Justifiably hailed as her ‘career’ album, FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM re-established the late Esther Phillips as a prominent soul and jazz artist in 1972, starting her most fruitful period as an international chartmaker through her five-year association with jazz industry veteran Creed Taylor’s Kudu Records.

 

•    Originally a chart-topping child star with the Johnny Otis band in the early ‘50s, Little Esther battled drug addiction off and on throughout the ‘60s during which she achieved some success with ‘Release Me’ (1963) and ‘And I Love Him’ (1965). Esther recorded some critically acclaimed albums for Atlantic before entering rehab in 1969.

 

•    The sessions for FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM in December 1971 found her surrounded by stellar players such as Gordon Edwards (bass), Bernard Purdie (drums), Airto Moreira (percussion), Cornell Dupree and Eric Gale (guitar), Richard Tee (keyboards) and labelmate Hank Crawford (on sax ). 

•    Handpicking the material herself, Esther included some R&B hits of the time – The Originals’ ‘Baby I’m For Real,’ Eddie Floyd’s ‘’Til My Back Ain’t Got No Bone’ – alongside two songs penned by Allen Toussaint, including the stirring title track.  The album’s most notable cut was her true-to-life version of Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘Home Is Where The Hatred Is,’  which she was initially reluctant to record  given its direct references to heroin addiction.  Reviews: hi-fi+ April 2015 by Dennis Davis

Esther Phillips is one of the best – and, sadly, least remembered – Rhythm and Blues singers of the 20thCentury. Discovered by Johnny Otis, she was twice nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received four Grammy nominations. This comeback record of 1972 accounted for one of those nominations. Like Philips, the CTI sister label Kudu is little remembered today. Kudu released 39 soul jazz albums in the 1970’s and seven of those were from Phillips  Joined by an excellent backing band from the Creed Taylor CTI stable, Phillips turns in a sizzling performance of songs celebrating her scars from love and drugs. Phillips died at the age of 48 from her liver and kidney failure resulting from drug use, and some of the song lyrics here express the painful ravages of drugs. That tight jazz/blues band, along with a dozen strings, and a half dozen backing singers, in absolutely no way interferes with her ability to pull the last ounce of meaning from a ballad. Recorded at Rudy Vabn Gelder’s studio, the excellent sound is enhanced by Ray Staff’s mastering and the whisper quiet vinyl surfaces.  Another winner from Pure Pleasure, and one that belongs in any R&B lover’s collection.DD Music 9/10 Recording 8/10

Produced, engineered & mastered by: Creed Taylor

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios,

Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

 

Musicians:
Esther Phillips, vocals
Pee Wee Ellis, conductor
Hank Crawford, alto saxophone
David Liebman, baritone saxophone, flute
Eric Gale, guitar
Gordon Edwards, bass
Airto Moreira, percussion
Bernard Purdie, drums

 

 

 

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