AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head
Speakers Corner / Atco - SD 33-341 - - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue
Msstered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Limited Edition - Audiophile Mastering - Pressed at Pallas - Atco SD 33-341
Speakers Corner 30 Years Pure Analogue This LP is an Entirely Analogue Production
The Absolute Sound Super Disc List TAS Harry Pearson Super LP List
Speakers Corner has done an excellent job in re-mastering this landmark recording to audiophile vinyl. The intended density of the original mix is intact, and showcases the layered sounds. The horns are amped up, and the bottom end drumming is tough and hard-driving. The organ and piano are understated in the mix. The two most prominent instruments (Delaney and Bonnie’s voices) are front and center, and never overshadowed by the expanded instrumental flourishes.A n album by under-appreciated rock icons gets an analog upgrade! Sound 4.5/5 Audiophile Audition
The married couple and musical duo Delaney & Bonnie ignited critics, fans and famous musical colleagues to veritable bursts of exultation. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones talked matter-of-factly of "convincing white gospel song," while Eric Clapton regarded the duo as the "best pop band in the world." Clapton's enthusiasm went so far that he invited the pair to accompany him on a peaceful tour of Europe and was booed by German fans because he stood in the background as a mere accompanist and did not play any solos.
The master of the guitar may have had good reasons for staying out of the limelight, if one is to believe the Chicago Daily News, who declared that Delaney & Bonnie were better than Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles together.
Indeed the combined voices in the arrangements are so closely knit that there is not a millimeter of space between the singer and backing. In "Hard Luck And Troubles," a dry cantankerous groove, the vocals cling to a sinewy bass line, criss-crossed by short chords on the organ. Gospel is celebrated spiritually, yet not too much so, in a rocking, rhythmic and dense interplay between the soloist and chorus. And what is more: the great ballad, hovering above a vibrating carpet of sound on the organ ("The Love Of My Man") and crisp, firm winds ("Alone Together") are included in this exquisite collection of great and even great songs.
Recording: 1970 at Decca Studios, New York, by Don Casale, and Atlantic South-Criteria Studios, Miami Fl., by Ron Albert & Chuck Kirkpatrick
Production: Delaney Bramlett, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd
Alto Saxophone – Jerry Jumonville (tracks: A6, B3, B4)
Baritone Saxophone – Floyd Newman (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Bass – Jerry Scheff (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6), Kenny Gradney (tracks: A6, B3, B4), Tom McClure* (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Brass – The Memphis Horns (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Co-producer [Assistant] – King Curtis (tracks: A6, B3, B4)
Congas – Same Clayton* (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Drums – Chuck Morgan (tracks: A6, B3, B4), Ron Tutt (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6), Sammy Creason (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Lead Guitar – Ben Benay (tracks: A6, B3, B4), Charlie Freeman (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Organ, Vocals – Bobby Whitlock (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Percussion – Alan Estes (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Photography By, Design [Album] – Barry Feinstein, Tom Wilkes (2)
Piano – Jim Dickinson (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Piano, Organ – Jim Gordon (2) (tracks: A6, B3, B4)
Producer – Delaney Bramlett, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Delaney Bramlett
Slide Guitar – Duane Allman
Tenor Saxophone – Andrew Love (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6), Ed Logan (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6), Frank Mayes (tracks: A6, B3, B4)
Trombone – Jack Hale* (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Trumpet – Wayne Jackson (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B2, B5, B6)
Trumpet, Trombone – Darrell Leonard (tracks: A6, B3, B4)
Vocals – Bonnie Bramlett
Selections:
Side A:
1. Hard Luck and Troubles
2. God Knows I Love You
3. Lay Down My Burden
4. Medley: Come On In My Kitchen / Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean / Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
5. The Love Of My Man
6. They Call It Rock & Roll Music
Side B:
1. Soul Shake
2. Miss Ann
3. Alone Together
4. Living On the Open Road
5. Let Me Be Your Man
6. Free the People
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!