JIMI HENDRIX - VALLEYS OF NEPTUNE

Experience Hendrix L.L.C. (2010, March)
Sony Legacy 88697 64059 1

Evaluated by Claude Lemaire

Averaged Rating: 7.5/ A
Rating: 5.0 - 9.5/ C - A+

Category: Blues Rock / Rhythm & Blues / Funky Acid Rock
Format: Vinyl (2 x 180g at 33 1/3 rpm)

Album Credits:

Primary musicians

• Jimi Hendrix – vocals, guitars, production on all tracks except 5
• Mitch Mitchell – drums on all tracks except 3
• Noel Redding – bass on all tracks except 1, 2 and 3, backing vocals on track 9
• Billy Cox – bass on tracks 1, 2 and 3

Additional musicians

• Rocki Dzidzornu – percussion on tracks 6 and 12
• Roger Chapman – backing vocals on track 1
• Andy Fairweather Low – backing vocals on track 1
• Juma Sultan – percussion on track 2
• Rocky Isaac – drums on track 3
• Chris Grimes – tambourine on track 3
• Al Marks – maracas on track 3

Original production personnel

• Eddie Kramer –  production, mixing, engineering on tracks 1, 2, 5 (and 14 - CD only)
• Chas Chandler – production on track 5
• George Chkiantz – engineering on tracks 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 (and 13 - CD only)
• Gary Kellgren – engineering on tracks 1, 3 and 8
• Jack Adams – engineering on track 2

Posthumous production personnel

• Produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer & John McDermott for Experience Hendrix L.L.C. 
• Engineered by Eddie Kramer 
• Assistant Engineering by Chandler Harrod 
• Second Engineers: Rick Kwan, Derik Leering, Charlie Stavish and Aaron Walk 
• Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York 

Graphic personnel Essay by John McDermott  Design by Phil Yarnall, Smay Design Cover Photo by Linda McCartney Original Watercolor Painting by Jimi Hendrix Back Cover photography by James Davenport / Authentic Hendrix L.L.C. Booklet photography: Jerry Schatzberg, Jonathan Stathakis, Graham F. Page, John Sullivan, Ulvis Alberts, Willis Hogan Jr and Peter Riches

The year 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the passing of two Rock icons of the tumultuous nineteen sixties - Jimi Hendrix and a month later Janis Joplin. And just like Jim Morrison the following year and decades later Kurt Cobain; all disappeared prematurely at age 27, leaving fans with many "What if's..." Each brought their own contribution to the scene but of the four, Hendrix stands out most in creative innovations and sheer virtuosity.

Any music collector worth his or her salt knows the huge amount of Hendrix material one can find at your favorite record shop but the irony of it all is that the vast majority of them are bootlegs of live shows and lesser outtakes in rather poor sound. The sad reality is that the guitar 'wizard' released four albums during is lifetime, only one of which was a live date. But to assume that he was studio shy, nothing would be farther than the truth. On the contrary Hendrix was extremely prolific as a creator in front of the mike as well as behind the glass.



Without 100% certainty but in all probability Valleys of Neptune would be that - long awaited -- fourth studio album. Most interesting is the direction Hendrix was leaning towards at the dawn of the new decade. Slowly but surely the heaviness of his 1967 groundbreaking debut Are you Experienced as well as the following year's psychedelic experimentalism of Electric Ladyland were losing ground to a groovier 'toe tapping' vibe.

Blues Rock and R&B - that is real Rhythm and Blues and not what passes for the 'distorted' meaning tossed around nowadays - is front and center, with proto-funk rock and subtle psychedelic touches here and there, conveying pretty much the 'new sound' Jimi was aiming for. The latter eventually taking shape in live form on the 1970 Band of Gypsys posthumous release.

Hendrix and Buddy Miles sharing a good time

Extrapolating, it is now easier to justify the 'musical heritage' link sometimes associated with Prince - post Purple Rain [Warner Bros] era that is - regarding the real King's successor, thanks in no small part to Valleys of Neptune. Indeed both singer/guitar player/composer/performer protagonists never did embrace the status quo, preferring instead to explore new boundaries and along the way reinvent themselves.

The Purple Prince

Under the supervision of original recording/mixing engineer Eddie Kramer assisted by mastering/cutting engineer George Marino at Sterling Sound and thanks to Experience Hendrix L.L.C. headed by Janie Hendrix, we can now get a glimpse into the future-past with a level of sound quality that will surprise many.

Kramer and Hendrix lending a hand with the knobs

Kramer on top of it - notice the 'technology inflation' of later years

A relaxed George Marino seated at the helm with Custom Marino Mastering gear and Neumann VMS 70 cutting lathe -  shown below

The gatefold jacket while not qualifying as deluxe is nevertheless of high quality. The cover art is an original watercolor painting by the man himself. Inside is the song listing including personnel and studio recording dates. On that point, all were recorded between February and September 1969 with the exception of track 2 on side B, initially recorded in May 1967 with additional recording done exactly twenty years later. Also inserted is an eight page 11" x 11" booklet with great b&w and color photos of Hendrix live and in studio plus one of the band.

With detailed info about the unfolding events happening at the time, along with the personnel changes leading up to the Band of Gypsys live concert recorded at the Fillmore East, the generous packaging is to be commended even more so at the very fair retail price.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Each 180g LP is housed in a clear paperless sleeve and pressed at RTI. All sides were perfectly flat, black and shiny with the exception of side D having a bit of visual scuff marks, the latter not audibly detectable; in fact the surfaces were noise, tick and pop free. The cutting level is perfect, not too low nor too 'hot' (excluding side D which seems louder), giving sufficient dynamic head room and excellent S/N ratio. The album side lenght, groove, and 'dead wax' spacing is well chosen for the cutting speed and musical content. 



The double album opens with none other than "Stone Free", Jimi's first song 'put to wax' under The Jimmy Hendrix Experience comprised of Hendrix on guitar and vocals, bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Initially the B-side of "Hey Joe" - their first single in December 1966 - it remained a show favorite and was re-recorded in April and May of 1969. This in fact is the third version and fits more in the rhythm & blues style than his earlier works, though it ends on a psychedelic note. Audiophile wise, my first impression was very positive. The sound is warm, guitar is nicely present, great punch with the kick drum beating strong in the mix, making it very groovy. The ride cymbal has a nice natural shine resembling the real thing; the bell top is particularly well captured, which is all too rare.

Next up is the title track "Valleys of Neptune" from September '69 that with its psychedelic overtones rekindles at times Dylan's "All Around the Watchtower" covered the year before. Again the mix is perfect; guitar and cymbals are well captured; the rhythm pairing of Redding and Mitchell impresses with good bass; snare and kick drum lead to a very organic sound.

"Bleeding Heart" — an Elmore James original — starts out with a blues guitar intro that leads into a fast pace R&B cover. The sound while still quite good is a bit too soft in the highs leading to a lack of detail and slight compression of dynamics in the top end.

Side B takes it down a notch with "Hear My Train a Comin'", a heavier blues rock not that far apart of what The Doors presented at times; even some double kick drum recalls Led Zep in their earliest years. The coda plays out with a raucous ending. This track has more top end cymbal than the previous one, snare drum conveys lots of snap while kick shows great articulation producing superior dynamic range for a rock recording. Lacks just a bit of bottom end but a good mix altogether. Once again engineer Eddie Kramer knew what he was doing.

Originally recorded May 1967, "Mr. Bad Luck" incorporates some very original writing. Twenty years later - almost to the month - Mitchell and Redding upgraded the original drum and bass parts, in effect overdubbing Hendrix's guitar and vocals. The sound is warmer and has superb low grunt rarely encountered in rock music. The tone is perfect with sweet detailed highs and a lightning fast 'snap' on the snare and toms. In my opinion this is the best track of the album for sound and music followed closely by the previous cut and the opening "Stone Free".  Worthy of 'Demo Quality' for sure.

"Sunshine of Your Love" a hurried instrumental cover of Cream's 1967 heavy rock classic pays tribute for their appreciation of Britain's original competing Power Trio.

The song structure is quite modified starting with a 'chicken scratch' guitar break taking center stage while a build up, first of percussive conga occupies the right channel followed by bass on the left plus drums and electric guitar. The main riff returns at 'twice the speed', this time augmented by fuzz distortion effect. Here we are presented with a dirtier sound and the mids are more up front.

Side C introduces a heavier blues rock with the piece "Lover Man". The sound is more compressed, guitar a bit loud and aggressive, cymbals are dirtier, making it one of the two worse sounding tracks of the album, though still musically satisfying.

"Ships Passing Through The Night" recorded April 1969 fits more the heavy rock mold and has a coda that strangely resembles but predates Van Halen's "Eruption" by eight years. Sonically this is another enjoyable cut with lots of deep 'grunty' bass. The lowest bass notes are particularly strong in the mix; this rarely heard as well as felt on record, giving some semblance to the real thing. Generally warm but unfortunately a bit compressed also.

"Fire" is well known and made its initial appearance on the band's 1967 debut album. The version included here dates from February '69 and is both a bit longer and fairly faster than the — already speedy — original. On this occasion the trio is in 'full groove mode', swinging and rocking as if they were playing the third set of a live show but without the cheers and applause of a real audience. Even better than the original, the main riff is doubled extending the measures from four to eight. The mix is well balanced with a raw sound approaching garage rock.

Just like the prior track, "Red House" could be found in earlier form on Are you Experienced; a slow twelve-bar blues instrumental at first with the guitar up front. The bass, kick and snare drum are dry and lack harmonics lending hardness to the sound. The level seems cut louder and the sound is surprisingly and unfortunately on the cold side, quite strange given the general warmth up to this point. This provoked some unwanted listener fatigue. Also some 'high frequency screaching' type distortion can be heard on the left channel, this obviously not in any way an artistic effect. Overall this is the worse sounding track. Too bad for it remains an interesting song.

Same thing with the instrumental "Lullaby for the Summer". Also cut louder, there is definitely dissonant tape distortion in the highs, noticeable on snare fills, bringing much hardness. A lack of bottom end does not help either.

Lastly "Crying Blue Rain" starts out smooth bringing some temporary respite for the hurting eardrums of the last two cuts. Like "Mr. Bad Luck" it too incorporates bass and drum overdubs recorded in June 1987. Musically it recalls at times "Hey Joe" but feels more 'jam like', changing tempo - the pace rocketing faster and faster to reach full speed - sounding improvised and a bit psychedelic. And again bottom end is weak plus the sound is more compressed.

This is the only side that disappoints on many fronts and could have been left behind or at the very least, better matched in tonal balance with the high level of quality of the first three sides. Personally I would have preferred the first nine songs spread out on four sides of roughly 11 minutes each, cut at 33 1/3 or 45 rpm for greater dynamic range and realism and discard the rest.

In conclusion,

minor quibbles aside, Valleys of Neptune is a worthy successor to Electric Ladyland and in so doing begs the question: what great gems would have sprung from this guitar prodigy and musical visionary had life not ended so young? We may never know that answer but thanks to the dedication of a few we can now get some better sense of understanding. On another level, it also reaffirms that Eddie Kramer is one of the all time best rock engineers and producers to be found; as the saying goes, he 'gets it right In the Mix'.

For those who may have apprehensions regarding the choice of George Marino as remastering engineer - as I had after listening to the disappointing AC/DC reissue Box Set and dismissing side D of Valleys - you can cast your fears aside immediately. I assure you on this and the few other Experience Hendrix/Legacy releases I've heard, Marino is certainly on par with the general high quality one would expect with the remastering duo of Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman; leaning more on the 'warmth and groove school' than the 'transparency and detail school' which I believe is more satisfying in fun factor at least in rock and blues.

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Postscript: Winner of Enjoy The Music.com's Blue Note Award

RADIOHEAD - THE KING OF LIMBS

Self release (Feb. 2011)
Ticker Tape Ltd., XL Recordings, TBD Records, Hostess Entertainment Unlimited – TICK001LP

Evaluated by Claude Lemaire


Rating: 8.0/ A (WAV FILE)
Rating: 8.3/ A (VINYL LP)

Category: Experimental Electronica-Rock
Format: Downloaded WAV file transferred to CD-R at 8x writing speed
Format: Vinyl (180g at 33 1/3 rpm)

Album credits:

Radiohead are:

• Colin Greenwood
• Jonny Greenwood
• Ed O'Brien
• Phil Selway
• Thom Yorke (also credited as "Zachariah Wildwood" for cover art and packaging)

Additional personnel:

• Yazz Ahmed – flugelhorn on "Bloom" and "Codex"
• Drew Brown – additional engineering
• Bryan Cooke – additional assistance
• Stanley Donwood – cover art and packaging (credited as "Donald Twain")
• Nigel Godrich – production, engineering
• Noel Langley – flugelhorn on "Bloom" and "Codex"
• Robert C. Ludwig – mastering
• Darrell Thorp – additional assistance
• The London Telefilmonic Orchestra, led by Levine Andrade and conducted by Robert Ziegler – strings on "Codex"
• Chris Bellman – lacquer cutting

Radiohead's eight album The King of Limbs continues the experimental path the Abington band took on starting with 2000's Kid A and 2001's Amnesiac. In that sense those still hoping for a return to the OK Computer days of yore will be left brooding.

For those who, like me, embrace the emancipation of Rock through the innovative use of electronic beats, sound manipulation and avant-garde thinking, this latest release from one of the seminal bands of this century does not disappoint.
The 37 minute album, their shortest yet and a trend we are seeing more and more as ironically the pendulum is swinging back to the original LP's recommended limits, has no 'filler up' material. All eight tracks can be considered small gems in compositional style as well as exploring new boundaries in sonic soundscapes through the clever use of voice inflections, intonations and sound delay. On this front alone, singer Thom Yorke along with producer/engineer Nigel Godrich, have outdone themselves. The latter justly called the "sixth member" of the group just as George Martin was oftentimes considered the "fifth Beatles" especially during the Fab Four's most experimental period.

King of Limbs opens with "Bloom", a staggered looped beat resembling a scratched broken record pretty much sets the stage for the voyage about to unfold. Yorke's signature voice occupies dead center while further on, secondary vocals appearing stage left take on an ethereal character, preceding the former as in a pre-echo effect. Greenwood's bass guitar is almost buried in the mix, integrating in the background while a recurring single bass note stands out from the forest, owing it's cyclic nature to the repetitive minimalism school. Sonicwise there is some obvious dynamic compression/limiting going on; though not as bad as most of mainstream pop lately, it is nonetheless a bit annoying and is responsible for some minor listener fatigue. Thankfully on that point, this is one of the worse ones of the album. On the positive side, there is good tone from lows to highs, the treble being quite crisp in fact, plus good detail at the very end.

"Morning Mr Magpie" brings a change of ambiance with a faster pace and Indian flavor, recalling The Beatles own delvings in sitar/psychedelic exploration of their middle period. In the intro, a panned delayed synth shares the right channel with a clean guitar contrasting with the bass in the center a bit later. The highs are a bit veiled, lacking top end air. The treble samples come out sounding dirty and sandy, probably due to a premature frequency rolloff; this also causing a resonating bass lacking precision. On the other hand compression/limiting seem less pronounced than the preceding song.

Thankfully the sound opens up quite a lot with the third track "Little by Little". With its slow crescendo, Spanish like panned guitars, castagnettes, subtle trumpet running in the background and offbeat snare, the feel conjures up early 1970's groove fusion such as Davis's "Spanish Key" from Bitches Brew [Columbia] and Babe Ruth's "The Mexican" from First Base [EMI Harvest]. Vocals and guitar play in unison. The soundstage is wide and a bit airy with good detailed highs bringing some refreshing sound decongestion after the first two songs. A bit too light in the lows in tonal balance for my taste, yet it is still quite acceptable and less compressed. Overall it is easier on the ears.

Things get even better with "Feral" which to these ears is the best sounding track of the album. Drummer Phil Selway leads with a superb groovy 'machined' loop beat, superimposed with Yorke's 'Ha' voice samples. The combination of this leaves the impression of 'air being sucked out'. Great play of textures between the infra lows and crisp detailed treble. The rhythmic beats showing punchy kick along with a crisp rough snare stroke. The bass is huge and exaggerated approaching saturation but perfect in the context. Towards the coda there is an overwhelming low frequency tone juxtaposed with a light conga.

"Lotus Flower" comes in a close second in sonic terms. Starting out veiled on top, slowly a filter sweep lets the ascending highs pass through, revealing ever more detail. Panned syncopated handclaps plus solid kick drum not only add to the musical excitement but can serve also for testing the system's PRAT factor. Again several great panned effects surround Yorke's falsetto singing, sounding almost Soul like as if reaching out to Marvin Gaye in the clouds.

"Codex" takes a 180 degree turn. In this slow intro, simple kick drum accompanies filtered piano modified through a flanger-chorus type effect. The end result produces a dreamlike state atmosphere. Sound is fairly good. Very original and relaxing, ending with what seems like trickling water changing into birds singing (?) while in turn segueing into...

"Give Up the Ghost", a heartbeat à la Pink Floyd's "Speak to Me" from The Dark Side of the Moon [EMI Harvest] meets early Neil Young, steel guitar plus reverb enriched vocals creates a different mood once more. Unfortunately heavy compression, hard limiting and lack of bottom end places this track as the worst of the album and definitely under par.

Finally "Separator" leaves us on a high note. Selway's great syncopated looped beat possesses a fine mix of snappy kick, snare and hi-hat. Add to that some incredible voices, floating and awash in panned echoes and delayed guitars, the whole journey seeming to end or perhaps transcend into space.

In summary,

Radiohead's The King of Limbs receives high praise for combining the best of both worlds — experimental structured rhythms and dreamy ethereal sounding landscapes — with decent and at times excellent sound, surpassing many of today's discouraging low quality standards. It will be interesting to find out if the double 10-inch vinyl edition will improve on certain aspects of the sound.

Until then...

Postscript: A few years later, I finally got the vinyl version–though not the 45 rpm double ten-inch UK edition but rather a single twelve-inch 180g US pressing cut at 33 1/3 rpm by Chris Bellman and pressed by Rainbow in California.

Donald Twain and Zachariah Wildwood aka Tom York's front cover artwork is visually 'spooky' and there is an elegant semi-gloss added to the front and back that elevates a bit from the normal non-deluxe fare.
 

The LP is housed in a rigid inner B&W cardboard sleeve–added value but the vinyl surface will be less protected than a softer-type sleeve.

I did not redo a 'A/B comparison' with my original CD-R copy but found the sound quite close–to memory and revisiting my original evaluation notes–with a slight improvement mainly in added warmth and palpability or body to the sound with the vinyl, typical of having a physical/mechanical reproduction instead of an optical/converted one, plus what I would expect from Bellman's touch. So without being drastic, it was still worth buying it anyway.

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CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE NICEST KIND - PACIFIKA & EAUBANSAN

Evaluated by Claude Lemaire

Lately I had the pleasure of discovering two wonderfully original Canadian bands; one posting a small following after two albums and the other less well known, emerging with a five song EP. What they both share is a multi linguistic approach to singing, a respect for the environment plus a deep and mutual appreciation for and from its audience.

Peace, La Paix, Paz...

Pacifika is a Vancouver trio featuring the lovely Silvana Kane on vocals and tambourine, Adam Popowitz on electric and acoustic guitars and Toby Peter on five string electric Bass and numerous percs, augmented live by fourth member Elliot Polsky on drums, percussion and electronic samplers.

Show Rating: A+

I first came upon this musical treasure by reading an article in my daily newspaper loosely describing their style as a mix of worldbeat, flamenco, melodic pop and trance. My curiosity was piqued to say the least, plus the photo of the beautiful Peruvian born Diva didn't hurt I must confess. To say I was not disappointed in their performance or otherwise would be a big understatement. In fact they gave the best show I've attended in awhile. As of this writing the group is nominated for a Juno Award for 'World Music Album of the Year 2010'.

The five hundred seat venue was at full capacity for the two set show; luckily I got a great view from second row. Polsky being first to enter center stage, established the machine-like groove and proved more than capable of maintaining max precision without losing the feel of a real drummer–no mean feat.

Then came Peter on second base or make that Fender Bass, doubling up on the lower registers of his five string not to mention our own fluttering eardrums–flashback to a long forgotten Melvin concert–both of them keeping our feet and auditory system happy the whole time. Indeed the "added" B-string below open E, lowers the instrument's normal fundamental frequency from 41.2Hz down to 30.9Hz; a significant difference I can assure you. All this plugged into an Ashdown ABM 900 EVO III Bass amp.

Third up in left field was Popowitz, low key but very stylish in vest, necktie and hat, tastefully blending his electric guitar plus chosen effects such as the Boss GT-5 in the mix; the classic Vox AC 30 handling amplification duties. With just a hint of The Edge coming through both in the reverb and minimalist approach, never once did he try to steal the show. Often times a 'showy musician' will tend to overpower a group; here everybody showed great restraint and control of their instrument, demonstrating true mastery of their craft.

Finally after an exciting instrumental buildup, the stage was set for the main focal point to materialize. Silvana all dressed in black–saved for a nice hint of red–greeted us with a dance like entrance and to our delight started to sing.

The musicians displayed solid chops throughout the concert, the four sharing great chemistry on stage, not to mention plain fun which is important and all too often missing between players. Songs taken from their two albums–Asunción and the latest Supermagique–are a mix of English, Spanish and French with elements of traditional and modern intertwined, such as Afropop, bossa nova, Latin rhythms, hip hop beats and even Electronica in small doses surfacing at times; what the group calls World Fusion. This may scare some "purist" but the spectators including yours truly took it all in, thanking them with a sustained standing ovation before being rewarded with a couple of encores.

After the concert I stayed and had the opportunity to chat with the four. All were very friendly and proclaimed loving Québec during their Canadian tour. Silvana made the extra effort of addressing the audience in french while touring the province; her Peruvian accent only adding to her genuine warmth and beauty. Adam is the techie in the group, handling all the recording and mixing aspects of the studio albums. He uses Logic Studio from Apple as his main software tool plus some outboard analog and tube gear to get a more organic sound.  He as well as Elliot, admitted a big preference for Analog Tape over digital anytime, but with the huge number of tracks (up to 90) on some songs and the higher cost associated for tracking sessions, this was simply not an option for the first two albums. Truly a delightful and insightful conversation with this fantastic quartet from the Pacific City, west coast of British Columbia.    

PACIFIKA - ASUNCIÓN
  

Six Degrees Records (2008)

U.S. CD 657036 1143-2

Evaluated by Claude Lemaire
 

Rating: 8.5/ A

Category: World Fusion

Format: CD (red book 16/44.1k)

Produced by Pacifika

Recorded at Rear Window Song & Sound.
Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 & 8 Mixed by Ben Wisch at the Bailey Building & Loan New York, New York
Mastered by Ken Lee of Ken Lee Mastering, Oakland, CA USA

Pacifika is:
Silvana Kane - Voice, Sounds & Percussion
Adam Popowitz - Guitars, Xylophone, Sounds & Engineering
Toby Peter - Bass, Drums & Sounds

Musicians:
Elliot Polsky -  Drums & Percussion
Pepe Danza - Percussion & Sounds
Will Yew - Violin
Christina Zaenker - Cello

Band photography - Rebecca Bisset
Art Direction/ Design: Michael Snyder

The cover artwork is simple but tastefully done. Rebecca Bisset's photography of the trio and Michael Snyder's gatefold carton adds a nice touch to the presentation. Enclosed are the lyrics to the eleven songs of this debut album for the six degrees label.

Discovering a new band by first seeing them play live before your eyes instead of through your speakers in your home can be a delight as well as a curse especially nowadays when these same artist auto produce/record their material. With the ubiquitous proliferation of home studio software, gear and free downloads, the present generation of artist can 'dispense' with the old ways of doing business i.e. big expensive studios, mixing boards, vintage mikes and qualified personnel just to name a few. But this new found egalitarianism is like a double edged sword, along with its technical freedom comes the danger of the self appointed musician/sound engineer yearning to use every effect at his disposal when oftentimes the "less is more" approach would be the better choice. 

Such was the situation with my introduction to Pacifika, you can thus better appreciate my fear or rather apprehension towards my first spin of Asunción on my system. Thankfully I needed not worry, guitarist and engineer Adam Popowitz did a fantastic job tracking the different instruments and Silvana's voice–he seems to know what he wants and how to get it on tape, well maybe not really on tape but rather on hard disk in binary form.

Like so many CD's since awhile, the level is on the loud side when you hit 'Play'. That said the general trend of the album is not 'in your face' loud, it is simply louder than need be.

"Sol" opens the album and indeed sunshine and warmth is plentiful in Silvana's native voice occupying central stage. Perhaps mimicking the new day, the beat comes on gradually, panned acoustic guitars top it off. At the end of the day we're left with the simple sound of a cricket.

"Me Caí" starts with solo bass, guitar comes in and Silvana seems to double her voice for effect. At midpoint, the songs comes to a total stop. The mood changes completely thanks in part to bassist Toby Peter reaching down towards the B string lending a heavier feel. Quite effective I should add.

"Chiquita" has a cute melody going for it. Once again voice is doubled in center while chorus is panned. The outro is a bit special with Silvana's intimate voice talking closer on the left of stage.

Big change of style with "Sweet". Drummer Elliot Polsky establishes his rhythmic pattern with a panned hi-hat introducing a great simple beat. The low grunt of the bass adds to the groove followed by guitars panned left and right. This is the first song of the album in English. Silvana's voice is sweet and intimate. Midway through she switches to Spanish doubled for effect before alternating back to English. This is in my opinion the strongest track of the album regarding music and sound quality. Drum is punchy and articulate, bass is solid and deep, guitars clean and very well recorded. Voice up close at just the right level. The mix, dynamic (for pop), open and well balanced is spot on. I would tend to qualify it 'Demo-worthy'. If my recollection is correct, this song was the show opener and with reason.

"Paloma" definitely takes on a Spanish twist with Flamenco stylings such as hand clap, castagnettes or similar percs. Cymbals crenscendoe to give way to the groovy beat and soon a ride cymbal joins in 'off beat'.

Turning more towards a Rock feel and back to Spanish, "Más y Más" features a highly distorted electric guitar occupying the right channel. It is very compressed bringing undue right ear fatigue.  It takes time before the actual beat appears for a short duration only.  Vocals come back accompanied by Adam's guitar. Although I largely suspect the distortion and compression/limiting effect to be an artistic choice, it nevertheless is the worse sounding track of the album.

The sound improves but still some compression persist with "Estrellas De Miel", a Spanish rhythmic guitar 2/4 metered track.

"Libertad" opens with clean guitar on the left, bass and percussion on the right flanking Silvana in English while a second guitar on the right makes its presence known. The bass notes reach way down in frequency and their weight is impressive. The Spanish chorus has reverb added for effect which makes a great contrast with the coda. The latter sung in English, staying very dry as she comes closer to the front to finish a cappella.

"Cuatro Hijas" has wind for intro. Panned classical guitars plus artificial harmonics are intimate and superbly recorded. The singing in Spanish is soft and very close. Cello and violin enrich the outro.

The first four bars of "Oyeme" consist of strummed acoustic guitar plus conga. After which a crash cymbal introduces the drumbeat groove, bass guitar goes down low, rumbling in deep Hertzian territory. Close-miked guitar is panned to widen the stage. Great synth percussive effect surprises in its originality. The last bars end with the vocal close up and acapella. Probably my second favorite for music and sound.
 
"Las Olas" the last song of the album leaves us on a wave of delight. Adam keeps it uncluttered with panned acoustic guitars. Silvana's voice is smooth, close-miked and intimate. Lovely violin, cello plus xylophone lends a 'berceuse' ambiance to the piece. Bass pedals deliver deep solid lows. The fade-out could have lasted a bit longer in my opinion, nevertheless a beautiful finale.

In conclusion,

Asunción makes an impressive debut for Pacifika; retaining the rawness of the live event while adding a bit of studio polishing and music arrangements. Guitarist and engineer Adam Popowitz is a rarity in this industry in that most musicians don't make good engineers, they either have damaged hearing caused by accumulated years of high level non-protective playing or mix it in a way to put the spotlight on themselves. Neither is the case here. The instruments are for the most part clean and very well captured with their tone intact. With the help of Mixing Engineer Ben Wisch on half the tracks, the mix is surprisingly–in this day and age–perfect. Honestly I wouldn't change a thing.

Apart from tracks 6 and 7, the dynamic range is refreshingly natural for this type of music–a rare endangered species I'm afraid. Also noteworthy is the wide bandwidth well balanced from top to bottom. In fact in quite a few instances, deep solid bass can be felt and is mixed just at the right level, implying neutral control-room monitor levels along with good sound judgement. Lastly all this hard work would go to waste if the last sonic manipulation step is not equally handled with great care. Here Mastering Engineer Ken Lee seems to have done just such. Kudos for not perpetuating the Loudness Wars.

Of course even with competent ears you cannot expect perfection in binary form–I'm sure Adam and Elliot would agree–so don't go expecting 'golden age' late 1950's 3-track tube transparency nor early 1970's 2 inch 24-track analog warmth a la Dark Side of the Moon and co. Accept it for what it is: excellent 2008 digital on CD.

If only all new releases approached this level of quality, a reviewer's life would be so much easier. 

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PACIFIKA - SUPERMAGIQUE 
  

Six Degrees Records (2010)
U.S. CD 657036 1168-2

Evaluated by Claude Lemaire

Rating: 7.0/ B

Category: World Fusion

Format: CD (red book 16/44.1k)

Written, Produced and Mixed by Pacifika

Recorded and Mixed at Rear Window Song & Sound.
Mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe Laporta at The Lodge, NYC

Pacifika is:
Silvana Kane - Lead and Backing Vocals, Cajon, Palmas, Tambourine, Shakers & Synthesizer
Adam Popowitz - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Synthesizer, Backing Vocals, Programming & Engineering
Toby Peter - Bass, Drum Kit, Dumbek, Udu, Cajon, Triangle, Guitars, Backing Vocals & Synthesizer

Musical friends:
Elliot Polsky -  Drum Kit, Congas, Dumbek, Claves, Wahshaker
Joseph "Pepe" Danza - Congas, Surdo, Double Udu, Shakuhachi, Timbales, Mbira & Cuica
Christina "Zippy" Zaenker - Cello

Package Artwork, Design & Layout Lee Fenyves

The CD jacket is a double gatefold carton with a slight gloss; the insides featuring stylised group photos with red shadowed effects and the usual credits. Unlike their debut album above, no lyrics are to be found.

"Close to Everything" starts off with deep low synths and 'doubled' vocals. There is some compression but the sound remains not too agressive.

"Chocolate" has vocals leading, followed by a knocking beat, hi-hat, percs, bass, 'one note' guitar then turns into a Spanish guitar feel. They come back to the main theme with a lowering heavier electronic feel to it. Sound is slightly better than the previous track.  

"Ana Maria" has an a cappella intro plus strumming guitar; modulated synth; the beat is artistically 'dirty'; electric bass a bit burried in the mix. This continues with a heavy emphasis on percussion. Too bad it's a compressed dense mix.

180 degree change of style with "Story". Vocals back to English, acoustic guitar plus sweep with lots of weight goes way down on a 6/8 rhythm bar. There's a bit of a progressive influence, voices are doubled then ends with bass chords, acoustic guitar plus vocals; hi-hat and snare are soft before fadeout.

The title track "SuperMagique" intros with a cappella vocals then shifts towards rock and electro-processed electric guitar plus muffled bass and panned distorted percussive effects.  Here Silvana's vocals take on a heavy accent–that makes following the lyrics a bit of a challenge–amid the more commercial writing orientation. Interesting electric guitar a la Edge; narrow filtered effect on background spoken Spanish vocal track strangely recalling Kraftwerk's "Numbers" ("Mummern") from Computerworld (Computerwelt).  Unfortunately quite compressed, it is the lesser sounding of the album.

"Le Matin" has cleaner, less compressed sound which does good. Her accent while still strong and cute, resembles 'French chanson' and the simpler mix allows her French to cut through better. This slower song in particular is perhaps aiming to penetrate the Québec music market. Strumming acoustic guitar plus percussion, doubled vocals and fadeout.

With percussion on left and guitar on right, "Little Me" has Silvana back in English.  Weighty lows and sparse smooth meditative mood. The sound, fairly good.

"Star" fades in, cymbal and guitar on the left; interesting beat comes in establishing a groove rich in certain complexities. Nice harmonies, doubled vocals, nice detailed acoustic guitar layers. Great change with two short chords, percs ending with a deep weighty sustained outro. One of the better sounding tracks of the album.

"Doce Meses" represents a change of rhythmic style. A faster 'hurried' tempo with a sunny calypso influence. Good balance of treble details vs lows. Another strong one for music and sound.  

After the frenzy comes the calm with "Perlas". Slowing down of tempo, muffled bass smooth groove, excellent acoustic guitar on the left, subtle reverbed oriental flute and percs. The mood is relaxing, refreshing and airy. Beautiful interplay of male and female vocals recalling Simon & Garfunkle's 1966 hit "Scarborough Fair/Cantabile". Nice long fadeout. With it's great sound and superb song writing this is definitely the pearl of the album.

"The Mariner" is very slow and reaches down in the sub-bass region. Nice sustain and guitar a la Pink Floyd's Wish You Where Here and The Wall ambience. Also in the vein of the lesser known outfit The Sonora Pine. Good sound.

The group surprises us with their version of Chicago's 1969-70 hit "25 or 6 to 4". Adam's guitar intro resembling more Led Zep's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" from their 1969 self titled debut album. Superb warm soft sound with a slightly veiled groove. My only quibble is the too short timing. Even so it's my second favourite for music and sound. Which is why I would have preferred ending the album on this high note instead of...

"La Semilla", a Spanish mid tempo ballad. It is compressed but at least has good tonal balance, though the highs sound digitized. Ends with vocals plus acoustic guitar along with percs and running water on the right.

Summing up,

Instead of taking the easyway out and repeating the same winning stylistic formula like many groups do, Pacifika chose to explore a different approach on their second full length release Supermagique.  This one is more dense in music (track) layers while remaining, perhaps even more so, accessible to the masses versus their debut Asunción.  Which CD comes out on top, has more to do with personal tastes than any other factor.  With it's rawer sound and more groove oriented rhythms as well as Flamenco influences and Electro overtones, I favoured quite a bit their debut album. 

As for the sound quality, it is most definitely above average.  Once again, the mix is generally well balanced, same thing for the tonal balance which often goes down quite low and weighty but regrettably, the higher compression and limiting sucks out air and dynamics, making it therefore a good notch inferior to their debut.  Assuming Adam reprised his role as engineer for tracking and mixing which I believe is the case - explaining the many positive attributes noted above - one must come to the conclusion that the determining and deteriorating factor is the change of mastering engineer.  In this instance, Emily Lazar & Joe Laporta at The Lodge, NYC instead of Ken Lee of Ken Lee Mastering, Oakland, CA who had done a splendid job on Asunción; unless of course it was the band's wish. 

Let's hope, at least for us audiophiles, that Ken Lee will come back to the fold or that this immensely talented (augmented) trio find somebody of his calibre for the next album, perhaps even on vinyl.

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Eaubansan, another fine trio, originally hail from the greater Montréal region in the province of Québec and like Pacifika are sometimes augmented by a fourth musician or more.

Show Rating: A

At this Sunday morning concert the trumpet was absent but Sage Reynolds's double bass was more than welcomed.  Live music performances are usually scheduled and appreciated more during late evenings but the trio's refreshing and replenishing sound was perfectly suited for this intimate venue; such is the luxury of seeing a group slowly maturing but still in it's infancy.  In truth this charming music would be wasted on a large scale anyway; you want to feel connected.

And not only is the music charming but so is the delicacy and genuine kindness of singer songwriter Eaudrey Camirand.

At times sounding a bit like Bjork in a meditative mood, she segues fluently from French to English in song as well as inter-song poetry.  Her piano - keyboards for the show - playing is aptly more sparse and harmonic-like than a conventional jazz player but creates the right ambience for their style which qualifies more as 'poetic ambient' with jazz overtones, than traditional straight jazz.  There are of course many permutations of so called 'ambient jazz'; there's the ECM school that on occasion flirted with New Age and more recently ambient/electro-jazz hybrids like Nils Petter Molvaer present another explorative route.  But Eaubansan doesn't follow in either of those directions, instead the one word that keeps popping in my mind is Zen.    

EAUBANSAN
  

Self-released (2007)

Canadian CD 

Evaluated by Claude Lemaire
 

Rating: 5.5/ B+

Category: Poetic Ambient Jazz

Format: CD (red book 16/44.1k)

Eaubansan:
Eaudrey Camirand: Voice, Piano
Andy King: Trumpet
Myra  Camirand: Drums, Percussions

Guests:
Miles Perkins: Double Bass
Karine Chapdelaine: Double Bass

Recorded by Marcus Paquin at Studio Planet, Montreal.
Mixed by Jef at Diamond's Studio except vocal's 1 to 4 & instrumental 3 mixed by Sébastien Cloutier (Newton Communication)
Mastered by Richard G. Benoit @ Circus Tricks

Music & Lyrics: Eaudrey Camirand
Photography: Luc Robitaille
Computer Graphics: Sylvain Robert (Newton Communication)

The cover art with it's soft pastel hues gives a fairly good visual approximation of  the meditative vibe of this debut EP.  The flip side contains the music and technical credits.  A matching black and white filtered picture of the lead singer elegantly adorns the label and jewel box backdrop.

"Bad timing" in 3/4 time opens with a lovely solo piano, it's sparse playing and note decay conjuring up for me, Satie's Gymnopédie and Vladimir Cosma's "Promenade Sentimentale" from the Diva (soundtrack).  Muted trumpet, snare brushes and bowed double bass follow, introducing more a jazzy feel to the piece.

Eaudrey Camirand comes in a few bars later, singing lightly at first eventually being swept up by the music wave.  After cresting, the rhythmic trio - this time with plucked bass - brings back the calm.  Unfortunately as is so often the case in modern times, the sound is compressed, too loud, a bit 'middy' as well as lacking bottom and a bit of airiness.

"Somewhere" is a short piece.  A lone piano bathing heavily in long reverb accompanied by solitary vocals segues into...

"Papillon d'eau"; crescendoed muted trumpet a la Miles Davis/Erik Truffaz followed by reverberated percussion and piano joined by nuanced double bass harmonics.  Eaudrey adds a french touch with poetry winning over lyrics.  Lovely back vocals interplay with the echoes of Andy King's muted trumpet before what seems like a slightly rushed fade out.  This is the most solid composition of the EP.  Less compressed with better treble detail in the vocals and trumpet harmonics.  While not outstanding, it remains nevertheless the best sounding track also. 

Starting out with sustained bowed double bass accompanied by crickets in the background, "Someone" sees Eaudrey back to English on two vocal tracks of lower and higher pitches, this one also seguing into or serving as intro for the...

"Outro" is a waltz type instrumental; kind of an alternate version of the first track, perhaps to a certain degree coming full circle.  Muted trumpet, snare brushes, double bass and piano play in harmony on what could easily pass for a classic, smooth sounding, mid 1950's jazz ballad a la Miles Quartet.  The finale appropriately leaving only the bass and trumpet, share the last word.

To conclude,

Eaubansan's debut self-release, while never passing for audiophile demo material, is nonetheless musically inspiring and worth seeking out.  Hopefully future releases will be complemented by richer production, less compression and a more intimate warmer sound.  Better yet is to catch them live, I promise you will leave the venue feeling true inner joy and great enlightenment.

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