This reissue beats the original in every way. I'm not saying you need every Elvis Costello album every made , but this one is a "must have". It is certainly in the top four along with My Aim Is True, Armed Forces and Get Happy, which is one of Costello's most neglected and best records. A great reissue job by Mobile Fidelity! Sound 10/10 Music 10/10 Analogue Planet Michael Fremer

Trust Is Most Eclectic and Ambitious Record of Elvis Costello’s Career: “His Summit as a Singer, Songwriter, and Miserable-Irish-Bastard Pin-Up Boy” Says Rolling Stone

 

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Mobile Fidelity LP of Trust Enhances the Realism of the Songs’ Advanced Arrangements and Nimble Accents 

 

1981 Album Mixes R&B Rhythms and New-Wave Melodies: Includes “Clubland,” “Watch Your Step,” and “Strict Time”

 

 

Of course, this being Costello and the Attractions, everything is wrapped into a catchy batch of songs that encourage listeners to hear them multiple times before they reveal their true intent. On Trust, almost nothing is what it seems, a condition that only enhances what remains the most diverse set of Costello’s career. Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity’s transparent analog reissue lets music lovers in on the secrets via unsurpassed clarity and breathtaking immediacy. 

 

Whether the full, rounded tones of Bruce Thomas’ bass or complete extension and decay of Steve Nieve’s organ, every instrumental accent is delivered with lifelike detail and superb balance. Melodicas, drums, pianos, and guitars similarly come across faithfully and richly, the blend freed of constricting sonic veils and dynamic compression. Heard anew on this pressing, Trust emerges as one of the most satisfyingly complex and expertly played albums of its era. Costello’s singing, too, reveals intricate tonal shadings and implied meanings, with slower tracks such as the hypnotic “Watch Your Step” and Tin Pan Alley-inspired solo tour de force “Shot With His Own Gun” ravishing with enhanced emotional investment.

 

As is often the case with great (and sophisticated) albums, Trust—which retains a five-star review from the most recent Rolling Stone Album Guide—didn’t spawn any Top 40 hits at the time of its release. Yet age has been more than kind to the effort Costello said aimed to cross the rhythms of Get Happy!! with the melodies of Armed Forces, and which more than achieves the exacting goal. Admittedly made in a haze of booze and pills, the 1981 affair plumbs issues of disillusionment, romance, and sin with barbed wit and unvarnished honesty. 

 

Country, soul, pop, rockabilly, two-step, punk-shot-through rock, jazz—Costello and the Attractions explore and master it all on Trust, all the while performing with an unencumbered directness and on-point coherence. No better example of the singer’s simultaneous stylistic reach and virtuosity exists.

 

Experience it like never before on this phenomenal-sounding pressing.

 

 

 

1. Clubland

2. Lovers Walk

3. You’ll Never Be a Man

4. Pretty Words

5. Strict Time

6. Luxembourg

7. Watch Your Step

8. New Lace Sleeves

9. From a Whisper to a Scream

10. Different Finger

11. White Knuckles

12. Shot With His Own Gun

13. Fish ’n’ Chip Paper

 

 

 

 

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.