#15: Out of the Blue and Into the Kevin Gray
The Mastering Master's Work with American Primitive, Psych, Free Jazz & Indie
Greetings from the Hudson Valley. Winter has reemerged for another week or so of torment but the sun still rises and sets where it’s supposed to so we’re grateful.
Exciting things are happening as I start to finish up my very first gear review. Heads who want to upgrade their moving magnet phono stage might want to hold off on any purchases for another few weeks. The same goes for CD transports as we have an exciting piece en route.
Sending thanks and praise to all the new paying subscribers. It’s great when deep and longtime listeners of my radio endeavors take a minute to sign up and send their well wishes. Writing and DJing is work and I’m glad to do it but I’m more stoked on the community building we have going on.
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This week’s Trailhead started off with Shane Parish’s stunning interpretation of Alice Coltrane’s ‘Journey in Satchidananda’ from the forthcoming Repertoire LP on Palalilia (old friend Bill Orcutt’s label) and continued on with the new Northwest guitar/sitar duo Lunar Prairie, Nathan Salsburg & Jim Elkington covering Neneh Cherry, Finnish environmental piano folk from Juho Toivonen’s forthcoming full-length debut on Sweden’s fine Discreet Music and a second hour of jazz with John Stevens’ Away, Larry Coryell and Eric Kloss. It was a pretty hip episode if I do say so myself. Listen to it here and check the playlist below.
The Trailhead 127 / Playlist:
1. Shane Parish - Journey in Satchidananda - Repertoire (Palilalia, 2024)
2. Lunar Prairie - Line of Totality - Lunar Prairie (Self, 2024)
3. Toby Hay & Aidan Thorne - She Who Causes Auspicious Things - After a Pause (Cambrian, 202)
4. Nick Schillace - Soft As a Flame - A Rich Boy's Measured Blues (Debacle, 2024)
5. James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg - Buffalo Stance - All Gist (Paradise of Bachelors, 2024)
6. Buck Curran - Morning Song with Lucia - The Long Distance (Eiderdown, 2024)
7. Domenica Diavoleria - Friendship Chain - Orange Clearing (Eiderdown, 2024)
8. Juho Toivonen - Sisarusten Toistuva Uni - Sisarusten Toistuva Uni (Discreet Music, 2024)
9. Stefan Christoff and Lori Goldston - Pine Tree Tops - A Radical Horizon (Beacon Sound, 2024)
10. Michelle Moeller - Nest - Late Morning (AKP Recordings, 2024) 47:15
11. John Stevens' Away - Spirit of Peace - Somewhere In Between (Vertigo, 1976)
12. Larry Coryell - Call To The Higher Consciousness - Barefoot Boy (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
13. Eric Kloss - One, Two, Free - One, Two, Free (Muse, 1973)
I have to admit, it wasn’t until I was deep into the shadowy world of high-fidelity that I even cared to notice who mastered a particular record. Pre-Internet, what you found in the shop was what you had (more or less) and there was no drilling down into the microscopic details of a particular album or recording for any insight into its sound.
But then you get into the game of high-end reissues and the exhausting quest for the best pressing of something and you get used to seeing the names Doug Sax, Bernie Grundman, and Robert Ludwig being tossed around. And then there’s a whole new filter to work into your method for finding the sound and it’s exciting and a little more maddening.
There is no doubt the mastering engineer most in demand currently is Kevin Gray. The Los Angeles-based technician has had his hands on some serious lengths and quality of tape since the early 70s and is the go-to guy for Blue Note’s Tone Poet series, Rhino High Fidelity and any label deeply serious about reissuing records to meet or exceed their original specs.
Mr. Gray’s name sets the hearts of audiophiles aflutter when seen on a hype sticker and for good reason—the records he works on sound amazing. How much of that is Kevin’s doing and how much of it lies in the original recording and mixing is hard to gauge without hardcore side-by-side comparisons. Gray himself has said he mostly tries to stay out of the way of the music and not imprint himself into the new master, hoping to produce a well balanced and great sounding artifact.
Whatever he’s doing is working and there are no signs of his workload lessening anytime soon. He’s also just launched his own record label, issuing music he records/engineers/masters himself through an all tube process.
But what I wanted to do this week was highlight some of the lesser known music Kevin has mastered over the years, moving the light away from the usual classic jazz and rock titles that—let’s be honest—pay the bills. I’d wager Kevin wouldn’t remember working on most of these but maybe some of you can bring it up the next time he’s on somebody’s live YouTube stream when he’s being asked about Dark Side of the Moon for the ten thousandth time.
Jack Rose - Opium Musick (Eclipse Records, 2003)
The late, great, gone-too-soon Jack Rose’s second full-length helped cement him as the rightful heir to John Fahey’s broken down throne. A must have record for anyone into solo acoustic guitar.
Khan Jamal Creative Arts Ensemble - Drum Dance to the Motherland (Dogtown/Eremite, 1973/2017)
Vibraphonist Khan Jamal’s masterpiece of cosmic free jazz was originally issued in 1973 and an estimated 300 copies were made. It has since been reissued a few times with the finest version being the Gray mastered Eremite edition in 2017.
Index - Index (DC, 1967/2004)
Now this one really is a head-scratcher. This legendary teen garage psych LP from Michigan was reissued in the 80s (with some of the worst album art imaginable). A band member took it upon themselves to do a nice version themselves in the 00s and somehow got Mr. Gray to master it. Originals cost a month’s rent at this point so this is the version to look out for. (or the CD that Lion Productions did)
Major Stars - The Rock Revival (Twisted Village, 1998)
One of the best guitar bands of the 90s and what may be their best album got some of Kevin Gray’s magic (and it was pressed at RTI). Lead guitarist Wayne Rogers (who also ran the label) told me they just got the best mastering/pressing they could afford, not really knowing anything about Kevin at the time.
Harold Budd, Ruben Garcia, Daniel Lentz - Music for 3 Pianos (All Saints, 1992)
Ok, I admit I’d never heard this album before I started wading into the Discogs waters for more research but it is, of course, a beauty. Actually never issued on vinyl, this one seems to only be available on Youtube. But even the lossy nature of that medium can’t mask the stark loveliness. This one has me hoping a label like Past Inside the Present or Inner Islands calls on Kevin someday soon!
Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun (Matador, 2003)
Kevin is only credited with cutting the lacquer for the original, 2003 pressing of this beloved Yo La Tengo record. But I’m including it because it’s the one that got me on the YLT bus and because I hope one or two people who have way too many versions of Hotel California are reading this and find their new favorite band.
Boredoms - Super Sky / Super Sky (Warner Bros Japan, 1998)
Maybe this entry into Kevin Gray’s Discogs is a trap meant to lead some unassuming ponytail into the technicolor jaws of this legendary Japanese transcendental noise outfit. I don’t know. But I do think Kevin would remember mastering a record where the entire first side consists of a baby crying/talking. Side B is a lot better, heading toward the blissful and ragged sonic horizon that would be the following year’s Vision Creation Newsun.
Amp - Perception (Darla, 1997)
An English duo with ties to Flying Saucer Attack and Third Eye Foundation, Amp got the Kevin Gray touch on this, their entry into Darla’s wonderful Bliss Out series. All electronic fog and drone, Perception is about as far from the Doobie Brothers as you can get but thanks to Discogs and now, this little newsletter, they are forever linked.
Diga Rhythm Band - Diga (Round/United Artists, 1976)
Widely considered a Mickey Hart project/record, the Diga Rhythm Band’s Diga came out in 1976 and it was a giant step further out into psychedelic space than his solo full length debut from 1972 was. Diga confirmed Hart’s is the most fearless solo career undertaken by any member of the greatest American band. (Also look into 1983’s Däfos on Reference Recordings for more audiophile catnip).
Nels Cline & Eric von Essen - Elegies (Nine Winds Records, 1981)
Long before joining country rock stalwarts Wilco, Nels Cline had a thriving career in the worlds of creative, experimental music and jazz. This new-to-me album from the guitarist’s early days isn’t the most common record out there that Kevin Gray has worked on but it’s worth looking out for. A duo set with bassist Eric von Essen, Elegies was produced by multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia and issued via his Nine Winds label.
Had no idea Kevin Gray was involved in Summer Sun - so cool. I also own and love the Nels Cline and it’s superb. Really enjoyed all these under the radar finds. Thanks!