Mobile Fidelity - MFSL 1-448 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl
Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich
AAA 100% Analogue - Numbered Limited Edition
1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe
Stereophile Magazine Record to Die For!
The Absolute Sound Super Disc List - TAS Harry Pearson Super LP List
Sound 90% HIFI News - thanks to this releases sound quality and genius juxtaposition of Waits with Gayle
Mobile Fidelity’s pressing of One from the Heart sounds so impressively deep and large that the CD sounds flat by comparison. Greg Cohen’s bass has so much more low-end force that it ends up sounding tame on CD. The textural qualities of Waits’s voice are more focused, giving his performances greater emotional force: He sounds more regretful in “I Beg Your Pardon,” more wistful in “Little Boy Blue.” Gayle’s vocal technique is also clearer here, as are the expressive qualities of her singing. One from the Heart was very well recorded, and the CD captures much of the richness of the sound, but Krieg Wunderlich’s mastering for the MoFi LP gives even more life to the music, and the larger soundstage gives it a grander presentation. The nuances of the horns’ sounds are rendered much more powerfully -- Jack Sheldon’s trumpet is fuller and has timbral accuracy, and Teddy Edwards’ tenor sax is sharper and grittier. Both instruments have a holographic impact that puts them in the room with me - Soundstage
One From the Heart ranks among the best soundtracks in history. Essential for any Tom Waits or Crystal Gayle devotee, it sets an example of what’s not only possible, but should be expected and demanded, when two likeminded artists collaborate. Heartstrings are tugged, passions kindled and lost, sentiments exchanged, skeletons dragged out of closets, seasons changed, romantic truisms cited. And its wide-open sound is supreme, the result of most tracks being recorded live in the studio, free of after-effects and interference.
Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g LP presents the Academy Award-nominated One From the Heart in stunning sonic relief. You’ll be able to gauge the signature tones of the guitars and hear inside the cavity of Waits’ piano. Perhaps most importantly, Gayle and Waits’ voices now sound just feet away, with your room converted into the world’s coolest late-night lounge. Spatial cues, background accents, and studio dimensions emerge with striking realism.
Inspired by a track Waits cut with Bette Midler on his Foreign Affairs effort, One From the Heart overflows with simpatico chemistry, poignant contrast, elegant atmospherics, and awestruck intimacy. On their four vocal duets, Gayle and Waits inhabit the personas of a man and woman breaking apart yet sharing common bonds. Their singing plumbs emotional depths that traverse melancholy, sensuality, and understanding. Made before Waits’ baritone turned into a deep, gravel-laden instrument, the songs are more smoke than whiskey, more piano-man empathy than hipster growler.
Written by Waits, the music occupies a common ground between laidback small-combo jazz, lounge pop, and downbeat blues. Classy string orchestrations abet a crack ensemble comprised of saxophonist Terry Edwards, drummer Shelly Manne, pianist Pete Jolly, bassist Greg Cohen, and others. The arrangements seamlessly melt into both vocalists’ leads, allowing every note—every piano clink, acoustic bass ripple, brushed snare drum—to register with utmost magnitude.
Experienced on stunning soliloquy pieces such as Gayle’s mournful ballad “Is There Any Way Out of This Dream?” and back-and-forth collaborative efforts like the breakup take “Picking Up After You,” beautiful instrumentation, spacious production, and flawless vocal phrasing take hold. You can picture the broken dreams exiting out the side doors of the dim bars and abandoned houses that pepper the narratives. Renowned for his sad songs, Waits has never been in better form, the goodbye fare clicking with unflinching honesty and personality.
• Numbered, Limited Edition • 33rpm Speed Edition
• Mastering by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab • Specially Plated and Pressed on 180 grams of High Definition Vinyl
• Special Static Free - Dust Free Inner Sleeve • Heavy Duty Protective Packaging
• Mastered from the Original Master Tapes • Pressed at RTI
Arranged By – Bob Alcivar
Bass – Greg Cohen
Engineer – Biff Dawes
Harp – Gayle Levant
Piano – Pete Jolly
Vocals - Tom Waites
Trumpet – Jack Sheldon
Vocals – Crystal Gayle
1. Opening Montage: Tom’s Piano Intro/Once Upon a Town
2. Is There Any Way Out of This Dream?
3. Picking Up After You
4. Old Boyfriends
5. Broken Bicycles
6. I Beg Your Pardon
7. Little Boy Blue
8. Instrumental Montage: The Tango/Circus Girl
9. You Can’t Unring a Bell
10. This One’s From the Heart
11. Take Me Home
12. Presents
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 HQ-180 Vinyl
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.
