Analogue Productions Vinyl, CD & Tape 120 Items

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“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.
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.

It's tempting for "Blues In Orbit" to be overlooked when Duke Ellington's best albums are discussed, but truly it's an undisputed gem. There are 14 tracks, none of them is longer than 4:50 and it is all good stuff. There are some familiar favorites such as "In A Mellotone" and "C Jam Blues" as well as less often heard gems like "Blues In Blueprint and "Sweet And Pungent". It is also in stereo, and the arrangements are superb.
The featured performers include Ellington stalwarts Johnnie Hodges, Ray Nance, Harry Carney and Jimmy Hamilton, as well as the less familiar Booty Wood and Matthew Gee. Johnnie, in particular is well showcased here, taking the lead not only in slow pieces like "Brown Penny" and "Sentimental Lady", but also in the rousing "Smada".
The full Analogue Productions reissue treatment is at work on this smashing LP — famed mastering engineer Bernie Grundman handled the remastering from the original analog tapes. The lacquers were plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world's finest-sounding LPs. Lastly we've stashed each super-silent 200-gram disc in a premium Stoughton Printing gatefold jacket.
All of the takes were recorded during after midnight sessions recorded over two nights starting on December 2, 1959 in New York at Columbia Record's studio on East 30th Street. Each night Duke's late dinner arrived at 2 a.m. — a sizzling steak, a pot of coffee with lemons in it, portions of American cheese, and grapefruits. After dinner, and a breather for the band, the sessions finished around dawn in a swinging fashion.
If you're just getting into jazz, this album is highly recommended as a great way to initiate your collection. The sound is incredible, with packaging to match. Another audiophile home run.

"Dr. John's Gumbo" is the fifth album by New Orleans singer and pianist Dr. John, a tribute to the music of his native city. The album is a collection of covers of New Orleans classics, played by a major figure in the city's music.
"Dr John's Gumbo" was released in 1972 and is in many ways a tribute by Dr. John, aka the Night Tripper, to his hometown New Orleans. It features excellent interpretations of New Orleans traditionals ("Iko Iko", "Tipitina", "Junko Partner" and "Stack-O-Lee") and contemporary R&B written or played by the likes of Huey Piano Smith ("Blow Wind Blow" and "Huey Smith Medley") Earl King and Earl Gaines ("Big Chief", "Let The Good Times Roll" and "Lonely Lonely Nights").
Dr. John delivers a strong set of infectious songs drenched in good vibes and spiced with a pinch of voodoo. His eccentric (stage) appearance adds unique color to his stature as master of the ivories and as an entertainer.
This great album receives the full Analogue Productions reissue treatment here, starting with Kevin Gray's remaster from the original analogue tapes. Then we back that up with 200-gram plating and pressing on super-silent vinyl by our own Quality Record Pressings. Finally it's all housed in a tip-on gatefold jacket from Stoughton Printing. Deluxe all the way; you'll be estatic with the results!

Spend any time around Doug MacLeod and the stories from his years of road time with the likes of Big Joe Turner and Pee Wee Crayton start to flow as easily as a brook tickled by a breeze. And you know you're getting to the good part, the climax if you will, when Doug's eyes start to twinkle, his grin grows broader and out of his mouth pop the words »Come to find ...«. MacLeod was a widely acknowledged electric blues guitarist for many years, and the leader of his own band, yielding a number of U.S. and European tours and several albums to his credit. Doug disbanded the group to focus all his energies on his first love, acoustic blues. "Come To Find" is the debut fruit of that effort. And now it's made even more remarkable, with this 45 RPM 200-gram reissue by Analogue Productions. 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.The pressing sounds spectacular. You're holding a hefty 200-gram masterpiece from our own Quality Record Pressings, our state-of-the-art LP pressing plant. And the gatefold jacket is hard-core, old-school style — thick cardboard, tip-on, with additional photos and liner notes inside. Sweet. "Come To Find" is the sound of a consummate bluesman touching the core of his art in a program featuring ten originals by Doug. He is beautifully supported in this intimate setting by harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite and the Mighty Flyer rhythm section, Jimi Bott and Bill Stuve. This is the album that deserves a place of honor in the music collections of even casual blues fans. And for those who love blues already, this is one of the best-sounding, most original works you'll ever hear.

200g 45rpm

200g 45rpm

A profile of a rugged Dean Martin by the fireplace with a cigarette adorns the jacket of this very interesting concept album. As Stan Cornyn's liner notes explain, »his longtime accompanist« on piano, Ken Lane, with »three of Hollywood's most thoughtful rhythm men« — those being drummer Irv Cottler, bassist Red Mitchell, and guitarist Barney Kessel — do create a mood, Dean Martin performing as if he were a lounge singer at 1:15 a.m. as the Saturday night crowd is dwindling. His signature tune, "Everybody Loves Somebody“, is here in a laid-back style, produced by Jimmy Bowen, who would go on to produce Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, and so many others, also the same man who was behind the 1964 No. 1 smash.
This album with the original Martin recording was released after the hit single version and on the same day as the "Everybody Loves Somebody“ LP, but how many times does the audience get a different studio reading of a seminal hit record? Not only that, but the version that preceded the hit. The backing is so sparse it is almost a cappella, with Kessel's guitar noodlings and Ken Lane's piano. The bass is mostly invisible, coming in only when needed. It's a slow and sultry version that caps off side one.
Martin is just crooning away, and if the album has one drawback, it is that the 12 songs are incessant in their providing the same atmosphere. The backing quartet does not deviate from their job, nor does producer Jimmy Bowen add any technique, other than putting Martin's voice way out in the mix. It sounds as if they tracked the album in one afternoon, and it is not only a very pleasant listening experience, it shows what a tremendous vocalist Dean Martin truly was.
Now "Dream With Dean — The Intimate Dean Martin“ is back bigger and better than ever! We've gone the deluxe Analogue Productions route — remastered from the original analog tape by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, cut at 45 RPM, plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Then packaged in deluxe tip-on gatefold jackets from Stoughton Printing. A great title, a brilliant reissue. Exceptional!

Cowboy Junkies recorded this spectacular LP as a 'live‘ event Nov. 27, 1987 at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto. It was recorded with a digital R-Dat and using only a Calrec Ambisonic Microphone.
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.
Featuring the sultry voice of Margo Timmins, the precise musicianship of her brothers Peter (on drums) and Michael (on guitar), and bassist Alan Anton, "The Trinity Session“ is a spare, evocative, countrified-rock classic. First released in late 1988, The Trinity Session was named 'Album of the Year‘ by The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times described it as »a quiet, special record that challenges traditional music.« Rolling Stone declared the album to be »as important as it its inspiring.«
Today, it remains much more than a snapshot of a single day's work captured on tape. So for this deluxe Analogue Productions reissue, we pulled out all the stops. Starting with new mastering from the original session digital tapes by the original recording engineer, Peter Moore. And lacquer cutting by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound.
Next, we kicked up the packaging and content several notches. You're holding a heavyweight old-style tip-on Stoughton Printing jacket, and it has brand-new liner notes by author and music editor Jason Schneider. The liner notes share space with additional recording session photos, inside and on the back cover. Additionally, the cover has been redesigned to remove the lettering and photo distortion originally applied and make it appear as the musicians/artist originally intended. Lastly, this sonic treasure has been pressed on 200g vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world's finest LPs, with stampers plated by master plating technician Gary Salstrom.
The inspired reworking of both "Blue Moon" and "Working On A Building" reveal the Timmins family to be talented interpreters and insightful neo-traditionalists. Mixing the ambitious songwriting of Margo and Michael Timmins with subdued covers of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "The Trinity Session“ is an exquisite collection that holds up quite well under repeated listenings.
»The ambient buzz of Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity, where the Junkies recorded the album around one microphone, colors every song, reinforcing the live setting and generating vinyl intimacy even on CD. It's as if the church itself was an instrument, one that Junkies could play pretty well. It allows Margo Timmins' voice to fill your field of vision, simultaneously soothing and unsettling, while her brother Michael's guitar rumbles through the songs, a little louder and sharper than anticipated.« — Pitchfork

200g

New from Wilson Audiophile Recordings, "Center Stage", featuring Lowell Graham conducting the National Symphonic Winds. These recordings were made in a historic concert hall on the campus of Hampton University in Hampton Roads, VA. The history of the hall parallels somewhat New York's Carnegie Hall. The musicians in the National Symphonic Winds come from the premier military bands of the United States as well as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. The result was a superb mix of seasoned and assured professionals for this single, five-hour recording session. Those who have already enjoyed the 33 1/3 Analogue Productions reissue of Center Stage know why it is an exceptional-sounding audiophile record. Now, cut at 45 RPM, and with wider grooves, you'll hear sound that's upgraded from exceptional, to brilliant. There's more depth and space to the orchestra as a whole, as well as individual instruments. This disc sports more detail, more human presence, more of what we as audiophiles, listen for. Lowell Graham, a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado, was also the first to be awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from the Catholic University of America. He has led orchestras and bands in performances throughout the world, and he's the current conductor and commander of the United States Air Force Tactical Air Command Band. Recorded with minimal miking (Sennheiser), directly to 2-track half-inch, 30 ips tape using arguably the finest 2-track analog recorder in the world — the Wilson Ultramaster — a highly-modified Studer tape deck with custom-designed electronics designed by John Curl. To accomplish this difficult, time pressure recording, the recording engineering skills of the renowned Bruce Leek were employed. The extreme dynamic range of the music remains intact as well as the soundstage and timbre of the ensemble remaining completely natural. There is no added enhancement to the concert hall's natural reverberation. When raising the volume, be careful as these real world dynamics can be harmful to playback equipment if care is not taken. The musical repertoire was chosen to be user friendly, vivid, colorful and impactful. Selections from Tony-winning stage classics "Barnum", "West Side Story" and "Oklahoma" are joined by compositions from John Williams, including "Olympic Fanfare" composed for the 1984 Olympic Games. Selections from the Walt Disney favorite "Mary Poppins" include "Spoonful Of Sugar", "Chim Chim Cheree" and more. These significant recordings hold a distinctive place in the audio and musical world.

Booker Ervin's recordings with Charles Mingus and Randy Weston brought him good reviews and a bit of notoriety. But it was his series of Song Books for Prestige Records that broadcast the stentorian announcement that a jazz orator of gigantic stature had arrived. Ervin's tenor saxophone sound was haunted by the loneliness and spaciousness of the Texas plains where he was raised. The Southwest moan was an integral part of his playing. But his style went beyond the classic Texas tenor tradition to incorporate the intricacies of bebop and suggestions of the free jazz that was initiating one of the periods of self-renewal that keeps jazz fresh and interesting. "The Freedom Book", recorded at the end of 1963, was one of Ervin's masterpieces. He is abetted by the power and drive of Jaki Byard, Richard Davis, and Alan Dawson.

Intensity marked everything that Booker Ervin played. In his harmonic concept, slashing attack, and broad Texas sound, Ervin demanded attention and constantly built improvisations of searing drama and epic sweep. His primary legacy is a series of albums recorded for Prestige in the 1960s, of which this was his first, a riveting quintet recital where the alto saxophone of Frank Strozier supplies an urgent complement and the rhythm section is piloted by Horace Parlan, Ervin’s longtime compatriot from their days together in the Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop and in a cooperative quartet that worked at "Minton’s Playhouse". In addition to four inspiring originals by Ervin and drummer Walter Perkins, the session features an eloquent reading of Fats Waller’s immortal "Black And Blue" and an exploration of the show tune "Just in Time". Both the latter and "No Land’s Man" are included in two versions, the shorter of which were cut for release as a 45rpm single.

Benny Golson, who came to the attention of the jazz public with Tadd Dameron's band and Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra, was a member of the Jazztet — the group he had formed with Art Farmer — at the time of this recording. Farmer is not with him in this recording but another Jazztet-mate, trombonist Curtis Fuller, is. Although this session is not as structured as the three-horn efforts of the Jazztet, there is a balance between blowing and Golson's writing that makes for a felicitous blend, whether on Golson's own "My Blues House", Gene Krupa's old burner, "Drum/Boogie", or Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays". And with Art Blakey on drums things cook when they have to, and simmer at the right moments. With Curtis Fuller, Ray Bryant, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.

200g 2LP 45rpm

Singer-songwriter Amos Lee draws inspiration from soul music, contemporary jazz and 1970s folk artists such as James Taylor. The Philadelphia native honed his songwriting skills while waiting tables and bartending after graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in English. He eventually landed some high-profile gigs as an opening act, including an extended tour with pianist/vocalist Norah Jones, whose bassist, Lee Alexander, agreed to produce Lee's first album.
With Alexander's help, Amos Lee released his self-titled debut on Blue Note in 2005. The album won Lee a small following for his blend of acoustic funk, folk, and light jazz. Norah Jones herself plays the piano on two tracks; "Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight" and "Colors".
A notable debut like Amos Lee deserves the Analogue Productions reissue treatment. This beauty was cut by Bernie Grundman in Los Angeles from the master tape, and is now pressed at 45rpm on two glorious sides of 200-gram vinyl by Quality Record Pressings, makers of the world's finest-sounding LPs. QRP is noted for deep-black backgrounds and pristine clarity. If you're already familiar with Amos Lee, get ready — you've never experienced it with such lifelike sonics and premium richness. This is how all vinyl should sound.
The songs on the album incorporate themes of folk, soul, gospel and jazz. Amos's style is a mix of Bill Withers, Arthur Lee, and James Taylor. Amos has recently toured with Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Adele, Dave Matthews and many others.

This famous Alexander Gibson/New Symphony Orchestra of London collection from 1958 debuted at the dawn of the RCA Living Stereo era. It became one of the most sought-after Living Stereos with music by Arnold, Liszt and Mussorgsky amongst others, all with a spooky, witchy theme. The performances remain today as characterful and incisive as they were then.
We've taken this classic and given it the full Analogue Productions reissue treatment, featuring a remaster by Germany's Willem Makkee from the original analog tapes, and plating and 200-gram pressing by Quality Record Pressings. Toping it off is a thick cardboard Stoughton Printing tip-on jacket.
If such music didn't cast the right sort of spell, so many listeners wouldn't be returning to it on so many occasions, somehow feeling constantly refreshed.