SORRY - SOLD OUT
Analogue Productions - CAPP 048 SA - SACD Hybrid Stereo
Mastered by Kevin Gray - 3 Bonus Tracks
Hybrid SACD Plays On Normal CD Players - Limited Edition
The Absolute Sound 40th Anniversary Best Sounding Music!
"...Kevin Gray has remastered the recording at Coherent Audio for a new 2-channel SACD/CD , and the music now flows more effortlessly because Gray has given it more room to stretch out. ... Pitch's bass in the opening of "I Can See Clearly Now" is more commanding on the SACD's DSD tracks: I can now hear the vibration of the strings. ... Cole's voice is farther out into the room, and the touch of reverb added to it is clearer, which gives it more body." -- Joseph Taylor, SoundStage Hi-Fi
This record sounds so spontaneous — many of the cuts are first takes, some done just after a dinner and drinks when everyone was relaxed. There was not a lot of pre-production on this record, which heightens the spontaneous and genuine feel of the performances. This album sounds great, at least partially because of the minimalist approach to the recording.
There is an intelligence and sophistication to Holly Cole’s singing that sets her apart. She can imbue well-worn standards and eclectic songs with an uncanny combination of sensuality, innocence, originality and sheer musicality. Cole takes tunes everybody thinks they know and discovers new undercurrents in the venerable anthems of contemporary composers, wrapping her honesty, compassion and sardonic wit around their sometimes-fragile creations. The results are sexy, provocative, spellbinding, sometimes dangerous and never, ever dull.
Along with Cassandra Wilson and Patricia Barber, the Canadian songstress has helped redefine the world of the female jazz vocalist. In Cole's case, this can be directly linked to her ability to defy genre categorization and her ambitious musical choices. "I look at the essence of a song,” muses Cole. “If it’s a great lyric I often love to slow it down, explore it, dissect it and deconstruct it. I love to take it apart and then put it back together and look at it in an entirely different way. In the process, it often becomes more evocative. That’s a huge part of my art form, that’s a huge part of what I do.”
These abilities come into full focus on her 1995 Blue Note release, Temptation, which finds Holly skillfully interpreting material by the-one-and-only Tom Waits. Taking a minimalist approach to the arrangements and forgoing as much pre-production as possible serves Cole and the material well here. A majority of the cuts on Temptation are first takes which heightens the spontaneous and intimately genuine feel of Cole's breathtaking performances even further.
As it is, I found the SACDs’ DSD layers of these reissues to be superior overall to the two original CDs, which I’ve always considered to be of reference quality. The CD tracks of the new discs have also benefited from the new mastering tools; though they aren’t as three-dimensional as the DSD tracks, they do have more analog warmth. But it’s the DSD layer that justifies each disc’s $30 price tag; no Holly Cole fan who owns an SACD player should be without them. Soundstage
This product is a Hybrid SACD designed to play in both CD and SACD players, as well as all SACD-compatible DVD players.
Holly Cole Temptation Track Listing:
1. Take Me Home
2. Train Song
3. Jersey Girl
4. Temptation
5. Falling Down
6. Invitation To The Blues
7. Cinny's Waltz
8. Frank's Theme
9. Little Boy Blue
10. I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
11. Tango Til They're Sore
12. (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
13. Soldiers Things
14. I Want You
15. Good Old World
16. The Briar And The Rose
17. Shiver Me Timbers
Bonus Tracks
17 (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night (Alternate Take)
18 Shiver Me Timbers
19 The Last Rose Of Summer