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Percy Faith – Clair & Joy (1973-1972) [Reissue 2018]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 74:17 minutes | Scans included | 3,32 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,46 GB
2LP on 1SACD | Features Stereo and Multichannel Surround Sound | Label: Vocalion # CDLK 4614
70s magic from Percy Faith – two albums presented here in their quadrophonic mixes! Clair is a really wonderful album from Percy Faith – part of a handful of sweet 70s sides that really had him sounding a lot more groovy than before! The album almost has a 70s soundtrack vibe at times – with a mix of electric elements amidst the fuller orchestrations – all in a nicely compressed way that’s handled with the sort of production that must have made a record like this a real treat for the quadrophonic generation! There’s a bit of vocals at times – mostly wordless – and the tunes themselves really shape the grooviness of the album – with titles that include “Clair”, “Ben”, “Sweet Surrender”, “2001”, “I Can See Clearly Now”, “Summer Breeze”, and “Superfly”. Joy has the Percy Faith sound opening up in warm, mature modes for the 70s – still a fair bit of strings, but also maybe more of that careful couching of sound that could make 70s easy listening so different from the sound of a decade before! Some of the tunes here are a nice surprise – and include pop and soundtrack numbers that further take Percy into fresh territory – titles that include “Shaft”, “This Way Mary”, “Without You”, “Diamonds Are Forever”, “The Summer Knows”, “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, and “Gypsies Tramps & Thieves”.
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Percy Faith – Chinatown & Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet (2016)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 63:08 minutess | Scans included | 2,76 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,21 GB
Genre: Jazz, Easy Listening
Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the “easy listening” or “mood music” format. Faith became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Though best known for his recording career, Faith also occasionally scored motion pictures. This reissue compilation features 2 LP on 1 SACD – “Chinatown” (1974) & “Love Theme from “Romeo and Juliet” (1969).
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Murray Perahia – Bach: Goldberg Variations (2000)
Murray Perahia plays the Goldberg Variations of Johann Sebastian Bach, in a recording which has received much critical acclaim.
With all the fuss that is currently and justifiably being made about the late Glenn Gould’s two historically important readings of the Goldberg Variations—it was Gould who rescued the work from the museum—it is easy to forget that other pianists can breathe life into them. Since his recovery from a hand injury, Murray Perahia has been exploring Bach’s keyboard works, to critical and commercial acclaim. No, this set of 30 imaginative variations on the “Fundamental Bass” of the Aria that bookends them was not written for the piano, but Perahia’s delicacy of touch, subtle use of dynamic shadings, clarity of line in the canons and Fughetta, and effortless virtuosity demonstrate that the anachronistic instrument doesn’t have to overpower the music within the notes. The sound is close, with the sound of Perahia’s fingernails on the Steinway’s keys occasionally clatteringly clear, but the music is not the worse for it. The SACD, which appears to be mastered from a 24-bit original, sounds simply better. ~~ From 2003 Records to Die For at Stereophile
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Murray Perahia – Chopin: Etudes (2002)
Classical | SACD ISO: DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 00:55:56 | 2,24 GB
Label: Sony Classical | Release Year: 2002
In a field in which each season heralds the arrival of new “talents” who are soon forgotten, pianist Murray Perahia has remained a reliable and immensely gifted presence on the international scene for more than four decades, despite long breaks away from performing. Perahia studied with Jeanette Haien, from the age of five until well into his teens. In 1964 he entered the Mannes College of Music in New York, studying composition and conducting; though both endeavors remained secondary to his career as a pianist, the latter proved particularly useful when, decades later, Perahia conducted and recorded a complete cycle of Mozart’s piano concerti from the keyboard. Perahia pursued further piano studies with Artur Balsam and Mieczyslaw Horszowski. He also attended the Marlboro Festival in Vermont, collaborating with such artists as Rudolf Serkin, Pablo Casals, and the Budapest Quartet.
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Peder Af Ugglas – Beyond (2007)
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 53:56 minutes | Scans included | 2,9 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,08 GB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound | Opus3 # CD-22072
Peder af Ugglas is versatile Swedish guitarist/keyboardist/composer. He is mixed rock, jazz and various kinds of folk music…
Peder af Ugglas’ second SACD for the Opus 3 label, and we are treated to a dozen more of his mostly roots music influenced small group forays. Even with the presence of some electric instruments and the occasional B-3, there is still an acoustic music sound to the pieces. Peder af Ugglas – electric guitars & slide, acoustic guitar & slide, balalaika, keyboards, piano, B-3 organ, Fender Rhodes, pump organ, electric bass, percussion; Bj”rn Hamrin, harmonica; Matts Alsberg, bass; Mats Persson & Hendrik Wartel, drums & percussion; Stina Landmark, choir.
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Peder Af Ugglas – Autumn Shuffle (2004)
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:59 minutes | Scans included | 3,27 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,09 GB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound | Opus3 # CD-22042
Peder af Ugglas is versatile Swedish guitarist/keyboardist/composer. He is mixed rock, jazz and various kinds of folk music…
The opening bars remind us of Ry Cooder’s version of Dark End of the Street. Soon the melody undergoes a change, but with the same very rich and lyrical slide-tone, the same richly charged beauty. Peder af Ugglas moves equally tastefully between the various styles. He develops a blues-saturated tonal picture in Wino’s Dance, without a slide. With the electric slide, smartly used wah wah-pedal, and heavy organ-chords he performs a freely flowing blues in Central South. Ugglas moves freely between delta-blues and Gospel, occasionally spiced with New Orleans flavor. — Svenska Dagbladet
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Paul Bollenback – Double Vision (2000)
SACD ISO Stereo: 2,13 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 992 MB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Challenge Records # SACHR75030 | Country/Year: Netherlands 2000 | 3% Recovery Info
Genre: Jazz | Style: Guitar Jazz
Spurred on by the internationally acclaimed Joey DeFrancesco on Hammond organ & Jeff Tain Watts on drums, Bollenback shines on this outing with dazzling fretboard facility, a hard-driving sense of swing & exquisite phrasing on contemporary fare by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hootie & The Blowfish, & a few popular chesnuts by Earth, Wind & Fire & Stevie Wonder. The results are scintillating, soulful, & swinging. The disc contains high points from his Original Visions album of 1995, & from Double Gemini, the CD recorded 2 years later & likewise produced by Hein Van de Geyn.
There are 2 combinations, quartet & trio, both with Joey DeFranceso as the organ virtuoso. Striking original compositions, plus pieces from soul & pop repertoire.
Paul Weller – Studio 150 (2004)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 45:49 minutes | Scans included | 3,02 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 909 MB
Features 2.0 Stereo & 5.1 multichannel Surround sound
For Studio 150, his seventh solo studio album, Paul Weller delivers his first official covers album. Not that he’s been reluctant to cover other songwriters, of course. Throughout his career, he’s made covers a staple of his records and concerts. In fact, he cut so many as B-sides in the ’90s that his 2003 B-sides and rarities compilation Fly on the Wall had a whole disc devoted to material from other songwriters. Studio 150 feels like a sister album to that disc, and not just because it shares a similar sensibility and has songs by both Tim Hardin and Neil Young. Musically, Studio 150 sounds as if it could have been recorded in 1995 as the missing link between Stanley Road and Heavy Soul, containing the swinging mod vibe of the former with the tough, muscular punch of the latter. While it could be argued that Weller is treading water, or even retreating after the subtle shifts forward on Illumination, it’s almost a moot point since the band sounds terrific and he’s in fine voice. Plus, this is a covers album and innovation isn’t exactly expected on covers albums. What is expected is that the artist puts his own signature on songs from another writer, and Weller does that. True, as a whole Studio 150 doesn’t sound all that different from other records in his catalog, but he’s managed to find new spins on perennials like “Close to You” and “All Along the Watchtower,” interpretations that fit within his signature blend of ’70s soul, mod pop, and singer/songwriter introspection. Not surprisingly, the bulk of the album consists of songs from the late ’60s and ’70s, with selections from singer/songwriters like Tim Hardin, Gil Scott-Heron, Gordon Lightfoot, and Neil Young sitting comfortably next to relatively obscure soul and disco singles (with a previously unrecorded song from Weller disciple Noel Gallagher blending into the surroundings nicely). Some of these songs are familiar, but these arrangements are distinctly Weller’s own, and it makes for an effective listen — maybe not a major effort from the Modfather, but an enjoyable one all the same.
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Paul Stephenson – Mother Nature’s Rules (2018)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 49:49 minutes | Scans NOT included | 2,0 GB
or FLAC (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/48 kHz | Front, Scans NOT included | 595 MB
Stockfisch Records # SFR # 357.4082.2 | Genre: Pop, Folk, Acoustic
Paul Stephenson is not only a very delicate and refined guitar stylist but also a genuine poet. These songs bring to mind a time when Simon & Garfunkel songs received regular air-play on the radio. Lyrics remind us to appreciate the life we’ve been given be grateful for people in our lives. Intricate, finely crafted and sensitive to life’s mutability, the songs are performed with understated passion and tenderness.
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Paul Stephenson – Girl With A Mirror (2014)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 57:22 minutes | Scans included | 2,36 GB
or FLAC (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/48 kHz | Basic Scans included | 714 MB
Stockfisch Records # SFR # 357.4069.2 | Genre: Folk
A decade of life with all its peaks and troughs in roughly one nanosecond. Qantum physics? Sorcery? Not quite: You can always count on a man – Paul Stephenson! No, his new Album is NOT Light Green Ball – it’s GIRL WITH A MIRROR.
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Paul Revere and The Raiders – Hard ‘N’ Heavy & Indian Reservation (1969 & 1971) [Reissue 2019]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 69:06 minutes | Front, Scans NOT included | 3,25 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | 72:07m | Scans NOT included | 1,6 GB
2 LP on 1 SACD | Features Stereo and Quadrophonic Surround Sound | Vocalion # CDSML 8563
Paul Revere & the Raiders were hard-working American Rock & Roll band of the 1960s who gained plenty of hits but suffered in comparison with their flashier British counterparts. One of the most popular and entertaining rock groups of the 1960s, Paul Revere & the Raiders enjoyed seven years of serious chart action, and during their three biggest years (1966-1969), sold records in numbers behind only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This Dutton Vocalion’s reissue combines pair of the band’s albums – “Hard ‘n’ Heavy (with Marshmallow)” from 1969 and “Indian Reservation” from 1971, which features their first U.S. number one single (Indian Reservation).
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Paul Mauriat – Penelope & Holidays (1972/1973) [Reissue 2017]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 79:28 minutess | Scans included | 3,2 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,37 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound | Label: Vocalion # CDLK 4607
Two early 70s gems from French Easy Listening maestro Paul Mauriat – both from a time when he was at the height of his powers! “Penelope” has a sexy lady on the front cover, and a sound that definitely matches that mood too – although Mauriat also manages to bring up some funky strings at a few points too – maybe giving the music more of a special sort of soundtrack mix than some of his earlier records! The sound is bright, but never too polished. “Holidays” is a sweet set that serves up easy instrumental versions of European and American pop hits from the late 60s and early 70s – all done with that spacious blend of strings, piano, and electric bottom bass that always made Paul Mauriat one of the sexier, slinkier easy listening artists of his time!
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Paul Mauriat – En Espana & Michele (1975/1976) [Reissue 2019]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 78:46 minutess | Scans included | 1,25 GB
or FLAC 2.0 (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,75 GB
Vocalion’s Reissue of Paul Mauriat’s “En España” & “Michèle”. Both are remastered by Michael J. Dutton and expanded with some bonus tracks from “Mon Amour Je Viens Du Bout Du Monde/Lili Marlene” LP. This time in Stereo only.
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Paul Mauriat – Emmanuelle & Fantastic 4 Channel (1976+73) [Reissue 2020]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 73:53 minutes | Front/Rear Covers | 3,31 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front/Rear Covers | 2,95 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | F/R Covers | 1,57 GB
2 LP on 1 SACD | Features Stereo and Quadrophonic Surround Sound | Vocalion # CDLK 4634
Two slinky 70s classics from French maestro Paul Mauriat – still doing great at this point in his career. Emmanuelle is a record that has Mauriat taking on the lead theme of the 70s erotic film at the start – then moving into a whole host of 70s covers, too – all done with Mauriat’s trademark sense of timing alongside swirling strings – a bit of bass at the bottom, some well-paced arrangements on the top – occasionally nodding to a bit of the disco of the generation, but never too much overall. Titles include “Emmanuelle”, “Angie Baby”, “Mandy”, “Oumparere”, “Have You Never Been Mellow”, and “Rock The Boat”. Fantastic 4 Channel is a record that Paul Mauriat created for the Quad generation – and as such, it’s got a very nice mix of tracks from previous recordings, but recast for the four-speaker mode – which means even more dynamic sound than before! Titles include “Anonimo Veneziano”, “Colombe Ivre”, “Un Banc Un Abre Un Rue”, “L’Amerique”, “Tombe La Negie”, and “Love Story”.
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