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Elton John and Bernie Taupin, "Friends" 50th Anniversary Edition. The Original Soundtrack Recording. Paramount 3555744. Pinky Vinyl Edition. Sourced new from eBay. $26 For those who look at the title Friends you should know this is definitely not the soundtrack of the famous and still wildly popular sitcom. This album is the soundtrack for a... Read More »

David Bowie: Rock 'N' Roll Star! is a new box set from Rhino Entertainment that chronicles the iconic star's journey from the formulative beginnings of the Ziggy Stardust era through its conclusion. The heavy box contains a plethora of wonders, not the least of which are the contents of the 5 CDs and the BluRay... Read More »

Craft Recordings is partnering again with Acoustic Sounds for a reboot of the classic Bluesville Series. The LPs will be pressed by Acoustic Sounds' Quality Record Pressing (QRP) on 180 gram vinyl; Craft is already collaborating with QRP on their Contemporary jazz reissue series. And those LPs have been excellent so far, so there's no... Read More »

High Definition Tape Transfers continues on its roll of great releases. Just recently I wrote about HDTT's superb reissue of Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (HERE). Now we have the famous Fritz Reiner recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, and The Weavers Reunion At Carnegie Hall, and Ella and Basie!, and much more. Bartók Concerto... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment has just released the latest four titles in their excellent Quadio Series, which features BluRay audio with a high resolution version each album's original quadraphonic mix, along with high resolution stereo tracks. The four albums chosen for this release include Donny Hathaway's Extension of a Man (1973, Atco Records), Hot Tuna's Burgers (1972,... Read More »

As one of the founding fathers of rock and roll, Chuck Berry (1926-2017) receives a ton of well-deserved respect as a musical innovator. Berry, along with Buddy Holly, was the first to define the image of the electric guitar-slinging rock star. However, despite his well-deserved status, the 1972 album, The London Chuck Berry Sessions (Chess... Read More »

Craft Recordings' release schedule rolls along in the second group of reissue titles for 2024 in their Original Jazz Classics (OJC) franchise reboot, featuring their latest, 1963's Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane on Prestige Records' New Jazz imprint. Guitarist Kenny Burrell and saxophonist John Coltrane are co-leaders on the hard bop session, which showcases one... Read More »

The Rhino High Fidelity Premium Vinyl Series continues with the release of two new titles for the current quarter. At the outset of the series, each quarterly release featured one rock title and one jazz title, but thankfully, they've recently altered their release pattern. The last two quarterly releases featured a pair of rock albums... Read More »

Mogwai, Young Team (Remastered) We knew we were in for something shiny and new back in 1997 when Mogwai dropped Young Team. It wasn't because their sound was entirely new. Sonic Youth, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Yo La Tengo dropped their noise rock years before Team, but it wasn't until Mogwai hit the scene... Read More »

Throughout my teenage and adult years in the Chicago area, I had the great fortune to experience some of the biggest and brightest of all the rock, blues and jazz superstars as they passed through The Windy City. The venues included some amazing large settings like Soldier Field, The International Amphitheatre, The United Center, The... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment is celebrating the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's classic album Diamond Dogs with a pair of limited edition LP reissues. Which is being offered with choices of a 180 gram black vinyl LP or an exceptionally cool picture disc version that also includes a fold-out poster. My review copy of Diamond Dogs 50th... Read More »

For most audiophiles the word "calypso" conjures up one musical artist, and that person is Harry Belafonte. Belafonte was a 50's era phenomenon whose popularity bled into the 60s. His brand of beefed-up and polished calypso was essentially the closest thing to rock and roll for people who couldn’t embrace something as "dangerous" as Elvis... Read More »

Kenneth James Gibson & Paul Carman, Murals for Immersion I'm not convinced that any words of mine could so aptly describe this record as its title manages to do: Murals for Immersion. And because of this, I feel morally obliged to perhaps break the online literary book of laws, and also begin this music review... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment has just released the Quadio/Blu-ray box set for Joni Mitchell's The Asylum Albums (1972-1975) Quadio, which covers her first four catalog albums for David Geffen's then fledgling label, Asylum Records. This next installment of her Joni Mitchell Archives series includes the albums For the Roses (1972), Court and Spark (1974), the live album... Read More »

Craft Recordings has announced their reissue of Church Street Blues, the seminal 1983 album from bluegrass icon and journeyman guitarist and vocalist Tony Rice. Among the hundreds of recordings Rice participated in over a career that spanned fifty years, Church Street Blues is widely considered to be among his finest efforts, and has been out... Read More »

Craft Recordings has announced the second group of reissue titles for 2024 in their Original Jazz Classics (OJC) franchise reboot, featuring four albums whose release dates range across the period from 1956 to 1960. The new reissues include the classic 1956 Prestige label debut from The New Miles Davis Quintet, Miles; Davis' longtime pianist, Red... Read More »

Just Listen (Columbia Special Products CSS 1337) is an LP that I discovered in 1986. It was released by Columbia Special Products in 1970, as a promotional item for Magnavox. Like most of the CBS Special Products LPs, it's a stereophonic various-artists compilation. The musical selections are by Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Dave Brubeck, Andre... Read More »

Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, with Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, HDTT 1957 2024 (Pure DSD256) HERE This is such a great album, it is wonderful to now have it in my digital music library in the best quality sound. My standard for this album has always been the excellent 45rpm vinyl... Read More »

Schubert, Quartets 15, 8. Takács Quartet. Hyperion CDA 68423 (CD). TT: 77.48 Schubert's harmonic innovations are broadly recognized. But, as these quartets show, he had a keen rhythmic and structural imagination as well. The Fifteenth Quartet is large-framed, with a twenty-minute first movement; after an imposing "dotted" introduction, a syncopated motif enters, becoming a sort of quirky... Read More »