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The Band, Music From The Big Pink (Vinylphile, 33 RPM) One of the most iconic and influential albums in rock 'n' roll history, The Band’s Music From The Big Pink was originally released in 1968 on the Capital Records label. As their debut album, it was their first recording effort after touring with Bob Dylan... Read More »

The incomparable Kitty Wells (1919-2012), whose real name was Ellen Murial Deason, was the first female singer to achieve a number one hit on the country charts. The year was 1952 and the song was “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” Many hits quickly followed, making her the first female star of country... Read More »

In this Recent Finds I'm pleased to share with you two marvelous new recordings by Jared Sacks, one a Pure DSD256 recording of Brahms solo piano music with my favorite pianist, Anna Fedorova. Also included are two excellent opera recordings: Mozart's Don Giovanni and Barber's Vanessa, each in outstanding sonics. Plus more...   Brahms, Intermezzi... Read More »

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf Viola Davis, narrator; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/Gustavo Dudamel Deutsche Grammophon 4868159 (EP, WAV download only) I really ought to listen to Peter and the Wolf more often. It's tagged, unfairly, as a children's piece, but, performed with a modicum of sophistication, it's charmingly entertaining. Here in New York, the Philharmonic... Read More »

Bob Witrak continues to mine the archives for classic recordings to reissue – often in sound that is better than I ever imagined these recordings could deliver. Here are some recent releases that bring back warm memories but, more importantly, are wonderful additions to my digital music library today. Enjoy.   Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5... Read More »

Our inimitable editor-in-chief, Dr. David, charged me with focusing on DSD256 and DXD recordings. I mostly follow that brief. And today, I have an abundance of outstanding ultra-high resolution recordings to share: six Pure DSD256 recordings and two DXD 32-bit recordings. Their sound quality gratifies my search over decades for the most discerning playback systems... Read More »

If you enjoy pop vocal records from the sixties, you might be familiar with the name Ernie Freeman (1922-1981). Freeman wrote the arrangements for Frank Sinatra’s 1966 album That’s Life (Reprise FS-1020) and Dean Martin's 1963 album Everybody Loves Somebody (Reprise RS-6130). He was also the pianist on the 1962 album Roots (Reprise R9-6057) by... Read More »

A New Solution to Understanding What Your Digital Audio System Is Doing With the Data Stream - Part 3 A few weeks ago we reposted Ferenc Koscsó's article introducing a minimalist, bit-perfect music player, written in C, with a single purpose: to deliver the music file data stream to the DAC by the shortest, most... Read More »

Bert van der Wolf's lifelong dream of creating a dedicated recording venue with superb natural acoustics and attached mastering studio finally became a reality with the purchase and restoration of a nineteenth-century church in Heerewaarden. Following extensive acoustic renovations, the first recordings took place in late 2025. I've followed this remarkable project since Bert first... Read More »

The following is a repost of an article by the exceptionally talented recording and mastering engineer Frans de Rond, originally published on the blog of his Sound Liaison recording label. You can find the original article HERE. Frans recently included this article in his newsletter. As I read it, I found myself nodding, smiling, and... Read More »

My first Chris Isaak concert was with my wife and several friends at the North Shore Center in Skokie Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was a December 2011 concert and Isaak played a few Christmas songs along with many of his fan favorites.  He came out in a Santa Claus outfit and quickly had... Read More »

For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part one here. There’s an old stereotype out there that audiophiles don’t really like music, but rather just like playing with equipment. There’s even a “quote” that constantly surfaces, wrongly attributed to Alan Parsons (who never actually said it) that ‘Audiophiles don’t... Read More »

I’d already chosen my next review subject: a rock band from Chicago who thrived from the mid-sixties to the early seventies, but I got distracted by two new additions to my collection. So what could possibly distract me from great rock ‘n’ roll? Here’s the answer: Two Eddy Arnold (1918-2008) EPs from the early fifties!... Read More »

We all say, "There is no substitute for live music." This past spring, Ann and I treated ourselves to a generous helping of live orchestral music from one of our regional orchestras a few hours away. And yet, and yet... While the sound of live instruments cannot be fully replicated by even the finest audio... Read More »

Recently, while driving and tolerating my Las Vegas’ moldy oldies FM station KQLL, I heard an old favorite that I don’t hear too often. It was Rare Earth’s “Get Ready,” a song that I swear was custom-made for me. The deliciously grungy tone of the electric guitar is dangerously addicting, and what follows the guitar... Read More »

For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part one here. I’ve known a lot of audiophiles and music lovers who are firmly into either analog or digital, and don’t fully embrace both. Obviously with this series, I’m putting myself in the “I love records” camp. That doesn’t mean I... Read More »

"Jimi was like aliens had landed. No kidding," said Toto guitarist, Steve Lukather, who recorded with a who's who of artists like  Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, and Eddie Van Halen. "I remember sitting in my bedroom listening to his Are You Experienced? album's 'Third Stone From The Sun.' My father walks in and sees the... Read More »

Uncle Tupelo, Anodyne. Rhino High Fidelity (33 RPM LP) Anodyne was Uncle Tupelo's swansong album and was released in 1993 on the Reprise label. Originally only released on CD, it was not offered on vinyl until 2010 on the Rhino label. The two key musicians and songwriters for Uncle Tupelo were Jeff Tweedy and Jay... Read More »

For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part one HERE. Since such a large part of my record collection was purchased used, I figured we should talk about buying used records a little more. Obviously different people have different ideas about what they're looking for when shopping used, but... Read More »