Louis Prima Wildest( HQ 180g vinyl LP )

Release date 23-05-2008 (Originally released in 1956)

2008 UK exclusive repressed HQ 180g vinyl LP

A veritable greatest-hits album, The Wildest! is the gem of Louis Prima's catalogue. None of his other efforts transcend its raunchy mix of demented gibberish, blaring sax, and explosive swing, which rocked as hard as anything released at the time. Almost all of Prima's signature songs are found here: "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody," "Oh Marie," "Jump, Jive, an' Wail," and "Buona Sera," to name a few. A plethora of greatest-hits packages (especially Capitol's Collectors Series) may offer wider song selection and greater value, but the reissue of Prima's masterpiece is a welcome event that's been a long time coming.

Tracks
A1 Just a Gigolo/I Aint Got Nobody
A2 Nothings Too Good For My Baby
A3 The Lip
A4 Body and Soul
A5 Oh Marie

B1 Basin Street Blues/When Its Sleepy Time Down South
B2 Jump Jive An Wail
B3 Buona Sera
B4 Night Train
B5 You Rascal You

A tireless showman and an underrated musical talent, Louis Prima swung his way to icon status thanks to an irresistible, infectious sound whose appeal translated across generations. Nominally a swing artist, Prima's distinctive sound also encompassed New Orleans-style jazz, boogie-woogie, jump blues, R&B, early rock & roll, and even the occasional Italian tarantella. Regardless of what form his music took, it swung hard and fast, with a rolling, up-tempo shuffle beat. His greatest period of popularity coincided with his marriage to singer Keely Smith, whose coolly sophisticated vocals and detached stage manner made a perfect counterpoint to Prima's boisterous presence: mugging, clowning, and cavorting around the stage with the boundless enthusiasm of a hyperactive boy. Prima's band during this time was anchored by tenor saxophonist Sam Butera, whose grounding in jump blues and New Orleans R&B was a perfect match.

Musicians:
    Louis Prima (trumpet, vocal)
    Keely Smith (vocal)
    Sam Butera (tenor saxophone)
    James “Little Red” Blount (trombone)
    Willie McCumber (piano)
    Jack Marshall (guitar)
    Amado Rodrigues (bass)
    Bobby Morris (drums)

About Pure Pleasure:
At the beginning of the 90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the situation was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and, of course, Pure Pleasure all maintained a mutual, unwritten ethical code: we would only use analogue tapes to manufacture records.

During the course of the present vinyl hype, many others have jumped on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source to master from: CDs, LPs, digital files, MP3s – or employed existent tools from the 80s and 90s for manufacturing.

A digital delay is gladly used when cutting a lacquer disc because tape machines with an analogue delay have become quite rare and are therefore expensive. When cutting the lacquer, the audio signal is delayed by one LP revolution against the signal, which controls the cutter head, and for this a digital delay is very often employed. Of course, the resultant sound signal is completely digital and thus only as good as this delay.

We should like to emphasize that Pure Pleasure Records on principle only uses the original master tape as the basis for the entirely analogue cutting of lacquer discs. In addition, the pressing tool is newly manufactured as a matter of principle.

We only employ existing tools for manufacturing if an improved result is not forthcoming, e.g. the title Elvis Is Back, which was mastered by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray, or several titles from our Philips Classics series, which in any case Willem Makkee cut from the original masters at the Emil Berliner Studios in the 90s. It goes without saying that we only used the mother and that new tools were made for our production.

To put it in a nutshell: we can ensure you that our releases are free from any kind of digital effects and that the lacquer discs are newly cut.