3 New SACDs from Dutton Vocalion (October 2017)

[quicksrt]

I profess ignorance regarding Cecil Holmes but this QUAD two~fer surely looks tempting: https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDSML8531

Via [I'm assuming] steelydave's extremely informative background bio regarding Mr. Holmes, he certainly has a very impressive résumé.

I'm IN.

Yeah, love that kind of stuff when it's done well. We call it Blaxploitation in California. Not negatively.

Blaxploitation Films - http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/07/best-blaxploitation-movies/

 

[bigbillquad]

Hi. All

I put my Order in for "Cecil Holmes & Deodato" today cant wait...... :banana:

 

[bmoura]

I'm anxious to hear Shaft in surround. As a kid, the Shaft album impressed!

The Cecil Holmes version of Shaft is what you would call an Easy Listening version of the music.
Not as good as a Surround SACD of the Original Shaft Soundtrack by Isaac Hayes released in the 1970s on Q8 Tape and SQ LP, but enjoyable listening to be sure!

The album also has a lively version of the Theme from Superfly.
Fun Surround Sound listening.

 

[Juggsnelson]

I just ordered the 3 new releases. Besides Deodato, not stuff I am overly familiar with but the quality of these reissues has me believing I will enjoy them! Kudos on the pricing and excellent liners!!!

 

[steelydave]

I profess ignorance regarding Cecil Holmes but this QUAD two~fer surely looks tempting: https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDSML8531

Via [I'm assuming] steelydave's extremely informative background bio regarding Mr. Holmes, he certainly has a very impressive résumé.

I'm IN.

I did indeed do the liner notes for this one, and I know this probably wasn't really on anyone's radar but I hope people will give it a chance.

Cecil Holmes was a pretty interesting guy, and I think of the liner notes I've written so far this one is maybe the one I've been most happy with after completing it. For most albums or artists you can simply type their name in to google and get a wiki page or biography, but with Cecil Holmes that isn't really the case. His wiki page is about two sentences long and the other information out there about him seems pretty scant as well. There may have been a biography or story about him in a magazine somewhere at some point, but I didn't really find anything extensive in my research, so as far as I know these liner notes represent the first time his story (and the story of the two 'Soulful Sounds' albums) has been told. Holmes was actually one of the most influential black A&R men of the 60's, 70's & 80's - he started out at Cameo-Parkway, moved to Buddah with Neil Bogert where he was a VP (and worked with Curtis Mayfield, the Isleys and Gladys Knight), and then when bogert started up Casablanca, he brought in Holmes as a founding partner and VP. When Holmes was at Casablanca, he worked with Donna Summer (as bmoura noted) but he also set up Chocolate City Records, discovered Cameo (the band), and brought George Clinton's Parliament to national attention by helping to fund and promote some of Parliament's crazy tours which featured life-size 'mothership' spaceship props and so on. When Casablanca blew up he moved to CBS and worked with Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross in the early 80's - truly a guy who was involved with some of the best R&B for parts of three decades.

Holmes was obviously the face of these albums, but really they were created by Tony Camillo. He was basically an in-house producer for Buddah and had just done Gladys Knight and The Pips 'Imagination' album for the label (it's the album that includes Midnight Train To Georgia) and he basically used all the same session players that played on that album for the two Soulful Sounds albums, and there are some real heavy-hitters including motown guys like Bob Babbitt and Andrew Smith, and NYC guys like Randy Brecker and Jeff Mironov.

Basically, these albums (for me anyway) fall in to the category of 'way better than they have any right to be'. I think when you see these on paper they probably have the look of some cheap K-Tel cash-in, where a bunch of lame studio musicians suck the soul out of some great music. Obviously these albums are never going to replace the originals in anyone's mind, but there are some really fun arrangements and some great playing - I actually like version of 'I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby' on here better than Barry White's original version. The quad mixes are also great, and very discrete - because they weren't done with any matrix quad system in mind they don't have any of the mixing limitations that SQ or QS mixes did.

I also dispute bmoura's assertion that these are 'easy listening' albums, especially the Black Motion Picture Experience LP. They do share the similarity with easy listening records in that they're (mostly) instrumental versions of popular songs, but for me that's where the similarity ends. Easy listening for me always seemed to be about taking pop hits and shaving off any of the sharp corners and heaping as much orchestration on top as possible. The Black Motion Picture Experience was actually promoted with the tagline 'There Can Never Be A Party Without It Again!' - it was basically promoted as the 1973 LP version of a mixtape or an iPod on shuffle for social occasions. These two records are every bit as immediate and gritty as the albums the songs they're covering come from, and in the case (again) of Black Motion Picture Experience, I think some of the tracks are actually even a bit grittier than the originals. These two albums have been super-popular with DJ's and rap producers because they feature some really great funky drum breaks - not the sort of feature you'd find in an easy listening record.

I thought I'd include a few bits and pieces about Cecil Holmes from around the time these two albums came out that I found in the course of my research, to give you a bit of a flavour of the man...

Billboard June 30th, 1973

Billboard Oct 20th, 1973

Billboard December 15th, 1973

 

[Juggsnelson]

I did indeed do the liner notes for this one, and I know this probably wasn't really on anyone's radar but I hope people will give it a chance.

Cecil Holmes was a pretty interesting guy, and I think of the liner notes I've written so far this one is maybe the one I've been most happy with after completing it. For most albums or artists you can simply type their name in to google and get a wiki page or biography, but with Cecil Holmes that isn't really the case. His wiki page is about two sentences long and the other information out there about him seems pretty scant as well. There may have been a biography or story about him in a magazine somewhere at some point, but I didn't really find anything extensive in my research, so as far as I know these liner notes represent the first time his story (and the story of the two 'Soulful Sounds' albums) has been told. Holmes was actually one of the most influential black A&R men of the 60's, 70's & 80's - he started out at Cameo-Parkway, moved to Buddah with Neil Bogert where he was a VP (and worked with Curtis Mayfield, the Isleys and Gladys Knight), and then when bogert started up Casablanca, he brought in Holmes as a founding partner and VP. When Holmes was at Casablanca, he worked with Donna Summer (as bmoura noted) but he also set up Chocolate City Records, discovered Cameo (the band), and brought George Clinton's Parliament to national attention by helping to fund and promote some of Parliament's crazy tours which featured life-size 'mothership' spaceship props and so on. When Casablanca blew up he moved to CBS and worked with Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross in the early 80's - truly a guy who was involved with some of the best R&B for parts of three decades.

Holmes was obviously the face of these albums, but really they were created by Tony Camillo. He was basically an in-house producer for Buddah and had just done Gladys Knight and The Pips 'Imagination' album for the label (it's the album that includes Midnight Train To Georgia) and he basically used all the same session players that played on that album for the two Soulful Sounds albums, and there are some real heavy-hitters including motown guys like Bob Babbitt and Andrew Smith, and NYC guys like Randy Brecker and Jeff Mironov.

Basically, these albums (for me anyway) fall in to the category of 'way better than they have any right to be'. I think when you see these on paper they probably have the look of some cheap K-Tel cash-in, where a bunch of lame studio musicians suck the soul out of some great music. Obviously these albums are never going to replace the originals in anyone's mind, but there are some really fun arrangements and some great playing - I actually like version of 'I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby' on here better than Barry White's original version. The quad mixes are also great, and very discrete - because they weren't done with any matrix quad system in mind they don't have any of the mixing limitations that SQ or QS mixes did.

I also dispute bmoura's assertion that these are 'easy listening' albums, especially the Black Motion Picture Experience LP. They do share the similarity with easy listening records in that they're (mostly) instrumental versions of popular songs, but for me that's where the similarity ends. Easy listening for me always seemed to be about taking pop hits and shaving off any of the sharp corners and heaping as much orchestration on top as possible. The Black Motion Picture Experience was actually promoted with the tagline 'There Can Never Be A Party Without It Again!' - it was basically promoted as the 1973 LP version of a mixtape or an iPod on shuffle for social occasions. These two records are every bit as immediate and gritty as the albums the songs they're covering come from, and in the case (again) of Black Motion Picture Experience, I think some of the tracks are actually even a bit grittier than the originals. These two albums have been super-popular with DJ's and rap producers because they feature some really great funky drum breaks - not the sort of feature you'd find in an easy listening record.

I thought I'd include a few bits and pieces about Cecil Holmes from around the time these two albums came out that I found in the course of my research, to give you a bit of a flavour of the man...

Billboard June 30th, 1973

Billboard Oct 20th, 1973

Billboard December 15th, 1973

This post wants to make me order these all over again!!

 

[rustyandi]

I have placed an order on the new 2 SACDs
Was there a third?
I have the Quad R/R of The Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds - The Black Motion Picture
So it will be interesting to hear it I have been looking for the other one

 

[bmoura]

I have placed an order on the new 2 SACDs
Was there a third?
I have the Quad R/R of The Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds - The Black Motion Picture
So it will be interesting to hear it I have been looking for the other one

Yes, there are 3 new SACDs from Dutton Vocalion that are in the pre-order stage:



Deodato - Prelude & Deodato 2 (2 Album Hybrid Surround Sound SACD Set)
https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDSML8532

Dave Valentin - Land of the Third Eye (Hybrid Stereo SACD)
https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDSML8533

Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds - The Black Motion Picture Experience & Music for Soulful Lovers (2 Album Hybrid Surround Sound SACD Set)
https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDSML8531

 

[steelydave]

The Dave Valentin disc is a stereo-only hybrid SACD.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Pre~ordered all three.....er FIVE [two two~fers].

Dave Valentin FANTASY [Earth, Wind & Fire] from Land of the Third Eye:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...F4F8E949736D47F26F63F4F8E949736D47F&FORM=VIRE

BTW, the Cecil Holmes two~fer is a first QUAD release for Buddha Records on hi res physical disc. Michael D is really mining the vaults. REALLY looking forward to this funky soulful mélange.

 

[winopener]

Holmes was obviously the face of these albums, but really they were created by Tony Camillo.

Damn... now i know why it sounds really funky.

That was using his name, 1975:

[video=youtube;C-UyV3bICo0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-UyV3bICo0[/video]

 

[quicksrt]

I did indeed do the liner notes for this one, and I know this probably wasn't really on anyone's radar but I hope people will give it a chance.

Cecil Holmes was a pretty interesting guy, and I think of the liner notes I've written so far this one is maybe the one I've been most happy with after completing it. For most albums or artists you can simply type their name in to google and get a wiki page or biography, but with Cecil Holmes that isn't really the case. His wiki page is about two sentences long and the other information out there about him seems pretty scant as well. There may have been a biography or story about him in a magazine somewhere at some point, but I didn't really find anything extensive in my research, so as far as I know these liner notes represent the first time his story (and the story of the two 'Soulful Sounds' albums) has been told. Holmes was actually one of the most influential black A&R men of the 60's, 70's & 80's - he started out at Cameo-Parkway, moved to Buddah with Neil Bogert where he was a VP (and worked with Curtis Mayfield, the Isleys and Gladys Knight), and then when bogert started up Casablanca, he brought in Holmes as a founding partner and VP. When Holmes was at Casablanca, he worked with Donna Summer (as bmoura noted) but he also set up Chocolate City Records, discovered Cameo (the band), and brought George Clinton's Parliament to national attention by helping to fund and promote some of Parliament's crazy tours which featured life-size 'mothership' spaceship props and so on. When Casablanca blew up he moved to CBS and worked with Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross in the early 80's - truly a guy who was involved with some of the best R&B for parts of three decades.

Holmes was obviously the face of these albums, but really they were created by Tony Camillo. He was basically an in-house producer for Buddah and had just done Gladys Knight and The Pips 'Imagination' album for the label (it's the album that includes Midnight Train To Georgia) and he basically used all the same session players that played on that album for the two Soulful Sounds albums, and there are some real heavy-hitters including motown guys like Bob Babbitt and Andrew Smith, and NYC guys like Randy Brecker and Jeff Mironov.

Basically, these albums (for me anyway) fall in to the category of 'way better than they have any right to be'. I think when you see these on paper they probably have the look of some cheap K-Tel cash-in, where a bunch of lame studio musicians suck the soul out of some great music. Obviously these albums are never going to replace the originals in anyone's mind, but there are some really fun arrangements and some great playing - I actually like version of 'I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby' on here better than Barry White's original version. The quad mixes are also great, and very discrete - because they weren't done with any matrix quad system in mind they don't have any of the mixing limitations that SQ or QS mixes did.

I also dispute bmoura's assertion that these are 'easy listening' albums, especially the Black Motion Picture Experience LP. They do share the similarity with easy listening records in that they're (mostly) instrumental versions of popular songs, but for me that's where the similarity ends. Easy listening for me always seemed to be about taking pop hits and shaving off any of the sharp corners and heaping as much orchestration on top as possible. The Black Motion Picture Experience was actually promoted with the tagline 'There Can Never Be A Party Without It Again!' - it was basically promoted as the 1973 LP version of a mixtape or an iPod on shuffle for social occasions. These two records are every bit as immediate and gritty as the albums the songs they're covering come from, and in the case (again) of Black Motion Picture Experience, I think some of the tracks are actually even a bit grittier than the originals. These two albums have been super-popular with DJ's and rap producers because they feature some really great funky drum breaks - not the sort of feature you'd find in an easy listening record.

I thought I'd include a few bits and pieces about Cecil Holmes from around the time these two albums came out that I found in the course of my research, to give you a bit of a flavour of the man...

Billboard June 30th, 1973

Billboard Oct 20th, 1973

Billboard December 15th, 1973

I've seen this around for many years, and know DJs and collectors collect this stuff. I didn't know there was a Q4 quad reel of this title. I guess Q8 as well.

I have the Shaft remade album. These remake / redo albums were not K-Tel products. Pickwick US was the label that had the balls to redo Shaft as a single LP. And it's not bad. But K-Tel was pretty good about always giving us the real hit recording.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Nice choices! I just ordered a bit of old and new (to DV) myself. Hard to pass up this bargain.

Pure Prairie League - Two Lane Highway & If the Shoe Fits
Return to Forever - Musicmagic
Deodato - Prelude & Deodato 2
The Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds - The Black Motion Picture & Music for Soulful Lovers
​

I'm anxious to hear Shaft in surround. As a kid, the Shaft album impressed![/QUOTE]

Me too

[video=youtube;pzve7ACn4j4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzve7ACn4j4[/video]

 

[ubertrout]

I did indeed do the liner notes for this one, and I know this probably wasn't really on anyone's radar but I hope people will give it a chance.

Cecil Holmes was a pretty interesting guy, and I think of the liner notes I've written so far this one is maybe the one I've been most happy with after completing it. For most albums or artists you can simply type their name in to google and get a wiki page or biography, but with Cecil Holmes that isn't really the case. His wiki page is about two sentences long and the other information out there about him seems pretty scant as well. There may have been a biography or story about him in a magazine somewhere at some point, but I didn't really find anything extensive in my research, so as far as I know these liner notes represent the first time his story (and the story of the two 'Soulful Sounds' albums) has been told. Holmes was actually one of the most influential black A&R men of the 60's, 70's & 80's - he started out at Cameo-Parkway, moved to Buddah with Neil Bogert where he was a VP (and worked with Curtis Mayfield, the Isleys and Gladys Knight), and then when bogert started up Casablanca, he brought in Holmes as a founding partner and VP. When Holmes was at Casablanca, he worked with Donna Summer (as bmoura noted) but he also set up Chocolate City Records, discovered Cameo (the band), and brought George Clinton's Parliament to national attention by helping to fund and promote some of Parliament's crazy tours which featured life-size 'mothership' spaceship props and so on. When Casablanca blew up he moved to CBS and worked with Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross in the early 80's - truly a guy who was involved with some of the best R&B for parts of three decades.

Holmes was obviously the face of these albums, but really they were created by Tony Camillo. He was basically an in-house producer for Buddah and had just done Gladys Knight and The Pips 'Imagination' album for the label (it's the album that includes Midnight Train To Georgia) and he basically used all the same session players that played on that album for the two Soulful Sounds albums, and there are some real heavy-hitters including motown guys like Bob Babbitt and Andrew Smith, and NYC guys like Randy Brecker and Jeff Mironov.

Basically, these albums (for me anyway) fall in to the category of 'way better than they have any right to be'. I think when you see these on paper they probably have the look of some cheap K-Tel cash-in, where a bunch of lame studio musicians suck the soul out of some great music. Obviously these albums are never going to replace the originals in anyone's mind, but there are some really fun arrangements and some great playing - I actually like version of 'I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby' on here better than Barry White's original version. The quad mixes are also great, and very discrete - because they weren't done with any matrix quad system in mind they don't have any of the mixing limitations that SQ or QS mixes did.

I also dispute bmoura's assertion that these are 'easy listening' albums, especially the Black Motion Picture Experience LP. They do share the similarity with easy listening records in that they're (mostly) instrumental versions of popular songs, but for me that's where the similarity ends. Easy listening for me always seemed to be about taking pop hits and shaving off any of the sharp corners and heaping as much orchestration on top as possible. The Black Motion Picture Experience was actually promoted with the tagline 'There Can Never Be A Party Without It Again!' - it was basically promoted as the 1973 LP version of a mixtape or an iPod on shuffle for social occasions. These two records are every bit as immediate and gritty as the albums the songs they're covering come from, and in the case (again) of Black Motion Picture Experience, I think some of the tracks are actually even a bit grittier than the originals. These two albums have been super-popular with DJ's and rap producers because they feature some really great funky drum breaks - not the sort of feature you'd find in an easy listening record.

I thought I'd include a few bits and pieces about Cecil Holmes from around the time these two albums came out that I found in the course of my research, to give you a bit of a flavour of the man...

Billboard June 30th, 1973

Billboard Oct 20th, 1973

Billboard December 15th, 1973

Funny to be reading about these characters...I read Frederic Dannen's book Hit Men a few months ago, which is a slightly venomous depiction of the record industry in the 70s and 80s. Bogert is one of his targets.

 

[~dave~~wave~]

These two records are every bit as immediate and gritty as... the songs they're covering... super-popular with DJ's and rap producers because they feature some really great funky drum breaks - not the sort of feature you'd find in an easy listening record...

Cecil Holmes was a pretty interesting guy... brought George Clinton's Parliament to national attention...

...when you see these on paper they probably have the look of some cheap K-Tel cash-in... Obviously these albums are never going to replace the originals in anyone's mind, but there are some really fun arrangements and some great playing... The quad mixes are also great, and very discrete - because they weren't done with any matrix quad system in mind they don't have any of the mixing limitations that SQ or QS mixes did.

Right on, Dave, for the context.
That's the perspective I needed to order with confidence.

It seems 'easy listening' was used as a shorthand, and did give me pause.
But like Tina Turner said, sometimes we like it easy, sometimes rough.

 

[Bob Romano]

Ordered all three!!!!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Dave Valentin Land of the Third Eye: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...1350402DE752B4E392CE1350402DE752&&FORM=VDRVRV

A pretty impressive list of musicians from the Arista/GRP label: https://www.discogs.com/Dave-Valentin-Land-Of-The-Third-Eye/release/426141

 

[Fourplay]

Dave Valentin Land of the Third Eye: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...1350402DE752B4E392CE1350402DE752&&FORM=VDRVRV

A pretty impressive list of musicians from the Arista/GRP label: https://www.discogs.com/Dave-Valentin-Land-Of-The-Third-Eye/release/426141

I don't bother buying much in stereo these days (the archive satisfies), and I am not familiar with Land of the Third Eye, but I love the album The Hawk by DV and at the least I can recommend you check out his music.

 

[quicksrt]

Is the Sept. D/V announcement over now or is there more to come? Is there one more disc being released?

 

[4-earredwonder]

Is the Sept. D/V announcement over now or is there more to come? Is there one more disc being released?

Here's the October '17 blog......NO September releases. But actually, D~V did release FIVE albums [four QUADS/1 Stereo]: https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/blog/

I'm 'surmising' that we won't get any more Popular QUAD titles until December '17.....just a guess.....MORE chestnuts roasting on an open :flame