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Categories ROCK & POPULAR The Doobie Brothers - The Captain And Me - 180g LP
The Doobie Brothers - The Captain And Me - 180g LP
Product no.: BS2694In stock
£29.99
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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 / Warner BS-2694 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue
Mastered by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mstering - Pressed at Pallas in Germany
Speakers Corner 30 Years Pure Analogue This LP is an Entirely Analogue Production
Speakers Corner Records has done a stellar job in re-mastering The Captain And Me to 180-gram vinyl. All of Ted Templeton’s rich production is captured with excellent stereo separation and precise mixing levels. Johnston’s voice has a balance of smooth and raw elements. There is a live energy to the recording that aptly showcases early Doobies. The hi-gloss gatefold is top-notch. Rock aficionados will really enjoy this vinyl release.-Sound 5/5 Audiophileaudition
The Doobie Brothers weren’t brothers, nor were they called Doobie. The band started life as Pud in 1969 in Chateau Liberté, a club in the mountains of California. The group took on the slang name for marihuana cigarettes (doobie) one year later. The Doobies’ music, however, never sounded like that of befuddled, half-stoned junkies. Heavy metal hard rock was their thing which made their record company Warner target the bikers of the rocker scene. The idea backfired, though, because the band had far more to offer than explosive hard rock.
The album "The Captain And Me" is considered to be the group’s most concentrated and versatile production since it contrasts aggressive, hard numbers with gentle ones full of melodiousness. The very first number, "Natural Thing", shows how winsome vocal folk music and electric guitar riffs can be amalgamated into rock music. Amongst these titles, decidedly angry numbers such as "Without You" and "Evil Woman" became real trailblazers. Now and then, an extensive harp solo or nonchalant licks from the acoustic guitar remind one of the pungent bluegrass style emanating from the South. That even the sweet wailing of the steel guitar ("South City Midnight Lady") finds room for expression seems quite logical in this well-thought-out musical concept.
Taking off on the commercial success of Toulouse Street, the Doobie Brothers’ The Captain and Me propelled the group to superstar status. Having spent an entire year on the charts after its March 1973 release, the band’s third record features one classic tune after another, including the mega-hits “China Grove” and “Long Train Runnin’.”
To many, The Captain and Me remains the feel-good California quintet’s best work. Balanced between Tom Johnston’s harder-rocking contributions and Patrick Simmons’ mellower country-laced ballads, the album satisfies all tastes and displays a stunning array of high harmonies and interlocking rhythms.
You have never heard the familiar chorus of “China Grove” or romance of “South City Midnight Lady” with such clarity, soul, or immediacy
The Doobie Brothers' third long-player was the charm, their most substantial and consistent album to date, and one that rode the charts for a year. It was also a study in contrasts, Tom Johnston's harder-edged, bolder rocking numbers balanced by Patrick Simmons' more laid-back country-rock ballad style. The leadoff track, Johnston's "Natural Thing," melded the two, opening with interlocking guitars and showcasing the band's exquisite soaring harmonies around a beautiful melody, all wrapped up in a midtempo beat -- the result was somewhere midway between Allman Brothers-style virtuosity and Eagles/Crosby & Nash-type lyricism, which defined this period in the Doobies' history and gave them a well-deserved lock on the top of the charts. Next up was the punchy, catchy "Long Train Runnin'," a piece they'd been playing for years as an instrumental -- a reluctant Johnston was persuaded by producer Ted Templeman to write lyrics to it and record the song, and the resulting track became the group's next hit. The slashing, fast-tempo "China Grove" and "Without You" represented the harder side of the Doobies' sound, and were juxtaposed with Simmons' romantic country-rock ballads "Clear as the Driven Snow," and "South City Midnight Lady." Simmons also showed off his louder side with "Evil Woman," while Johnston showed his more reflective side with "Dark Eyed Cajun Woman," "Ukiah" and "The Captain and Me" -- the latter, a soaring rocker clocking in at nearly five minutes, features radiant guitars and harmonies, soaring ever higher and faster to a triumphant finish.
. This is 70s rock at its best!
The Captain And Me" - Tom Johnston ; Patrick Simmons ; John Hartman ; Tiran Porter ; Michael Hossack .
1. Natural Thing
2. Long Train Runnin'
3. China Grove
4. Dark Eyed Cajun Woman
5. Clear as the Driven Snow
6. Without You
7. South City Midnight Lady
8. Evil Woman
9. Busted Down Around O'Connelly Corners
10. Ukiah
11. Captain and Me
AAA 100% 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
MADE FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES
AAA 100% ANALOGUE - PURE ANALOGUE AUDIOPHILE MASTERING
We use the Original Tapes and work with only the Best Mastering Studios Worldwide
180 GRAM VIRGIN VINYL PLATED & PRESSED AT PALLAS GERMANY
Faithful Reproduction of the Original Artwork and Labels
LIMITED EDITION Released in Limited Quantities
All Licences and Mechanical Rights Paid
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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