The Gil-Scott Heron remasters - particularly Pieces Of A Man Little Richard compilation from the 80s All their Country Joe & The Fish releases Lonnie Liston Smith releases amongst many others
Here is the result of my dynamic range test with the 2003 version: Album details - Dynamic Range Database
I believe that must be on the Golden Age VA series as well, because I certainly have it somewhere in my collection.
I must say, I'm not seeing as many Ace new releases that interest me these days. Sign of my age I guess Also, I think their site has become less friendly since the redesign a couple of years ago.
I love their reissue of the first 2 Newbeats albums (Bread and Butter and The Big Beat Sound) on one CD. Delightful stuff!
A great collection indeed. They earned the title of "Kings of Swamp Pop". Over the course of 30 tracks, things are kept fresh by the assortment of lead vocalists.
I'm actually fond of the redesign, but it took some getting used to. Have to agree about the upcoming releases though. I think part of the issue is that half of their new products are part of ongoing series which will quickly take up half the space in one's house if you try to keep up with them.
Live In Texas 1965 This out-of-print George Jones live set is getting reissued, apparently with improved sound.
Dang, I just tracked down a copy of the previous release a year or two ago. Guess the inevitable double-dip will be cushioned a bit by this one being in mono. What a great performance, and one that has a particular meaning for me as I grew up within a couple of miles of the venue in which it was recorded.
Make Mine Mondo! Interesting collection of late-50's boppers, early-60's instros, and mid/late-60's rockers from the Doré label. I love all three of those styles, but not sure how I feel about seeing titles like "Rock That Boogie" and "Haight In Haight-Ashbury Street" on the same CD.
Just listening to this. Sounds pretty great (never heard it before). At least on par with the Tubb recording from the same year (which is an all time classic recording, as I've said before. The 2 disc version is mandatory for country fans).
All of the Ace/Big Beat 'Nuggets from The Golden State' series of cd's. All are my favorite. Would make one heck of a box set if you lumped them all together and added extras.
My copy came today as well, haven't listened to it yet though. That Ernest Tubb Live 1965 looks pretty good, but both editions are very scarce.
The Golden Age Of American Popular Music, Hits With Strings And Things - Featuring absolutely stellar instrumental classics from the 1950's to the late 1960's like Percy Faith's Theme From A Summer Place and Paul Mauriat's Love Is Blue in fantastic remastered sound by Duncan Cowell. The best instrumental compilation I have ever come across sound wise and the song selection choices are versatile and fantastic. Too Many Teardrops: The Complete Groove And RCA Recordings - Charlie Rich - This amazing collection of the Silver Fox's RCA period has never been released in full on CD and this singer remains one of the greatest and most underestimated voices of the 20th Century. Los Angeles Times music critic Robert Hilburn said "Rich's versatile voice could only be matched by an Elvis Presley or a Ray Charles" and Sun Records' producer Sam Phillips said Rich was the only man to have the talent to equal or surpass Elvis Presley's. The two CD collection features several number one country songs that would cross over to the pop charts years after they were recorded, once Rich finally broke through in the public domain with his historic country politician album, Behind Closed Doors. These hit singles include There Won't Be Anymore, I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore and She Called Me Baby among many other country and jazz standards mixed in with Charlie Rich originals.
I reported elsewhere my disappointment in the Spanish BEAT GIRLS cd from last year. Like the music, but the volume setting by the mastering engineer is about half (?) that of the disks of French and Italian Girl Singers collections. Yet it is the same guy who did some of them. (I had wanted to put all the tracks on a music thumb drive for use in the car, but the Spanish tracks don't make the grade.) Sent a message about it to Ace on their site access port, but as per other occasions, no response
Yes . And as with most ( if not all ) of the cd's on Ace/Big Beat quality seems to be their number one concern. Original tapes are used on most of the cd's . The liners are expertly written and informative , usually by Jud Cost or Alex Palao ( Anybody remember the magazine Cream Puff War ?). And a healthy dose of unreleased tracks are usually added. You just cant beat Ace / Big Beat for 60's comps.
Never hear anyone here talking about the Mod Jazz series. I have most of them, and see that there is finally an addition to the series coming up. Mod Jazz Rides Again
Title: At His Finest-The Specialty Rock'n'Roll Years Label: Ace Country: UK Date: 6 Sep 2004 Recorded: 1957-1960 Catalogue: CDCH2 1021 Barcode: 029667003124 Format: Double CD Essential.
My favorite series of releases from Ace are the three volumes of Phil Spectre soundalikes. Each disc is loaded with classic Wall of Sound-type productions.
I'll cast a vote for "The London American Label Year By Year" series. I just got the 1966 disc today, shipped from Amazon at a very nice price ($16.47 US). The liner notes are nice. The track selection is a mix of big hits and records I've never heard of at all. I'm very pleased with the sound quality, and for me, these are the tracks that really stand out. Five O'Clock World - The Vogues - no other mastering I've heard of the mono single mix comes close to sounding as good as this one does. Cast Your Fate To The Wind - Shelby Flint - I don't recall ever having heard this record before, ever. I love it. Open The Door To Your Heart - Darrell Banks - This is a staple of the Northern Soul circuit. I've long wanted a copy of this to add to my collection. Don't Touch Me - Jeannie Seely - I don't think I've heard this in decades. My mom had the original 45 and it's great to have this added to my collection. The Pain Gets A Little Deeper - Darrow Fletcher - This was cut when the singer was just 14 years old. Crazy good record. Bird-Doggin' - Gene Vincent - A record that should have been a hit. Vincent, of course, cut this for the Challenge label, along with several other fine tracks. Cherish - The Association - Best sounding mastering of this great 45 I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. I Can Hear Music - The Ronettes - If I had to pick just one record from 1966 that captures the essence of youth, this would be that record. Mr. Dieingly Sad - The Critters - This nice clean mastering replaces a badly beat up vinyl copy I've had for years. River Deep - Mountain High - Ike & Tina Turner - We all know the story behind this one, right? Great record that saw almost no chart action or air play. Adding insult to injury, as it were, vastly inferior versions of the song had more success later on. So, I'm very happy with the 1966 disc, happy enough to have just ordered the one for 1964. I'll probably be picking up the other releases in the series over the next few weeks or so.
My absolute favorite Ace compilation is The Jack Nitzsche Story: Hearing is Believing. It's fantastically sequenced and covers most of the producer's career in fine sound quality. I only wish it was longer than a single CD.
I'm hoping for more of the British Beat Girl series they are doing and that Jon Savage puts together a 1964 or 1968 compilation, preferably both.
