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I've been scattered about in my listening recently, shifting from classical to jazz to pop. But I've found some gems to share with you in this edition of Recent Finds. Leading off are some exceptional classical music albums released in 2023 and applying some of the best high resolution digital recording technology available. Complementing these... Read More »

As I mentioned in my last review of late-period R.E.M. releases from Craft Recordings, drummer Bill Berry's departure from the band changed the overall dynamic of R.E.M.'s music so much that I no longer found the group's new music as absolutely essential as in years past. I therefore had very little experience with post-Bill Berry... Read More »

Warner and Rhino Entertainment have just released The Darkness, Permission To Land…Again, which is a 5 LP, 20th Anniversary Edition that celebrates the 2003 debut album from UK glam-metal band The Darkness. Permission To Land was a huge commercial success and runaway best seller, taking the band to the number one spot on the UK... Read More »

  Iconic Artists Group is a relatively new venture spearheaded by music industry heavy-hitter Irving Azoff; in what has become the new normal for many recording artists, Linda Ronstadt sold her music catalog to Iconic in 2021. Irv Azoff early on was instrumental in the career of Ronstadt, and was very close to not only... Read More »

I highly prize the excellence of many of the recordings made in the golden era of stereo, recordings from the late 1950s through 1960s. HDTT's reissue of many of the best of these recordings in high definition digital transfers has been a treasure for me as I've gradually rebuilt my music library with high resolution... Read More »

When I joined Positive Feedback to write about albums from my overflowing collection, I decided that it would be best if I wrote about easily obtainable albums. In a short time I realized that I don't own a click-of-the-mouse record collection. The records that I love to play and write about are very simply rare.... Read More »

Craft Recordings has just released Nanci Griffith: Working In Corners, a new box set which anthologizes the country-folk icon's first four, long-out-of-print catalog albums. As a companion to the box set, Rounder Records (a Craft imprint) has announced More Than A Whisper: Celebrating The Music Of Nanci Griffith, a tribute album that features performances from... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment has announced an enhanced and expanded edition of alternative darlings The Replacements' fourth studio album and major label debut, 1985's Tim, which was produced by Tommy Erdelyi, aka Tommy Ramone. Which is now being made available as a 4-CD, 1-LP box set, Tim: Let It Bleed Edition. The new box highlights new remixes... Read More »

Thelonious Monk's 1957 classic Brilliant Corners marks the fifth release in Craft Recordings' Small Batch LP series. The Small Batch series utilizes a one-step lacquer process (versus the standard three-step process) that allows for a significantly improved level of musical detail, clarity, and dynamics, while greatly reducing surface and groove noise that might otherwise be... Read More »

September arrived and so has a flood of wonderful new releases from some of my favorite artists and recording labels. Any one of these albums might qualify for "album of the year" recognition in their respective genre, and I've been spending time in seventh heaven listening to them. So, allow me to share. 1823 -... Read More »

When all is said and done, it's all about the source material. The better the source material, the better the system sounds. (It's amazing how a master tape can make bad speakers sound like a million dollars!) The best source here being 15-ips reel-to-reel tape. Now making the best sounding consumer 15-ips, 2-track reel-to-reel tapes... Read More »

July 3, 1973 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London was an important date in David Bowie's musical arc; it was the site of the final show of his Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars world tour. Fans were delighted towards the end of the show, when Bowie announced that Jeff Beck would join the... Read More »

If you've collected fifties and sixties era vinyl then you know the names Arthur Lyman (1932 - 2002) and Martin Denny (1911 - 2005). They were, during the aptly named Golden Age Of Stereophonic Recordings, the kings of what is today called exotica music. The reason I know these two musicians is because my dad... Read More »

Shore Fire Media has announced the next two titles in the Rhino High Fidelity Premium Vinyl Series, and as with the first offering, I'm fairly surprised by the selections. Which are Van Morrison's fourth studio album, His Band and the Street Choir (1970, Warner Brothers), and Jaco Pastorius' sophomore solo effort, Word of Mouth (1981,... Read More »

No, he's not a misprint "PEACE" Alexis Ffrench, piano. Sony Music Masterworks Ffrench: Peace; When the Bells Ring; St. Andrews. J.S. BACH (arr. Ffrench): Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring; Sheep May Safely Graze. Before I address the album contents, I'm going to allow myself a brief rant. Sony's biographical note tells us that "Alexis Ffrench is... Read More »

In this issue of Recent Finds we have some nice releases from Hunnia Records, Lawo Classics, Groove Note, three World Music video EPs from TRPTK, and another large batch of recently released reissues from High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT). Enjoy! Miles Davis - Bags' Groove, with Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Milt Jackson, Thelonious Monk, Horace... Read More »

I've been pondering over whether I should even write about this album, since conflicts of interest are rarely a good thing. After weeks of beating my head against the proverbial wall, I realized that I didn't create the 60s folk masterpiece known as Southbound (Vanguard VSD 79213). Rather, I only chose it to be part... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment is releasing Black Sabbath Hand of Doom 1970 - 1978, which is an eight LP, picture disc boxed set that includes all eight Black Sabbath studio albums that feature the band's original and classic lineup. Black Sabbath's original incarnation included Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitars, Geezer Butler on bass, and... Read More »

This edition of Recent Finds will be a bit different because I'm including some 44.1 kHz reviewer sample files from Alpha Classics that I've been enjoying. I've been accused of listening only to DXD and DSD256, but I plead "Not true!" Or, at least not entirely true. Sometimes one just has to go where the... Read More »