Hot Stamper Pressings of Recordings by Rudy Van Gelder
On Deodato’s magnificent Prelude, listen to the trumpet on the second track on side one — it’s so immediate, it’s practically JUMPING out of the soundfield, just bursting with energy. Rudy can really pull off these big productions on occasion, and this session was clearly one of them.
If you have the kind of stereo that’s right for this music (the bigger the better) you could easily find yourself using this record as a demonstration disc. It’s very unlikely that many of your audiophile friends have ever heard anything like it.
The congas are present in the mix and very full-bodied — this allows them to really drive the rhythmic energy of the music. We know this because the copies with congas that were veiled or thin never seemed to want to get up and go.
The top is most often the problem with these CTI pressings. The best sides seem to give you all the top end that was on the tape.
There is wonderful transparency and openness to the soundstage, as well as less congestion in the loudest parts. Also Sprach (2001) is on side one of the album and it is KILLER on the best pressings.
The best sides are also surprisingly sweet and Tubey Magical, nice qualities for a CTI record to have since so many of them are aggressive and edgy.
Full, lively horns; rich, punchy, smear-free congas; fuzzy fuzzed-out guitars; as well as correct tonality and Tubey Magic in every area of the spectrum, what’s not to love?
The best are so much bigger than most copies too. There is no doubt that you will hear the difference immediately. If you do a shootout with your best copy and ours plan on it being over practically before it starts.
Reaching Back to 2009
Dropping the needle on a random copy of Prelude early in 2009 we found ourselves surprised by the sound. It was big, bold, spacious and extended up top. This is Rudy Van Gelder’s work circa 1973 and that means it can be a whole lot better than many of the compressed-to-death, hard, sour and squawky recordings he made in the 50s and 60s.
Of course he made plenty of great ones back then too, don’t get us wrong, but it seems that most audiophile reviewers don’t make much of an effort to distinguish the good ones from the bad ones. We’ve played plenty of both and have no trouble telling the difference.
Artists and Personnel
- Eumir Deodato – piano, electric piano
- Ron Carter – electric bass (solo on “Baubles, Bangles and Beads”), bass
- Stanley Clarke – electric bass (solo on “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)”)
- Billy Cobham – drums
- John Tropea – electric guitar (solo on “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001),” “Baubles, Bangles and Beads,” “September 13”)
- Jay Berliner – guitar (solo on “Spirit of Summer”)
- Airto Moreira – percussion
- Ray Barretto – congas
- Hubert Laws – flute (solo on “Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun”)
as well as a large number of horns, woodwinds, violins, violas and cellos
- Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder
- Arranged by Eumir Deodato
Side One
Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)
Spirit of Summer
Carly & Carole
Side Two
Baubles, Bangles and Beads
Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun
September 13
Further Reading