AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Mobile Fidelity - MFSL 1-325 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

AAA 100% Analogue - Numbered Limited Edition -  Pressed at RTI 

Pure Analogue Mastered by Rob LoVerde  from the Original Master Tape

1/4" / 15 IPS analog master direct to lathe

 Although The Cars were born in the analogue era, they embraced an artificial, otherworldly sound, which logic dictates might be favoured by digital. But so rich and layered were their recordings, and so distinctive the vocals, that the music lends itself equally to what should be passé technology in this context. Blessedly, The Cars were not as Fritz Lang-ian in their modernism as, say, the far-quirkier Devo, never allowing melody to be subjugated by studio wizardry, so even the proliferation of synths – which date the album – does not jar with analogue warmth. Sound Quality: 83% Ken Kessler HIFI News

Summing up, it is one thing to reissue a fifty (plus) year old 'Golden Age' recording that always impressed audiophiles with incredible warm sound and invite never-ending debate on the merits of remastering such a classic - nothing original there. It is quite another to take the gamble of remastering a 1980s New Wave-synthpop recording that never showed any sign of promise and then disproving categorically the saying "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". Mobile Fidelity has and kudos to engineer Rob LoVerde for finding the appropriate equalization settings to produce this worthy 'make-over' full of warmth and zero listener fatigue; now that's something I rarely encounter in current recordings and CD's even more so - Enjoy the music review

1981 Album a Return to Pop and a New-Wave Landmark

A return to form after the departure that was 1980s muddled Panorama, the Cars Shake It Up bursts forth with a rich assembly of synthesizers, drum machines, electronic blips, and catchy melodies that make it an early 80s pop staple. Known the world over, the famous title track proves the bands arrangement skills were in perfect shape and set the stage for a record overflowing with memorable hooks and complementary rock riffs.

Shake It Up also plays witness to primary songwriter/vocalist Ric Ocaseks increased cynicism and biting wit. While the Cars never took a rosy-eyed view of romance, the songs here impart a newfound sense of sympathy, regret, limbo, and reservation. The beauty of the Carsand all ten tunes hereis that the music suggests something else entirely. Such subliminal emotions and dynamic contrasts act as a magnet, and the band plays as if its in on the secret.

They've always cultivated a dark side--girls make boys want to end it all even after the boys have grown up. They've always basked in the shadow of Roxy Music, too. But they've never been so stylishly nightmarish--except for the title cut, even the fast ones don't aim for fun. Robert Christgau, The Consumer Guide

Apart from the party vibe of the title cut, the Cars aim for deeper targets and smarter undertones. Shake It Up is defined by an urban edginess and modern feel that comes alive on tunes such as Cruiser and circular Im Not the One, a pop gem laded with stacked vocals and keyboard lines that double as a horn section. The bands arrangements have never been betteror more involved. Absent the cheesiness that would mar the groups late-period work, the songs ride on the strength of keyboard-heavy lines and layered harmonies. You will not be disappointed.

Half-speed mastered from the original analog tapes, Mobile Fidelitys numbered limited-edition LP focuses on the myriad pitch changes that control the musical directions. Recorded at the bands Synchro Sound studios by famed Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker, the album takes advantage of electronic textures and varying timbres in immersing the listener in accessible albeit abstract washes of sound. MoFis engineers made sure to capture every note and nuance; this marks the first time that Shake It Up has been remastered

Drums – David Robinson
Keyboards – Greg Hawkes
Lead Guitar – Elliot Easton
Producer – Roy Thomas Baker
Bass – Benjamin Orr
Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Written-By – Ric Ocasek

Track Listing:
1. Since You're Gone
2. Shake It Up
3. I'm Not the One
4. Victim of Love
5. Cruiser
6. A Dream Away
7. This Could Be Love
8. Think it Over
9. Maybe Baby 

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.

RTI
 
Record Technology is a world class record pressing plant located in Camarillo, California. We have been operating since 1974, pressing for most audiophile record labels and for many quality minded independent and major record labels from around the world.