1STEP Process 180g 45RPM 3LP Set of Jennifer Warnes' Famous Blue Raincoat Pressed on VR900 Vinyl: Cut Using Original Analog Masters from 1986 Digital Recordings by Bernie Grundman

Impex Records celebrates the 35th anniversary of Jennifer Warnes' Famous Blue Raincoat, a seminal audiophile classic, with a 1STEP 3LP set that marks the label's final and finest collaboration with the singer. After Bernie Grundman cuts the last lacquers, her analog master tapes will return to her personal vault.

For this release, Impex returned to Warnes' first-generation analog "slave" master tapes and let Grundman work his magic within the laborious 1STEP mastering process on Bernie Grundman Mastering's tube-cutting lathe. Impex will cut as many refs and test pressings as needed to get the quietest surfaces and intimate detailing. Final discs will be pressed at RTI on VR-900 vinyl, illuminating every note and nuance of this cherished masterwork.

The three 1STEP LPs and elegant, new 24-page booklet are housed in a deluxe four-sleeve Monster Pack tip-on jacket and booklet with metallic accents and spot-gloss applications. Even if you have every version of this pop classic, you will find considerable value and new benefits from this production.

The 1STEP Process
The Impex 1STEP process relies on short, tightly controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each run of 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details, and deeper bass. Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies, and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.