Accolade - Accolade (1970) FLAC [Psychedelic Folk/Jazz-Fusion]

ACCOLADE - ACCOLADE (Self-Titled Debut Album)
Released July, 1970
Capitol Records ST-597
Recorded in Europe

Matrix Numbers (in dead wax):
ST1 597 A1#1
ST2 597 A1#1

GENRE: Psychedelic (& Acoustic) Folk/Rock
TURNTABLE: Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (quartz speed lock engaged)
CARTRIDGE: Technics-aligned AT120E/T Dual Moving Magnet Cartidge
SOFTWARE: Adobe Audition CC v6.0 (recording, manual pop removal), Audacity v2.0.5 (splitting tracks)
DYNAMIC RANGE: DR12
QUALITY: 48kHz/16bit FLAC
FORMAT: Original 1970 Stereo LP (USA Pressing)
VINYL QUALITY: VG+ or better

TRACKS:
1) Maiden Flight Eliza - 2:42
2) Starting All Over - 4:45
3) Prelude To A Dawn - 3:10
4) Never Ending Solitude - 2:36
5) Nature Boy - 9:35
6) Gospel Song - 3:31
7) Calico - 3:03
8) Ulyssees - 12:32 [sic]
9) Go On Home - 2:37


Don Partridge; Gordon Giltrap; Brian Cresswell; Malcolm Pool; Ian Hoyle


MY REVIEW: A surprisingly good album composed of psychedelic folk, or perhaps twisted jazz fusion, with prevalent acoustic guitar and swaying flute, making this record sound sometimes a lot like an early Jethro Tull album. Occasionally the sound is reminiscent of Rubber Soul or even Dave Brubeck, sporting a 5/4 interlude in the album's centerpiece (and best track), "Nature Boy." Overall I'd call it a very strong record. It may sometimes seem strange, but it frequently rewards repeated listening. Other strong tracks include the hard rocker "Gospel Song" and the album's longest track, "Ulyssees" [sic]. I'd call this album a definite need for those who like some stoned-out sounding folk-rock.

ABOUT THIS TRANSFER: I've been wanting to do this one for awhile, mainly because it seemed the only digital version floating around was an extremely heavily NR-ed 192kbps MP3 of the UK pressing. And although this is a transfer of the USA LP (which means it is probably a generation farther away from the master), the sound of my transfer BLOWS the other one out of the water; I never use noise reduction, so the music breathes as well as it does in the analog realm, and I believe my copy to be in much better condition as well. This is a definite upgrade for anyone who only has the MP3 copy.
I came incredibly close to using a low-pass filter on some of these songs, because sometimes the mastering sounds a bit shrill and unbalanced. However, I chose to not apply this in order that you, the listener, may hear the music as it was originally released and intended to be heard. My record sounds incredibly clean and nice, and for the most part required little to no clean-up; however, two tracks, "Starting All Over" and especially "Gospel Song," do have a little bit of vinyl noise in the beginning that was not removable without substantial damage, so I left it in.
All in all, this is the best-sounding version of this record to be uploaded for the world yet, in my humble opinion. Is it the definitive? Of course not; a transfer from a NM UK original would be nice, or a CD sourced from the master tapes. But for now, this will have to suffice. I hope you enjoy it!

For more/updated information on this and other releases by this artist, check out the Discogs page at: http://www.discogs.com/Accolade-Accolade/release/3675218

And, as always, remember that artists need support! Believe it or not, musicians are like people; they have basic needs. If this is ever issued on CD, BUY IT!