It’s a bumper edition this month as we not only round up March’s finest but also preview a selection of Record Store Day titles. If you’re desperate to get the details about the limited edition items, you’ll need to make your way to the final section, otherwise read on at a more leisurely pace to find out what treats are more readily and consistently available in the racks right now.
Freshly Pressed:
The post-punk, goth-disco pop of Adwaith’s triumphant new double album, ‘Solas’, may well have already delighted your ears but it would be remiss for this column not to flag it for those yet to indulge. There are plenty of different textures across the twenty-three tracks, include a glistening beauty to ‘Y Diwedd’ and a synth onslaught from ‘Coeden Anniben’. Several songs have filmic, soundtrack-sized riffs and the momentum is meticulous on one of the best sequenced albums Just Played has heard in yonks. Charlie Francis delivers a mastering that gives everything a portentous presence, pushing well out into the room and commanding the listener’s attention at any volume. It’s very neatly done indeed and all helps to enhance the sizeable atmospheric intent across these four sides. Your columnist sampled the pink variant and it’s a near-silent GZ pressing for a record that will only grow in stature as the year proceeds.
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The latest offering from Needle Mythology is a stellar 2LP set traversing the indie pop scene of the 1980s. ‘Sensitive’ presents thirty tracks that capture the melodic majesty of a jangly decade, but aren’t always that easy to track down. The press release proudly trumpets that individually buying all of the tunes herein would set you back around £1150. Thankfully, at a little under £40, this beautifully presented double vinyl package has been splendidly mastered and cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road. The notoriously shrill highs of the era have been deftly kept in check and the soundstages matched up remarkably well. The opening run of The Sea Urchins, The Clouds and The Pastels takes some beating, but the Field Mice track that gives the collection its name ensures side three is a pretty watertight segment. Some you’ll know, some you won’t, but it’s hard to imagine any of it not proving a delight if the premise appeals. Press On have delivered a near silent pressing and Pete Paphides’ sleevenotes are typically, infectiously effusive.
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Is there a name for a compilation of compilations? ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary – The Mixtape’ is just that, gathering selected highlights from the soundtracks of all four films to ensure a pretty remarkable gathering. Aretha doing ‘Respect’? Yep. Chakka Khan’s ‘I’m Every Woman’? No problem. 10CC’s ‘I’m Not In Love’? Of course. Ed Sheeran? Ah, yes, sorry. Robbie Williams’ rather underrated ‘Misunderstood’ is a welcome presence on side 2 of the pink first disc, while House Of Pain is a jarring but welcome opener to the purple second disc, which also features Dinah Washington’s superb ‘Mad About The Boy’ and Raye’s dependable ‘Worth It’. Pressed at MPO, playback was near silent and the soundstage surprisingly nuanced, adjusting for the varying needs of the different genres involved.
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The new album by Étienne De Crécy would still have impressed your correspondent even if it didn’t close with a track featuring Damon Albarn. That it does, only adds to the many delights on offer on ‘Warm Up’. The French DJ and producer has assembled quite the cast, Alexis Taylor in rum form on opener ‘World Away’ and Peter Von Poehl doing a neat job of ‘Brass Band’. Olivia Merilahti is sensational on ‘Karma’ and there’s barely a weak spot across the thirty-eight minute runtime. ‘Rising Soul’ features an intriguingly languid vocal approach from Albarn and it’s a hypnotic final track. The heft in the bottom end is essential to the record’s sound, so Alex Gopher’s work on balancing it was especially important. Thankfully, it is impeccable, with precise depth in the presentation and gloriously open vocal sounds throughout. Other than a tiny amount of run-in noise, the standard black Optimal pressing sampled was pretty much silent throughout.
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It would seem that Jim Ghedi is not like normal folk. His fourth solo album, ‘Wasteland’, is an absolute onslaught. Favouring electric guitar for this outing, there is an intensity to many of the tracks that goes far beyond his usual genre. ‘What Will Become Of England’ is a traditional track that feels tarred by the contemporary and the title track aches imploringly, gradually ascending to something almost grandiose. Nicholas Wilbur’s mastering has plenty of width in the main, even if there’s a slight sense of claustrophobia in the top end, something which may be deliberate given the overall mood of the record. It’s a fairly quiet pressing via and the gatefold is gorgeous.
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‘Loose Talk’ is a collaboration between Amelia Barratt and Bryan Ferry, pairing her spoken word ‘microfictions’ with his musical backdrops. Essentially a dialogue between two artists, their combined efforts influence each other’s final offerings and the whole thing is neatly compelling. It’s hard to pick out pieces in isolation, although ‘Florist’ and ‘Pictures On A Wall’ should give you the general idea, the former more ornate like many of the piano-focused tracks while the latter is more springy and rhythmic in its intent. Pressed at Takt and presented in a rigid, glossy gatefold that is genuinely rather satisfying, playback was near-silent throughout and the soundstage does a fine job of positioning Barratt at the heart of the room, with plenty of space around her voice.
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Several decades and six albums into a career that has included collaborations with Jen Cloher, delivering backing vocals for Midnight Oil and performing at the Sydney Opera House, Liz Stringer has released her finest yet, ‘The Second High’. An Australian now resident in London, Stringer’s wonderfully untroubled rejection of genre is evident across these ten songs. Opening track and lead single ‘Coming Home’ sets a high bar, but this album is a definite grower. The mastering is a touch heavy at points, but there’s some space evident in the mix and the vocals are given the focus they need. A fairly quiet pressing on a dinner plate slab of vinyl via Program in Melbourne is housed in some excellent artwork and accompanied by a reassuringly sturdy card insert with all of the lyrics.
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All Kinds Of Blue:
Five Blue Notes for you this month because of a new initiative for the completists. Let’s begin with the Classics though, a pair of gatefolds with equally marvellous covers. First up, is ‘Serenade To A Soul Sister’ by The Horace Silver Quintet featuring Stanley Turrentine from 1968. Turrentine only appears on side one, with the ensemble being reshuffled for the session on the flip, but what is consistent is the sense of swing in these tunes. The title track is glorious while ‘Jungle Juice’ pours from the speakers and the design inside the gatefold is a joy. The other classic is Lou Donaldson’s emphatic 1969 offering ‘Say It Loud!’ Backed up by Blue Mitchell’s distinctive trumpet, Jimmy Ponder on guitar, Charles Earland at the organ and Leo Morris on drums, the alto sax supremo is unstoppable on all five tracks, roaring out of the blocks with a take on James Brown’s ‘Say It Loud I’m Black And I’m Proud’. ‘Snake Bone’ does a similar job for the start of side two and the soundstage from Kevin Gray’s all-analogue cut is wide open on both. Some curious decisions about stereo placement aside, the sonic presentation is of the usual high standard. The Optimal pressings were both near-silent, with the exception of some run-in noise on the Donaldson.
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The Tone Poet series added another Pacific Jazz title with ‘Groovin’ Blue’ by Curtis Amy & Frank Butler from 1961. Column favourite Bobby Hutcherson is amongst the sextet for these recordings and his distinctive vibes are in an intriguingly nascent stage here, at times overloading the recording early on. The sleeve art is striking and the performances aren’t far behind, ‘Bobblin’’ is an especially captivating ride where the artists are clearly firing on all cylinders to keep up with each other. This is paired with a Hank Mobley offering, ‘Third Season’, that was recorded in 1967 but didn’t make it out of the vaults until 1980. As ever with such titles, artwork has been fashioned to restore it to a contemporaneous image and the gatefold features evocative studio photography from the sessions. The septet includes Lee Morgan on trumpet and James Spaulding’s expressive alto sax and it’s hard to fathom why this didn’t get an immediate release. Morgan and Mobley go toe to toe on ‘The Steppin’ Stone’ and it’s a thing of beauty. Both are RTI pressings of all-analogue Kevin Gray cuts and, the latter especially, sound enormous.
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And the fifth? Well, devotees of the more deluxe reissue programme are invited to sign up to the Tone Poet Society to keep on top of every title while also being able to purchase quarterly exclusives, the first of which is Walter Davis Jr.’s ‘Davis Cup’. Presented to the same high standard as the regular releases, this 1959 recording includes an especially bewitching image of Art Taylor pausing at his kit, as part of a quintet also featuring Sam Jones on bass, Jackie McLean on alto sax and Donald Byrd on trumpet. This is a stellar line up and this relatively early outing sounds magnificent under Kevin Gray’s watchful eye. The RTI pressing is pin-drop silent and music is so tremendous it seems a bit of a shame that this is tucked away in the subscription service. That said, it was always going to need to be special to lure people in. A foil stamped logo and limited edition number can be found on the bottom left of the reverse of the tip-on sleeve and there’s a bonus print of a studio photo too.
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Going Round Again:
Let us entertain two trains of thought that can co-exist. ‘Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants’ is not as terrible an Oasis album as it is sometimes painted. It does, however, contain ‘Little James’, a song whose genial naivety is still not enough to overcome its songwriting limitations. ‘Go Let It Out’ still swaggers about endearingly, ‘Who Feels Love?’ possesses a genuinely affecting Liam vocal and ‘Sunday Morning Call’ is a hugely underrated mid-paced piece of yearning. ‘Gas Panic!’ and ‘Fuckin’ In The Bushes’ also capture a band desperately trying to regain momentum after the stagnation of ‘Be Here Now’. It’s time for this 2000 release to get its silver vinyl iteration and the fairly quiet Takt pressing features a mastering that sounds like the whole thing is being played through a ball of socks. There’s almost no top end to speak of and the bottom end is so blurry it could get to number one with ‘Country House’.
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While it has its sceptics, the half-speed mastering process is serving the David Bowie catalogue fairly well on its latest jaunt through the Seventies. To be fair, ‘Young Americans’ already sounded pretty decent in its most recent remaster but the pointless OBI informs purchasers that this one uses “192khz restored masters of the original Record Plant master tapes” and has been cut on very fancy vintage kit. The mid-range is vivid and involving and the bottom end is deliciously taut. Percussive details sparkle at the extremes of the soundstage and Bowie’s voice is full and three-dimensional at the heart of proceedings. The highs are deftly channelled, with the title track and ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’ truly sparkling, while ‘Fame’ is sensational despite being closest to the runout groove. A near silent Optimal pressing allows this superb work by John Webber to shine.
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Jazz Dispensary titles are never less than excellent, but the top drawer has been raided for this month’s selection. Joe Henderson’s ‘Multiple’ is not only a fusion classic from 1973 but also a recording so well mastered it will pull you towards the speakers in awe. Cut, as ever, by Kevin Gray at Cohearent and pressed at RTI, this disc is something to behold. David Holland’s bass work on ‘Bwaata’ is a spiritual experience, Arthur Jenkins’ percussive presence resonating around him. The looping in and out of the central refrain is euphoric and Henderson’s tenor sax work is blistering throughout. Brace yourself for side two opener ‘Song For Sinners’ and be prepared to play it again before moving on. Larry Willis’ electric piano is majestically textured in the album’s soundstage and the whole thing is a reminder, during difficult times for the vinyl fan, of why this format can be truly breathtaking with the right people involved.
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When latin-funk, psychedelic garage rock and gritty soul all get a mention on the press release, you know you’re in for something memorable. This is very much the case with Coke’s self-titled 1972 effort. As it’s a Mr Bongo endeavour, the artwork is replicated perfectly on a dual-textured tip-on sleeve and the work on the sonics is impeccable. The width of the percussive elements across a soundstage with incision but cohesion is euphoric, the whole thing commanding a great deal of volume that is handled with dexterity. The emphatic organ of ‘You Turn Me On’ is visceral, while side two opener ‘Bang Bang’ does what it says on the tin and is an earworm from the off. An album to play front to back, over and over, ‘Coke’ is one of those classic Mr Bongo excavations you never knew you needed until the needle hits the groove. A silent Optimal pressing and price in the low twenties makes this one a very safe bet indeed.
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Cooking Vinyl have gone right back to the start with the Cowboy Junkies and offered up a new edition of their 1986 debut ‘White Off Earth Now!!’ Alan Anton and a trio of Timmins recorded the set of (mostly) bluesy covers with Canadian producer Peter Moore in the latter’s family garage using a single, rather fancy omnidirectional microphone. An entrancing, sparse blueprint for a sound that they would go on to do much more with, it located Margo Timmins’ quieter delivery as a necessity to avoid annoying the neighbours. ‘Shining Moon’, ‘Decoration Day’ and ‘Forgive Me’, in a variety of ways, highlight the natural, mostly familial interplay at the heart of their sound and the one original, ‘Take Me’, hints at what lay ahead. Remastered by Shawn R. Britton and cut at half-speed by John Webber at Air, it sounds superb. A near-silent Optimal pressing allows for the volume to be cranked and the three-dimensional nature of the recording to really open up.
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In further remastered American indie news, ‘Dare To Be Surprised’ by Lou Barlow and John Davis’ The Folk Implosion is back in the racks. Originally released in 1997, the distinctive illustrated cover was ubiquitous in the days of early Noughties eMusic subscriptions and it looks splendid in the 12×12 format. Pete Lyman has polished the audio, which sounds pretty open. ‘Burning Paper’ is especially glorious, rising out of the speakers and maximising the breadth of the soundstage. The handwritten lyrics on the inner sleeve continue the aesthetic and there’s a genial lo-fi shamble around the edges of much of the material. It’s a pretty quiet GZ pressing on white vinyl this time around and your correspondent rather enjoyed being reacquainted.
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If you’ve ever wanted to spin the distinctive artwork of Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’ while listening to the decent sounding modern master with a bit of low-level surface noise then do I have the release for you. To mark its fifty-first anniversary, it’s now available as a picture disc – apparently, the only official title on this most desirable of formats in their entire history. The 2020 blue edition is still available and so, it would seem, is the black version from before that. The audio remains unaltered, so I’m not quite sure why this might appeal, especially as fans can spend their money on the accompanying blu-ray offering which features a new Atmos mix using the original tapes. It’s a pretty quiet pressing, as picture discs go, thanks to the good folk at Optimal but it is, essentially, a £34 ornament.
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The Original Jazz Classics series has alighted upon two guitar greats for its latest offerings. Cut by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes as ever and pressed at RTI, these titles feature beautifully reproduced artwork and pointless OBIs. The tip-on sleeves are a delight and the mastering is consistently exceptional. Such is the case for ‘The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery’, a 1960 recording that features Tommy Flanagan at the piano, Percy Heath on bass and Albert Heath behind the drums. Largely languid and full of warm-hearted instinctive interplay, it’s a joyful record. However, it’s Joe Pass’ ‘Virtuoso’ that steals the show this time out. A sparse, solo recording from 1974, the vibrant rendering of the fingers on the string in the space before the listener is an absolute delight, forcibly moving the air in the room. Tonally, it is utterly beguiling and the pin-drop silent disc allows for complete absorption. ‘Night And Day’ and his take on ‘’Round Midnight’ will give you some sense of what to expect, but both truly need to be heard via this exquisite cut. Essential.
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It has been some month for jazz-appreciating audiophiles, with Analogue October Records giving Neil Ardley’s 1979 space-jazz-rock behemoth ‘Harmony Of The Spheres’ a very loving dust off. Mastered by the inimitable Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox from Decca’s original master tapes, this sounds truly enormous. The sleeve quality sparkles, the luxurious paper of the eight-page insert soothes and essay by Jazzwise editor Mike Flynn provides compelling context for this interplanetary ride. Musically, it gallops along at quite a pace, ‘Leap In The Dark’ an especially gleeful ear tickler. With John Martyn and Ian Carr amongst his musical accomplices, Ardley was clearly in alchemical form for this one and the mastering is flawless. The soundstage pours from the speakers without losing a fraction of precision. It fills the room with a verisimilitude that few discs muster. There are only 500 of these near-silent Optimal pressings and I can guarantee they’ll be changing hands for big money before too long.
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The Paul McCartney half-speed mastering series alights upon Wings’ ‘Venus And Mars’ this time around. As ever, Miles Showell has used the recent high-resolution transfers as the source for a cut at Abbey Road and this one is a charm for an album that sometimes sounds a little muddy in the middle-range. ‘Rock Show’ has plenty of nuance, the many textures pronounced and specific. ‘Listen To What The Man Said’ is lithe and springy, stretching comfortably across the soundstage. With all of the original printed matter replicated inside a vivid gatefold and the addition of a pointless OBI, it’s an aesthetically and sonically pleasing product, with Optimal providing a pretty quiet pressing to cap it off.
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The soul-jazz majesty of Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes’ ‘Expansions’ marks its fiftieth anniversary this year and BGP/Flying Dutchman have decided this is reason enough for an all-analogue cut by Frank Merritt at London’s The Carvery. The original ¼ inch tapes have been used for this and it sounds sensational. Not dissimilar to the beloved Tone Poet series, this presents striking performances in remarkable detail. The intricacies at the heart of ‘Desert Night’ are rendered with a striking depth and ‘Voodoo Woman’ leaps from the grooves. Sadly, both sides opened with a little surface noise even if, thankfully, they soon settled. The GZ pressing is otherwise pretty quiet, but it’s an odd choice of plant for audiophile outing.
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Craft have embarked upon a career celebration of Celia Cruz that will deliver a range of reissues as the year progresses. It has kicked off with a fiftieth anniversary edition of ‘Tremendo Caché’, featuring Johnny Pacheco, and the legendary 1966 recording ‘Son Con Guaguancó’. The former has an all-analogue cut via Clint Holley at Well Made, while Dave Polster joins Holley for the cut of the latter. Both positively leap from the speakers, the Seventies title a little more vivid in its presentation. Crucially, both have robustly three-dimensional percussive shape and horns move the air and decay naturally in the soundstage. ‘Lo Mismo Si Que No’ has back and forth vocals that neatly demonstrate the care taken in sculpting these classic performances. Memphis Record Pressing has handled the manufacturing and the discs are near-silent, with poly-lined inners to protect.
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Depending on your preferences, there are two new vinyl options for The Alan Parsons Project’s debut album, ‘Tales Of Mystery And Imagination – Edgar Allan Poe’. A clear single disc follows the original track distribution, while a 2x45rpm set spreads things out over four sides and appends three bonus single versions to proceedings. This is cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road, using the high-resolution transfers from the original tapes sourced for the 2016 remaster and the typical clarity in the mid-range and crafted bottom end are evident from the off. It doesn’t quite have the indescribable analogue tone around the edges, but it’s close. Musically, it’s the same fever dream of prog and symphonic rock it ever was, including Arthur Brown, Leonard Whiting John Miles and Terry Sylvester amongst opulently ambitious arrangements. The instrumental suite, ‘The Fall Of The House Of Usher’ is still quite the trip. Your purist instincts, and willingness to get up more often, will dictate if the 2x45rpm format feels worth the extra effort for the improved audio, as it definitely edges the single clear disc. Neither is perfectly silent, although the latter had a little more surface noise than is ideal, despite both coming via Optimal.
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At The Front Of The Racks:
Wilco really know how to do deluxe reissues and the new 9LP/4CD set for ‘A Ghost Is Born’ is their finest achievement to date. It builds on the template arrived at for the 2022 celebration of ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’, adding the four disc set of ‘Fundamentals’ where Jeff Tweedy would run through songs on his acoustic and the rest of the band would instinctively play along to these pieces they’d never heard before. Out of this process a number of Wilco tracks were cemented, but we’ve never previously been able to hear the sprawling experiments that were so key to the evolution of the band’s sound around this time. They alone are reason enough to immerse yourself in this set and it’s hard to think of anything more exciting for a long-term fan of the band right now. The sumptuous hardback book is centred around a captivating essay by journalist Bob Mehr, illustrated by all sorts of striking photography capturing the process and its surroundings.
The vinyl edition of the album always sounded vastly superior to the CD mastering and this latest cut by Chris Bellman is, arguably, a touch better than the previous outings on this format. The highs feel a touch more natural and the mid-range has a little more depth, but these are minor details. Crucially, the soundstage is excellent and this extends to the two Outtakes sets and the 3LP live set ‘The Hook At The Wang’ recorded in Boston. The acoustic tangle of ‘Muzzle Of Bees’, which gradually gathers momentum and texture, is the best example of the remarkably rich presentation achieved with this edition, dissolving the speakers as it advances. The ‘Outtakes/Alternates’ sets are dynamic, rhythmically engaging and full of gems, not least nascent versions of ‘Impossible Germany’, then still ‘Improbable’. The Optimal discs are quiet rather than silent, partly down to the need to turn it up due to the full run time of each side being necessitated. They certainly don’t do half-measures on the bonus discs, unlike many we could mention. It’s not cheap, but – missing poly-lined sleeves for the LPs aside – this is the gold standard of how to do it.
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Record Store Day:
Whatever your take on remix collections, live albums and zoetropes, some titles feel like what RSD was invented for. Twenty-seven years on from its original, highly sought after, release, Sunhouse’s sole record, ‘Crazy On The Weekend’, has been licensed by Rough Trade for an orange pressing via Optimal. Fronted by the much-missed Gavin Clark, it’s his unique and deeply affecting voice that holds the whole thing together. ‘Good Day To Die’, ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Spinning Round The Sun’ showcase the varying textures here, before ‘Animal’ tears through the whole lot. And what about ‘Hard Sun’? Truly, an album that deserves to be beloved of many, this largely silent pressing could well be the start of its resurgence. The mastering is nuanced, open and dynamic, allowing for the volume that these superb performances command. If you missed news of the reissue of Club AC30’s Clark compilation ‘Beautiful Skeletons’, be sure to pick that up too while you’re hunting for exclusives.
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The previous RSD Bluey picture disc LP was one of very few aftermarket scorchers in 2023, so it’s safe to assume that the 2025 7” title, ‘Burger Song’, will be rather more ubiquitous in the racks. While listeners only have two tracks with which to get their wholesome narrative kicks, it’s been nicely done and our eight-year-old occasional guest reviewer gave it the thumbs up. Pressed at GZ it plays pretty quietly and has a decent soundstage. Side A features a deep cut from the first ever minisode and, “it’s good for very young children who want to party.” Which is fair. The ‘Burger Dog Version’ of the Bluey theme on the flip is short, sweet and not quite as good as the original. Our special correspondent would actually prefer a zoetrope design to the main image and swirling text options plumped for here, but seemed happy overall. £22 feels a little bit much, though.
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This year’s Suede title is at the more desirable end of things, building on a much-loved previous collection with ‘Sci-Fi Lullabies Vol. 2’. Brett Anderson has curated a selection of b-sides and bonus tracks from 1997, where the last set stopped, up to 2023 and Demon have assembled it across four sides of clear, GZ-pressed vinyl. The artwork is very much aesthetically consistent and the inner sleeves are festooned with the lyrics. Playback was pretty quiet on both discs and there’s much to enjoy amongst the tracklist. ‘Dawn Chorus’, ‘You Don’t Know Me’, ‘Simon’ and ‘Darkest Days’ are natural highlights and the whole thing closes with the previously unreleased piece, ‘Blinded’, which nearly made it onto their last studio outing, ‘Autofiction’. There are no mastering credits to be found and the sources do vary in their presentation, but levels have been balanced to avoid anything too crunchy on the soundstage. A must-have for the fans, certainly.
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The sleeve should be enough to lure you in for the special original mono mix reissue of ‘Mulligan Meets Monk’ from Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan. Cut all-analogue from the original tapes by Kevin Gray, this 1957 recording sounds in sparkling form as the pair are joined by Wilbur Ware on bass and Shadow Wilson – what a name! – on drums. Any collection with ‘’Round Midnight’, ‘Straight, No Chaser’ and Mulligan’s ‘Decidedly’ on it is worth a listen and the chemistry between the quartet is a pleasure to encounter. Curiously, the hype sticker claims this was done at RTI, but flip the sleeve over and you’ll spot a ‘Made In Czech Republic’ sticker, for this was manufactured at GZ. A poly-lined inner means playback is still pretty quiet.
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Your correspondent was moist-eyed within the first minute of Katherine Priddy’s gloriously executed ‘Live At Union Chapel’ 2LP set. This column raved about her 2024 album, ‘The Pendulum Swing’, as she is a genuinely magnificent artist who is only just getting going and this recording is a snapshot of how her music connects with those already in the know. The pensively pending strings at the start of ‘First House On The Left’ got me and there are many highlights in what follows. ‘Letters From A Travelling Man’, ‘Eurydice’, ‘Wolf’ and ‘Northern Sunrise’ all possess something a little extra special in this setting and via these readings. Simon J Weaver has mastered it with great care, keeping the acoustics of the venue but foregrounding the clarity of an artist in supreme form. Pressed to pretty quiet purple vinyl at Pozzoli in Italy, I’m even ok with the presence of an etching on side D. Chris Riddell sketched during the original show, with images displayed on stage, and one such piece has been rather charmingly added to the final side of the album. This is exactly the sort of release RSD is designed for and an absolute must-have.
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Marina Records have been on something of an RSD hot streak recently and this continues with a twenty-fifth anniversary vinyl outing for their tremendous compilation ‘Caroline Now! The Songs of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys’. Previously on white wax in 2006, it’s finally back in the racks on good old black. Aiming to pick over some of the less obvious choices from a remarkable career, the label assembled quite the cast, including Alex Chilton, The High Llamas, The Pearlfishers, Stevie Jackson, Malcolm Ross, Norman Blake and Saint Etienne. The latter’s take on ‘Stevie’ closes out side two and features an additional nod to Wilson’s catalogue. The mastering is full-bodied and reaches far beyond the speakers, giving acoustic instruments that indefinable magic that vinyl can sometimes deliver. The accompanying track-by-track fizzes with infectious enthusiasm and the German pressing is superb.
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Chrysalis mark the fortieth anniversary of Paul Hardcastle’s self-titled album with a red vinyl pressing that features a fresh remaster and a cut via AIR Studios. An electro-pop classic, it includes the international anti-war smash ‘19’ as well as singles ‘Rainforest’ and ‘Just For Money’. The shimmering synth opening of ‘King Tut’ neatly highlights the attention to detail on this new edition, possessing a lightness without losing any depth. Where mid-Eighties releases can sound a little thin, this has nimble but substantial mids. The soundstage bursts free of the speakers and the GZ pressing – wisely housed in a poly-lined inner – is pretty quiet throughout after a slightly noisy run in.
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It’s fifty years since Suzi Quatro released the melodic, bombastic glam rock delights of ‘Your Mamma Won’t Like Me’ and that’s reason enough for an expanded 2LP anniversary set for RSD. Remastered by Phil Kinrade and cut by Barry Grint, both at AIR, this has been done with love and the rhythm section properly struts throughout the record. The rifftastic opening to ‘Paralysed’ yields to fantastically playful organ and it’s all great fun. In keeping with the monochrome art, one disc is white and the second is black, with The Vinyl Factory delivering near-silent pressings. Four bonus tracks occupy side C, while the fourth and final face features an etched signature. No, me neither. What matters, however, is that – for its first vinyl reissue – this one sounds glorious.
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Back in 2023 Dannii Minogue’s finest album was given the deluxe treatment and, as part of the process, the tracks were afforded some fresh reworkings and its the new versions that are excerpted for a separate RSD outing as ‘Neon Night Remixed’. Those ten, largely appealing alternatives are joined by a specially commissioned new take on ‘Put The Needle On It’ by Koppi & Blackwell that opens proceedings. It’s all very neatly done, with sleeve art that builds on the theme of the original release and a soundstage that has the perfect balance of resonant bottom end and space in the top end, despite fitting within the range between the speakers. A near silent transparent bluey-purple French pressing from Media Industry seals the deal. Is it just me or does the Initial Talk Radio Edit of ‘Don’t Wanna Lose This Feeling’ have more than a nod to BIR Bish Bosh remix of sister Kylie’s ‘Where Is The Feeling’? Niche appeal, but nicely done.
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The now traditional RSD Pixies concert recording is presented on an ‘ice blue’ 2LP set and the 2025 instalment is ‘Bossanova / Trompe Le Monde – Live’. Each classic album gets its own disc and the performances were captured during their 2024 European tour. Robin Schmidt at 24-96 Mastering has done a fairly decent job of presenting a balanced soundstage with clarity on the vocals and a well-sculpted mid-range, allowing some space at the edges of the mix. The first album edges it on delivery but the band are on good form for both. GZ have delivered a near-silent set for this one, although the artwork feels a little perfunctory.
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The OBI on Chrysalis’ much needed fortieth anniversary reissue of The Colour Field’s ‘Virgins And Philistines’ is so nicely done, I’m willing to park the adjective pointless on this one occasion. Just the once though, don’t get used to it. The first of only two albums by this mid-Eighties phase of Terry Hall’s illustrious career, it was recorded by the original three-piece, featuring Toby Lyons and Karl Shale. Several drummers take their turns behind the kit while Katrina Philips provides majestic backing vocals for both ‘Thinking Of You’ and ‘Yours Sincerely’. String-adorned vintage pop chops are on show throughout, with melodies that truly reveal their impact after a few listens. Remastering has been performed by AIR, although the slightly murky Eighties mix can’t be fully avoided on tracks like ‘Castles In The Air’, where the sense that the top end is a little subdued is especially prominent. The yellow discs, pressed at The Vinyl Factory, play near silently and the bonus disc rounds up the pre-album single bits, as well as b-sides from the era.
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If Demon’s recent T.Rex hits package had you wondering about what lay below the surface, then ‘Bolan B-Sides’ is one to pursue this RSD. A blue vinyl 2LP set, it covers the period of 1972-73 on disc one and 74-77 on disc two, including ‘Jitterbug Love’, ‘Sitting Here’ and the single mix of ‘Born To Boogie’. Do ‘City Port’ and a curious cover of ‘Dock Of The Bay’ need to be in your collection? Only you know, but the set has been well assembled and Phil Kinrade has marshalled the sources with an open mastering that feels vibrant and punchy across all four sides of a pretty quiet GZ pressing. The artwork leaves a little to be desired, sadly, but the lyrics are included across the inner bags.
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Having previously been issued on blue vinyl, a gold variant of the 2023 release ‘Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco (Live At The London Palladium)’ is offered up to dampen the current triple-figure prices being punted on the second-hand market for the original. The album remains a resolutely joyous affair, capturing all of Ellis-Bextor’s well-rehearsed and unashamedly cheesy stage patter as part of a document that successfully communicates the sheer, undiluted glee of an evening in her presence. The mastering from Miles Showell is excellent, affording the live sound a robust, three-dimensional nature that is often lacking in such projects. A combination of career highlights and expertly chosen covers await, including a perfectly executed medley of ‘Get Over You’, ‘Lady (Hear Me Tonight)’, ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)’ and ‘Sing It Back’. The criminally overlooked ‘Young Blood’ is sweepingly stirring in this incarnation and the whole thing flies by. A near-silent GZ pressing only wilts slightly on the sparse closer, ‘My Favourite Things’.
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The three collaborative albums recorded by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan remain dependable treasure in the racks and those who were paying attention when they were first released may recall a bonus EP from the tail end of 2008 that appended five tracks to ‘Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart’ from that year’s album, ‘Sunday At Devil Dirt’. The EP now makes its way to vinyl, via a near-silent Optimal pressing and a cut from Abbey Road. It sounds marvellous, ‘Asleep On A Sixpence’ still glorious and the curio ‘Violin Tango’ a lively side one closer that will have you checking the digital edition to confirm it’s not a dodgy disc – it’s not, don’t worry.
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Also on Cooking Vinyl’s RSD list is the debut album by Californian alt-rock janglers Camper Van Beethoven, ‘Telephone Free Landslide Victory’. Pressed to clear and orange marbled vinyl, it otherwise replicates the original packaging with a Kraftpack disco bag sleeve and enormous hype sticker. As well as the dependable single ‘Take The Skinheads Bowling’, there’s plenty to enjoy from the likes of ‘The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon’, ‘Club Med Sucks’ and their cover of ‘Wasted’. The slightly shambolic sound propels them through a hectic run of seventeen, mostly concise tracks and the mastering here has decent width and solid instrumental separation. As an artefact, it’s very satisfying and musically it’s no slouch either. The pressing, via Pozzoli in Italy, is pretty quiet throughout.
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The good folk at the Jazz Dispensary have issued the perfect prescription for the end of the big day, a wilfully languid, purposefully mellow collection entitled ‘Night Lights’. The midnight blue disc features selections from Kenny Burrell, Yusef Lateef, Red Garland Trio and Coleman Hawkins amongst many others. Clint Holley at Well Made has cut the lacquers and Joe Tarantino has done a very effective job of melding the wide variety of sources into a collective, absorbing whole. The artwork is glorious and mood is meticulously executed. It should all be so relaxing. Unfortunately, it was pressed at GZ and presented in a shiny printed inner, meaning any hope of relaxation is routinely interrupted by light clicks and occasional loud pops.
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All titles reviewed above were cleaned before playback using the ultrasonic record cleaning machine, Degritter. A full review of its capabilities can be found in a previous column and you can find local dealers at www.degritter.com
Words: Gareth James (For more vinyl reviews and turntable shots, follow @JustPlayed on Bluesky)
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