a band that continued to take longer creative strides with each successive project. Fearlessly extending over metaphoric hills, valleys, and plains for nearly 14-and-a-half minutes, the opening "Telegraph Road" is a guitar hero's dream and exhilarating showcase for Lindes' give-and-take capabilities. In tandem with keyboardist Alan Clark, Lindes provides the ideal foil for not only Knopfler but the long-time rhythm section of bassist John Illsley and drummer Pick Withers.

Taking its time to arrive at destinations, the quintet paints evocative musical and lyrical portraits steeped in patience, drama, and, often times, sadness. Desolate emotions color the sweeping "Telegraph Road" and barren "Private Investigations," which finds Knopfler in the role of a tired private eye contemplating the emptiness and scars of his profession. Vocally, the Dire Straits leader remains in top form throughout, his whiskey-coated rasp conveying romantic ache, ongoing frustration, and what Rolling Stone beautifully deemed "wracking schizophrenia between the heart and the heartless, the loving and the pain."

Called Dire Straits' prog-rock statement, Love Over Gold is a classic that defies labeling and avoids aging.

"Big Joe Rides Again" - Big Joe Turner (voc); Coleman Hawkins (ts); Jerome Richardson (as); Ernie Royal, Jimmy Nottingham (tp); Lawrence Brown (tb); Jimmy Jones (p); Jim Hall (g); Doug Watkins (b); Charlie Persip (dr); a.o.

?That the experts inducted 'Big Joe' Turner into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983, i.e. during his lifetime, is surely in order when one considers how he expressed his attitude to life with his 12-bar stylistic freedom. That he was additionally honoured by being posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however, makes one wonder whether the incorruptible experts had made a mistake. No matter what: this giant of a man with his big, gentle voice had certainly earned a place of honour in the era of swing as well.
Turner, who appeared on stage with Goodman, Ellington, Tatum and – in later years – with Gillespie and Eldridge, offers his listeners many facets of the blues. The opening number, "Switchin’ In The Kitchen", is a fairly fast boogie-woogie where the vocal swings freely with sharp blasts in the background. Other swinging numbers, in which jazz champions such as Coleman Hawkins and Ernie Royal perform solos, include several ballad-like evergreens ("Pennies From Heaven"), which Turner and his band elaborate to become an imposing aria ("Until The Real Thing Comes Along").
The grooves of this LP are distinguished by means of the open, unfiltered Atlantic sound. The saxophone solos in particular, complete with the clicking of the valves and blowing noise, give one the feeling that the soloist is performing in your living room.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under http://www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: September 1959 by Len Frank, Phil Iehle and Tom Dowd
Production: Nesuhi Ertegun

Ratings
Allmusic: 4 stars Discogs: 4,00 / 5

"Afro Classic" - Hubert Laws (fl); Don Sebesky (arr); Fred Alston, Jr. (bassoon); Bob James (el-p); Gene Bertoncini (g); David Friedman (vib); Ron Carter (b); Airto, Richie 'Pablo’ Landrum (perc); Fred Waits (dr)

?In the Seventies, fusion was a popular pigeonhole for music somewhere between jazz and pop. At the same time it was also an often used, belittling term employed by critics and representatives of 'pure' jazz, who never wanted to listen to it, let alone include any of the numerous LPs in their collection.
Forty years later, the dust has settled. Flautist Hubert Laws’ recordings not only for the Atlantic but also the CTI labels are treasured – especially the present LP, which was produced by the 'Master of Sound' Creed Taylor. Now these crossover numbers from the worlds of classic, jazz, pop and easy listening are available once more. Discover, for example, Al Kooper’s composition "Fire And Rain" (more familiar are the versions from Blood, Sweat & Tears and James Taylor), the famous theme music from the film "Love Story", and three classical compositions by J. S. Bach and Mozart. All have been given a facelift and with such super sidemen ranging from Ron Carter to Bob James and a superb Freddie Waits on the drums, they are a real treat.
So cast aside any preconceptions and enjoy this meticulous production and the clear reproduction on vinyl.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under http://www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: December 1970 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA
Production: Creed Taylor

Ratings
Allmusic: 5 stars Discogs: 3,88 / 5

"Paradise & Lunch" - Ry Cooder (g, mand, b, voc); Ronnie Barron (p, org); Earl Hines (p); Plas Johnson (as); Oscar Brashear (crt); Red Callender, John Duke (b); Russ Titelman, Chris Ethridge (el-b); Milt Holland (dr, perc); Jim Keltner (dr); a.o.

?A good 20 years have passed since a band with ancient musicians from Cuba – the Buena Vista Social Club – took the world by storm. Behind the project, in the wings yet right in the midst of this unheard-of music, was Ry Cooder, who regarded this encounter as the greatest musical event of his entire life. The bottleneck guitar hero had always been very interested in the music from the other Americas ever since the solo albums he made in his early years, in which he told the story of the American folk and blues in a multitude of styles. The LP "Paradise And Lunch" is no exception and begins with gospel-like grooves that smell of native soil.

The faint smell of a wooden church from pioneering days wafts out of the processional antiphonal song "Jesus On The Mainline" and a healthy 12-bar blues paints a picture of what silent witnesses could tell if they could ("If Walls Could Talk"). Cooder and his sidemen felt themselves perfectly at home when adventuring further afield and this is testified to in the laid-back calypso rhythm of "It’s All Over Now" and the clip-clop of "Mexican Divorce".
This wonderful album is highly recommended for each and every number, but if you want a tip for a very special track, then just listen to the ragtime piano rolls in Bo Diddley’s "Ditty Wah Ditty".

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: 1974 at the Warner Brothers Studios in North Hollywood and Burbank (USA), by Lee Herschberg
Production: Lenny Waronker & Russ Titelman

Ratings
Allmusic: Discogs: 4,00 / 5

Corelli: Concerto Grosso No. 8 / Pachelbel: Canon / Ricciotti: Concertino No. 2 / Gluck: Chaconne - Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra conducted by Karl Münchinger

The musical press has showered praise upon the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and its founder and conductor Karl Münchinger for their spectacular performances. This DECCA recording now presents a delightful choice of works performed by this South German ensemble.
The programme opens in a splendidly festive Baroque spirit with Arcangelo Corelli’s famous Christmas Concerto, a work which is typical for the concerto grosso form with its alternation of tutti and solo passages. The instrumental soloists in particular dazzle with their finely chiselled playing and ravishing tone over the gentle sway of the strings. Münchinger has achieved a veritable miracle with his arrangement of Johann Pachelbel’s Canon, originally composed for the organ, for each and every instrument of the orchestra enhances the magic of this music. Carlo Ricciotti’s Concertino No. 2 offers us an insight into the various musical forms of the early 18th century.
The programme ends with Christoph Willibald Gluck’s vigourous Chaconne whose splendour and pomp is taken to new dramatic heights by the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester.
Light a candle and settle down for a delightful evening of entertainment: this excellent recording ensures that you will enjoy every minute to the full – and not just at Christmas time.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording : October/ November 1960 at Victoria Hall, Geneva by Roy G. Wallace / Production: James Walker

Ratings
Discogs: 3,50 / 5

Mobile Fidelity Numbered 180g LPs
Dire Straits Brothers in Arms on Numbered Edition 45RPM 2LP


1985's Brothers in Arms Has Sold More Than Nine Million Copies in U.S. Alone, Ranked #351 on Rolling Stone's List of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

There are hit records. And then there are blockbusters. One of the world's best-selling records, a winner of two Grammy Awards, an era-defining reference statement, an MTV favorite, and a set that catapulted an already-acclaimed band to arena status, Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms is the kind of epic spectacular that comes around only once or twice a decade. Surpassed only in fame and visibility during the period by Michael Jackson's Thriller, the 1985 album remains idiosyncratic for its covetable combination of adventurous songwriting, precision-based performances, and reference-caliber fidelity.

The sense of realism this edition delivers will leave slack-jawed even the most hard-to-please audiophiles. As the recipient of the Grammy for Best-Engineered Recording, the album has always been a go-to sonic standard, but never has it sounded so reach-out-and-touch-it realistic as it does on this analog pressing. All of the hallmark characteristics – ample spaciousness, ideal balances, widescreen dynamics, immersive depth, lush production – are here in spades. As is music-making of enviable proportions.

While it's easy to speculate that the colossal success of Brothers in Arms relates to its timing – its release during an era obsessed with catchy singles, flashy MTV videos, and whistle-friendly melodies – reasons for the album's chart-busting success primarily owe to the expertly crafted songs and memorable playing turned in by a group hitting its creative peak. Not to mention the spatial dimensions that cause instruments and vocals to naturally float in a fixed area.

Anchored by "Money for Nothing," a caustically themed smash immediately identifiable via Mark Knopfler's resonant finger-picked guitar riff and Sting's "I want my MTV" vocal refrain, Dire Straits' fifth album is stuffed with bluesy signatures, jazz-rock motifs, clever lyrics, and organic accents. Diversity and consistency also extend to the songs' moods. Singing with his trademark light-to-the-touch timbre, Knopfler conjures feelings of poignancy, peacefulness, and mellowness, channeling wistfulness on the Top 10 single "So Far Away" and somber assurance on "Why Worry."

Perfection abounds, not only in the manner in which the band nails its pop hooks and uptempo boogies with debonair flair – but also in the control room. Iconic session jazz drummer Omar Hakim supplies fluid beats and solid rhythmic foundations while Knopfler and Co. comb over grooves so smooth it seems that they're made of honey butter. Dire Straits would never play with such effortless again.

Dire Straits Brothers in Arms Track Listing:

1. So Far Away
2. Money for Nothing
3. Walk of Life
4. Your Latest Trick
5. Why Worry
6. Ride Across the River
7. The Man's Too Strong
8. One World
9. Brothers in Arms

Mobile Fidelity Numbered 180g LPs
Miles Davis Kind of Blue on Numbered Edition 45RPM 2LP Box Set


If There's a Stairway to Heaven, This is the Soundtrack: Epochal 1959 Record the Mt. Rushmore of Jazz Sessions

How does one properly introduce an epochal record? Perhaps by unequivocally stating that it is the best-selling jazz album in history. Or by affirming that, every year, it sells tens of thousands of copies more than five decades after its original release. There's also the matter of its status as the most-referenced, and arguably, most important, jazz recording of all-time. And the Dream Team lineup of Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Yes, Kind of Blue is utterly inimitable.

In its three-decade-plus history, Mobile Fidelity has never been prouder to have the honor of handling efforts as important as Davis' key recordings. It's why the our engineers took every available measure to transport listeners to the March and April 1959 sessions that parlayed modal jazz into mainstream language. The blueprint for melodic improvisation and vamping, Kind of Blue simplifies tonal organization and chordal progression into an eminently beautiful, introspective tapestry stitched with swinging poetry, mellifluous soloing, compositional lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and group interplay of the highest caliber.

While no one has ever completely identified the magic behind the record's allure--the otherworldly nature is part of its inherent charm--much of the success lies with the band members. Davis intentionally handpicked these musicians to comprise this particular cast, with everyone from former foil Evans to blues maestro Kelly to percussive genius Cobb interacting and reacting with peerless skill.

An audiophile favorite from the day it was issued, Kind of Blue takes on nirvanic sonic proportions via Mobile Fidelity's reissue. The expressive warmth, imaging clarity, frequency extension, and window-on-the-world breadth afforded by this new edition places music lovers right in the studio with the sextet. Close your eyes and, no matter how many times you may have heard it before, your experience will parallel that of the players that recorded these gems. Everyone shares in the excitement of not knowing what will happen and, as the music begins to lie out in front of you, you'll feel as if you've been whisked away to a jazz holy land. Quintessential.

Miles Davis Kind of Blue Track Listing:

1. So What
2. Freddie Freeloader
3. Blue in Green
4. All Blues
5. Flamenco Sketches

"The Genius After Hours" - Ray Charles (p); Dave 'Fathead' Newman (as, ts); Emmott Dennis (bs); Joseph Bridgewater, John Hunt (tp); Roosevelt Sheffield, Oscar Pettiford (b); Joe Harris, William Peebles (dr)

?No ifs and buts! Ray Charles belongs in every jazz collection. Friends of pure jazz tend to forget this in the light of his numerous hits in categories such as gentle ballads, and even country and western songs, and rhythm’n’blues during the more than 60 years of Charles’ extremely successful (also financially speaking) career.
The producer Neshui Ertegun gathered together a star-studded cast for this Atlantic Records studio recording. There was David Newman on the tenor sax, Joe Harris on the drums, and even Oscar Pettiford on the bass. Not forgetting Ray Charles himself who was an excellent jazz pianist.
The studio was saturated with the blues! A relaxed mood prevailed, just as one might imagine it. The musicians came to the studio after a concert, they were completely drained, worn out, exhausted: they had the blues and then they played the blues.
Even a standard work such as Gershwin’s "The Man I Love" was turned into an elegy. Only "Ain’t Misbehavin’", which reminds one more of Earl Hines than Fats Waller, and "Charlesville" - a fast blues number - were treated to a change of tempo.
"The Genius After Hours" is a self-portrait that exhibits the less well-known talents of this exceptional artist during the second half of the last century. It makes great listening for all lovers of jazz, soul, blues, rhythm’n’blues, country and western, pop, funk … You name it, Charles has got it!

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: April 1956 and September 1957 in New York City in mono
Production: Nesuhi Ertegun & Jerry Wexler

The second of Germany's Accustic Arts popular 'Uncompressed World' series to be released in LP format.
This is a two record, 180 gram audiophile set pressed on very high quality quiet vinyl. Expect to hear a very natural and organic production featuring 14 quite distinctive male voices.


Click image to enlarge

"Native Dancer" - Wayne Shorter (ts, ss, p); Herbie Hancock (p); Wagner Tiso (p, org, b); David Amaro, Jay Graydon (g); Milton Nascimento (g, voc); Dave McDaniel, Jay Graydon (b); Roberto Silva (dr); Airto Moreira, Roberto Silva (perc)

?The record company Columbia must be given credit for providing Wayne Shorter with a studio and the finances to realise such an expensive and elaborate production in 1974. Whether the costs were covered by the sales is certainly a matter for conjecture. But there were, however, other super-selling pop giants on their roster in the Seventies...
For the present LP Wayne Shorter took a chance with five compositions by Milton Nascimento, wrote three pieces himself, and one was contributed by Herbie Hancock. Apart from Herbie Hancock and Airto Moreira, the musicians were relatively unknown, yet they were all capable of integrating themselves and making a personal contribution. What is truly fascinating in this music is the beauty of the themes, and the affinity to Brazilian folk music. In the liner notes, Wayne Shorter emphasizes the authenticity and the seriousness with which the studio was filled during the recording session. This is absolutely palpable and audible in every second of the music – even after almost half a century. What better reason for including "Native Dancer" in your collection, alongside "Speak No Evil" and "Supernova". And by the way, with Wayne Shorter you can’t go wrong; you can buy his records without any ifs and buts.

Recording: 1975 at Village Recorders, Los Angeles, by Robert Fraboni
Production: Jim Price

"White Trash" - Edgar Winter (voc, p, org, as, perc); Jerry laCroix (voc, ts, harp); Floyd Radford, Johnny Winter, Rick Derringer (g); Jon Smith (voc, ts); Mike McLellan (voc, tp); George Sheck (b); Bobby Ramirez (dr); a.o.

?Question: What is whiter than white? There's only one answer: Winter – Edgar Winter. While his equally pale-faced brother Johnny turned towards black music with a country-blues touch (Columbia KCS 9949 and CS 9826), Edgar was inspired by the traditional big-band sound. The brotherly link paid off, for it freed the talented Edgar from having to make strenuous appearances at night in clubs and gave him the chance to join his older brother in the recording studio.
After his successful debut release "Entrance", Winter gathered an all-star band around him and entered the studio to record "White Trash", which landed a smash hit on the US charts. And no wonder – for these soul rockers give everything in a unique mixture of funk, blues and rock 'n' roll. Right from the first number "Give It Everything You Got", a broadly striding rock title with brass, the whole album is bursting with energy and a great atmosphere. Wiry blues with meaty vocals enough to make your hair curl ("I've Got News For You") is followed by the demand – in meaty, snapped phrases – for cheerful rock'n'roll ("Keep Playin' That Rock And Roll"). And let's not forget the sometimes madly intertwined solo parts, where the musicians really let off steam. A true celebration of rock'n'roll.

Recording: 1971 by Pete Weiss
Production: Rick Derringer

"The Bach Keyboard Concertos" J. S. Bach: Keyboard Concertos Nos. 1-5 and 7 / L. v. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Glenn Gould, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Golschmann and Leonard Bernstein

The attempts that have been made to describe Glenn Gould’s complex personality are endless in number, as are his surprising and often eccentric interpretations. Whether he is considered to be a sensitive maniac, neurotic individualist or uncompromising genius – Gould polarises, provokes and fascinates us long after his death in 1982. As early as 1964 the Canadian pianist ceased to give concerts, since he found appearing before an audience completely unacceptable and preferred to concentrate on studio recordings.
Way in front of composers of the Viennese Classical era, which he did not take particularly seriously – although his performances keenly reflect Beethoven’s rhythmicity – comes his personal deity: Bach. Gould’s notorious strictness gives form to the minutest of figure in the score. He weaves his way through Bach’s music and thereby articulates its tightly knit and multi-facetted depths. No lecturing keyboard proponent this, but a creative co-composer who imbues the spirit of the music with life and sonority. Upon the release in 1980 of the 80th Birthday Edition with its wealth of visual and tonal material, the music journalist Werner Theurich wrote that »no one had ever played more raptly, or more intensively. That Gould’s performances are nothing but heavenly can be seen and felt. The rest is pure music.«

Recording: ?April 1957, April / May / July 1958, May 1967 and February 1969 at Columbia's 30th Street Studio, New York City, by Fred Plaut
Production: ?Andrew Kazdin and Howard H. Scott

Decca SXL 2028
Franz Schubert: Octet in F major, D 803 - The Vienna Octet: Willi Boskovsky, Philip Matheis (v); Günther Breitenbach (va); Nikolaus Hübner (vc); Johann Krump (b); Alfred Boskovsky (cl); Josef Veleba (h); Rudolf Hanzl (bs)

Schubert’s light and flowing Octet in F major is of great importance in both an historical and a compositional aspect. Thanks to its combination of string and wind instruments, it is akin in character to the cheerful divertimento and the contemplative serenade. That the commissioned work is very similar to Beethoven’s popular Septet op. 20 with regard to the individual movements and the key relationships is by no means accidental – that was what was ordered. Schubert occupied himself with the almighty giant’s composition, though for a different reason: with his own Octet he wanted to »pave his way towards writing a great symphony«, whose dramatic force and form is clearly suggested here.
Steeped in the musical traditions of the city on the Danube, the Vienna Octet is the ideal ensemble to perform this work. Led by Willi Boskovsky, who became world famous as concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor of the New Year’s Day Concerts, the ensemble plays with great agility, joy and togetherness from the first note on. The sound of each individual instrument comes over vividly in a natural, chamber-music-like atmosphere.

Decca SET 354/5
Richard Strauss: "Elektra": Marie Collier, Birgit Nilsson, Regina Resnik, Tom Kraus and further soloists - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Georg Solti

Richard Strauss was filled with doubt as to whether he would be capable of expressing in music the crazed revenge of "Elektra" after writing his opera "Salome" with its shocking story. It is quite understandable that he had trouble in composing the work, although such difficulties are not in the least evident during the course of the drama or in the musical flow. Drawing on natural sources, the forceful melodies make use of polyphonic, complex motifs and extreme dissonances. Here and there, Strauss’s typical chordal harmonies gleam through, though hardly audible, taking the harsh dissonances and chromaticism to the very extremes of atonality.
Sir Georg Solti, whose outstanding Strauss interpretations constitute the focus of his life’s work, leads the enormous orchestra through the highly complex score and provides his singers with a powerful but finely chiselled sound. Birgit Nilsson personifies an icy-cold Elektra consumed with hatred, and her counterpart Regina Resnik as Clytemnestra is no less extreme in her role. Gerhard Stolze, one of the greatest singers of his time, masters the exhausting role of Aegistheus, and Tom Krause is highly convincing as the determined Orestes. The phenomenal acoustics of Vienna’s Sofiensaal provided an ideal recording venue, and the audible quality of the sung text is excellent – although the final bloodbath can scarcely be expressed in words.

Recording: ?June, September and November 1966 at Sofiensaal, Vienna, by Gordon Parry and James Brown
Production: ?John Culshaw and Christopher Raeburn

Decca SXL 6044
Antonín Dvorák: Symphony No. 8 (No. 4) op.88, Scherzo capriccioso op. 66 - Das London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Istvan Kertész

In comparison with Dvorák’s cyclical Ninth Symphony, the Eighth always seems to fade into the background somewhat, although it is actually far more venturesome as regards its formal structure than its later sister-work.

The wealth of poetic mood paintings, heartfelt melodies and seemingly improvisational episodes were described by the composer as unique ideas upon which he elaborated in a completely new way, and which were intentionally far removed from his other symphonies.

In spite of the highly individual movements, the whole composition is full of airy, lyrical contrasts. The transitional passages are gentle and flowing, as for example in the chorale-like opening which leads into the disciplined, spirited main theme of the first movement.

This is followed by a rhapsodic slow movement and a waltz-like Allegretto, and finally a strangely interwoven amalgamation of sonata form and set of variations.

During the course of his short career, István Kertész championed Dvorák’s Symphonies in that he was the very first to record the complete works for the DECCA label. For this reason alone, the recording constitutes an excellent performance by the London Symphony Orchestra led by its Hungarian principal conductor.

Recording: ?February 1963 at Kingsway Hall, London, by Arthur Lilley
Production: ?Ray Minshull

Columbia CS 8984
"It's Monk's Time" - Thelonious Monk (p); Charlie Rouse (ts); Butch Warren (b); Ben Riley (dr)

With its three compositions by Thelonious Monk, one might call this LP from 1964 “3 Standards and 3 Monks”. The 'High Priest' of bebop had reached a further pinnacle in his career and performed with his fantastic, skilful and well-rehearsed quartet at numerous festivals and concerts. As if in a dream, the musicians penetrate the apparently simple yet rhythmically complicated themes, interrupted again and again by Monk’s solo escapades on the piano. On the stage, Monk often stood up and jigged around the piano like a lumbering dancing bear, with one of his distinctive hats on his head; he plonks down on the piano stool after the Charlie Rouse solo; his enormous feet tap back and forth to the beat; he constantly fiddles with the ring on his finger; and he creates the most wonderful improvisations ever heard with his 'false' fingering.
Calling all jazz fans: Listen to Thelonious Monk, and you will have a ball – most especially if you put this super disc with the promising title "It’s Monks Time" on your turntable!

Recording: January - March 1964
Production: Teo Macero

RCA PML-10307
"Chet Is Back" - Chet Baker (tp); Bobby Jaspar (ts, fl); Amadeo Tommasi (p); René Thomas (g); Benoit Quersin (b); Daniel Humair (dr)

Forty-two years ago, Chet Baker - one of the most tragic figures of jazz who lived on the fast lane and ruined himself with drugs and alcohol - was constantly on the road from one European jazz club to another. Local rhythm groups were not always top notch so it was only logical to pick the very best from several countries for a film-music production in Italy. And it was equally logical that RCA’s Italian subsidiary brought the musicians into the studio in January 1962.
With one exception, the eight titles on this disc are all so-called standards. The two winds demand total concentration from the rhythm section while maintaining relaxed and laid-back harmonic patterns. And this is something the Italian Tommasi, the Belgian Thomas, the Frenchman Quersin and the Swiss Humair carry off with an air of nonchalance. The two ballads "These Foolish Things" and the only new composition "Ballata In Forma Di Blues" are tucked in between the other numbers and give the listener space to breathe. They are surrounded by numbers with a fast tempo, all of which demonstrate Chet Baker’s and Bobby Jaspar’s high standard of musicianship. And then there is "Over The Rainbow", whose theme is coupled with another tragic figure of music history, Judy Garland: Chet on his trumpet conjures up pure magic in the middle section.
Happily, these recordings - made in Rome in 1962 - are not purely restricted to collectors living in the Sixties. This re-release on LP now offers the opportunity to listen to some excellent music and to enjoy the cover – just as it was on the original recording: a priceless gem!

Recording: January 1962 in Rome, Italy

Dvorák: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra – Pierre Fournier and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by George Szell

The Cello Concerto op. 104 is the last orchestral piece Dvorák wrote during his stay in America. Unlike his Ninth Symphony which borrowed folkloric themes from the New World, the charming Cello Concerto reveals Dvorák's yearning for his Bohemian homeland.
This piece demands masterly playing and interpretation from the soloist which is enhanced by a sumptuous sound in the strings and explosive brass. Dvorák reaches back to various musical passages from the first and second movements in the finale and so illustrates his style of composition in his later works.

Yearning for the Old World must have motivated George Szell to briefly leave his adopted home, the USA, in order to set down this late-Romantic musical gem together with the master cellist Pierre Fournier and the Berlin Philharmonic.

The artists were obviously inspired by this favorable constellation during the recording which sets the standards for artistic quality and perfection of sound technology. Indeed, this LP is among the most successful classical productions of the Sixties. Thirty years on, this recording is just as popular as it ever was.

Recording: June 1961 at the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlinby Günter Hermanns / Hans Weber

TACET L 196
Antonin Dvorak: String Sextet in A major, op. 48 - The Auryn Quartet + Christian Altenburger (va), Patrick Demenga (vc)

Unusually, Antonín Dvorák’s String Sextet op. 48 was recorded using ten modern microphones from TACET’s collection of tube microphones, and not a single historical one. However, these new microphones have a great deal in common with the 'old' ones, as a glance at the history of the manufacturer shows ... As a matter of fact, the sound of the Microtech UM 92.1 S is somewhat similar to Andreas Spreer’s favourite microphone, the historical Neumann M49 produced by the Berlin company Neumann; it conveys a warm, silky yet always transparent sound. The enjoyment found in this recording is, however, not solely due to the microphones but (once again) primarily to the musicians. The Auryn Quartet, augmented by Christian Altenburger on the viola and Patrick Demenga on the cello, bring out all the intricate details, which are to be found in the score of this harmonic and melodic masterpiece, and pamper us with a true feast for the ears.

Recording: November 2010 in Honrath, Germany, by Andreas Spreer
Production: Andreas Spreer

Columbia CS 9826
Johnny Winter - Johnny Winter (g, hca, voc); Edgar Winter (p, as); Albert Wynn Butler (ts); Karl Garin (tp); Norman Ray (bs); Walter 'Shakey' Horton (hca); Willie Dixon, Tommy Shannon (b); 'Uncle' John Turner (dr, perc); a.o.

?When an international weekly magazine calls a musician the »white pope of black art«, then it sounds suspiciously like charitableness towards a blues musician in his prime, whose good years are in the past. As if! In the case of Johnny Winter, the reviews of his 2011 tour were just as glowing as in his early years, when Rolling Stone magazine described the gaunt Mississippi bard as »a cross-eyed albino with long fleecy hair playing some of the gutsiest fluid blues guitar you have ever heard«. Intentional or not: Winter was able to win for himself some of the 'rocker' laurels that were reserved for the young Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. But Winter let everyone know that he was only interested in the blues, gutsy, evoking Howlin’ Wolf’s and Muddy Waters’ growling groove, yet nimble-fingered enough on the strings to conjure up astoundingly sleek garlands of sound that fit precisely into each bar of music.
Winter remains pretty cool when people attempt to identify personal afflictions in his music: »When I play blues, I feel good« he stated recently to a journalist. That the same goes for over 40 years ago is substantiated by both sides of this debut album.

Recording: 1969
Production: Johnny Winter

Columbia C 32441
"Solitude On Guitar" - Baden Powell (arr, g, voc); Joaquim Paes Henriques (dr), Eberhard Weber (b)

Baden Powell belongs to the small circle of guitarists whose early virtuosity is perfectly combined with a keen sense of harmony. Powell demonstrates this special talent in his slow numbers in particular, in which broken chords are developed like a bud opening out to a blossom.

He guides the listener cautiously through his melodies in that he makes a tiny pause before a harmonic change. Full timbre and lightness are not a question of what is written down on the manuscript but result from a powerful performance, as is shown by the totally un-Brazilian, gentle major-minor key version of the children’s song "Kommt Ein Vogel Geflogen".

Naturally, the wonderfully crafted, animated and bouncy bossas flow along easily. As befits the album’s title, the guitar is in the limelight here, driven on, held back, and then propelled forward by the rhythm group. The ballad "Se Todos Fossem Iguais A Voce" is strongly recommended to whet your appetite for the bossa "Na Gafieira Do Vidigal".

Recording: December 1971 by Torsten Wintermeir at Studio Walldorf, Germany
Production: Joachim Ernst Berendt

Columbia CS 8072
"At Newport 1958" - Duke Ellington (arr, cond, p); Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope (sax); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Ray Nance (tp); Britt Woodman (tb); Jimmy Wood (b); Sam Woodyard (dr), a.o.


?The appearance of Duke Ellington and His Orchestra at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival was such a tremendous success that it was quite natural that organizer George Wein invited the band to take part again in 1958. All the soloists were still around, and in addition Gerry Mulligan was invited to perform a duet with Harry Carney ("Prima Bara Dubla"). What an event to look forward to!
But this time the old diehards were disappointed: the Duke had had some new tunes written for him, which of course didn’t trigger any memories: "El Gato", with Cat Anderson playing with the rest of the trumpet section, a new composition ("Happy Reunion") for Paul Gonsalves on the tenor saxophone, and then some compositions which were reminiscent of Debussy, and arrangements by Billy Strayhorn. Also there was a fantastic flugelhorn solo by Clark Terry in "Juniflip". The highlight of the concert, though, was when the kings of the baritone sax?, Gerry Mulligan and Harry Carney, stood in the limelight, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra could celebrate a similar triumph to that of 1956.
More than 50 years later, these recordings made at the Newport Jazz Festival will have you sitting on the edge of your seat!

Recording: July 1958 live at the Newport Jazz Festival
Production: Irving Townsend

Mozart: “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”, Divertimento No. 1, “A Musical Joke” - Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra conducted by Karl Münchinger

Mozart wrote the Divertimento No. 1 at the age of six, while A Musical Joke and Eine kleine Nachtmusik were composed shortly before his death.
From what one hears, apparently only a few music lovers enjoy listening to Eine kleine Nachtmusik. Far too often has it been performed routinely rather than being filled with life. This recording is quite different: living up to his reputation, Karl Münchinger proves that this favourite can be imbued with significance.
The historical roote of the serenade lie in the suite which consists of varied contrasting dance movements. In the spirit of this tradition, Münchinger offers a clear and unfussed interpretation which is absolutely credible and has a freshness rarely heard. The ensemble plays both cheerfully and and wittily. In A Musical Joke, Mozart parodies amateurish composers of his own era, and the orchestra quite obviously participates in the fun.
This LP is distinguished by its musical and tonal balance and is one of DECCA’s best sound recordings.

Recording: November 1960, Victoria Hall at Geneva by Roy Wallace / Production: James Walker

Columbia KC 31610
"Caravanserai" - Carlos Santana (g, perc); Hadley Caliman (sax); Gregg Rolie (org, p); Wendy Haas (p); Tom Coster (el-p); Neal Schon (g); , Douglas Rauch (g,b); Tom Rutley (b); Mike Shrieve (dr); Jose Chepito Areas, Armando Peraza (perc), a.o.

?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.

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

Read the HiFi World review here

Philips 835393/4 AY
Franz Schubert: ?- Piano Trios in B flat major, Op. 99, D 898; in E flat major, Op. posth. 148, D 897; in E flat major, Op. 100, D 929; in B flat major, D 28 - Beaux Arts Trio

?Anyone who takes an interest in Schubert’s late works will sooner or later come across cliché-like interpretations of his music that have been associated with a foreboding of his early death.

Robert Schumann on the other hand was more objective when he looked at the score of Schubert’s two great Piano Trios: he characterised that in E flat major as effectual, masculine and dramatic, and the sister work in B flat major as languishing, feminine and lyrical. Both masterpieces have in common highly varied movements, which must be approached with great insight, a deeply felt sustained lyricism, and a courageous approach as regards the bold themes.

That this recording with the Beaux Arts Trio has taken on a benchmark status might well lie in the fact that the three musicians amalgamate romantic fire with analytical aplomb which results in Schubert pure. With their non-stop ebb and flow of melodies, wonderfully indulgent sound colouring and a fiery tour de force through the miraculously winding harmonic paths, the Beaux Arts Trio prove themselves to be among the very best of all Schubert interpreters.

Having taken their final bow at a concert in Leipzig in September 2009 after 54 years, the time is certainly ripe for an audiophile re-release of this superb recording.

Recording: February 1966

Decca SXL 2077
Sibelius: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra / Tchaikovsky: Sérénade mélancolique – Ruggiero Ricci, the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Øivin Fjeldstad

"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.


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

Decca SXL 6035
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy / Hindemith: Violin Concerto - David Oistrakh, London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jascha Horenstein and Paul Hindemith

Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasia is a late-Romantic work which is seldom found on concert hall programmes today. One realises after listening to the piece for the first time that the composition proves to be at least as solid and artistic as all the other works of the composer.

The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jascha Horenstein gives a sonorous interpretation of the melancholic which, according to Bruch, depicted an aged minstrel who, while gazing upon the ruins of an ancient keep, ponders over the splendid days gone by. The well-known slender but warm timbre of David Oistrakh’s violin is well suited to this music which was inspired by Scotland.

David Oistrakh demonstrates his versatility in this performance of Hindemith’s Violin Concerto, written in 1939, where he effortlessly mesmerises the audience with breakneck cascades of scales. With many years of experience in the performance of modern music, the London Symphony Orchestra, led by the composer himself, prove that they are a match for this work.

This DECCA recording offers first class interpretations of two great masterpieces from differing eras that have been acclaimed widely and have reached far beyond the circle of Oistrakh fans.

Recording:October 1962 at the Walthamstow Town Hall, London by Arthur Lilley and Alan Reeve / Production: Erik Smith