Solid Air [VINYL]

Product Information

The Police ‘Ghost in the Machine’ – Cut from a high-resolution digital transfer from the best known ¼ analogue tape in existence Of course, it is not as simple as running everything at half rate. There is an EQ curve applied to all vinyl records and by running the lathe at half speed, all the frequencies are wrong. However, the technical staff at Abbey Road have had new custom built filters installed which allow Miles to practice half speed cutting to the full on a modified Neumann VMS-80 lathe. Recorded at the Sound Techniques Studio in Chelsea during 1972, John Martyn’s seminal album Solid Air was released in February 1973. The idea with this method is that the recording stylus has twice as long to carve the intricate groove into the master lacquer and high-frequency information is easy to cut because it’s not high frequency any more – when played half speed it’s mid-range, which is easier to cut. The advantages are supposed to be a record that is capable of an ‘extremely clean and unforced high-frequency response’ and a detailed and solid stereo image.

Universal Music have launched a new series of special vinyl releases, including classic titles from The Rolling Stones, Simple Minds and The Police, under the ‘Half Speed Mastering’ banner… Cut by Miles Showell, one of the world’s leading exponents of half speed cutting, these are among the very finest vinyl pressings that these albums have ever received. Half speed mastering has resulted in “superior high frequency response (treble) and very solid and stable stereo images”, and pressed to a very high standard in Germany, ensuring top notch sound quality. Unlike previous re-issues the album was cut at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios. This technique results in the very highest quality sound reproduction.If the source isn’t good enough, I won’t be doing it. I’m not here to try to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. I want to make sure that everything I’ve got is good. So… if there’s no high quality source to work from, there’s not a lot of point.” HMV Press release, “LIMITED EDITION GREEN VINYL LP, 500 ONLY, HMV EXCLUSIVE AVAILABLE FOR ONE DAY ONLY ON 18TH JUNE 2016. Source: Digital transfers from the original ¼” tapes, recently prepared by Free remastering engineer Andy Pearce. Once in a while you hear a song that finds its way deep into your memory, and you find yourself humming along. This album has more than its share of fine songs like that, but noticeably Go Down Easy and May You Never.” (Pippin) Considered by many to be his finest, and without doubt his most famous album, the enduring theme of love epitomizes Martyn’s philosophy on life.

The translucent green Solid Air must have sold well for HMV and so they decided to have another go, this time on blue vinyl! The exclusive HMV store release of Solid Air on translucent blue vinyl was released 13 October 2018. With mellow jazzy flourishes and warm acoustic sounds, Solid Air is the musical equivalent of a reassuring hug… a quiveringly sexy folk record.” (Q, 1999 voting Solid Air as one of the best chill-out albums of all time) If you appreciate irony, you may have noticed that some of the most tortured souls – Marvin Gaye, for one – deliver music that deeply heals; maybe its very creation is self-medication. Such is the case with John Martyn’s pivotal 1973 LP, the revered Solid Air. Located at the same crossroad where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil to play like he did, the dichotomy of Solid Air pointed to future directions, such as ambient and trip-hop, unusual for a product of the folk scene. The vinyl L.P. is an analogue sound carrier. Therefore the size and shape of the groove carrying the music is directly related to whatever the music is doing at any particular point. By reducing the speed by a factor of two the recording stylus has twice as long to carve the intricate groove into the master lacquer. Also, any difficult to cut high-frequency information becomes fairly easy to cut mid-range. The result is a record that is capable of extremely clean and un-forced high-frequency response as well as a detailed and solid stereo image. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge.This album was cut from a high-resolution digital transfer from the best known analogue tape in existence. Only minimal sympathetic equalisation was applied to the transfer to keep everything as pure as possible. Also, as this was an analogue, vinyl only high quality release, I did not apply any digital limiting. This is added to almost all digital releases to make them appear to be loud and is responsible for “the loudness war” and in almost every case is anything but natural and pure sounding.

Free ‘Fire and Water’ – Cut from digital transfers from the original ¼” tapes, recently prepared by Free remastering engineers Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham Simple Minds ‘New Gold Dream’ – Cut from a high-resolution digital transfer from the original ½” analogue masters So there it is, one of the 100 Greatest British Albums Of All Time as rated by Q magazine, as well as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. However, upon its release Solid Air received scant attention from the music press and despite Martyn embarking on a UK tour in March to promote the record it failed to even dent the charts. History therefore has finally caught up with this outstanding record, which is one reason it is being reissued as on vinyl having been remastered at half speed at Abbey Road. With mellow jazzy flourishes and warm acoustic sounds, Solid Air is the musical equivalent of a reassuring hug…the man Beth Orton calls The Guv’nor achieved the impossible: he made a quiveringly sexy folk record.”– (Q, 1999 voting Solid Air as one of the best chill-out albums of all time)A great album…as a single overall expression ‘Solid Air’ flows beautifully and shows the entire spectrum of music that John Martyn has at his fingertips.” (Sounds 7/4/73)

The Rolling Stones, ‘Exile on Main St’ – Cut from 24bit/96khz digital transfers supplied by The Rolling Stones and made from original ¼” tapes i have a few now , this one , john martyns bless the weather and one world , and a free tons of sobs Cream ‘Disraeli Gears’ – Cut from digital transfers made from the original ¼” MONO masters (with edits) from Atlantic Studios NYC, 1967 – transfers were made at Sterling Sound, NYC, in 2013 Solid Air…if I had to decide, would probably rank as my favourite of the whole lot.” (Andy Childs, ZigZag No.41)Abbey Road’s engineers have been cutting grooves into discs since the studios first opened their doors in 1931. In 2013, award-winning engineer Miles Showell joined their existing mastering team, bringing a wealth of disc-cutting experience with him. Released by Universal Music on 6 May 2016 (delayed from 15 April 2016) on high quality audiophile vinyl. Unlike previous reissues the album was cut at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios. This technique results in the very highest quality sound reproduction.