Atlantic 75 Series: which titles are worth buying?
Michael’s picks from jazz, soul and rock – great Atlantic albums, reissued at 45 RPM.
In short
To start with the Atlantic 75 Series by Analogue Productions, Michael 45 recommends John Coltrane’s My Favorite Things, Charles Mingus’ Oh Yeah and Billy Cobham’s Spectrum for jazz; Ray Charles’ The Genius Sings the Blues and Donny Hathaway for soul and blues; all four Yes albums in the series, The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge and 90125; and Foreigner’s 4, Stone Temple Pilots’ Purple and Matchbox Twenty’s Yourself or Someone Like You for rock. The series comes at 45 RPM on 180 g vinyl in tip-on gatefold jackets by Stoughton Printing; every title recommended here is a double LP pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Michael 45 carries the Atlantic 75 Series and ships throughout the EU and to Switzerland, Norway and the UK.
- 45 RPMtwo LPs per album
- 180 gpressed at Quality Record Pressings
- Tip-on gatefoldby Stoughton Printing
- 18 picksfrom jazz, soul and rock
Great albums with room to breathe
With the Atlantic 75 Series, Analogue Productions celebrates the label Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson founded in 1947. The series runs from fifties jazz through soul and seventies rock to the guitar bands of the nineties. The albums come at 45 RPM, mostly on two LPs – Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway even on four. Depending on the title, it was mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound, Bernie Grundman or Chris Bellman – for most of the picks here from the original master tape.
“Every Genesis release when it comes to the Atlantic 75 series really, really, really heavily benefits from this fact that they put them out as 45 RPMs, so they have the space. They can breathe in a way.”Michael 45 on A Trick of the Tail and the Genesis albums in the series · watch the video
Jazz: Coltrane, Mingus, Cobham
My Favorite Things is a definite pick for Michael. John Coltrane recorded the album in October 1960 at Atlantic Studios in New York with McCoy Tyner, Steve Davis and Elvin Jones, playing soprano saxophone on the title track. Ryan K. Smith mastered this edition at Sterling Sound from the original master tape.
On Oh Yeah, Charles Mingus moves to the piano and sings, with Doug Watkins on bass. Recorded on 6 November 1961 at Atlantic Studios, it brings seven of his own compositions between blues, gospel and experiment. Kevin Gray mastered it at Cohearent Audio from the original analogue master tape.
Spectrum is Billy Cobham’s debut under his own name: recorded over three days in May 1973 at Electric Lady Studios, every piece written by Cobham, with Jan Hammer, Tommy Bolin and Leland Sklar. Mastered by Kevin Gray.
“A milestone of a record for me. What a fantastic, exciting, brilliant record. Not an easy one. I can tell you that. But amazing. I love it. This is within my top five records within the Atlantic 75 series. It sounds unbelievable.”Michael 45 on Spectrum · watch the video
For a different side of Coltrane, reach for Bags & Trane: his only album with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, recorded on 15 January 1959 with Hank Jones, Paul Chambers and Connie Kay. In his video Michael calls it “a must have” “for every John Coltrane fan, maybe even for every jazz fan” and Ryan K. Smith’s work “a wonderful, wonderful mastering”.
Soul and blues: Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway, Aretha, Otis
The Genius Sings the Blues came out on Atlantic in October 1961 and collects twelve Ray Charles recordings from 1952 to 1960 – in mono, mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analogue master tape.
“Ray Charles hasn’t been reissued on the top level that much. And so of course it’s amazing for us collectors that Chad [Kassem] and his team now fills this gap with the releases inside the Atlantic 75 series.”Michael 45 on The Genius Sings the Blues · watch the video
Donny Hathaway is his second studio album from 1971, with Leon Russell’s “A Song for You”, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and “Little Girl”. Most of it was produced by Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin; Kevin Gray did the mastering.
“Such a powerful, brilliantly sounding record. Some of those songs really left me speechless.”Michael 45 on Donny Hathaway · watch the video
Aretha Franklin’s Young, Gifted and Black from 1972 was made with Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, featuring Donny Hathaway, Billy Preston, Cornell Dupree, Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie. Michael in his video: “Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, finally in an audiophile edition that deserves the title audiophile.” And Otis Redding’s 1964 debut Pain in My Heart, with “These Arms of Mine”, comes in mono – for Michael “wonderful, wonderful, wonderful soul music”.
Yes: four albums from one of the key bands in the series
The Atlantic 75 Series includes four Yes albums, and every one is worth having. The Yes Album from 1971 is the first with Steve Howe and the first made up entirely of their own songs, mostly recorded in autumn 1970 at Advision in London; “Clap” was captured live in July 1970. In his video Michael calls this edition “an unbelievable achievement of modern mastering technique” – “this is not from this Earth”. Kevin Gray mastered it at Cohearent Audio from the original analogue master tape.
Fragile is the first Yes album with Rick Wakeman and with a Roger Dean cover: four long band pieces next to five shorter tracks, each built on the idea of one member. As with the original, the booklet is included. For Michael it is “one of the most anticipated titles in the whole Atlantic 75 series”; mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tape.
Close to the Edge from 1972 needs just three pieces: the title track filled a whole side of the original LP. Kevin Gray mastered this edition from a flat stereo copy of the original analogue master tape, and the jacket is made of textured stock.
“Close to the Edge. My favorite Yes album, of course. Fragile is probably easier to get into, but Close to the Edge is a masterpiece.”Michael 45 on Close to the Edge · watch the video
With 90125 from 1983 and the number-one hit “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, Yes reinvented themselves with Trevor Rabin and producer Trevor Horn – for Michael “a killer prog rock album”. Mastered by Kevin Gray from a half-inch tape copy of the original analogue master tape.
Rock: Foreigner, Stone Temple Pilots, Matchbox Twenty, Genesis
With 4, Foreigner slimmed down to a quartet in 1981 and spent ten weeks at number one on the US album chart. Mick Jones produced it with Robert John “Mutt” Lange. Ryan K. Smith mastered this edition at Sterling Sound from the original master tape. Two years older is Head Games – for Michael “an amazing rock record” and “a surprising highlight within the series”.
Stone Temple Pilots’ second album Purple from 1994 brings “Vasoline”, “Interstate Love Song” and “Big Empty”, mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original master tape.
Matchbox Twenty’s 1996 debut Yourself or Someone Like You puts “Push”, “3 AM”, “Real World” and “Back 2 Good” on two LPs, mastered by Ryan K. Smith from the original master tape, in a film-laminated jacket.
A Trick of the Tail from 1976 is the first Genesis album after Peter Gabriel left, with Phil Collins on vocals. For Michael it is a masterpiece; the jacket is made of textured stock. Mastered by Chris Bellman. A fine companion is David Crosby’s 1971 solo debut If I Could Only Remember My Name, with Graham Nash, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original master tape.
Every title in the series, from Aretha Franklin’s Lady Soul to Yes’ Close to the Edge, is on our Atlantic 75 Series page.
From our shelves
Michael’s picks from the Atlantic 75 Series
Every record: 45 RPM, two LPs, 180 g, tip-on gatefold.
FAQ
What customers ask us
Which Atlantic 75 Series titles are worth buying first?
Michael 45 recommends John Coltrane’s My Favorite Things, Charles Mingus’ Oh Yeah and Billy Cobham’s Spectrum for jazz, Ray Charles’ The Genius Sings the Blues and Donny Hathaway for soul and blues, all four Yes albums in the series (The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge, 90125), and Foreigner’s 4, Stone Temple Pilots’ Purple and Matchbox Twenty’s Yourself or Someone Like You for rock. Also Bags & Trane, Aretha Franklin’s Young, Gifted and Black, Otis Redding’s Pain in My Heart, Foreigner’s Head Games, Genesis’ A Trick of the Tail and David Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name.
Which Yes albums are in the Atlantic 75 Series?
Four: The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge and 90125, each at 45 RPM on two LPs, mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed at Quality Record Pressings.
Are all Atlantic 75 Series records 45 RPM?
Yes, the LPs in the series come at 45 RPM on 180 g vinyl, mostly as double LPs; The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway comes on four LPs. Some titles are also available as hybrid SACDs.
Who mastered the Atlantic 75 Series?
Depending on the title, Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio (for example Oh Yeah, Spectrum, Donny Hathaway), Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound (My Favorite Things, 4, Purple), Bernie Grundman (The Genius Sings the Blues, Pain in My Heart) or Chris Bellman (A Trick of the Tail).
Where is the Atlantic 75 Series pressed?
At Quality Record Pressings – that is stated for all 18 titles recommended here. The tip-on gatefold double-pocket jackets are made by Stoughton Printing.
Are there mono editions in the Atlantic 75 Series?
Yes, for example Ray Charles’ The Genius Sings the Blues and Otis Redding’s Pain in My Heart, both mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analogue master tape, as well as Charles Mingus’ Pithecanthropus Erectus and The Clown.
Where can I buy the Atlantic 75 Series in Europe?
At Michael 45, a record shop in Germany. We carry the series and ship to Austria and the rest of the EU, and to Switzerland, Norway and the UK; from two records, shipping is free within Germany and most EU countries. Current prices are on the product pages. More: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe.
Which Atlantic album goes on your turntable next?
