RARE & OOP- Michael Ruff -Speaking in Melodies 2 LP-Sheffield Lab - HQ-180 gram

$

61

This is Sheffield Lab magic cir. 1993! It is extremely rare to find this demo-quality jazz album on LP. This is from what Sheffield calls "The Audiophile Reference Series."

This limited edition pressing is #715 of 5000 pressed

Details:

1. What Kind Of World

2. Lover's Mask

3. I Will Find You There

4. The Eyes Of Love

5. Seeing For The Very First Time

6. Any Less Than This

7. That's Not Me

8. Poor Boy

9. Watching Like Angels

10. Beside Myself

11. Wishing Well

12. More Than You'll Ever Know

13. I Will Find You There (Jam)

Reviews from Amazon of the CD edition of this LP!

1) THE MUSIC: Michael Ruff's talent is showcased here, featuring his music in various styles. Everything was performed live and recorded direct to disc: no overdubs or any post-production effects added.

THE SOUND: Coming from an audiophile label, this recording places you front-seat in a live Ruff concert, especially when played through a good stereo system.

FOR AUDIOPHILES ONLY: Everything you're looking for is here... Sheffield transparency, perfect tonal balance, accurate soundstaging and imaging... everything comes in one complete package that delivers a sense of "being there".

2) This is a wonderful album which scores extremely highly on two separate levels - music and production. It's an unmatched combination, in my opinion.

Musically, Michael Ruff is admired by those 'in the know' as one of the best singer-songwriters around, witness the sky-high prices that are commanded by his early, hard-to-get albums (especially 'Once in a Lifetime').

Though a consummate crafter of ballads (typified by 'More than you'll ever know', a version of which appears here), Michael also produces some excellent up-tempo tracks including, here, 'Wishing Well' and 'That's Not Me'. The track 'Lover's Mask' is an absolute stand-out, and one of my candidates for 'best ever track' (yes, it really is that good).

But this album is special in another way - it's an absolute top-notch, reference-standard audiophile production, recorded live to two-track at the renowned Sheffield Lab and engineered by George Massenburg. It was also released as a limited-edition audiophile LP.

'Speaking in Melodies' thus has an assured status that goes beyond what is, in any case, a truly beautiful set. The final track, an instrumental, is one of the many jams that were caught between track recordings and seemed just too good to leave unreleased.