Rock - what are you listening to?

[mcq]

I simply can't get Carrie and Lowell out of my head right now and I find it impossible to stop listening to it on a daily basis.  A haunting, mesmerising , deeply affecting cycle of songs written by the grief-stricken Stevens in the aftermath of his mother's death.  The tone is - alternately - stark, bleak, fearful and forlorn, yet also tender, intimate, hopeful, and forgiving.  It acutely evokes the physical nature of grief, a feeling akin to nausea, a desolate vacancy, a void that can never be replenished.  These songs document the torment and anguish of Stevens's mourning and collectively represent a gradual, interminable, heartwrenching coming to terms with the rupture of his loss.  The spiritual force of the songs is expressed as much by Stevens' vocal phrasing - and, in particular, his anguished near-falsetto that gives primal voice to the sheer depth of emotion that is beating hard in his heart - and the sparse but effective musical textures as it is by the lyrics.  It is a totally immersive and utterly draining experience.  The transformative force of these songs is gradual and cumulative and only releases itself through prolonged listening.  In the end, what remains is a glimmer of hope for Stevens, who progressively finds his life's strength and sense of purpose by articulating this intensely wounding, cathartically purging set of songs.  This is an amazing work that I really cannot recommend highly enough.

[tweber]

Loving this all over again:

[fergus]

A very old favourite of mine....

[Derek]

Coincidence Fergus, I've been listening to;

[Ivor]

It's a firm favourite as a reference disk but it's also one of my favourite recordings.... yes it's superbly produced with minimal mixing but it's the songs I keep coming back to. It was played at the recent Red K speakers demo in Cloney and during a brief conversation about it it was mentioned that there was a vinyl version on 45rpm (was that yourself Alltheyoungdudes?) anyway my intrest was piqued and I went searching. I found it on a site called acousticsounds.com (a feckin' treasure trove of music!) for $50. Not cheap but what do you get? This is a releaser for the nice people at Analogue Productions so your source is the original master tapes, it's on virgin 200 gram vinyl, meticulous pressing and quality control, less than 1,000 pressings per stamper. As mention this is now on 2 LPs at 45rpm so groovier grooves with a wider frequency band. The packaging is nothing flash but very solid. Gatefold heavy cardboard sleeve and the best anti-static inner sleeves I've ever seen.

I had a few problems with the speed initially. All my own fault. As I play at 33 1/3 rpm all the time I simply pressed the wrong button on the speed controller but it was still at 33 1/3. As I've had a few issues with belt slippage recently (the turntable, not me) I assumed that so I took off the platter and cleaned the belt and any contact areas with Pledge furniture polish (it works) and put it back together.... same slow speed (remember the wrong button was still pressed on the speed controller!). I then went for my replacement belt - the true sign of any vinyl victim is having a spare belt and knowing exactly where it is! It was certainly a little more taut so I was optimistic.... sadly the same slow speed. "ok" I said to myself.... I'll open the speed controller tomorrow (for all the good that would do me) but listen to some normal LPs tonight. Looking back at the speed controller buttons, this time with reading glasses on, I realised my stupidity! I selected 45rpm, dropped the needle into the groove and sat down.... I have to admit it took me a few minutes to fully relax but even still it was obvious that this record I know so well was now being reproduced on a whole different level.

My obvious comparison here has to be my CD copy so, for the purpose of this, let's just assume my CD player is a pretty good one ok? This super duper vinyl version wasn't delivering significantly greater detail than CD had previously but what it did give was space, air and a corporal reality to voice and instruments that I've only ever heard in a live setting before. There were other qualities too... songs which I had previously liked became epic. A little break in the voice, a misplaced finger on a string. Cymbals shimmered, steel strings shone, if Shelby tapped time with her hand on her thigh you knew it. THis was after one listen by the way, I'll be listening again tonight, and tomorrow night! The best $50 I've spent in a long time!

Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings

200-gram vinyl plated and pressed by Quality Record Pressings

Cut to LP by Doug Sax from analog master sources

Stoughton Printing glossy gatefold jacket

"...She's enough of a talent to serve up nine of Dusty's (plus one original) with reverence rather than mimicry, while avoiding the obvious songs. But the hook is the sound: it ranks with any 'audiophile' LP you can name." Sound Quality: 90%, Hi-Fi News Album Choice - Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News, September 2012

"...I heard the music in an entirely new way ... the recording is so good, and the Analogue Productions mastering brings such new life to this LP ... Mastered by Doug Sax, this explodes off your turntable." Recording = 10/10; Music = 9.5/10 — Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +, Issue 89

"...it is simply hard to believe how good this LP sounds, the backgrounds are as quiet as any of the famous UHQR pressings. Lynne's voice simply comes out of silence and a real space. It is rich, detailed, and most of all, unbelievably alive sounding. This recording is so good that I swear it sounds like she sings better than she did on the original...This is an LP that every vinyl lover must have in their collection!" - Jack Roberts, Dagogo

"...the first truly all-analog version...a tad warmer tonally, goes even deeper in the lower bass, and has an overall ease to the presentation that makes it the best version yet of this record. In fact, the super-silent 200-gram vinyl surfaces particularly benefit an ultra-dynamic recording such as this, so that previously unheard details such as the lightest cymbal flourishes can now be heard. While it isn't fully clear whether it was the mastering - or the plating and pressing that was responsible for the improvement, there's no doubt that there is one...Highly Recommended." - My Vinyl Review, March 18, 2012 To read the entire review, click here: http://myvinylreview.blogspot.com/2012/ ... e.html?m=0

"...all I can say is THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!!!! The sonics are spectacular and the pressing quality is as good as has ever been pressed in my opinion. The backgrounds are dead, black, silent the way Japanese pressings used to come on JVC 'Supervinyl!' and believe me it doesn't get any better than that, though this may even be richer, darker and blacker." Music = 9/11; Sound = 11/11 — Michael Fremer, MusicAngle.com
To read Fremer's full review, click here: http://www.analogplanet.com/content/you ... int-ipod-0

"...Despite the album's AAA pedigree, and Lynne's stating her preference for analog and for vinyl — which created a press buzz of its own, particularly after she memorably made the case for the format by saying 'You can't roll a joint on an iPod' — the original vinyl release was a fiasco...Enter Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions. Kassem knew the history and he knew how much better Just A Little Lovin' could sound. So he licensed the title for vinyl and SACD, acquired the master tapes and had them shipped to Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab. The songs arrived on individual reels that had to be spooled off and spliced together to create each side's running master." — Andre Marc, MusicAngle.com

To read MusicAngle.com's interview with Shelby Lynne, click here: http://musicangle.com/feat.php?id=198

One of the most incredible sounding records we've ever heard. It's exactly what audiophiles dream about. A mixture of great music, great performances and a great recording — all with air to breathe. Show-stopping sound!

"There's nothing we've offered that I'm more excited about and that I'm more confident will just blow people away." — Chad Kassem, Acoustic Sounds, Inc. CEO

Released originally by Lost Highway Records in 2008, Just A Little Lovin' is Shelby Lynne's stirring, emphatic tribute to the late British singer Dusty Springfield. It is to date the highest charting album of Lynne's career, reaching No. 41 on the Billboard 200. The producer is veteran Phil Ramone — the engineer for Springfield's original recording of "The Look Of Love."

Reissuing this masterpiece to our Analogue Productions standards was an enormous — and expensive — undertaking. Keep in mind that almost without exception, for every pop record recorded after 1992, even if it's recorded to analog tape like this one, the songs are stored individually. That means that there is never an actual complete album master compiled. So to cut an LP from tape, we had to have mastering engineer Doug Sax assemble an analog master in order so that he could then cut the record to LP, using his famed tube electronics. This involves a lot of extra cost and work. But, since this is such an incredible album, we went all the way. Also, we should mention that Shelby Lynne herself is reportedly a big fan of vinyl.

As for the quality of the record itself, the name says it all. This heavyweight platter from Quality Record Pressings is dead quiet — and smooth. Plating was also done in-house at QRP by Gary Salstrom.

Right on the heels of our Analogue Productions reissue of Dusty Springfield's Dusty In Memphis, which was named Stereophile's Recording of the Month for February 2012, the timing couldn't be more perfect.

In addition to the Springfield tracks, Lynne also covers Tony Joe White's "Willie and Laura Mae Jones." In fact, given the style of music and sound quality, we'd recommend that anyone who likes this record also check out our reissue of Tony Joe White's Homemade Ice Cream (http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/75086 ... nyl_Record) and our reissue of Dusty Springfield's Dusty In Memphis (http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/73767 ... nyl_Record). And if you like either of those two records, we think you're gonna like this one.

PopMatters' review of Just A Little Lovin' wrote - "Lynne has crafted a disc that - while not exactly transcendent - still manages to go to emotional places that remain unattainable to your run-of-the-mill pop vocalists." Some of Dusty's biggest hits are covered here including "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," "I Only Want To Be With You," and "How Can I Be Sure."

Let Shelby Lynne give you Just A Little Lovin' — it'll make your day!

[Diapason]

Great read, Ivor!

[Ivor]

Great read, Ivor!

Ta.

next up... Iron Maiden on heavyweight vinyl!

[Diapason]

Perfect!

[Seán]

I enjoyed reading your post Ivor, thanks for that.

[Ivor]

I enjoyed reading your post Ivor, thanks for that.

Thanks Sean, the website I bought that from was http://www.acousticsounds.com and it has serious stuff in every genre and format with some great bargains too. A very well designed website that was easy to roam around. Highly recommended.

I did have an email from them requesting paypal or money order since this was my first order - a short sighted policy I thought! I pointed out it was they that had my credit card details so I was taking the risk here! We laughed and they shipped it. I just mention it in case any other member here gets the same email. All very human I have to say, it wasn't automated and it was fine in the end.