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Over the years I've freely admitted to being something of a sound nut. I revel in recordings that feel transparent, timbrally truthful, and utterly convincing in their portrayal of natural acoustic space. For me, the deepest listening pleasure comes from acoustic instruments captured in real environments, without artifice. With that in mind, I'm delighted to... Read More »

Intervention Records has just announced their Intervention Sun Records Hi-Fi Series, which will offer deluxe 180 gram, 45 rpm mono LP editions of classic Sun Records albums. The series has kicked off with Dance Album of Carl Perkins, the iconic guitarist's 1957 compilation album that not only commemorates the 70th anniversary of his classic hit... Read More »

Impex Records has just released incomparable guitarist and jazz fusion legend John McLaughlin's latest recording, Music For Abandoned Heights. It's an album that hearkens back to not only his classic early recordings, but continues to build on a legacy of remarkable fretwork that spans a half-century of thrilling and often groundbreaking performances. Music for Abandoned... Read More »

Every now and then I discover an album that changes the course of my musical journey. Don't Fence Me In: Western Music's Early Golden Era (Ronder CD 1102), a CD that I found in the late-nineties, is one such title.  My favorite music is sixties rock, followed closely by classical music, but in 2008 I... Read More »

I admit to getting utmost pleasure from the outstanding releases Bob Witrak continues providing to us via his High Definition Tape Transfers catalog. As I've said before, his extensive offerings are like wandering into a treasure room filled with some of the greatest classical and jazz albums ever released. I'm delighted to have these opportunities... Read More »

Image courtesy of Acoustic Sounds Here's the trailer for Part 2 of Hyperion Knight's free Hillsdale College online course on the history of classical music. The trailer for Part 1, Pythagoras through Beethoven, has had 327,000 views. (See here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKSc8NL9ZBk) I want to stress that you can sign up for the course and watch... Read More »

Please be patient as I share some personal backstory. When I was a kid, our family had certain traditions for Christmas week that were lovingly established and then re-enforced by my father every year. He and my mother seemed to enjoy them as much or more than the seven kids. These traditions have carried on... Read More »

For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part 1 HERE. As I mentioned in previous parts of this series, many times in my articles and reviews, and probably to everyone I've ever talked to about records or audio, I had a bunch of records stolen at some point in... Read More »

In this issue, we have some exquisite new albums at NativeDSD, led by a new Pure DSD256 release from Cobra Records with a fascinating program for solo piano. And two new releases from the creative artists partnering with Brendon Heinst at TRPTK, and more. I hope you will find something to further explore. Flowers We... Read More »

"The album was meticulously recorded with the best technology of its day and has always sounded good, but it has never sounded this good on vinyl," wrote Jeff Elbel of Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Ultra Disc One-Step reissue of Stevie Nicks' Bella Donna record. "This prestige-format release benefits from the label's best mastering and highest-tier pressing process.... Read More »

Yes, you know by now that I keep track of Bert van der Wolf's recording projects. I've been holding my reviews of the two releases below because I keep hoping to add yet a third release along with them—wishfully the first release from Bert's new High Street Studio recording studio, HERE. But, alas, while Bert's... Read More »

One of my all-time favorite violinists is Arturo Delmoni, who has recorded far too infrequently. Here we have an opportunity to hear him performing in a superb reissue of his recording Music for Violin and Guitar. Originally released by Athena Records in 1993, this reissue is a significant sonic improvement over the original CD-only version... Read More »

Greetings friends, I hope you are well! Imagine with me for a moment that Blue Note Records set up a special concert event at Jazz Alley in Seattle featuring a premier jazz artist. The concert would be recorded directly to 2-track tape in real time, in front of the live audience, by Blue Note's crack... Read More »

One one the finest voices from the golden age of country music belonged to Faron Young (1932-1996). During the fifties, the handsome singer had a unique tenor voice with an agility similar to that of Elvis Presley. He came from Shreveport, Alabama, and went by the monikers The Hillbilly Heartthrob and The Singing Sheriff. With... Read More »

This is a guest article by reader David Fisher It seems like each new popular musical genre initially gets labeled "the devil's music." In the 1920s, the swinging rhythms of jazz were considered taboo in some corners of polite society. Later, subtle to blatantly risqué lyrics earned Delta blues that "devil's music" moniker. Then along... Read More »

Bob Witrak, founder and mastering engineer for High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT), continues to astound me with the quality of his releases. Those of us who value recordings from the "golden age of stereo," and who are obsessive compulsive about obtaining the best sound quality possible, owe Bob a great debt of gratitude for his... Read More »

Devo, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (Rhino High Fidelity) No need to set the stage. This new Devo reissue from Rhino High Fidelity is spectacular! As good as the 1978 original pressing sounds, there is no comparison. And the OG does sound excellent! With this release, Rhino continues to set the... Read More »

Christoph Croisé, Lullabies. Christoph Croisé, cello; Ana Bakradze and Oxana Shevchenko, piano. AVIE 2779 (digital EP). TT: ~21.20. Lullabies, Op. 18, Lullaby for Béatrice; Lullaby for Almuth; Lullaby for Reni; Lullaby for Maria. Cello Sonata, II. Lullaby for Arthur. As my review of Silvestrov's Postludium No. 3, way back in Issue 132, suggests, I'm a sucker for... Read More »

For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part one HERE. As I mentioned in Part 2 of this series (HERE) in the late 1980s I had an early mid-life crisis. For a variety of reasons, but partly due to being despondent over the poor sound quality of early CD... Read More »