It Aint't Easy

It's easy to love the piano of Steve Kuhn — even without the album's cover image of a model exposing herself by the side of a freeway! Kuhn's keys have a lot more class than warrants the cover — and from the very first note of the set, you'll be transported away from thinking about that image, and caught in rapt attention to Steve's warm tones on the piano. The album's got a more inside, more lyrical approach than some of his other albums of the past decade or so — but that's the charm of Kuhn on the Venus label — as they've really managed to capture the softer, sensitive side of Steve's talents. Bass is by David Finck and drums are by Billy Drummond — on titles that include "Morning Dew", "Emily", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Super Jet", "Two For The Road", and "Be My Love."

"Make It Big" is the second studio album from British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. It was mostly recorded at Studio Miraval in Southern France to escape the press and enable George Michael to work peacefully and mixed at Good Earth Studios in London and Marcadet Studios in Paris. In comparison to their earlier work, the duo had more control over the album's production, as George Michael became the sole credited producer, a position he would subsequently hold on all future releases until the group split in 1986.

The Red Garland Quintet with John Coltrane - Dig It! (1957) {2009 Prestige RVG Remasters Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 218 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 81 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 173 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2009 Concord / Prestige | 0888072315921 | Prestige RVG Remasters Series | 24-bit remaster | PRLP 7229
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

I was the engineer on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger.

After your debut album gets nominated for two Grammys, it’s easy to overthink the approach to and implications of your follow-up. Unless you’re throwback/laidback Texas country trio Midland. “It's got to be better than the first,” guitarist Jess Carson tells Apple Music's Brooke Reese. “Otherwise, why are we doing it? What we've been doing for the last two years is playing live. So we tried to translate that into a recording studio. We attempt to write songs that are going to be around for a long time and could fit into a time period from the past as well as they could in the future—just kind of ageless. And I think we accomplished that.” Don't just take his word for it: The 14 freewheeling songs on Let It Roll channel '70s country and SoCal soft rock like the Eagles, but never feel dated or contrived.

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton helped lay the groundwork for rock & roll in 1953 with her raw electric blues single "Hound Dog" (later covered by Elvis Presley). The Way It Is finds Thornton performing at an L.A. rock club 16 years later, after the rock revolution she and her peers inspired had effectively usurped the blues as the music of the people. Yet at a time when everyone from Muddy Waters to Buddy Guy was making concessions to the rock market in an effort to stay contemporary, Thornton stuck to her guns. For this concert, she relies on the same gritty, old-school blues sound that made her famous…

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton helped lay the groundwork for rock & roll in 1953 with her raw electric blues single "Hound Dog" (later covered by Elvis Presley). THE WAY IT IS finds Thornton performing at an L.A. rock club 16 years later, after the rock revolution she and her peers inspired had effectively usurped the blues as the music of the people…