Slightly odd and very creative album from Sopwith Camel - one of the great lost records of the 70’s. Newly remastered on red vinyl with gatefold sleeve - sounds wonderful with the vinyl totally silent reflecting the impeccable quality of the original recording in 1973.
The album disappeared as its pretty uncommercial for a Californian band, but was decades ahead of its time. A strange mixture of the Loving Spoonful, Hot Rats era Zappa, jazz and some eastern influences - but highly accessible. All electronic pianos, honking sax, flutes and sitars. It includes the awesome Fazon (mentioned elsewhere on the Naim thread) - a great song mixing wah wah guitars, Steely Dan chord progressions, middle eastern horn arrangement and Californian harmonies. Yes truly.
very jealous of the Alice record like you have been after a copy for a good while I just bring myself to pay what people are asking. I wish I could though I’d be as happy as you maybe one night after a few to many I’ll find the courage.
Ordered…well I couldn’t resist after that description 
It has been a kind of ‘holy grail’ for me…never found one in years. So, took a deep breath and ponied up.
Luckily, it is in great condition, much to my relief!
If there was an Alice album crying out for a good reissue, it’s Ptah.
The CD does sound really good tho… 
This arrived during the week and just gave it a spin and it’s an excellent pressing the mastering is excellent and all four sides are a joy. Cannot recommend it highly enough if you are fan.
Taken from a recent Vinyl Press article on Alice,
“Given the recent NY Times piece about the Universal fire and the inclusion of Alice Coltrane’s name on the lists of master tapes that might have been destroyed,[4] I suspect that the first generation master tapes for the mixed down version of this album may be gone. I was also informed that these early Alice Coltrane albums, including Ptah, would be reissued this year, leading me to believe that the source would be a digitized copy of some version of the master. Those issues will be taken up in Part II of this piece.”
I had read of the fire at Universal Studios where thousands of precious masters went up in smoke.
Nice, Bob.
I may have to buy that!
Good to know the mastering/pressing is quality 
Mastered by Robert Vosgien at Capitol Mastering this from their website.
"Capitol Mastering proudly boasts the living legacy of lacquer mastering for vinyl with two legendary Neumann lathes in full-time service. We cut lacquer masters for all formats including 7”, 10” and 12”.
Vinyl mastering is a specific craft. The characteristics of the format require special attention from decisions that precede the cutting process including mix, EQ, compression, and timing. Exaggerated high and low frequencies, limited dynamic range, and excessive run times can introduce distortion or limit the ability of the engineer to make the best sounding master possible. Contact us before such decisions are finalized with your music and we can help achieve the best results possible for your music."
Great album, and I agree that the red vinyl reissue is pretty good, and immaculately pressed.
Its a fantastic record - unlike anything you’ll have heard before. Weird but very accessible. Shame they disappeared completely. But as this was originally released on Reprise - I don’t think these guys would be able to compete (numbers wise) with label mates like Neil Young and…er…Frank Sinatra…
I have a copy of this, reminded me to dig it out and give it a listen. Thanks.
Maybe sacrilegious to some blues fans but Kurt Kobain’s cover of Leadbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night is one of my favourite covers ever and for some reason I’ve never pursued the original or any Leadbelly records so I aim to put that right and stream some later.
Ese does a brilliant version of it - must record it sometime.
Pere Ubu By Order Of Mayor Pawlicki.
Live album mostly recorded in Poland in 2017 concentrating on material from mid 70’s to early 80’s. If you like Pere Ubu I highly recommend it. It’s fantastic. If you don’t steer well clear.
The original 1st issue of this is one of the best sounding rock records ever, and a top Naim system really gets the best from it.
15 LP set reissue by Sony Classics of Bernstein’s 60s Mahler cycle. This set is OK and probably overpriced only because the execution is rather sloppy and lame. The mastering is pretty good, if not a bit too bright. However, I think Sony cut a few too many corners. First of all, all the inner sleeves are plain paper! Really, Sony? You cheapasses! You couldn’t spend a few extra bucks for proper poly-lined sleeves?
This was mastered and pressed by MPO in France. I’m not familiar with this facility but am left unimpressed. So far numerous discs have issues with non-fill, and what sound like scratches but not visible as such on the record surface. I will return several discs for exchange. I haven’t listened to all of it yet, but if there are more problems I might just return the whole thing for refund.
Otherwise, the music is just fantastic. These are great performances. It’s sad that Sony had to be cheap and sloppy about it.
I just scored a first pressing of Ptah on eBay - a lockdown indulgence. It’s a great album, it’s never been reissued, and I’d heard that her tapes were among the ones destroyed in the Universal fire. All of that nudged me to buy sooner rather than later. But if I’d known a reissue was imminent, albeit one of unknown provenance, I might have waited to check it out.