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/ News

Wake Up Everybody: Vocalion Releases Quad SACDs from Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, O’Jays, Earth Wind and Fire, Helen Reddy

January 20, 2020 By Joe Marchese 7 Comments

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The U.K.’s Dutton Vocalion label has announced its first batch of hybrid SACD releases for 2020, all of which feature original quadraphonic and stereo mixes. (The stereo mixes are playable on all CD players.) This round follows an eclectic array of titles released in 2019 including albums by Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Guess Who, Argent, Blood Sweat & Tears, Carlos Santana, and numerous others. (Visit the Dutton Vocalion website for information on all of these titles and more!) The following group of releases is available now from the U.K. label, all newly remastered by the label founder Michael J. Dutton:

Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Black and Blue / Wake Up Everybody (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

The Philadelphia International legends’ 1973 and 1975 albums produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff are brought together on one hybrid SACD. Black and Blue, featuring arrangements by Bobby Martin, Lenny Pakula, Norman Harris, and Vince Montana, introduced the R&B chart-topper and top ten Pop smash “The Love I Lost.” The poignant and powerful Wake Up Everybody introduced Gene McFadden, John Whitehead, and Victor Carstarphen’s stunning title track as well as the future disco hit for Thelma Houston, “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” Harris, Martin, and Ronnie Baker provided the sizzling, sweeping charts. All tracks are in stereo and 4.0 multichannel.

The O’Jays, Survival / Family Reunion (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

This hybrid SACD pairs The O’Jays’ third and fourth Philly International platters, both Gamble and Huff productions from 1975. Survival boasts another R&B No. 1, “Give the People What They Want,” while its follow-up has two chart-toppers: “Livin’ for the Weekend” (No. 20 Pop) and “I Love Music” (No. 5 Pop). Bobby Martin, Tony Bell, and Norman Harris scored the lavish arrangements for this enduring pair of soul classics. All tracks are in stereo and 4.0 multichannel.

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Earth Wind & Fire, Spirit / That’s the Way of the World (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Vocalion combines recent Kennedy Center Honorees Earth Wind & Fire’s 1976 and 1975 albums on one SACD (in reverse order). 1975’s That’s the Way of the World, arranged by the band and Charles Stepney, premiered the anthemic title song by Maurice and Verdine White and Stepney (No. 5 R&B/No. 12 Pop) as well as the irresistible, Grammy Award-winning floor-filler “Shining Star” (No. 1 Pop & R&B) by Maurice White, Philip Bailey, and Larry Dunn. Stepney, whose style was so integral to the creation of the EWF sound, died during the recording sessions for Spirit (one album, Gratitude, came in between). The LP, which yielded the No. 1 R&B/No. 12 Pop hit “Getaway,” was dedicated to him. All tracks are in stereo and 4.0 multichannel.

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The Miracles, Love Crazy / Miracles (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

After the departure of leader Smokey Robinson, The Miracles pressed on with new lead singer Billy Griffin at Motown for five albums including the hits Do It Baby and Don’t’cha Love It as well as the concept album City of Angels. In 1977, Griffin, Pete Moore, and co. moved to Columbia where they released a pair of albums. The two LPs introduced a couple of moderate R&B hits: “Spy for Brotherhood” and “Mean Machine,” respectively. In 1982, Billy Griffin would go solo on Columbia. This two-fer has Love Crazy in stereo and quadraphonic, and Miracles in stereo only. (Due to time constraints on the standard CD layer, the “Love Crazy Overture (Reprise)” is available only on the multichannel layer.)

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Helen Reddy, I Am Woman / Long Hard Climb (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Helen Reddy’s third and fourth albums for Capitol Records, both produced by Tom Catalano, get the hybrid SACD treatment. I Am Woman was titled after Reddy’s second recording of the title track. Due to the strength of that indelible anthem, the album was certified Platinum. In addition to the chart-topping “I Am Woman,” the LP produced by Tom Catalano also included songs by Paul Williams, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Kenny Rankin, Don McLean, and arranger-conductor Artie Butler. The vocalist’s follow-up, Long Hard Climb, was another top ten, Gold-certified smash, including the Pop and AC crossover No. 1 hit “Delta Dawn” and the AC No. 1/Pop No. 3 hit “Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress).” Featuring arrangements by Lee Holdridge and Al Capps, Long Hard Climb also featured songs by Paul Williams, John Sebastian, and Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager. All tracks are in stereo and multichannel.

Paul Mauriat, Love Sounds Journey [Expanded Edition] (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

Beautiful music maestro Paul Mauriat’s 1976 Love Sounds Journey presented eleven lush, original compositions from the composer-conductor. It’s expanded by Vocalion with seven bonus tracks including three mixes of “Love Is Still Blue,” a disco cover of “There’s a Kind of Hush,” and a Mauriat recording of his own “I Will Follow Him (Chariot).” All tracks are in stereo (there is no multichannel layer on this disc).

All titles are available now, and can be ordered directly from Dutton Vocalion or Amazon for worldwide shipping.

Categories: News Formats: CD, SACD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Earth Wind and Fire, Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, Helen Reddy, Paul Mauriat, The O'Jays

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. RecordSteve says

    January 20, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    Thanks again for seeing 20/20 and giving us the latest info on new/old music that’s out=cheers!

    Reply
  2. David B says

    January 20, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    Already bought the Harold Melvin one and it’s incredible .. gorgeous surround sound and a very reasonable price .. thank you for putting this record company on your site .. they are at least trying to give buyers the best cd sound possible. I have 10 of this company’s sacds and they all sound brilliant .. any more companies like this one out there ???

    I enjoy the site and look forward to what there’ll be for us in 2020 .. can’t wait for news of the Beach Boys “surfs up / sunflower” set .. hopefully there’ll be a surround sound mix ..

    Many thanks

    Reply
  3. Mickey says

    January 20, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    Wow. Very surprised to see the Helen Reddy reissue. Even though those two albums were finally reissued on CD by the now defunct Raven Records, it’s great to see them back in print.

    Reply
  4. Ivor Westacott says

    January 21, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    Wow! Brilliant news. I’ve been after the O’Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and EWF quad albums for years after getting rids of them years ago (yeah, I’m a dumbo!) so nice to see them back in print. The Miracles’ release is a real surprise as I had no idea they were ever released in quad especially the second one as its stereo release almost went by unnoticed.

    Reply
  5. Tod H. says

    January 21, 2020 at 9:36 pm

    Just as an FYI you can save a decent amount of money ordering directly from the Dutton Vocalion website vs. ordering from Amazon (at least here in the U.S.). I ordered two of the CDs and even with the slightly more expensive shipping with tracking and still saved over $16.

    Reply
  6. Dirk says

    January 23, 2020 at 11:36 am

    So the quadraphonic mixes are only playable on a sacd player?

    Reply
    • David B says

      January 23, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      No . .you’ll need a surround sound set up with SACD capacity. A regular sacd player will only play the sacd stereo. I have a SONY surround sound set up which plays these discs in 4.1 surround sound . and incidentally they sound incredible ..

      Reply

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