Abbey Lincoln - Straight Ahead - 180g LP

Product no.: CJS9015

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Abbey Lincoln - Straight Ahead - 180g LP
£34.97
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AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Pure Pleasure / Candid - CJS9015 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue0

Audiophile Mastering by Kevin Grey & Steve Hoffman

Limited Edition - Pressed  at Pallas Germany - Candid CJS 9015

Musically and sonically, this is another superb reissue choice by Pure Pleasure. Highly recommended 8/10 Sound Michael Fremmer

This is one of Abbey Lincoln's greatest recordings. It is a testament to the credibility of her very honest music (and her talents) that Lincoln's sidemen on this date include the immortal tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who takes a memorable solo on "Blue Monk), Eric Dolphy on flute and alto, trumpeter Booker Little (whose melancholy tone is very important in the ensembles), pianist Mal Waldron and drummer Max Roach (her husband from 1962 to 1970).
 
In the upside down year of 1961 (not until 6009 will that happen again), the Kennedy era began, Washington D.C. residents finally got the right to vote in presidential elections thanks to the 23rd amendment to the constitution, and the civil rights movement was in its most activist period, with sit-ins staged throughout the south at public places and freedom riders traveling on buses to force the de-segregation of bus terminals as mandated by federal law.
 
The response to the confrontational activism was violence (today we call it “terrorism”), by threatened whites in the form of firebombings, vicious mob attacks, mass beatings and arrests followed by abusive treatment in jail (today some call it “torture,” others “fighting the war on terrorism”) or just plain murder-sometimes committed by or with the approval of those charged with upholding the law.
 
It was an ugly time, a time when raw hate bubbled to the surface across the south. Yet it was also a time of great moral righteousness and dignity as the black leadership at the time preached non-violent means to effect change and these techniques, combined with increasing television coverage awoke the national consciousness.
 
This record is a product of those times. On it, Abbey Lincoln expresses the anger, resignation, bitterness and alienation, as well as the strength and pride felt by Negroes at that time (this was before Black became acceptable), as they demanded, fought for, and began receiving the freedom and equality before the law promised by the Constitution.
 
Lincoln was well on her way to becoming a groomed and packaged nightclub singer (“a sexy supper-club chanteuse” is how Nat Hentoff's annotation puts it), until drumming great Max Roach got a hold of her.
 
On this brooding, introspective set, Roach is joined by Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins, Booker Little, Mal Waldron and Julian Priestly. Not a bad back up band! The mood is akin to Billie Holiday's foreboding “Strange Fruit,” though not as bitter, with Holiday's influence also heard and felt in Lincoln's vocal timbre-particularly in the lower registers.
 
The opening title tune, written by long-time Holiday accompanist Mal Waldron, with lyrics by Lincoln and Earl Baker sets the serious mood, with a deliberately paced, spare melody and lyrics that use roads and traveling to express the long, hard push toward racial equality in America.
 
“When Malindy Sings,” based on a remarkably contemporary sounding poem by 19th century Black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar with music by Oscar Brown, sounds as if it alone (the poem) could have inspired The Gershwins to write “Porgy and Bess.”
 
“In the Red” is, as the title suggests, a bitter, parched, oppressive 8 minute plus piece about poverty and indebtedness, with Lincoln dropping her vibrato for an almost blood curdling, “shouty” tonality that suggests anger but never comes right out with it. This was 1961 after all. It would take a few more years before the real anger surfaced.
 
Side two features a Waldron arrangement of the familiar “Blue Monk,” with lyrics by Lincoln describing the difficult process of self-discovery and expression-something she does throughout this set.
 
Mal Waldron's “Left Alone,” with bitter lyrics by Billie Holiday gets an appropriately spare and effective arrangement by trombonist Priester, with Lincoln backed mostly by drums, bass and piano , though there's a memorable sax solo (one of many on this record) by Coleman Hawkins. It's the album's most affecting tune.
 
“African Lady,” based on a then-new Langston Hughes poem, a melody by Randy Weston and an Afro-Cuban tinged Waldron arrangement featuring Dolphy's bird-like flute lines provides a welcome, optimistic break from the album's generally downcast subject matter.
 
The set concludes with “Retribution,” featuring Lincoln's sly lyrics about giving and getting in personal relationships (“let the retribution match the contribution,” she suggests).
 
Musically, Straight Ahead reflects the seriousness of the time in which it was created. The album's intimate sonics also reflect the time in which it was recorded. Instrumental timbres are stunningly natural and notably delicate and transparent, with the musicians spread across the stage in a tight arc. Lincoln's voice is in the room, free of noticeable studio processing. Only on the fades can you hear the remnants of the subtle reverb added to her voice to give it a bit of body and context.
 
Musically and sonically, this is another superb reissue choice by Pure Pleasure. Highly recommended-just don't expect to get a “Jersey bounce” out of it!
 
Lincoln is backed by another great grouping, including Kenny Dorham, Max Roach, Stanley and Tommy Turrentine and trombonist Priester. On this set Lincoln is equally effective but somewhat less daring, and the engineer has chosen to drown her in reverb, while leaving the rest of the musicians in a dry climate. The result is Lincoln sounds as if she's singing from another time zone. If Straight Ahead makes you an Abbey Lincoln fan, you should consider Abbey Is Blue, but if you're choosing one, go for Straight Ahead
Sound 8/10 Music 8/10 - Analogueplanet - Michael Fremmer.
 
Musicians:
Abbey Lincoln, vocals
Max Roach, drums
Coleman Hawkins, tenor saxophone
Eric Dolphy, reeds
Mal Waldron, piano
Booker Little, trumpet
Julian Priester, trombone
Art Davis, bass
Walter Benton, tenor saxophone
Roger Sanders, conga drums (African Lady)
Robert Whitley, conga drums (African Lady)
 
Selections: 
1. Straight Ahead
2. When Malinda Sings
3. In the Red
4. Blue Monk
5. Left Alone
6. African Lady
7. Retribution
 
Abbey Lincoln - Straight Ahead - 180g LP
ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES
AAA 100% ANALOGUE
We use the Original Tapes and work with only the Best Mastering Studios
PALLAS
Plated and Pressed at Pallas in Germany on 180 gram Virgin Vinyl
Highest Quality Jackets and  Inner Sleeves
LIMITED EDITION
Low Numbers per Stamper Released in Limited Quantities
 
 
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Pure Pleasure Records
The Restoration of the Art of Sound
180g Vinyl Mastered From The Best Available Sources

At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records. During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle. We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production. To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.

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Its tangible, you can feel it, see it, study it,   muse/dream over it, it’s real, someone  has spent hours and hours over its construction and presentation. Pure Pleasure Records is just that, Pure Pleasure and that is what it has set out to be.  The music and the physical record.  Something to keep, treasure, admire and above all enjoy.Of course with vinyl it’s not just a record, it’s the cover,  the sleeve notes, you are  holding a unique package, produced by craftsmen.

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Audiophile Vinyl - Made in Germany  For over 60 years the family business in the third generation of the special personal service and quality "Made by Pallas" is known worldwide. Our custom PVC formulation produces consistently high pressing quality with the lowest surface noise in the industry. Our PVC complies with 2015 European environmental standards and does not contain toxic materials such as Lead, Cadmium or Toluene. Our vinyl is both audiophile and eco-grade! 
 
 
 

 

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