Hollywood, CA (January 22, 2021)—Paul Grundman recently mastered The Memphis Soul Sessions, the latest album by Dutch chanteuse Sue Moreno, at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.
“After going through personal loss and some very emotional times,” Moreno explains, “I decided to pick myself up and start working on this album, a very personal record. I decided to go back to the States where I first discovered my musical inspiration. ‘I’m Here’ is the first single and it’s a prayer from the heart, translated into song. I also wrote my first gospel for this album, ‘Let’s Rejoice.’ It’s got that unmistakable Memphis vibe with choir and claps. The Memphis Horns underline the emotion.”
Moreno’s team worked with vintage equipment (formerly at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio B and the Grand Ole Opry), recording to 16-track analog tape at Memphis Magnetic Recording studios as she teamed up with musicians of legendary Hi Rhythm and Stax records fame. Mixing and final production was done by Moreno’s team at Legacy Studio in the Netherlands with engineers Joram Pinxteren and Dennis Letnom.
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“Those legendary musicians for Hi Rhythm and Stax Records and the Memphis sound, who worked closely with artists like Al Green and Isaac Hayes, decided to get together one more time to work on my album,” Moreno continues. “We have LeRoy Hodges on bass, Lester Snell on piano, Joe Restivo on guitar, George Sluppick on drums, Rev. Charles Hodges on Hammond, the sensational Barnes Brothers on backing vocals as well as the Masqueraders.”
“This album is simply amazing,” says mastering engineer Paul Grundman, “as is the story of Sue Moreno losing her mother and then deciding to do these old-style songs of worship in Memphis with the original musicians. Sue’s team in the Netherlands really came here to find that unique musicianship and were able to record some of the best soul music I’ve ever heard. Sue and the players reached so high and they nailed it, making my job very straightforward. It was all there; I just brought in some subtle touches in the final mastering.”
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