Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
Freddie King
Getting Ready
2011 · Analogue Productions (reissuing the original Shelter Records release) APB-8905 (labels retain the original SHE-8905 / SHE 1-8905 catalogue text) · Stereo · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Analogue Productions (reissuing the original Shelter Records release) |
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| Catalogue number | APB-8905 (labels retain the original SHE-8905 / SHE 1-8905 catalogue text) |
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| Year | 2011 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
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| Country | US |
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| Format | LP |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Blues - Electric/Texas Blues |
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| Producer | Leon Russell, Don Nix |
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| Musicians | Freddie King (electric guitar), Leon Russell (piano, guitars), Don Preston (guitar), Jon Gallie (organ), Duck Dunn (bass, courtesy of Stax Records), Chuck Blackwell (drums), Charles Myers (drums); vocal backing: Claudia Lennear, Kathi McDonald, Don Preston, Joey Cooper |
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Matrix / Runout
Side A: APB-8905-A 18556-1(3)
Side B: APB-8905-B 18556-2(3)
Condition
- Cover
- NM
- Vinyl
- NM
Variant chronology
1971 - US Shelter Records, Superman-logo labels, Jacksonville or Winchester pressing
1975 - Australian Shelter reissue, white label - no documented sale
1979 - US Shelter reissue (SRC-8003) - no documented sale
1989 - DCC Compact Classics reissue - no documented sale
2011/2021 - Analogue Productions APB-8905, 200/180 gram audiophile stereo remaster <- this copy
This Pressing
Analogue Productions audiophile reissue (necessarily pressed 1980 or later) - stereo remaster of the 1971 Shelter original; the labels copy the Shelter design but the jacket's Analogue Productions credit, the barcode and the etched mastering stamp in the runout place this copy well after the first pressing.
The Album
Getting Ready... marked Freddie King's move to Leon Russell and Denny Cordell's Shelter Records at the start of the 1970s, a label built to bring blues and roots artists to a rock audience without diluting their sound. Cut at Chess's own Ter-Mar studio in Chicago and mixed at Ardent in Memphis, the sessions paired King with Russell's circle of players - Don Preston, Duck Dunn, Chuck Blackwell - and a set split between vintage Chicago blues (Elmore James, Eddie Boyd, Big Bill Broonzy) and new material written for the date. The original
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Same Old Blues (Don Nix)
2. Dust My Broom (Elmore James)
3. Worried Life Blues (Willie Dixon)
4. Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd)
5. Key to the Highway (W. Broonzy-C. Segar)
Side 2
1. Going Down (Don Nix)
2. Living on the Highway (L. Russell-D. Nix)
3. Walking by Myself (Lane)
4. Tore Down (Freddie King)
5. Palace of the King (L. Russell-D. Nix-D. Dunn)
The Label
The side labels reproduce the original Shelter Records orange design with the green Shelter triangle-and-reel logo, the 1971 copyright line and the SHE-8905 (SHE 1-8905) catalogue text exactly as the 1971 original carried it, but the jacket and labels both add the Analogue Productions credit and catalogue prefix APB-8905, and the copy's own barcode cannot exist on a pressing made before 1980. Shelter Records issued the title in 1971 from Jacksonville and later Winchester plants; by the 1990s the catalogue had passed through DCC Compact Classics and EMI/Right Stuff reissues before Analogue Productions licensed it for an audiophile remaster pressed at Quality Record Pressings and Pallas. The label design here is a faithful facsimile of the Shelter original rather than the original pressing itself - the barcode, the etched mastering credit in the runout and the Analogue Productions jacket texts place this copy among the 2010s-2020s reissue series, not the first-issue Shelter run.
Fidelity
The lacquers were cut by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering from the analog master tapes and pressed on virgin vinyl at a leading audiophile plant, with the jacket itself guaranteeing original-tape sourcing and tight quality control. Collectors on the forums rate this cut as quiet, full-bodied and a clear sonic improvement over the Compact Classics-era CD reissues, standing as the best-regarded modern vinyl edition of the album. Original first-pressing Shelter copies are still prized by purists for their vintage cutting character, but this remaster is considered the strongest widely available alternative to them.
Notes
This is an Analogue Productions reissue of the 1971 Shelter original, not an original-era Shelter pressing. The copy's barcode alone rules out any date before 1980; the runout carries an etched KPG+SH@ATM mastering stamp and an APB-8905 prefix matching the Analogue Productions edition rather than the plain SHE-8905 stampers of the Jacksonville or Winchester originals. Jacket stickers for Quality Record Pressings and a 100% analog mastering seal confirm the modern audiophile manufacture referenced on the packaging. The side labels otherwise faithfully reproduce the 1971 Shelter orange design and catalogue text.
Documenting collections
I do this work for other people’s collections too — documenting a
collection record by record, researching individual pressings, and preparing
collections for sale or for insurance. If you have a collection you would like
documented, or a record you want identified properly, get in touch:
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This record’s page: https://vinylcurator.net/albums/freddie-king-getting-ready/
