Record Time is Paste’s monthly column that takes a glimpse into the wide array of new vinyl releases currently flooding record stores around the world. Rather than run down every fresh bit of wax in the marketplace, we’ll home in on special editions, reissues and unusual titles that come across our desk with an interest in discussing both the music and how it is pressed and presented. This month includes a massive re-release of a classic Beatles solo album, a wealth of jazz reissues, new roots-rock and music made by a small herd of elephants. Seriously.
George Harrison: All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary (Capitol/UMe)
Even amid the recent luxe re-releases of the Beatles catalog and Lennon’s solo material, this reissue of George Harrison’s third solo album feels particularly monumental. Maybe that’s to do with the size of this set: a whopping eight LPs including a remixed version of the original album and a wealth of previously unreleased jams and demos from the same sessions. (An even larger version includes replicas of the gnomes on the cover and other ephemera.) Or maybe it’s simply how massive All Things Must Pass sounds in this new edition. Harrison’s son Dhani and Paul Hicks cleared away much of the murk that beset the 1970 release, helping these bold personal statements and tossed off jams feel symphonic. The real treasures are the rarities and bonus material. It’s an uncluttered glimpse into the development of Harrison’s voice as a songwriter and recording artist outside of the band that made him a household name—both before he got into the studio and while he was there. Throughout, he sounds like he’s having the time of his life crafting future classics like “Isn’t It A Pity” and “What Is Life” and throwing an in-studio party with his buddies Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and Billy Preston. Hearing him fully emerging from the shadow of Beatlemania for the first time here never ceases to delight and hearing it with this level of clarity sweetens the deal considerably.
Thai Elephant Orchestra: Thai Elephant Orchestra (Northern Spy)
This should have been included in last month’s column, as it was released for the July Record Store Day Drop, but it got lost among the stacks of wax currently cluttering up the Record Time home office. We apologize for the oversight. Make no mistake about the title of this project. This is actually a recording of a group of elephants from the Thai jungle making music on specially designed instruments. It’s an ensemble created by conservationists and elephant experts Dave Soldier and Richard Lair and is still a going concern today. These 2002 recordings (on vinyl for the first time) represent the first clangs and blurts from this unusual and amazing group. To be fair, these aren’t perfectly constructed songs primed for the dance floor but rather freeform expressions created using gongs, bass drums, synths and various percussion instruments modeled after traditional Thai instrumentation. There’s still a wonderful tunefulness and a surprisingly calming character to these recordings. Be like the elephants here and don’t overthink it so much. Drop the needle and delight in what these animals can do.
Bob Dylan: Blind Willie McTell (Third Man)
As part of the label’s beloved Vault Series, Third Man Records is soon to release a vinyl version of Springtime In New York, a Bob Dylan boxed set covering the artist’s complicated early ’80s output. To whet the whistles of the collectors, the imprint has also dropped this 7” single, which boasts two versions of Dylan’s “Blind Willie McTell.” One is exclusive to this disc and the b-side will be part of the Springtime set. It’s an interesting study in contrasts, as the first take hits the song’s groove early, relying heavily on the work of the great bass/drums combo of Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar and the meaty guitar tones of Mick Taylor. The flipside is a much smoother affair with Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler bringing his jazzy tones to the recording and Dylan building the song from his ragged piano playing.
Nytt Land: Ritual (Napalm)
Russian-based dark folk group Nytt Land have only recently started releasing their full-lengths on vinyl, which really feels like the ideal format for their distinctive sound. The band’s music has a deep low end, brought out through tribal drumming, synth drones and the unmistakable hum of traditional throat singing. It’s a combination of tones that deserves the boost and breadth that a nicely mastered LP can provide. In other words, Ritual, the band’s sixth album, sounds amazing on this Napalm pressing. Listening to the album through headphones, I felt the chanting of ancient rites and the pealing of vocalist Natasha “BabaYaga” Pakhalenko massaging my brain to an ecstatic state. Through speakers, I felt as though the animals of the area or spirits lingering deep within the earth were going to be summoned to my door. I would have gladly welcomed them in.
Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Craft Recordings)
Just in time for the chilly days of fall to hopefully start filling the forecast comes another lovely reissue of cool jazz written for use in some Peanuts-associated entertainment. In this case, it was the first feature film to feature Charlie Brown and the gang, originally released in 1969. And, as ever, the music works just as well without the animated antics of the Peanuts gang. These are delightful originals from Guaraldi and co., filled with the breezy feel of the West Coast jazz sound of the time that calls up warm seaside strolls and autumnal snuggles. The soundtrack is given a nice pop, too, via the mastering work of Kevin Gray, and the edition we were sent to review is a lovely clear green color that doesn’t dull the sound one bit. The LP also came with a bit of collector’s catnip: a charming set of baseball cards for the Peanuts characters.
Sonny Clark: My Conception/McCoy Tyner: Expansions (Blue Note)
Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet series, their ongoing reissue campaign that brings new life to titles from their archives on audiophile vinyl, keeps rolling along this month with a pair of albums led by two piano greats. Though recorded in 1959, the material on Sonny Clark’s My Conception was released 20 years later and only in Japan (a CD version dropped in 2000). I’d love to know what the hold up was, as this session, which included Art Blakey on drums and Donald Byrd on trumpet, is spectacular. Clark plays beautifully off the sound of Byrd and saxophonist Hank Mobley, dipping in and out of their solos with an insistent joy. And Clark’s solos are as sweet and sturdy as meringue. McCoy Tyner’s 1968 album Expansions is the more well known of these releases, and far more agitated than anything on Clark’s album. Joined by a crack ensemble featuring, among others, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Ron Carter on cello and bassist Herbie Lewis, this LP finds the prickly midpoint between jazz’s modal interests and its growing avant garde school. Tyner rarely sounded as playful as he does throughout, particularly on his original compositions which find him splashing at times like a faulty player piano and pushing against the smoothness of Shorter, alto saxophonist Gary Bartz and trumpeter Woody Shaw with rough stabs of notes and fiery melodic bursts.
Kenny Burrell: Midnight Blue/Grant Green: Idle Moments (Blue Note)
In addition to the more high end Tone Poet Series, Blue Note Records is continuing to mine their past for these more budget-conscious reissues of their classic releases. And the label chose well with these recent editions of albums by two all-time jazz guitar players. Once again, Kevin Gray got the call to master these reissues from the original analog tapes, and once again, he’s done impressive work. Midnight Blue sounds even richer and more intense than the version Blue Note released in 2014. Unfortunately the pressing plant didn’t follow Gray’s lead. The first side of the LP suffers from nonfill, the defect when the wax doesn’t fully fill the groove. It results in a digital-sounding squelch that is murder on the ears. There are touches of that same issue on Idle Moments, the 1965 album that showcases Green’s fluid touch and spritely bounce, but they are relatively minor in comparison with Midnight’s glaring flaws.
Wilburt Lee Reliford: Seems Like A Dream (Big Legal Mess)
This little curiosity from the Mississippi juke joint scene takes a never-before-released 1989 field recording of singer/harmonica player Wilburt Lee Reliford (who passed away in 1993) and gives it a 2021 once over by adding in the sounds of a modern band—including guitarist Will Sexton and organist Rick Steff—on a number of tunes. It’s a strange and not entirely unwelcome move by Sexton and producer Bruce Watson that does provide a little juice to an already charged performance by Reliford. But it’s the unadorned tracks, just a man and his harp, that offer the real jolts. Reliford reaches out across decades of history to grip modern listeners with his weathered voice, bawdy and baleful tunes and harp playing that snaps the listener to immediate attention. Here’s hoping the full raw recording arrives though streaming services or as a download in the near future.
Professor Longhair: Fess At Home/James Booker: True: Live at Tipitina’s (Tipitina’s Record Club)
Legendary New Orleans venue Tipitina’s is getting into the vinyl business this month with the announcement of their Tipitina’s Record Club, a subscription service that supplies an exclusive record to subscribers every two months. And they’re not talking about repressings of already available albums, either. The first pair of albums that TRC are servicing to subscribers and fans are rare gems from a pair of New Orleans legends. Fess At Home is a wonderful 1973 recording of Professor Longhair, accompanied by his longtime percussionist Alfred “Uganda” Roberts, running through a set of his favorite tunes at his house on Rampart Street. It’s a perfectly imperfect performance with Fess’ voice breaking throughout and a fluid sense of rhythm. But those flaws are part of the appeal as the whole set feels like listening in on a juicy secret. The recording of James Booker playing at Tipitina’s in 1978 is even more naked—nothing more than one man, his voice and his piano. Booker is primarily in barrelhouse mode throughout but leaves himself enough room to get emotive by throwing in a stirring instrumental version of The Beatles’ “Something” and a bruising closing version of “True – You Don’t Love Me,” a New Orleans standard written, in part, by Louis Cottrell Jr.
Hocine Chaoui: Ouechesma (Outre National)
Algerian artist Hocine Chaoui was one of the more daring artists to take on the sounds of his namesake genre: the traditional, trance-inducing Berber music known as chaoui. Hocine used some of the same instrumentation that has been handed down to practitioners of this sound for centuries, like the gaspar flute, but slathered it all with psychedelic effects and backed the music with the unrelenting pulse of an early drum machine. It’s the perfect evolutionary step for the punchdrunk whirlpool chaoui induces in the body and mind. Originally released on cassette, new imprint Outre National gave Ouechesma its vinyl bow recently, and, even with the noticeable tape hiss, these six songs feel brash and dizzying and delightful.
Henri Guédon: Karma (Outre National)
The second release on Outre National comes from multidisciplinary artist Henri Guédon, a star in his native Martinique, but only known outside the island by serious collectors of Latin jazz and Afro-Caribbean sounds. Karma, Guédon’s second album, was originally released in 1975 through a tiny French label and has become coveted by DJs and crate diggers ever since. Our fellow vinyl obsessives are hopefully breathing sighs of relief with this first-ever reissue of the LP. They’ll be especially pleased with how clear and dynamic this pressing sounds. This is a bountiful record that finds Guédon daring to include the unmistakable flutters of a Moog (played by Jaky Bernard) alongside the usual battery of percussion instruments and piano. The addition of these synthetic elements adds a strange sensuality to an already steamy and stimulating collection of tunes.
Sleepersound: Idle Voices (self-released)
One of the many things I admire about the Milwaukee dream pop quartet Sleepersound is how much they almost disappear into their own creations. Their latest EP features as many instrumentals as it does tracks with vocals, and even in those tunes with words, the singers in the group are more than happy to let their flowing guitar tones and supple basswork take over for their voices. Don’t mistake that for anyone in the band being idle. The four men in this group carefully considered every last second of this record. Each of the six songs feels like it was workshopped and honed with the precision usually given over to rocket ships or luxury automobiles. Nothing is left to chance and the entire EP is all the better for it.
