Impex - IMP8302 - 24 Karat Gold CD -
Mastered by Bernie Grundman - Bonus Tracks - Limited Edition
All-tube mastering by Bernie Grundman
Jennifer's superb rendition of Bob Dylan's classic "Born In Time." The fabulous record from the multi-award-winning artist who brought us Famous Blue Raincoat. The analog recording is sweet, smooth and surprisingly restrained. Jennifer's interpretive prowess is given a full workout on brilliant covers of "Invitation To the Blues" and "And So It Goes," as well as the shimmering beauty of the title track and "Patriot's Dream."
Renew... rebirth... revive: A well means more in analogy than it does as a bearer of water. It can symbolize a complete transformation or a brief transition - the rejuvenation of a spirit in passing.
A trip to beautiful Jacob's Well outside of Austin, Texas with friend Doyle Bramhall proved an inspiration too rich to ignore. From this almost chance encounter comes The Well, a lovely collection of deeply-felt songs about renewing, rebirthing and reviving.
Songs on The Well feature stories about life-defining passages "Prairie Melancholy," rebirth "The Well," conquering fear "The Panther," Thankfulness "The Nightingale," a relationship at the cross-roads "And So It Goes," appreciation "Patriot's Dream" and discoveries "You Don't Know Me." Jennifer Warnes has chosen pieces that hint their deeper meanings. There are no soap-boxes with which to preach The Well.
Produced by Jennifer Warnes and composer/producer Martin Davich (ER), this largely acoustic album freely explores folk, pop, roots, blues and jazz. The singer has collected stellar musical talent to flesh out her vision, including; Arlo Guthrie, Doyle Bramhall (along with his son Doyle II), Rick Cunha, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dean Parks, Blondie Chaplin, George Doering, Leland Sklar, Abraham Laboriel, Lenny Castro, Van Dyke Parks and many others. On the technical side, the brilliant sound of The Well was crafted by Mark Johnson, Frank Wolf, George Massenburg, Elliot Scheiner, John Cevetello, Paul Deiter and Mark Cross.
"Jennifer Warnes is one of the most underrated pop singers of her generation. Her albums, though few and far between, brim with melody and craft - and lyrics both intelligent and emotionally weighted... The songs are lovingly produced, inventively orchestrated, and stocked with a who's who of studio musicians.
But Warnes' expressive vocals overshadow all. She's a signer who asks a lot of her gifts, always searching for finer degrees of nuance and dynamics like a painter mixing color on a palette. The reissue from Impex Records (staffed by former Cisco émigrés) is a model for the premium LP industry. 45rpm 180-gram pressings are presented in an individually numbered wood box with a twelve-page, large format booklet that includes notes and lyrics. Bernie Grundman presided over the all-tube remastering. Sonically (is) this about as good as it gets from a studio-bred multi-track - fabulous acoustic textures, deep bass, and awesome ambience.
Music: 4 1/2 out of 5; Sonics: 5 out of 5 - Neil Gader, The Absolute Sound, December 2011
"The first thing you notice about this box set is its museum quality packaging. Instead of cardboard, the box is constructed of wood and impeccably finished with the highest quality paper stock. It's easily one of the most beautiful record boxes ever. Inside the box, an equally gorgeous booklet and photo insert provide lyrics and production notes. How can the audio production live up to such a gorgeous packaging, I wondered... Warnes' singing is captivating on each number, but her rendition of "You Don't Know Me" with Doyle Bramhall stand comparison with Ray Charles' classic version. and the sound is to die for.
If my usual scale goes up to 10, I'm giving this an eleven. It's so good sounding it's hard to listen to anything afterwards. A home run that gets my highest recommendation."DD, Hi-fi+
This is, in my opinion one of her best albums ever recorded. The quality of this pressing is outstanding. The entire package is extremely well put together. Definitely a collector's item.
Selections:
1. The Well
2. It's Raining
3. Prairie Melancholy
4. Too Late Love Comes
5. La Luna Brilla
6. Fool For The Look (In Your Eyes)
7. Invitation To The Blues
8. And So It Goes
9. The Panther
10. You Don't Know Me
11. The Nightingale
12. Patriot's Dream
13. The Well (Reprise)
Bonus Track:
14. Show Me The Light
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Impex Records is the exciting audiophile label from the team that brought you Cisco Music. With more than 20 years experience and 150 titles released, Cisco Music developed many of the techniques used by other labels to make higher quality 180-gram LPs, SACDs and Gold and aluminum CDs.
We brought definitive editions Jennifer Warnes' The Well, The Hunter and Famous Blue Raincoat in multiple formats, including a 45 rpm box set that Absolute Sound magazine declared "defines the state-of-the--art in vinyl playback." Other classic reissues we nurtured to fantastic rebirths include the jazz-rock perfection of Steely Dan's Aja, Joan Baez' Farewell Angelina, NathanMilstein's poetic interpretation of Dvorak's Violin Concerto and four exquisite 45-rpm Three Blind Mice LPs.
Even in our humbler origins we were trusted with the distribution and production of The Super Analogue Disc, the original audiophile 180-gram LPs. King Records recognized, from the very beginning, that Cisco Music brought unflinching passion to the music and unflailing dedication to the process of bringing that music to the most discerning listeners in the world.
Now as Impex Records some of the original Cisco staff (Abey Fonn, Robert Pincus and Robert Sliger), along with Robert Donnelly, will follow and expand our own high standards for a new generation of audiophile products. Analog products will always be cut using analog tapes and analog mastering at the finest mastering facilities like Sterling, Cohearent and Bernie Grundman--just as it should be. Gold CD's will always be cut with high-definition digital or analog tape transfers from original sources. We will introduce America to Sony's revolutionary Blu-Spec CD, which redefines production excellence in 16-bit digital playback.
With a singular vision for making the best records anywhere, Impex Records is poised to expand Cisco Music's peerless legacy well into the 21st century. It's going to be quite a journey and we look forward to your joining us. We have committed ourselves, with every new release, to your complete satisfaction.
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