Guitar trio al di meola/ john mclaughlin/ paco de lucia:Saturday night in San Francisco planned 2021

For a long time I've wanted more from those shows. I'm happy to hear about this release and I'll take it with both hands. RIP Mr De Lucía.

 

There's a new announcement on Al's FB page. Looks like it will be released in summer 2022.

 

Looks like a nicely-pressed and finely mastered cash-grab; just like it’s predecessor a single 33 rpm lp (cd and sacd with the same tracklisting):

1. Bill Graham Introduction
2. Splendido Sundance
3. One Word
4. Trilogy Suite
5. Monasterio de Sal
6. El Pañuelo
7. Meeting of the Spirits

6 tracks, about 45 minutes of music…
I think it has some solo spots by De Lucia (5 and 6) and I don’t know ‘One Word’; a McLaughlin solo-spot?
And despite the short runtime and the not very inspired cover-art I’ll buy it!

 

Given the length of time until a release date, I’ll probably wait to pick my spot for pre-ordering. But for those interested, I see it listed here:

Di Meola McLaughlin De Lucia-Saturday Night In San Francisco-Hybrid Stereo SACD|Acoustic Sounds

 

Here is, I understand it, the whole concert; pro -shot, almost 2 1/12 hours of music....They could have easily made a boxed set....

 

I bet they do at some point down the road.

 

I saw this show at The Country Club in Reseda CA. Watched the whole show with my chin resting on the stage.
They announced before the show it was being recorded. Love to hear that show again.

 

This is well worth a watch and they do touch on the Saturday Night album that is forthcoming.

 

In parallel with the long awaited release notification from Impex, it shall be noted that here in Europe, earMUSIC (a label of Edel Music & Entertainment GmbH) announced the release of this same album for the 22nd of July 2022. It is now available for preorder for about half the price of the imported Impex version.

While Al Di Meola wrote on his FB page 1,5 years ago that the vinyl will be released both on Impex-Sony label in the US and on earMUSIC in Europe, I currently cannot find any information about the source earMUSIC used for this release, nor any information on the record plant (probably a European plant).

While I know that Impex/RTI releases are of very good quality, if earMUSIC really got the lacquer cut by Bernie Grundman, it might be a headache for European vinyl collectors to decide on which version to preorder. It is a headache for me, at least

Is anyone aware on this forum about the source/pressing plant used by earMUSIC?

 

I think the source material will be the same. The Impez will be a limited release, I think.

 

That would be great! An AAA LP cut from tapes by Bernie Grundman for 27 € (pre-order price seen on major European retailers' shops) would be a decent deal.
Of course, jacket, maybe record weight might be inferior to Impex/RTI's high standards.
I do not own any release issued under the earMUSIC classics label, I will try to search online for customer's feedbacks.

 

I was fortunate to have seen the Mahavishnu Orchestra in concert in Montreal back in 1973 as well as McLaughlin, Di Meola and Di Lucia here in Toronto in 1983 - incredible musicianship all around!

 

After watching the video’s on the Impex website and reading aditional info there, I happen to think they mixed from digital to analog tape. There’s no AAA claim, which might be another indication. Looking forward to this release on vinyl anyhow. The Audio Fidelity Passion, Grace & Fire sounds great and is digital sourced (too?).

 

Thanks for drawing our attention to this.
I just found that a making-of documentary film will be released the same day as the Impex LP will be out, with some preview extracts already published on Impex's FB page, one is with Bernie G. and Impex executives during the lacquer cut.
Is this extract that made you presume that Bernie made his mastering job on digital files, or the 2-track analog tape that he was given from the mixers?
For sure, the description is odd enough to leave room for interpretation.
They say the album was "assembled" by using the original 16-track analog tapes. I presume that includes the 16-track to 2-track stereo mix (done by engineers Katsu Naito & Roy Hendrickson, with Al Di Meola's contribution). That was maybe done after digitalization?
They also say that Bernie made his mastering from analog tapes (and not the "original" tapes)
Anyway...
Although I have the 33,3 Impex edition of Friday Night In SF in my collection, I have pre-ordered this Saturday Night, but the much cheaper European version (standard black) only...

 

Just opened my copy, but the information already appeared in other threads as well:
Well no, the source for the EU pressing was absolutely not the lacquer cut by Bernie G., this latter is I guess exclusive to Impex.
The EU pressing was manufactured by Optimal, mastered by Thorsten Wyk and cut by Heino Leja. Both gentlemen seems to work at Sector5 Studios (Audio Mastering Studio Sector5) Optimal's inhouse mastering facility.

So this EU pressing is most probably cut from digital, but contains a 7th track, "Orpheo Negro", while the Impex LP contains 6 tracks only (not including the half-minute intro at the beginning of the record, which is a separate track).
I've read somewhere that keeping shorter was decided in order to preserve the highest playback quality of the LP. Side B is roughly 21,5 minutes on the Impex, roughly 25,5 minutes on the EU pressing, which is indeed too much. Recommended maximum is 24 minutes (source: Kevin Gray's Cohearant Audio website)
Oddly, Impex's SACD contains indeed a 7th track, but that one is called "Soniquete".

 

Clarification about the strong difference between the EU (earMUSIC) and the Impex versions, directly from Chuck Granata, co-producer of the Impex version: Di Meola / McLaughlin / De Lucia - Saturday Night in San Francisco

 

Is the Impex from an analogue source or digital too?

 

Damn. I just send the Impex back to JPC, as I had forgotten to cancel my pre-order.

If the impex is a direct analog cut, I'll re-order it.

 

It seems it was analogue, but then why not claiming this clearly on all press releases, advertisements, hype stickers?
Hence, I'm not 100% sure the Impex LP is a clear AAA.
Some kind of a documentary/making of film is expected to appear on Elusive Disc's Youtube channel very soon, that might give answers. I have just now asked it directly from the co-producer of the Impex LP (in the other thread).
According to the post of Chuck Granata, the original analogue multitrack tapes were "transferred" (this also means a downmix to 2-channel stereo?) at Skywalker Sound in Los Angeles.
Was it done on an analogue console, I do not know.
Still, the outcome was a transfer (digital or analogue?) which was mixed on an analogue console by Roy Hendrickson, and the mixed (analogue) tape was the sent to Bernie Grundman for mastering and cutting the lacquer.

 

I have the suspicion the editing/tweaking may have taken place digitally...so that's why I think they don't have the ''AAA"-claim...
I don't think it matters to my ears anyway....curious about the differences and strange that a new release has two different masterings on different mediums released on the same day....

 

Oh yes, it is sad that two completely different mixing and mastering were performed for the Impex and the earMUSIC versions, released on the same day. The details revealed by Chuck Granata were quite shocking for me.
It began by finding a European distributor only (which became earMUSIC/Edel) for simultaneous US and EU (worldwide?) release of the LP, but then it turned out that Sony Music/Legacy Recordings were not concerned (just my feeling) how different the EU pressing will be. This latter has 1 more track, used a different ("inferior") transfer to master, etc. I felt that the original producers/decision takers were somehow neglecting what will happen in the EU.
I remember Di Meola posting on his FB page a few month ago that this wonderful original multitrack mastertape will be used and published on LP by Impex in the US and earMUSIC/Edel in the EU. It seemed that the same source will be used for both EU and US editions.
Now, we read how different they are...

Oddly, I read on the jacket of the EU pressing: (...)"Special thanks to Abey Fonn, whose diligence and artistic foresight saw this project through on each and every step of this production"(...)
Abey Fonn is the founder of Impex and an executive at Elusive Disc. If earMUSIC/Edel was even allowed to use an inferior transfer of the multitrack tapes, a version which was "rejected" by Sony Music/Legacy Recordings, I wonder what is the true point to thank her for the European version...
OK, I might exaggerate on this topic

 

The documentary is now online, I have understood from it that the "re-bake" and "transfer" of the original analogue multitrack tapes (by Skywalker Sound, LA) resulted in new, but analogue tapes.

 

Link to the documentary?

 

Why does every release have to be a box set?

 

Not every release, just this one...