Janis Joplin wouldn't be denied on Pearl. The powerhouse vocalist had kicked her addictions, teamed with a stupendous band, and partnered with a producer who knew how to best showcase her voice on record. She came to the sessions with an armload of astonishing songs, and a burst of creative energy that mirrored her rejuvenated emotional state and undeniable spirit. You can hear it on every note of the 1971 record. Ranked #135 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Pearl sold more than four million copies and stands as the first female rock superstar's definitive studio work. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S 180g 45RPM 2LP box set presents the landmark effort like never before.
Commemorating Pearl's 50th anniversary in collaboration with SME/Legacy Recordings, mastered from the original master tapes, cut at 45RPM, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and limited to 10,000 copies, the iconic audiophile label's UltraDisc One-Step reissue takes Joplin and Co.'s stupendous performance to newly transcendent levels. Boasting reference-setting fidelity that further magnifies the singer's passion and producer Paul A. Rothchild's clear production, this pressing benefits from jaw-dropping spaciousness, presence, fullness, detail, dynamics, and openness. The wider grooves allow more information to reach your ears, and MoFi SuperVinyl means the noise floor is as absolutely low as possible.
Indeed, Joplin's husky, strong, and penetrating singing has never sounded more vibrant or made deeper connections. Warm, organic, and free of any artificial ceilings, this version lets you step into Sunset Sound Recorders with the performers, such is the degree of realism and authenticity. And few, if any words, describe Joplin better than "authentic." Her spirit comes to life on this reissue in sublime fashion. Like its headliner, this pressing leaves it all on the floor.
Playfully introduced as "a song of great social and political import," the a capella "Mercedes Benz" reflects Joplin's throaty timbre as well as her enhanced, sunnier mood. Similarly, her definitive read of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" signals a laidback demeanor and a move into country strains, with the delivery as natural, carefree, and loving as any in the rock canon. As she does throughout the record, Joplin invests her all in the narrative so that there's no line between the performer and the song. She makes everything on Pearl feel autobiographical, and by extension, gut-wrenchingly honest and devastatingly intimate. Joplin achieved these feats often during her brief career, yet there are differences on Pearl, chiefly among them her balance of impeccable timing and raw emotion. Heart-aching anthems such as "A Woman Left Lonely" offer both grit and control, subtlety and attack, resulting in cathartic releases distinguished with originality, personality, and instinctual passion.
Experienced in the new light brought to fore by this definitive Mobile Fidelity UD1S box set, Joplin's swan song is no longer about a masterpiece that its creator never lived to see finished. Rather, it's about a once-in-a-lifetime vocalist realizing mammoth potential and wringing passion out of every note. It's not a tragedy, but a triumph. Get it while you can.
Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are virtually indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.
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Sunny Day Real Estate and Sub Pop celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's landmark album Diary with a new pearl-vinyl edition of the remastered double LP. This new version coincides with the band's 2024 US tour commemorating the anniversary of the album.
Originally formed in Seattle in 1992, Sunny Day Real Estate featured Nate Mendel (bass), William Goldsmith (drums), Dan Hoerner (guitar, vocals) and Jeremy Enigk (vocals, guitar). Diary, the band's first full-length album, was released in 1994 on Sub Pop, going on to become the seventh-best selling record in the label's history with more than 231,000 copies scanned in the US alone. Diary was recorded at Chicago's Idful Studios with producer Brad Wood and released to critical acclaim.
Pearl Jam's Mike McCready has earned his place among the giants of rock 'n' roll guitar. Best known for playing a '59 Strat, his searing leads are steeped in blues and classic rock reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend and Keith Richards, and his peerless work on hits, including "Yellow Ledbetter", "Even Flow", "Nothing As It Seems" and countless others, helped pave the way for Pearl Jam's 2017 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. McCready's guitar work in Seattle supergroups Temple of the Dog and Mad Season also featured instantly recognizable Strat riffs, such as those heard on "Hunger Strike" and "River of Deceit".
Inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan, McCready set out early on to acquire his own '59 Strat, and, serendipitously, with his first ever vintage guitar purchase, he found "the one" that has been his primary Fender instrument ever since. Now some 28 years later, McCready's iconic Strat can be heard featured on tracks "Superblood Wolfmoon" and "Dance Of The Clairvoyants" from Pearl Jam's most recent studio LP, Gigaton.
In this first-time collaboration between Fender and McCready, the Fender Custom Shop is honored to re-create this incredible instrument in exact detail, and in doing so a long held secret about the guitar's lineage was forced to be revealed to its owner: the Strat was actually constructed in 1960, not 1959 as had long been believed.
For this limited 60-piece Masterbuilt run, the Custom Shop's Vincent Van Trigt carefully disassembled the guitar in order to note and measure every detail, curve and scratch - and there are plenty of scratches, thanks to McCready's exuberant style! The recreation features an ultimate Relic lacquer finish on a two-piece select alder body; a flat-sawn flame maple neck with a 1960 "oval C" profile; and a flat-lam rosewood fingerboard with 21 vintage frets. Custom Josefina hand-wound pickups matched to the originals are connected to a five-way switch and vintage wiring, including a "treble bleed" tone capacitor. Other features include a three-ply vinyl pickguard, vintage-style synchronized tremolo with Callaham bridge block, vintage-style tuning machines, bone nut, and wing string tree with metal spacer. Includes deluxe hardshell case, strap, polishing cloth, McCready case candy kit and certificate of authenticity.
Each Custom Shop Limited Edition instrument is only available for a short time, which makes it eminently collectible and adds to its investment value. Crafted with many features reserved only for certain artists and master built instruments, they are just what the name says they are: highly anticipated limited-edition models that go very quickly.
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