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Impex Records continues to roll out the hits with another superb choice for their next deluxe 1STEP LP treatment, reaching again into the catalog of classic albums from jazz composer, pianist, and vocalist Patricia Barber. For this release, Impex has chosen Barber's fifth album, Companion (1999, Premonition Records), which was recorded live at Chicago's Green... Read More »

Welcome to the first installment of Hit Play!, a bimonthly column (at least in the beginning) dedicated to the ultimate in music and sound on 15-ips reel-to-reel tape. Why devote space to a column about an obsolete analog format? Easy. Tape is far from obsolete! To start, three companies (Analog Audio Design (France)/Metaxas (Holland)/Ballfinger (Germany)... Read More »

Turn up the volume and prepare for sumptuous sonics from one of the great performances in the catalog. This new transfer from High Definition Tape Transfers is terrific. It is now my personal standard for what this great RCA Living Stereo recording can sound like. Respighi Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome, Fritz Reiner,... Read More »

I think it's pretty safe to say that most record-collecting audiophiles know Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), and his album, Time Out (Columbia CS8192). After all, it's one of the most popular jazz LPs ever recorded. Time Out was released in 1959, and it introduced the world to Brubeck's use of unusual time signatures. It also introduced... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment has an impressive slate of limited-edition LPs available for the upcoming Saturday, April 20th celebration of Record Store Day 2024 (RSD). Rhino's extensive offering of rarities and specialty releases are only a few of the hundreds of exciting albums that will be available from both online sources and at independent record stores everywhere.... Read More »

Craft Recordings is offering another cool slate of limited-edition LPs for the upcoming Saturday, April 20th celebration of Record Store Day 2024 (RSD). Craft's selection of rarities and specialty releases are only a few of the literally hundreds of exciting records that will be available online and at independent record stores everywhere. For RSD April,... Read More »

Jazz Dispensary is a specialty imprint of Craft Recordings that's dedicated to mining the riches of parent company Concord Music's vast catalog of labels. The label employs what they call "sound sommeliers" to search the archives to find the finest original sources there for underappreciated masterpieces of funk, soul, jazz, and all the related genres... Read More »

Craft Recordings has announced the latest group of reissues from their Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which features twelve LP reissues along with high-resolution digital files that will be released periodically throughout 2024. The exciting roster of Contemporary Records artists chosen for the current installment of the series includes classic titles from Art Pepper, Shelly... Read More »

The Cars, Candy-O. Rhino High Fidelity Series (33 RPM) The Cars first album entitled The Cars, was released in 1977 on the Reprise label and was a huge success, with a long list of hit singles and a tremendous amount of attention by the press. Their second album entitled Candy-O was released in 1978, also... Read More »

I have been waiting with great anticipation for the new IMPEX 1Step Getz/Gilberto reissue to arrive, but that was no problem. I have learned long ago that patience more than pays off when it comes to IMPEX Records. This label never fails to amaze and delight! The excitement began to build after I experienced the... Read More »

High Definition Tape Transfers has released/reissued many superb albums over the couple of months since I last posted an update, and I keep being reminded of earlier releases I've not shared with you. So, here are a dozen I highly recommend. Some may wonder why I continue a focus on HDTT for music. To those... Read More »

As David Robinson and I were discussing a couple of weeks ago, we truly are living in the golden age of recorded music and home audio—both in the equipment available to us and, most importantly, in the wealth of wonderful performing artists and recordings. You may note that many of the recordings I recommend are... Read More »

Utter transparency. Abundant detail. Extreme delicacy and nuance. A soundstage to die for. Unrestrained dynamics and immense power. This is a recording to cherish, a recording to celebrate. Homeland - Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor and De Falla's Noches en los Jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain), Judith Jáuregui (piano), Kaspar... Read More »

Nobody talks about Vaughn Monroe (1911-1973) anymore. That's sad, because Monroe was a very good singer. It's pretty clear to me that it's his unusual voice that places him in obscurity. Nothing sounds like his baritone voice. By today's standards, and even by my own retro standards, he sounds a little usual. His voice is... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment has announced their cleverly named Start Your Ear Off Right series, which features a slate of eighteen limited edition LP releases, with most of them are being offered in cool colored-vinyl variants. The releases criss-cross a multitude of genres and artists, ranging from rock (The Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Stevie... Read More »

Craft Recordings' has just released the sixth installment in their premium Small Batch audiophile LP series with a reissue of Isaac Hayes' 1969 sophomore effort, Hot Buttered Soul. Long considered a landmark release of Sixties soul music, Hot Buttered Soul created the template that would serve as the launching pad for Isaac Hayes' future successes... Read More »

Sony Music Entertainment, Columbia Records, and Legacy Recordings have just reissued Alice In Chains' classic 1994 EP Jar of Flies in a 30th Anniversary special edition. Jar of Flies, despite only being an EP, was one of Alice In Chains most important releases, and included several of their biggest hits from the 1990s. The EP... Read More »

Impex Records has just released another of their incredible 1STEP 45 rpm LP box sets, this time featuring the classic Bossa Nova album Getz/Gilberto. Impex's 1STEP process is fairly labor-intensive, in that it requires cutting a new set of lacquers for every pressing run of 500 LPs. This nearly insane level of precision guarantees that... Read More »

Who the heck was Bill Snyder? Based on the scarce info I could find, William P. Snyder (1916-2011), from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was America's most recorded light music pianist during the 1950s. Unfortunately for Bill's legacy, today's music lovers don't listen to the dim lit sound of light pianists, especially on mono LPs from... Read More »