A Well Recorded Album that Should Be More Popular with Audiophiles
CTI – A Label We Love
- This killer pressing earned solid Double Plus (A++) grades on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
- The brass and percussion are amazing on 2001 (and every other track), thanks to RVG, a many who knew how to do these kinds of big jazz productions better than practically anyone alive in 1973
- We had no idea there was space this huge in the recording until we played some of the best copies
- 4 stars: “Though overshadowed by ‘2001,’ the other tracks also hold up well today, being mostly medium-tempo, sometimes lushly orchestrated, conga-accented affairs that provide velvety showcases for Deodato’s lyrical electric piano solos… it still makes enjoyable listening.”
- This title from 1973 is clearly Deodato’s best album, and his best recording
- The complete list of titles from 1973 that we’ve reviewed to date can be found here.
Both sides are surprisingly sweet and Tubey Magical, nice qualities for a CTI record to have since so many of them are aggressive and edgy to the point of distraction.
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 your audiophile friends have ever heard anything like it. (more…)