The Now Spinning/Recent Purchases Thread

One of this evening's picks, Softly by Wanda Sá:

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Reminiscent of early Astrud Gilberto, with strings and guitar.

She appeared on the Brasil '65 album with Sergio Mendes and Sebastiao Neto. Neto would record with a group called Bossa Três, on the short-lived Audio Fidelity label:

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In 2000, she recorded an album as part of this group (Tiao Neto on the right), which I am playing at the moment and is quite nice:

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In other A&M-related notes, Bossa Três also recorded an album or two with Pery Ribeiro, who was the lead singer of Bossa Rio. Wanda Sá also was married to Edu Lobo from 1969-1982, who not only had an A&M album, but also wrote many songs that Sergio and others would record. A few of Lobo's tunes appear on the 2000 album above ("Casa Forte," "Zanga, Zangada").
 
I have that Wanda De Sah softly coupled with the capitol Brasil 65 album on CD and it's become a highly valued two far in my library being since the BRASIL 65 was the first of a series along with the Atlantic Live at El Matador I loved Wanda's voice on them as well as all the music
 
I had a few sealed new old stock LPs arrive over the past two days. Quick notes on a few I have been spinning, as I have most of the day off today.

Isaac Hayes: Don't Let Go. I've praised the album earlier in this thread but finally have a Polydor original. And sadly it lives up to the reputation--the record is slightly off center, and it's a bit of a noisy pressing. Side 1 also has some mold release residue left near the label that needs to be cleaned off. I'll revisit this after it goes through the ultrasonic bath.

Barry White: 12" single of "Your Sweetness Is My Weakness" b/w "Sha-La-La Means I Love You." The latter tune was one I heard on the radio way back around '77 or '78, a Saturday evening broadcast of all dance music, and this one was played in the middle of it. It took me a year or two to find out who did it, and I picked up Barry White's album The Man which had these two tunes on Side 1, along with "Look At Her"; it was probably 22+ minutes of music pinched onto one side of the record, so the music tended to sound a little pinched on "Sha-La-La." I never knew this 12" single existed until just two weeks ago--it's a Canadian pressing, never released here in the US officially. I've had the CD version, but finally have this one on vinyl and it sounds more dynamic than the original LP. Not only that it's cut at 45 RPM (which I discovered by accident, since there is no speed indication on the label). It is slightly duller than the LP or CD but not by much. Pretty good sound and quite a rarity in sealed condition!



Tom Robinson: Sector 27. This was an IRS Records release, with "Can't Keep Away" being heard on the I.R.S. Greatest Hits Vol. 2 & 3 set. As with the other tracks on that set, the original LP sounds better. Nice quiet pressing! I'm hoping to find more sealed IRS in the coming months and years but sadly, I probably will never find replacements for the two Cramps records I stupidly sold when the CDs came out (Songs The Lord Taught Us and Psychedelic Jungle) or the Oingo Boingo Only A Lad EP that I played a little too much.



The Kingbees: The Kingbees. This was a retro-rock trio from the late 70s/early 80s who had a hit with "My Mistake" from this record which was released on the RSO Records label. The sound is thin like the CD but not as edgy/harsh. The music is a lot of fun--just three guys letting loose on some catchy pop/rock ditties.



Christine McVie: Christine McVie. I still have the original CD of this but wanted something a little meatier sounding. The LP is still a bit "glassy" sounding due to the digital recording but sounds a bit better. The LP was cut at Sterling by Ted Jensen. It could also stand a trip through the record cleaner--a little noisy here and there. Musically it was always one of my favorites of any of the Fleetwood Mac members. "Got A Hold On Me" was the hit from this one.

Jerry Knight: Jerry Knight. This might sound familiar as it was an AOTW here within the year or so. "Overnight Sensation" was the big dance club hit from this one. The sound on this record is nice and punchy although "Overnight Sensation" is not as full in the bass as it is on the 12". Bernie Grundman mastered this one. :thumbsup: Musically it is like a mix of rock and funk. Nice record!

Jerry Knight - Overnight Sensation
 
Christine McVie: Christine McVie. I still have the original CD of this but wanted something a little meatier sounding. The LP is still a bit "glassy" sounding due to the digital recording but sounds a bit better. The LP was cut at Sterling by Ted Jensen. It could also stand a trip through the record cleaner--a little noisy here and there. Musically it was always one of my favorites of any of the Fleetwood Mac members.

Christine is my favorite female singer (along with Lani Hall) but somehow I just could not get into that solo album. I picked up her much-later album In the Meantime and didn't much like that, either. I think working with Fleetwood Mac sparks up something in her that isn't there in her solo work....I don't know if it's inspiration from Mick and John or what. I know it's not just Lindsey Buckingham's arrangements and production, because I love a lot of FM/Christine songs from before he was in the band. Her stuff on the recent Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie album is great, especially the closing song "Carnival Begin."

I do like "Got a Hold On Me" though. It's a good song and I originally thought it had Mick F. on drums.
 
I remember liking the album when it came out, but I need to spin both sides a couple of times to get familiar with it again. Buckingham did appear on this record, on a few tracks. And I do like her voice (never cared for Stevie Nicks' voice)--I prefer vocalists who sing in the alto or contralto registers anyway.
 
Another batch of new old stock vinyl. Weirdness though...

One of the titles is Herb's Under A Spanish Moon. The used copy I bought a few years go sounded terribly worn, with a lot of inner groove distortion. Or in other words, once you get to "Ancient Source," it thoundth like Lani hath a very bad lithp, and Herb'th trumpet thoundth like it'th torn to shredth.

I play this sealed copy yesterday and it has the exact same problem. Of course I start doubting everything. The cartridge is practically new (Audio Technica ART7, not even available in the US) and tracks everything else like butter. Stylus is clean--a touch of Blue-Tack a few times is all it needs. OK, the record's been re-sealed? Nope--the rest of the vinyl looks untouched, with nothing more than pressing plant crud on it...and there's an old Tower Records sticker firmly attached. (And nobody is going to bother to reseal a $3.99 record.) OK, who mastered it? Bernie Grundman...and how many Bernies do I have here that play beautifully? All I can think of is that it's a very bad pressing...yet I've never one with such severe sibilance fresh out of the shrinkwrap! I still might try an ultrasonic cleaning on this one, but I have a feeling it's beyond help.

My Abstract Heart was also in this shipment and it, too, has a similar issue, but nowhere near as bad. They are both later A&M pressings though, and it makes me wonder if I should be avoiding those. But both are very disappointing and I expected better from A&M...especially on the boss's records!

In that shipment also is Jean-Luc Ponty's Storytelling, his second of three records for the Columbia family (two on Columbia, the third on Epic) prior to returning to Atlantic. This one played OK, and has a few favorite tracks on it like "In The Fast Lane" and "Journey's End." I had bought The Gift of Time last year and side two had a fairly bad defect--it was cut at a completely wrong speed! It had to be a whole tone fast, if not more. I can adjust my speed up to a point, but this was beyond what I could adjust.

Next up is a rare Mancini soundtrack from Oklahoma Crude. Haven't listened to it yet, but it's from the orange-label era and might be a sound sheet dynaflex pressing. I'd known the movie had a Mancini soundtrack, but some of his soundtracks never were releases as albums.

Finally, I found a sealed copy of Live! by Lou Rawls, his first live recording from his early days. Classic club performance with some great monologues, two of which ended up on the Capitol compilation I've owned. I dislike most live recordings but this one is definitely a keeper! Rawls is a perfect host, and he and his little jazz combo know just how to get the crowd worked up. This record is one of the 70s Capitol pressing (yellow label) but still sounds perfectly good--I prefer first pressings but those are rare in sealed condition. This one needs a trip through the bath, like a few others.
 
One of the titles is Herb's Under A Spanish Moon. The used copy I bought a few years go sounded terribly worn, with a lot of inner groove distortion. Or in other words, once you get to "Ancient Source," it thoundth like Lani hath a very bad lithp, and Herb'th trumpet thoundth like it'th torn to shredth.

I play this sealed copy yesterday and it has the exact same problem. Of course I start doubting everything. The cartridge is practically new (Audio Technica ART7, not even available in the US) and tracks everything else like butter. Stylus is clean--a touch of Blue-Tack a few times is all it needs. OK, the record's been re-sealed? Nope--the rest of the vinyl looks untouched, with nothing more than pressing plant crud on it...and there's an old Tower Records sticker firmly attached. (And nobody is going to bother to reseal a $3.99 record.) OK, who mastered it? Bernie Grundman...and how many Bernies do I have here that play beautifully? All I can think of is that it's a very bad pressing...yet I've never one with such severe sibilance fresh out of the shrinkwrap! I still might try an ultrasonic cleaning on this one, but I have a feeling it's beyond help.

My copy of UNDER A SPANISH MOON has the same problem on "Ancient Source". It's really bad at 1:30 where she sings "Come cloSe to the inner Spring..." The left channel seems to have all of the splatter. Mine's pressed on that good translucent vinyl and has a cut-out notch in the upper-right corner of the jacket. But the vinyl is super-clean, yet it has that sibilance problem.

I've noticed the same thing on other later A&M pressings, particularly Lani's Latin albums where the sibilance is just over-the-top. When transferring some of those to CD, I've actually taken to finding the sibilent part in Audacity, and either utilizing only one channel for both, or collapsing that small part to mono to mitigate the sibilance.
 
My copy of UNDER A SPANISH MOON has the same problem on "Ancient Source". It's really bad at 1:30 where she sings "Come cloSe to the inner Spring..." The left channel seems to have all of the splatter. Mine's pressed on that good translucent vinyl and has a cut-out notch in the upper-right corner of the jacket. But the vinyl is super-clean, yet it has that sibilance problem.
That kind of proves that it's a bad pressing--three out of three reports. I start doubting everything when I hear this on what should be a brand new record. I have a few others late A&M vinyl releases that play back just fine, like Rosie Vela's album. This one just gets steadily worse. It starts during the suite as a continually growing distortion and murkiness, especially on Herb's trumpet, which is pretty much wasted by the time the third movement of the suite wraps up.

Just checked--mine is the brown translucent vinyl. And I didn't bother with side two yet either. I wonder if it's just as bad.

It reminds me of the old days when records wouldn't play properly, and I'd find a huge gob of dust parked on the stylus. :D

Aaah well, I'm out four bucks...and another LP for the reject pile. I should do a needle drop of "Ancient Source" just to demonstrate to others what a bad pressing sounds like.
 
My Abstract Heart was also in this shipment and it, too, has a similar issue, but nowhere near as bad. They are both later A&M pressings though, and it makes me wonder if I should be avoiding those. But both are very disappointing and I expected better from A&M...especially on the boss's records!

Bad news on My Abstract Heart. I’ve been looking for a copy but haven’t found one that I thought I should spring for yet.
 
Bad news on My Abstract Heart. I’ve been looking for a copy but haven’t found one that I thought I should spring for yet.
I need to play it through again, and on both sides, to be sure it's really bad or not. I can safely say Spanish Moon is one to avoid, however.
 
I have Under a Spanish moon and my abstract heart in their original CD forms and they are still very playable and in pristine shape and I haven't experienced any shrill or excessive vigilance or distortion described above I'm sorry some of you are experiencing on your vinyl it seems by the late 80s the big CD push had to have played a role in the quality control issues with vinyl just my opinion but I do remember hearing some Cruddy sounding vinyl at that time it's been a long time though
 
There are a few version of this on CD, in addition to the vinyl. One of the earlier CD versions edits some of the tracks for no real reason that I can tell.

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I like how he would include an introduction or even a monologue prior to some of these tunes. This one breaks into a little humor in the middle of the track. Listen for "TV dinner". :laugh:

 
Excellent album from JD McPherson, who gave us Socks for Xmas this year. The album is Let The Good Times Roll, and this track boogies hard from the get-go.



The title track is also killer:



The CD version of this a little bright and harsh. The LP, on the other hand, sounds much better. Highly recommended!
 
I gave the Mancini Oklahoma Crude soundtrack a spin. Let's just say it's not one of his better soundtrack albums. It is kind of like the Butch Cassidy soundtrack in that some themes seem to be repeated over and over. In essence, the music probably works just fine in the film, but the limited musical themes don't make for a very engaging album.
 
Fresh rekkids! :D I had my eye on one of these records below (having stupidly gotten rid of it when I bought into "perfect sound forever" :rolleyes: ). But first...these three arrived today from a dealer in Philly, all sealed.

Marty Paich: Hot Piano. There is not much information about this album printed on the rear of the jacket, but 1) it's Marty Paich, and 2) it's centered around Paich's piano, as he usually was a bandleader/arranger. This one is on the VSOP label, and it might be a reissue as the label name on the front is Tampa Records. I'll look into this one more this evening.

El Chicano: "Let Me Dance With You"...12" single. No idea what this is. :laugh: But, El Chicano had that Top 30 hit in 1970, "Viva Tirado (Pt. 1)", that some may recognize. So I'm taking a stab in the dark on this one. For $1.00, sealed, what have I got to lose? :D

Finally...

Finally!!

I located one on my "holy grail"--Synchronicity, by The Police. I had a beautiful, clean copy purchased new on release day and like others, got roped into believing Sony's "Perfect Sound Forever" claim with the CD, and of course was eventually disappointed. The original CD...meh, and gobs of distortion at the very tail end of "Tea In The Sahara" as it fades away (which is a by-product of digital). The Message In A Box version was a slight improvement. The SACD was a (digital) revelation but still not my vinyl copy.

So here is my "new" copy with the original hype sticker, KC-600 vinyl (the nice purple glow), and just having started side two, it's sounding awfully darned good right about now with a great "pop" to Copeland's snare. Playing "Synchronicity I" on side one immediately took me back to release day, first spin, when the stylus hit the grooves... :) The record itself is clean, flat, and plays back with almost no noise, like the best KC-600s do. Price on this one? Not bad at all! It was no more than most new 180g pressings today. (A clean early pressing is rare, but not that rare!)

Now I need to find a sealed first pressing Ghost In The Machine, which is a chore for sure. There is a 180g reissue but like other Universal vinyl, I'm deathly afraid to buy what could be a complete turd.
 
Fresh rekkids! :D I had my eye on one of these records below (having stupidly gotten rid of it when I bought into "perfect sound forever" :rolleyes: ). But first...these three arrived today from a dealer in Philly, all sealed.

Marty Paich: Hot Piano. There is not much information about this album printed on the rear of the jacket, but 1) it's Marty Paich, and 2) it's centered around Paich's piano, as he usually was a bandleader/arranger. This one is on the VSOP label, and it might be a reissue as the label name on the front is Tampa Records. I'll look into this one more this evening.

El Chicano: "Let Me Dance With You"...12" single. No idea what this is. :laugh: But, El Chicano had that Top 30 hit in 1970, "Viva Tirado (Pt. 1)", that some may recognize. So I'm taking a stab in the dark on this one. For $1.00, sealed, what have I got to lose? :D

Finally...

Finally!!

I located one on my "holy grail"--Synchronicity, by The Police. I had a beautiful, clean copy purchased new on release day and like others, got roped into believing Sony's "Perfect Sound Forever" claim with the CD, and of course was eventually disappointed. The original CD...meh, and gobs of distortion at the very tail end of "Tea In The Sahara" as it fades away (which is a by-product of digital). The Message In A Box version was a slight improvement. The SACD was a (digital) revelation but still not my vinyl copy.

So here is my "new" copy with the original hype sticker, KC-600 vinyl (the nice purple glow), and just having started side two, it's sounding awfully darned good right about now with a great "pop" to Copeland's snare. Playing "Synchronicity I" on side one immediately took me back to release day, first spin, when the stylus hit the grooves... :) The record itself is clean, flat, and plays back with almost no noise, like the best KC-600s do. Price on this one? Not bad at all! It was no more than most new 180g pressings today. (A clean early pressing is rare, but not that rare!)

Now I need to find a sealed first pressing Ghost In The Machine, which is a chore for sure. There is a 180g reissue but like other Universal vinyl, I'm deathly afraid to buy what could be a complete turd.
I rejoice with you I'm happy for you that you scored on Some excellent vintage vinyl it's better to get the original versions rather than get newly pressed stuff as you said Universal has had quite a few duds in its vinyl reissues I hope you find a great copy Of the Ghost in the machine L.p. preferable a vintage 1981 sealed first edition Best wishes Rudy
 
Currently spinning Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends, Japan SHM-CD version, stereo. As I often do, when I'm listening to something, I do a web search on it, particularly rarer items.

I was unaware that Germany issued this album on vinyl this past August. Amazon Germany has it listed as having the album on vinyl, plus a 7" single with two bonus tracks, plus the entire album on CD. Seems like a decent deal:

https://www.amazon.de/Roger-Nichols...s=roger+nichols+&+the+small+circle+of+friends
 
I saw that listing (I think it was posted here somewhere?), but since the source tapes are an unknown, and it's on one of those grey market labels (doesn't seem to be a Universal imprint), I'm passing on it.
 
Giving this one a spin:

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Winter Light dates to 1974, one of Oregon's earliest recordings, and surprisingly many of the themes they follow on this album still apply to their most recent recordings (the most recent I have being Family Tree, where three of the original four members are still performing together--their percussionist Collin Walcott having died in a car crash in 1984).

A&M connection--Oregon splintered off from the Paul Winter Consort. The 1970 A&M album Road in fact features all four original Oregon members (Walcott, Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless and Glen Moore) as well as future ECM records cellist David Darling. 1973's Icarus (on Epic) feature Towner, McCandless and Walcott.

Given the album's title, it almost makes me think that it might be a slight jab, or a tribute, to Paul Winter... :wink: (This isn't "holiday music," though!)
 
An update promised above...

Marty Paich: Hot Piano. There is not much information about this album printed on the rear of the jacket, but 1) it's Marty Paich, and 2) it's centered around Paich's piano, as he usually was a bandleader/arranger. This one is on the VSOP label, and it might be a reissue as the label name on the front is Tampa Records. I'll look into this one more this evening.

El Chicano: "Let Me Dance With You"...12" single.
The Marty Paich is a good album but doesn't exactly set the world on fire either. It's a nice pleasant listen nonetheless, very much in the West Coast tradition. Grab this one if you find it cheap!

As for the El Chicano...their original hit "Viva Terado" sounds absolutely nothing like this single. In fact, I even wonder if they are the same group. The beats on this record are as far from Latin-influenced as a tune can get, and "Viva Terado" did not have vocals. For a buck, not complaining--it could have been a good overlooked tune.

Here's your basic brand new Synchronicity, complete with the KC-600 vinyl. :D

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Is the vinyl purple or is that just the light? :shrug:
KC-600 vinyl looks black, but if held up to light it has a purplish glow. (That was sunlight behind it.) A&M used a lot of KC-600 vinyl for first pressings on some of their "premier" releases. I've seen a couple others with a brownish tint, while another has a greyish tint (I think my Joe Jackson Body and Soul is the greyish version). I've seen a lot more A&M titles on KC-600 (purple) than others, however. The A&M/CTi SP-9-3xxx series was all pressed on KC-600 vinyl in the early 80s. Quiex was another premium vinyl formulation, but I don't see A&M having used a lot of that. (Warner Bros. tended to use that.)

My key to finding the Synchronicity I wanted was by the hype sticker--the early pressings mentioned the KC-600 vinyl, just like the copy I owned. Holding it up to the light is how I ensured it was the right pressing.

A&M's Audiophile series from the late 70s (SPJ-xxxx series, distributed through Canada, mastered and pressed at JVC in Japan alongside the original Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs half-speed mastered LP releases) had a brown translucent glow to them. That is another good series to find, although clean copies are harder to come by these days. Which is a shame because, if they are well cared for, they sound excellent.
 
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