immy “Spoon” Witherspoon made his mark as a blues shouter. Like Walter Brown, Duke Henderson, Jimmy Rushing, Big Joe Turner and Eddie ‘Cleanhead” Vinson, this unamplified vocal style defined the genre. Witherspoon got his first big break with Jay McShann in the late forties. His first hit, “Ain’t Nobody’s Business”, became his trademark song. Subsequent hits, “No Rollin’ Blues”, “Big Fine Girl”, “Failing By Degrees” and “New Orleans Woman” kept him vital in the blues scene. As the blues shouting style went out of vogue, Witherspoon’s career descended. But in 1959, Jimmy Witherspoon Live At The Monterey Jazz Festival revived his career. That performance featured Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines and Mel Lewis. He also recorded with Gerry Mulligan, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Eric Burdon, Thad Jones, Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Smith, Count Basie and Van Morrison, to name just a few. He released albums and performed until his death in 1997. His legacy is carried on by a substantial catalogue and blues enthusiasts.

 

Pure Pleasure Records has re-mastered a 1980 album Spoon’s Life on audiophile vinyl. Recorded in Paris (the original label, Isabel Records had releases from stars like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Magic Slim, Memphis Slim and Big Moose Walker) on a single day, Witherspoon eschews his “Kansas City shout” style and performs traditional Chicago-style blues.

 

 

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.

Pure Pleasure  Records bring you vinyl albums of quality Jazz - Blues - R+B - Soul - Funk, remastered by some of the best engineers in the world and pressed on 180 gram audiophile vinyl at what is probably the best pressing plant in Europe 

Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering
 
Plated and Pressed at Pallas in Germany on 180 Gram Virgin Vnyl
 
Released in Limited Quantities

 

PALLAS