BEST in Audiophile Vinyl , New Release & Classics
Categories JAZZ Freddie Hubbard - First Light - 180g LP
Freddie Hubbard - First Light - 180g LP
Product no.: PPANCTI6013In stock
Available delivery methods: UK Tracked with Signature, UK Express, Airmail Tracked with Signature, UK Standard, Heavy Item
AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head
Pure Pleasure / CTI - PPAN CTI6013 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue
CTI 6013 - Limited Edition - Mastered by Ray Staff at Air London
Pressed at Pallas Germany
The re-mastering of First Light to 180-gram vinyl is flawless and exemplifies the resurgence of analog recording. Having the master tapes of legendary engineer, Rudy Van Gelder is integral. All of the various instrumental layers are woven into a clean, organic mix. The individual play (especially on trumpet and guitar) is never overwhelmed by the denser orchestration. The clarity of the overall mix is evident on minor touches like a harp, drum cymbal or vibraphone. As usual, Pure Pleasure Records continues its dedication to superior products with a hi-gloss gatefold and quality inner sleeve. While critics were divided on the artistic merits of Hubbard in this venture, this release is a collector’s item! - Sound 4.5/5 Audiophile Audition
Produced & engineered by: Creed Taylor
Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, September 1971
Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London
|Freddie Hubbard was one of the most prolific jazz trumpeters in the business. He played a hot and sassy horn! When he was teamed up with George Benson, Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter (just to name a few) on this one of many Creed Taylor-produced collaborations, he most deservedly won the Grammy!
The opening title song "First Light" has an ethereal beginning with a diverse arrangement. An unusual arrangement of Paul McCartney's "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is most satisfying. Henry Mancini's "Moment To Moment" has a hauntingly sweet sound. "Lonely Town" is darkly complex.
There are many sides and moods to each of the songs within this original work. With stylish jazzy rhythms and rich orchestrations, this is THE Freddie Hubbard album to have!
"The result is a masterpiece of textured sound, gorgeously far-flung charts, sweet, tight grooves, a subtle mystic feel, and some of Hubbard's most exciting playing ever." -Thom Jurek, allmusic.com
Never one to take lyricism for granted, trumpeter and composer Freddie Hubbard entered Creed Taylor's studio for the third time in 1971 with the express purpose of making a record radically different from anything he'd cut before; he was looking for it to use electricity and to be out of the soul-jazz mold, but was also more ambitious and wanted to push that envelope and himself. Taylor and Hubbard assembled a band that included Herbie Hancock on Rhodes, guitarists Eric Gale and George Benson, bassist Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette on drums, Airto Moreira on percussion, and Richard Wyands on acoustic piano to back him. The band was also supported by the truly ethereal and adventurous string arrangements of Don Sebesky (a first for Hubbard).
The result is a masterpiece of textured sound, gorgeously far-flung charts, sweet, tight grooves, a subtle mystic feel, and some of Hubbard's most exciting playing ever. The title track and Hubbard's ingenious read of Paul and Linda McCartney's "Uncle Albert/ Admiral Halsey," as well as Leonard Bernstein's "Lonely Town," are so in the pocket that they bleed soul. Benson's uncharacteristically edgy guitar playing juxtaposed against Hubbard's warm tone, and Hancock's beautifully modal Rhodes lines that are drenched with big, open, minor chord voicings, are simply made more illustrious and graceful by Sebesky's strings. While Red Clay and Straight Life are both fine albums, First Light is the one that connects on all levels -- and it did with the jazz-buying public as well. A masterpiece.
Produced by Creed Taylor
Arranged by Don Sebesky
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.
There really is nothing quite like it. It’s the touch, the feel, you have to stop and stare, the cover, the real thing, even the smell.
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.
Pure Pleasure Records bring you vinyl albums of quality Jazz - Blues - R+B - Soul - Funk, remastered by some of the best engineers in the world and pressed on 180 gram audiophile vinyl at what is probably the best pressing plant in Europe
Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering - Plated and Pressed at Pallas in Germany on 180 Gram Virgin Vnyl - Released in Limited Quantities
Customers who bought this product also bought
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Browse this category: JAZZ
