Thursday, April 03, 2008

The Ardent Records Story

Ardent Studios - the lengendary recording studios in Memphis have been in touch:

"Memphis’ Ardent Studios is one of the most respected recording facilities in the world. Everyone from Led Zeppelin to ZZ Top, from REM to Cat Power have made music within its hallowed halls. But despite the studio’s credentials, it is Ardent Records, the label, that inspires awe amongst pop aficionados, particularly as the imprint that begat pop cult heroes Big Star.

“Thank You Friends: The Ardent Records Story” celebrates with a deluxe two CD anthology that ranges from the label’s earliest mid-60s garage studio recordings to the halcyon days of the early 1970s, when a distribution deal with Stax established Ardent as a purveyor of the finest pop-rock. Memphis might have been the city where rock’n’roll was born, yet a significant minority of its youth in the late 60s and early 70s appeared besotted with the sound of British rock, inhabiting a Southern demi-monde where the Yardbirds and Who reigned supreme. The sharply-dressed Brit-pop aesthetic seemed integral to the Ardent modus operandi, adding a certain flash to even its most undemonstrative acts. It was also reflected in founder John Fry’s unerring commitment to technical quality, and the permission to experiment: "Ardent was always more Abbey Road than McLemore Avenue."

Read more or order the CD at the Ace Records Web site.

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