![Yes - Mirror To The Sky (Deluxe edition) (2023) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2024/05/07/431fc5ccc69a7bf19509084e0e9f70ba.jpg)
![Nektar - Remember The Future (Deluxe Edition) (1973/2023) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2024/05/01/NjktMTk3MS5qcGVn.jpg)
The Young Rascals – Groovin’ (2022 MFSL UltraDisc UHR SACD) (1967/2022)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 36:33 minutes | Full Scans included | 1,57 GB
Genre: Pop Rock | Publisher (label): Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – UDSACD 2225
Simultaneously elevated and bypassed by the artistically prolific year in which it was released, the Young Rascals’ Groovin’ remains high-water mark of a collective Rolling Stone boldly proclaimed “the blackest white group of all” in 1970. Home to three Top 10 singles and a diverse array of pop music in step with the era’s exploratory creativity, the set belongs aside the Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band, Love’s Forever Changes, Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow, and 1967’s other pioneering recordings. Particularly now that it boasts definitive sonics.
Mastered from the original master tapes Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition SACD of Groovin’ presents the album in fully restored mono. In addition, the painstakingly produced restoration includes “A Beautiful Morning,” an early 1968 million-selling hit that reached the third spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and debuted as the first release under the band’s then-newly truncated Rascals name. Blue-eyed soul and innocuous optimism have rarely sounded more contagious than on this audiophile-grade reissue.
Expertly portraying the quartet’s unmistakable harmonies, the analog set captures the deep-seated personality and effortless melodies that seemingly occupy every passage. Reflecting the playfulness of the cover art, the members demonstrate a cohesiveness, chemistry, and charm made vividly apparent via the newly uncovered detail, airiness, and tonalities. Benefiting from the focus, immersion, and accuracy unique to mono, and free of any artificial panning or effects, Mobile Fidelity’s edition lets the songs breathe and expand. Notes blossom and decay, voices rise and fall, and the craftsmanship of the arrangements emerges with revealing clarity. Long overlooked due to the dozens of other landmarks issued in the pivotal year, Groovin’ now firmly earns its place in history as a masterwork.
Look no further than the opening “A Girl Like You,” commandeered by Felix Cavaliere’s confident singing and skated along by peppy jazz-rock architecture marked by exuberant horns, lilting piano lines, and splashing rhythms. Or “How Can I Be Sure,” on which Eddie Brigati takes the vocal lead over a waltzing pattern that conveys joyousness, rumination, and the rollercoaster ups/downs that accompany the initial stages of a relationship. Brigati also does the honors on the reflective, subdued, albeit optimistic Motown cover “A Place in the Sun,” while he and Cavaliere share the lead on “If You Knew,” a strolling ditty underlined by a subtle, swift bass line.
Of course, no piece on Groovin’ remains more celebrated or recognized than the smash title track – part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s collection of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. As birds chirp and congas echo, the Young Rascals paint a picture of bliss, with R&B harmonies and a laidback harmonica whisking the listener to ecstasy. The original B-side, the Latin-inspired “Sueño,” further puts the foursome’s vocal aptitude on display. Sonically and lyrically (“I have been flying high above reality”; “Only thing needed is someone to come along and trip along with me”), it hints at the psychedelic experimentation the group would soon embrace to its detriment.
Indeed, Groovin’ steers clear of any indulgence or falseness, wrapping its metaphorical arms around on the colors, moods, and possibilities of the age. Here, upbeat soul (“I’m So Happy Now”) coexists with persuasive garage rock (“Find Somebody”) and energized, fuzz-toned nuggets (“You Better Run”) that prove the Young Rascals had their ears to the ground in both the States and England. In practically every way, it is thoroughly 1967 – and a quintessential part of any music library.
Read more
Yellowjackets Feat Mike Stern – Lifecycle (2008)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 01:02:40 minutes | 4.03 GB
Genre: Fusion, Smooth Jazz | Publisher (label): Heads Up International – HUSA 9139
The new recording by the Yellowjackets, two-time GRAMMY winners and cutting-edge purveyors of innovative and eclectic jazz for more than 25 years, features Mike Stern, the virtuoso guitarist who has established himself as the premier jazz and jazz-fusion guitarist of his generation.
This project was inspired by Yellowjackets’ appearance as guest musicians during Stern’s performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival in the summer of 2007. The studio recording showcases all five musicians’ individual and collective virtuosity as instrumentalists and songwriters and is the first Yellowjackets recording in 15 years to feature a guitar player. ‘Lifecycle’ illustrates the kind of energy and creative brilliance that results when five talented players pool their individual talents as songwriters and musicians and merge into an entity that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.
Read more
The Legendary Son House – Father Of Folk Blues (Analogue Productions 2016) (1965/2016)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 49:41 minutes | Full Scans included | 2,01 GB
Genre: Blues, Delta Blues | Publisher (label): Analogue Productions CAPB 092 SA
Hybrid Stereo SACD
Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the master tape
Mississippi’s Son House was already legendary for a small collection of live field recordings made by folklorist Alan Lomax in 1941 and 1942, and for having taught some important licks to both Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters before he was rediscovered by a new generation of college-age fans in 1964.
The “Father of the Delta Blues” recorded this namesake album for Columbia Records a year later in 1965. It’s become, in the words of Living Blues magazine — “Essential recordings by one of the greatest bluesmen ever.” And now, Analogue Productions presents a reissue unmatched in sonic quality and luxury presentation. For our version we turned to Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound to remaster the recording from the original master tapes. The Hybrid Stereo SACD version was authored for SACD by Gus Skinas at the Super Audio Center in Boulder, Colo.
Son was born Eddie James House, Jr., on March 21, 1902, in Riverton, Miss. By the age of 15, he was preaching the gospel in various Baptist churches as the family seemingly wandered from one plantation to the next. He didn’t even bother picking up a guitar until he turned 25; to quote House, “I didn’t like no guitar when I first heard it; oh gee, I couldn’t stand a guy playin’ a guitar. I didn’t like none of it.” But if his ambivalence to the instrument was obvious, even more obvious was the simple fact that Son hated plantation labor even more and had developed a taste for corn whiskey. After drunkenly launching into a blues at a house frolic in Lyon, Miss., one night and picking up some coin for doing it, the die seemed to be cast; Son House may have been a preacher, but he was part of the blues world now.
Now, sit back and enjoy one of the genere’s greatest, on a reissue that’s the best that’s been made to date. So authentic, so real — that’s the Analogue Productions difference.
Read more
Bill Withers – Still Bill (2023 MFSL UltraDisc UHR SACD) (1972/2023)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 36:29 minutes | Full Scans included | 1,53 GB
Genre: Funk, Soul, R&B | Publisher (label): Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – UDSACD 2268
More than 50 years after its original release, Bill Withers’ Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying “keeping it real” did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music’s approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion. These characteristics – along with Withers’ strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.
Read more
Bob James – Jazz Hands (2023)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 50:29 minutes | 2.08 GB
Genre: Jazz | Publisher (label): Evosound – EVSA2484S
GRAMMY® NOMINATED Jazz Hands is Bob James’ third outing for evosound, following in the wake of 2018’s Espresso and 2022’s Feel Like Makin’ LIVE. Produced by the pianist with his manager Sonny Abelardo, the ten-track album was mostly recorded during the months of the Covid pandemic and featured James in a number of different musical settings. It also features a stellar cameo from the ex-Gnarls Barkley singer CeeLo Green on the sensuous title track and includes production input from the legendary hip-hop turntablist DJ Jazzy Jeff, who rose to fame as half of the hit-making ’80s/’90s rap duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, early samplers of James’ music. Blending cool jazz tropes with funky dance floor grooves, blues-tinged ballads, cinematic mood pieces, and sensuous slow jams, Jazz Hands is the Missouri pianist’s most eclectic album of his long career. Simultaneously classic and contemporary, it’s Bob James at his majestic, ground-breaking, and timeless best. The album has been nominated for the GRAMMY AWARDS® for the category of “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” – proving that the Jazz legend has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
Read more
Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker – Brahms: The 4 Symphonies (Esoteric Japan 2018)
SACD Rip | 3x SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 212:07 minutes | Full Scans included | 8,97 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Full Scans included | 8,82 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Full Scans included | 4,61 GB
For collectors of Claudio Abbado’s recordings, the performances on this three-discs Japanese Esoteric label’s remastered release of the Italian conductor’s digital recordings of Brahms’ symphonies with the Berliner Philharmoniker may seem redundant, since the symphonies were previously released as single discs in the late ’80s and early ’90s on Deutsche Grammophon. But this box set marks the first hybrid SACD release of historical recording selections. These new audio versions feature Esoteric’s proprietary re-mastering process to achieve the highest level of sound quality.
Read more
Karl Bohm & Berliner Philharmoniker – Mozart: The Symphonies, Vol. 2 (1960/69) [Japan 2018]
SACD Rip | 4x SHM-SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 369:53 minutes | Scans included | 14,8 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Some Scans included | 14,5 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Some Scans included | 7,7 GB
Renowned as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Karl Böhm was entrusted in the 1960s with recording all of the Mozart Symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. His interpretations, captured here, are lauded as brisk and rhythmically robust. These performances are warm and genial, with bold contrasts of dynamic and well-sprung rhythms, is that for the players as well as the conductor this was a voyage of discovery, and their enthusiasm never wanes.
Read more
Karl Bohm & Berliner Philharmoniker – Mozart: The Symphonies, Vol. 1 (1969) [Japan 2018]
SACD Rip | 4x SHM-SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 382:03 minutes | Scans included | 15,3 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Some Scans included | 15,0 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Some Scans included | 8,06 GB
Renowned as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Karl Böhm was entrusted in the 1960s with recording all of the Mozart Symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. His interpretations, captured here, are lauded as brisk and rhythmically robust. These performances are warm and genial, with bold contrasts of dynamic and well-sprung rhythms, is that for the players as well as the conductor this was a voyage of discovery, and their enthusiasm never wanes.
Read more
Various Artists – Nobu’s Popular Selection (2010)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 01:00:33 minutes | 2.45 GB
Genre: Rock, Jazz, Pop, Classical | Publisher (label): Stereo Sound – SSRR5 (TDGD90016)
ステレオサウンドのリファレンス・レコードSA-CDシリーズ
傅信幸氏 選曲・構成によるポピュラー篇『NOBU’S POPULAR SELECTION』
収録曲はソニー・ミュージック（BMG音源を含む）が保有するポピュラー楽曲の中から厳選された全15曲で、そのうち、なんと本ディスクのために初めてSA-CD化される楽曲が10曲もあります。ザ・アラン・パーソンズ・プロジェクト、ボズ・スキャッグス、ロジャー・ウォーターズ、カーラ・ボノフ、サラ・マクラクラン等、音楽ファンに広く知られるアーティストたちの楽曲が世界で唯一、本ディスクでのみSA-CD化が実現するのです。
これは傅氏の選曲意図が「優秀録音を集めたディスクを作る」のではなく、「自分がいい音で聴きたい『いい音楽』を集めたディスクを創る」というものであったからです。その結果、これまでSA-CD化されたことのない楽曲も必然的に選曲対象となり、選曲は傅氏の膨大なディスクコレクションを聴き直しながらの作業となったために、収録曲が決まるまでに約半年もの期間をようしました。付属のライナーノートにはこのあたりの制作に関する傅氏の想いや各楽曲の選曲理由、興味深いエピソードがふんだんに記されています。
もちろん選曲だけでなく、音質には徹底的にこだわっており、過去にSA-CD化されたものはオリジナルのDSDデータを使用し、初SA-CD化となる楽曲に関しては、可能なかぎり上流までさかのぼって状態のいいマスターからDSD化を行なっています。試聴の結果、良好と判断した場合は国内のLPカッティング用のアナログマスターを選択した曲もあり、その一例が故・瀬川冬樹先生の試聴盤として知られるアン・バートンです。収録曲中、録音年がもっとも古いのはこのアン・バートン（1969年作品）、もっとも新しいものはウクレレのジェイク・シマブクロがシンディ・ローパーと共に2009年に吹き込んだビートルズ・ナンバーとなりますが、なんとこのジェイク・シマブクロではCD用マスターではなく、トラックダウンマスターからのDSD化の許可が得られました。
本ディスクは高音質が期待できるSA-CD（SA-CD層にマルチチャンネル音声を含んでいないために、DSD信号の圧縮は行なっていません）ですが、CDとの二重構造を持つハイブリッド盤仕様となっているため、SA-CDプレーヤーをお持ちでない方でも再生が可能です。好評の緑色の特殊インクを用いてさらなる音質向上を狙った音匠レーベルコートはSA-CD層、CD層の双方で効果が期待できますので、各楽曲を収録したオリジナルディスクをお持ちの方にも聴き逃せない仕上がりとなっています。
「いい音」のする「いい音楽」を集めた傅信幸氏入魂のディスクです。ひとりでも多くの方にお聴きいただけますと幸いです。
Read more
The Church – Starfish (2008/2021)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 01:16:07 minutes | 3.1 GB
Genre: Alternative Rock | Publisher (label): Intervention Records – IR-SCD6
Starfish is the fifth album by the Australian rock band The Church, released in February 1988 by Mushroom Records in Australia and by Arista Records internationally. The band’s international breakthrough album, Starfish went gold in America and has remained their most commercially successful release. Mastered direct-to-DSD from the original analog master tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound.
Read more
Eleanor McEvoy – Love Must Be Tough (2008)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 50:07 minutes | 2.05 GB
Genre: Folk Rock | Publisher (label): Mosco Disc [MOSACD304]
(Hybrid SACD version also plays on all CD players and with 2 extra tracks) This album takes Eleanor into new territory, featuring other writers’ songs. The theme is Love, Romance and Loss, but not particularly in the context of Wealth, Youth or Obvious Allure. Terry Allen’s Lubbock Woman exemplifies the album’s theme. Love Must Be Tough speaks of realism and hope in love. Mostly featuring songs by men, Eleanor’s singing gives the titles a new twist. Listen to Rodney Crowell’s achingly beautiful Shame On The Moon and Butch Hancock’s wistful He Never Spoke Spanish To Me. The exception is Priscilla Bowman’s 1955 classic Hands Off Him with full Brass arrangement. Eleanor’s co-writing partnership with Dave Rotheray (The Beautiful South) is also featured on Old New Borrowed and Blue and The Night May Still Be Young (But I Am Not).
Read more
Eleanor McEvoy – Early Hours (2004)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 42:28 minutes | 2.53 GB
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, Country | Publisher (label): Market Square – MSM51SACD128
‘Early Hours’ takes Eleanor McEvoy’s music to new heights. Couched now in a mature jazz/blues context, her melodic and sensitive songs – packed as ever with wry, insightful social observation – benefit from first rate performances. “It would be a tragedy given the exquisite understated magnificence and warmth of these 42 minutes if all Eleanor McEvoy were remembered is ‘fl Woman’s Heart”. Eleanor’s Dido-before-Dido voice and some of the best happy/sad songs she has ever written plus deconstructed classics by Chuck Berry and Bert Jansch, this is her ‘White Ladder’, her ‘Life for Rent’. a triumph. MOJO. The appeal of early hours lies in it’s basic folk-roots simplicity, nothing is allowed to get in the way of the songs. Like good food McEvoy’s music requires no garnish. ” MAVERICK… The key word here is luxury because that is the musical feeling that this album creates. Make no mistake, this is an outstanding piece of musicianship. BBC RADIO 2 While Thea Gilmore gets all the attention, the similarly gifted Eleanor McEvoy has been busy honing a far-more affecting brand of singer-songwriterly femme-folk… imbued with the beauty of Judie Tzuke and the wordplay of Suzanne Vega. That’s a pantheon that McEvoy is eminently qualified to join, now is the time for it to happen. LOGO MAGAZINE One to give Katie Melua a run for her money. Ax MAGAZINE. 2006.
Read more
Eleanor McEvoy – Out There (2006)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 49:48 minutes | 951 MB
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, Country | Publisher (label): Mosco Disc – [MOSACD303]
This new studio album from Ireland’s most accomplished female singer songwriter features twelve brand new tracks, including “Quote I Love You Unquote” written with Dave Rotheray of the Beautiful South. This collection of upbeat songs take a wry view on life, love and modern society. Eleanor does it all on this album, contributing vocals, guitars, mandolin, keyboards, electric bass and percussion on the disc! Highlights include covers of the Marvin Gaye classic “Mercy Mercy Me” and Lowell George’s “Roll Um Easy” and “Non-Smoking Single Female.”
Read more
Eleanor McEvoy – Snapshots (1999)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 50:44 minutes | 825 MB
Genre: Folk Rock | Publisher (label): Mosco Disc [MOSACD305]
Irish singer/songwriter Eleanor McEvoy returned with her third release, Snapshots, with ’80s fixture Rupert Hine (the Fixx) at the production helm and lending guitar, keyboard, percussion, and background vocal assistance. Musically, the tone is light and breezy with Julia Fordham and Everything But the Girl’s Tracey Thorn being touchstones both vocally and lyrically. “All I Have,” co-written with Caroline Lavelle, chugs along nicely and “Wrapping Me Up in Luxury (Until the Morning Comes)” is an engaging midtempo shuffle about the comfort and security of being in love. The highlights are “Did You Tell Him?” which is dead-on in its literate description of the mixed emotions felt when a friend has bumped into a former lover, and the sax-driven “Please Heart, You’re Killing Me,” a jaunty track as inviting as a warm, summer day. McEvoy even spices things up with the dance beat of “Territory of Poets.” McEvoy is a talented and insightful writer with a pleasant voice that is capable of firepower, and Snapshots is an impressive display of her abilities.
Read more