Phil Manzanera - K-Scope (1987) [VINYL] - sealed UK press - 24-bit/96kHz plus CD-compatible format -- (Split Enz associated)

Recorded in the spring of 1978 at Yes bassist Chris Squire's home studio, K-Scope featured three founding members of the Split Enz/Crowded House: Eddie Rayner (keys), Tim Finn (lead vocal) and brother Neil Finn (backing vocal).

Stumbled across this STILL SEALED LP when searching for Finn/Split Enz/Crowded House rarities. Turns out both Finn brothers and Eddie Raynor – all three from Split Enz – play quite a bit on this Manzanera effort. Tim sings lead on 4 tracks - Neil is backup vocals – and Raynor shows up on a couple more tracks.


Review by David Ross Smith
"Recorded in the spring of 1978 at Yes bassist Chris Squire's home studio, K-Scope featured three founding members of the Split Enz/Crowded House: Eddie Rayner (keys), Tim Finn (lead vocal) and brother Neil Finn (backing vocal). Manzanera also enlists percussion heavyweight Simon Phillips, good buddies John Wetton and Bill MacCormick (both bassists and vocalists), and saxophonist Mel Collins, among several others. The band strong arms the solid pop/rock structures and approaches the instrumentals with the same verve. The literally "coolest" tune in the set is also Manzanera's personal favorite, the breezy "Gone Flying." The composition (and performance) is a fine example of how truly excellent a pop song can be. Manzanera's atmospheric "echo guitar" is at the core of the piece, with Phillips contributing refined, offbeat, fluid percussion, and MacCormick (arguably the most appealing vocalist on the album) providing equally exceptional bass work. The song is supplemented by the next cut, the quirky, instrumental "N-Shift," featuring MacCormick's pronounced, funky basslines. Other stand-out sounds include the opener, "K-Scope," a charged instrumental featuring Mel Collins on sax; the reggae rhythm of "Cuban Crisis"; Wetton's lead vocal on "Numbers," and Manzanera's closing instrumental, "You Are Here." The bonus cuts include two energetic performances from 801's 1977 tour ("Remote Control" and "Out of the Blue") and a demo version of "Slow Motion TV" (titled "It Don't Matter to Me"). The frantic, anxious "Remote Control" features a hot Andy Mackay tenor sax solo, and Roxy Music's "Out of the Blue," while failing in the vocal department, showcases Bill MacCormick's thoughtful, occasionally fast bass playing. Though probably not Manzanera's most accomplished work, K-Scope remains one of his most interesting and enjoyable projects."



01 - K-Scope.flac
02 - Remote Control.flac - Tim Finn vocal
03 - Cuban Crisis.flac - Tim Finn vocal
04 - Hot Spot.flac - Tim Finn vocal
05 - Numbers.flac
06 - Slow Motion TV.flac - Tim Finn vocal
07 - Gone Flying.flac
08 - N-Shift.flac
09 - Walking Through Heaven's Door.flac
10 - You Are Here.flac




LP > Rega P1 with Ortofon Super 30 > TC-750LC > E-Mu 0202 > Adobe Audition 3 (AA) @ 96kHz 32bit float > Manual click removal in AA > Click Repair set @ 20 > Equalizer (from the ClickRepair guy) used to combine into mono) > AA used to split tracks, fade in/out, and for manual click removal > RX Advanced to resample > RX Advanced to dither MBIT+ > TLH to FLAC and sector align (16bit, pad) > MP3 Tagger to edit tags.

"16bit" = 16bit at 44.1kHz
"24bit" = 24bit at 96kHz

No music was harmed in the making of this vinyl rip.