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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 »

The world is full of false information. At the same time, we are frequently to be blamed for not doing our due diligence to verify information. As audiophiles, we are in constant pursuit of improving the performance, and therefore the enjoyment of our playback systems. It seems however, that many audiophiles pursue this goal while... Read More »

Over my life as an audiophile, I've had three individual instances where I was absolutely certain beyond doubt that the consequences of my actions would in no time send me rocketing down the highway to high-end audio hell. The first came over a decade ago when I followed the advice I'd gotten from another audio... 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 »

Justin Weber of ampsandsound takes a break. 300B amps aren't known for their ability to party hard. More often than not you hear about their sweetness, lucidity, and warm conveyance of Big Tone. But the ampandsound kit, powered by their flagship 300B amp, the Black Pearl, had hip bones fully engaged. The Yellowstone preamp is... Read More »

Like a god of destruction and rebirth, the internet streamer obliterates the accumulated dross of the audiophile world with one hand, while bestowing untold musical riches with the other. All at no charge. Dump your tables, tubes, and tuners into the ocean. Gift your album caravan to a grateful acolyte who can be dazzled by... Read More »

Audiophile tweaks; you can either love them or hate them, but if you are a passionate audiophile, they are difficult to ignore. Sure, they can be controversial, and in a few cases, they can even be outright frauds with claims that border on the ludicrous. However, in my experience, if you look long and hard... Read More »

SCHAUMBURG, IL—Twenty-six years ago, aspiring studio tech and entrepreneur, David Malekpour, launched his Pro Audio Design, Inc. (initially under the banner, Anything Audio, he re-named it in 1993), with Augspurger Monitors that employed Technical Audio Devices (TAD) drivers and components simply because "they were the best." TAD have been tops for years, he says, and... 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 »

This review has had probably the longest gestation period of any review I've ever done. I've had the Tekton Perfect SET 15 loudspeakers in my possession for three years already. In fact, I already gave them a Writer's Choice award in 2021. Why the long wait? As explained in previous articles, much of the first... Read More »

The PS Audio Aspen FR10 Loudspeakers (photo courtesy of PS Audio) The "P" in PS Audio, a leading manufacturer of high-end stereo equipment, Paul McGowan is renowned for his informative and easy-going newsletters and YouTube videos with over 185,000 subscribers. As a self-taught analog electronics engineer, he co-founded the company with Stan Warren in 1973,... 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 »

Ye Olde Editor, AXPONA 2024 (photograph by Bill Parish; image processing by David W. Robinson) Another year, another trip around the Sun, another AXPONA. Apart from the COVID years, I have been attending AXPONA since Mark Freed first invited me personally to do so in late 2014. 2015 was my first show. So, I've been... Read More »