AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Speakers Corner / Atlantic - SD 1485 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

AAA 100% Analogue  - Limited Edition -  Audiophile Mastering - Pressed  at Pallas 

 Speakers Corner 30 Years Pure Analogue  This LP is an Entirely Analogue Production

Speakers Corner Records has done a stellar job in re-mastering Midnight Walk to 180-gram vinyl. The overall mix is crisp and balanced. Thad Jones’ trumpet and Hank Mobley’s tenor saxophone are vibrant, front and center. The stereo separation is flawless. The glossy album reproduction and protective inner sleeve are top-notch.-Sound 5/5 AudiophileAudition

It was certainly a motley crew that came together with Elvin Jones, the legendary ex-Coltrane drummer, in the New York Atlantic Studio in March 1966. His trumpeter brother Thad was first class, but Dollar Brand on the piano, Don Moore on the bass and sax player Hank Mobley, who always came up as second choice behind John Coltrane? However that might be, the impulsive, forceful beat of the grand, versatile Elvin drove his musicians onwards to unknown heights. When he invited a musician into the studio, it was power more than anything that was demanded of his soloists.

The numbers stemmed mostly from the participating musicians, with two additions by contemporary composers in the genre. Two titles in particular will ignite your enthusiasm, for the Thad Jones pieces are so good that they really should belong among the repertoire of the Thad Jones–Mel Lewis big band, years later. Thad is often highly praised for his skill as a composer and arranger, and this is the reason that he is acknowledged and honoured to this day for his part in the history of jazz. Later known as Abdullah Ibrahim, Dollar Brand’s composition is a splendidly catchy melody; quite rightly Dollar Brand often performed this number at later performances.

It was always a pleasure to hold an Atlantic LP in one’s hands, for they had a sturdy cover and professional, informative liner notes. The few rare original recordings, which come on the market, are a luxury one can hardly afford! That’s why you should purchase this re-release without fail when you see it. Who knows when it will be available again?

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. -All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: March 1966 in New York City by Tom Dowd

Production: Arif Mardin

AAA 100% Analogue   This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head 25 Years pure Analogue

 

MADE FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES

AAA 100% ANALOGUE - PURE ANALOGUE AUDIOPHILE MASTERING

We use the Original Tapes and work with only the Best Mastering Studios Worldwide

180 GRAM VIRGIN VINYL  PLATED & PRESSED AT PALLAS GERMANY

Faithful Reproduction of the Original Artwork and Labels

LIMITED EDITION Released in Limited Quantities

All Licences and Mechanical Rights Paid

 

                                      

 

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.

 

60 Years 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!