Cerca:final edition

In the late 2000s a sprawling catalog of what is now genre-defining music was emanating from an unlikely place. Cleveland, Ohio has a broad reputation for many things, but in the aughts, psyche-expanding Kosmische wasn’t necessarily Cleveland’s calling card… until Emeralds. The trio of John Elliott, Steve Hauschildt, and Mark McGuire had released a profusion of limited-run cassettes, CD-Rs, and vinyl titles that had been passed around basement shows and then migrated to niche music communities online, creating a unique kind of murmur, even in the height of the DIY blog era. Three kids from the rust belt were crafting a distinctive and truly far-out strain of music on their own terms in the Midwest. They were flipping lids in wood-paneled basements and circulating around the underground with soaring sounds stylistically indebted to deep German electronic music pioneers and released with the ethos and twisted fervor of renegade Midwestern noise freaks. After several releases garnered a die-hard fandom in niche circles of internet/music culture, and then catching the attention of the late Peter Rehberg, the renowned artist and curator of the Editions Mego label, an expectation was set that the next Emeralds record was going to be a big one. And in 2010, Does it Look Like I’m Here? was it.

mp3s of this album; they can finally get a fresh copy on vinyl. Does It Look Like I’m Here? became a hallmark that would carve a path for an entire scene. Ghostly International is thrilled to reissue the album, remastered by Heba Kadry, including 7 bonus tracks exclusive to the digital album and CD. The limited edition 2xLP includes extensive liner notes by Chris Madak (Bee Mask).

THE LEGENDARY 1980 ALBUM REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL TAPES.
• 2LP SET WITH 12” X 12” BOOKLET.
• INLCUDES THE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ‘COMS 1-3 RDX SUITE’ (TAKEN FROM THE ‘COMMERCIAL
ALBUM’ MULTITRACK TAPES).
• PRODUCED WITH THE RESIDENTS AND THE CRYPTIC CORPORATION.
• THE SEVENTH IN A SERIES OF VINYL RE-ISSUES OF THE RESIDENTS’ CLASSIC 70S ALBUMS.
Formed in the early 1970s, The Residents have now been charting a unique path through the
musical landscape for 50 years. In celebration of that remarkable and unlikely anniversary, we
present an expanded vinyl edition of the classic 1980 LP ‘Commercial Album’.
Following almost a decade spent attempting to redefine what pop music could be, but with zero
hit singles to show for it, The Residents finally caved and produced their own pop music album as
the 80s dawned. But rather than have each song repeat the same minute of music three times as
per the traditional pop format, The Residents produced no less than 40 one-minute pop
masterpieces, and invited the listener to do the repeating bit themselves if they felt the need.
The resulting ‘Commercial Album’ both showcased the incredible depth of the group’s musical
palette and proved definitively that they could easily be as big as The Beatles if they wanted to.
Probably bigger, actually.
Featuring a breathless collage of toe-tappers, memorable melodies, instrumental experiments
and guest performers (Fred Frith, Chris Cutler and XTC’s Andy Partridge among them), the
record has since acquired legendary status among both fans and confused onlookers alike.
Alongside the original album, this 2LP edition presents the ‘COMS 1-3 RDX Suite’ – a brand new
interpretation of (almost) the entire album, produced by the group using the original multi-track
tapes – and a brand new sleevenote essay shedding new light on the album’s production.
‘Commercial Album’ is the latest in The Residents’ extensive ongoing pREServed series – expect
more throughout 2023 and 2024. Possibly even 2025 too, the way things are going.

Imperial f.f.r.r. was Unrest’s breakthrough album in 1992. It has withstood the test of time and is now considered an indie-rock classic and one of the best albums of the 1990s. Formed in 1984, at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, the band started releasing homemade cassettes on their own Teenbeat label. Imperial f.f.r.r. is their sixth album and marked the arrival of original Velocity Girl vocalist Bridget Cross joining drummer Phil Krauth and singer/guitarist Mark Robinson. It was recorded by Wharton Tiers (Sonic Youth) at his home studio in Manhattan. After the release of Imperial f.f.r.r., the band released singles on Sub Pop and K and soon thereafter signed to legendary U.K. indie 4AD, releasing their final studio album Perfect Teeth in 1993. This limited edition features the original design and layout of the very first pressing from 1992. All the details have been recreated including the lyric sheet, the blue box around the amplifier on the front, the label art, and even the Ajax and No.6 Records logos. The original didn't have a barcode, so we've created a spiffy new removeable OBI card for that featuring a photograph by Mike Galinsky (The Decline of Mall Civilization) of the band playing at New York's Spiral club in 1991.

NoCorner and Stone King proudly presents the first official collaboration between Ossia and Andy Mac. Both are fresh off a series of high-profile releases and projects - Ossia with recent releases on Berceuse Heroique and Blackest Ever Black, and Andy with his new Deep Street label and the 2nd Diving Bird 12 that just came through on Idle Hands.

Featuring three tracks written & recorded between 2015 and 2017, the record sees Andy & Ossia's mutual love for Jamaican and African rhythms, dusty records and a tape-saturated approach to guide a fresh, dubwise production process involving a battered old Roland Sampler and Ossia's infamous half-broken analogue Trident Mixing desk.

A Side Soup Riddim serves itself up as a hybrid slab of dancehall, dub and perhaps even the looser stylings of house - a fresh twist with an eternally-universal emphasis on space, and the movement within it. On the flip, Cado leans even further into negative space, allowing a gorgeous piece of samplism to drive the rhythm all the way to its conclusion in the blink of an eye, with the soft insistence of the percussion playing with the listener's sense of time. This feeling intensifies in the final track, Linguine Loop. A shapeshifting low-frequency hum underpins a hypnotic melodic loop that develops, delays and distorts into a dizzying crescendo of feedback and noise. The final minutes serve as a final reflection on what came before as the melody slowly re-filters into the mix as a ghostly, half-there form of itself, drawing the reductive conclusion to this EP, a triple version excursion of far-away sounds.

Edition of 300, six times (at least) hand-stamped, in kraft sleeve.
Mastered and cut by Lewis at Stardelta.

Mike Cooper wrote his final songwriter record, a suite of gloaming glam-rock anthems performed with a spiritual jazz trio, while living on the Costa Tropical of Granada, Spain, an era when he was considering retiring from music altogether. A chance encounter and a last-ditch record deal convinced him to make one last album, which he recorded in 1974 at Pathway Studios in London, with “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World,” featuring the inventive South African jazz rhythm section of Louis Moholo and Harry Miller with UK saxophonist Mike Osborne. This first-ever reissue includes a bonus CD of Milan Live Acoustic 2018, a previously unreleased solo set that represents Cooper’s return, after forty-four years pursuing free improvisation and electronics, to a new, deconstructed approach to singing, steel guitar, and songcraft. The deluxe LP+CD edition also features a six-panel insert with additional artwork and an essay by the artist about both records. The deluxe 2xCD gatefold edition features an eight-panel version of the same insert. In the wake of his magisterial triptych of early 1970s avant-folk-rock records Trout Steel (1970), Places I Know (1971), and The Machine Gun Co. (1972) the British songwriter, guitarist, and fledgling improviser Mike Cooper retreated to the Costa Tropical of Granada, Spain. With no prospects for touring or recording again, his fiery band the Machine Gun Co. had disintegrated. Cooper sets the scene in his liner notes of the first-ever reissue of his unjustly forgotten next album Life and Death in Paradise (1974): No one came running with offers of fame and riches, and we fell apart, and I left the country and headed for the beach, disillusioned and a bit disorientated musically. I went to Almuñécar in Andalusia, a place I had been going since 1969, because a painter friend from Reading, Rowland Fade who made the collage in the gatefold of my earlier album Trout Steel had moved there in 1968. It was in this synthetic coastal “paradise,” unmoored and adrift, considering retiring from music altogether, that he began tentatively writing new songs. A chance encounter with producer Tony Hall, who offered Cooper a last-ditch record deal on Hall’s nascent Fresh Air label, convinced him to make one last album with the stipulation that he could assemble what he called “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World.” I told Tony that I would do it if I could hire some of my South African jazz musician friends that I had used on my Pye/Dawn albums and some friends from Reading that I still knew and admired. I called up Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, and Mike Osborne, who were in fact a trio at the time … and several local Reading heroes, including the singer-songwriter Terry Clarke. The result, recorded live with minimal overdubbing at Pathway Studios in London, was Life and Death in Paradise, an utterly singular suite of gloaming glam-rock anthems performed with a spiritual jazz trio comprising the inventive South African jazz rhythm section of Moholo and Miller with UK saxophonist Osborne. Unlike anything else in Cooper’s extensive catalog. Fresh Air fizzled, and Life and Death became Cooper’s final record as a songwriter, having pushed the form as far as he could. Drifting north from Spain back to the UK, he fell into the scene of the London Musicians Collective (LMC) including Paul Burwell, David Toop, and saxophonist Lol Coxhill, Cooper’s bandmate in the Recedents and fully embraced free improvisation. He was still, however, interested in singing and lyrics, so, influenced by Tom Phillips, William Burroughs, and Brion Gysin, he began experimenting with text collage and cut-up techniques, arriving at his own hybrid compositional strategy for improvisatory songs. The previously unreleased solo set Milan Live Acoustic 2018 represents Cooper’s return, after more than four decades pursuing free improvisation and electronics, to a new, deconstructed approach to singing, lap steel guitar, and songcraft. Presented here together with Life and Death in Paradise, the two records provide fascinating bookends to Mike Cooper’s long, mercurial, and pioneering practice as a songmaker.

A central figure in Seattle’s fading disco scene, radio DJ, producer, engineer, writer and multi-instrumentalist…Tony Benton was the driving force behind the Seattle soul-funk sound during the late 70s & 80s. Starting off his career at the age of ten he learned how to play the piano and then finally got to take a music class in the 7th grade. Having access to an electric piano made him fall in love with the thought that he could make his own music. At the age of 16 Tony and his friends already formed their first band called ‘Crystal Clear’ and were making up songs in his basement.
Things would really start off when Tony Benton teamed up with his group to form the avant-boogie group Teleclere who went on to release their first single in 1982 (Fantasy Love / Ultra Groove). That’s when Tony started playing all of the other instruments and thus earning him the title ‘multi-instrumentalist’. Teleclere was all about creating and performing original music, there was no music scene in Seattle at that time for a black artist or group who played original compositions. Rap-music was also emerging and clubs slowly started to switch from live performances to deejays.
Through the success of their independent EP release, Teleclere followed up a year later with their Affection/Defection album which created a serious hype. This gave them the chance to regularly open at concerts for national artists in halls and clubs. They played at nightclubs, bars, festivals, private parties and did mini tours in the Washington State cities & Canada…including opening for Grammy-award winning soul-star Peabo Bryson (performing for a crowd of 3,000 in their hometown Seattle)
Sadly, radio would not play their music so folks never really had the chance to hear it unless they saw them perform live (they always won the crowd over). To add insult to injury, venues and the likes started to mainly book cover bands playing top 40 music. Disappointed by this Tony Benton became a radio personality but would continue to record and perform under the name ‘Teleclere’ with various players and vocalists for many years to come. Only a handful of his tracks recorded were released in the end.
Thankfully we are left with the unique audio-document that is the Affection/Defection LP. The album took the scene by storm in 1983 and sounds like a sci-fi space odyssey unfolding on an intergalactic dance floor…a chopped and slapped slice of 80ies electro-funk, sensual soulful serenades, pulses of Innervisions-worthy bass, top of the line vocals and a plethora of vocoder magic. Also included is the hit ‘Steal Your Love’ that was featured on the acclaimed 2014 Light In The Attic compilation ‘Wheedle’s Groove Volume II: Seattle Funk, Modern Soul And Boogie 1972-1987’.
Tidal Waves Music (in collaboration with the Numero Group) now proudly presents the first ever vinyl reissue of this fantastic private pressed Seattle electronic soul/funk album (originally released in 1983 on Telemusic Productions). This rare record (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork and obi strip.

Waking at Dawn was released in 2016 as a follow-up to Roy's debut EP, Exis. The projectfeatures the hit single, "Gwan Big Up Urself", inspired by his Caribbean roots & brought to lifeby Jamaican producer KRS. Another critically acclaimed single off the project, "How I Feel",shines light on Roy's ability to bend genres and vocal styles effortlessly.


The release brings to life the diverse talents of Roy Woods and his ability to write and singsongs that range in sound. Now his fans can finally listen to it on limited edition red vinyl

'The Long Stuff' was originally issued in 2002 as a CD-only limited edition of 110 copies for members of 'The Bevis Frond Online Community'. It comprised a select batch of lengthy, previously unissued tracks. Some of these were home demos featuring just Frond frontman Nick Saloman on all instruments and vocals. There was also an unused track recorded for the 1995 album ‘Superseeder’ featuring Ade Shaw on bass and Andy Ward on drums. Since then, ‘The Long Stuff’ has never been re-issued in any format. It is therefore with great pleasure that Blue Matter are re-releasing it for the first time, and now as a vinyl double album and limited double CD. Due to certain circumstances, one of the original tracks could not be used, so that has been replaced by a different unheard demo called ‘Here’s a Little Love Song’. Also, we have added three further unissued tracks, another home demo called ‘Skyline Commander’, plus a leftover song from the sessions for the recently released ‘Little Eden’ album called ‘Yet Another’. Finally, we felt compelled to add a storming 24 minute live version of the classic track ‘Superseded’ recorded at Cardigan’s Doctor Sardonicus festival in 2019. So, to sum up, the first album of this double set features all bar one of the tracks that were previously on the original ‘Long Stuff’ CD in 2002, while the second album entirely comprises previously unreleased material. The LP will be housed in a full colour sleeve

An incredible 45 of Latin disco – recorded in Peru during the late 70s by funk pioneers Black Sugar, and right up there with the best from New York and LA of that era! It’s taken over four decades 'Baila' to become a winner spin at international events in the soul and disco scenes, a sought-after collector's item and, above all, the dancefloor hit that should have always been. First time reissue. Black Sugar is a Peruvian band, considered a pioneer group in Latin America in mixing funk influences with rock and Latin rhythms. In 1976, following their gig at Coliseo Amauta in Lima, opening the night for the legendary Spanish band Barrabás, they started to show a growing interest in disco music, resulting in some line up changes with members leaving the project due to their lack of interest in the new sound and new ones joining in. Word is that Sono Radio, home to a bunch of local Tamla MoTown releases for the Peruvian market, thought that Black Sugar's prestige, and their credibility in the new orientation towards disco sound, would benefit from seeing their new single pressed with the labels of the famous record company from Detroit. And so it was. Under certain lights and shadows, ‘Baila’ was finally released in Peru only in 1978, sporting the same look as the releases of the likes of Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Commodores or Thelma Houston. A clever marketing ploy that however failed in boosting the sales of the single…Only a few original copies have survived to this day, of either the first and the second edition from 1979 released on the US label Libra, and reached the collectors market. It’s now, over four decades later, when the interest on this recording has gone stronger and ‘Baila’ is getting regular spins at international soul/disco scene events, having become a very sought-after collectors item and, on top of that, the dance floor anthem that should have always been. The stunning piano arrangements of the intro, the outstanding brass sections —faithfully copied from the disco recordings coming from the States—, a very catchy chorus… ‘Baila’ has all the necessary ingredients to become an addictive invitation to join the dance floor. On the B side, a cover version of Barry White’s hit ‘Sha La La (Means I Love You)’ —as appeared on the original issue of this record— shows what the interest of the band was at the time. First time reissue. TRACKLIST Side A Baila Side B Sha La La (Means I Love You)

Upper Belvedere Indies Splatter Edition is Clear Blue w/ Green Splatter! After the scrapped Dessau sessions in 1992, Codeine returned with an EP of icy and effervescent tracks. Clocking in at a brisk 25 minutes, the six-song 12" features drummer Chris Brokaw's final recordings with the group, plus noisy guitar from Bitch Magnet's Jon Fine and a solo piano arrangement from Bastro's David Grubbs. Remastered from the original analog tapes and recreated in painstaking detail, Barely Real is the slowcore classic your therapist warned you about. "As far away from traditional rock & roll heat as a post-stellar universe is to the Big Bang." _ The Quietus

Keni Burke's seminal Changes yielded the eternal club classic "Risin' To The Top". You need this record for this iconic steppers anthem alone. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that the whole of Changes, first released in 1982 on RCA but now a tricky one to find, is something truly special. It's a masterpiece of sophisticated 80s groove, containing first class funky soul that sounds as fresh as ever. This is multi-tempo soul music conceived in heaven.

Ace bass player, songwriter, arranger and producer, Keni Burke was discovered by Curtis Mayfield and a childhood member of the Five Stairsteps. Emanating from that magical 81-83 era and pristinely recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound Studios, his third solo album Changes really perfected Keni's groove. It incorporated tight, snappy rhythm arrangements which, despite the era, featured *real drums* courtesy of Steve Ferrone (from Average White Band) to compliment Keni's meaty bass lines. With Dean "Sir" Gant on synths and keyboards and Ed Walsh handling the Vocoder-OBX and Prophet 5, wonderful lines from Earth, Wind & Fire's legendary horn section and hooky rhythm and lead guitar riffs courtesy of Ed "Tree" Walsh, Keni was truly spoiled for excellence. With Doc Gibbs on percussion and Vince Montana on vibes elevating the sensational writing and arrangements, Keni couldn't really go wrong.

“Risin’ To The Top” is undoubtedly the defining crown and lasting legacy of this album. Wth its instantly captivating bassline, slowly creepin' groove and uplifting lyrics, it was a favourite among both the 80s soul steppers and hip-hop crowd and remains canonical to this day. Written by Burke, Allan Felder, and former Chic member Norma Jean Wright, it incredibly failed to garner much American radio play or really trouble the soul charts. Whilst it was an instant classic in the U.K., in the States it took the hip-hop generation and later R&B and hip-hop samples of the tune to finally make it popular, many years later. Of note, Big Daddy Kane sampled it for "Smooth Operator", LL Cool J for "Around The Way Girl", Pete Rock & CL Smooth for "Take You There" and O.C. with "Born 2 Live".

But the highlights are not restricted to this one behemoth. For example, the track which precedes "Risin'" on Side B is another steppers favourite. "One Minute More" is a perfect mid-tempo ballad and the epitome of deep modern soul. A truly timeless work of genius. We, for one, struggle to think of a better song segue than the moment you're still reeling from the intense beauty of "One Minute More" and "Risin'" elegantly stirs into action. Frisson in excelsis. The propulsive, bass-heavy opener "Shakin" is an indisputable cracker and its followed by the timeless mid-tempo class of "Hang Tight". Just gorgeous. Next up, "Can't Get Enough" is another emotional, horn heavy chugger. The side closes with the sparse, tender, floating sl-o-o-w jam "Who Do You Love"; a truly divine ballad. The B-side beings with the title-track, "Changes", a squelchy, melodic boogie banger with fantastic keys, incredible vocals, ace shuffling percussion and spacey synths. It's followed by the ultimate one-two in "One Minute More" and "Risin'" before this sensational set closes with the glorious easy glide "All Night".

An absolutely essential record for fans of deeply soulful modern-funk, Changes was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Balston for Alchemy at AIR Studios. The artwork was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months so, hopefully, this fresh new edition ensures this long-lusted after album is no longer so awkward to find.

Bo Diddley was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, and The Clash.

A Man Amongst Men is his 24th and final studio album by this music legend and features an array of guest artists: Billy Boy Arnold, Johnnie Johnson, Jerry Portnoy, Keith Richards, Richie Sambora, The Shirelles, Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Ron Wood a.o.

A Man Amongst Men is available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on purple coloured vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet.

Preservation Act 2 is the 1974 follow-up to The Kinks’ 1973 Preservation Act 1 RCA album, and their thirteenth studio LP.

The album is a finely produced concept of story, theatre, instrumentals, announcements, guest singers and songs.
A further installement of Ray Davies’ musical drama, with the character sketches, wry observations and ballads seen on Preservation Act 1.

Full of The Kinks’ distinctive and unique charm, featuring gems such as ‘Money Talks’, ‘He’s Evil’, ‘Mirror Of Love’ and ‘Artificial Man’.

This is a 2LP black heavyweight 180g vinyl in gatefold sleeve, with original artwork faithfully reproduced. The first repress, apart from a limited edition 2008 US pressing, since the original release in 1974.

Released in 1975, Schoolboys In Disgrace is The Kinks fifteenth studio album.

The album is a return to the Kinks simpler, traditional rock sound from the more theatrical style of their recent releases of the time, and combines rock ‘n roll with harder rock, ‘50s pop and doo-wop.

The album is a nostalgic trip through childhood and
tells the origin story of Mr. Flash, the villain from previous Kinks titles, with well-known tracks such as ‘I’m In Disgrace’, ‘No More Looking Back’ and ‘Schooldays’.

Faithfully reproduced heavyweight vinyl 1LP and first repress, apart from a limited edition 2008 US run, since its original release in 1975.

NOW Music is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series – and our first to celebrate the ‘90s, NOW – Yearbook 1992; 79 tracks from a brilliant year in Pop! Available as a Special Edition CD housed in ‘hard-back-book’ packaging, including a 28-page booklet featuring a summary of the year, a track-by-track guide, a quiz, and original singles artwork, a standard 4CD package, and a Limited edition 3-LP set pressed on green vinyl.

2023 Edition - Now a 'cult classic' , repressed for 2023 ears on All City Dublin. Onra started the project in August 2006, freshly returned from a trip to Vietnam, the land of his grandparents. A vinyl junkie at heart, he really couldn’t come back to France without bringing back some wax.

After hours spent riding on a motorbike through the streets of Saigon, a taxi finally helped him find some Asian records - he almost felt like an explorer discovering a forgotten treasure. He bought 30 records, most of them in poor condition, went back to his crib and started making beats with material that he wasn’t quite used to …

In 2019, Snorkel Records had the pleasure of sharing their lost classic "Riders". And now, finally, all planets are aligned for what will become dibidim's future album classic "Superheaven". Soon it will be visible to the naked eye, starting on the western horizon and moving upward and eastward, in the form of a limited-edition 180-gram vinyl record.

**Limited edition single-sided LP 300 copies**

David Horridge's unreleased bedroom studio tape material (1982).

Shortly after releasing the inimitable Light Patterns, David Horridge recorded a handful of demos. These sole artifacts from Dave capture the same Mancunian melancholy presented on
Light Patterns, and offer an insight into David’s contributing piece of the puzzle. It comes as no surprise that every track laid to tape from that era is an absolute gem.
David’s playing comes in the form of well-timed melodies and carefully placed basslines.

Nothing forced or rushed, and each movement really sits with a mood. Journey Within is an even more sedated, mellow effort than Light Patterns. The songs were perhaps even sketches for a
follow up that never manifested. The album’s greatest strength is in setting a peaceful, pastoral mood that allows for a relaxed listen all the way through. Hypnotic stuff.
The only deviation is the final song, One Note Bossa, which came as a surprise with its use of a drum machine. A feature that demonstrates what might have been were David have continued to
experiment and release albums...

RIYL: Durutti Column, Woo, Pat Metheny, and Steve Hiett.

From Elvis in Memphis retains the distinction of being the most cohesive, passionate, mature, and emotionally invested record Elvis Presley ever made. Named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone, the white-soul landmark features backing by "The "Memphis Boys" and teems with rhythm-heavy country, gospel, R&B, and blues. Lauded for its natural, open sonics, the 1969 set now comes across with remarkable clarity, presence, and warmth courtesy of a premium restoration befitting a king.

Mastered from the original master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and strictly limited to 10,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set of From Elvis in Memphis unearths the ravishing inner detail, sticky rhythms, and brilliant arrangements of Chips Moman's inspired production. In short, this unparalleled reissue unlocks the spirit and gestalt of the recording and takes you inside American Sound Studio. It also brings you up close and personal with Presley's singing – widely considered by many to represent the finest of his career – located dead-centre amidst the instrumental hurricane. Equally impressive are the contributions of the aforementioned Boys, and how their Southern-brewed playing – a balance of leisure with swiftness, grandiosity with concision, freedom with control – dovetails with Presley's vernacular.

The lavish packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S From Elvis in Memphis pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artifact meant to be preserved, pored over, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the images to the finishes.

Sharing much in common with the full, rich, orchestrated Stax Records sound, From Elvis in Memphis oozes with choice nuances and distinctive flourishes that on this ultra-hi-fi edition not only arise with previously unheard transparency and sharpness, but complement and serve the whole. Take the specific tonalities and blending of violas, cellos, and horns that communicate mood and serve as counterpoints. Or lively performances of the backing quintet, and how the piano and Hammond organ trace the lines of the melodies and Presley's lead. Listen to the uplifting support provided by the cadre of backing vocalists (more than a dozen credited), unrivalled in Presley's canon and a precursor to the approach he'd soon adopt in Las Vegas.

Of course, From Elvis in Memphis precedes the icon's transition into his glitzy jumpsuit phase – and follows his merciful move away from the hoary soundtrack work that consumed nearly a decade of his creative life and prompted a rebirth that began in 1968. As the bridge between eras, the record seizes on Presley's rejuvenated attitude and commitment to quality, facets that drip from the fervency with which he delivers every word. For the same reasons, and for the fact it traces back to Presley's original roots and hip-shaking guise, the album further remains a cornerstone of American music history.

Writing about the work's 40th anniversary for Rolling Stone, James Hunter correctly observed: "From Elvis in Memphis represented the full-on immersion in the Memphis idea of Elvis Presley, the American singer second only to Frank Sinatra for the ability to conjure a particular sonic universe with his merest vocal utterance. And from the album's first song, in which a bluesy Elvis espies a woman 'Wearin' That Loved On Look,' to its last, in which a more straight-up-pop Elvis regrets the injustices of life 'In the Ghetto,' his fully engaged, newly energized voice finds its most logical album setting in years."

Incredibly, Presley and company completed more than two dozen cuts for From Elvis in Memphis. One, "Suspicious Minds," turned into the vocalist's final chart-topping single and lingers as one of his most beloved rock n' roll numbers. Even though it never formally appeared on the record, the non-album song is included here as a bonus track and attains newfound depth, energy, and swagger. Coupled with the other dozen tracks – including the sultry "Power of My Love," balladic take of Dallas Frazier's "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road," and driving cover of Hank Snow's I'm Moving On" – it makes for the finest Elvis listening experience available.