Jennifer Warnes - The Hunter ( Numbered Limited Edition 180g LP (Green Vinyl) )

TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal

Impex Records is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of The Hunter with a one-time pressing of 3,000 in crystal clear green vinyl! Jennifer Warnes' acclaimed follow-up to Famous Blue Raincoat features a Grammy-nominated recording by Elliot Scheiner and all-tube mastering by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering using Jennifer's personal original analog master tapes.

The Hunter was released five years after her breakthrough with Famous Blue Raincoat. A TOP 100 LP when first released in 1992, The Hunter's audiophile credibility is best summed up by Elliot Scheiner's Grammy-nominated recording and mix. It contains the charting single "Rock You Gently," a sonically dense yet expansive cover of The Waterboys classic "The Whole of the Moon," a soulful Jennifer Warnes/Leonard Cohen composition "Way Down Deep," Todd Rundgren's "Pretending to Care" and even a Donald Fagen tune ("Big Noise, New York"). She owns every tune here, backed by a-list session players who ground the songs with solid and unobtrusive authority, letting Jennifer's peerless interpretive skills bring the soul of every lyric to the forefront. Ms. Warnes uses her voice to serve the lyrics, allowing the song to return the favor.

Arista (now Sony/BMG) never released The Hunter on vinyl in the U.S. A regular-weight LP floated around Europe for a while but is not noted for exceptional sound or quiet vinyl.

The follow-up to Warnes' FBR offers crisp percussion cues, solid bass throughout — but especially during 'Way Down Deep' — and a surprise chamber quartet on the title track

Remastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, the sonics are luscious. Warnes has always had an audiophile's ear and was hands-on with this effort—one of the last from now-defunct Cisco Records. It soars effortlessly, restoring warmth and delicacy, and easily besting the earth-bound but otherwise excellent CD. It's an example of both an artist in full charge of her powers, and analog art its very best.

For those who've been waiting for the album's ultimate audiophile LP release—this is finally it, so don't hesitate, these LPs will sell out very quickly! Impex's numbered, limited edition release of The Hunter is not to be missed, and gets my highest recommendation!