Chrysalis Records is honoring inimitable New Zealand band Split Enz with a lavish new compendium of their earliest recordings, Enzyclopedia Volumes One & Two. Which highlights their long out-of-print debut album, 1975's Mental Notes, their sophomore effort from the following year, Second Thoughts, as well as 1979's The Beginning of the Enz, which collects non-album... Read More »
Four new release and reissue LPs have just been made available from Craft Recordings, including a pair of titles on their ultra hip Jazz Dispensary imprint. As well as the latest reissue on Craft Latino from legendary Corrido singer Chalino Sanchez. And Craft has just made an extensive group of repackaged colored vinyl variants of... Read More »
Craft Recordings has just released a trio of LP reissues of classic bluegrass and folk recordings from the catalogs of Rounder and Vanguard Records. The two albums from Rounder Records are seeing their first ever LP reissues, including bluegrass guitarist extraordinaire Tony Rice's 1982 crossover album Backwaters, performed by The Tony Rice Unit. As well... Read More »
Linda Ronstadt's classic 1975 album Prisoner In Disguise has just been released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab as an Original Master Recording, and on a pair of 180 gram, 45 rpm LPs. A previous MoFi reissue (from 2008) of Prisoner In Disguise arrived as a 33 rpm, 180 gram LP, and hearing the differences between... Read More »
Rhino Entertainment again celebrates Roctober with 43 limited edition reissues and new release LP offerings. For 2025, the series presents an eclectic mixture of rare and previously unreleased LPs, including box sets, ultra-cool colored-vinyl LPs, and multiple selections from both the premium Rhino Reserve and Rhino High Fidelity series. A broad range of musical genres... Read More »
When I moved to the Charleston, South Carolina area three years ago, I figured out something very quickly: the Low Country is a veritable wasteland when it comes to high-end audio—there's nothing here. And I mean nothing, other than a few pieces of mostly mid-fi gear at an occasional Best Buy location. I only thought... Read More »
Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti (1975, Swan Song Records) is undeniably the band's magnum opus, and quite possibly the most comprehensive statement of who Led Zeppelin were and how they evolved into the world's greatest rock ‘n' roll band. Fans obviously agreed by voting with their wallets, taking the album to 17x platinum in the US... Read More »
In mid-1989, guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist Bernard Sumner of New Order approached his bandmates with the idea of adding programmed synths to their new music. Neither Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, or Gillian Gilbert were particularly receptive to the idea, as they were all deeply involved in ongoing side projects at the time. Undeterred by their... Read More »
I often have a hard time suppressing my level of excitement when I see upcoming new releases from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, but that pegged off the scale when I saw they were reissuing the debut album from prog rock legends Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). The excitement meter reading nearly doubled when I came... Read More »
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab continues their survey of Miles Davis' catalog of albums with an Original Master Recording reissue of his 1975 live album Agharta, now available as a 33 rpm, 180 gram 2-LP set. Easily the most dissonant album of Miles' entire catalog, Agharta's dense, sprawling compositions challenged listeners and divided fans—even those who'd... Read More »
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab honors the 50th anniversary of Heart's Dreamboat Annie with a deluxe 45 rpm, 180 gram LP reissue of the band's classic debut. Initially only available in their native Canada, Dreamboat Annie at first failed to gain much traction—at least until the album's second single "Magic Man" hit the Montreal airwaves. It... Read More »
Rhino Entertainment and Warner are celebrating the 75th anniversary of iconic label Elektra Records with twenty limited edition LP reissues and releases as part of the Elektra 75 Vinyl Collection. Albums in the series include a mix of 140 and 180 gram LPs, with many of them pressed on really cool colored-vinyl! The Elektra 75... Read More »
Craft Recordings has just released the latest installment in the Original Jazz Classics (OJC) reboot series, featuring four new titles that are scattered across the Prestige and Riverside labels. Including guitarist Kenny Burrell's fourth Prestige LP, 1957's Kenny Burrell; the 1958 Prestige blowing session Wheelin' and Dealin', which features the horns of Frank Wess, John... Read More »
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab continues their brilliant restoration of Santana's catalog of albums with a new reissue of the band's 1977's classic, Moonflower. Sprawling across a pair of LPs, Moonflower unconventionally combined new studio tracks with Santana's first official domestic release of any of the band's live recordings. Moonflower provided a thrilling showcase of Santana's... Read More »
When Nelson Wu, CEO of RAY Tubes offered earlier this year to send a full complement of RAY Select and Reserve tubes for evaluation in my PrimaLuna EVO 300 tube integrated amplifier, I jumped at the chance. I've never looked back; RAY Tubes have lifted my analog system performance and musicality to new heights, providing... Read More »
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's ongoing release of Joni Mitchell's most iconic albums continues with her 1976 transitional masterpiece, Hejira, where her embrace of jazz idioms deepened far beyond her initial explorations in both Court and Spark (1974) and The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975). Hejira is very much a road album of sorts, a musical... Read More »
I recently had the opportunity to review Joni Mitchell's classic album Court and Spark, which is part of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's ongoing release of six of Joni's most iconic albums. You can read my review of that superb UltraDisc One-Step set HERE. The UltraDisc is MoFi's ne plus ultra analog statement format, and their... Read More »
Rhino Entertainment has just released Jethro Tull's Still Living In The Past, which updates the band's original 1972 album issue in every possible way. Still Living In The Past is being released as a gatefold double LP edition, as well as an expansive 5-CD+Bluray package, all remixed and remastered by Steven Wilson. The 2-LP set... Read More »
Craft Latino celebrates Latin and Salsa music across a host of subgenres, with eight new LP reissues, many of which have been long out of print. Featuring three albums that are continuing the centennial celebration of "The Queen of Salsa," Celia Cruz; percussionist extraordinaire Ray Barretto's 1975 self-titled album; a pair of albums from salsa... Read More »