Tower Of Power - Urban Renewal (Japanese Pressing WPCR-12911)

Tower of Power
URBAN RENEWAL
Japanese Pressing WPCR-12911

This is my all-time favorite Tower of Power album, and it's no difficult reason to see why. Some of the tunes catch me right where I live ("It's Not the Crime"), and some are unusually prescient (such as "There's Only So Much Oil In the Ground"). That's not to mention the classic R&B/funk contained here.

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Glenn Frey - Classic (The Universal Masters Collection) EU Pressing

Glenn Frey
Classic (The Universal Masters Collection)
EU Pressing

A very good best of collection, as good as (or better than) Don Henley's. This copy has a really good sound, and a great (if not complete) selection of tunes.

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Glenn Frey - Live (U.S. Pressing)

Glenn Frey
LIVE
U.S. Pressing

This is sort of a lead-in to the next item, a UK pressing of a Glenn Frey Greatest Hits collection, but this is a great live album in its own right. Recorded during the Eagles hiatus in Ireland, the rendition of "Wild Mountain Thyme" is the stand-out track, dwarfing even Eagles covers.

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Gregg Allman

NO STRANGER TO THE DARK

The Best of Gregg Allman

Japanese MHCP-144

The best? Hardly, but the great sound coupled with excellent song selection makes this a great little find.

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Atlanta Rhythm Section - The Best of the Atlanta Rhythm Section

Atlanta Rhythm Section
THE BEST OF THE ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION
(U.S. Pressing)

Quite limited in song selection choices, but I pretty much got what I wanted from it. Still, not a bad album, just...limited.

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Al Green - Greatest Hits (U.S. Pressing)

Al Green
GREATEST HITS
(U.S. Pressing)

Not the ideal in sound or selection, but very good nonetheless. An easy choice.

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FOOL FOR THE CITY
Foghat
Japanese K2 HD Mini-LP

If I had to pick just two Foghat albums, it would be this one and FOGHAT LIVE. Songs such as "Fool For the City", "My Babe", and two versions of "Slow Ride" just make the album that much tastier.

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FEEL THE DIFFERENCE
of the Blu-spec CD
Rock Selection 2

Much like the SHM-CD demos, this actually contains two albums. One uses the Blu-spec process, and the other is the same song selection in the standard Japanese mastering. I'd thought the SHM-CD's were impressive, but the sound on this Blu-spec CD in truly phenominal. Containing artists such as Simon & Garfunkel, Cyndi Lauper, Toto, Journey, the Bangles, Cheap Trick, ELO, Bob Dylan, Santana and many more. I'm getting the Blu-spec CD of Sly & the Family Stone based on that one track on this album. Highly recommended.

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Eagles - The Second Night "Unplugged"

MTV "UNPLUGGED" THE SECOND/ALTERNATE NIGHT
Recorded At...
Warner Brothers Studios, Burbank CA
On
04/28/1994
THE EAGLES

Unless they're unusually notable, I don't plan to post boots here, although I'll post especially interesting U.S. Pressings. This 2-CD set, however, sounds so great that I couldn't resist, especially since I have Eagles Japanese pressings coming up.

The Sound quality is nearly on a par with audiophile albums. Seemingly, this is a high-quality unmixed soundboard, which means there are issues--for example, there's almost three minutes of silence before the first track begins. All the great songs are here, in acoustic or semi-electric versions. The only drawback is, for example, the first track begins with over three minutes of audience cheering.

If you download one bootleg, it had better be this one!

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Chicago - Chicago II (Japanese SHM-CD)

CHICAGO

Chicago

Japanese SHM-CD

I have both the U.S. Rhino pressing and this one, and I must say the U.S. one is absolutely abysmal! The SHM-CD mastering is brilliant; there's no comparison between the two...and with tunes such as "Ballet For A Girl From Buchannon" and "25 Or 6 To 4" (among others), this is a must-have.

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Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (Japanese Pressing)

INNERVISIONS
Stevie Wonder
Japanese Pressing

The seventies' releases of Stevie Wonder are phenomenal. This one has songs such as "Living For the City", "Golden Lady", "Higher Ground", "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" and more, with the added fillip of Japanese mastering. Brilliant!

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Boston - The Trash Tapes: Early Demos

Boston - THE TRASH TAPES

This is a compilation of two bootlegs, WE FOUND IT IN THE TRASHCAN, HONEST! and MISSION ABORTED. The first of the two has been remastered, and sounds considerably better than the second. Some of the songs seem to be duplicates, but with demos, you never know.

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Pat Travers - Crash and Burn (EU Pressing)

PAT TRAVERS
Crash and Burn (EU Pressing)

The studio follow-up to LIVE! GO FOR WHAT YOU KNOW, this album is one of Pat's best. The EU pressing is superior to the U.S. edition, and it sounds great!

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Heart - Dreamboat Annie Live (U.S. Pressing plus Japanese Bonus)

HEART - Dreamboat Annie Live
Includes Bonus Tracks from the Japanese SHM-CD

This is a great live album, including the entire debut release of Heart done live, plus the two Japanese-only bonus live tracks from the L.A. County Fair from the SHM-CD.

The bulk of the SHM-CD is one of the few failures of the format. It was badly edited, and the upper reaches tend to distort. I highly recommend this version.

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