Short Cuts

Welcome back to the third installment of our ongoing Review Explosion series, Short Cuts edition! This time, we have three new jazz releases sharing some common threads that connect the artists in question, yet are about as different as night and day. Read on to see what Mark Smotroff has to say about a pair of excellent new AAA Bill Evans Trio and Miles Davis Quintet OJC studio 180g 1LP reissues, plus a legendary lost archival live John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy 2LP set — but note that the latter release comes with one important caveat. . .

Our latest Review Explosion Short Cuts extravaganza focuses on three prime, and quite diverse, Record Store Day 2023 releases — namely, an LP’s worth of Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine’s late-’60s psychedelic explorations, a live 2LP release from the ever-brilliant funky-quirky Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, and a solo 1LP Prefab Sprout production from Paddy McAloon, the main driver of one of England’s greatly underrated pop outfits. Read on to get Mark Smotroff’s take on a trio of fine RSD 2023 releases you are going to want to track down for your own listening enjoyment, forthwith. . .

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Record Store Day — and it really should, as the very next RSD is slated for this Saturday, April 22. Since its 2007 debut, RSD has grown into an international pilgrimage event for vinyl-loving music fans around the world — and it shouldn’t surprise you in the least that we collectively love Record Store Day here at AnalogPlanet, seeing how we’ve been proud RSD supporters since Day 1. Read on to see what two of AP’s intrepid album lovers, vinyl evaluators, and inveterate collectors — namely, chief LP reviewer Mark Smotroff and AP editor Mike Mettler — cite as their top-tier RSD 2023 choices. . .

Last week, AP editor Mike Mettler asked ace reviewer Mark Smotroff to come up with a list of his Top 10 vinyl releases of 2022, and it was a much harder task than Mark imagined it would be. “Paring down all the vinyl releases I’ve reviewed in 2022 into a list of just 10 choices?” was Mark’s initial reply. Nonetheless, Mark soldiered on, got his list in fine order, and shared the first 5 of his 10 choices, focusing on archival releases, plus a few bonus selections. This week, Mark shares the other 5 top-shelf choices on his list — all of them new-to-2022 releases — and here they are. . .

Mark Smotroff was up bright and early on Record Store Day (a.k.a. RSD 2022) back on Black Friday, November 25 — and, spoiler alert, he was able to find most of the RSD Exclusive and RSD First LPs he wanted. Read on to find out what LPs he got, how they all sound, and where you might still be able to find any RSD 2022 goodies you want for your own collection. . .