The vinyl reissues market continues to show significant strength in 2023, even with the backlog of recordings that are still waiting their turn to be pressed. With more plants coming online in North America and Europe, those delays are expected to shorten but for now it is still taking much longer for some independent labels to get their albums pressed and issued into the market.
After a successful debut earlier this summer, Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi) returns with the latest additions to the acclaimed series of limited-edition, high-end vinyl reissues.
The next two releases are Van Morrison’s His Band and the Street Choir (1970) and Jaco Pastorius’ World of Mouth (1981). Both are available today exclusively at Rhino.com and internationally at select WMG stores.
Each release is limited to 5,000 individually numbered copies and priced at $39.98.
Rhino High Fidelity continues to set the industry standard for sound quality and packaging, a testament to Rhino’s 45-year legacy of award-winning audio releases. To ensure an unrivaled listening experience, all album lacquers are expertly cut by Kevin Gray, while Optimal handles the 180-gram vinyl pressing. The meticulous attention to detail extends to the aesthetic experience, with glossy covers and “tip-on” jackets reminiscent of vinyl’s golden age.
In addition, Rhino High Fidelity releases feature exclusive content about each record. His Band and the Street Choir is accompanied by a lyric sheet and an enlightening interview with Elliot Scheiner, the album’s engineer. A multi-Grammy®-winner, Scheiner recalls the magic of recording Morrison’s vocals live. “Every take with this guy was just brilliant. The best Black singer I ever met was Ray Charles. The best white singer was Van Morrison.”
Meanwhile, Word of Mouth comes with sleeve notes by Ricky Shultz, who signed Pastorius to Warner Bros. He writes about the growing impact of the bassist’s first post-Weather Report release. “As the years pass, more people are beginning to appreciate what a brilliant composer the man was…Word Of Mouth is sensational and essential Jaco — one of the most important big band records of all time.”
Rhino High Fidelity will continue to tap into Warner Music’s extensive music catalog, bringing music enthusiasts and audiophiles superlative versions of landmark albums from diverse genres, including jazz, blues, rock, pop, and beyond. The series will introduce two classic albums quarterly, maintaining the same exceptional audio and packaging quality that has quickly come to define Rhino High Fidelity.
Where to buy: $39.98 each at rhino.com
Related reading: Rhino High Fidelity’s Premium Vinyl Series Launches With The Cars & John Coltrane
ORT
August 16, 2023 at 2:44 pm
I am very much an admirer of Van Morrison and so I will look into acquiring this release. One of my brothers is always telling me I should try attending live music events as there is talent out there.
My problem is I cannot long abide the loudness that often accompanies live performances and my stoopid handicap is vexing me more and more. And so records, CDs and my online music services must suffice. Speaking of which I just added my older brother and his wife and my daughter and her husband to my Amazon Music Unlimited Family Account. It cost so little to give them so much pleasure.
Thank you so very much for this article!
ORT The Ancient of Plays