AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head
Pure Pleasure / Columbia PPAN CL872 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue
Pressed at Pallas Germany - Limited Edition - Columbia CL 872
Mastered at Ray Staff from the Original Mono Master at Air Mastering London
Sound 9/10 Music 9/10 Michael Fremer Stereophile!
It sounds like I'm listening to the master tape, and a good one at that.5/5 LPreview
Clooney's long experience as a band singer, her admiration for Ellington and his music, and the special sort of supercharged satin in her voice all qualified her to be the perfect choice to make this unusual album.
"Based upon the diversity of music, quality of product and their extraordinary rate of progress, Pure Pleasure Records is our re-issue record company of the year." - hi-fi+
Let the monomania continue! brought to CES one year and wowed crowds with the recording without identifying the chick singer.
Unfortunately, Rosemary Clooney’s biggest hits were the novelties “Come-on a My House” and “Mambo Italiano,” forced upon her by Mitch Miller. In fairness to Miller, is job was to make hits and that’s what he did for Clooney and others at Columbia Records in the early 1950’s and beyond.
So, between those hits and her appearance in “White Christmas,” the boomer generation of radio and early TV viewers never thought of Clooney as a serious singer, yet that’s what she was, as this sophisticated collaboration with Ellington demonstrates.
Her personal life was beset by problems including bipolar disorder, which led to an addiction to alcohol and pain killers. She married and divorced actor Jose Ferrer twice, during which time she managed to have five children and continue her career.
She witnessed her friend Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination and suffered a manic breakdown followed by institutionalization and years of therapy. When she once again went public with her singing career, she’d gained an enormous amount of weight, but the magic in her voice survived the turmoil.
Late in life, her career was reborn onstage and on Concord Records. She died June, 29th 2002 in Beverly Hills at the age of 74 after a long battle with lung cancer.
Meanwhile this wonderful reissue can serve to reintroduce her supple, mellow, timeless voice to a new generation of fans.
Backed by Duke Ellington’s orchestra, Clooney covers a set of Ellington compositions including “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing),” “Sophisticated Lady,” and “Mood Indigo” along with Billy Strayhorn’s classic “Passion Flower.”
What makes this set so addictive is the sublime jazz backdrop provided by prime Ellington (Hodges, Carney, Terry, Woodyard, et.al) and Clooney’s forthright, intimate delivery. She was more a pop singer than a jazz singer, but she swung with ease, though she refrained from the vocal gymnastics used by jazzier singers to sell a song.
She didn’t need the embellishments as her warm tonality, unerring control and intelligence shone through every line she delivered.
Producer Irving Townsend’s liner notes set the scene: Ellington, Strayhorn and he sitting in the audience at New York’s Café Society plotting an album with the veteran band singer covering Ellington tunes. Could there be a more perfect concept to exploit the new long playing medium?
The answer is no! As this 1956 mono release proves. The sonics are remarkable, with Rosie up-front reproduced with a three dimensionality, warmth and purity guaranteed to give you the willies, especially if you focus on the blond, beautiful Clooney pictured on the cover.
The Ellington-Strayhorn arrangements are sympathetic to the cause, while allowing the assembled background talent to shine where appropriate.
Like a steam locomotive driven train blowing through a small town station in the middle late night, this record captures sonic images impossible to produce today. When “Mood Indigo” finishes side two, you’ll leave the stylus in the groove for a few minutes against your better judgment, as you continue to soak in the riches delivered by this album. Highest recommendation for a reissue that brilliantly captures all of what’s on the original, only with much quieter backgrounds (at least compared to my copy).
Musicians:
Willie Cook, trumpet
Ray Nance, trumpet
Clark Terry, trumpet
Cat Anderson, trumpet
Gordon Jackson, trombone
Britt Woodman, trombone
John Sanders, trombone
Johnny Hodges, reeds
Russell Procope, reeds
Harry Carney, reeds
Jimmy Hamilton, reeds
Paul Gonsalves, reeds
Sam Woodyard, drums
Jimmy Woode, bass
Duke Ellington, piano
Rosemary Clooney, vocals
arrangements by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
Selections:
1. Hey Baby
2. Sophisticated Lady
3. Me and You
4. Passion Flower
5. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
6. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
7. Grievin’
8. Blue Rose
9. I’m Checkin’ Out—Goombye
10. I Got It Bad
11. Mood Indigo
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
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!
