The Animals - Retrospective 1964-1970 (2004) [SACD]

Retrospective is a compilation album of The Animals, released by ABKCO in 2004 as Hybrid SACD.

Retrospective looks like just another greatest-hits compilation recycling the same old tracks already easily available elsewhere. Yawn! Yet, on closer inspection, there’s a big difference with this particular set. These 22 tracks are taken from the ABKCO masters and utilize Direct Stream Digital (DSD), containing both CD and Super Audio CD layers. ABKCO initially previewed this technology with much fanfare on the Rolling Stones’ reissues of 2003. That excellence is again applied here and the material undeniably sparkles. The first incarnation of the band with Mickie Most’s production is represented by what have to be the cleanest recordings heard yet of favorites like “House of the Rising Sun,” “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” and “Don’t Bring Me Down.” However, it’s the psychedelic phase of the band, when they became Eric Burdon & the Animals, that the DSD really kicks. Every nuance present, and sometimes hidden, on a song like “San Franciscan Nights,” or “Monterey,” in which the horns noticeably jump out at you, or the battle sequence on “Sky Pilot,” is incredibly vivid whether you’re using high-tech gear or an average playback unit. Even if you’ve heard these tracks a zillion times, this ABKCO release gets you as close to hearing studio playback as you’re likely to get!

 

1. House Of The Rising Sun - 4:29
2. I’m Crying - 2:47
3. Baby Let Me Take You Home - 2:20
4. Gonna Send You Back To Walker - 2:28
5. Boom Boom - 3:18
6. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood - 2:28
7. Bring It On Home To Me - 2:42
8. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - 3:13
9. It’s My Life - 3:06
10. Don’t Bring Me Down - 3:15
11. See See Rider - 4:00
12. Inside - Looking Out - 3:47
13. Hey Gyp - 3:47
14. Help Me Girl - 2:39
15. When I Was Young - 3:00
16. A Girl Named Sandoz - 3:04
17. San Franciscan Nights - 3:20
18. Monterey - 4:19
19. Anything - 3:22
20. Sky Pilot - 7:30
21. White Houses - 3:50
22. Spill the Wine - 4:04

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Limited Edition 8 LP Box Set (2000) [24-96]

The power and vision of Jimi Hendrix is restored anew with this edition of the acclaimed box set, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. First released in 2000, The Jimi Hendrix Experience presents previously unreleased concert and studio recordings which span the visionary guitarist's remarkable four year career from 1966-1970. Beginning with the first known recordings of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in October 1966 to the guitarist's final multi-track recording session at Electric Lady Studios in August 1970, this unique set concentrates on unreleased or commercially unavailable music. Alternate versions of classics like 'Purple Haze,' 'Foxy Lady' and 'Little Wing' mix with stunning, unheard Hendrix music such as 'It's Too Bad' and 'Country Blues.' These recordings - presented in chronological order - trace the meteoric ascent of the greatest guitarist of all time.

Big Brother And The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills (1968) [2016 SACD]

In many facets, Big Brother and the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills is the quintessential album to spring from the outcome of the Summer of Love. Best known as Janis Joplin's major-label debut, the 1968 set arrived when the countercultural movement was in full swing and before co-optation, drugs, and violence signaled the fall of the era. Ranked #338 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it puts a female singer in the prominent position traditionally given to a male and showcases a band pouring a potent cocktail of fiery psychedelic, blues, and folk sounds that informed the unfettered creativity of the San Francisco scene. Produced by John Simon, Cheap Thrills also features one of the most iconic and elaborate album covers in history.

 

    Janis Joplin – vocals

    Sam Andrew – guitar, bass on "Oh, Sweet Mary", vocals

    James Gurley – guitar

    Peter Albin – bass, lead guitar on "Oh, Sweet Mary", lead acoustic guitar on "Turtle Blues".

    Dave Getz – drums

1. Combination Of The Two 05:48

2. I Need A Man To Love 04:56

3. Summertime 04:03

4. Piece Of My Heart 04:20

5. Turtle Blues 04:24

6. Oh, Sweet Mary 04:17

7. Ball And Chain 09:34

Them - The Complete Them 1964-1967 (3 CD, 2015) [24-96]

Them were one of the very best R&B acts to come out of the U.K. during the British Invasion era, as tight, wiry, and potent as their contemporaries the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Pretty Things. But as good as they were, their greatest strength was always their lead singer and main songwriter, Van Morrison, who even in his earliest days boasted a style that was raw and unapologetic but full of street smarts and imagination. Morrison's run with Them lasted a bit more than two and a half years, but it laid the groundwork for his wildly idiosyncratic solo career as well as setting a standard that the band would never equal after he left to strike out on his own. 

Bonnie Raitt 1971-2022 [FLAC]

Bonnie Lynn Raitt (born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer-songwriter. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially accessible recordings in the 1990s including "Nick of Time", "Something to Talk About", "Love Sneakin' Up on You", and the slow ballad "I Can't Make You Love Me". Raitt has received nine Grammy Awards in her career and is a lifelong political activist.

1971 - Bonnie Raitt

1972 - Give It Up

1973 - Takin My Time

1974 - Streetlights

1975 - Home Plate

1977 - Sweet Forgiveness

1979 - The Glow

1982 - Green Light

1986 - Nine Lives

1989 - Nick Of Time

1990 - The Collection

1991 - Luck Of The Draw

1994 - Longing In Their Hearts

1994 - Tour Sampler

1995 - Road Tested

1998 - Fundamental

2002 - Silver Lining

2003 - The Best Of On Capitol 1989-2003

2005 - Souls Alike

2010 - The Lost Broadcast Philadelphia 1972

2012 - Slipstream

2014 - Bonnie Raitt, Lowell George & John Hammond - Ultrasonic Studios 1972

2016 - Dig In Deep

2022 - Just Like That