I received an email yesterday introducing me to Intervention Records. Interesting choice of music is being reissued: Everclear and Stealers Wheel will be the first titles. I think it is great that they are looking for titles that haven't been done over and over. I love Stealers Wheel and am looking forward to hearing these new records. From the email: IR’s singular mission is to create archive-quality LPs with every release, and its trademark will be its extremist-level dedication to sonic purity and lavishly restored album art. Only the best available sources will be used, and whenever possible that means analog master tapes with 100% analog mastering. The best sources still require the most transparent mastering chain, so IR’s mastering partner is Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Cohearent’s mastering chain with Kevin at the helm extracts the best possible quality from both analog and digital masters and gets every bit of what’s on the master into the grooves. Intervention’s LPs will be 180-grams and dead quiet, plated and pressed at R.T.I. in Camarillo, CA, under Intervention’s direct supervision. IR’s album art will be faithfully restored by the very gifted and exacting artist Tom Vadakan, whose work has been seen most recently on the exquisite album jackets of Music Matters Jazz’s longrunning series of Blue Note reissues. All of IR’s jackets will be "old-style" deluxe jackets with film-lamination on heavy stock and will be printed by Stoughton Printing Co, purveyor of the finest album jackets available.
I got this announcement from Stereophile as well. Afterglow will likely be an immediate purchase for me if the price point is right, and not only is it nice to see them going after uncommon reissues, but also to see they understand where the value is really at for the consumer. http://www.stereophile.com/content/welcome-intervention-records#comment-551931#GYVTZBZuBeQAq3vQ.97
I hope they really follow through on the goal to do pure-analog mastering from the original tapes. I'm OK with paying $35 for a reissue that sounds amazing... As opposed to shoddy, compressed, digital vinyl transfers for $25 or so. (Talking to Pearl Jam here...) My worry is that many of the prime candidates won't license their rights... Not just the aforementioned PJ, but especially Tool, or Beck, or the Verve. And of course, there are bands like Soundgarden, Oasis, Third Eye Blind, and Dave Matthews Band, who have all recently reissued their 90s records on vinyl, with fair-to-middling results.
10 days away now from finally getting a reissue and to own one of my fav albums from my youth, Everclear - Sparkle and Fade, on this new label. Remasted from original master tapes by Kevin Gray Pressed at RTI Stoughton packaging These things all make me really excited about the quality of this pressing. The original always seemed to allude me. Pre-order has been in since 8/7 and I can't wait to get this under needle.
This label really interests me and I have the Stealers Wheel on the way. I like their mission statement and I really hope they can follow through. If they do, this may be a label I want every release from. I hope it turns out that way. I'll figure out how to smooth all the purchases over with my wife as the need arises.
The Everclear reissues are still delayed. Really looking forward to not only getting "Sparkle and Fade" on a great pressing but also hearing more about this label. I grew up with "Sparkle & Fade" on repeat in my ride many many many weekends. Anyone hear any new release dates for the Everclear titles?
I am very excited to get these Everclear titles. These were staples back in the day, can't wait to hear a quality vinyl reissue.
I've commented on this in another thread here, but the Intervention Records re-issue of the Stealers Wheel LP beats my German copy in every way. It's amazingly good. I will be buying a lot of records from Intervention in the future!
The Everclear vinyl sounds very good to me and the quality of the pressings and packaging very consistent with what Intervention promises to deliver. I don't think there were analog masters to work from here but still a first class offering from a promising new label. I have all the Intervention releases so far. Bring on Joe Jackson!
I'm waiting to hear more also. I haven't found anyone in the US who has seen or heard these. Acoustic Sounds shows these as in stock but both Amazon and Soundstage Direct both still show them as backordered and preorder respectfully. For the price these are going for I need to know a little more before pulling the trigger. Sparkle & Fade is the only one I'm interested in as that album soundtracked some great times of my youth.
The guy behind this label is a friend of Michael Fremers. He gives this venture the .... For what that's worth.
Man I'd love a stellar copy of Sparkle & Fade on vinyl but I don't even see any copies for sale thru Discogs!
Hello Lunachuck- Both Everclears are in stock and shipping NOW from Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc, MusicDirect and SoundstageDirect. I hope you enjoy them!
US retail is $35 and you should never pay a penny more. Some distributors are gaming the system by buying at retail and marking up. I recommend that you buy from my online resellers for the very best packing and service and of course the actual retail price! But I do sell on Amazon myself for the convenience of customers who wish to shop there, fulfilled by Amazon and Prime eligible. However, they don't allow 3rd party sellers to offer pre-orders. So there is a delay in posting. however, Amazon has the two Everclears and Ferguslie and in the process of checking them in. They should be fulfillable within a few days.
Reviews will be forthcoming on the Everclears, but I am confident that you've never heard these LPs sound this good and that the packaging is second to none. My website has very specific information about the sources for all my LPs so you can find this information there. There were no assembled analog masters for these records, so the best and most direct sources we could use were high-res files that Universal prepared for us. My graphic artist is Tom Vadakan whose work you've all seen on Music Matters Jazz's Blue Note reissues, and the jackets are by Stoughton. "Old style" tip-on single pocket gatefolds on heavy stock with film lamination to keep them beautiful for decades. You will not be disappointed!
All three of my JJ titles will be out by April. Look Sharp! and I'm the Man will come first, by mid-March. These are 100% analog from great-sounding tapes and you are going to be blown away by the sound and the jackets. I"m especially thrilled about the Look Sharp! jacket. The very first original UK jackets were a rough matte finish on everything but the famous white Denson shoes. But the effect was only partially successful. The crew at Stoughton is debasing the from cover and using a dull strike-through varnish to get the texture and die-cutting around the shoes. It's going to be spectacular! I just approved the prints yesterday- see the pix on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Interventi...5260547013730/509671649239283/?type=3&theater
Can I just give a huge thumbs up for a label rep talking about, clarifying, and demystifying their own work on this forum. Many thanks!!! And for what it is worth, I've got 35$ for someone who puts out a nice Better Than Ezra - Deluxe and/or Friction Baby
I bought Sparkle and Fade. I had forgotten how good the CD of this sounded. Surprisingly the difference isn't as great as it is with the Stealers Wheel LPs, but it will be evident. One thing that I noted immediately is how much clearer the vocals are than on the CD and that the images of the instruments didn't have that "plastered between two panes of glass" sound that many CDs have: there was a bit of three dimensions discernible. I need to listen to Sparkle and Fade more (I've only listened to it once) in order to get a better handle on the degree of difference, but I could listen to the LP at a much higher level (dB) than the CD (started to grate above a certain level), which is always a good sign. Generally, this is what I hear on all the Intervention Records releases: clarity. It seems as if everything is clearer with greater solidity to the images and more focus. It's kind of like you are looking at something that is out of focus and you suddenly attain perfect focus. However, on the Stealers Wheel LPs, it was a huge difference from the original LPs. In addition to the additional clarity and new "focus" that I attempt to describe above, the drums and bass seem to have been moved forward in the mix, without overwhelming the other instruments being recorded. I will be buying a lot of Intervention Records' releases in the future and can't wait for the Joe Jackson LPs!
A lot of Beck LPs go for crazy prices on the used market (Mutations and Midnight Vultures to name two). Hint. Hint.
Shane, I'd love to see Intervention Records do a series of Al Stewart albums. Also, as a "one off" title how about French Kiss by Bob Welch?