Lee Ritenour-Gentle Thoughts-Direct To Disc Vinyl Review

Gentle Thoughts – Released May 1977

Vinyl surface noise: 4+  (not pops and clicks)

Dynamic Range: 4+

Stereo Imaging: 4

Image depth/perspective: 4-

Overall frequency response: 4+

Side One

1. Captain Caribe
2. Getaway
3. Chanson
4. Meiso

Side Two

1. Captain Fingers
2. Feel Like Makin’Love
3. Gentle Thoughts

This album was recorded at Warner Bros Studios in May, 1977.

The cutting amplifiers were Neuman SAL 74’s driving Neuman SX74 cutterheads mounted on a VMS 70 lathe.

Musicians:

• Lee Ritenour – Electric Guitar
• Dave Grusin – Steinway and Fender Rhodes Pianos
• Patrice Rushen – Steinway and Fender Rhodes Pianos
• Ernie Wells – Saxaphone & Flute
• Anthony Jackson – Bass
• Harvey Mason – Drums
• Steve Forman – Percussion

Sheffield Lab took the lead in Direct To Disc recording as many others tried to emulate their techniques and technical prowess. In 1977 Warner Bros decided they would enter the fray with Lee Ritenours second album Gentle Thoughts. Toshi Endo was the producer for the Japanese JVC label who heard Lee Ritenour play and invited him to record a direct-to-disc audiophile album for JVC.

A jazz fusion recording that certainly tries to emulate the Sheffield Lab qualities.

This is a good direct recording and pressing with respectable dynamics and presence, but it is not a ‘demo’ recording. Two things in particular that it lacks are ambience and depth, even though you can clearly hear the reverb during quiet passages and it tail out at the end of several tracks. The recording exhibits a slightly sterile studio sound with a lack of warmth from room reverb, and the microphone techniques used do not provide a great deal of depth or any height information. Clearly a panned studio mix.

My copy is reasonably quiet with very few pops and clicks, and overall the recording was very open and clean with solid stereo imaging. Bass is tight and clean, although lacking in the lower registers as was the kick drum, the mid range was punchy and dynamic without being hard, while the HF detail is clean and bright without being too forward.  The kick drum was often a very solid ‘pat’ but lacked bottom end slam, while the electric bass, although clean, just seemed a little lack luster.

One thing that I found confusing, and do not like, was that several tracks run into each other with little or no break by the musicians. So on several occasions I found myself confused for a moment by the change in composition.

The sax, guitar and flute, provide a realistic, almost in the room, listening experience with some good solos on many of the tracks. The keyboards taking a backseat most of the time except for a short solo on S1T3. The kit was generally a little lack luster despite the clean tight kick drum, open tight snare and well detailed hi-hat and cymbals. On a couple of occasions it did let rip, notabley on S2T1 were the kits dynamics were so large that possibly my head amp or disc pre-amp clipped  no less than twice…… that really woke me up, especially at the levels I listen. It was not cartridge miss-tracking as far as I could tell. I also found the kits image far too wide, stretching between the outsides of my speakers. I prefer kits to be more centrally located between my speakers with a pin point precision.

With a mix of slow and quick tempoed tracks, the overall the musicianship was tight providing a well integrated sound, and with only three or four tracks on each side the dynamics were good but not outstanding; not withstanding S2T1 and S2T3 where the kit and bass provide solid solo performances.

So while this recording does’t make the demo Hall of Fame, it is still a good example of D2D recording. For those of you that enjoy a mix of slow and faster tempo jazz funk this is a good example of the style. So why did I buy it all those years ago if I am not so enamored with it? Compared to the ‘standard’ vinyl pressings of the day, it was an excellent recording.

Available on vinyl and CD from Discogs.

See my other vinyl reviews here.