New Grooves
This month we’re catching up on a few new arrivals.
Genesis: Genesis (Analogue Productions 45 RPM)
Honestly I would have preferred Invisible Touch (yeah, I know, I know…don’t judge) over this self-titled Genesis album, but I thought I’d get this 45 RPM version as I’d found it on sale at a good discount. It’s still not a favorite out of their catalog but has some things I like. “Mama” is the showstopper on the album yet like all other versions, it’s lacking bass. But it’s still my favorite track on the record, and one of my favorite late-era Genesis songs. I could do without “That’s All,” “Illegal Alien” and “Just a Job to Do,” to be honest, but the rest of the songs are ones I’ve liked since I first found the import CD version when the album first came out (as there still wasn’t a simultaneous CD release in the US at that point).
How does this compare to the original vinyl copy? The original has a little more life to it, but the 45 RPM tames some of the grating brightness throughout the album, making it more listenable than the early CD version I own. And of course, a little more clarity than the 33⅓ RPM Atlantic pressing from its original run on vinyl.
I’m looking forward to hearing Duke, which will finally get a 45 RPM release in the coming months.
Cal Tjader: The Prophet (Verve Vault Series)
Big Tjader fan that I am, I try to support the labels when they reissue his records on vinyl. This latest reissue is a Verve Vault series title, and while my clean original pressing sounds really good, this one sounds just that little bit clearer and cleaner, with quieter vinyl. The Prophet was his final Verve album and features the great composer and pianist João Donato, with three of Donato’s songs (“Warm Song,” “Aquarius,” and “Temo Teimoso”), four penned by Tjader, and a cover of “A Time for Love.” With the organ and slightly Esquivel-esque female vocal accompaniment, it’s definitely a recording of its time, but I’ve come to enjoy it as a favorite in Tjader’s Verve catalog.
Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery: Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo (Verve Vault Series)
This version of Dynamic Duo is a winner – it eclipses the two CD versions that I own. Oliver Nelson’s charts sound much more alive and present in this remastering, and they are a perfect backdrop for Wes and Jimmy. Nelson is at the top of his arranging game here (“Down by the Riverside” and “Night Train” are gems), and Jimmy and Wes are perfect as a complementary duo with Smith’s lively organ and Montgomery’s more laid back soloing. Grady Tate rounds out the rhythm section, and conguero Ray Barretto sits in for a few tracks as well. Don’t forget sleigh bells, which decorate “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
The only thing that could make this better would be a reissue of Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, which contains six more songs from the same September 1966 sessions. One of those being “O.G.D.,” later known as “Road Song” (as it was titled on Wes’s final album on CTI). It is not quite as energetic, but the relaxed groove is a treat for these songs.
Antonio Carlos Jobim: The Composer of Desafinado, Plays (Verve Vault Series)
The final Verve Vault release I picked up recently was this title from the great Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. I’ve had this on a couple of digital versions, and because it had a slightly forward sound to it, I used to call it “the rimshot album” since the rim clicks (as they are properly called) stood out from the music. Ryan Smith (Sterling Sound) remastered this and the other Verve Vault titles above and I’m not sure what secret sauce he used for this record, but the rim clicks have receded a little while the rest of the music does not sound dulled at all. The record has a nicely balanced sound now, which I appreciate.
Music-wise, all are well-known Jobim songs, presented here in roughly three-minute versions with strings. (The entire album, all 12 songs of it, clocks in at 35 minutes.) The strings were arranged by Claus Ogerman and, as you’d expect with a 1960s Verve recording, it was produced by Creed Taylor. Jobim plays piano and guitar, and adds an occasional vocal – this is primarily an instrumental record.
Old Grooves
Over 20 years ago, a friend on a music forum (who owns a recording studio) sent me his needle drop of the 1970 Regal (EMI) Starline Dave Clark Five compilation, The Best of The Dave Clark Five. He had a really good turntable setup, and the resulting CD-R sounded excellent. A couple years later, I found my own copy locally.
The notable thing about this release is that it features all true stereo versions of these songs. The DC5’s earlier LPs on Epic (in the US) up until 1967 were all released as mono, and as “rechanneled” stereo, which of course sounded miserable. The Starline LP also has a punchy, up-front sound that begs to be played at a decent volume.
The only other release in the DC5 catalog with true stereo mixes (that I know of) is the 2-LP Epic release Dave Clark Five, pictured below.
I had intended to find one of these ever since finding the Starline LP, and finally lucked into a really nice copy just a few weeks ago. The previous owner mentioned a few minor clicks and ticks on side four but, with the SugarCube noise reduction unit, they were eliminated and the 2-LP set plays like new. No wear, very low surface noise…and the DC5 in true stereo. Comparing track to track, the sound of this set is slightly smoother than the punchy Starline release. So, perhaps not quite as exciting.
Doing a bit of searching, any digital-era DC5 release has been in monaural. The recent high-res versions (remastered in 2019) are monaural up through 1967, when the albums seem to have a mix of stereo and monaural tracks. There are a couple of unofficial (pirated) CD sets containing the “true stereo” versions of the early hits that I suspect are probably needle drops of these two LPs.
So that still leaves the two vinyl releases as the only true original stereo mixes released of DC5’s early catalog. Is it worth buying both sets? Yes, as there are only five songs that overlap out of 34 total tracks. If I had to choose only one, though, the Starline would be my pick, as the song selection in my opinion seems to be the stronger of the two sets. But both sets together provide a great overview of the Dave Clark Five.
For the younger readers who are not familiar with the band, the Dave Clark Five was part of the first British Invasion, appearing just after The Beatles broke big around the world. Their hit “Glad All Over,” in fact, knocked “I Want to Hold Your Hand” out of the top spot on the British singles chart. They placed 17 singles in the Billboard Top 40 between 1964 and 1967 and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show more times than any other British act.
Drummer Dave Clark led, produced, and managed the band, while the vocals were usually by Mike Smith. What distinguished the DC5 from other bands was a drum-forward, often “stomping” sound (check out “Bits and Pieces” and “Catch Us If You Can”) that stood out from their contemporaries on the charts. “Because” is one of their most beloved singles. While the hits in the earlier days were penned by Clark and Smith, who had an ear for pop melodies and harmonies, their popularity (and arguably their creativity) waned by 1967, and by 1970 the group disbanded. But in their prime, they were one hell of an entertaining band that many music fans overlook in favor of their more popular contemporaries.
That wraps up this month’s Vinyl Beat. We’ll check back in on Labor Day (in the US) to see what’s spinning on the record player at Casa Rudy.
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