The Isley Brothers - The Heat Is On - 180g LP

Product no.: PZ33536

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The Isley Brothers - The Heat Is On - 180g LP
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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

Speakers Corner / T-Neck - PZ 33536 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

AAA 100% Analogue  - Limited Edition -  Pressed  at Pallas 

Mastered by Rainer Maillard at Emil Berliner Studios

Speakers Corner 25 Years Pure Analogue  This LP is an Entirely Analogue Production

In terms of mastering? One word arises after the first few seconds: sumptuous. There is a delicious 70s warmth allied with bass power that provides a deep, heavy, almost bottomless pit of bass. Speakers Corner has brilliantly combined this with a sense of space and clarity that gives a searing emotional performance from the lead vocal and a guitar performance that is positively drenched in funk grooves. A mighty LP and a mighty remaster - Paul Rigby Theaudiophileman
 
 Speakers Corner Records has done its customary superlative job in re-mastering The Heat Is On to 180-gram vinyl. The layered instrumentation is thick, but not overly dense. Ron Isley’s distinctive higher-register tonality is dulcet and elastic. The occasional hard-edged guitar tones fit into the mix evenly. Hi-gloss gatefold packaging, protective sleeves and a pressingmakes this vinyl mandatory for any soul collection. - Sound 5/5 Audiophileaudition
 
1975's The Heat Is On was the third album that the Isley Brothers recorded with their 3 + 3 lineup, and by that time, the lineup had really perfected its attractive soul/rock sound. The Isleys were providing great R&B long before keyboardist Chris Jasper, bassist Marvin Isley, and the distinctive guitarist Ernie Isley came on board in 1973; nonetheless, the newcomers added a lot to the group and helped it provide some of its best recordings. Marvin's basslines are as funky as it gets, and the Jimi Hendrix-influenced Ernie is a killer guitarist; he would have been perfect for Deep Purple, Blue Öyster Cult, or Judas Priest if the Isley Brothers hadn't kept him busy in the 1970s.
 
One of the 3 + 3 gems that no Isleys fans should be without is The Heat Is On, which is best known for the sweaty funk classic "Fight the Power" and the sexy quiet storm slow jam "For the Love of You." Lead vocalist Ronald Isley is as convincing on the funk scorchers as he is on caressing ballads like "Make Me Say It Again Girl" and "Sensuality." Meanwhile, "Hope You Feel Better Love" is brilliant because it contrasts those two sides of the 3 + 3 lineup -- the verses are sweetly melodic, but the chorus is forceful and explosive. Superb from start to finish, The Heat Is On is among the Isleys' most essential albums.

A glance at the discs, which rocked through the charts under the simple name of "Isley Brothers" will give you an idea of how a "long-lasting and self-generative family enterprise" (The Times) became a true soul factory. After a brisk start with popular rock’n’roll music, similar to that which a large number of black vocal groups turned out in the Fifties, followed a long march from one record company to another – all of whom were hard pushed to equate the dynamic musicality of these brothers with the 'own sound' of their productions. After hopping from one record label to the next, and not even getting a long-lasting break with the potent Motown label Tamla, golden days arrived when they set up their own label – T-Neck.

Amidst the turmoil created by strong competition from superb studio albums, the Isley Brothers landed a smash hit in 1975 with "The Heat Is On", an album which achieved double platinum status with its collection of perfectly written numbers. Powerful, funky volleys ("Fight The Power"), gyrating riffs as a launch pad for harmonious vocals and a creative solo ("The Heat Is On") go their own way, which is also apparent in the bell-like, airy ballads that swing along tastefully – quite without the sugar-sweet strings so popular at that time.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head.

Vocals, Music By, Lyrics By – Isley Brothers

Producer – Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – C. Jasper*, E. Isley*, M. Isley*, O. Isley*, R. Isley*, R. Isley*
 

Selections:

Side A:
1. Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)
2. The Heat Is on (Part 1 & 2)
3. Hope You Feel Better Love (Part 1 & 2)
Side B:
1. For the Love Of You (Part 1 & 2)
2. Sensuality (Part 1 & 2)
3. Make me Say It Again Girl (Part 1 & 2)

Recorded 1975 at Kendun Recorders, Burbank, CA.

Isley Brothers - The Heat Is On - 180g LP
 
                               
25 Years pure Analogue

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head 25 Years pure Analogue

 
Are your records completely analogue?
Yes! This we guarantee!
As a matter of principle, only analogue masters are used, and the necessary cutting delay is also analogue. All our cutting engineers use only Neumann cutting consoles, and these too are analogue. The only exception is where a recording has been made – either partly or entirely – using digital technology, but we do not have such items in our catalogue at the present time
 
Are your records cut from the original masters?
In our re-releases it is our aim to faithfully reproduce the original intentions of the musicians and recording engineers which, however, could not be realised at the time due to technical limitations. Faithfulness to the original is our top priority, not the interpretation of the original: there is no such thing as a “Speakers Corner Sound”. Naturally, the best results are obtained when the original master is used. Therefore we always try to locate these and use them for cutting. Should this not be possible, – because the original tape is defective or has disappeared, for example – we do accept a first-generation copy. But this remains an absolute exception for us.
 
Who cuts the records?
In order to obtain the most faithful reproduction of the original, we have the lacquers cut on the spot, by engineers who, on the whole, have been dealing with such tapes for many years. Some are even cut by the very same engineer who cut the original lacquers of the first release. Over the years the following engineers have been and still are working for us: Tony Hawkins, Willem Makkee, Kevin Gray, Maarten de Boer, Scott Hull, and Ray Staff, to name but a few.
At the beginning of the ‘90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the reissue policy was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC Compact Classics, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and others, including of course Speakers Corner, all maintained a mutual, unwritten code of ethics: we would manufacture records sourced only from analogue tapes. 
 
Vinyl’s newfound popularity has led many other companies to jump 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 from which to master: CDs, LPs, digital files and even MP3s. 
 
Even some who do use an analogue tape source employ a digital delay line, a misguided ’80s and ‘90s digital technology that replaces the analogue preview head originally used to “tell” the cutter head in advance what was about to happen musically, so it could adjust the groove “pitch” (the distance between the grooves) to make room for wide dynamic swings and large low frequency excursions. Over time analogue preview heads became more rare and thus expensive. 
 
So while the low bit rate (less resolution than a 16 bit CD) digital delay line is less expensive and easier to use than an analogue “preview head”, its use, ironically, results in lacquers cut from the low bit rate digital signal instead of from the analogue source! 
 
Speakers Corner wishes to make clear that it produces lacquers using only original master tapes and an entirely analogue cutting system. New metal stampers used to press records are produced from that lacquer. The only exceptions are when existing metal parts are superior to new ones that might be cut, which includes our release of “Elvis is Back”, which was cut by Stan Ricker or several titles from our Philips Classics series, where were cut in the 1990s using original master tapes by Willem Makkee at the Emil Berliner Studios. In those cases we used only the original “mother” to produce new stampers. 
 
In addition, we admit to having one digital recording in our catalogue: Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky”, which was recorded digitally but mixed to analogue tape that we used to cut lacquers. 
 
In closing, we want to insure our loyal customers that, with but a few exceptions as noted, our releases are “AAA”— analogue tape, an all analogue cutting system, and newly cut lacquers.
 
60 Years Pallas
 
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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