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Two guitar giants. A band comprised of virtuosic instrumentalists. One shared goal. And one tremendous album. The only meeting of Santana and John McLaughlin on record, Love Devotion Surrender more than lives up to the promise offered by its principal creators. Based in divine faith, religious toleration, meditative intent, and the forward-thinking philosophy that music can take us closer to the truth, it is a spiritual journey. These enlightening concepts are reflected in the inspired playing of Santana and McLaughlin, who repeatedly hit a higher plane on this 1973 set.
Sourced from the original analog master tapes and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g LP of Love Devotion Surrenderbenefits from the reissue label’s painstaking engineering efforts. The windows on the record’s give-and-take passages, sustained notes, and varied textures are thrown open with palpable transparency and detail. Laden with delicate acoustic touches and gentle piano touches, as well as powerful staccato bursts and fast-paced percussion, Love Devotion Surrender contains a dynamic mix of tempos, tones, and contrasts crucial to its optimal enjoyment. This collectible edition brings those aspects to the fore with extraordinary realism.
In addition, the pinpoint imaging — Santana primarily on the left, McLaughlin on the right — invites you to picture the musicians in the act. You’ll sense a newfound freedom and naturalism to the playback, as well as black backgrounds and an openness that allow the widespread array of textures, atmospherics, echoes, and neo-psychedelic shapes to float in the air. Call it jamming guided by a higher power or surreal art brought together by time, circumstance, and purpose; there really is no other album completely like it.
Having each become a follower of Indian guru Sri Chinmoy, who wrote the album’s extensive liner-note essay and is seen in several jacket photos, Santana and McLaughlin began playing together in 1972. Both legends found themselves in the midst of personal and creative transition. Santana was moving away from rock-based songs in favor of exploratory jazz-rock. A contemporary of Miles Davis, McLaughlin had already achieved fame with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, then on the brink of collapse due to internal disagreements.
On Love Devotion Surrender, the duo pools its interests in discovery and transcendence into gorgeous music steeped in improvisational lines, ecstatic chords, and sensitive organ accompaniment courtesy of the record’s best-kept secret, Larry Young. The former Blue Note recording artist had already connected with McLaughlin in the Tony Williams Lifeline, which began as a power trio and turned jazz on its head with its groundbreaking 1969 debut. Young’s ear for melody and fearless penchant for chasing down adventurous fusion leads — not to mention keeping pace with the headliners, no small feat — make him an ideal foil for the proto post-rock happening throughout.
Credited under his Muslim name, Khalid Yasin, Young isn’t the only standout. Several Santana contemporaries — bassist Doug Rauch, drummers Mike Shrieve and Billy Cobham, percussionists Mingo Lewis and Armando Peraza — play alongside Mahavishnu Orchestra member Jan Hammer and Tony Williams Lifeline drummer Don Alias, who already had credits on Davis’ seminal Bitches Brew and On the Corner. Complemented by Santana and McLaughlin, the ensemble sounds and feels unstoppable.
In addition to the band’s search for sacred soulfulness, the common denominator throughout is John Coltrane, who engaged in similar pursuits during the 1960s. Two of the five compositions — “A Love Supreme,” “Naima” — are interpretations of Coltrane standards while the lynchpin, a nearly 16-minute investigation into the traditional “Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord,” integrates free-form structure, jazz phrasing, gospel mysticism, cross-cut dynamics, and tonal shaping into one of the most uplifting pieces of music you’ll ever hear. The same can be said for the entirety of Love Devotion Surrender. Bow down.
Track Listing
- A Love Supreme
- Naima
- The Life Divine
- Let Us Go into the House of the Lord
- Meditation
Music Vinyl LP's
Alan Parsons – I Robot – MoFi Ultradisc 180g 33RPM Vinyl Box Set
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MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES: ULTRADISC ONE-STEP LP ELEVATES THE AUDIOPHILE STANDARD WHILE OFFERING ONE-FLIP CONVENIENCE Most audiophiles know Alan Parsons Project’s I Robot by heart. Engineered by Parsons after he performed the same duties on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, the 1977 record reigns as a disc whose taut bass, crisp highs, clean production, and seemingly limitless dynamic range are matched only by the sensational prog-rock fare helmed by the keyboardist. Not surprisingly, it’s been issued myriad times. Can it be improved? Relish Mobile Fidelity’s stupendous UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM box set and the question becomes moot.
Alan Parsons – I Robot – MoFi Ultradisc 180g 45RPM 2LP Box Set
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MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES: ULTRADISC ONE-STEP SET IS THE ULTIMATE ANALOG VERSION OF 1977 AUDIOPHILE STANDARD Audiophiles don’t need any introduction to the Alan Parsons Project’s I Robot. Engineered by Parsons after he performed the same duties on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, the 1977 record reigns as a disc whose taut bass, crisp highs, clean production, and seemingly limitless dynamic range are matched only by the sensational prog-rock fare helmed by the keyboardist. Not surprisingly, it’s been issued myriad times. Can it be improved? Relish Mobile Fidelity’s stupendous UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set and the question becomes irrelevant.
Bill Evans and Jim Hall – Undercurrent – Mofi Vinyl
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Diverse Set Encompasses Ballads, Waltzes, Hard-Swinging Bop
Bill Evans catapulted to the top of the jazz world in June 1961 after reeling off three straight masterpiece sessions at New York’s Village Vanguard with his trio. Yet the emotional highs came to a screeching halt shortly thereafter when bassist Scott LaFaro died in a car accident. Devastated, Evans refrained from playing for nearly a year. If not for an inspirational collaboration of tremendous creative outpouring, one wonders what fate may have befallen Evans. Undercurrent, the outcome of two studio sessions with guitarist Jim Hall, is that project.
Bill Withers – Still Bill – 180g Mofi Vinyl
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Mastered On Mobile Fidelity's Renowned Mastering System And Pressed At Rti For Definitive Sound.
As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Bill Withers' Still Bill remains true to its title – and stands as the greatest male-fronted soul album not made by a singer named Marvin, Al, Sam, James, or Ray. Though the saying "keeping it real" did not exist in popular parlance when Withers released his sophomore effort on Sussex Records, no words better capture the music's approach, mindset, and value. Every facet of Still Bill radiates honesty, truth, and emotion. These characteristics – along with Withers' strong singing, hybrid arrangements, and deceptively simple songwriting – have allowed the album to endure to the point where it sounds as fresh today as in 1972.
Bill Withers’ Greatest Hits 180g Mofi Vinyl
Bill Withers’ Smooth Soul Voice, Mellow Grooves, and Gospel Accents Inform Beloved Work: Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson, and Stephen Stills Among Guests.
A veritable template for British soul contemporaries like Sam Smith and an extension of the timeless fare explored by Van Morrison, Curtis Mayfield, and Al Green, Bill Withers’ Greatest Hits belongs in every music lover’s library.
Billy Joel – 52nd Street 180g 45RPM 2LP Mofi Vinyl
Mainstream Perfection: Melodic Devices, Passionate Singing, Sophisticated Arrangements, Jazzy Backdrop Walk Down 52nd Street
Some artists embrace their success by repeating the steps that originally granted them fame. Billy Joel did the opposite, refusing to be contained by prescribed approaches or constrained by a given label. The follow-up to the breakthrough TI, 52nd Street further expands on its predecessor's bold production techniques and inventive arrangements, incorporating more sophisticated textures as well as reflecting a jazz edge gleaned from New York City's thriving club scene.
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