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

Mobile Fidelity - MSFL 1-477 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue

4,000 Numbered Limited Edition -  Pressed at RTI 

Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich from the Original MasterTape at MFSL

Half Speed Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity The Gain 2 Ultra Analog System

The album is really good well worth the money. Joe Walsh at his best Sound 5/5 LPreview

The Joe Walsh-Led James Gang Balances Edgy Hard Rock and Since Country-Tinged Ballads on 1970 Classic: Rides Again Features the Radio Favorite "Funk #49" and Multi-Part "Bomber" 

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes, Pressed at RTI, and Strictly Limited to 4000 Numbered Copies: Mobile Fidelity 180g Vinyl LP of Rides Again Presents James Gang in Full-Scale Detail

Led by future Eagle Joe Walsh, the James Gang establishes a power-trio template for all times on its 1970 sophomore album. Home to the top-down favorite "Funk #49," Rides Again sparks with a stylistic versatility, hard-rocking edge, and balladic vulnerability united by tight-knit musicianship. The quartet's penchant for crunch-laden boogies and focused jamming pours out on the first half of the record before the band pulls its trick bag out on the second half and injects keyboards into the stylistically varied mix. From start to finish, Rides Again is a 70s rock classic – and, now, one that at last features first-rate sonics to match the music.

Recorded at the then-brand-new Record Plant, the songs sound more authoritative and fun than ever before on Mobile Fidelity's restored analog pressing. Mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed at RTI, and strictly limited to 4000 numbered copies, this 180g LP teems with involving textures, details, and depth hidden from view on prior pressings. The dimensional body and weight of the guitars, probing low-end of Dale Peters' bass lines, reedy timbre of Walsh's singing, and pacing of the crisp percussive cues are all enhanced. Increased separation between the instruments and airier, more open soundstaging adds to the record's toe-tapping fun and seemingly unlimited groove quotient.

Walsh, without question, remains the biggest draw on Rides Again. The FM radio staple "Funk #49" – kick-started by the irresistible declaration "I sleep all day, out all night/I know where you're goin'" – continues to be identified by many as a Walsh solo tune. Yet it, as well as the sexual thrust of the head-bobbing "Woman" and proto-metal slash of the multi-part "The Bomber," fully represents the pure chemistry and locomotive momentum of the James Gang. With Walsh's Echoplex-equipped slide guitar making psychedelic- and blues-leaning comments, his mates pick up on the direction and answer with melodic responses.

Throughout the record, the trio's synergy clicks at every turn. Such interplay extends to the more diverse, country-tinged fare on Side B. Streaked with throaty organ passages and reflective moods, sincere midtempo ballads like "Tend My Garden" tease with rave-up structures and express a softer side of the group. Similarly, the acoustic-based "Garden Gate" and Jack Nitzsche-orchestrated "Ashes the Rain and I" showcase sincerity and diversity suggesting the James Gang prepared to defy limitations afforded most of its peers.

Yet Walsh's departure in 1971 changed the group's fortunes – and, by extension, upped the value of Rides Again, which survives as a near-flawless example of earnest 70s rock and organic playing. Experience this stellar album in sensational sound and get your lowest-numbered copy 

 

 
 
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.