As ORG/Original Recordings Group seems to want to emulate Classic Records quality control reputation (as in, no quality control) - out of the ashes of Classic comes Quality Recordings, a part of Chad Kassem's Acoustic Sounds empire.
First up - some Freddie King, Getting Ready and Texas Cannonball, both originally on Shelter (Leon Russell's old label) and featuring the Russell/Muscle Shoals crowd. Both fine, hot blues rockers well recorded and given excellent, warm, vibrant if a bit loud and brash remasterings.
But I'm sure what readers want to know about is the pressings.
Well, they are dead perfect. Flat, centered, quiet, visually perfect, in MOFI style inners. Just simply perfect, the way it should be.
The much delayed Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman is the title I imagine most are wanting to know about.
Again, I have a flat, perfect 200g pressing that is totally quiet - perfect in every way. Classic never really could get 200g right. Quality Recordings seems to have it nailed.
Marino's remaster is warm, big sounding, detailed, tonally excellent. Perhaps Marino's weak spot is that his remasters tend to sound rather unsubtle (to mangle a perfectly good word) - a bit brash, lacking some delicacy and inner quality that a better remastering engineer like Bernie Grundman can achieve. He is far better than Steve Hoffman, though - maybe on a par with Gray. But that's not to take away much from a very fine achievement here - this is a splendid reissue, a bargain at $30, and a fine start to Quality Recordings that looks towards a fine, long future.
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