A BIG roundup of recent Speakers Corner and Pure Pleasure vinyl:

 Got quite a few titles to get through here from Speakers Corner and Pure Pleasure. Getting the technical out of the way first - all the pressings are fabulous. Dead quiet, flat, flawless, the best Pallas can do. The cover art is equally above reproach. So with that out of the way, what about the music?

The Kertesz Dvorak cycle has been a top choice for decades, to say that it has stood the test of time would be an understatement. The 8th reissued here is a great reading, and I do have an original Decca UK pressing to compare it to - a mint copy, in fact. Overall, the Speakers Corner needs not make any excuses. It is superb, wide open, accurate, thoroughly captivating. Compared to an original - and original UK Deccas are legendary - it may have a slight, slight bit less bloom, but a slight, slight more open and wide soundstage, and almost certainly a more extended top end. The differences can pretty much be attributed to more accurate modern equipment, and while originals have their charms and a sonic signature that can never be wholly replicated,  there is in my opinion no reason to search one out when such a solid reissue is in play. Don't hesitate.

 From Pure Pleasure, Coleman Hawkins And His Orchestra is a very odd choice. Late period Coleman, before his mid-sixties Indian Summer, a solid date where the playing is good, but uneventful, everything goes according to plan but no fireworks happen, it can only be considered a nice but inessential piece of the Hawkins discography, chosen by PP perhaps for its obscurity rather than anything else, it surely sounds better here than it ever has. For Coleman completists perhaps, or those who like a fairly relaxing, midweight bop outing.

 Speakers Corner have the legendary Flagstad recital of Sibelius orchestral songs accompanied by the long neglected Fjelstad (whose 1950's EMI Sibelius recordings are still coveted in some parts) this is surely a must-have, the sound again misses the n-th degree of warmth originals have, but this is completely eclipsed by the greater extension and dynamics and the air around the voice. Quite simply, this is better than an original in every way that counts, it is a more modern sound, yet the increase in transparency and sense of space opens up the recording and breathes new life. An exceptional reissue.

 Back to Pure Pleasure for a run of 1970's soul. Numero issued a magnificent Syl Johnson box last year, and now PP have a highlight of his Hi-Records years, "Total Explosion" which proves that Hi under-promoted Syl in favor of Al Green while Syl was way more authentic and gritty. It is raunchy, lyrically blunt and sometimes downright mean, smoking hot, in every way the antithesis of the too-smooth Green. An outstanding choice for reissue and sonically unimpeachable. Totally, and urgently, recommended.

Label mate Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand The Rain" brings back another very under-appreciated soul singer who made a phenomenal string of records for HI, every one of which is excellent. Peebles is darker, classier, and much deeper than her soul and R&B contemporaries, and the relatively unadorned backing is timeless. This is so idiomatic and wholly southern - and so superbly crafted - that it was never going to have top 40 appeal. Pure Pleasure get big kudos for a magnificent choice for reissue, Kevin Grey's mastering from the original analog tapes takes no prisoners. Get this one.

 Pure Please make another class move by reissuing Ike & Tina turner's "Feel Good", perhaps the last great record of their collaboration and one that sees Tina stepping out from under Ike's domination, and the cover showing a jubilant, bursting out Tina - while the back cover shows a more somber Ike - tells pretty much the story. This is a funk record - not R&B, not soul - funk. Sleazy, sweaty funk, 70's funk, polished but not sanitized, killer riffs from Ike, Tina tears it up. Deadly, and incredibly a record that I had never heard or paid attention to before - and that is really what a great reissue program is all about, getting gems and dead flat classics like this back out front. Recommended with conviction.

 Pete Brown is best known fr his collaborations with Jack Bruce as lyricist, particularly on Cream's records. His own "A Meal You Can Shake Hands With In The Dark" is a pretty bold title to reissue, and I can't say it is anywhere near a lost classic - it isn't, it's far too odd a record to be that, and Brown is for sure no Jack Bruce. It has some fine playing, though, from the likes of Chris Spedding, and a very col cover that might be its most compelling attribute. Challenging, occasionally brilliant, always interesting, and more of a curiosity, it gets a fine Pure Pleasure reissue.

 Jim Hall & Bill Evans' "Undercurrent" is a classic, though. A classic of neo-classical, elegantly understated chamber jazz. The duo of Hall & Evans is a natural one, Hall being the master of the quiet fire, and Evans both a superbly sensitive accompanist and a soloist highly complementary.  Again the Pure Pleasure sound here is beyond reproach, opening up the soundstage and enhancing the chamber like interplay. A masterpiece, not to be missed.

 Lastly, a Columbia period Monk reissue "It's Monk Time" from Speakers Corner. Columbia era Monk is often considered second rate, but to me, this is the prime Monk period. A combination of quartet and solo pieces, Monk at this point had continued to move ahead, and Rouse had clearly been challenged by Coltrane. Rouse in particular here can be more aggressive and 'outside' than he was earlier with Monk, and Thelonious himself has put his angular technique completely together, often outright encompassing stride and ragtime in his playing. Ben Riley has long been under appreciated. Now..if only Speakers Corner would reissue "Underground" ....