Patricia Barber – A Distortion of Love (180g 2LP)

Patricia Barber’s origins are commonly associated with 1994’s Café Blue and the follow-up, 1998’s Modern Cool. Both quickly established the singer/pianist as an immediate audiophile favorite whose rare combination of astute instrumental performance, daring originality, poetic enterprise, intrepid vocals, and sculpted production announced her as an artist that both takes immense care in her music as well as in her sound. While largely unknown to many, 1992’s diverse A Distortion of Love signaled the beginning of Barber’s unfettered creativity.
Half-speed mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, MoFi’s numbered, limited-edition 180-gram LP of the Chicagoan’s sophomore album features the similar wowing detail and perspective-altering clarity offered on the reissue label’s celebrated versions of Mythologies, The Cole Porter Mix, and the now out-of-print and extremely sought-after Café Blue, Modern Cool, Companion, and Nightclub.
Such is the attention brought to Barber’s tastefully reverb-assisted singing, the quartet’s stripped-down arrangements, the grand piano’s resonance, the background finger snaps, and the astounding transparency of every note and breath uttered in the studio. Smoothness, balance, and neutrality abound. Through and through, this is an audiophile delight.