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Vinyl Releases of the Week: July 19, 2012
Post By: Katherine.Eleanor
Listen up, jazz aficionados: now is the time to expand your vinyl collections as this week holds a jackpot of jazz reissues and audiophile treats. Other vinyl highlights include a Grateful Dead reissue, a Smashing Pumpkins reissue, a Black Keys tribute album performed by blues and rock icons, and a brand new album from Little Feat. Dig in!
Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, and Paco De Lucia – Friday Night in San Francisco (Original Recordings Group)
Experience this iconic album like never before on two 180-gram 45rpm LPs. One of the most acclaimed guitar albums ever made, it was recorded by virtuoso guitarists Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, and Paco De Lucia at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on December 5, 1980. Tailor-made for audiophiles and spread out over two discs, this limited-edition version allows every nuance to come alive.
The Grateful Dead – History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear’s Choice) (Audio Fidelity)
180-gram virgin vinyl pressing of this 1973 Grateful Dead live album. Dubbed “Bear’s Choice” after the band’s legendary soundman Owsley Stanley and dedicated to keyboard player Ron “Pigpen” McKernan who passed away just months before its release (and is a commanding presence throughout), the album features highlights from the Dead’s acclaimed performances at the Fillmore East in New York City on February 13-14, 1970. These include covers of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Katie Mae,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning,” and Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” as well as the Dead Standard “Black Peter.”
Thelonious Monk Quartet – Misterioso (Original Jazz Classics)
An all-time classic live Thelonious Monk album, Misterioso (like Thelonious in Action) was recorded during the legendary jazz pianist’s residency at New York’s Five Spot Café in 1958. With saxophonist Johnny Griffin, bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and drummer Roy Haynes, Monk explores new dissonances and reveals his tremendous improvisational skills.
Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins – Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins (Original Jazz Classics)
Vinyl pressing of this 1954 release presenting the incredible pairing of two jazz giants, pianist Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Sonny Rollins. An essential addition to any serious jazz library.
Ben Webster & Associates – Ben Webster & Associates (Original Recordings Group)
Original Recordings Group has also given the full audiophile treatment to this phenomenal album by tenor heavyweights Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, and Budd Johnson with trumpeter Roy Eldridge, bassist Ray Brown, and more. This 1959 session is presented as a limited-edition 180-gram 45rpm double LP.
The Modern Jazz Quartet – Django (Original Jazz Classics)
Vinyl reissue of this classic 1956 album by the Modern Jazz Quartet (pianist John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Kenny Clarke – all be-bop stalwarts who had previously worked with Dizzy Gillespie). It takes its name from one of Lewis’ best-known compositions, written in memory of the great gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Astrud Gilberto – The Shadow of Your Smile (Original Recordings)
Every facet of Astrud Gilberto’s breathy, delicate voice is captured on this 180-gram 45rpm double LP reissue of her 1965 album. Features an assortment of American and Brazilian songs set to orchestral arrangements by Don Sebesky, João Donato, and Claus Ogerman.
Sun Ra – Holiday for Soul Dance, Interstellar Low Ways (Saturn Vinyl)
Re-mastered 180-gram vinyl reissues of two albums from the free-jazz great, recorded predominantly in Chicago in 1960: Holiday for Soul Dance, an album of jazz standards, and Interstellar Low Ways, which perfectly summarizes Sun Ra and his Arkestra’s Chicago period.
Little Feat – Rooster Rag (Rounder)
Vinyl pressing of the new album from veteran blues rockers Little Feat – their first album of all new studio material since 2003’s Kickin’ It at the Barn. The band’s lone original member, keyboardist Bill Payne, gets some songwriting assistance from former Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, and the album is rife with the group’s signature musical gumbo of funk, blues, country, and rock.
The Smashing Pumpkins – Pisces Iscariot (EMI)
Following last year’s deluxe reissues of Gish and Siamese Dream comes this re-mastered 180-gram vinyl reissue of the iconic alt-rockers’ 1994 collection of B-sides, Pisces Iscariot. Described by the band’s prolific songwriter Billy Corgan as “a collection of odds and orphans from the dusky realms of Pumpkinland,” this unlikely smash was a fan’s delight and yielded a hit single with the Pumpkins’ striking cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”
The Chemical Brothers – Exit Planet Dust (EMI Import)
Double LP vinyl reissue of the acclaimed 1995 debut album from the British big-beat duo.
Otis Rush – Cold Day in Hell (Delmark)
Vinyl reissue of this cooking 1975 blues album from Otis Rush.
Various Artists – Black on Blues: A Tribute to the Black Keys (Cleopatra)
Now here’s a concept: blues and rock icons cover songs by blues revivalists the Black Keys! Performers include Albert Lee, Walter Trout, Jackie Lomax, Tab Benoit, Pat Travers, and Iggy Pop, as well as members of the Kinks, Cream, the Allman Brothers, Canned Heat, and more.
Sam Phillips – Martinis and Bikinis (Omnivore Recordings)
Expanded double vinyl reissue of this 1994 Sam Phillips album includes four bonus tracks, among them a brand new recording of her Beatles re-write “Strawberry Road.” First 1500 copies on white vinyl.
Marilyn Manson – Born Villain (Cooking Vinyl/Downtown Records)
Vinyl pressing of the veteran shock-rocker’s 2012 comeback album, his first release since ending his 15-year deal with Interscope Records.
Aesop Rock – Skelethon (Rhymesayers)
Vinyl pressing of the new album from hip-hop’s most abstract rapper. The follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2007 LP, None Shall Pass, Skelethon marks Aesop Rock’s first self-produced effort and is being called his darkest yet most accessible solo album to date. Features appearances from Kimya Dawson, Rob Sonic, DJ Big Wiz, Allyson Baker, and Hanni El Khatib.
Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back (ATO)
Vinyl pressing of the brand new album from Nashville’s acclaimed old-time string band.
Soul Asylum – Delayed Reaction (429 Records)
Veteran ‘90s grunge-pop band Soul Asylum (you remember their 1993 mega-hit “Runaway Train”) is back with its first album in six years. The band’s current line-up consists of original members Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy alongside bassist Tommy Stinson (ex-Replacements and Guns N’ Roses) and former Prince drummer Michael Bland.
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