Sold Date: March 6, 2022
Start Date: June 6, 2021
Final Price: $52.99 (USD)
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Double LP  -  45rpm - 180 gram From Opus 3 Records - In response to many requests over the years since the release of Eric Bibb´s breakthrough album “Spirit & The Blues” we are now pleased to make this available on LP. Since the complete CD is too long to be accommodate on a regular LP (33 1/3) it was necessary produce a double LP, which in turn meant that advantage could be taken of the use of 45rpm. The main advantages of this are that it is possible to increase the cutting level thus reducing in relative terms the noise of the record. In addition the increased speed of rotation of the record gives improved high-frequency performance which is of particularly significance especially in the later parts of the record as the circumference progressively reduces.    We would also like to draw attention to the following: A cutting lathe requires two signals, one feeding the cutter head and the other which gives information in advance to enable the grooves to be packed in the best possible way without impinging on adjacent grooves. For this purpose a special tape recorder is required with one “preview” head for the spacing of the grooves and one audio head which feeds the cutter. Between the heads the tape makes a special loop which provides the required delay. Because these very special tape recorders are becoming increasingly rare, many cutting studios have resorted to incorporating a digital delay in the signal path in order to use an ordinary tape recorder. This means that the audio signal in the record-groove has first been A/D  converted, i.e. digitalized, then digitally delayed then D/A converted back to analogue. Such a vinyl record is therefore not truly analogue. Needless to say, both LP 9200 and LP 19401 are of course mastered in the old authentic way and are thus analogue all the way.
Spirit & The Blues is a real odyssey of Eric's music. Here we find everything from black Mississippi blues to spirituals, ballads, country and even reggae - sometimes with an almost electrified swing, but guaranteed unplugged in the finest Opus 3 tradition. 180 gram vinyl.