Album Reviews

Instead of re-issuing this yet again, some folks argue that Analogue Productions should reissue newer albums. They are tired of hearing again what they already have. What they forget is that the last reissue of this classic was many years ago. Sorry, but time flies, especially as you get older. And guess what else? That issue by Classic Records is long out of print as is the one Mobile Fidelity first issued around twenty years ago when the label decided to re-enter the vinyl market and press its own records in Sebastopol.

It's easy to make a case for buying this double mono LP reissue of a 1956 Columbia release—unless you're not a jazz fan.

No, this is not up there with After School Session or Berry is on Top but this Chuck Berry album, his first after being released from prison for having violated the Mann Act (transporting minors across state lines to have sex) and issued as Beatlemania swept the world, has plenty of hits along with a lot of filler.

Elton John's second album was his first in America and it immediately established him as both a major talent and a star, even if it took a few more albums for him to achieve superstar status.  Empty Sky the first album issued in the UK showed the talent but it was only a showcase.

Alto sax bop legend Art Pepper (1925-1982) had accrued a lot of mileage but few OnePass points when he blew into London with his trio in June of 1980 to play a fortnight gig at the famous Ronnie Scott’s Club.

Anyone who thinks exploitation/commercialization is a recent development wasn’t around in the aftermath of George Harrison’s discovery of Indian music and his use of a sitar on “Norwegian Wood.”

(Note: this review originally stated that the lacquer cut was from the 3 track master. That was incorrect. The master here was the two track original that hadn't been used since 1980. While the tape had some dropout and other issues, mastering engineer George Marino determined it still sounded superior to any of the copies used for subsequent reissues.)