December remains rather quiet for new releases and so the column tends to take on a slightly different weighting. The reissues have the lion’s share of the words and there are some genuinely rather beautiful items competing for your quids. If you need some last minute gift tips or just fancy treating yourself to make up for enduring crowds of actual people, allow us to provide the information you need below.
Freshly Pressed:
After 2021’s synth-pop sound collage, Saint Etienne now opt for a wistful, rain-drenched ambient outing entitled ‘The Night’. Emerging in their traditional Christmas release window, this is nevertheless being touted as their twelfth studio album proper. A collaboration with producer and composer, Augustin Bousfield, it was constructed in the first half of the year and offers a calm but dense listen that is truly immersive. The sense of nocturnal city streets seeps from these tracks, which include a selection of more conventional songs such as ‘Half Light’, ‘Preflyte’ and ‘The Nightingale’. Sarah Cracknell’s vocals are right up in the mix, centred and three-dimensional and the attention to audio detail on the band’s music just gets more and more pronounced with each release. They take the art of record making so very seriously. As a result, the soundstage is widescreen in its scope, delivering hefty quantities of mise-en-scene for this particular environment. Just Played sampled the Optimal pressed green splatter edition and it was largely quiet during playback.
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It’s time for another Nils Frahm live album, though ‘Paris’ is the first where all the recordings come from a single performance. Described as the accompanying live album for 2022’s ‘Music For Animals’, it offers nearly an hour and a half of catalogue exploration, including ‘Some’ from 2009’s ‘The Bells’ and ‘Re’ from 2012’s ‘Screws’. As ever, tracks do not appear exactly as you may know them, Frahm reworking them in the moment and adapting as he sees fit. New track ‘Opera’ suggests that there’s no decline in quality imminent and closer ‘Hammers’ calls back to the magic of 2013’s ‘Spaces’. In what may seem a counter-intuitive move from a column dedicated to the sound of vinyl, I do find myself sometimes wondering whether music like this truly suits the format. Because, while it’s not especially noisy, this intakt pressing is also not perfectly quiet. And when the gaps, breaths and lingering pauses play their part in the atmosphere of the work, it doesn’t take much to be swept out of the moment. The mastering is excellent and the recording is wonderful, however.
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‘Music For Dinosaurs’ is the second album from def.fo, the nom-de-plume for Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band’s bassist, Tom Powell. It’s a technicolour project in every respect, with lurid artwork, brightly coloured vinyl and ambitious musical intent. It doesn’t all land, but it’s worth it for the highs when they come. Some of the spoken words passages grate, but there are elements of the dystopian funk that emerged in Joe Strummer’s Mescaleros years in these grooves and the arrangements are striking. It’s genuinely quite hard to describe, the sweeping strings bursts of opener ‘Let It Go’ cutting against the immense beats with a nod to the work of UNKLE, while ‘This New World’ feels much more like languid Noughties indie with just a faint tinge of eletonica. The green disc via Press On in Middlesbrough is pretty quiet throughout and the mastering is certainly chunky but not without an open top end.
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22a wrapped up the year with a very fine 10” single release, ‘Stapodia’ from Tenderlonious’s quartet, Ruby Rushton. Musically, it’s a delight, the lead track somehow managing to sprawl intensely. Tim Carnegie’s drumming is truly magnificent and Aidan Shepherd’s work on the keys is central to the propulsion of the piece. On the flip, ‘Kalo Livadi’ is a stuttering, faintly sinister and oddly sparse piece that slowly finds a groove. This near-silent Takt pressing is a little steep at £15, especially given a plain paper inner, but the soundstage is pretty decent and has lots of width. There’s a degree of congestion towards the close of side one but it can still handle being cranked.
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All Kinds Of Blue:
In Tone Poet world, the first of December’s titles is ‘A Slice Of The Top’ from Hank Mobley. One of those where the release came long after the recording, it was put to tape in 1966 but only reached vinyl in 1979. Composed while the tenor saxophonist was imprisoned on narcotics charges, these tracks were arranged by Duke Pearson and the eight-piece ensemble includes Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bob Cranshaw on bass and McCoy Tyner at the piano. While ‘Hank’s Other Bag’ and the title track fizz with energy, the sweeping ballad ‘There’s A Lull In My Life’ is a masterful performance that plays to the strengths of all concerned. Despite this, it’s not quite the sonic marvel that many titles in this series are, with a faintly muffled air to proceedings. There’s still plenty of detail, but it doesn’t feel entirely unconstrained.
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Thankfully, the other Tone Poet for this month lacks nothing. Freddie Roach’s third release as a band leader, 1963’s ‘Good Move’, has one of those covers that immediately makes you want to stick the record on the wall, only for the performances inside to be so compelling that you wouldn’t wish to make access tricky for yourself. Mobley is here too, along with Blue Mitchell on trumpet, the guitar of Eddie Wright and Clarence Johnston at the drums. Roach’s organ work is at its peak on this record, intuitive, emphatic and utterly effusive. Side one closer ‘Wine, Wine, Wine’ has a soulful intensity that holds the listener from the very first moment and it really swings. The sonic presentation of the band is detailed without being too spaciously separated and the RTI pressing, as with ‘A Slice Of The Top’, is impeccably quiet throughout.
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This month’s Classics bring the party mood. ‘Drives’ by Lonnie Smith is a 1970 belter that absolutely pours from the speakers, the bandleader’s organ work accompanied by the barely contained drumming of Joe Dukes, whose performance on opener ‘Twenty Five Miles’ is quite sincerely euphoric. The soundstage is gigantic, lithe and vibrant, necessitating plenty of volume. The all-analogue cut is, as ever, pressed at Optimal and housed in a poly-lined inner. The same is true of the other December Classic, Grant Green’s ‘Visions’ from 1971. A jazz-funk workout featuring Idris Muhammed on drums, it signals its intent from the striking cover on in. These tracks pulse from the speakers and ‘Mozart Symphony #40 In G Minor, K550, 1st Movement’ is one of the less obvious things you’ll find here, resplendent in its unashamed expression. Once again, it’s quite the ride thanks to the combination of source, cut and pressing. Both are marvellous.
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Going Round Again:
While you won’t get it shipped to you in time for Christmas, you could still gift an order of the latest Craft Recordings Small Batch title, ‘Explorations’ by the Bill Evans Trio. Just Played has covered a couple of other releases from this series in the past and they consistently adhere to an impressive set of standards, with one-step lacquers via RTI and pressed to the ‘super vinyl’ compound. Bernie Grundman delivers all-analogue mastering from the original tapes and the foil-stamped, linen-wrapped slipcase remains. Inside, a tip-on replica sleeve looks the business, whatever your feelings about the design of the outer packaging. An accompanying four-page insert explains the process, provides pictures of the tape boxes and offers up an engaging sleevenote that also functions as an eye test.
Musically, it’s a very lovely thing indeed. The 1961 Riverside recording captures Evans’ irresistible interplay with Paul Motian on drums and the bass delights of Scott La Faro. The space and rhythmic qualities of ‘Haunted Heart’ are genuinely breathtaking in this incarnation. The rich, resonant presence of the piano, notes decaying fully and rising up out of the speakers, is superb at any volume, but it really sings when cranked. The disc is largely silent, although I did encounter a couple of clicks here and there – even after a thorough clean – which is always frustrating with a high-end title. That said, Grundman’s cut is sensational and the whole thing had me rapt on numerous plays. It’s a reminder of the massive gap in the market for this type of treatment to be afforded to other genres.
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Although it took a little while to sell out, the 2014 mono vinyl set is one of the most sought after releases from The Beatles’ catalogue. Unlike the stereo box, they were cut all-analogue from the original tapes and presented in beautifully replicated flip back sleeves. And so, news of the ‘1964 US Albums In Mono’ collection prompted some ripples of delight. Confined to the early period of the band’s career, this endeavour focuses upon the bastardised albums that compiled various tracks from here, there and everywhere to flood the American market with content. In short, this is a neat attempt to cater for the more advanced collectors rather than scratch the itch of what had gone before.
To get the shortcomings out the way first, there’s no fancy book as in previous boxes and far fewer discs for a price point of £250. The replica sleeves don’t have the fancy flip back effect either, but the artwork is very well done and each album has an insert with pictures of the tape boxes and a fresh write up. Manufacturing has been handled by MPO in France and, while some have reported some issues with dirty or warped discs, the sealed set Just Played sampled had no problems after the routine clean. The whole set played near-silently and discs were flat or very nearly flat throughout the box. The records are housed in poly-lined inners and the lacquers have been produced using the original master tapes for the US incarnations on kit originally installed in Capitol Studios in 1971. The cuts are by Kevin Reeves, from Nashville’s East Iris, and they are designed to replicate the experience of those who first enjoyed these formations sixty years ago.
And how do they sound? Well, they’re cut hot and that will mean you need to have your setup finely tuned if you’re to avoid any playback issues. Distortion and even skips are possible with loud discs if the cartridge isn’t quite adjusted to track perfectly. This audio choice mirrors the sound of those original discs to an extent, even if the bottom end is better controlled here. These aren’t meant to be the audiophile community’s dream in the way that, perhaps, the 2014 box was. This is a replica set seeking to provide the jangly thrills that many experienced at the time. There are better sounding editions of these songs in mono, but it’s still a hugely enjoyable ride. ‘The Beatles’ Second Album’ flies by, from ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ to the disorientating positioning of ‘She Loves You’ as a closer. ‘The Beatles’ Story’ documentary 2LP is box set filler ticking the completist category, but it’s otherwise a blast. It’s a little too costly and will do absolutely nothing to appease those so desperately waiting for the previous box to be pressed up again.
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The Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series maintains its reputation for quality with a pair of Art Pepper titles. Both ‘Gettin’ Together’ and ‘Intensity’ Together’ were initially released in 1960, but present two different ensembles. The former features Conte Candoli’s trumpet work, Jimmy Cobb’s drumming and the hefty pairing of Paul Chambers on drums and Wynton Kelly’s piano, while the latter includes Dolo Coker at the piano, Jimmy Bond on bass and Frank Butler on drums. The two records sound superb, Bernie Grundman’s all-analogue cuts getting near-silent presses via QRP. Pepper’s sax reaches far beyond the speakers, up and out into the room and the rhythm section interplay is bewitchingly precise in its rendering. ‘Intensity’, flagged a little by its title, is the more stirring listen, marking an evolution in his sound that opened his playing up and took some more risks. The tip-on sleeves neatly replicate the artwork and QRP poly-bags are used as standard.
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Back in 2018, a selection of Buddy Holly’s finest tracks were selected for a compilation project whereby the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra would provide fresh arrangements to accompany the legendary rock and roller and The Crickets. ‘True Love Ways’ was largely well received as the new versions were pitched as offering an alternative take on much-loved songs rather than attempting to dislodge them from listeners’ affections. Some work better than others, but ‘That’ll Be The Day’, ‘Heartbeat’ and ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ are all beautifully done. A fresh vinyl edition has been unveiled with an additional bonus track, featuring Gregory Porter on a version of ‘Raining In My Heart’. It’s presented on “paint-splatter” vinyl which has been pressed at Pallas and, despite the variant, it sounds very good. The mastering is wide and open, with lots of detail for the layers of orchestration, and the disc plays near-silently. I’m not sure how big the splatter vinyl and Buddy Holly fan intersection is, but Decca are keen to find out.
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The ongoing series of deluxe edition New Order box sets has reached 1986’s ‘Brotherhood’. As ever, there is a frankly opulent, fabric-coated hardback book with all sorts of contemporary documents and artwork. The new essay is from Dave Fanning, beautifully mixing the roles of journalist and fan in capturing the essence of a record that means a great deal to him. The pages are the thickest and glossiest you’ll find in any music package but it’s hard to escape the thought that such details might account for an RRP north of £150. Plenty of love and care has clearly gone into it, as we’ll explore shortly, but when boiled down to 1LP, 2CDs and 2DVDs with a book, it doesn’t sound like a proportionate price and it’s hard to escape the sense that this might be one where fans bide their time for a sale. Add in the three accompanying 12” reissues and you won’t see change from £200.
It’s a shame the box will be out of many fans’ range, as the two DVDs hold a sizeable trove of live performances from the period, including tracks from a 1987 Brixton show, ten tracks from a 1988 GMEX gig and an assortment of bits from various festivals and TV shows. Some behind the scenes footage from a studio session in Japan will excite the obsessives and the wealth of concert footage mostly transcends its VHS origins. The audio has been very well mastered by Frank Arkwright, who also takes care of the bonus CD material and the album itself, providing the fresh vinyl cut for the replica LP that sits atop the pile when removing the box’s lid. The demos, remixes and b-sides genuinely add to the package, including the glorious Stephen Hague 12” take on the sublime ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’. Optimal have ensured a pin-drop silent vinyl disc for the album itself and the mastering is pleasing. A comparison with the previous reissue from 2009 – then repressed in 2015 – gives this new edition the edge, Sumner’s vocals having a more natural presence and feeling less likely to be swept away in the overall presentation. The electronic half of the album is especially taut and well defined. It’s not cheap, but it is a beautiful exploration of a record that was built upon severe band tensions.
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The original 2002 2CD incarnation of Stevie Wonder’s ‘The Definitive Collection’ was a firm favourite of a youthful incarnation of your correspondent, picked up in the old Park Street branch of Fopp in Bristol for a no doubt knock-down price. It took me beyond a couple of key albums and introduced me to the majesty of ‘If You Really Love Me’. So, the news that it would finally make its vinyl debut was rather exciting. Inevitably, this was quickly tempered by the realisation that it would only feature twenty-one of the original thirty-eight tracks and, of course, that discovery was one of those excised for this new edition. The artwork has been adapted for this outing and there’s not an ounce of fat across these four sides.
Kevin Reeves at East Iris in Nashville – him again – has delivered the lacquers for this set and it sounds superb. While those early Noughties CD compilations could sometimes be rather brittle in their presentation, this is anything but and the soundstage is warm and compelling throughout. ‘For Once In My Life’ glistens, ‘Superstition’ has the depth and breadth it needs to truly come alive and ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours’ pulls focus from the entire world around you. Despite some shiny, printed inners, these GZ pressed discs played silently throughout and they really delivered. No, these tracks don’t sound like Motown originals, but they’re very easy on the ear regardless.
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The soul-flecked indie of Spoon rarely disappoints as they quietly go about their business. It seems ridiculous to already be marking the tenth anniversary of ‘They Want My Soul’, a record that marked a slightly heavier, slightly louder spin on their usual sound. The band’s dependable grasp of instantly joyous hooks remained and Britt Daniel’s raspy voice marshalled the tight groove at their core.
‘Knock Knock Knock’ always appeared to be slowly deconstructing itself from the inside, while ‘Rent I Pay’ swaggers about endearingly atop a thumping beat and distorted guitars. Chris Longwood provides the loud but still fairly open mastering – which just edges the original on sonics – for an expanded edition which appends a second LP of demos and alternative mixes. The headline is unreleased song ‘One More Shot’, which appears in its original home recording state, but it’s all of interest to the superfans. GZ have ensured a fairly quiet pressing for this and the gatefold sleeve is a vivid delight.
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The eccentric selection approach of the Proper/Universal partnership continued in December. Let’s start with the second Lighthouse Family album, ‘Postcards From Heaven’, which is actually making its debut on vinyl after twenty-seven years. The sparing use of orange in the sleeve’s typographical design inspires the colour of the disc and the artwork has been neatly adjusted and scaled for the format. Musically, it offered a more refined, soulful evolution of the formula that had made their debut ubiquitous, with singles ‘High’, ‘Lost In Space’ and ‘Question Of Faith’ still ridiculously, naggingly catchy after all this time. The mastering is very much of the time and doesn’t feel especially open. The mid-range and bottom end are quite chunky and condensed to a rectangular soundstage. You’re very clearly listening to something digital that has been transferred to GZ-pressed wax that could be a touch quieter at points.
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The die-cut inners and Island labels are reliably replicated for three further titles from the partnership, the trio of John Cale records released on that legendary imprint in the mid-Seventies, ‘Fear’, ‘Slow Dazzle’ and ‘Helen Of Troy’. The masters used have a degree of nuance and the top end is relatively open across these mostly excellent albums. The chug of ‘Engine’ on the last of the three can feel slightly murky at points but Cale’s vocals, rich acoustic guitars and resonant piano are resplendent across the material. ‘Fear’ is arguably the best of the bunch, with ‘Ship Of Fools’, ‘The Man You Couldn’t Afford To Orgy’ and the truly sublime ‘You Know More Than I Know’ also immaculate. The only real negative comes from occasional bursts of surface noise that are unlikely to be consistent but might require a degree of GZ roulette to get clean copies, given the source of the discs. Regardless, there are some glorious tunes to be enjoyed here.
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The second Culture Club album, ‘Colour By Numbers’, returns to the racks on baby-blue vinyl. Cut from the original production masters, it sounds really rather good. The top end is rich and nimble, with a well-defined bottom end and a three-dimensional presentation of George’s inimitably enrapturing vocals. Opener ‘Karma Chameleon’ is unsurprisingly excellent but the soundstage is strong for the vast majority of the album. ‘Victims’, ‘Changing Every Day’ and ‘It’s A Miracle’ all leap from the speakers, with only side one closer ‘That’s The Way (I’m Only Trying To Help You)’ suffering from surface noise and some cramped grooves. It’s an otherwise quiet GZ pressing, however, and the fold out insert has been neatly replicated.
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At The Front Of The Racks:
One of the great joys of record collecting is the knowledge that there are pretty much an infinite number of albums out there waiting to be found, transmissions on frequencies hanging in the air in anticipation of us tuning in at the right moment in our lives. Amongst this terrain must be their champions, individuals banging the drum loud enough that the coordinates of this potentially profound music can be located. For Pete Paphides, The Lilac Time’s 1991 album ‘Astronauts’ has long been one such release. A project that its creator, Stephen Duffy, had never been fully satisfied with, it has constituted the biggest labour of love to date for British label Needle Mythology. Paphides was determined to not only put it back in the racks but also into context, with demos and live recordings collected to flesh out the story. And so, after several years of painstaking preparation, a quite beautiful 3LP edition has arrived and it is one of the most charming releases of 2024.
Even holding the sturdy tri-panel, foil embossed sleeve you know it’s going to be special. Browsing its sixteen-page booklet, the listener is treated to the label creator’s thoughts on the album as well as a riveting oral history of its production from those involved. One of Duffy’s finest ever releases, however he felt about changes that needed to be made, ‘Astronauts’ has been freshly mastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road and he provides the cuts for the discs. ‘Softened By Rain: The Making Of Astronauts’ coheres remarkably well for what it is, including the richly melodic ‘She Is All Colour’ and several further previously unknown tracks. Even these demos sound full-bodied, perhaps helping to explain why Paphides has suggested that the entire project will almost certainly make a loss. He wanted it done right, but didn’t want to charge the earth. It’s not cheap at £60, but that’s pretty fair for what you get given current prices.
The live record is probably the very definition of a fan favourite, but I’m not sure who will be casually stumbling into a 3LP set of a lesser-known early-Nineties alternative release, if I’m honest. Indeed, there is a very reasonably priced single disc, red vinyl edition for those who just want to explore the original tracks. The mastering of the main album is an absolute joy and it’s evident that we’re in very safe hands the moment the band kick in on opener ‘In Inverna Gardens’. The presence of the backing vocals, the chiming resonance of the piano and the percussive shimmer highlight the emphasis on making this the definitive edition of a record that commands your full attention. Yes, you can pick the odd highlights – ‘Hats Off Here Comes The Girl’, ‘Dreaming’ and ‘Madresfield’ perhaps – but these songs deserve to be heard together in their intended formation. Near-silent pressings from Take ensure that the audio can be the sole focus and it’s hard to imagine anyone involved in this version having many regrets. Truly, this is the sort of retrospective treatment we all dream of for our favourite albums and long may Needle Mythology continue such work.
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All titles reviewed above were cleaned before playback using the ultrasonic record cleaning machine, Degritter. A full review of its capabilities can be found in a previous column and you can find local dealers at www.degritter.com
Words: Gareth James (For more vinyl reviews and turntable shots, follow @JustPlayed on Bluesky or Twitter)
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