AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Pure Pleasure / Corridor - PPAN LW-1353  - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

AAA 100% Analogue  - Mastered by Ray Staff at Air London

Limited Edition -   Pressed  at Pallas - Corridor LW-1353

Pure Pleasure Records has done its customary outstanding job in re-mastering Don’t Stop The Groove to 180-gram vinyl. The sound mix is balanced and crisp. When the full ensemble is playing, it is not dense. Very little of the crowd noise is present. 4.5/5 Audiophile Audition

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

When Cobb's Corner nightclub owner Henry Normile was murdered, followed by the in-street shooting and death of Eddie Jefferson, the heart of the Detroit jazz scene was ripped apart. Through the advent of the Labor Day Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festivals starting in 1980, things picked back up measurably, but the club scene has never been the same. This live recording of the Lyman Woodard Organization, which was taped the day before Normile was killed in his next door apartment, more than any other album or event exemplified the never say die spirit of Motor City jazz. It also was a hallmark for a unique style of the music, an urban rhythm & blues infused contemporary jazz that stood tall for both listeners and dancers during the tail-end of the disco movement. Woodard was in his prime, determined that his idea was singular, and went beyond soul-jazz into a realm where only he could claim ownership.

 With guitarist Robert Lowe and saxophonist Allan Barnes, who would both go on to national acclaim as leaders, the Organization was a powerhouse in live performance not to be denied, and for sure a solid sending crowd pleaser. A much better recording than his studio cult classic Saturday Night Special, this live set laid the groundwork for the continuation of Woodard's career for decades to come, and showed his fellow Detroiter's that better days lay ahead. Where the title track is happy and a bit more commercial than the rest with its slinky, straight, fingerpopping, sublime beat and seductive vocal line, "Disco Tease" prances along in a hard rock vein with conga accents from Lorenzo Brown and chicken scratch, dramatic guitar chords from Lowe. "Down Lowe" is a concrete, fatback groove from the guitarist, while "Djarum" turns the wick down in a slow, sexy nightshade visage, with Kerry Campbell's soprano sax expanding the horn section with Woodard's organ in stretched out phrases. The appropriately titled "Theme in Search of a Sports Spectacular" is the killer track, as trumpeter Marcus Belgrave joins the band in an Olympic sprint, an irresistible melody that is catchy, infectious, memorable, and anthematic as any warrior clarion call to battle in the athletic arena. This driven, tenacious, forceful piece of music still stands the test of time for its ferocious attitude and champion-like strut. This recording documents not only the darkest days, but the bright hope a financially strapped Detroit offers to the rest of the world, and the determination Woodard always exemplified.

Executive-Producer – Lyman Woodard*

Engineer [Recording] – Joe Gruszka

Engineer [Recording], Mixed By, Coordinator [Production] – Mark Calice

Mixed At – The Sound Suite Detroit

Recorded At – Cobb's Corner, Detroit

ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES

AAA 100% ANALOGUE

We use the Original Tapes and work with only the Best Mastering Studios

PALLAS

Plated and Pressed at Pallas in Germany on 180 gram Virgin Vinyl

Highest Quality Jackets and  Inner Sleeves

LIMITED EDITION

Low Numbers per Stamper Released in Limited Quantities

 

 

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.

60 Years Pallas