Showing posts with label Audio Fidelity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Audio Fidelity. Show all posts

8/30/2017

Audio Fidelity to Release The King of Space Age Pop Esquivel's Other Worlds Others Sounds on 180g Vinyl LP


“Esquivel's use of stereo recording is legendary”

Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity is releasing the “King of Space Age Pop” Esquivel's Other Worlds, Other Sounds album on 180g Vinyl LP. Esquivel was a Mexican band leader, pianist, and composer for television and films and widely considered the king of a style of late 1950s-early 1960s quirky instrumental pop known today as lounge music. RCA contracted with Esquivel in late 1957 and brought him to record in Hollywood in early 1958. He was given five hours of studio time to record the album Other Worlds, Other Sounds.

His orchestration tended toward the very lush, employing novel instrumental combinations, such as Chinese bells, mariachi bands, whistling, and numerous percussion instruments, blended with orchestra, mixed chorus, and his own heavily-ornamented piano style. The chorus was often called upon to sing only nonsense syllables, most famously “zu-zu” and “pow!”

The cover of Other Worlds, Other Sounds says it all...like the woman in red dancing on a moonscape, this 1958 LP was all about fantasy. And Esquivel, wasn't afraid to fantasize about his instrumentation nor the new audio sound known as “stereophonic” or “Hi Fi.” At the time Esquivel was using this new tech to its fullest by arranging the music in a unique manner as well as considering right channel-left channel. Voices ring back and forth between speakers, horns explode out of nowhere, and piano sounds cascade out of the stereo. This is what hi-fi was all about. It is seamless, quite enjoyable and rather magical.

SIDE ONE:
1. Granada  
2. Begin the Beguine
3. Night and Day
4. Poinciana  
5. Playfully  
6. Adiós      

SIDE TWO:
1. That Old Black Magic  
2. Nature Boy    
3. Magic Is the Moonlight (Te quiero dijeste)
4. Speak Low  
5. Ballerina      
6. It Had to Be You  

Produced by Johnnie Camacho
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net


Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

4/07/2017

Classic Rock Review: Grand Funk-All The Girls In The World Beware-Hybrid SACD

Release Date: February 24, 2017
Label: Audio Fidelity

Grand Funk’s All The Girls In The World Beware was a different release for the band. From track to track you didn’t know what to expect. For some fans that never sets that well however I remember loving this album. To listen again as an entirely different person with ears that are paying attention to all the nuances, I quickly realized there was more going on here than I realized.

It takes a process like Audio Fidelity’s Hybrid SACD format to bring out all the details you may have missed the first time around. What I heard besides a good rock album to spin at one of the teenage parties we had back in the day, is a band fully matured and embracing all the elements of rock, pop, funk and blues.

The title track is one funky workout particularly on the bass. Farner cuts loose with some rap like high speed vocals and phrasing to keep up with Mel Schacher’s crazy Jaco like riffs (and I am not saying he was anywhere near Jaco’s expertise, I am pointing out the dominance of the instrument). It is more than that galloping bass in many rock scenarios, it is quite involved. Then you get the less serious band on the spoof “Look At Granny Run Run.” You can tell they were loose and having some fun with that one. 

Then it gets more serious with lyrics and music on “Good & Evil.” That track just oozes with emotion like a slow rockin’ blues amped up to the next level. Farner could not only sing but man could he jam on the six-string. The unusual (at his point in their career) marathon ends after nearly 8 minutes of high octane musicianship. Craig Frost’s organ sure added another atmospheric layer to the track as well, it always did but this time it was decidedly more dark and mysterious. This track showed everyone that they were still the great musicians they always were and the pop oriented tunes were for hit radio to keep the label happy. Tracks like “Good & Evil” were for the longtime fans that remember when they were a three-piece banging out songs like “Paranoid” and “Inside Looking Out.” 

Of course, “Bad Time” and “Some Kind Of Wonderful” were big hits. Those songs never get old. Again, Mel’s bass totally steals the show on “Some Kind Of Wonderful.”  Mark and Don made a great vocal duo as well and it had quite an impact when they joined forces. Two of the best voices in rock could not be beat. 

All The Girls In The World Beware was another good choice to add to the Audio Fidelity archives but my thought is any GF album would be! Great music, sounds, the hooks, and especially all the details, come popping out on this remastered special edition limited numbered release.

 
24x12 Cartoon Poster of Grand Funk That Came With The Original Release on LP






4.5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
April 7, 2017
Founder of:

Review Provided By Write A Music

Tracks: 
01. Responsibility   
02. Runnin'   
03. Life   
04. Look At Granny Run Run   
05. Memories   
06. All The Girls In The World Beware   
07. Wild   
08. Good & Evil   
09. Bad Time   
10  Some Kind Of Wonderful
 

2/28/2017

Grand Funk's all the girls in the world Beware!!! Released On Limited Edition Hybrid SACD


A rock/pop/R&B mainstream hit album... includes the HITS “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “Bad Time”

Camarillo, CA - Grand Funk Railroad fans rejoice! Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity has released Grand Funk's hit album all the girls in the world Beware!!! on Limited Edition Hybrid SACD. all the girls in the world Beware!!! is Grand Funk Railroad's ninth studio album. The 1974 album was the group's second album released that year.

First there was the heavy metal power trio, then the powerful hard rock quartet and then after years of loud, in-your-face rock albums and tours, Mark Farner, Don Brewer, Mel Schacher and Craig Frost went into the studio and made an album that has a lot more R&B and a lot less rock than ever before and way ahead of its time.

" 'all the Girls' was a bit of an experiment for Grand Funk. Disco had raised it's ugly head in 1974 and if you wanted radio airplay you needed to go in that direction. Grand Funk, not being a 'Disco Act', decided to do R&B which was really what GFR was all about. R&B pumped up on steroids. Enlisting veteran producer Jimmy Ienner, I think Grand Funk came up with the best rendition of the soul classic 'Some Kinda Wonderful' in history. Still played today in heavy rotation and probably every wedding reception in the world. Once again Audio Fidelity has done a great job on this SACD Hybrid. ENJOY!" - Don Brewer

The album's combination of high-gloss production and the band's energy resulted in some impressive hits: “Some Kind of Wonderful” is an exuberant, organ-drenched soul song that highlights the group's strong harmonies while “Bad Time” mixes a delicate, string-laden melody with a pulsing beat from the rhythm section to create a one-of-a-kind power ballad. all the girls in the world Beware!!! has many inventive moments. The seven-minute “Good & Evil” is fascinating for Brewer's strange, processed lead vocal. “Look At Granny Run Run” is sheer R&B fun and “Memories” is a serious stab at out-and-out balladry.

all the girls in the world Beware!!! was recorded at the Swamp, a studio owned by Mark Farner and located on his farm in Parshallville, MI. The recording sessions were engineered by Shelly Yakus with assistance from Kevin Ayers and Rod O'Brien. The album's producer was Jimmy Ienner, who had also worked with artists such as Three Dog Night, The Raspberries and the Bay City Rollers. All but two of the songs on the album were written by members of the band. Grand Funk Railroad continued to move further into the pop/rock mainstream with this hit album. In support of the release, the band embarked on an immensely successful worldwide tour in early 1975.

The album's artwork included taking the faces of the band members and manipulating them onto the bodies of famous body builders Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbo. The body builder photos are used on the front and back of the booklet. The center spread art is a Neal Adams illustration of the body builders surrounded by a crowd of young female fans.

TRACKS
1  Responsibility        
2  Runnin'      
3  Life
4  Look At Granny Run Run
5  Memories  
6  All The Girls In The World Beware          
7  Wild          
8  Good & Evil          
9  Bad Time  
10 Some Kind Of Wonderful

Produced by Jimmy Ienner
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio / SACD Authoring: Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering

Grand Funk Railroad's official website: http://grandfunkrailroad.com/
Mark Farner's official website: http://www.markfarner.com/

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

2/27/2017

Classic Rock Review: Grand Funk-Shinin' On SACD Hybrid Ltd. Edition

Release Date: January 27, 2017
Label: Audio Fidelity
Audio Fidelity continues to be one of the most innovative and fun labels to acquire classic rock music from. Taking the best of the old and converting it to a new format is one of their specialties. The only thing is that you may miss out on their releases unless you act quickly. Each release is a limited numbered edition.

Their legacy continues with another Grand Funk classic titled Shinin’ On. The label’s hybrid SACD series endures with great success. Shinin’ On was originally released on vinyl with 3D glasses to view the ultra-cool cover. This SACD version comes with the 3D glasses included! And yes, I did have the LP version and it was one of my favorite albums. As a matter of fact, I loved the entire GF catalog.

Grand Funk had the advantage of having two lead singers with Mark Farner (guitar) and Don Brewer (drums). Mel Schacher (bass) and Craig Frost (keyboards) were an integral part of the band as well, giving them a layered full sound to accentuate the vocal styles of the two main voices. Frost filled out their sound after the band had performed as a power trio for many years. I appreciated the addition of keys, although I am sure some fans didn’t but that’s the way it goes when changes are made with anything.

This was an excellent album in my estimation. It had the signature Farner guitar licks that at times were cutting like a knife but this was not the heavy Grand Funk Railroad of the past. This version of the band was more modern and pop oriented with less blues influence.  They continued with the same formula that brought them so much success with the previous release We’re An American Band. Also the remake of big hit by Little Eva, “The Loco-Motion,” was proof that the formula could work very successfully for the band. 

The entire idea of the SACD is to bring out sounds more to the front so they pop out and grab you. That method has always worked well for these ears. “Carry Me Through” was a good showpiece for that new-found sound. Brewer was on lead vocals and the music was complex and progressive with a multitude of Farner’s stinging leads inviting Brewer’s strong vocals to new heights. Some of the other things I noticed more than ever before were the subtleties of Frost’s keys interlaced throughout the track and his superb command of his instrument. That factor certainly gave the band the proverbial icing on the cake to their presentation. This element prevailed as the band went from strength to strength throughout the recording.

The music on Shinin’ On was radio friendly and it still rocked, offering the best of both worlds and it made for a fine record to spin at parties. I enjoyed it when it first came out and I still do. Now in the SACD format I can appreciate this great album even more.

4.5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
February 27, 2017
Founder of:

Review Provided By Write A Music Review

Tracks:
 

1. Shinin' On
2. To Get Back In
3. The Loco-Motion
4. Carry Me Through
5. Please Me
6. Mr. Pretty Boy
7. Gettin' Over You
8. Little Johnny Hooker




1/02/2017

Audio Fidelity To Release Grand Funk's Shinin' On in Original 3-D Art Package on Limited Edition Hybrid SACD


Includes a BONUS pair of 3-D Glasses!

Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing Grand Funk's widely popular classic rock album Shinin' On on limited edition hybrid SACD. Riding high off the success of their 1973 We're An American Band hit album and tour Grand Funk retained the extraordinary Todd Rundgren to produce Shinin' On, the band's eighth album.

Don Brewer, Mark Farner, Mel Schacher and Craig Frost took the band to another level. The songs are tight, the vocals are excellent and the group is in top form. Shinin' On is pure Grand Funk and considered a favorite among many fans and critics.

Shinin' On's best songs are the tracks that became the hit single releases: the SACD opens with the dynamic title track augmented by Craig Frost's keyboard work and pumped-up behind Don Brewer’s aggressive vocals the track infuses its hard-driving, spacey rock groove with some surprisingly ethereal vocal harmonies. The cover of the Carole King and Gerry Goffin penned “The Loco-Motion” turned this dance classic on its ear with a stomping beat and a screeching guitar lead from Mark Farner that shot the chuggin' pop remake straight to #1 on the Billboard singles chart and helped drive gigantic album sales.

Closing-out the album is Grand Funk's amped-up blues rocker “Little Johnny Hooker” which features Farner's powerful and driving guitar work.

The original album was packaged in a cosmic 3-D sleeve that had a pair of 3-D glasses embedded in the front cover to best appreciate the dramatic art work. Each Audio Fidelity Shinin' On SACD slip case will include a pair of 3-D glasses so the brilliant art work can be viewed as originally intended.

Another legendary hard-rocking album from Mark, Don, Mel and Craig – Grand Funk! So pump up the volume, break out those classic 3-D glasses and keep on shinin' on!

TRACKS
Shinin' On
To Get Back In
The Loco-Motion
Carry Me Through
Please Me
Mr. Pretty Boy
Gettin' Over You
Little Johnny Hooker

Produced by Todd Rundgren
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
SACD Authoring: Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering

Release date: January 27, 2017

Grand Funk Railroad's official website: http://grandfunkrailroad.com/
Mark Farner's official website: http://www.markfarner.com/

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

10/31/2016

Audio Fidelity To Release Legendary Santana Live Album “Lotus” 2-CD On Limited Edition Hybrid SACD


“...one of the greatest live albums ever recorded and one of the supreme achievements in guitar playing.”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing Santana's critically acclaimed live album Lotus on limited edition hybrid SACD. Lotus is a 1974 live album by Santana, recorded at the Osaka Koseinenkin Hall, Osaka, Japan in 1973. It was originally released in 1974 as a triple vinyl LP in Japan only. The first U.S. release was in 1991 as a 2-CD set. It features the “New Santana Band” and combines that group's jazz and spiritual influences. Some of the band's biggest hits are performed, such as “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va,” but it is the extended, intense instrumentals that are the order of the day such as the breathtaking “Incident at Neshabur,” “Every Step of the Way,” and “Toussaint L'Overture.”

Carlos' superpowered guitar is mesmerizing, the entire atmosphere is otherworldly, beautiful, modern jazzy and most of all, electrifying. His guitar tone is perfect, each solo has a central rhythmic and melodic structure that was used to express in a moment what can never be repeated. The greatness of Lotus is its ability to take all of Carlos' beautiful melodies and expand them each into a whole new creation.

Santana fans know there are “several different Santanas.” This was the MILES Santana, the COLTRANE Santana. This is intense and awe-inspiring music played with so much mind-numbing passion. Carlos' guitar speaks notes on this recording that are nothing short of extraordinary. He manages to imbue a vibration that cuts right through your soul. Even on the familiar hits, the jazz fusion makes its way into the notes and Carlos delivers a new message. This was the top of Santana's spiritual-fusion era. Lotus is the Live Santana album that gives other Live albums a bad name. Spectacular, breathtaking, emotional, spiritual...and it rocks!

Disc one
Going Home
A-1 Funk
Every Step of the Way
Black Magic Woman
Gypsy Queen
Oye Como Va
Yours Is the Light
Batuka
Xibaba (She-Ba-Ba)
Stone Flower (Introduction)
Waiting
Castillos de Arena Part 1 (Sand Castle)
Free Angela
Samba de Sausalito

Disc two
Mantra
Kyoto (Drum Solo)
Castillos de Arena Part 2 (Sand Castle)
Incident at Neshabur
Se a Cabo
Samba Pa Ti
Mr. Udo
Toussaint L'Overture

Produced by The New Santana Band
Mastered by Steve Hoffman and Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering
SACD Authoring: Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Audio Fidelity To Release Legendary Santana Live Album “Lotus” 2-CD On Limited Edition Hybrid SACD


“...one of the greatest live albums ever recorded and one of the supreme achievements in guitar playing.”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing Santana's critically acclaimed live album Lotus on limited edition hybrid SACD. Lotus is a 1974 live album by Santana, recorded at the Osaka Koseinenkin Hall, Osaka, Japan in 1973. It was originally released in 1974 as a triple vinyl LP in Japan only. The first U.S. release was in 1991 as a 2-CD set. It features the “New Santana Band” and combines that group's jazz and spiritual influences. Some of the band's biggest hits are performed, such as “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va,” but it is the extended, intense instrumentals that are the order of the day such as the breathtaking “Incident at Neshabur,” “Every Step of the Way,” and “Toussaint L'Overture.”

Carlos' superpowered guitar is mesmerizing, the entire atmosphere is otherworldly, beautiful, modern jazzy and most of all, electrifying. His guitar tone is perfect, each solo has a central rhythmic and melodic structure that was used to express in a moment what can never be repeated. The greatness of Lotus is its ability to take all of Carlos' beautiful melodies and expand them each into a whole new creation.

Santana fans know there are “several different Santanas.” This was the MILES Santana, the COLTRANE Santana. This is intense and awe-inspiring music played with so much mind-numbing passion. Carlos' guitar speaks notes on this recording that are nothing short of extraordinary. He manages to imbue a vibration that cuts right through your soul. Even on the familiar hits, the jazz fusion makes its way into the notes and Carlos delivers a new message. This was the top of Santana's spiritual-fusion era. Lotus is the Live Santana album that gives other Live albums a bad name. Spectacular, breathtaking, emotional, spiritual...and it rocks!

Disc one
Going Home
A-1 Funk
Every Step of the Way
Black Magic Woman
Gypsy Queen
Oye Como Va
Yours Is the Light
Batuka
Xibaba (She-Ba-Ba)
Stone Flower (Introduction)
Waiting
Castillos de Arena Part 1 (Sand Castle)
Free Angela
Samba de Sausalito

Disc two
Mantra
Kyoto (Drum Solo)
Castillos de Arena Part 2 (Sand Castle)
Incident at Neshabur
Se a Cabo
Samba Pa Ti
Mr. Udo
Toussaint L'Overture

Produced by The New Santana Band
Mastered by Steve Hoffman and Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering
SACD Authoring: Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

10/19/2016

Audio Fidelity To Release Two Jazz-Fusion Classics on Hybrid SACD By Weather Report and Return To Forever


Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing Weather Report, “Tale Spinnin'” and Return to Forever, “Musicmagic” on Hybrid SACD. Both recordings are considered essentials from the jazz fusion era of the mid-'70s.

Recorded in early 1975, “Tale Spinnin'”, Weather Report's fifth studio album is filled with sunny textures of Latin and African flavors. The album stands with anything recorded during the period for the range of fresh, intriguing originals by the band's co-founders and principle composers, the keyboardist Joe Zawinul and the saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Zawinul's pioneering interest in world music is in full evidence with the exotic percussion, wordless vocals, sandy sound effects and Middle Eastern and North African musical spices. His synthesizer sophistication is growing along with the available technology of the day. Wayne Shorter's work on soprano sax is more animated than on their previous albums and Alphonso Johnson puts his melodic bass more to the fore.

“Musicmagic” is Return to Forever's final studio album and one of the best jazz recordings released in the fusion genre. The album contains the final line-up of the band with only founders Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke returning from the earlier recordings. This 1977 release was the first Return to Forever album in five years to contain vocals, performed here by Gayle Moran and Stanley Clarke. This album also marked the return of original member Joe Farrell on saxophone and flute, along with several new members making up a killer five-piece horn section.

The sound is remarkably more orchestral than anything the group had previously done, a cross between fusion, jazz vocals, big band and grassroots accoustic jazz. Musicmagic celebrates the pure joy of music.

Both releases are mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and the SACD Authoring was done by Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering.

Weather Report “Tale Spinnin'”
Produced by Wayne Shorter, Josef Zawinul

TRACKS:
1-Man in the Green Shirt
2-Lusitanos
3-Between the Thighs
4-Badia
5-Freezing Fire
6-Five Short Stories

Return To Forever “Musicmagic”
Produced by Chick Corea - Co-produced by Stanley Clarke

TRACKS:
1-The Musician
2-Hello Again
3-Musicmagic
4-So Long Mickey Mouse
5-Do You Ever
6-The Endless Night

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

9/27/2016

Audio Fidelity Inks Licensing Deal With Will Ackerman's West River Records



Ackerman's Grammy winning "Returning" coming on 180g vinyl for the 1st time!

Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein, president of Audio Fidelity is pleased to announce an agreement with Will Ackerman and his West River Records. The agreement calls for Audio Fidelity, in conjunction with West River Records, to release the first 180g vinyl pressing of Ackerman's 2005 Grammy award winning recording, "Returning: Pieces for Guitar 1970-2004." Ackerman is universally recognized as the preeminent pioneer in the new age music movement, and the founder of Windham Hill Records.

In 2004, after years of growth and introspection, Ackerman re-recorded an album of his best-known songs. A greatest hits collection of all new performances.  The playing and recording of these New Age instrumentals are sharper now than on those original Windham Hill classics and Ackerman's most popular compositions have rarely sounded as poignant.

Blonstein felt one of the elements of working with Will Ackerman that would have great appeal to Audio Fidelity's music fans were simple words Will spoke at the time of the recording about why he wanted to make the album. "Today I'm recording in my own Imaginary Road Studios in Windham County, Vermont on utterly state of the art digital equipment. It all brings me closer to what I hear as I sit alone and play; touching the sound as it literally moves through my body as well as my ears. I guess I am trying to find a sound that lets you hear what I hear."

Will's goal was to take a series of 11 favorite songs and record them for posterity in a way that reflects the emotional nuances, precision, and maturing beauty they've picked up along the road. He includes the graceful and lushly melodic "The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter," the sweet and melancholy "Anne's Song", and two peaceful early gems from 1970, "Pictures" and "Barbara's Song." Some were written as celebrations ("Unconditional"), others as elegies ("The Impending Death of the Virgin Spirit"), but all are intricate snapshots of a vastly influential musical life that keeps inventive to this day.

ALBUM TRACKS:

SIDE 1
Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter
Anne's Song
The Impending Death of the Virgin Spirit
Pictures
Hawk Circle

Side 2
Barbara's Song
Unconditional
Visiting
Processional
In a Region of Clouds
Last Day at the Beach

Will Ackerman official website: http://www.williamackerman.com/

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

6/01/2016

Rage Against the Machine Debut Album To Be Released On Limited Edition Hybrid SACD


“The first album to successfully merge the sounds of rap and heavy metal”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing the critically acclaimed debut album by Rage Against the Machine on limited edition Hybrid SACD. Rage Against the Machine's first album is a mix of punk, metal, hardcore and politically resonate rap. Every song is full of energy with smart lyrics and plenty of slam-dancing potential. In 1992, the band released its self-titled debut album, which became a commercial and critical success. The album went to #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and #45 on the Billboard 200 chart. Rolling Stone magazine named it as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2001, Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time.

This album is relentless, from the opening track “Bombtrack” all the way to the last blast of “Freedom,” every tune is a highly explosive ball of energy, none of which is clearly superior to any of the others. The lyrics, while full of blunt and pure anger, are very passionate and well-written in the sense that they actually stand for something.

This album like no other changed the landscape of '90s music. The “guilty parties”: Zack de la Rocha's vitriolic and angst-ridden words fueled by the heaviest rhythm section on the planet featuring drummer Brad Wilk and the exciting and dynamic bass of Timmy C and of course, RATM's signature sound, Tom Morello's belligerent, aggressive guitar riffs and turntable-esque noise that make this the best debut album of all-time.

The “Know Your Enemy” track features Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan on “additional vocals” and also features Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins on trashcan percussion. The liner notes claim, “No samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this recording.” This is, and always will be, considered Rage Against the Machine's most important work.

“Distinctly groundbreaking and original...a landmark in musical history.”

Track list:

1. BOMBTRACK
2. KILLING IN THE NAME
3. TAKE THE POWER BACK
4. SETTLE FOR NOTHING
5. BULLET IN THE HEAD
6. KNOW YOUR ENEMY
7. WAKE UP
8. FISTFUL OF STEEL
9. TOWNSHIP REBELLION
10. FREEDOM

Produced by: Garth Richardson, Rage Against the Machine
Mastered by Steve Hoffman and Stephen Marsh at Marsh Mastering

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

2/12/2016

Audio Fidelity To Release “The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 Bob Dylan Live 1964 Concert at Philharmonic Hall” on Hybrid Multichannel 5.0 SACD


“As eminently listenable as it is historically important!”

Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing “The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 Bob Dylan Live 1964 Concert at Philharmonic Hall” on Hybrid multichannel 5.0 SACD.

This 5.0 SurroundSound mix of Bob Dylan's October 31, 1964 “Halloween” show at New York's Philharmonic Hall is a complete recording and has never been released in this format until now. This 2-CD Audio Fidelity collection presents the entire concert from the original Columbia Records (SONY) master tapes. The package also includes a 56-page book filled with historical photographs and informative notes. The Halloween concert of 1964 had been previously bootlegged on vinyl and CD, but those releases were incomplete and taken from poor dubs off the soundboard tapes.

This 1964 concert is the first all acoustic live performance to enter Bob Dylan's discography. This recording certainly has its share of firsts and highlights, including the only known live version of “Spanish Harlem Incident,” the premiere of the songs “Gates of Eden” and “If You Gotta Go, Go Now.”

Here is Dylan as an eager-to-please 23 year old with nothing between him and his audience but a guitar and a harmonica. His voice is in top form throughout the 19 song set and when Joan Baez joins him on stage the voltage only increases.

In marked contrast to the tight-lipped living legend of the mid-'70s, here is Dylan as entertainer, joking and bantering with the crowd and he proves to be a very masterful performer.

While much has been made of the later electric performance of the 1960s, it is here that you can see how good Dylan really was. He shows all the budding facets of his art up to this time, from the protest songs, the more introspective material and the radical new direction he was pursuing.

Of course, as with all Audio Fidelity hybrid multichannel releases the SACD is compatible on all standard players and includes the 2-track stereo mix layer as well.

2-CD set/5.0 SurroundSound/includes 56-page book
Mastered by Steve Hoffman and Stephen Marsh at Stephen Marsh Mastering

Disc one
1. The Times They Are a-Changin' 3:29
2. Spanish Harlem Incident 3:07
3. Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues 4:06
4. To Ramona 6:01
5. Who Killed Davey Moore? 4:46
6. Gates of Eden 8:32
7. If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got to Stay All Night) 4:06
8. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) 11:26
9. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) 4:01
10. Mr. Tambourine Man 6:33
11. A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall 7:44

Disc two
1. Talkin' World War III Blues 5:52
2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right 4:34
3. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll 6:57
4. Mama, You Been on My Mind 3:35
5. Silver Dagger 3:47
6. With God on Our Side 6:17
7. It Ain't Me, Babe 5:11
8. All I Really Want to Do 4:01

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com 

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

2/01/2016

Music Legend Jesse Colin Young Signs Distribution Deal With Audio Fidelity


Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein’s Audio Fidelity and Jesse Colin Young of Pigfoot Music LLC are pleased to announce a distribution agreement to release 180g vinyl and DVD recordings from the critically acclaimed artist’s highly regarded catalog. While lead singer of The Youngbloods his legendary rock band took the nation by storm when their single Get Together became a worldwide Top 10 hit and a prominent soundtrack for peace.

After seven albums with the group, Young released more than 15 celebrated solo albums including Song for Juli a work many critics agree is his solo masterpiece. This popular album will be the initial Pigfoot Music release to be distributed by Audio Fidelity beginning in April. Following 1971’s Song for Juli four more albums charted over the next three years, Light Shine in 1974, Songbird and On the Road in 1975 and Love on the Wing in 1976. Each of those solo albums contained breakthrough tracks from country fusion to jazz fusion to blues rock that received airplay on radio stations across America.

Jesse's musical accomplishments are many, including performing with Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin in 1969; touring with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the summer of 1974; from walking off the Johnny Carson show, to singing for Native American rights. Get Together has been heard from the 13X-multi-platinum Forrest Gump soundtrack in 1994 to the widely seen Luv's commercial in 2010. Darkness Darkness, written by Jesse, was the theme song for the James Cameron movie Ghosts of the Abyss in 2003. A cover of the song by Robert Plant won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal in 2003 and remains a popular cover song for many bands.

The Queens, NY native recorded his first album, The Soul of a City Boy while living in the Greenwich Village in 1964. He recorded a second album, Young Blood, featuring supporting musicians, including John Sebastian and Peter Childs. After the two solo albums, he then formed The Youngbloods which included guitarist Jerry Corbitt, whom he met on the New York to Boston club circuit, and keyboardist/guitarist Lowell "Banana" Levinger, and drummer Joe Bauer. Get Together appeared on their 1967 debut album and re-released as a single in 1969, after the heartfelt refrain of "Come on people now, smile on your brother" was used as the television theme for the National Council of Christians and Jews.

During the 1970's, Jesse helped establish the "No Nukes" movement. Involved from the very beginning, he closed the 1979 "No Nukes" concert and movie singing the iconic Youngblood's anthem Get Together, joined by legends Jackson Browne, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash. Throughout the 1980's, Jesse toured as a solo artist, often appearing at fundraisers for various organizations.

Throughout his professional life of recording and touring, Jesse has also taken the time to dedicate his life to giving back to the world. He has performed on behalf of organizations ranging from the Dream Foundation to the Kona Pacific Waldorf School to the Saratoga WarHorse project for veterans. Always holding environmental accountability, care for our returning veterans, and quality education as a moral code of action, Jesse remains committed and active as an individual and performer.  Jesse has also been an organic coffee farmer for 25 years.

JESSE COLIN YOUNG DISCOGRAPHY
Album Release Date
The Soul of a City Boy April 1964
Young Blood March 1965
Together March 25, 1972
Song for Juli October 6, 1973
Light Shine April 20, 1974
Songbird March 22, 1975
On the Road March 27, 1976
Love on the Wing April 2, 1977
American Dreams December 9, 1978
The Perfect Stranger 1982
The Highway is for Heroes 1987
Makin' It Real 1993
Swept Away 1994
Sweetwater 1996
Walk The Talk 2001
Living in Paradise 2004
Celtic Mambo 2005
Bring ‘Em Home 2007
DVD- Out of the Darkness 2015

For more information:
www.audiofidelity.net
www.jessecolinyoung.com/
www.facebook.com/jessecolinyounghttps://www.facebook.com/jessecolinyoungcoffee/

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

12/19/2015

Audio Fidelity To Release “Colors of the day - The Best of Judy Collins” on Quad 4.0 Hybrid SACD


“This is Collins at her finest.”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing the ultimate “best of” collection by folk legend Judy Collins on Quad 4.0 Hybrid SACD. Colors of the day - The Best of Judy Collins first arrived in record stores in 1972. The recording features Collins' earliest, most time-honored recordings. The song that propelled the album sales was her number one hit, “Both Sides Now,” an alluring Joni Mitchell tune that dominated the charts for months.

Collins' voice is remarkably beautiful, her phrasing, her ability to enunciate and her vocal range place her in a category by herself. Her amazing talent is on full display in this excellent collection that includes Collins' explorations into folk-pop, country-pop (“Someday Soon,” an Ian Tyson classic), British folk (“Sunny Goodge Street,” The Beatles “In My Life”), and gospel (“Amazing Grace”) that clearly show her eclecticism.

The thoughtfully programmed collection includes the Leonard Cohen classic, “Suzanne.” Cohen's haunting and evocative lyrics are masterfully interpreted by Collins who was an early champion of his amazingly poetic folk songs. Some of the record's finest moments are from her exquisite 1968 album Who Knows Where the Time Goes including that album's title track. Also included are two of her lovely autobiographical compositions, “My Father” and “Albatross.”

“This anthology brings the 'best-of' collection to a new art form.”

Track listing:
Someday Soon
Since You Asked
Both Sides Now
Sons Of
Suzanne
Farewell to Tarwathie
Who Knows Where the Time Goes
Sunny Goodge Street
My Father
Albatross
In My Life
Amazing Grace

Produced by Mark Abramson, David Anderle
Mastered: Stereo CD, SACD mastering and 4.0
Analog to Hi Definition DSD Digital Transfer: Steve Hoffman and Stephen Marsh

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

11/16/2015

Audio Fidelity To Release Alice Cooper's “Muscle of Love” On 4.0 Quad SACD


“Alice returns to a pure rock sound...one of his most revered albums ever.”

Alice Cooper fans rejoice! Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing the final Alice Cooper group album on 4.0 Quad SACD. Muscle of Love is the seventh studio album by Alice Cooper and it was the last album to feature the entire original band, and it was a true grand finale at that. Cooper stated in an interview at the time that the album marked a return to fundamentals. “It's not complicated in any sense...It's very basic rock & roll throughout.”

The two best-known tracks are undoubtedly the Top 20 anthem “Teenage Lament '74,” which features none other than Liza Minnelli, Ronnie Spector, Labelle and the Pointer Sisters on backing vocals, and the rollicking title track. But other tracks are just as good - the Led Zep-stomping opener, “Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo),” the gentle “Hard Hearted Alice” (a precursor to Cooper's future ballad-oriented direction), the raging “Working Up a Sweat,” and “Man with the Golden Gun.”

The 1973 return to the band's more hard rock roots was a successful creative choice and catapulted Muscle Of Love into Billboard's Top 10 Album Chart. That sound, complete with the prog-rock/heavy metal workouts, has proven over the years to be a significant piece of the Alice Cooper legacy.

“One of the best albums of the genre...a hard rock classic!”

INCLUDES: Miniature replica of the Institute of Nude Wrestling book cover

TRACKS:
1. Big Apple Dreamin' (Hippo)
2. Never Been Sold Before
3. Hard Hearted Alice
4. Crazy Little Child
5. Working Up a Sweat
6. Muscle of Love
7. Man with the Golden Gun
8. Teenage Lament '74
9. Woman Machine

Produced by Jack Richardson, Jack Douglas
Mastered: Stereo CD, SACD & 4.0 Analog to High Definition DSD Digital Transfer: Steve Hoffman & Stephen Marsh

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net
Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

10/14/2015

CRUISING, the Controversial Cult Classic Film Soundtrack Available on Compact Disc for the First Time


“One of the rockingest movies ever...the music here is dark, dirty and seedy.”

Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing the original motion picture soundtrack to Cruising, the 1980 William Friedkin film starring Al Pacino. The controversial movie has become an underground cult classic and the release of the dynamic soundtrack featuring performances by Willy DeVille, John Hiatt, Rough Trade, The Cripples, Mutiny and their left field opus “Lump,” The Germs and others has been long-awaited.

The film, considered a snapshot of pre-AIDS gay life, is about a series of violent New York murders in which the victims all frequent clandestine Manhattan leather bars in which gay men gather to dance, drink, do drugs and make pairings while enveloped in an S&M world of leather, boots, whips and chains. When Friedkin announced plans to set a movie in that milieu, and to film it primarily on location, the New York gay community rose up in protest. Cruising, they said, would present a distorted view of gay life. Upon the film's release gay activists had public protests against the film. However, critical opinion of it has warmed over the years as the film has been reassessed and the demand for the music continued to grow.

One of the best parts of the film is the amazingly gritty soundtrack. The music was scored and compiled by the late Jack Nitzsche, one of the most prolific film orchestrators in Hollywood during that period. Nitzsche was best known for being Phil Spector's arranger (and shared credit as the co-creator of “The Wall of Sound”). He won an Academy Award for Best Song for co-writing with Will Jennings and Buffy Sainte-Marie “Up Where We Belong” from 1982's An Officer and a Gentleman. Jack also worked with Neil Young on “Harvest” and was a keyboard player on many mid-1960s albums by The Rolling Stones.

Friedkin and Nitzsche had collaborated earlier on The Exorcist. Among many film successes he composed the unusual score for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Nitzsche can currently be seen at work in the studio in The Wrecking Crew documentary making rounds on movie theater and cable TV screens.

Most of the songs on the Cruising soundtrack are a mix of rock, glam and disco music. The tracks are much more violent and full of an anxious energy. The tracks complement the action and the S&M bar setting extremely well and offer a glimpse of an un-idealized 70's scene. It is not the flourishing, feverish, disco epics that have come to stereotype gay musical tastes though there is some serious dance floor stomping here as well as several raw and spirited tracks by various punk, P.Funk, rock, pop and soul artists.

Nitzsche was excited about working with the proto punk Germs as well as Willy DeVille and as a result of this record went on to produce some of their best material including three Willy DeVille albums beginning in the late 1970s: Cabretta (1977), Return to Magenta (1978), and Coup de Grâce (1981). Nitzsche said that DeVille was the best singer he had ever worked with and that talent is on display in this original motion picture soundtrack.

Tracks:

1) Willy DeVille - Heat Of The Moment
2) The Cripples - Loneliness
3) John Hiatt - Spy Boy
4) Madelynn Von Ritz - When I Close My Eyes I See Blood
5) Mutiny - Lump
6) Rough Trade - Shakedown
7) Willy DeVille - Pullin' My String
8) Germs - Lions Share
9) The Cripples - Hypnotize
10) Willy DeVille - It's So Easy

Produced by Jack Nitzsche
Mastered for this SACD by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

Every leather-styled package includes a 12-page booklet with complete credits and dramatic photo stills from the movie.

First time ever available on CD!

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

10/06/2015

Audio Fidelity To Release Tangerine Dream “Thief” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack On 180g Vinyl


“An impressive soundtrack...a signature film score and certainly one of the best electronic scores of the 80's.”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing Tangerine Dream's Theif OST on 180g vinyl in November 2015. Tangerine Dream is among the most successful electronic groups of all time. The band was chosen by Michael Mann to write and produce the original score for Thief, his 1981 directorial debut. Tangerine Dream added their patented pulses, blips and whooshes to the film's highly stylized visual scenes. Up to this time, no one had ever used a sequencer for a neo-noir film...this score is one of the most unusual of its kind for American cinema.

Rather than a full orchestral score, Tangerine Dream's techno-based score uses synthesizer, percussion and electric guitar making for a fascinating and exciting soundtrack. Tracks like “Dr. Destructo” have a fast-paced percussion tempo. An engaging melody on “Beach Theme” makes it one of the album's most familiar and popular tracks, while “Trap Feeling” has a delicacy that compares favorably to Brian Eno's Music for Films.

There were two versions of the album only the US release included “Confrontation” an actual rock song of guitars, bass and drums written by Craig Safan. Band member, Edgar Froese stated at the time,”It was a pleasure working on the film because the exotic and shifting moods of Thief were perfectly suited to the kind of music we played...and yet we knew the music would also stand on its own.”

The soundtrack and the movie are inseparable. The music and movie have grown beyond cult classic status becoming an important part of the collected works of Tangerine Dream and Mann.

Tracks:
SIDE ONE
1. Beach Theme
2. Dr. Destructo
3. Diamond Diary
4. Burning Bar

SIDE TWO
1. Scrap Yard
2. Trap Feeling
3. Igneous
4. Confrontation

Personnel
Edgar Froese– keyboards, electronic equipment, guitar
Christopher Franke– synthesizers, electronic equipment, electronic percussion
Johannes Schmoelling– keyboards, electronic equipment
Craig Safan– composed and performed “Confrontation”

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Audio Fidelity To Release Tangerine Dream “Thief” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack On 180g Vinyl


“An impressive soundtrack...a signature film score and certainly one of the best electronic scores of the 80's.”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing Tangerine Dream's Theif OST on 180g vinyl in November 2015. Tangerine Dream is among the most successful electronic groups of all time. The band was chosen by Michael Mann to write and produce the original score for Thief, his 1981 directorial debut. Tangerine Dream added their patented pulses, blips and whooshes to the film's highly stylized visual scenes. Up to this time, no one had ever used a sequencer for a neo-noir film...this score is one of the most unusual of its kind for American cinema.

Rather than a full orchestral score, Tangerine Dream's techno-based score uses synthesizer, percussion and electric guitar making for a fascinating and exciting soundtrack. Tracks like “Dr. Destructo” have a fast-paced percussion tempo. An engaging melody on “Beach Theme” makes it one of the album's most familiar and popular tracks, while “Trap Feeling” has a delicacy that compares favorably to Brian Eno's Music for Films.

There were two versions of the album only the US release included “Confrontation” an actual rock song of guitars, bass and drums written by Craig Safan. Band member, Edgar Froese stated at the time,”It was a pleasure working on the film because the exotic and shifting moods of Thief were perfectly suited to the kind of music we played...and yet we knew the music would also stand on its own.”

The soundtrack and the movie are inseparable. The music and movie have grown beyond cult classic status becoming an important part of the collected works of Tangerine Dream and Mann.

Tracks:
SIDE ONE
1. Beach Theme
2. Dr. Destructo
3. Diamond Diary
4. Burning Bar

SIDE TWO
1. Scrap Yard
2. Trap Feeling
3. Igneous
4. Confrontation

Personnel
Edgar Froese– keyboards, electronic equipment, guitar
Christopher Franke– synthesizers, electronic equipment, electronic percussion
Johannes Schmoelling– keyboards, electronic equipment
Craig Safan– composed and performed “Confrontation”

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

9/11/2015

Audio Fidelity To Release Loggins and Messina Classic Rock Gem On 4.0 Quad SACD


“So much great music packed into one album!”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity is releasing Loggins and Messina's critically acclaimed self-titled album on 4.0 Quad SACD. While Loggins and Messina created many fine albums this one stands out as most representative of their impact. In the early '70s the duo pioneered true country/rock and showcased it with style and near-flawless performances.

The eponymously titled 1972 Loggins and Messina album built on the strengths of their debut outing, “Sittin' In.” The same mix of short catchy country-folk-pop gems with longer intricately layered and meaningful ballads bordering on jazz and edgy rock powered its success. The album reached #16 on the Billboard charts and “Your Mama Don't Dance” charted at #4. The epic “Angry Eyes” became an instant FM radio staple reaching the top of the college radio and AOR charts.

This Loggins and Messina album has many varied textures and arrangements. A little bit of country, a number of quality ballads and some good old rock 'n' roll. Their backup band was anchored by multi-instrumentalist Al Garth, and also featured keyboardist Michael Omartian and Poco steel guitarist Rusty Young.

The Loggins and Messina album became the true introduction of the band, Loggins and Messina, not as soloists playing together, but rather as a duo that offered pure genius in their music.

“Exceptional harmonies and insightful lyrics...The cream Of The Classic Rock crop.”

Tracks
1. Good Friend
2. Whiskey
3. Your Mama Don't Dance
4. Long Tail Cat
5. Golden Ribbons
6. Thinking of You
7. Just Before the News
8. Till the Ends Meet
9. Holiday Hotel
10. Lady of My Heart
11. Angry Eyes

Produced by Jim Messina, Kenny Loggins
Mastered for this release by Steve Hoffman at Stephen Marsh Mastering

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

8/19/2015

Audio Fidelity To Release Guitar Innovator Michael Hedges “Aerial Boundaries” on Limited Edition SACD


“The acoustic guitar re-invented...a musical flight of fancy!”

Camarillo, CA – Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity will be releasing guitar innovator Michael Hedges critically acclaimed album Aerial Boundaries on a limited edition hybrid SACD! This will be the first time that the celebrated album has been made available on the SACD format.  It is important to note the "hybrid" SACD is compatible with all standard CD players and no special audio equipment is needed to enjoy the brilliant, remastered sound of unquestionably one of the most groundbreaking albums in acoustic guitar history.

Aerial Boundaries is the record that presented Michael Hedges to the world as the ultimate acoustic guitar visionary, stretching the limits of the instrument to accommodate his uncanny musical ideas. There are moments on the record where it seems impossible that so much music is coming from one man and his guitar. The liner notes inside the SACD booklet assures the listener that the guitar is the origin for every sound heard...attacking his instrument, snapping strings, banging on the fingerboard with his right hand.

The songs on Aerial Boundaries are all beautiful and haunting and it is this emphasis on composition over technique that makes this such an important recording. Hedges' tracks feature layer upon layer of musical complexity and every performance expands the dynamic range of the instrument. Stirring, complex compositions like “Rickover's Dream,” “Spare Change,” and an ingenious instrumental take of Neil Young's “After the Gold Rush” are on full display. Hedges could be seductively quiet and suddenly explosive...slow or fast, timid or thunderous.

“There was simply no one like him,” Bonnie Raitt said of Michael Hedges following his untimely death in 1997, “a very gifted performer, arranger and composer whose music sounded like nothing that had come before it." Aerial Boundaries remains the late composer-guitarist's seminal work, and its innovations in technique, tuning, tone, and intensity remain key texts in modern acoustic circles. Hedges electronically manipulated some of the guitar sounds to an almost unrecognizable point and still managed to create music of untarnished beauty and so very rich in classical harmony.

Aerial Boundaries is also available from Audio Fidelity on a deluxe 180g high quality vinyl pressing.

Tracks:
1. Aerial Boundaries
2. Bensusan
3. Rickover's Dream
4. Ragamuffin
5. After the Gold Rush
6. Hot Type
7. Spare Change
8. Ménage à Trois
9. The Magic Farmer

Produced by Will Ackerman, Michael Hedges, Steven Miller

Engineered by Steven Miller, Oliver Di Cicco, Bill Mueller, Michael Hedges

Mastered for this release by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

7/20/2015

Audio Fidelity To Release Mahavishnu Orchestra's “Birds Of Fire” On Limited Edition 4.0 Quad SACD


“...sets out to further define and refine its blistering jazz-rock direction.”

Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity is releasing the classic fusion album Birds of Fire by the Mahavishnu Orchestra as a limited edition Hybrid 4.0 Quad SACD. Birds of Fire is Mahavishnu Orchestra's second album. It was released in the first half of 1973 and is the last studio album released by the original Mahavishnu Orchestra line-up before the group dissolved. The album became a major crossover hit, rising to number 15 on the pop album charts, and it remains the key item in the slim discography of the first Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Although it has much of the screaming rock energy of the band's first album, Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire is audibly more varied in texture, even more tightly organized, and more musical in content. A remarkable example of precisely choreographed, high-speed solo trading - with John McLaughlin, Jerry Goodman, and Jan Hammer all of one mind, supported by Billy Cobham's machine-gun drumming and Rick Laird's dancing bass.

Birds of Fire consists solely of compositions by John McLaughlin. This includes the track “Miles Beyond (Miles Davis)”, which McLaughlin dedicated to his friend and former bandleader. The SACD booklet features a poem entitled “Revelation” by Sri Chinmoy.

1. BIRDS OF FIRE
2. MILES BEYOND (Miles Davis)
3. CELESTIAL TERRESTRIAL COMMUTERS
4. SAPPHIRE BULLETS OF PURE LOVE
5. THOUSAND ISLAND PARK
6. HOPE
7. ONE WORD
8. SANCTUARY
9. OPEN COUNTRY JOY
10. RESOLUTION

Produced by The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Stereo CD & SACD mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
4.0 Analog to Hi Def DSD Digital Transfer:Gus Skinas
Quadraphonic Sound Supervision: Harold J. Kleiner
Quadraphonic Re-Mix Engineer: Don Young

Audio Fidelity’s Hybrid Super Audio CDs offer three layers on the same disc
o    Single layer  2-channel stereo
o    Dual-layer  - SACD
o    As an added bonus Surround Sound 4.0 all in one disc
Every Audio Fidelity Hybrid MULTICHANNEL Surround Sound SACD is compatible with all standard CD players.

For more information: www.audiofidelity.net
Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com