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Carlo Lo Raso
Like more than a few of my favorite musical artists, I discovered them through more recent recordings and then worked my way backward. And so it is with Al Di Meola. I got hooked on Al’s music with his 1991 album “Kiss My Axe” and soon after started going through his back catalog. As a Latin-Jazz-Fusion album Elegant Gypsy (originally released on Columbia) certainly has more of the sound signature of the late 70s music scene as opposed to my more familiar 80s or 90s sensibilities, but it is by no means kitsch or heaven forbid “Disco Al”. It is a deeply skilled production, weaving acoustic, electric, and synthesized sounds into a cohesive and expansive result. There are hints of Frank Zappa, Chick Corea, and Return to Forever running all through this music but Al seems to have distilled it all into a more approachable and appealing result.
Jan Hammer’s electric piano and mini-Moog influence is heavily felt on the opening track “Flight Over Rio.” DI Meola’s electric guitar provides an excellent high-speed foil for Hammer’s synth work, with Steve Gadd keeping superb timing on the drum kit and expertly driving these two onward. The whole track sounds expansive but the mix still keeps the principles tightly defined in space. “Midnight Tango” is a slightly slower-paced and more melodic affair. I particularly like Anthony Jackson’s tight grooving bass lines and how Mingo Lewis on congas extends outside the bounds of my speakers (along with the castanets) while Di Meola’s electric guitar is properly centered and detailed. “Mediterranean Sundance” is a beautiful dual acoustic guitar masterpiece that simply has Spanish guitar virtuoso, the late Paco De Lucia on the left and Al collaborating (and sparring) on the right. It is a masterful composition with both guitars weaving in and around each other at a dizzying pace. This IMPEX pressing sonically does this stripped- down piece more than a little justice. With a perfectly quiet background, I could turn this track up and be totally immersed in the performance enjoying every nuance as the music moved back and forth between the two players.
“Race With Devil on Spanish Highway” is a favorite track and this IMPEX pressing is one of the best versions I’ve heard, analog or digital. Warm, Dynamic, and with great instrument separation. Listening on the VPE Electrodynamic Airfoil loudspeakers I had in my system at the time, this track sounded nicely expansive too. “Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil” is a lovely gentle acoustic guitar piece with only Al performing on a few different layered guitar parts. “Elegant Gypsy Suite” is a fantastic 9-minute closer that brings back Jan Hammer and Steve Gadd to support Al Di Meola’s multiple layered electric and acoustic guitar parts. This track is an adventurous trip with multiple tempo changes and musical shades, but it never loses sight of both the mysterious Latin- esque groove and the melody.
Originally mastered by Bob Ludwig, the new analog master of this release was done by Bernie Grundman who also cut the lacquers at his namesake studios. Pressed by RTI on 180-gram vinyl, this LP is essentially flawless. Completely flat with nary a hint of surface noise and not a single pop to obstruct the music. As expected of an IMPEX release, the album jacket and liner notes insert are beautifully printed and on heavy stock.
If you are an Al Di Meola fan and have a love for vinyl, this one is worth seriously looking at. BTW IMPEX, can you see if Al will let you remaster Kiss My Axe? Pretty Please!
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Originally released in 1966 on the Vanguard label, the first thing that struck me about this new pressing of Mississippi John Hurt’s (MJP) seminal album, “Today!” is the amazing quality of the original recording. This Craft Recordings re-release, under the Bluesville imprint, brings that initial quality to the fore in a most stellar fashion. Intimate, clear, and alive, it bests the quality of plenty of recent vintage recordings I’ve encountered. While the music here is unquestionably Blues, it crosses the line into Folk which brings a completely different feel to this album. With just his vocals and his acoustic guitar, Hurt’s music and words throughout this LP are relayed with a subtlety and sweetness that makes him more of a learned storyteller than a bawdy blues singer.
“Make Me a Pallet on the Floor” and “Corrinna, Corrinna” are familiar old blues standards given a different treatment through Hurt’s deft raconteur retelling. “Coffee Blues,” besides being an unsolicited ad for Maxwell-House Coffee (Good to the Last Drop and all that), was also an ode to the supposed woman who left him, who would brew him that delicious cup. Along with all the very innocently delivered sexual undertones of that relationship. Throughout the album, MJP’s unassuming, and almost soothing vocal delivery contrasts with the tales he spins of real loss, woe, trials, and tribulations. He literally packages his songs into that “Loving Spoonful” that he coins. The original staff at Vanguard really captured his vocal range and qualities along with the timber and atmosphere of his acoustic guitar in spades.
It’s only fitting then that Craft Recordings treated this LP with the respect it deserves, giving it a full analog remaster from the original tapes. The Lacquers were cut by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab at Blue Heaven Studios and ultimately pressed (in conjunction with Acoustic Sounds) on the 180-gram vinyl slab I have before me. The pressing is flat, silent, and pop-free. Exactly what you would hope for in a premium LP. This would be a welcome addition to any serious blues fan’s collection.
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“Holy Moly! This was recorded in 1974?!” That was the first thing that came out of my mouth when the needle of my cartridge first met the 45 RPM musical grooves of “It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!” The transfer and mastering job done on these previously unreleased music tracks and cues from the classic television special is quite simply phenomenal. Vince Guaraldi’s piano (whether traditional or electronic) has fantastic clarity to the notes with great body and weight in the lower registers. The bass lines are deep, tight and almost drip with 70s funk. The drum cymbals have that perfect metallic sheen to their sound that grounds them in reality. Some of my favorite tracks are the various iterations of “Woodstock’s Dream” with its infectiously mellow, almost Joe Cool type of groove. Its soundstage extended, enviously wide, well beyond my speaker’s boundaries. The other favorite is “Snoopy and Woodstock” with its unabashedly funkified melody that reflects the relationship between these two beloved characters. The fluid and jazzy “Easter Egg Soup (Kitchen Music)” is a delightful toe-tapping, head-bobbing stretch of music that made me wish it was a longer jam, just to hear where these cats might take it. Hearing Guaraldi play the electric harpsichord on the Beethoven “Symphony No.7 in A Major” cue was a delightful detail I never would have picked up when watching the original special back in the day. Side B features a bonus track called “Woodstock Medley.” It is something of a tribute, recorded in 2021 with David Benoit on piano, and original bassist Seward McCain, along with Mike Clark on drums. Recorded in the same studio (Originally Wally Heider Studios In San Francisco) as these original Easter Beagle tracks, it perfectly fits into the overall theme and feel of the original music. As a testament to the quality of the original recordings and new mastering, everything, old and new, sounds identical and uniformly excellent in quality.
For this pressing the original 2-inch 16-track master tapes were transferred to 24-bit 192 kHz digital from which the lacquers were cut. The album itself is pressed on 180-gram Black BioVinyl with a speed of 45 RPM. The review sample was noise-free and essentially flawless. A limited edition of 2000 purple BioVinyl copies will be available for the upcoming Record Store Day from independent record shops along with a limited 10- inch colored egg-shaped pressing with a selection of tracks from the full LP.
I must say that it has been a true joy to get to experience Vince Guaraldi’s original Peanuts music being rediscovered and released, much of it for the first time. It is obviously being treated with care and consideration by those involved, which is a boon for us as listeners. Not only because some of us may have a sentimental attachment to this music, but also because we are finally and properly able to appreciate the skill and craft involved in its making. It seems Vince Guaraldi is finally getting his due.