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Mobile Fidelity - MFSL 2-327 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue

Numbered Limited Edition -  - Pressed at RTI  - Two Disc

Half- Speed Mastered by Paul Stubblebine  from the Original Master Tape at MSFL

Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity The Gain 2 Ultra Analog System

 Will Make You Swoon Sumptuous 2008 Album Celebrates Timeless Pop Classics Move over, Ella Fitz and Ol’ Blue Eyes. There’s a new standout interpreter of classic pop songs in town.

Yes, Patricia Barber’s The Cole Porter Mix belongs on the same level of amazing as the work of the 20th century’s most famous singers. Barber’s attention to detail, exploration of lyrical meaning, and rejuvenation of familiar tunes that, in her grasp, now sound new again, are that good. Anyone put-off by Barber’s artsy flights on her other records will want to put such reservations aside.

The Cole Porter Mix is more about the song that how one develops and arrives at an arrangement. There’s no high-arch poetry here, just sumptuous melodies and subtle rhythmic devices. Solo saxophone flights by guest Chris Potter and understated guitar work by longtime Barber foil Neal Alger fill the arrangements with an ideal balance of grit and grace. Factor in Barber’s erotic tones, playful humor, and fine piano playing, and this set of pop standards is love at first listen.

And now, that achievement sounds just absolutely brilliant. Half-speed mastered from the original master tapes and pressed on quiet slabs of 180-gram vinyl, Mobile Fidelity’s two-LP edition of The Cole Porter Mix will rival the best-sounding vocal records in your collection.

Realizing how crucial Barber’s distinctive phrasing, soft-spoken expressions, and intimate timbre are to the material, MoFi engineers did everything to ensure that every last microtone and microdetail of this close-up recording comes through cleanly, clearly, and accurately.

Patricia Barber The Cole Porter Mix Track Listing:

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.