Jethro Tull Aqualung Numbered, Limited Edition UHQR 200g 45rpm 2LP Box

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The pinnacle of high-quality vinyl - the Ultra High Quality Record (UHQR®) from Analogue Productions!

Purest possible pressing and most visually stunning presentation and packaging!

Analogue Productions, the audiophile in-house reissue label of Acoustic Sounds, Inc., together with Quality Record Pressings, is reintroducing one of the most revered brands in LP history - the Ultra High Quality Record (UHQR), originally introduced by JVC Japan in the 1980s!

Analogue Productions presents another UHQ classic title - Jethro Tull's multi-platinum-selling smash Aqualung. Originally released in March 1971, the album has sold in excess of 7 million copies worldwide, achieving Top Ten chart status in both the U.K. and U.S.. Aqualung's success signaled a turning point in the band's career, making Jethro Tull a major radio and touring act.

Recorded at Island Records' studio in London, it was their first album with John Evan as a full-time member, their first with new bassist Jeffrey Hammond, and last album featuring Clive Bunker on drums. Aqualung is regarded, despite the band's disagreement, as a concept album featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God." Something of a departure from the band's previous work, the album features more acoustic material than previous releases; and - inspired by photographs of homeless people on the Thames Embankment taken by singer Ian Anderson's wife Jennie - contains a number of recurring themes, addressing religion along with Anderson's own personal experiences.

This UHQR is remastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering from the original analog master tapes. Each UHQR will be pressed at Acoustic Sounds' industry-leading pressing plant Quality Record Pressings (QRP) using hand-selected Clarity Vinyl® on a manual Finebilt press with attention paid to every single detail of every single record. The 200-gram records will feature the same flat profile that helped to make the original UHQR so desirable. From the lead-in groove to the run-out groove, there is no pitch to the profile, allowing the customer's stylus to play truly perpendicular to the grooves from edge to center. Clarity Vinyl allows for the purest possible pressing and the most visually stunning presentation. Every UHQR will be hand inspected upon pressing completion, and only the truly flawless will be allowed to go to market. Each UHQR will be packaged in a deluxe box and will include a booklet detailing the entire process of making a UHQR along with a hand-signed certificate of inspection. This will be a truly deluxe, collectible product.

This stereo release will be limited to 5,000 copies, with individually gold foil numbered jackets.

More About Clarity Vinyl:

As Analogue Productions set out to make the world's best vinyl record, they began by establishing a set of exacting standards to address all of the components that comprise an LP. They call their records made under these strict standards Ultra High Quality Records (UHQR). Most audiophiles would understand that the list of critical components in UHQR includes recording, mastering, plating, pressing and quality control. But some may stop short of considering the raw material used to make the record: the vinyl itself.

They did some research and learned some interesting things about the history of the iconic black vinyl record. The most compelling revelation to them was the fact that LP vinyl is not black in its pure state. The off-white color of the record you are about to listen to is the color of raw vinyl in its purest form (un-tinted vinyl). The black color you're used to seeing is a colorant called "carbon black" that was part of the original compound formulation used in old shellac records. As vinyl compound replaced shellac-based compound, carbon black continued to be used as a colorant. We've expected our records to be black ever since.

To make the ultimate record, Analogue Productions decided to enhance sound quality by removing anything they believed could detract from it. Record styli vibrate (or jitter) on a microscopic level, and any particles of carbon black pigment that happen to be on the surface of the groove could introduce surface noise. By not adding carbon black to their Clarity Vinyl, they eliminate the possibility of noise contamination due to carbon black particles. Instead, your stylus is allowed to effortlessly slide down a glossy and silky smooth groove wall.

When Analogue Productions purchased Classic Records, the brand name Clarity Vinyl® came with it. They're proud to have resurrected, refined and trademarked Clarity Vinyl, the perfect canvas for their masterpiece: vinyl in its purest form.

Get this UHQR before it goes out-of-print! You won't be sorry!

The Axis UHQR cut is amazing - full bodied, detailed, powerful and engaging. Very impressive. The best pressing of the record I have ever heard.