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As with the "twofers," TODAY - MY WAY / NANCY - NATURALLY and WELCOME TO MY LOVE / EASY, these two wonderful albums are offered in mono. I happen to know that the stereo masters for all six of these original albums exist, so I don't know why the so-called remastering was done using the mono mixes. All of the songs from these records that got released as singles, or which have turned up on other Nancy Wilson anthologies I've heard in stereo, and they are generally better mixes. This having been said, the mono sound on all of these recently released double-album CDs is perfect. Although I love Nancy singing in almost any musical setting, what's nice about the mono mixes is that all the attention is more centered on Wilson's unique, glorious voice. The recording quality is not at all muddy, and the instrumentation, from horns and flutes to keyboards and violins, is very clean and full, sounding 3-D, only front to back, rather than floating between left and right. Achieving this amount of depth in a mono recording is impressive. All six Nancy Wilson albums in this series are from her most fruitful period, the 1960s, a time when it was not uncommon for a major artist to release two or three LPs in a year (and even have enough in the can to be released all these decades later as bonus tracks, some of which are, by the way, heard here in stereo). Wilson is quoted in the liner notes included with one of these titles that she loved working that way -- and she was missing it -- walking into a studio with all of the arrangements worked out in advance, and nothing left to worry about other than singing well, in real time, with live musicians - imagine that! Both of the albums presented here are good, but LUSH LIFE also happens to be one of Wilson's best, most solid collections of songs. The title track is its centerpiece, but the whole album is masterfully done, with tasteful arrangements, neither too "pop" or too "easy listening" for those who prefer Nancy's jazzier side, but not so jazzy as to put off those who like their blues with a spoonful of sugar. In short, a perfectly balanced combination of sophisticated pop and cool jazz. LUSH LIFE is Nancy at the top of her game, and although the stereo mixes are magnificent, I was surprised at how effective these recordings are in mono, even in my Bose headphones!
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- Graham EdwardsReviewed in Australia on March 28, 2020
Great cd, pity about the mono.
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