Michael Fremer's 100 Recommended All-Analog LP Reissues Worth Owning - Rated 96/100!
180g Audiophile LP Pressed at Optimal Records!
"In creating this direct cut album, we had to overcome many challenges. Because the album had to be recorded "as live." I had to first find a selection of music which would be of the perfect length. Next came the musicians and I was so lucky to have the opportunity in working with the the UK's leading big band, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra."
"In particular, I have to thank the band's leader Chris Dean, for his belief and support in the project. Finally, I had to find a recording studio which not ony had a superb sounding space, it also had to have an engineer versed in the black art of cutting live vinyl."
"Well, have we succeeded in our adventure? Please judge for yourself, for I hope tha you have as much fun in listening, as we had in creating this disc!" - Mike Velentine
"Listening to the feed going to the cutting head, and then listening to it coming back through the SME arm and cartridge used to track the recording lacquer, the sound quality just got better. If you can tell me why, I don't know! It must be something to do with a sort of distortion that the human being seems to love. It just sounds warmer, nicer, more real." - Mike Valentine, producer
"But, putting on the D2D reveals just how incredibly natural, warm and effortless vinyl can sound at its best. This pressing has a depth and richness of tone that's irresistible, and even seems to 'time' better than its tape-mastered counterpart. Given big bands were all about precise timing, that's saying a lot!" - Hi-Fi+ Magazine
"This album of tunes by Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw comes as close to being on the other side of the studio glass as I've heard from a recording in some time." - Michael Fremer, Stereophile Magazine
"The audiophile world involves a staggering amount of minutia. Everything leads, however, to an emotional payoff, as you're constantly reminded while rubbing shoulders with people devoted to good sound. So while, if you study the literature on, say, speaker placement or multichannel audio, you might expect everyone who cares about such matters to walk around with a pencil protector in his shirt pocket, instead you're much more likely to encounter someone whose passion for audio can hardly be contained and who has a lively sense of humor. Those points were underscored when I began correspoding with Mike Valentine, the owner of the UK audiophile label Chasing the Dragon...He isn't afraid to say something controversial (certainly his statement, "The sound quality here...is better than sex!" could spark a heated debate), and because he's filmed underwater sequences for over 90 films, including five James Bond movies, you quicky understand that he knows how to pursue lofty professional goals and have fun." - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound
Features:
Direct Cut to Vinyl
180g Vinyl
Pressed at Optimal Records
Selections:
Side A:
1. Sing Sing Sing
2. Moonlight Serenade
3. Begin the Beguine
4. American Patrol
Side B:
1. In the Mood
2. String of Pearls
3. Little Brown Jug
4. Anvil Chorus
180g Audiophile LP Pressed at Optimal Records!
"In creating this direct cut album, we had to overcome many challenges. Because the album had to be recorded "as live." I had to first find a selection of music which would be of the perfect length. Next came the musicians and I was so lucky to have the opportunity in working with the the UK's leading big band, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra."
"In particular, I have to thank the band's leader Chris Dean, for his belief and support in the project. Finally, I had to find a recording studio which not ony had a superb sounding space, it also had to have an engineer versed in the black art of cutting live vinyl."
"Well, have we succeeded in our adventure? Please judge for yourself, for I hope tha you have as much fun in listening, as we had in creating this disc!" - Mike Velentine
"Listening to the feed going to the cutting head, and then listening to it coming back through the SME arm and cartridge used to track the recording lacquer, the sound quality just got better. If you can tell me why, I don't know! It must be something to do with a sort of distortion that the human being seems to love. It just sounds warmer, nicer, more real." - Mike Valentine, producer
"But, putting on the D2D reveals just how incredibly natural, warm and effortless vinyl can sound at its best. This pressing has a depth and richness of tone that's irresistible, and even seems to 'time' better than its tape-mastered counterpart. Given big bands were all about precise timing, that's saying a lot!" - Hi-Fi+ Magazine
"This album of tunes by Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw comes as close to being on the other side of the studio glass as I've heard from a recording in some time." - Michael Fremer, Stereophile Magazine
"The audiophile world involves a staggering amount of minutia. Everything leads, however, to an emotional payoff, as you're constantly reminded while rubbing shoulders with people devoted to good sound. So while, if you study the literature on, say, speaker placement or multichannel audio, you might expect everyone who cares about such matters to walk around with a pencil protector in his shirt pocket, instead you're much more likely to encounter someone whose passion for audio can hardly be contained and who has a lively sense of humor. Those points were underscored when I began correspoding with Mike Valentine, the owner of the UK audiophile label Chasing the Dragon...He isn't afraid to say something controversial (certainly his statement, "The sound quality here...is better than sex!" could spark a heated debate), and because he's filmed underwater sequences for over 90 films, including five James Bond movies, you quicky understand that he knows how to pursue lofty professional goals and have fun." - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound
Features:
Direct Cut to Vinyl
180g Vinyl
Pressed at Optimal Records
Selections:
Side A:
1. Sing Sing Sing
2. Moonlight Serenade
3. Begin the Beguine
4. American Patrol
Side B:
1. In the Mood
2. String of Pearls
3. Little Brown Jug
4. Anvil Chorus
