Audiophile Vinyl

Buddy Rich & Alla Rakha
Rich À La Rakha
Modern Harmonic/World Pacific MH-8297 LP

Modern Harmonic/World Pacific MH-8297 LP According to legend, Rich may have been the most egotistical drummer of all time but he’s generously sharing the stage with tabla maestro Rakha on this delicious 1968 release. Issued during the height of new-found Western fascination with Indian music, this is unsurprisingly an album from World Pacific which also released a number of Ravi Shankar’s LPs. Shankar is credited here as conductor rather than guest musician while a third legend, Paul Horn, plays flute. The mix of composition credits go to Shankar, Rakha and Rich, but aside from a few sections where Rich’s rapid-fire percussion solos could have been pulled from his jazz albums, this is Indian music all the way. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Duane Eddy
Does Dylan/The Biggest Twang Of Them All
Sundazed LP5650/LP5651 (two LPs)

A sad but timely reissuing of this pair of superb LPs from the King of ‘Twangy Guitar’, Eddy passing away this April at the age of 86. Released in 1965, Does Dylan was his last for Colpix and 1966’s The Biggest Twang Of Them All his first for Reprise, both following the usual formula of Eddy delivering instrumental interpretations of the hits of the day. Not unlike Chet Atkins, though their styles differed, Eddy’s tastes were catholic, the Dylan tunes mixed with a pair of Lee Hazelwood compositions and PF Sloan’s ‘Eve Of Destruction’ while Twang’s songs range from the Batman TV theme to ‘What Now My Love’. Available in a choice of black or coloured vinyl. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Hampton Hawes
For Real!
Craft/Contemporary CR00709 (180g vinyl)

Recorded in 1958 but held back until 1961, this is a rather poignant release because pianist Hawes, joined by Harold Land on tenor sax and Frank Butler on drums, also employed the then 22-year-old prodigy Scott La Faro on bass. Sadly, La Faro would die in a car accident before this album’s release, depriving the jazz world of a truly inventive bassist. Here Hawes mixed hard bop, originals and a couple of standards for a varied set that is both cool and hot, relaxed and invigorating. This is a classic Contemporary session of the period, an open-sounding recording reinforcing the argument that stereo with a realistic, natural feel has been lost along the way. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Savoy Brown Blues Band
Shake Down
Proper/Decca UMCLP037 (180g vinyl)

Ironically, given that Savoy Brown enjoyed arguably greater success in the USA than in the UK, this – their 1967 Mike Vernon/Gus Dudgeon-produced debut in its original stereo form – wasn’t issued Stateside until 1990 and then on CD. But it was worth the wait, this group of blues revivalists following the pioneering John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds, but pre-empting Fleetwood Mac. Proper’s vinyl transfer is excellent, perfect for revealing the band to have something to add to the ‘British Blues’ genre, which often suffered thin interpretations of gutsy material. Their tastes ran to Willie Dixon, B.B. King and John Lee Hooker, played with respect. KK

Sound Quality: 85%