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

Pure Pleasure / Therasa TR 107  -  180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue

 Mastering by Ray Staff  at Air Mastering London

Pressed at Pallas in Germany - Limted Edition 

There are no fillers here folks – just killers! " Having only seen a CD release back in 2003, this timely reissue comes as a relief to the exhausted availability for the original." 5/5 Sindig

1979's Levels of Consciousness features San Francisco Bay Area percussionist Babatunde Lea’s familiar Afro-Caribbean mix shaded by the prevalent R&B phase of the time. At the center lies his sunny positivism and furious drumming prowess. The eclectic program includes funk, soul ballads, and jazz as played by guests Julian Priester, Eddie Henderson, and Mark Isham.

 Muziki’s driving piano starts his “Thailand Stick,” a hopped-up horn arrangement bouncing off the complex rhythms. Hiroyuki Shido’s bass keeps the pressure on through Martin Fiero’s fiery alto solo. Eddie Henderson growls like Rodan before showering molten brass on the riff. Priester eases his way in on Marvin Boxley’s silky rhythm guitar, then Muziki takes a toboggan back into the tight horns. Changing pace to an easy going festival anthem, “Use Your Hands” must have caused a nightmare of defective returns for record stores, with its abrupt dropped beat. William Murphy’s earthy tenor grounds the praising lyric, giving way to a more restrained Muziki.

Babtunde’s “Levels of Consciousness” goes from flute driven breezy, to piano led gutsy. Fiero brings the quick imagination he expressed on alto to flute, while Henderson swaggers through the swirling percussion. Guitarist Boxley’s “Thang (And I Love It)” stomps in on such atavistic funk, you expect Rufus Thomas to take the vocal. Instead Cedric Deombi delivers the paean to the pussy with an arrangement informed by Earth, Wind, and Fire’s saturating late ‘70s influence.

“Plea From the Soul” keeps the EWF tap on and adds some Isaac Hayes. While Deombi’s unsettling falsetto and light tenor seems ineffective, the background chorus of Dee Dee Dickerson, Umgoh, and Vicki Randle is pure ear candy. Bringing back a clipped African funk, “Merely a Suggestion” uses cliched lyrics to attempt an invocation of Curtis Mayfield. Boxley’s “It’s That Simple,” fares worse than his “Thang.” Murphy comes to the rescue with a solid flute solo.

Somewhat like a weak effort by Santana, Levels of Consciousness uses the best of intentions to fall short of a lofty goal, yet provides some soul stirring moments on the way. The collection also includes more impressive testimony to Eddie Henderson’s legacy.

Theresa label contains plenty of exciting music. Percussionist Babatunde Lea takes stirring solos and constantly inspires the ensembles and soloists during a generally high-powered set. The musicians were all based in San Francisco at the time, including guest soloists trumpeter Eddie Henderson and trombonist Julian Priester. The music is Afro-Cuban jazz with bits of 1970s electronics and funk added to the mix. But despite some R&B-ish vocals (which dominate a bit during the last few tracks) and commercial moments, the music is excellent, there are some strong solos.                                                                                             

Produced by Allen G. Pittman, Phil Crescenzo, Phenomena.

Arrangers: Marvin Boxley; Russell Hisashi Baba.

Recorded at Record Plant, Sausalito and Bear West Studios, San Francisco, California, 1979

ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES

AAA 100% ANALOGUE

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

PALLAS

Plated and Pressed at Pallas in Germany on 180 gram Virgin Vinyl

Highest Quality Jackets and  Inner Sleeves

LIMITED EDITION

Low Numbers per Stamper Released in Limited Quantities

 

 

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.

60 Years Pallas