AAA 100% Analogue This Speakers Corner LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only, from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head 30 Years pure Analogue
Speakers Corner / Columbia PC 33280 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl
AAA 100% Analogue - Limited Edition Willem Makkee
Mastered by Wilem Makkee at Emil Berliner - Pressed at Pallas Germany
This LP is an Entirely Analogue Production
Stereophile Magazine Record to Die For! !
One of the Strongest Albums of the 1970s
EWF's Crowning Achievement! Includes "Shining Star", "Yearnin' Learnin'," "Reasons," "Happy Feelin'," "See The Light" & More! During the 1970s, a new brand of pop music was born – one that was steeped in African and African-American styles – particularly jazz and R&B but appealed to a broader cross-section of the listening public. As founder and leader of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White not only embraced but also helped bring about this evolution of pop, which bridged the gap that has often separated the musical tastes of black and white America.
It certainly was successful, as EWF combined high-caliber musicianship, wide-ranging musical genre eclecticism, and ’70s multicultural spiritualism. “I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” Maurice explains. “Although we were basically jazz musicians, we played soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music…which somehow ended up becoming pop. We were coming out of a decade of experimentation, mind expansion and cosmic awareness. I wanted our music to convey messages of universal love and harmony without force-feeding listeners’ spiritual content.
” The inspiration for “Shining Star” (one of EW&F’s most beloved singles) was gleaned from thoughts Maurice had during a walk under the star-filled skies that surrounded the mountains around Caribou Ranch, CO a popular recording site and retreat during the ’70s. The track was originally included in the ‘That’s The Way Of The World’ movie that starred Harvey Keitel and was produced by Sig Shore (Superfly). “Shining Star” glittered at number one R&B for two weeks and hit number one pop in early 1975. It was included on their 1975 multi-platinum album That’s The Way Of The World that held the number one pop spot for three weeks in Spring 1975 and earned them their first Grammy Award. The title track single made it to number five R&B in the summer of 1975. It also yielded the classic ballad “Reasons,” an extremely popular radio-aired album track. ".
I]t was World that established EWF as major-league, multi-platinum superstars. Fueled by gems ranging from the sweaty funk of 'Shining Star' and 'Yearnin' Learnin'' to the gorgeous ballad 'Reasons' and the unforgettable title song, EWF's sixth album sold at least five million units. And some of the tracks that weren't major hits, such as the exuberant 'Happy Feelin'' and the gospel-influenced 'See the Light,' are equally powerful. There are no dull moments on World, one of the strongest albums of the 1970s and EWF's crowning achievement."
Speakers Corner Records, headquartered in Germany and with over 300 titles in its catalogue, stakes its reputation onthe fact that, unless absolutely necessary, they have never used any digital source to produce LPs. In the case of TaleSpinnin’, this meant a 1:1 tape copy from the original analog master tape, which was recorded at Wally Heider’s famous studio in San Francisco and admirably engineered by Bruce Botnick. All LPs from Speakers Corner are pressed at Pallas inGermany, and the review copy here was perfectly flat, quiet and weighty.
Anyone alive and musically aware in the 1970s who says they didn't willingly ooze into a loved one's arms while That's the Way of the World was playing is clearly evading or suppressing. If you were alone, just the opening bars made you want to kiss your own knee! With Maurice and Verdine White joined by Philip Bailey, the smooth vocal trio of Earth, Wind & Fire became an unstoppable force in 1975 when this multiplatinum monster—the soundtrack to a film that flopped—burst upon an unsuspecting world. Bailey's showpiece, "Reasons," and the album's bouncy opening track, "Shining Star," added to the power of this realization of Maurice White's all-encompassing musical vision. Reissues don't get much lusher than the glossy gatefold jacket, beautifully reproduced lyrics sheet, and quiet surfaces of the 180gm vinyl of this edition of an album that has always sounded spectacular, thanks to the learned ears of original engineer George Massenburg.
Stereophile 2014 Records To Die For
Recording: 1975 at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado (USA), by Curt Wittig.
Arranged By – Charles Stepney, Earth, Wind & Fire
Bass – Verdine White
Congas – Philip Bailey
Drums – Fred White, Maurice White, Ralph Johnson
Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Andrew P. Woolfolk
Guitar – Al McKay, Johnny Graham
Kalimba – Maurice White
Percussion – Al McKay, Fred White, Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Verdine White
Piano, Organ, Synthesizer – Larry Dunn
Producer – Maurice White
Vocals – Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White
Side One:
1. Shining Star
2. That's The Way Of The World
3. Happy Feelin'
4. All About Love
Side Two:
1. Yearnin', Learnin'
2. Reasons
3. Africano
4. See The Light
25 Years pure Analogue
This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head
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.
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!
