Vinyl Review: The Missing Linc – Sheffield Lab S10 – Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues Volume II – Released 1972

S10 – The Missing Linc – Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues – Volume II – 1972

Surface noise: 4

Dynamic Range: 3+

Stereo Imaging: 4

Image depth/perspective: 3

Overall frequency response: 3+

Side One

1. Chopin: Prelude In C major (Opus 28)
2. Limehouse Blues
3. I Never Loved A Woman The Way I Love You
4. Both Sides Now
5. Chopin: Prelude in E major (Opus 28)
6. Brazil ’57
7. The April Fools

Side Two

1. Norwegian Wood
2. We’ve Only Just Begun
3. Peace Train
4. If
5. Blackbird
6. Love Rach

The musicianship and overall recording on this disc was a definite step up from Sheffield Lab S9 . It was quite tight and it felt like they had rehearsed the numbers before committing them to disc, and were having a good time doing so. There is a request in the sleeve to brighten side one by 2-4dB but I really did not find that necessary on my system. The surface noise only achieved a fair rating, as did the overall dynamics. The instruments and recording were all very clean; at times a little too clean and I felt that the piano was a little lacking in the lower registers. The saxophone in particular really stood out on several tracks and sounded like it was actually in the room with me. As it was a studio based, panned image recording, it lacked the warmth of a room’s acoustics and only the drum kit had any sense of depth perspective appearing behind all the performers who all appeared as if in a straight line at the front of a stage.

The performance and recording was consistent from track to track and side to side. The album has seven tracks on side one and six on side two. This meant that the groove cut amplitude was not very great and I believe that this may have been the cause of the restricted dynamics. I would assume that on these earlier albums everybody was still being a little cautious and finding their feet as to what could and could not be achieved so no chances seemed to have been taken on really letting the cutting head “rip”.

Overall a very clean sounding album showing what real instruments should sound like and one that I have listened to many times.

Available on vinyl and CD from Discogs and CD from Sheffield Lab.

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