One of our favourite voices, Jazz in abundance and pure red-hot Atlanta Soul.
Light In The Attic set us off on the front foot this week with an absolutely essential reissue of Karen Dalton’s all-time iconic debut LP, It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best. This world-weary 1969 debut was such an amazing introduction to her voice, totally inimitable and full of heart-break. Her visceral interpretations of folk and blues classics are as otherworldly now as they were then.
“My favourite singer in the place was Karen Dalton. She had a voice like Billie Holiday’s and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed.” – Bob Dylan
+ This new re-release serves as the definitive, all-analog version of Dalton’s stunning debut, featuring remastered audio from the original Capitol masters, the original 1969 artwork in an expanded gatefold jacket, unseen photos by album photographer Joel Brodsky, and an essay interviewing Karen’s friends and music collaborators, from album producer and bassist Harvey Brooks to musician Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders.
Numero Group turn their esteemed gaze to Atlanta’s The Tragar & Note Labels as part of the Eccentric Soul series. Thirty-four absolute scorchers across R&B, soul, and funk from 1968-1976. This new edition is a fifteenth anniversary reissue of the original release and also marks its vinyl debut. All hits, nothing misses.
+ Available on ‘Hotlanta’ Orange Marble colour vinyl.
Two great titles under Blue Note’s Tone Poet series this week, with Jackie McLean’s Action, and fellow saxophonist Booker Ervin’s Tex Book Tenor. Action is pretty bop, with some wild left turns and Bobby Hutcherson gives it some floaty vibes. Tex Book Tenor was recorded in the late sixties but not released as a standalone title until 2005. Both are stereo editions and were produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.
Another double, with Craft adding two titles to the excellent Original Jazz Classics series. Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans’ collaborative Know What I Mean? is really sublime stuff. Caravan is a really roasting set from Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers with a pretty lightning band to include Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter and Reggie Workman.
Both are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analogue mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and presented in a Tip-On Jacket. US Import.
Lastly for the jazz set, ECM reissue Luminessence, an absolute peak collaboration from Keith Jarrett & Jan Garbarek. It plays out like a mysterious film score, rich in drama and tension. The technicality is dazzling, but it’s the way they interact with such fluidity that really blows your lid.
Fiction have put out a 10th Anniversary Edition of Nick Mulvey’s contemplative solo debut LP, First Mind. It’s a double pressing on clear vinyl.
Lastly for today’s reissues, we have a sumptuous one via Italians Do It Better with Escape from Desire. A rich and oozing set of retro-futuristic bangers from the electro-trio. It was announced sometime around 2020, released in 2022 but we are rejoicing now in 2024 with a very handsome 2LP pressing (on Red/Black split vinyl). They really do create quite the atmosphere.