Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat 1STEP Numbered Limited Edition 180g 45rpm 3LP

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Impex Records is celebrating the 35th anniversary of Jennifer Warnes' seminal audiophile classic with our ultimate collaboration. This authorized production of Famous Blue Raincoat is getting the complete Impex 1STEP treatment! After Bernie Grundman cuts the last lacquers, Jennifer's analog mixdown master tapes will return to the vault for good.

We have always treasured our work with Ms. Warnes, from the original Famous Blue Raincoat 45 Box, The Well, The Hunter, and her latest LP, Another Time, Another Place. This ultimate release celebrates Jennifer's singular legacy of musical excellence with exceptional craft in coordination with the original production team of Jennifer, C. Roscoe Beck, and Bernie Grundman.

For FBR's ultimate Impex release, we return to Jennifer's first-generation analog mixdown master tapes (from the original digital recordings) and let Bernie work his magic within the laborious 1STEP mastering process on BG Mastering's tube-cutting lathe. We will cut as many refs and test pressings as needed to get the quietest surfaces and intimate detailing. Final discs will be pressed at RTI on VR-900 super vinyl, illuminating every note and nuance of this cherished masterwork.

The three 1STEP LPs and the elegant new 24-page booklet are housed in a deluxe four-sleeve Monster Pack tip-on jacket and booklet with metallic accents and spot gloss applications. Even if you have every version of this pop classic, you will find considerable value and benefits on this unbeatable production!

The 1STEP Process:
The Impex 1STEP process relies on short, tightly controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each run of 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details, and deeper bass.

Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies, and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.

Impex Records' new 1STEP reissue of Famous Blue Raincoat updates an already superb recording, offering improved levels of clarity and musicality that simply defy belief. None of the added music is fluff—everything here is totally worth the price of admission, and the improved groove geometry afforded by the 1STEP's 45 rpm sides is further enhanced by Neotech's superb VR900BK1 vinyl. When you add the excellent packaging to the already impressive aural considerations, purchasing this set becomes a no-brainer. I give Impex's new 1STEP box of Famous Blue Raincoat my very highest recommendation!

The deep black quiet background, the extreme transparency, and the expansive soundstage and three dimensionally of all the instruments and Jennifer's vocals took a clear step forward. Bass performance was thunderous. Highs were beautifully reproduced and well extended. Mids were glorious. Tone, timbre and pace were more realistic than ever! These improvements were immediately apparent and did make a difference! There was so much information and musicality to this pressing, that I could not get if off the turntable for several weeks. I was hooked! If you ever need help to communicate what an audiophile pressing is all about to a beginning hobbyist, this is the pressing to do it!... Highly recommended!

Ms. Warnes' album of Leonard Cohen songs has been reissued in the most lavish form yet. The sound is simply breathtaking, the slipcase package so luxurious that you wish all milestone LPs were so treated.