ROY AYERS, Coffy WHITE LABEL PROMO USA rare Monarch Sterling ?Robert Ludwig? LP*

$

50

Roy Ayers ?– Coffy Label: Polydor ?– PD 5048, Polydor ?– PD-5048 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Promo, Monarch pressing  Country: US Released: 1973 Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul, Stage & Screen Style: Soundtrack, Jazz-Funk, Soul-Jazz Tracklist Hide Credits A1 Coffy Is The Color Vocals – Denise Bridgewater*, Roy Ayers, Wayne Garfield Written-By – Carl Clay, Roy Ayers 2:58 A2 Pricilla's Theme Written-By – Roy Ayers 3:53 A3 King George Vocals – Roy Ayers Written-By – Carl Clay, Roy Ayers 2:55 A4 Aragon Written-By – Roy Ayers 2:52 A5 Coffy Sauna Written-By – Roy Ayers 2:13 A6 King's Last Ride Written-By – Roy Ayers 1:05 A7 Coffy Baby Vocals – Denise Bridgewater* Written-By – Roselle Weaver, Roy Ayers 2:23 B1 Brawling Broads Written-By – Roy Ayers 2:40 B2 Escape Written-By – Roy Ayers 2:14 B3 Shining Symbol Vocals – Wayne Garfield Written-By – Carl Clay, Roy Ayers 3:49 B4 Exotic Dance Written-By – Roy Ayers 3:14 B5 Making Love Written-By – Roy Ayers 2:45 B6 Vittroni's Theme - King Is Dead Written-By – Harry Whitaker, Roy Ayers 1:58 B7 End Of Sugarman Written-By – Roy Ayers 1:04 Companies, etc. Manufactured By – Polydor Incorporated – 2391 077 Mastered At – Sterling Sound Published By – Harlene Music Publications Recorded At – Sound Ideas Studios Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. Credits Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass – Richard Davis (2) Arranged By – Harry Whitaker, Roy Ayers Drums – Dennis Davis Electric Piano, Organ, Harpsichord, Piano – Harry Whitaker Engineer – George Klabin Flugelhorn – Cecil Bridgewater Guitar – Billy Nichols, Bob Rose Percussion – William King (6) Producer, Composed By, Conductor – Roy Ayers Strings – Emanuel Vardi, Harry Lookofsky, Irving Spice, Peter Dimitriades Trombone – Garnett Brown, Wayne Andre Trumpet – Jon Faddis  

USA WHITE LABEL PROMO PRESSING VINYL ALBUM WITH GENERIC WHITE INNER SLEEVE.

This is the rare Monarch white label promo, which is much harder to find than the other, different pressing plant white label pressing. The handwriting before the stamped STERLING on both run-outs looks exactly like Robert Ludwig's on other Polydor Sterlings of this era (James Brown, other Roy Ayers, etc), but there is no RL, and no mastering credit on the LP sleeve, so obviously we are unable to confirm this, but we seriously doubt anyone else had such noticeable similar handwriting at Sterling in the 1970s and could master albums that sound as amazing as Coffy does.

MATRIX:  SIDE A: PD 5048 A - 1C [MR] 7 ?18001 (1) STERLING /  SIDE B: PD 5048 B - 1C [MR] 7 ?18001-X (1) STERLING.

SLEEVE: VERY GOOD+, SOME SHELF, CORNER, EDGE AND RING WEAR. CORNER CUT, CORNER BUMPS.  INNER SLEEVE VERY GOOD+ WITH NO SEAM SPLITS.

DISC: VERY GOOD ONLY, WHICH SHOULD CLEAN UP VG+.  A FEW LIGHT SMALL SCRATCHES, MULTIPLE HAIRLINE PLAY SCUFFS AND FINGERPRINTS. THE DISC NEEDS A PROFESSIONAL SONIC/VPI/NITTY GRITTY TYPE CLEAN PRIOR TO FIRST PLAY, AND IS SOLD 'AS IS' ON THAT BASIS.  IF YOU CLEAN THIS COPY UP ACCORDING TO YOUR CHOSEN CLEANING METHODS (WHICH IS WHY WE DON'T CLEAN THEM, EVERYONE DOES IT DIFFERENTLY, WE'VE EVEN BEEN TOLD ELMER'S WOOD GLUE IS A GOOD CLEANER!), AND DON'T MIND A FEW POPS AND CLICKS, THIS PRESSING WILL SOUND PRETTY AMAZING AS IT'S AS CLOSE TO THE MASTER TAPE AS YOU WILL GET, AND WILL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH ALL THE REISSUES, MOST OF WHICH SOUND LAME COMPARED TO TRUE POLYDOR ORIGNAL PRESSINGS. CLEAN LABELS WITH SOME FINGERPRINT SPOTS.

Why buy a first or early pressing and not a re-issue or a ‘re-mastered’ vinyl album?

First and early pressings are pressed from the first generation lacquers and stampers. They usually sound vastly superior to later issues/re-issues (which, in recent times, are often pressed from whatever 'best' tapes or digital sources are currently available) - many so-called 'audiophile' new 180g pressings are cut from hi-res digital sources…essentially an expensive CD pressed on vinyl.  Why  experience the worse elements of both formats?  These are just High Maintenance CDs, with mid-ranges so cloaked with a veil as to sound smeared.  They are nearly always compressed with murky transients and a general lifelessness in the overall sound.  There are exceptions where re-masters/re-presses outshine the original issues, but they are exceptions and not the norm.

First or early pressings nearly always have more immediacy, presence and dynamics. The sound staging is wider.  Subtle instrument nuances are better placed with more spacious textures. Balances are firmer in the bottom end with a far-tighter bass. Upper-mid ranges shine without harshness, and the overall depth is more immersive.  Inner details are  clearer.

On first and early pressings, the music tends to sound more ‘alive’ and vibrant.  The physics of sound energy is hard to clarify and write about from a listening perspective, but the best we can describe it is to say that you can 'hear' what the mixing and mastering engineers wanted you to hear when they first recorded the music.