Stealers Wheel audiophile LPs coming out!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by bhazen, Aug 12, 2015.

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  1. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus Thread Starter

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    I'm not a vinyl guy, but wanted to direct your attention to Michael Fremer's essay in Analog Planet on the new Kevin Gray-mastered versions (on Intervention Records) of Stealers Wheel and Ferguslie Park. Regardless of format, fans of "white album"-era Beatles (and others) who've maybe only heard the great Dylan wink "Stuck In The Middle" need to hear this excellent pair of LPs ... "Over My Head" stands shoulder-to-shoulder with "#9 Dream" ...
     
  2. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Not out until November. Loved Gerry Rafferty's music so will be looking out for these.
     
    bhazen likes this.
  3. Emilio

    Emilio Senior Member

    Joe Egan also wrote and sang some great songs, like "Star".
     
    vonwegen, BeSteVenn, zobalob and 2 others like this.
  4. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer

    Just don't listen to it with Mr. Blond.:D
     
  5. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus Thread Starter

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    Word!

    A lot of folks probably assume the Wheel was largely Gerry's show. I think Joe was at least equal, possibly dominant, in the writing department, and sang lead on more of the tracks. (Not certain of this.)
     
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  6. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus Thread Starter

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    As in Blond On Blond?
     
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  7. Emilio

    Emilio Senior Member

    I never understood why Joe wasn't as successful as a solo artist. I remember his solo hit "Back on the Road" and I know he released at least one solo album.
     
    RickH likes this.
  8. royzak2000

    royzak2000 Senior Member

    Location:
    London,England
  9. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus Thread Starter

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    Thanks. Title fixed
     
  10. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    The A&M originals aren't hard to find or expensive... And they sound good... For those looking to save some cash...
     
  11. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Very interesting the things they are reissuing. Would love to hear how titles are decided. Never knew these guys were that popular. I only knew of their one hit Stuck In the Middle. And of course I was very aware of Gerry's solo album.
     
  12. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer

    As in the scene from Reservoir Dogs with "Stuck in the Middle With You" playing.
     
  13. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    A&M vinyl was great during that period, most stuff sounded terrific until Supertramp's Crime of the Century, 1974ish....then the quality nosedived until the late 80's and then it was top flight again.
     
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  14. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    These records are being touted as 100% analog, GOOD!

    100% Analog Mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
     
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  15. Phil Tate

    Phil Tate Miss you Indy x

    Location:
    South Shields
    I've got his 1979 album Out Of Nowhere and it's not bad at all - found it in a Music & Video Exchange in the 90s for 10 pence!

    I was lucky enough to see Gerry Rafferty in Edinburgh in about 1993, a great show.
     
    bhazen likes this.
  16. IR Shane

    IR Shane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Puget Sound, WA
    Hello- I'm Shane Buettner, owner/operator at Intervention Records. I think you just summed up why I chose to reissue these titles as part of my (Re)Discover Series wonderfully! Gerry Rafferty was a GREAT singer/songwriter, and I've loved his music since Baker Street. When I heard "Stuck in the Middle" in Reservoir Dogs in 1992 I found out Gerry was in Stealers Wheel I got into their music and I've loved the band ever since. City to City notwithstanding, I think Gerry's work with Joe Egan on his first solo record, and in Stealers Wheel might be his high-water mark as an artist. But more than anything, I think fans of Gerry and rock n' roll in general ought to know that Stealers Wheel made two great records, not just a single great song!

    Regarding the sound, they are 100% analog, and the tapes we got are phenomenal. For Stealers Wheel 1, I used a UK Porky/Pecko cut as a qualitative reference, and I'm very proud of what we've done. Our bass is much better in terms of texture and weight, and we've exceeded the imaging and inner detail of the Porky/Pecko. We also captured the beauty of Rafferty and Egan's harmonies in superior fashion.

    On Ferguslie, I referenced a UK Sterling/RL cut (the US cut was Sterling/RL also), and in mastering we were very surprised to find during mastering that a very noticeable amount of dynamic compression/limiting was applied. In trying to level match it was quite obvious that the quiet passages the UK LP was louder and more up front, but when the music got busy things congealed and dropped way down in level. We have not applied any dynamic compression to any of IR's titles. In the case of Ferguslie, you can hear for the first time Phil Brown's amazing engineering, and all those musical details smeared by the limiting in the original. The soundstage is larger on the IR cut and the imaging and inner detail is miles ahead. You will be stunned at how accomplished the engineering and production of this LP really is!

    The jackets will be "old style" deluxe, printed on heavy stock and film-laminated by Stoughton, with wonderfully restored John Patrick artwork. In the case of Ferguslie we've reprinted the outrageously cool John Patrick inner sleeve art as the interior of a single-pocket gatefold.

    These are archive-quality releases all the way.
     
  17. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus Thread Starter

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    <bump>
     
  18. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus Thread Starter

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    Very cool! Thank you Shane, for the detailed info!!

    Maybe I should get a turntable ... :hide::D
     
    911s55 likes this.
  19. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    It's time.:p
     
  20. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Hi Shane,

    Welcome to SH Music Forum!

    Thank You, Thank You, for specific information about the mastering used for these titles. Kevin Gray is one of the best, so you made a good choice there.
    I will be buy both of these titles and will be looking for more from your Re-Discover series.
     
  21. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus Thread Starter

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    I'm buying both LPs, just to have the artwork!
     
  22. Phil Tate

    Phil Tate Miss you Indy x

    Location:
    South Shields
    Thanks for the info Shane, these sound great and I'd definitely be buying them if I didn't have the originals. However...
    ...they actually made three great albums!
     
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  23. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Good to hear. Great band.
     
  24. peteham

    peteham Senior Member

    Location:
    Simcoe County
    Not in my part of the world. Plus, if time is an hourly wage, I'm ahead just buying these.
     
  25. IR Shane

    IR Shane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Puget Sound, WA
    I would be remiss to not point this out- looking for both titles for many years in records stores I've only found one original US pressing of Stealers Wheel 1, and never seen Ferguslie. While Discogs makes that easier, the original Porky/Pecko UK of Stealers 1 is NOT easy to find, and find in excellent condition. And by the time you had it shipped to the US from overseas you'd probably be in the price neighborhood of my reissues.
     
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