Record Time: New and Notable Vinyl Releases (RSD Black Friday Edition)
Get ready for the 2023 edition of RSD Black Friday with our rundown of some of the exciting vinyl exclusives dropping this week.
Music Features Vic Mensa
Record Time is Paste’s monthly column that takes a glimpse into the wide array of new vinyl releases currently flooding record stores around the world, and all the gear that is part of the ongoing surge in vinyl culture. Rather than run down every fresh bit of wax in the marketplace, we’ll home in on special editions, reissues and unusual titles that come across our desk with an interest in discussing both the music and how it is pressed and presented. This month we help you get ready for this year’s RSD Black Friday with a rundown of some of the exciting special releases dropping tomorrow and a handful of fresh wax that dropped this month.
Beast Coast: Escape From New York (Columbia)
I’m not sure what market research that Sony Music tapped into that helped guide their hands for this year’s RSD Black Friday, but their rundown of releases is chock-a-block with great hip-hop releases as you’ll see as you cruise through this month’s column. Perhaps it was inspired by the reaction to the first vinyl release of the debut album by this rap supergroup, which apparently flew off the shelves in 2019. (Copies are now selling for $100+ on Discogs.) This repressing may help bring that price down a bit, or this orange vinyl version could sell out fast and soon be trading for equally inflated numbers come Saturday morning. Suffice it to say, making sure you walk out of your local record shop with a copy of this should be a priority. The collaboration between the Pro Era crew and members of Flatbush Zombies and the Underachievers is a perfect posse release as the friendship that these rappers cultivated as they grew up together in New York translates perfectly to these late night trap jams.
Marion Brown & Leo Smith: Creative Improvisation Ensemble (Freedom / ORG Music)
Another great album from the archives of the Arista off-shoot Freedom is brought back into print this week via this RSD Black Friday edition of Creative Improvisation Ensemble, a 1970 recording of saxophonist Marion Brown and trumpeter Leo Smith (best known these days by his additional moniker of Wadada) in Paris trading off piercing runs of notes and sounds and accompanying one another on a small battery of percussion instruments. As the notes explain, these pieces come out of a month-long process of improvisation by the two men, after which they devised a score that gave their performance some structure while leaving plenty of space for extemporaneous playing. Even though the details of each piece are spelled out on the back cover of the LP, you might be better served simply letting the music unfold without warning or preconception. It’s a uniquely challenging listen but all the more rewarding for experiencing its unusual thrusts and parries. And this record is a perfect entry point into the long discography of each player, one of whom (Smith) is still alive and making some of the best music of his life right now.
Dave Brubeck Quartet: Live From The Northwest, 1959 (Brubeck Editions)
Jazz fans and collectors continue to reap the dividends of the vinyl renaissance of recent years with a bevy of fantastic archival releases hitting record shops shelves this Friday. One of the highlights for 2023 is this collection of live recordings of Dave Brubeck’s cool jazz quartet that were made during the group’s stops in Portland, OR and nearby Vancouver, Washington. At this point, the ensemble was four months away from making their groundbreaking best seller Time Out. That does mean, sadly, that none of that material was part of the quartet’s live repertoire at this point, but even when they’re sticking to the usual time signatures and swinging tempos, they cook. And as captured by future legend Wally Heider, these recordings are as crystalline as a studio session. The separation of the four players is perfect with the ideal amount of space to let the instruments truly come to the fore. Shout out to engineer Scott Petito of NRS Studio for maintaining that clarity throughout this RSD Black Friday highlight.
Coheed and Cambria: Live at the Starland Ballroom (Equal Vision / Columbia / Legacy)
Released first on CD and DVD back in 2005 as Coheed and Cambria were riding the chart success of their third album, this live recording of the group captured at the titular New Jersey venue loses a bit in the translation — for the first time — to vinyl. The music, though dynamic and multi-layered sonically, was clearly recorded to be heard through a TV or laptop, devices whose speakers are a little more forgiving for a touch of muddiness. On wax, these otherwise fiery performances sound disappointingly muted and far less inviting than their studio work — something that is not helped by the “starburst vinyl” the music is pressed on. Fans looking to fill out their C&C vinyl collection are certainly going to snap this up without a second thought, but I very much doubt this is going to get much play on their turntables.
Cypress Hill: Black Sunday: 2023 Remixes (Ruff House / Columbia / Legacy)
With a 30th anniversary re-release of Black Sunday, the second album from stoner hip-hop icons Cypress Hill, already on the market, the group’s label is doing what it can to keep interest (ahem) high on such matters with this RSD 12” featuring two newly commissioned remixes of tracks from the LP. And they just happen to be two of the best tunes from the record: top 20 hit “Insane In The Brain,” and “Hits From The Bong.” In the case of the latter, Boston producer Statik Selektah applies a bit of downtempo funk to the proceedings. On the flipside, the track’s original producer DJ Muggs somehow improves on what he had already accomplished with a slinky overlay that sounds equally inspired by Four Tet and J Dilla. Will slide nicely into your DJ crate.
Bill Evans: Tales: Live In Copenhagen (1964) (Elemental)
Earlier this year, for Record Store Day proper, Elemental released Treasures a collection of live recordings that found the great pianist Bill Evans performing live in Denmark in a variety of permutations: solo, with his trio and backed by an orchestra. Amazingly, not everything in the tapes that were collected and produced for release by the mighty Zev Feldman made it onto that three-LP set. Hence, the appearance of Tales, which spotlights two sessions that Evans, bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Larry Bunker recorded for Danish radio in 1964, and sneaks in an extra track Evans laid down five years later with a different rhythm section. Apparently these are the earliest known recordings of Evans performing in Europe, a part of the world he would return to regularly throughout his storied career. And it features the work of a trio that were just hitting their collective stride as a unit. You can hear them challenging one another even on “Sweet and Lovely,” where Israels takes a bounding, sliding solo that dances around the rhythm like an ice skater that Evans responds to with a playful sproing. Another treat is hearing pianist try his hands at the Rodgers & Hart classic “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” a song that has never before appeared in his discography.
Chico Hamilton: The Master (Craft Recordings / Stax)
After years of recording for premiere jazz labels like Impulse and Solid State, percussionist Chico Hamilton made a brief detour to vaunted Memphis label Stax for a single LP that is oft-overlooked in his catalog of bop and Latin jams. Working with Lowell George and members of Little Feat, Hamilton delivered some of the funkiest cuts of his multi-decade career — tunes that with little effort could have made up the soundtrack to a badass Blaxploitation film starring the drummer as a man on the wrong side of the law. What’s still astonishing is how minimalist Hamilton’s playing is throughout. Even on a track like “Conquistadores ‘74” when his right hand is knocking out triplets on his ride cymbal, he leaves the heavy percussive lifting to conga player Simon Nava and the rhythmic drive to guitarist Paul Barrere and bassist Kenny Gradney. Hamilton stays in the pocket and stays otherwise out of the way. This RSD Black Friday pressing meanwhile, at least the purple marble edition that we were sent to review, isn’t so forgiving. It’s fairly noisy during the quieter moments and between songs with an omnipresent rumble that is difficult to ignore, especially when rocking a pair of headphones.
Ahmad Jamal: Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse (1966 – 1968) (Elemental Music / Jazz Detective / Deep Digs Music Group)
Last year saw the release of two incredible documents of pianist Ahmad Jamal and his trio performing at Seattle jazz club the Penthouse throughout the ’60s. For this RSD Black Friday, the circle is getting completed by producer Zev Feldman who is helping bring forth another fantastic double LP set of material from those same archives. On this release, the spotlight is on the steady trio that Jamal led through the latter part of the ’60s, with bassist Jamil Nasser and drummer Frank Gant. Their collective alchemy on these dates is astounding. You can sense just how much these three men were pushing each other to reach further and go harder. On their blistering take of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Corcovado,” Jamal cranks the heat higher and higher through his solos. For punctuation, he reaches into the piano and gives the strings a quick strum, right after landing on the keys with a percussive thwack. Even on their waltz-time take on Bacharach and David’s “Alfie,” Jamal takes off on these runs that rain down like pine needles in a windstorm.
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts: Mindsets (Blackheart / Legacy)
The five tracks that make up the a-side of this platter were originally released only in digital form back in June. Five months later, this EP is making its vinyl bow for RSD with this fairly novel release. On the flipside of the LP are the same five tunes, but recorded live by Joan Jett and the present-day edition of her backing band the Blackhearts. To give everyone involved credit, it’s not like they held out to find the perfect performances of these tunes. The little flubs and overexcited moments that pepper the b-side are wonderful to hear — and as close as one might get to the experience Jett in all her glory on the concert stage. Because of that, the live versions leave their studio counterparts in the dust. Maybe not what this rock icon and her legions of fans want to hear, but I doubt they’ll complain once they get their mitts on this LP tomorrow.
Wes Montgomery / Wynton Kelly Trio: Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Resonance)
Smokin’ At the Half Note remains a classic of post-bop ’60s, capturing young guitarist Wes Mongomery joining the Wynton Kelly Trio for a series of live and studio performances that capitalized on the joyous interplay of the four men and the cool swing in their collective step. Archivist extraordinaire Zev Feldman has returned to the same year that Smokin’ was recorded (1965) and collected some tapes made at the same club with mostly the same lineup of musicians. The only change from date to date is the bassist. For the most part, these performances are the equal to the Smokin’ sessions and, sometimes, even better as Montgomery lets himself splay out during his solos, daring to get a little over his skis yet always sticking the landing. Try as Feldman and mastering engineer Matthew Lutthans did, they unfortunately could not avoid the flaws in these 60 year old tapes. A broken flutter cuts through small segments, and the last of the three LPs in this otherwise fantastic set is a bootleg quality recording complete with tape hiss and a muffled sound. Worth listening to still? Without question.
Nas: I Am… The Autobiography (Columbia / Legacy)
The history of Nas’s albums I Am and its follow-up Nastradamus, both released in 1999, was messy. In the months before the former LP’s official drop, a handful of tracks were leaked to the Internet. It forced the New York rapper to head back to the studio, record new material and scramble the tracklists of both records. Fine as those LPs were, fans did their best to get back to the original article with the oft-bootlegged I Am… The Autobiography. It combines tracks from the two commercially released albums, bits that wound up on The Lost Tapes compilation and some unreleased cuts. Nas is taking back control of the narrative for RSD Black Friday by officially dropping this version of the story. And, just as it felt when dipping into the Autobiography back in 2000, there’s a touch of softness that nicely counters the bare knuckle braggadocio of the rest of these tracks.
Polo G: Die A Legend (Columbia)
When it was released in 2019, the debut album from Chicago rapper Polo G was instantly branded as a classic. The legend has only continued to grow over the past four years with folks rightfully clocking Polo’s skills as a storyteller and a rapper. He deftly blends a straight hip-hop approach with element of R&B — the building blocks of the trap sound that remains the default for rhymers around the world. And as vinyl sales stay steady in the world marketplace, the majors are wisely dipping into their deep catalog and putting together first time pressings like this. Much like the rest of the RSD releases dropping this week, this is another pleasant surprise as the LP sounds clean and blunt with a nice amount of oomph in the low end and crisp mids that are perfectly balanced in the mix.
Prince: “Gett Off” (NPG / Legacy)
The story goes that Prince didn’t intend to release “Gett Off” as part of Diamonds & Pearls, the 1991 album that opened up the third great phase of this artist’s incredible career. But after sending a few copies of a single-sided 12” to DJs featuring an extended version of the song, it caught such fire that he was inspired to swap an edit onto the LP. As the deluxe reissue of Diamonds was unleashed onto the world recently, his estate is taking this chance to recreate the original release of this single for RSD. It is still damn near 10 minutes as the cover art states and it is still damn fun to spin this one when the house party needs to be taken from a seven to an 11.
Souls of Mischief: 93 ’Til Infinity: The Remixes (Jive / Hieroglyphics / Legacy)
The material found on this vinyl release initially dropped in dribs and drabs on the singles that the Oakland hip-hop group Souls of Mischief released in support of their debut album 93 ‘Til Infinity. They were compiled, in this same track order, for the 2014 double CD re-release of that same album. And now here they are on a nice two-LP set. It’s an odd compilation as it features five different versions of the original album’s title track, including an a capella mix that has been already fodder for mash-up producers for years now. The rest of the set is made up of other instrumentals and a few nice remixes of album tracks like “Never No More” and “That’s When Ya Lost,” the latter of which was handled by fellow Hieroglyphics member Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. A nice companion piece to the recent reissue of 93, released to coincide with the album’s 30th birthday, but not necessarily an essential pickup on RSD Black Friday for folks who aren’t serious hip-hop collectors / scholars.
Cal Tjader: Catch The Groove: Live at the Penthouse (1963-1967) (Elemental Music / Jazz Detective / Deep Digs Music Group)
As a longtime collector of jazz vinyl, something I’m not looking forward to is the day that producer Zev Feldman taps out the archive of recordings made for broadcast at Seattle’s Penthouse jazz club. It’s not going to happen any time soon, thankfully, but each year, fresh delights arrive from this store of tapes and I never want it to stop. One of the latest releases in this ongoing excavation project is this three-LP set featuring vibraphonist Cal Tjader during one of his most prolific and profound stretches of his career. During this time, he landed a radio hit with his version of “Soul Sauce,” and worked with arrangers like Clare Fischer (who appears on the 1963 portion of this set) and Lalo Schifrin. More importantly, Tjader continued his deep exploration of Latin music, a study that informs each of his performances at the Penthouse. From 1965 on, he brought with him percussionist Armando Peraza to lend his hand percussion skills to the sets, as well as working with the versatile drummers Carl Burnett and Johnny Rae, both of whom slip into mambo and samba moods with zero friction.
V/A: Jazz Dispensary At The Movies (Jazz Dispensary / Craft Recordings)
For this year’s RSD Black Friday, weed-themed label Jazz Dispensary is once again mining the Concord Music Group holdings and unearthing the many soundtrack releases under their control. And they are a funky bunch at that. This well-curated collection features tracks from classic ’70s fare like Cornbread, Earl & Me, which featured a score performed by Donald Byrd’s Blackbyrds; the Isaac Hayes-starring Blaxploitation epic Truck Turner; Melvin Van Peebles’ first feature Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and the Ralph Bakshi animated films Fritz The Cat and Heavy Traffic. Producer Mason Williams did a phenomenal job with this one, in both his smart song selection and the way the tunes are sequenced. It moves like a great film with a musical story arc that heads right to the big finish of Hayes’ “Pursuit of the Pimpmobile,” a tune that is just as tense and thrilling as anything he wrote for the more well-known score for Shaft.
V/A: Judgment Night (Immortal / Epic Soundtrax / Legacy)
Judgment Night, the wobbly crime drama starring Emilio Estevez and Jeremy Piven, has long been (and justifiably) forgotten. The soundtrack that was put together for this film, on the other hand, has only grown in stature for its daring collaborations between some of the biggest alternative rock bands and hip-hop artists of the early ’90s. The pairings are still mind-bogglingly perverse (Del Tha Funkee Homosapien joining psych-sludge trio Dinosaur Jr.; fellow Seattleites Mudhoney and Sir Mix-a-Lot finding some unexpected common ground) and perfectly on the nose (Ice T fronting Slayer was a precursor to the rapper’s future work with Body Count while Faith No More adjusted to the funk stomp of long-overlooked Samoan group Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. with ease). The rest of the soundtrack only gets stranger and more wonderful from there. Initially only released on vinyl in Europe and Brazil, the album found its way onto wax in the U.S. first in 2015 and gets a fresh repressing this month to help celebrate its 30th anniversary.
V/A: Written in Their Soul — The Hits: The Stax Songwriter Demos (Craft Recordings / Stax)
Arguably the best archival release of 2023 was Written in Their Soul, a seven-disc boxed set compiling dozens of demo recordings made by Stax songwriters like Eddie Floyd and Homer Banks that were turned into classics by the artists that eventually recorded them for wide release. I don’t envy poor Cheryl Pawelski who had to winnow down that mass of material to just 13 songs for this RSD Black Friday release that highlights some of the bigger hits that came out of that particular woodshed. These aren’t raw hissy demos either, but rough and ready recordings fleshed out just so with backing vocals and rudimentary rhythms that would eventually be taken higher by the labels in-house studio band. In fact, if some cut rate label were to release, say, Banks’ recording of eventual Staple Singers staple “If You’re Ready” or Shelbra Bennett’s run through “I’ll Be The Other Woman,” on a 45 back in the day, they’d be coveted by collectors. This single LP merely scratches the surface but will nicely whet your appetite until Santa drops the full boxed set under the Christmas tree next month.
Cannonball Adderly: Somethin’ Else (Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs / UMe)
How clear and present is the sound on this new pressing of Cannonball Adderly’s majestic 1958 album Somethin’ Else? In the first few moments of opening track “Autumn Leaves,” I could hear the rattle of Adderly’s saxophone reed. That clear. That present. Kvetch if you wish about the lack of transparency that MoFi engaged in when they introduced the Ultradisc One-Step series. You have good reason to complain. But now that the truth is in the open about the digital step in their mastering process, we can all get down to the business of marveling at how goddamn wonderful these releases are. This is my third or fourth copy of this particular album and it is, without question, the best sounding version I’ve heard. Played through headphones, I felt like I was gloriously surrounded by Adderly and his band, which included Miles Davis, Art Blakey, bassist Sam Jones and pianist Hank Jones. The interplay between the two horn players is especially bright and full, particularly on those tunes where Davis ditches his mute and lets it fly. I was, through every spin of this 45 RPM pressing, at their mercy and couldn’t have been happier about it.
Comateens: “Danger Zone” / “Cool Chick” 12” (Left For Dead)
Reissue label Left For Dead Records has been a vital reference library for punk scholars since their arrival in the world around six years ago with some fantastic reissues of work by Brooklyn trio Nastyfacts and New Jersey hardcord act TMA. This month, they’re dropping a pair of fresh slabs of wax, including this 12” single from late ’70s synth-punk group Comateens. Visiting the same musical malt shop as their contemporaries in the B-52’s and Suicide, the quartet drew a good deal of inspiration from early ’60s rock 45s, especially the dangerous ones about fast cars, heavy petting and unfortunate accidents. In their capable hands, Comateens amplified the sleaze and bile, leading to this tart pairing of tunes. Originally issued as a 7” back in 1979, LFD gave it a nice boost by pressing it a 45 RPM 12” single worthy of being blasted out in a DJ set between your favorite Cramps and Rezillos tracks.
The Counts: What’s Up Front That — Counts (Westbound / ORG Music)
A bit of great news that snuck out a few months back was that ORG Music has gained control of the archives of the great soul / funk label Westbound Records and are undertaking a campaign to reissue some classics from their library. As we hold out hope that that means some strong repressings of the P-Funk catalog, we can spend that time enjoying jams like this 1971 album from Detroit group the Counts. Self-produced by the band after a slight name change, the record is a wonderfully nasty bit of business with hard-edged grooves worthy of early War LPs and featuring these strange little tonal twists, usually produced vocally, reminiscent of their labelmates in Funkadelic. As the original issue of this record was a mere six songs, ORG Music kindly padded this out by adding three bonus tracks in the mix that reveal the influence of New Orleans and Philly on this talented ensemble.
Creation Rebel: Hostile Environment (On-U Sound)
A reunion that has slipped past the cultural gatekeepers of the world is that of Creation Rebel the dub / reggae ensemble that began as a studio project then with the late Prince Far I became a powerhouse live band, even as they were serving as the house musicians for a decent portion of the music released on On-U Sound. With four decades in the rearview mirror, the group has reconvened with that label’s leader Adrian Sherwood and walked out of the studio with a spectacular set of heavy grooves being pulled and stretched like taffy and lyrical barbs taking aim at the fractious sociopolitical situation in the U.K. while seeking salvation beyond the borders of this big blue marble we’re on. There’s something so beautifully defiant in this record’s mere existence as these older musicians play like no time has passed since their initial dissolution in 1983 and plant their flag deeper in British soil at a time when the country has been especially cruel to the refugee community within its borders.
Daft Punk: Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition) (Columbia)
Who asked for this? With all respect to Daft Punk, the French disco-electro duo that made their unsurprising run up the Billboard charts a decade ago with Random Access Memories, the idea of releasing that same album stripped of its beats and percussion is baffling at best. The appeal of their work, especially on this album, was their finely-honed blend of lush melodics and block rocking beats. Take away the latter and the songs just barely stand on their own. There are exceptions, to be sure. “Within” becomes a gorgeous elegy when left drum-free and the aching quality of their Paul Williams collaboration “Touch” comes across more dramatically. Most everything else on the other hand loses a lot in the translation. The nuance may be there but it’s a little challenging to “Lose Yourself to Dance” without a dope beat to step to.
Vic Mensa: Victor (Roc Nation)
The second full-length from Chicago rapper Vic Mensa could easily borrow the name of his 2016 EP There’s Alot Going On as a subtitle. The 30-year-old has already proven himself unwilling to sit still for very long, starting a punk band after the release of his first LP, jumping in front of the camera for acting gigs and hopping into the studio to collaborate with Nile Rodgers, Pussy Riot and trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. The guest list on Victor is equally varied even if the music sticks to a comfortable lane of melodic hip-hop. It’s within his lyrics that Mensa decides to stuff as many ideas and moods as he can manage. If the album has a theme, it’s his journey of faith (he daringly includes some samples of speeches by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan) and sobriety in the wake of a harrowing car accident. Important as that life-changing event was, he doesn’t dwell there, allowing himself to get playful and angry and loving and cocky as the spirit moves him. If it doesn’t quite hold together as strongly as 2017’s The Autobiography, that’s really okay. He’s got far bigger ambitions on Victor that include letting his flaws hang out for all to see.
John Prine: The Oh Boy Singles (Oh Boy)
The attraction of this new boxed set goes far beyond the delights of the eight 7” singles packed into each one. The box itself has been fashioned to look like a tiny replica of John Prine’s personal Wurlitzer jukebox with a button that lights it all up like you’d just dropped in a quarter and picked B-17. Inside the set was a lovely metal 45 adaptor featuring the familiar logo of Prine’s boutique label Oh Boy Records, and a pair of full-size replica jukebox tokens specially made for the set. But don’t let that distract from the loving recreations of the eight singles that Prine released on his own label that began in 1981 with his Christmas 45: a fun, punch drunk rendition of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” b/w “Silver Bells.” Most of the set runs closer to the end of Prine’s long career, with tracks recorded at his home with friends like Margo Price and Kelsey Waldon when his ailing health kept him from traveling. Each one is a little treasure that underscores Prine’s quick wit, empathy and open heart.
Shiva Burlesque: Mercury Blues + Skullduggery (Independent Project)
In the years before Grant Lee Buffalo got underway, its three members were part of a dreamy psychedelic outfit fronted by singer / songwriter Jeffrey Clark known as Shiva Burlesque. Their sound was something of a tough sell in an L.A scene. They were too late to join forces with the Paisley Underground and far too weird to have anything to do with the rise of glam metal. This bold quartet soldiered on as best they could, releasing two fantastic albums before fizzling out. Long championed by their friend Bruce Licher of Independent Project Records, the graphic designer and label head has been working to correct the historical record regarding this band, beginning with a CD reissue of their final album, 1990’s Mercury Blues that included a second disc of demos from the same era. It is now available in vinyl form in an especially attractive package. The easy path would be to dismiss this simply as a stepping stone for Grant Lee Phillips to find his path with GLB and his still strong solo career, but the crushed velvet beauty of this music deserves a standalone chapter. Were it not for their psych-folk influences, the timbre of these songs would fit nicely in a darkwave playlist — a tone that only becomes stronger within the rough versions of songs that could have been future classics. If you spend time with the catalogs of Pale Saints or Medicine, this reissue should be at the top of your vinyl shopping list.
Simple Minds: New Gold Dream: Live From Paisley Abbey (BMG)
Invited by Sky Arts to record a performance for the network’s acclaimed “Greatest Albums Live” series, Scottish post-punk act Simple Minds chose both one of their finest recorded hours — 1982’s New Gold Dream — and an amazing location in Paisley Abbey, a 12th century church outside of Glasgow. Filmed in late 2022, the audio from this performance is now getting released separately, including this lovely colored vinyl edition. Even without an audience to play off of, the group thrusts themselves into the music with passion and delight, staying true to the way classics like “Promised You a Miracle” and “Glittering Prize” were captured in the studio while injecting it with the energy and a modernity that keeps these 40 year old songs sounding properly modern. Key to that are the contributions of vocalist Sarah Brown who bring an appropriately gospel-like spirit to the set and keyboardist Berenice Scott whose newer equipment applies a shiny coat of paint to these familiar melodies.