Stealers Wheel – Ferguslie Park(180g LP)

Out of Print! Only a few copies available!

Michael Fremer’s 100 Recommended All-Analog LP Reissues Worth Owning – Rated 50/100!

180g Dead Quiet Vinyl Pressed at RTI!Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio!100% Analog Mastering from Real Analog Tapes!

Overlooked Gem from UK Legends Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan as Stealers Wheel

Hit Singles Include “Good Businessman,” and “Star,” Which Peaked at #6 in the US

It’s easy to see why many thought Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan’s Stealer’s Wheel would become the UK’s answer to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The duo’s songwriting prowess is in peak form on Ferguslie Park, marrying ultra-catchy hooks and melodies to gorgeous vocal harmonies. For those who would look at the apparent overnight success of Rafferty’s 1978 breakout City to City, Ferguslie Park is the record you can spin and hear where it all came from with great clarity, including those to-die-for saxophone interludes.

“This all-analog reissue of infectious lit pop, remastered from a pristine half-inch 30 ips safety copy of the original 15 ips stereo master, boasts striking sonics, with a deep and wide soundstage and tight, punchy drums and guitar. It’s part of the first batch of releases on Intervention, a new audiophile label devoted to first-ever vinyl reissues. “ – Greg Cahill, The Absolute Sound, 4/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics

“…Bob Ludwig master[ed] the original at Sterling Sound so it sounds very, very good. However, this reissue mastered by Kevin Gray from 1/2″ analog tape sounds far better, in part because it isn’t dynamically limited, which the original surely is. The sonics on this reissue are superb in every way. Even if you are a fan of this record and think you know it inside out, I think you’ll hear things previously buried in the compression that are now allowed to float freely on the soundstage… With Kevin Gray mastering, RTI pressing and Stoughton Press producing the covers, it’s top quality all the waythe quality the late Gerry Rafferty deserves. You do too! I’ve been playing this one since 1973 and never get tired of listening to it and to the always ear-catching production. Very highly recommended!” – Michael Fremer, www.analogplanet.com, 9/11 Music, 9/11 Sound!

“Once again, the deluxe treatment has paid off for Intervention. The vinyl reissue has a finer sense of space and the soundstage, illuminating the bold colors of the instrumentation with a clarity missing from previous pressings. The top-notch sonics here aren’t likely to be bettered.” – Joe Marchese, The Second Disc

The short but legendary recording career of Stealers Wheel is defined by the pinnacle reached with its first two albums. While Ferguslie Park wouldn’t have a mega-hit smash single like “Stuck in the Middle” (#6, US), this sophomore LP is a more polished effort overall from song to song, beginning to end. By the time Ferguslie Park was recorded, the band was distilled down to the songwriting duo of Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan working with a backing band of session players. It would hardly matter as Rafferty and Egan were clearly the creative essence of Stealers Wheel. Knowing the band’s history of battling themselves, their producers and their record label it’s easy to see where they were coming from with songs like “Good Businessman,” “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Mind,” “Who Cares” and “(Everyone’s Agreed That) Everything Will Turn Out Fine.”

Ferguslie Park is a real district in Paisley, Scotland, where Rafferty and Egan first met in their teens. It’s a story as old as rock n’ roll itself that Stealers Wheel wasn’t long for the world as a band- only one more LP would follow. But that doesn’t dim the brilliance of the overlooked gem that is Ferguslie Park.

Mastering Notes:
Stealers Wheel’s Ferguslie Park is sourced from the best tape that is currently available, a beautifully preserved ½” 30ips “safety copy” of the original 15 ips stereo master (in the photo at left notice the tape’s misspelling as “Fergusile Park!”). When mastering this LP, they compared what they were getting off the tape to the esteemed original A&M UK “RL” cut (Robert Ludwig!) on LP. While great sounding overall, the original LP’s use of dynamic limiting/compression was easily evident, with the soft parts being louder and more up front, and the louder/busier passages dropping in level and noticeably smearing over the tremendous delicacy and nuance in the vocals and instruments. For the IR cut, they eliminated this dynamic limiting and heard an immediate expansion and openness in the soundstage, and musical detail previously buried came to sparkling new life!

The (Re)Discover Series:
You know those songs that come up on the radio when you’re driving and you crank up the volume to 11 and sing your lungs out? That’s the spirit of what Intervention’s (Re)Discover Series is all about! Taking these FM classics and presenting them in “like you’ve never heard it before” sound quality so you can get that same blast of energy and excitement on your hi-fi at home. The hallmark of this series will be 100% analog mastering from real analog tapes. Combining superior master sources with the truly full-range mastering chain at Cohearent Audio and RTI’s dead quiet vinyl pressing means that you’ll hear these FM staples with power, majesty and musical detail like it’s the first time. (Re)Discover these sonic treasures with us!