Puschnig / Sharrock

Late Night Show Part I + Part II

Publisher:          Quinton, Edition Phoenix der Analogue Audio Association (AAA)

Playing time:     tape 1: 28 min, tape 2: 22 min, tape 3: 26 min, tape 4: 31 min, total: 107 min

Specifications:  half track ¼", stereo, RTM SM468, CCIR, 510 nWb/m, 38 cm/s

Reel(s):               2 standard metal reels, with stickers (each album)

Packaging:        2 standard cardboard boxes, with stickers (each album)

Inserts:               1 booklet with 8 pages (each album)

Homepage:       https://www.aaanalog.de/shop

Translation of the German review:

During my demonstrations of the AAA master tape series at the "Langen Nacht der Ohren" in Berlin in 2009 (see my article in analog 01/2010, starting on page 57), many listeners paid respect, even if for some this Puschnig/Sharrock recording was not quite musically accessible: AAA dares to do daring things with this tape release! And now, in 2020, the tape medium still stands tall. The tape community is alive!

In spite of my jazz affinity, I also had difficulties finding my way into some of the titles in the beginning. Over the years this has changed: Today I listen to all four tapes (38 cm/s) one after the other, usually starting with Part II. The vast majority of the music pieces are successful: They sparkle with inventiveness and interpretive power, mainly brought about by the special character of Linda Sharrock's singing and Wolfgang Puschnig's alto saxophone and flute. The two of them, with their well-harmonized band, present special musical treats that do not follow the mainstream. Example: The song "Oye Como Va" starts with a long bass and percussion intro and ends with a spoken word song by Linda Sharrock. This is very daring; however, this kind of performance has triggered an earworm in me that has lasted for years. This surely also has to do with the fact that the following track "Besame Mucho" (earworm, part 2) has a reconciling effect against it, although it comes along on the same level, but in a bulky, somewhat sluggishly played version. Other favorite songs: "Blue Moon" and "Hear Them Say".

This production was provided with a moderation: In between some tracks, American Native Speaker Joe Remick speaks in his calm and deep voice. Why this is so, you can read in the accompanying booklet: "After the recordings it was clear to us that each track is great on its own, and yet we had the feeling that a "bracket" is missing, which connects the individual pieces to a great whole. For this reason, we came up with the idea of having a radio host host the production."

I think this is a great idea, indeed it creates the desired connection between the music pieces. Since the presenter speaks into some of the tracks, it is clear that "overdubs" were used in the production. This is also explained in detail in the booklet. These do not detract from the very good quality of this recording. The high quality of the original mix is exclusively available to the tape listener. From the magnetic tape the sheer abundance of musical information is pumped into the listening system. With a crystal-clear generated pressure that is never overbearing. Just as music can only come from a tape. The term dynamic is self-explanatory when listening to it.

This AAA master tape series consists of a total of four tape reels, if you choose the 38 cm/s version. Accordingly, the 19 cm/s version consists of two metal reels. The total length of the musical material is 1 hour and 47 minutes.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)